Fandom Star Wars: Legacies of the Force [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

The trek wasn’t difficult, and though not exactly a path, it did seem to become a bit clearer the further they walked, hinting at something more. He couldn’t pinpoint much in the way of Force signatures, given the nexus of the Force, as well as the life all around them. It was harder, unless there was a significant presence in the Force, to feel out individuals that way.

It was far easier to do on a starship.

Octavia didn’t seemed to have forgotten her question, though. Or left it well enough alone, and he couldn’t pretend not to hear this time. He had thought she’d get the hint not to ask it again, though. She didn’t dare to look back, at any rate. “That is none of your concern, Officer.” His tone was clipped, reverting to formality immediately.

There was no need for further discussion, then.

As he saw things clearing up ahead, he did venture forward to bypass her, and step into the clearing first, noting the homes that were there, and which were not overgrown with the forest. A few people were outside chatting, and they spared them a glance, before quickly deciding not to hang around.

They may not have recognized them, or even their uniforms – but no one could deny the Imperial air the uniform of Octavia still gave off. Devaron didn’t have the best relationship with all of that, and didn’t want to invite more trouble.

~***~

Pia didn’t think Rey would misunderstand the plight of the rancor, or consider them more deserving of that plight. It was evident she was kind-hearted in a way, as so many drawn to the light often were. It wasn’t necessarily a fault, although it was certainly a weakness that could only too easily be exploited.

It also explained why she sought out that book – it was one of the ones about the Jedi, one of the things that Rey knew, and it would help her to learn more about them. Pia nodded, accepting the reasoning without further question. She wasn’t there to judge why Rey would pick any of the books in the archives, after all. She was just there to understand it a bit better.

At her question of being busy, Pia smiled a little and shook her head, “I have a routine, but it is easy to disrupt,” there was nothing terribly serious about the majority of how she spent her day. It was usually in study of some sort, anyways. “I tend to spend much of my time learning more, but I would not mind helping you; it is another sort of learning to aid another, and learn what they have to say, as well.”

Learn how they learned the Force.

Learn how it flowed through them.

Or even offering to show Rey more of Dathomir.

 

[Cory]

Octavia pursed her lips as Kylo passed her by the moment they saw signs of the settlement up ahead. So that question wasn't going to be answered any time soon. She probably shouldn't have been pushing it in the first place since him ignoring her question earlier told her that he hadn't wanted to answer, and that he expected her to leave it alone.

And once again, she did. For now.

Octavia remained silent for a little while after that, but given that they'd now arrived at the settlement, which wasn't exactly abandoned, there was more work to do. She noticed some Devaronians clearing the area the moment she stepped up beside Kylo.

Glancing back down at her datapad, Octavia tried to determine where the source of the transmission came from. "That house, over there," she said, lifting her head back up and pointing to one a few feet away that seemed to have no people around it. Whether there were people inside or not, she had no idea. It didn't look abandoned, at least. Not unless it was a more recent thing, which would make sense if the person that sent the transmission did not wish to be found.

"What happens now?" Octavia asked, looking up at Kylo. Going in there and confirming the source through one quick dive into whatever computer system existed in the home would be easy, but if there was someone in there, the person that sent the transmission... Octavia didn't know how to deal with that.

Whenever she'd been out on the field, it was to deal with encrypted data and nothing more. She'd never dealt with people, and whatever information they held.

~ * * * ~​

Pia only seemed to be curious about her book choice because she didn't ask much more about it, once Rey gave her an explanation. She hovered around the edge of the bed whilst continuing to look at Pia closer to the doorway, and nodded when she answered her question.

"Well, if it's easy to disrupt — and not much of a bother to do so — then seeing more of Dathomir with some company would be nice," she explained, offering a small smile.

"I'm going to try and bombard you with fewer questions tomorrow," she added, as if to provide further incentive for her to join her, if the idea appealed to her in any way. "I've just learned a lot since coming here, and I'd like to learn more, if I can."

