The Datacron (Month 2, 22BBY)

It took days in hyperspace to arrive at Tython. The planet in question was the fifth furthest from its sun and it had 2 moons, Ashla and Bogan. There was alot of history involving this planet that dated back to 36000BBY. Kaia’s legs and back were sore but with her Jedi focus she was able to keep that soreness to a minimum. She ate and drank from ration packs.

The planet had continents and oceans and temperate weather. As she thought about where to begin to look for the datacron she heard Zavian’s voice in her head. “Go to the red desert on the North Continent,” the voice said. As she passed into the atmosphere and angled her ship toward the red splotch of land she soon saw the ruins of an ancient city that was once there. Most of it looked covered in the red sand but there were areas that were still visible. As she landed the sound of the ship caused several Silik lizards to run away in fear. There were flying creates as well and by the size of them they were not small.

The moment she opened up the cockpit, hot, dry air rolled over her.

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Ranik wasn’t certain where he was going but he knew he needed to just get away. He had left all of Kaia’s things with Eeth and though Eeth had tried to talk him into waiting for her to return, Ranik had already decided that he was leaving. He decided upon Savareen which was a planet he knew well. A shady place but it boasted every sort of debauchery that he could think of and he needed to dull the hurt he felt somehow. He had been a fool to fall in love with a Jedi. Something that Ranik had never done. Love was for poets, not for people like him or Kaia.

He was able to land his ship in one of the neutral bays. Neutral meaning owned and operated by a private contract firm. He did not want any Syndicate or Hutt entanglements right then. No entanglements of any kind in fact. He knew his ship was distinctive but there was little he could do about that. He paid well for secrecy but all it took to loosen a tongue was more coin than he had paid. But he could hope.

Sevareen had large oceans and large deserts. Most of the cities were on the coasts but he preferred the Emerald Sea and the resorts at Pradena were by far the best.

Although Kaia had R2, she felt lonely in the ship. She missed having Ranik to talk to...or argue with. She wanted to find this datacron quickly and get back to him. The first two days she felt fine, but on the third day she woke up feeling ill. The feeling slowly passed and Kaia chalked it up to being in a much smaller ship. Finally, on the fifth day she reached the Tython system. Zavian had told her which planet she needed to go to, but he had not told her where she needed to land. As she neared the planet she suddenly heard Zavian's familiar voice in her head. He directed her to the red desert on the North Continent.

As she passed through the atmosphere she spotted the desert and could see what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient city that was partially buried in red sand. She carefully landed the ship and then disembarked. R2 followed behind her. The air was hot and dry and a breeze kicked up the red sand. Kaia began to head towards the ruins with R2 following behind her. The only lifeforms she could sense were the animals, but she kept her lightsaber on her belt.

R2 used his sensors and fed them to her through her modified wrist computer that Ranik had given her. He had designed and built them himself and they could display a wide range of data. They also had a holo emitter, a bright flashlight and also could be a GPS and homing beacon. Right now R2 was showing her the layout of the ruins. Most of them were below the sands but his sensors were able to penetrate the sand to a degree. What protruded up from the red sand was only a small part of the ruins. Much more lay beneath her feet. There was an entire city here once, long ago.

As they walked R2 detected creatures that hid in the shadows. Some were not small. Obviously these ruins served as a den of sorts for Manka cats. Large cat-like creatures with fluffy manes and very long, sharp claws and huge mouths with razor sharp teeth. There was a pack that stalked her and the den where they lived was the opening she needed to get further down into the ruins.

Kaia was grateful for the wrist computer that Ranik had designed and built. R2 was able to feed her data he received through his sensors. R2 was able to show her the layout of the ruins. Kaia could see that most of the ruins were below the red sand that covered them. It had once been a large, thriving city. Now, there were only echoes of the past.

Kaia did not need R2's warning to know that they were being stalked by several large creatures. She knew that they were Manka cats. A pack of four were following her and she instinctively knew that their den was the opening she needed to get down into the ruins and find the datacron.

