Till Human Voices Wake Us

[Laodice Laos]

Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
Glide me towards...
You know something's left
And we're all allowed
To dream of the next oh, oh the next,
Time we touch...

She remembered the dust that drifted up from the garden path in the late summer. The Temple fountains gurgling, in the evening, the air close and warm out on the roof garden. Clouds as pink as a girl’s blushing cheeks, the first glitter of a star somewhere in the distant sky. Then the stars became two angry glittering eyes instead. Long fingers clutching a black-gripped hilt. Screaming.


//


It had been some fifteen years since Laodice had come to the small town, just a few dozen blocks and a few hundred beings short of the prestigious title of 'city'. She had been a girl then and most people had been willing to lend her a hand. For years she had done odd housekeeping jobs and run errands for elderly ones who would no longer venture outside the safety of their homes. Laodice had done so siletly.


So it was a bit of a shock for the townspeople when, at fifteen, Laodice had run screaming through the streets that they all had to leave right away. The girl had been inconsolable and in the end the local doctor had needed to sedate her. Some twelve hours later a massive explosion at the nearby minds had sent sharp rock fragments and heavy stone chunks rocketing into the main square. Six had died, not including the miners, and countless others who had been nearby were wounded.


That was when they'd started noticing things about the 'mute'. How she always talked to herself under her breath. How she seemed always to be moving just a tiny bit ahead of everything else. How her eyes seemed to see past you and into you and on you, all at the same time. Because they couldn't explain it, they called it crazy. And just like that Laodice found herself being politely shuffled to a small hovel at the edge of the residential area.


They didn't abandon her; that would have weighed too heavily on conciences. Everyone took turns bringing the girl clothes and food, and when she got old enough to be considered responsible they asked of her simple favours; minding children, weeding gardens, cleaning the fountain in the rebuilt town sqaure. No one remembered just when the fortunes started to be told, but gradually it became custom to go and visit Laodice whenever an important decision loomed. Sometimes she had nothing to say. Other times it was merely, "Good." or "Uh-uh.". And still other times, her accuracy was downright scary. Norri Judu would never forget Laodice's sad eyes and soft voice saying, "She feels him, crying and great pain. She saw him drying up, like leaves falling from a tree, downdown. She's sorry." The next day her dear Bobee had died, broken his neck after he fell replacing a window.


It didn't seem odd to them that they knew nothing about her. She was Laodice, the fortune teller. That was enough.

"It hurts in her heart. She wants to forget."


Iggy Ros'sa glanced upward and furrowed his young face into a frown. Twelve years old and scrawny as a beanpole, Iggy was seated on a broad slab of wood that served as a table. Beside him sat a plate with a half-eaten piece of cake, and a crude wooden cup filled with dirty water; not surprisingly the water had been left alone. "What do you want to forget?" The boy asked thickly, swallowing a mouthful of cake.


"The monster time. When the winds changed and blew them all away."


"Huh?" Iggy's voice tightened at the possibility of fright. Though he had long since stopped being a little kid, there were still things that bothered him. Like scary beasts. "Whadda ya mean, monster? Where? Here?"


"No. In the metal land. She remembers it smelled like tin and oil."


The boy humphed and wriggled off the table, stuffing the remains of the cake in his mouth. He carried his plate to a washbasin the corner, like a good houseguest, and wiped his hands on his thin pants. Without qualms Iggy studied the woman who sat perched stiffly on a stool in the corner. She was staring blankly out the open door, sunlight illuminating her pleasantly round face. Suddenly she turned to look at him. Iggy shivered; whenever Laodice looked at you, you felt turned inside out.


"You're weird." Iggy said to relieve his own discomfort. "Mom says if you tell her fortune later she'll give you supper. I gotta go get m'chores done or else my Pop'll tan me good."


Laodice kept her brilliant blue gaze on the boy. He often visited her, doing odd chores around the tiny adobe that was home. She liked him. "You didn't finish your water."


Iggy rolled his eyes and shook his head at the solemn face. "Nobody drinks it. It's contaminated."


"It sparkles and giggles. She drinks it all the time." Laodice responded, blowing a thread of unwashed blonde hair out of her face. She didn't often wash; nobody cared how you smelled when you could see the future.