Journals would help, but reading would only get her so far. She actually needed to practise it, or she'd never be able to get the hang of it, or learn how to control it. So far she didn't have any trouble, but she could predict that coming to her if she continued to operate without properly understanding what she was capable of. That wasn't going to help anyone.

If anything, it'd just make matters worse.

She fiddled with the hilt of the lightsaber still attached to her belt. "I know I need to leave soon, but I would like to do so with at least a little experience under my belt, if that makes sense?"

 

[Lucyfer]

The location was identified, and Kylo nodded. At least Octavia was still useful, even if she had tried to get on his nerves with that stupid question. He moved towards it silently, no longer half as interested in engaging in dialogue with her. He considered even ignoring her question about ‘what would happen’. Wasn’t it obvious? They would access what was sending the message, and move on.

How they did it, didn’t really matter.

He was fairly certain no one here could actually put up a fight against him, although they might try. “We’ll see.” He knew that wasn’t an answer that Octavia would appreciate right then, but that was the truth of it.

He didn’t bother knocking on the door, as he didn’t need to. It slid open, and he found himself not in a home, but what looked to be a storefront for various necessities – food, water, hygienic products – no doubt the only place like this for a small community, and perhaps for communities a bit further away, too.

The clerk looked up, and then quickly looked back down to their datapad, not interested in getting involved until absolutely necessary.

Kylo still approached them. “There’s a transmission coming from your store.”

“Yup,” the clerk said, “we keep a transmission going out to let people know what we have to buy any given week.” Their eyes remained down on the datapad.

“There’s another transmission going out.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

~***~

‘Do you have any idea how large this planet is?’ Not that Pia would ask that, but she wondered what it was Rey hoped to find in Dathomir, that wouldn’t be found here. They had the collections of things here, as well as plenty of people with lived experiences and the ability to teach. What was it Rey sought?

Pia might ask, when they had actually begun, assuming Rey’s interest for that held through the night and she didn’t instead want to pour over more books after reading one.

Still, Pia shook her head, “I don’t mind the questions,” she said, “I really don’t mind sharing what I know with others,” that should be evident by now, it wasn’t just Rey who had come and ended up benefiting from her knowledge, and the place she’d carved out in the world. Others had, as well, and others would continue to do so, even when she finally found her way to rise higher than this, and achieve those dreams of having it all.

“Your desires make sense, and I don’t intend to hinder you in learning, or in leaving,” though it would remain wholly Rey’s choice, and Pia would certainly try to keep Rey for longer, until she could figure out what it was about her connection to the Force that was so strong for someone who apparently didn’t have a background in learning it.

She smiled, “I’ll let you be so you can read more of the journal, Rey. There will be a breakfast made in that same dining hall,” she offered, so Rey might know where to find her, or at least, where to find others to begin figuring out where she was.

 

[Cory]

Octavia looked at Kylo expectantly, though the answer she got wasn't one that completely satisfied her. It was vague, and she honestly had no clue what came next beyond tracking down the source. Of course, there was a person behind the transmission, and she knew how Kylo Ren could obtain information he wanted from an individual if they weren't willing to cooperate.

But how did these things go? Was there an attempt to cooperate? Did they immediately dive into using the Force?

With no clear answer, Octavia simply followed behind Kylo, quickening her pace to catch up since she'd lingered around where she'd been standing for a bit, lost in thought and questioning several things that may or may not happen.

Once they were inside, Octavia realised it wasn't a house, but a kind of shop instead. There seemed to be only one person inside, seemingly uninterested in the new presence. Either that, or uninterested in getting involved.

Kylo attempted to ask about the transmission, and the conversation that followed was hard to read. The clerk denied knowing anything about another transmission, which could easily be the truth or a lie. Octavia attempted one method that she figured would help weed out a liar. She wasn't keen on resorting to pain right away. "If you don't know anything about it, you won't mind if I check?"