Kaia continued to walk, but unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. Suddenly, one of the cats charged at her from behind. Kaia turned and pushed out a hand. She Force threw that cat back and it hit a large rock that was sticking up out of the sand. She turned on her blue lightsaber as the other three attacked. Kaia sliced off the leg of a second Manka and it howled in pain and then fell back. A third one was able to get a swipe at her and her left arm was left with several large scratch marks. Blood began to drip from the wound, but she ignored it. She Force threw that cat back as well, but was suddenly felt the fourth one grab her robe from behind. She was yanked to the ground on her back. The third one had gotten up from where she had thrown it and joined the fourth one. They hovered over her, emitting threatening growls. Kaia could smell their hot breath and a wetness dripped from their mouths onto her. Kaia's lightsaber had dropped from her hand when she had been pulled back. However, just as the two cats were able to attack she Force pulled her lightsaber back into her hand, activated it, and sliced the two cats in half.

She slowly pulled herself up. Her left arm throbbed with pain. She ripped off part of her robe and used it to bandage her arm. She didn't want sand getting into the wounds. R2 chirpped worriedly, but Kaia reassured him she was alright. She double checked that the creatures were dead before starting towards the opening of the ruins again.

The opening was sloped downward and the stench that came from it was horrible.Bones and decaying carcases from the Manka Cat’s past kills were where the stench came from. That and their feces. There were 2 paths from the entrance, one left and one right. R2 had more trouble than she did getting down there. He had to lean back and slide down. He clicked and warbled in complaint to that but he was down now behind her. To the right, her wrist comp said and she was taken through a series of passages that moved back and forth. With her light she was able to see the ruins but down here, though dusty and covered in webs, they were more whole and preserved. Ancient writing and ornate carvings lines the walls and ceilings here but the floor was covered in dirt and dust that settled there over many years. Each movement they made echoed and eventually she came to a very large open area.

She heard something sniff the air. R2 switched his telemetry to read lifesigns and just in time as a massive creature moved toward them. In the dark she could not tell what it was. Her light though had seemed to attract it. It was about 4 times the size of those cats, maybe larger and it had a very long tail. Its skin looked like that of some kind of reptile and it had large horns on the top of its head and tusks on the sides of its massive maw of a mouth. She did not know what species it was but it didn’t appear to have eyes. It had large, pointed ears though, similar to a bat and a large, wide nose. It came closer. It seemed to walk on 6 thick legs. The map showed that she had to go through this large open room to the other side where there were more passages. This creature obviously made its home here and it looked as if it would barely fit down these corridors. There were bones from many animals that crunched and slid around as it moved and it growled a low growl as it detected someone there.

The stench inside the opening of the ruins made Kaia want to gag. It was nearly overwhelming, but she let the Force flow through her and relax and calm her. Kaia normally wasn't so sensitive to smells. It was slightly odd to her, but she figured it must just be because it was so strong. Kaia moved down through the entrance and waited for R2 to follow her. He had a little difficulty, but managed it. There were two pathways leading away from the entrance. Kaia could see from her wrist comp that she needed to go to the right. She walked that way with R2 following behind her. She used the light on her wrist comp to illuminate the dark passage way and with that light she could see the ancient writing and ornate carvings that lined the walls and ceiling. It was beautiful and Kaia wished she had more time to study it. However, she knew that she needed to find this datacron and get out of here. Every movement or sound she and R2 made echoed through the pathway and Kaia began to have a growing sense that they were not alone down here. That feeling was justified when she heard something suddenly sniff the air. It was dark and Kaia could not see the creature fully, but she could tell it was massive. As it grew closer she could see it was much larger than the Manka Cats and had a long tail. It did not have fur, but some kind of reptilian skin with horns and tusks. The creature did not have eyes, but large, pointed ears and six legs. It clearly could not see R2 and herself, but could hear and smell them. Kaia did not want to kill this creature. She hoped that she might be able to simply trick it using the Force.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the Force. She felt it flow through her like a bright light. She lifted up a hand and focused on the creature. She willed it to go to sleep. She had to concentrate hard because it was so large. She heard the creature start to stumble and she concentrated harder. She held her breath as she waited and finally the creature collapsed to the ground and didn't move. It was still breathing through and so Kaia knew they would need to be careful. She lifted up R2 using the Force and moved him to the other side of the creature. She then moved back a few steps and got a running start and flipped herself over to the other side of the beast. She glanced back to ensure the creature was still sleeping before continuing on.

