Part 5: A New Home
Nicodemus stood there for what felt like an endless amount of time. It was taking him a while to assess the situation. His feet were totally numb, and his hands were beginning to throb with a duller pain. All the while Nico was standing there with his mouth gaping open, the resident of the cavern was sizing him up. Nico had never seen a being like this before. The figure appeared to be tall, and from a distance, looked to stand several inches taller than the stranded traveler. His eyes were large and totally dark, but appeared cold and calculating. Instead of skin, he had what appeared to be feathers covering what was viable under a kilt-like shawl draped over himself. His down was a mottled rust color and had dark purple stripes running randomly over his face and legs.
The occupant of the cave apparently was unimpressed with Nicodemus and turned back to his work with a humph. Nico carelessly stumbled to the figure. When he got within several meters the figure wielded around to face him.
“Perhaps you are mistaken. You don’t belong here. Please leave.” With that being said, the creature continued to meddle with some sort of equipment on the side of the house.
Nico paused there for a moment, not at all sure what to say. When he finally did speak, his words were choked and strained. “You’re Mottikazzuk, aren’t you? I... was looking for you.”
Mottikazzuk did not even look back up at Nico as he continued to work. Nico was forced to press the conversation forward. “My ship had some problems... I was trying to dig it out and had almost given up when-“
”When you ripped a big hole in my home,” Mottikazzuk chimed in, sounding stern and as cold as the ice itself. “I could hear the ruckus all the way down here. Then again, sound does carry very well down here.” He stood up and moved past Nico into the house. “If you were in such a hurry to leave, I won’t keep you.”
“The only reason I landed was to find you.” Nico paused for a moment while Mottikazzuk stood in the doorway, leaning slightly on the frame. “You are a jedi, aren’t you?”
Mottikazzuk let out a chortle that was pained. “Open your eyes, boy. The jedi are no more.”
“Then you were a jedi?”
“Once upon a time.”
“Then you can train me?”
Mottikazzuk walked into the house. Nico instinctually followed. At the doorway, Nico inspected the inferior. The hut, as it was, was broken into a living quarters, a sleeping quarters, and a tiny ‘fresher unit. The whole place was well insulated and looked to have been some sort of small prefabricated arctic garrison. The ornaments and trinkets that sat on small shelves gave the hut a homely feel. There was an entire life decorating the walls, but it seemed too sparse to recount what Nico had assumed would have been a life of countless dangers and daring exploits.
“How long have you been here?” Nico ventured. Just by guessing, it appeared that Mottikazzuk had been living in this hut for several years at least.
“Long enough. It’s not like I had much of a choice. When the Empire began hunting jedi, I was a knight. We were scattered to the winds, and this is where I happened to fall. Not that bad, really. At least they haven’t found me yet.”
Nico looked around the cave and wanted to make a smart comment, but bit his tongue. “Where are you from then, originally?”
“Caamasi. From your expression, I gauge you haven’t herd of it. We ran into some... Imperial trouble and my people had to find new homes. We have been hunted as a people, and as a jedi of those people, you can imagine my popularity with the authority.”
“How does this all work? What do you eat? How do you live?” Nico was a bit aghast at the living conditions. The simple life had never really appealed to him before, and he couldn’t imagine life getting more simple than living in a cave on an ice planet.
“Well, I farm some local plants. Not much to that, as they grow right into the ice and require minimal light and heat. I get what little power I need from a turbine that is spun manually, and everything else just sort of falls into place.”
Nico paused to mull things over in his mind. He lowered himself onto the floor of the hut to take weight off of his feet. He wasn’t sure where to begin. Mottikazzuk appeared nice enough, but he wasn’t sure about living here. His ship was still broken, and he was feeling a mixture of confusion and hopelessness. Nothing seemed to be going as he had planed.
“What about you? What is your story? As prickly as I am about my privacy, it has been a while since I have had company.”
Nico shrugged, “Not much to tell really. I was supposed to come here, so I did. Before that, I had a pretty normal life...” Nico went on to tell about his life. Mottikazzuk seemed interested with current events and the recent happenings within the Empire and Rebellion. When conversation made it’s way back to Nico’s past, he was at a loss. “I really don’t know much before that. I was in an accident you see, and lost my memory of everything before a few months ago.”