~ * * * ~​

Rey smiled a bit wider when Pia expressed that she didn't mind sharing her knowledge. it was refreshing, though mainly because Rey had yet to come across someone with the knowledge she sought. Pia was the first, and she had no doubt that the others on Dathomir could provide answers as well. Whether they would be as open to questioning as Pia was, was a whole different matter altogether.

"I appreciate it," she told her, moving to sit down at the edge of the bed, gaze still fixed on Pia.

The indirect offer to stay for a longer time than she intended was certainly tempting. Rey knew there were other things she needed to do, but Dathomir would always remain. Perhaps when all was said and done, she could return to learn more.

That was what she told herself in her mind, at least, before the temptation to stay behind became harder to resist. She was confident that they could defeat the Order, but they still had yet to find Luke.

She nodded as Pia told her about breakfast and decided to leave her be for the night. "Thank you, Pia," Rey told her, rising to her feet once more, merely out of respect. "I'll see you in the morning, then." She intended to be up bright and early, but it also depended on how long she stayed up reading the journal she'd picked up.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo had already determined they were a liar even as Octavia asked her question, by the way they kept their eyes down on the datapad, avoiding eye contact. It was at least suspicious enough behavior to him, anyways.

The individual shrugged their shoulders, “Fine, but if you break it, you’ll be paying to fix it,” as if he could enforce such a thing. Kylo would nod to Octavia, to urge her to go on ahead and take a look at things.

He had no plans to follow her.

The information he could access wasn’t in the computer, but in the mind of this individual, and he intended to have it. Octavia could at least busy herself with something else, though. There was no need for her to be engaged in that process. Sure, she’d probably hear the screams, but he wasn’t concerned with that.

He would at least wait for Octavia to move on to check the console.

~***~

Pia nodded, “Good night, Rey,” assuming she slept at all, which might be debatable. Nonetheless, Pia moved on from there, and it would still be a few hours before she slept, as she returned to her translation efforts she had left off when Rey arrived. The Sith language was difficult, not only because few spoke it, but because like all languages, it had changed over time.

People who studied it tended to forget it was, in fact, still a living language, and had been for many millennia.

She would sleep, of course, and when she woke she would return to the dining hall where Myrridan was, half-sleepily putting jam on toast while eggs burned on the pan over the fire. Pia silently corrected that error – dumping the eggs into the fire with the Force and then breaking new eggs into the pan with the Force.

“Everything all right?”

“Mmm.” Myrridan was never much for talking. Especially not before three cups of caf, which he hadn’t even started, so Pia began that process as well, sharing the kitchen space in silence to get breakfast ready for everyone, this time. Usually, this was another of those “everyone fends for themselves” situations.

 

[Cory]

The clerk agreed to let her take a look, which pleased Octavia. His willingness to allow it — or dismissiveness, rather — implied to her that maybe he didn't know much about the transmission. Or perhaps it was something he was just told to do, without knowing how important the information was.

Somehow, Octavia doubted that though. Luke went through a lot of effort to go into hiding, and despite leaving behind small clues, she didn't think some random person would be entrusted with even a bit of that information.

Then again, what did she really know about Luke Skywalker and how he operated? It didn't matter. She was just meant to find him, and that's exactly what she was trying to do.

With Kylo's nod of approval, Octavia moved forward, closer to where the clerk sat before ultimately stepping into his space to get to work on the computer now in front of her. It was easier to access than the one at Eedit temple. There weren't as many encryptions.

The information she sought was buried deep though, and hard to find. Perhaps the goal was to dissuade people from trying too much but Octavia was persistent. She knew this was where the original transmission had come from so unless there was another computer in the store, she was sure the information was there to be found.

It was just taking her a little longer than she would have liked.

~ * * * ~​

Rey spent a few hours getting through the journal. There was a lot to be learned, a lot that she once expected to hear from Luke Skywalker himself, but it gave her a better understanding of the Jedi, at least. It certainly wasn't the full picture, but it was a start, and that was more than she'd had before she arrived on Dathomir.