The passage continued on after and she passed several chambers and rooms but they were all dark and did not appear to have anything in them besides broken furniture and refuse. After hours of searching she suddenly felt...something, a tremor in the force. A surge rose inside of her and as if by instinct she turned left at the next cross corridor. At its end there was a set of stairs. As she walked down them a pale light slowly bloomed in a line around the room where the walls met the ceiling. There was still power here it seemed. The dim light came down the wall on the farside to what appeared to be a raised alter. On the alter something, a cube glowed blue. As her eyes settled upon it it...called to her. The force surge grew the closer she moved toward it. When she began to move up the steps around the alter she began to hear voices. Several voices and their words echoed in the chamber. She didn’t understand the language but she knew what the voices were saying. They wanted her to open the datacron.

After hours of searching Kaia felt tired and hungry. She was about to give up when suddenly she felt a tremor in the Force. She felt herself being led by it. It led her down the corridor to the left. The passageway ended with a set of stairs leading down. She knew she was getting close. She could feel the ancient power still there. She entered a room where the walls met the ceiling. On the far left hand side there was an alter and upon it sat a cube that glowed with a blueish color. There were a set of steps leading up to it and as she approached she could hear ancient voices all around her. She could not understand what they were saying, but she knew they wanted her to open the datacron. Kaia took a deep breath and readied herself. She could sense Zavian near her through the Force. She slowly opened the datacron...

Kaia felt a tickle in her throat as she began to stir. Her mouth tasted like dust and her arm hurt pretty badly. She was covered in dust in fact as if she had been there on the floor for a while. Her head throbbed painfully and her stomach grumbled hungrily so loudly that it echoed in the chamber. She had to wipe off her wrist comp and she saw the date. She had been here for 3 days and it was early afternoon on the third day.

R2 suddenly bloomed to life. He had gone into sleep mode after he could not wake up Kaia. He whistled and clicked and whirred at her. ‘I was so worried! Can we leave now? I don’t like this place’ He told her. Kaia had new memories…

As if she had been alive here she had lived. She had lived and she had trained as a Jedi. As Nordia Gral. She recalled it all though much of it was gray and hazy, like memories that she hadn’t called up in a long time. Nordia Gral was one of the best duelists to ever live and she knew what he knew as if she were him. She knew she was no more powerful in the force than she had been but what she knew about the force had been greatly expanded. It was not about how strong you are and more about how she used it that made all the difference.The bond between her and the midichlorians that lived in her cells was much stronger than it had been. Grel had lived for several hundred years. It was time to leave...

Kaia was shocked that she had been unconscious for three days. She was hungry, almost to the point of pain, and her throat was dry and scratchy. R2 had faithfully remained with her and seemed relieved that she was awake. As she sat up memories began to flood back into her mind from the datacron. She had not just seen the past, she had experienced it. She felt she knew Nordia Gral and her knowledge of the Force had been expanded beyond anything she could have ever hoped for. She bond between the midicholarians and herself was stronger than it had ever been. She knew now why Zavian had wanted her to come here, but it was time to leave.