Mottikazzuk started with an expression resembling shock and near outrage. He composed himself again and nodded very solemnly, thinking. “I admit, I was and perhaps still am going to turn you away. When I came here, I was not ready to begin training another. Do you really feel ready to begin training?”
“There is nothing else in my life anymore. I left that all behind me.”
“Left his life to memory.” He muttered to himself a bit before informing Nico of his decision. “I need to meditate on this. I still might send you away, but I will at least help you with your ship so you can go. I... must meditate on this matter. Please, rest.”
Nicodemus simply nodded. He did not try to persuade Mottikazzuk to take him on as a pupil or make any argument. He simply shunted most of his layers and curled up with a blanket. Within minuets, he was fast asleep.
Nico woke up some time later. For the first time, he realized that time was irrelevant here. Days were so short, and being underground made the distinction between night and day moot. It was day when he woke up and turned the light on, and it would be night when he turned those same lights off and went back to sleep. He pulled the blanket off of himself and started when he noticed that he was alone in the hut. His clothes were neatly folded in a corner. He stood to stretch, but fell down again. His feet were aching, and when he inspected them, he saw that they were red, as if they had been in the cold a bit too long. The color had greatly improved, Nico was both confused and overjoyed that there was no indication that he would loose a foot. He quickly sat himself in front of a heating unit and within several minuets he was completely warmed up.
After Nico had dressed, he ventured out into the cave to find Mottikazzuk tending to the plants. Nico slowly approached.
“You sleep too much.” Mottikazzuk said to him without looking up. “I meditated long last night.” There was a slight pause, but as if he could feel Nico’s anxiety, he pressed on. “It would seem that were are destined for each other. You see, with my people, memory is very important. Our memories are very strong and vivid. This is why we are a peaceful people. If were to kill or harm others in hostility, that memory would haunt us for the rest of our lives.” Mottikazzuk stood and faced Nico, offering him a bit of the cultivated moss. Nico took it and tasted it. It was bitter and crunchy, but not entirely displeasing. “I’m glad you find it agreeable, because it will be the only thing you will have for a while.”
As Mottikazzuk was walking back to the hut, he called over his shoulder. “Let us be perfectly clear on this issue: I am not your friend, nor a father figure. I am hear to train you. You will eat what I have to offer, and you will preform chores for me as I request them. I will teach you what I know. It is apparent to me that you lack discipline or focus. I can assure you, you will learn those very quickly, or you will be begging me to fix your ship so you can take off very soon. In exchange for that respect, I will teach you everything you choose to learn. Is that understood.”
With a solemn nod, Nicodemus reserved himself to the first step of his destiny.
- - -
Nicodemus had spent two days learning the way this simple farm worked. There were three kinds of plant that could be harvested. They were very scarce, and took Mottikazzuk quite a while to find. There was a moss that grew on the sunny side of the few rocks there were on the planet. They required only a little light, some water, and a firm surface to grow. Mottikazzuk grew his supply on a large, flat rock that Nico could only wonder how he drug down into the cave. It was the same plant that Nico had sampled before, with a bitter taste. It grew very quickly and was easy to care for.
The second plant looked like a reed and grew in clumps behind large snow drifts on the surface of the planet. Wind was the only thing that could really destroy this plant, so it was also easy to care for in a cave. It required a modest amount of sun, and no water, seeing as it grew directly into the ice. The gestation cycle on this plant was a bit longer than the moss, but was worth the extra wait. The flavor of the tubes was that of a mild spice. Not quite as sweet as some, but also not bitter. Nico was actually the one to come up with the idea to drink water through the reed like a straw, so that way it would flavor the drink as well.