"Yeah well, that's why she is plumb loco. Bye."


"Bye." Laodice watched him as he descended the hill, his red curls bouncing. After he had gone she slid from her stool and shuffled to the table, picking up Iggy's full cup and draining it in one gulp. Finished, Laodice dropped the cup and ran a sleeve across her mouth. "Oh, listen, she hears them." The woman walked outside, the soles of her little feet tickled at the feel of grass beneath them.


Studiously the woman glanced upwards at the empty sky. Laodice was stock still, her dress slipping at the shoulders, standing atop the hill like some carytid. Her eyes never left the empty sky. "Fly away friends, flyflyfly. She says if you come the wind will blow again. She doesn't want you to come, she wants to see you, ohohoh."


There was nothing in the cloudless sky. "She can't stop you."


A single tear threatened to fall down her cheek.

[Aelor Oli'Shol]

A silent figure stood at the base of the hill looking up at the maddened seer. The wind shifted a bit, sending the cloak flowing behind her. As it is blown behind her, what is under her cloak becomes open to viewing. What many might see as Jedi Robes lay under the cloak. Only her robes were all black with a black leather belt around her midsection. Several pouches adorn the belt and a metalic cylinder with an activation switch and several runes carved into it. To those who would know better, it is infact a lightsaber. The hood was pulled up over her head. A black cloth was wrapped around her eyes, cutting off any form of sight that the woman might have had.

She took a step to the right, silent as a cat stalking it's prey. Her head did not raise to where the woman stood above her, but stayed stareing at the hill before her. She took a step forward and to the left, her movements fluid and calculated, not making a single unnecessary move. There she stood, 'Watching' the woman at the top of the hill.

[Mu Satach]

Mu sat in the pilot's seat of her ship <i>Starry Night</i>, a modified YT-1930, and repeatedly clenched and unclenched her jaw. The vibrations from the sublight engines filtered up through the controls. So far the continued purr of the engines was the only thing that brought her any peace.

She sighed deeply and removed her black gloves to begin massaging her temples in a desperate attempt to ward off the headache that kept forming behind her eyes. Faded burn scars slid their way from her finger tips to hide beneath the sleeves of her black leather jacket.

"I believe..." the silver coated protocol droid chirped from the navigator's seat behind her.

"Yes," Mu murmured under her breath. <i>This should be rich.</i>

"that after calculating for..." the droid continued rattling off information about the navigation computer, interstellar charts and planetary drift. "In other words," the droid fidgeted, "we're lost..."

"What else is new?" she growled. Mu bit gritted her teeth to hold back from unleashing her frustrations out on the droid. She was saving that pleasure for Smitty. When <i>"if"</i> she got back to Cloud City she was going to ring his smug little neck for forgetting to provide a backup of nav charts for the new nav computer he installed.

The trip had gone fine until she ran into a bit of trouble with a local mercenary group who were determined to liberate her cargo from her. The nav computer shorted out as they made the jump to hyperspace. After the repairs were done, the computer restarted she discovered that the charts had reset to their original configuration and were almost a decade out of date. So, not only was her new computer not so new but with no way to update the charts they were essentially stranded in a remote corner of the galaxy unable to accurately calculate a jump.

The droid physically jerked in it's seat and began stammering, "why yes while the exact circumstances of our predicament is by far nothing new..."

Mu crushed the palms of her hands into her eyes trying to create some new pain to take her mind off the throbbing in her head. <i>I'm going to do it. I swear... </i> Three weeks of listening to the constant cheery chatter from the droid was slowly driving Mu's ability to think out the airlock. The thought of the possibility of spending several months with it's incessant yammering was enough to drive her mad. <i>I'm going to rip that things vox box right out of it's shiney little head.</i>

She sat up straight, swiveled in her chair and rested a pair of bloodshot eyes on the protocol unit.

"What is new however is that after using several of the calculations from the known coordinates from 7 standard years ago and the measured average of perceived planetary drift along the galactic axis and factoring in an acceptable possibility of error..."

Mu stood up and began moving towards the droid.