She retraced her steps and when she reached the spot where she had left the giant lizard creature she found it was gone. R2 followed closely behind her and after several hours they made their way to the entrance. However, just as they stepped out Kaia felt a tremor in the Force and knew that she was in danger. She looked up and behind her to see several Manka cats. Kaia started to reach out with the Force just as the cats leapt towards her, but suddenly the giant lizard creature appeared from the hole she had just exited and defended her. The lizard took several swipes at the cats and they turned and rushed away. A feeling of gratitude flowed through the Force from Kaia to the creature. The creature walked with R2 and herself to her ship to ensure her safety. Just before Kaia boarded the ship she approached the creature and gently placed her hands upon it. She felt a Force bond connection form between them and it caused her to smile. She said goodbye and then boarded Eeth's ship. She had R2 input the coordinates and Kaia guided the ship up into the atmosphere before jumping to hyperspace.

As Kaia rested that evening she focused on her body. She had tended to the wound on her arm, but something still didn't feel...right. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, but she knew her body well enough to know that something was different...something had changed and she knew it wasn't from the datacron. She had felt this change even during the trip to the planet. She began to meditate. As she did she felt the Force flow through her like a river of white light. She dug deeper down and suddenly she felt something within her...a life force. Her eyes opened and the realization hit her....she was pregnant.

Five days later she landed the ship. She walked to Eeth's house with R2 in tow, but as she walked in she didn't see Ranik. She walked around back and found Eeth there. "I have returned and brought back your ship. Where is Ranik? Is he with his ship?"

Eeth had been anxiously awaiting Kaia’s return. Tython was dangerous, no one ever went there for loot or datacrons or anything...ever. After the days began to grow long he had assumed she did not survive. However when she suddenly showed back up at his home, a wave of relief came over him.

“Oh Kaia, you had me thinking you were dead,” he said in obvious relief. He had avoided answering her question, he felt that she might get upset at what he said about Ranik and he wanted her to tell him what she saw on Tython.

“Did you find the datacron? Did you use it? What was it like?” He asked in quick succession.

Kaia allowed Eeth to take her into his house and make her some tea. It had been a long journey and she was extremely tired. While she sipped the tea she told him about what had happened and what the datacron had showed her.

"I feel more connected to the Force than I ever have before."

She finished the last bit of her tea and then thought about Ranik again. "Perhaps I should go to his ship and talk to him. I have something important I need to tell him."

What Kaia told him was amazing. He had heard of holocrons and datacrons but had never seen one. And Tython sounded absolutely terrible of a place.

Well he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it from her for long. She had come with him after all. “Ranik’s not here,” Eeth said plainly. “He left a few hours after you did,” he said. “I can’t say it any plainer than that. There was no message,” he said with a wince.

Kaia felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. She just stared at Eeth for a few moments after he told her Ranik had left. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew Eeth wouldn't lie to her. He was gone and she didn't know where he was and there was no way of reaching him. No way of telling him what she needed to tell him.

"I...I'm pregnant."

Eeth blinked and then a smile grew slowly upon his face. It was a very rare thing for a Jedi to have a child. It went against the Jedi code in just about every way. Eeth’s smile faded. “The Jedi will not like that Kaia. The code is specific on this. What do you intend to do? Is it Ranik’s? He asked. He did not ever ask someone that before so he didnt really see what his question implied.

Kaia knew that everything she was doing went against the Jedi Code but she didn't care. Perhaps the reason the Jedi were fading away was because of that very Code. She looked at Eeth when he asked her if the baby was Ranik's.

"Of course it's Ranik's," she said a little sharply. She sighed and then rubbed her face a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just upset. I had hoped he would wait here for me and now he's gone and I have no idea where he went or how to find him."

Eeth didn't really have anyway to help her find Ranik. None at all. All he could do is help her and the baby. "Well...you can stay here. there is more than enough room. I'll protect you though I doubt you need that," he said.

Kaia felt a few grateful tears come to her eyes when Eeth offered up his home to her. She had nowhere else to go The Fury had become her home in a way and now it was gone. She felt the same loneliness she had felt after Zavian's death.

"Thank you Eeth. You are extremely generous."