The last plant required no light, but constant watering. It was almost a narrow tree, but its leaves were devoid of all color and shaped into small bowls, no bigger than the pad of a finger. They grew down in caves like this one, so were used to no light whatsoever. They would sprout under large stalactites made of ice in only certain caves during certain times of the year. When the hard frost of the colder months would yield to the summer months, when the planet was actually closer to its sun, some of the frost would melt. As it did, the water would run down the stalactites and drip in a very precise point. The plants would form at that point and sprout upward directly beneath the water source. The water dripped down onto the long plant, and its leaves would collect the water as it ran the length of the plant and onto the stems. The plant would hold the water, which wouldn’t freeze due to the constant circulation, and drink slowly, letting the excess water run to the ground. At the end of the season, the leaves would fold onto themselves and form nuts, which would fall onto the saturated ice and wait for the coming warm months. Mottikazzuk had worked a system where large buckets full of water would drip onto the plants constantly. If the water ever stopped flowing, then the water in the leaves would freeze and the plant would die. However, this was easily prevented by cycling the water every day by melting snow and adding it into the buckets. It was simple, but effective. The leaves of the plant were quite good, tasting almost like a candy and the nuts, when dropped, tasted like any other nut. Mottikazzuk had several of these plants acclimated to different times of the year. Because of this, there was a healthy supply of nuts, which had a long shelf life, as well as fresh leaves.
“What are their names?” Nico looked the plants over, prodding them with a finger.
“You expect me to name all my plants?” Mottikazzuk walked the length of his garden with hands folded behind his back, explaining how he survived.
“Well, not each of them. I meant their species.”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. Perhaps you would like to venture names?”
Nicodemus pondered a while before pointing to the moss, the reed, and the tree in turn. “Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.” The names were fitting, as that is when they were usually eaten.
Creating power was something of a challenge. There was a turbine roughly three meters in diameter and two meters high. From the center, a large handle was attached and came outward so it could be gripped. When the handle was pushed around in a circle, power was created. Mottikazzuk was a bit of a genius with mechanisms like this. With only a few dozen turns, the turbine put out enough energy to supply the hut and the light lamps for a day. Batteries could be charged, and with an hours work, the settlement could be powered for a week with a few hours work.
Once he had the daily life of this farm down to a loose routine, Nicodemus began training.
“Alright Nicodemus, it is time for your training. Don’t look so excited. The dashing of your joy as I am about to could pester me.” Nicodemus was instructed to sit on the floor, kneeling. “Now, clear your mind. I want you to focus on this.” Mottikazzuk presented a small rock and set it on the floor in front of Nico.
As soon as the rock was places, Nicodemus recalled accounts of the jedi he had heard about. “You want me to try to lift it? Using the force, yes?”
Mottikazzuk poked Nico sternly on the nose, causing a yelp more of surprise than pain. “Nonsense! What would that accomplish? Just another floating rock. You want that, go fly a star ship. No, don’t levitate it or crush it or anything. Just focus on it.” With that, Mottikazzuk turned and went outside.
After three hours, Nico was sprawled on the floor, laying on his side just looking at the rock. He had focused on the rock for a good twenty minuets before he knew everything about it. When Mottikazzuk came back into the hut and saw Nico like this, he gave him a quick prod with his toe. “I suppose you focused on the rock?”
Nico sighed and looked up at his master. “Yeah, I did. I was done focusing on it about 2 hours ago.”
Mottikazzuk simple nodded and dropped two handfuls of rocks on top of the one he had placed on the floor earlier. “Alright then, find it.”
Nico looked for it, tossing over several candidates in his hands. After a minute, Mottikazzuk gave him a swat on the back of his head. “I tell you to focus on the rock, and what do you learn about it?! Not a damn thing is what! This day was wasted, you hear? A total waste! From this point on, you owe me a day! We will start over tomorrow. Get some rest.”
The next day was like nothing had happened. Nico was instructed to sit on the floor and his master placed a small stone in front of him. “Now, Nicodemus, I want you to focus on this stone. Just focus on it. If you don’t learn to focus, then you won’t be able to do anything. Just focus.” He repeated the last part several times as he backed out of the hut.
Nico sat for a long time, looking at the stone just as he did the day before. Finally, after feeling a bit weary, Nico began to meditate. He went through the steps that he had taught himself in order to conserve his energy for the day, except this time, he thought about the stone. He tumbled the concept of it around in his mind. The form and shape, the logic and reason behind a simple stone. This became his focus. He contemplated the composition and the history behind it. When he opened his eyes, Mottikazzuk was behind him. It had been hours.
Without a word, Nico’s master picked up the small stone and threw it to the other end of the cave. Just as quietly, Nico rose and walked after it. He was still pondering the stone as he picked it up from the pile of other rocks it lay on top of and walked it back to Mottikazzuk. With a simple nod, they both retired for the day.
Continue onto Part 6
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