Dathomir - Part 1
Nicodemus couldn’t believe this was happening. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail to keep it from getting in his face. He worked at a fevered pitch, trying to do what he could to save the lives of his fellow Jedi. Things were not looking good, but they could be a whole lot worse. With a deft flick of his wrist, he stuck a needle into the wrist of one of his wounded friends.
The jedi council had, for the first time since it had be rebuilt, organized a gathering of Jedi knights for the purpose of a single mission. The lack of trained knights made any gathering difficult. Perhaps there would be two or three other knights any other member of the order would know, but the council had gathered six together. They met in a hotel room on one of the lower levels of Coroscaunt to meet each other, discuss strategy, and receive their mission via secure transmission. Nico had been the last to show up, and normally wouldn’t have been so late, but en route suspected he had been followed, so made a winding path until he was sure he wasn’t being watched. Once in the room, the other members had already made contact with the council and briefed Nico.
A knight by the name of Dieago was the designated leader. He had been working is way into favor of the council, and hoped that after leading this mission would be in a top spot for a seat on the council. He was not boastful of this, just matter of fact. Nico could tell that Dieago was a skilled fighter, and he sported the build of an athlete. He was the one who informed Nico of their assignment.
“We are going to a small planet near the rim. Dathomir, if you have ever heard of it.”
Nico nodded once. “I have been there. My ship had problems and I had to pick up supplies from a small outpost. It seemed an innocent enough place. What are we to do when we get there?”
Dieago smirked and pressed on, introducing the rest of the people in the room. “Jaskins there is going to piolet us down to the surface and land in the jungle. He is going to stay with the ship and make sure we are ready to take off should the need arise. Gaerego, the twi’lik there, is our pathfinder. He is going to make sure the jungle doesn’t kill us. Apparently he has spent a lot of time on Endor, and made a living off of survival in ‘inhospitable’ places. He can also make camp, forage for food, you name it. Walbord here will be recording our events and mission to be relayed back to the council at a later date. Which makes Chad and myself the body guards for the group.”
“So what will I be doing down there?” Nico felt a bit out of place among all these other Jedi. Up until now, the council had given individual missions, favoring the power of a lone knight to teams or groups. It was mostly more effective for a number of reasons, but apparently this mission was dangerous enough, that the council couldn’t in good conscience put one person in charge of it.
“You will be our medic. You are a Doctor, yes?” Nicodemus thought he detected a bit of sarcasm or resentment in Dieago’s voice as he spoke, but chose not to pry too deeply into their leaders’ emotions. “Our mission on planet is simple. Apparently the council caught rumor of some sorted past with that planet, but have otherwise been unable to uncover exactly what happened there. It is, after all, lost history. We are to land on the planet, take a look around for any trace of the Jedi’s past, record what we find, and then leave again. At the first sign of trouble, we take off again. To be honest, Nicodemus, we are all hoping that we don’t need your services on this trip. Everything should go smoothly.”
The team ate and talked about strategy, such as where to land, what to look for, and what to pack. Nico simply sat and listened. They didn’t ask for his input, but Nico had the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to offer much advice even if they requested it. Nico was sent to pick up food, and after taking orders from what the others wanted, went from one restaurant to another, gathering dinner. While they were all eating their respective meals, Nico sat in the corner reading and munching on a salad.
“Nicodemus, you are a doctor?” It was Walbord speaking. Nico nodded slightly and then turned to look at him. Walbord had a small recording unit and was focused on Nico. Nico absently brushed his hair out of his face, swallowed his mouthful of food, and smiled at the recorder.
“I am a doctor, yes.”
“Where did you study?” Walbord was getting a kick out of this. He was young and had shoulder length black hair. He was acting like a high-profile news reporter as he was interviewing Nico.
“I graduated from the university in Coronet.” Nico set the disposable container his salad came in onto one of the beds and crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair.
Walbord smiled slightly, noting that Nico was getting into the interview as well. The others had acted so busy with details that they had brushed him off when he tried to get information out of them. It was a bit risky to be taking all of this, for it could all into the wrong hands if they were careless. “What else does the council have you doing when you aren’t tromping through the jungle?”
“Mostly diplomatic things. I had to negotiate for medical supplies to be sent to a settlement once, but that was on my own accord really. The council has me infiltrating business and social functions to find out who is dealing what to whom.”
“So you are a spy?”
“Spy... is such a dirty word. I negotiate.”