"I believe I have found a suitable planet." the droid quickly blurted out.

[Laodice Laos]

Much like a mouse who will still when it senses danger is nigh, Laodice froze. It was nearing time for dinner and sounds could be heard rising faintly from the nearby village. It was an odd accompanyment to the silent tension on the hill, but not entirely out of place.

Though it had been some time since she had felt another like this, Laodice was far from cut off from the Force. Even the barest length of training would have been enough to identify that whoever was waiting below was no friend.

Very slowly Laodice lifted her right arm and pointed, index finger directly aimed at the cloaked figure below. Her eyes affixed on the dark mass. The two looked a painting, their stillness mirroring each other and yet so very different; one menacingly calm, and the other accusing.

Laodice did the same thing she'd done twenty years ago.

She ran.

[Aelor Oli'Shol]

Apon the movement on the girl, a sadistic smirk fell apon the lips of the woman standing there. Like a cat drawn to the movement of it's prey, Aelor sprang to life, darting after the woman. She was fast... but not nearly as trained in the force as Aelor. She used the force to speed herself along, her cloak billowing behind her.

She caught up quickly to the woman. The "cat" nipped at the heels of the "mouse," the toes of her boots barely touching the heels of the woman's feet. It was a game to her. How long could she keep the woman running before she would finally tire out.

The force alerted Aelor to a building coming up quickly. Her smirk grew slightly. She suddenly crouched and pounched forward, her feet landing on the door, her hand on the door knob. Her head was turned to fully face the woman that she had just landed in the path of. Her pose was perfectly balanced, as if the door was actually the ground. She cocked her head to the side slightly, dareing the woman to keep running, knowing she had blocked off her escape into her house.

[Mu Satach]

The thought <i>Kill the Droid</i> stopped running through her head. "What planet?" she leaned in and stared at the nav console.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure but our long range sensors appear to have picked up communication transmissions and that indicates..."

The urge to destroy the droid was rising again. Mu shoved her hand over the droids mouth. "I don't care."

Leaning past the droid she reviewed the info the computer had on the planet. It wasn't much, but somebody on that rock had to have charts. Standing up she stretched and cracked her spine. Then moved to leave the cockpit. "Keep us pointed towards it and let me know when we come close enough to land."

"But where are you going?" The droid watched her exit.

"Don't panic, it's not that big of a ship. I'm sure you can find me if you tried!" Mu headed towards the galley leaving the droid alone. <i>I swear the older those things get the more needy they become. It's like living with a three year old.</i>

[Laodice Laos]

Swiftly the woman-girl adjusted her path, turning sharply away from the blocked doorway and heading for the woods beyond. With a frantic leap Laodice cleared a fallen, moss-coated tree and bolted through the dense underbrush, branches whipping across her unprotected face.

With feet that knew the terse and unpredictable terrain, Laodice had a slight advantage. She tore breathlessly across the spongy ground, feeling that her pursuer was not far behind. Onward the woman ran, twisting around trees and skidding under low-growing bush until her dress was a merely a dust rag and the only sounds from her were great gasping breaths.

Quite suddenly the ground gave way and Laodice, as she'd known she would, tumbled down a steep hill. Coming into a half-upright position nearly three quarters of the way down, she risked a glance over her shoulder to make sure that the darksider was still following; she was. Laodice skewed to the bottom of the fall, which ended in a steep cutoff.

There she halted. With her chest heaving Laodice waited until she was certain the masked woman was listened.

"STOP!" Laodice cried, her blue eyes alight and her voice not a single wave of sound but many, like waves crashing upon a cliff. She shook her head. "You will not catch her."

And then she leapt off the edge of the cliff, headlong.

Unseasonably warm weather had caused the ice on the mountains to begin melting early, and the river below was stiffeningly cold. Laodice gasped as she plunged into the bone chilling depths, arms splaying wildly at an attempt to find purchase in the billowing waters. Her head broke through the surface and she heaved a rasping breath.

There was no time to worry about the hunter. Laodice needed to get to the fields.