Rey didn't get through the whole thing, as excited as she'd been to read it to its completion.

She fell asleep with the book still in her hands, and woke up a little earlier into the morning than she usually did. With a bit of spare time, she dived back into the journal to finish off the last few pages that remained.

Once she was done, she got up to properly freshen up a bit before grabbing the book and deciding to head for breakfast. She made sure the lightsaber was at her side as well, not wanting to be careless with it — especially since it didn't belong to her.

She exited her room and followed the familiar path to the dining hall, coming across Chewie's room along the way. He was awake when she knocked, and eager to get more food in his belly after last night's satisfying meal.

Along the way they discussed her plans for the day, plans she still had to confirm with Pia but ones she was excited for nonetheless. Perhaps later in the day she could visit the Archives as well, but eventually she'd need to sit and decide how long they were going to stay here for. She was pushing it off for the time being, but she knew she that at some point she wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

 

[Lucyfer]

The clerk did look down and give Octavia an annoyed glance, before he started to move to give her space, though still chancing a glance at her when he could. Kylo Ren drew closer, “Do you want to start talking about the other transmission now?” He asked, the calm hiding the threat of disagreement well.

“I don’t know what you’re—gah!” The surprise of the sudden assault on his mind was unexpected. Kylo lifting his hand had hardly been enough of a cue, given the clerk had nothing to relate it towards. He crumpled to the floor on his knees, hands reaching up to grasp at his head, as if it would somehow remedy the pain that was beating into it.

Kylo wasn’t going to ask again.

Thankfully, the clerk had little in the way of protections.

Unfortunately, the thought was wiped. A Jedi Mind Trick had been played on the clerk, no doubt, and he was told to forget what had happened. Whoever had done it, had been thorough enough, but Kylo didn’t intend to let that get in his way.

He simply dove further. The memory wasn’t gone, it was just lost, making it much harder to find…making it a far more painful experience for the clerk, but he could blame the Jedi for that, not Kylo.

~***~

The breakfast that would greet Chewbacca and Rey included an assortment of eggs, nerf sausages (imported from off world), a variety of breads and jams, and some steamed vegetables. Pia had finished with her own breakfast already, though she lingered, partially waiting for Rey, partially catching up with some of the others on their thoughts about everything.

It was Morgena she was speaking to as Rey and Chewbacca arrived, and Morgena who quickly fell silent, shooting Rey an irritated look before she left the area. She was still quite dissatisfied with all of this, and the potential threat that Rey’s presence remained. No one wanted Luke to end up descending on Dathomir.

“Good morning,” Pia greeted Rey as she entered, and she gestured out at the spread, “You can enjoy whatever you find appealing, there’s plenty,” although Laksmi likely needed to do another run soon, that wouldn’t be simply because of two new additions. Running out of bread was almost a weekly thing; it wasn’t as if bread lasted long, anyways.

“Did you both have a good night?”

Chewbacca answered mostly affirmative…new beds always made sleep a little difficult.

 

[Cory]

Octavia quickly realised that even if she did find out that this was the source of the transmission, there was only one way to get the clerk to tell them who sent it, or who asked him to — if that was the case. She'd wanted to avoid it as much as possible, but not long after she began to search his datapad did Kylo step closer, attempting his own extraction method. One that didn't involve any technology.

Octavia lifted her head and looked at the clerk now on the floor, grasping at his head and doing whatever he could to try and escape the pain. At least, that's what she imagined. She herself had never been exposed to it — even though she nearly tested that at the start of their journey — but she knew it was unpleasant and painful.

This was the first time she was seeing it in action though, and it seemed much worse than she'd imagined.

An alert on the datapad led her to find out that she'd located the source of the transmission, and she'd been right in her judgment. Maybe that could do something to help the clerk. "I found it," she told Kylo, lifting her gaze to his, despite him concentrating on the clerk still.