“Well, the council added you as an afterthought. Apparently they wanted the five of us to be taken care of. I heard they sort of pulled your name at the last minute out of the sky. I’ll tell you what, if there are any ladies there on Dathomir, you can charm one for me, alright?”
Nico gave a polite chuckle. “As unlikely as that may be, I will not neglect to mention your name at the Grand Ball of Dathomir. I will tell all the eligible maidens that you are in the market, alright?” Nico ended the conversation by picking up is salad and poking at it some more.
“Does that mean you are in the market as well?”
“A gentleman would never discuss such things, but confidentially, I have been in the market for quite some time.” Nico gave the recorder a lop-sided grin as it was shut off. Walbord pulled the data disk out and activated it, watching a brief section of the recording to make sure it was functioning properly before inserting it back into the recorder.
Nico thought about his previous statement for a bit. Jedi were not forbidden to build relationships, just so long as it didn’t interfere with the ideals they were upholding. Later that evening, Nico meditated on this notion, trying to find answers to exactly what conduct was and was not acceptable. Perhaps if there were still an academy, such questions could be answered. However, this was why they were going to places like Dathomir, to rebuild that base of knowledge.
Just a handful of hours later, the team that had been assembled in that hotel room was splintered. Their ship had run into an imperial vessel while approaching the planet. It was a large cargo ship hauling either something to or from the planet, but before the Jedi could escape, a patrol had been summoned. Jaskins was a wonderful piolet, and used the force well to aid in his flying. In the end, however, they were forced to approach the planet going much too fast. Nico was never really sure what happened from his vantage at the back of the ship, but there was a tremendous impact, and the team had to evacuate what was left of the ship. Jaskins was either killed in the impact, or in the fire that burned the wreckage.
Dieago took control of the situation from there and determined that if they were going to get off planet, they had to make their way to the only trading outpost on planet, North of their location. The trip would take days, but they should be able to make decent time.
Gaerego took their bearings and lead them on their march North. He set up camp that first night as well as bringing back a large lizard to be cooked and eaten. The team slept that first night, but that too would prove to lead to disaster. Apparently the Jedi’s presence had not gone unnoticed on the planet. During the night, a large predator attacked the meager camp site. In the blackness, Nico had no idea what exactly attacked them, but after the monster left, Nico was in his current predicament.
Dieago was dead and Gaerego died soon after. Chad was alive but in critical condition. He had been crushed under a tree as it fell, and only because he was able to quickly cut his way free was he not pressed to death. His internal injuries were severe and his leg was unsalvageable. Walbord got a nasty cut running down his face. Nico was busy trying to save the lives of Gaerego and Chad, and only after he was able to stabilize Chad could he tend to Walbord’s maimed face. With his limited backpack of supplies, he closed the wound and gave his friend something for the pain and to help him sleep. In retrospect, that was probably not a good idea considering the possibility they may need to run at any moment. When he looked himself over, Nico noted that he had probably cracked a rib or two, but chose to meditate to ease the pain rather than using drugs.
In the morning, it rained. Walbord looked around, but could find his recorder nowhere. It was possible that is was swept away by the downpour, but it mattered little to Nico. Chad was still in bad shape, and Nico did what he could, but if they couldn’t reach the outpost or some other civilization soon, he would die. They made a sled for Chad and took turns pulling him through the mud. When they needed to lift him over a higher pass or up a large hill, both Nico and Walbord would use the force to lift him for short distances.
During their trip, Nico stopped to get a drink of water. He stopped in front of a large leaf that was collecting the rain, and began to sip. He paused as he noticed a shift in the force. He could sense that somewhere close by, Walbord just became very frightened and very quiet. Also, he could feel a pull of force energy behind him. Somebody not of their party was behind him, and Nico could quickly tell that they were strong in the force. Nico slowly raised himself and raised his arms, palm out, to his sides.
“We are not here to fight you. We simply-” Nico was quickly silenced with a sharp slap to the back of his head. He took a step forward and righted himself, trying to remain unthreatening. “Please! We need help! One of our-” A kick to the back of his knee sent him to the ground.
“Quiet, Slave! If you know your place, you will remain silent.” The stranger’s voice was female and commanding. Nico did not look up from the ground, but gathered that his assailant was native to this world, if that was at all possible. She walked around Nico and seemed pleased that he did not match her gaze as she inspected him. “Yes, you are quite the find... quite stunning indeed. The rest of the Nightsisters will approve.”
Continue onto Part 2 of the Dathomir Arc
Note: ^ not finished, thanks for your patience
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