"We have him cornered. He'll have to tell us," Octavia continued, in an attempt to get Kylo to stop. It didn't occur to her that the thought could have been wiped from the clerk's mind, and that the only way forward was for Kylo to continue to reach deeper, putting him through more pain and discomfort.

~ * * * ~​

Rey woke up hungry, and it seemed that Chewbacca had too. The assortment of food left on the table before them was definitely a welcome sight the moment they entered the dining area.

Rey offered a smile to both Pia, whom she noticed immediately, and her companion, Morgena. The irritated look that was shot in her direction before Morgena took her leave didn't go unnoticed, though for once Rey didn't ask what was on her mind. She remembered Vimue's explanation from the night before.

"Good morning," she greeted Pia once she was close enough to hear her. Chewie and her both happily took a seat and picked up plates before choosing what they wanted to eat from the spread. Rey herself indulged in the sausages, as well as some bread and jam, to start off with.

Rey allowed Chewie to answer first, taking the moment to bite into a slice of bread. She swallowed her food before responding. "I slept well," she assured Pia with a smile. If she had a bed, that was more than enough, and after having a pleasant meal for dinner, Rey had been more than satisfied so sleep came quicker than she would have liked, given that she'd been in the middle of reading the journal she picked up.

"Finished the journal this morning too," Rey continued, tapping the book that she had set on the table. She might see to the Archives later in the day, though she still intended on exploring for the first half of the day. "And I'm ready to see more of Dathomir, if you're still able to find time away from your schedule," Rey added. She could manage her way around on her own, and she'd been cautioned already so she'd stay alert, but it was generally more fun with company.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo heard Octavia’s voice, nearly breaking his focus as he worked to comprehend what she was saying, along with the memories running through his head that were not his own. He had to keep focus on what was actually going on, after all. Otherwise he’d break concentration, and have to start all over again.

He still scoffed at Octavia’s idea that the man was cornered and would tell them.

He didn’t vocalize why he scoffed, of course, and would continue sorting through the medley of memories. It was a shame that minds didn’t have a good “search” option when a memory was forgotten. Kylo had tried to bring it to the surface by mentioning why they were there, but with the memory no longer connected, he had to find it by other means.

Thankfully, for the clerk, he would.

The face that came before Kylo’s mind was unfamiliar, but the trick they used was familiar enough. There was a request made to add this outgoing transmission onto a different channel, and then to forget it had ever been done. Simple. No explanations, no names, nothing at all, and it was absolutely infuriating.

Kylo let go of the clerk, dropping his hand to his side, as the clerk balled up into the floor and started to cry.

“Nothing,” he ground out, that frustration evident, “except that Luke is using someone else.” Another apprentice…and not Rey. That was unusual. The face wasn’t one Kylo knew. Had Luke been training someone in secret all this time?

~***~

Rey offered little translation for Chewbacca, so Pia had to assume he also had a good night. He certainly didn’t seem argumentative, or upset, and was definitely happy with the food. So, Pia kept that easy smile on her face. She glanced down at the journal as Rey indicated it, and nodded, “I suppose you’ll have to tell me your thoughts on it when we venture out, then,” it was agreement that she had the time to go exploring with Rey.

She’d already alerted the others to the possibility of it.

She drew the journal to herself with the Force, “I’ll go ahead and put this up,” she said, more or less finished there, after all. She could bring her caf along easily enough. “When were you looking to leave, Rey?” She could at least determine how quickly she’d also need to prepare, and gather what she needed after putting the journal up.

She had a feeling it was going to be fairly soon. Rey seemed all but bristling with energy that morning, and likely wanted to continue pursuing information wherever possible. Sitting and reading a book for hours on end was one way, but Rey seemed more like someone who preferred the hand’s on approach.

Not that Pia blamed her.

 

[Cory]

Kylo kept going, barely acknowledging what Octavia was saying, and as much as she would have preferred it if they found some other way, any other way to get the information they wanted, she also knew that there really was no other way. At least not anything that would work as quickly.

The cries of the clerk made her wince, and she looked away as Kylo continued. She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed, but eventually Kylo spoke, and she lifted her gaze to meet his, briefly looking down at the clerk recovering from what had likely been a harrowing experience.

"So we know we can trust the information then," Octavia concluded. She doubted anyone would go through that much effort to leave a clue that would mislead them. Luke wasn't doing anything directly, but the clues were leading to him. They had to be. They also didn't have anything else to go off of, and they'd tortured a guy to be sure.

"We have the coordinates," Octavia said, lowering the datapad that didn't belong to her after erasing the transmission that had come from there. "So that's where we need to go."

She glanced back down at the clerk who was still on the floor. "What about him?" She wanted to help, but she also wasn't sure how she could help. There was nothing she could do to take away from what he went through. He was innocent though. He'd just been roped into it and forced to forget.

~ * * * ~​

Rey nodded, more than happy to share with Pia what she had learned from the journals. Mostly Jedi history, but a lot about the Force as well. It wasn't nearly enough to satiate her curiosity, but it was certainly a start.

She watched as Pia drew the book toward her using the Force before turning back to her plate of food and cutting into the sausage to take a bite of it. "I thought maybe after breakfast?" Rey suggested, when asked when she intended on leaving to do a little bit of exploring.

"Whenever you're ready, that is," she added after a moment, offering a small smile. They had all day though, so when they left wasn't too much of a concern. If Pia was busy, she could easily spend time waiting for her in the Archives, enjoying another journal or perhaps going through something else.

She'd gotten a taste of the Jedi history, but there were so many others out there that were Force sensitive. She wanted to learn those histories as well, if she could.

"If you tell me where to meet you, I can come over once we're done with breakfast here and when you're free to leave," Rey offered. Chewbacca had already decided to check in on the Falcon during Rey's time away, and he'd probably stick around on the ship till she returned.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo’s gaze didn’t lift to Octavia, still in a glare on the clerk. Although it wasn’t the clerk who upset him, even Kylo could see he’d been tricked into helping. It was the nameless face the clerk had helped, unwittingly, but helped all the same. He heard her better this time, though, the reminder that they had the coordinates, and they needed to follow those.

He let out a breath and stepped forward as Octavia wondered what they could do for the clerk. He crouched down, and snapped his fingers, drawing a flinch, before the clerk looked up at him, terrified. That was to be expected. “You are going to get up and forget this happened. You will not remember myself or my partner once we leave your store.”
Each word was a command laced with the Force, as he moved his hand slowly through the air, before the vision of the clerk.

“I will get up and forget this happened. I will not remember you or your partner when you leave this store.” He repeated, already starting to rise, as if in a daze. Kylo got to his feet as well, and looked to Octavia. Wordlessly, he motioned with his head towards the door, and then walked towards it himself.

There was nothing more to do.

There was nothing more to add to the clerk, either.

~***~

After breakfast was fine, and Pia gave a nod to that, “Very well,” she really didn’t have any plans she hadn’t already wiped clean, “I will be in the archives then, when you’re ready, Rey.” She would just swing by her own quarters to grab a few things that might be necessary. There wasn’t much she needed outside of the Force, but rope never hurt.

Nor did a few other tools.

With that, she would leave Rey to her meal and swing by her room to grab those things – a thin but powerful cord of rope that she could attach to her belt at her hip, both lightsabers, a flask of water and a couple of rations.

There wasn’t too much more needed for a short trip through Dathomir, so once she had gathered those things, she returned to the archives and returned the journal to its place, amongst the other journals she had collected, from across generations, and across teachings. Despite how many preferred to save their teachings in holocrons or datafiles, Pia was glad to have some actual books in the collection.

It was a dying art.