[Aelor Oli'Shol]

The cat's grin had only spread wider as the mouse had taken off running again. She sprang from the door, landed on her hands and flipped to her feet, chasing after the woman again. Oh, how she loved a game of Chase. Her feet barely made a sound as the dodged after the woman. When she had slid down the steep hill, Aelor dodged to the trees and began chasing her through them, leaping from tree to tree until they got to flat grounds again.

Suddenly, the mouse stopped. The Cat stopped five feet from her. Her pose was in perfect balance as her reflexes had expected the stop. Her foot moved, slowly and calculated, stalking the woman on the edge of the cliff. When suddenly.... She jumped??

The mouse had jumped off the cliff! This had been an unexpected move. The cat bound forward to the edge of the cliff and stood there, not seeming to look down to where she would have fallen, but instead, she held her hand out over the edge of the cliff, as if trying to feel for something that was not there.

A growl escaped Aelor's throat. She could sense that the woman was still alive. She could sense that there was a river below them that ran under the cliffs edge. But without her sight, she would never be able to make the jump and be able to continue after the woman.

Aelor held her hand out, away from the cliffs edge. Ah... now she could feel it. The young woman's plans. Aelor's smirk returned. She hid herself with the force as she began to make her way, rather quickly, down the side of the cliff. She moved like a mountain lion down it, never pauseing to try to find a new foot hold, just seeming to know exactly where one is.

Soon, She was to the bottom and was taking off. She was headed in the very direction of the fields that the woman was headed. This time, she was much more careful to not alow herself to be seen. It was not the time to startle this mouse. For she had been startled enough. Now, it was the time to stalk it. After all, a game of Chase is fun. But a game of Hide and Go Seek is always better.

[Mu Satach]

Mu reached the galley and started searching through the small stock of pain killers she had. She opened several of her medical cabinets and examined the shelves searching for just the right one. Ok, small was a bit of an understatement.

"<i>Too bitter, too powerful, too much, too... AH! there it is!</i>" she pulled a small jar off the shelf, shook out a pill, popped it in and began chewing. "<i>Mmm, fruity.</i>"

Normally Mu would just go rest in her bunk with the lights out and will the pain to go away, but if she was going to be dealing with a bunch of hicksville strangers she needed to be pleasant, smiling, happy and most of all <i>friendly.</i>

She put the jar back, slammed the cabinet shut and began whistling to herself. Rounding the corner she entered one of her cargo holds and began searching for items she could trade. Backwater planets rarely used or had need of Imperial credits so it was going to be good ol' fashioned barter town style. Only... she was going to pay dearly as soon as they found out she was looking to buy nav charts because, and let's be honest here, she was over the barrel, up the creek and looking down the gullet of the Sarlacc.

Taking a deep breath she looked around at the antique objects, tapestries, paintings, sculptures and other useless items that had no value to an agrigarian culture. "Well, at least I got lots of ale and whiskey on the other side."

[Laodice Laos]

Waiting.

It was an almost unbearable pressure of patient energy, one that gave no hints away. For once it was unreadable, though it whispered enough for Laodice to keep her fleeing body pointed towards the direction of the sibyian grass fields. To what end she could not see, but there was a feeling of coming.

For all the intensity of the darksider, her prey was not afraid. Certainly she was aware of the danger; there was no doubt that her pursuer would have no qualms in killing her outright if she were caught.

However, Laodice would not be caught.

The girl thundered on towards the fields, cutting through a thicket of low-growing Guama bushes. The potent leaves left a heavy scent on her skin as she raced into them, marking her as their territory. It was a smell that she would miss, Laodice realized in a flash of sudden knowledge. "She's like... a feather... whoosh!" The girl let out a gasp of air, "Blow away!" Such a small speech nonetheless robbed her of much-needed breath, and the barefooted woman did not speak again.

Reaching the chest high grass, Laodice plunged into the thick of it. She pressed herself into the grass, closing her eyes and feeling a familiar sensation wrap about her like a protective shield. It would not trick the darksider for long, but there was not much time left.

Eyes closed, Laodice whispered a prophetic snippet. "Who the frell are you and what are you doing on my ship?"

[Mu Satach]

The freighter made it's way towards the planet. Mu was happily humming to herself. Behind her the droid was silent and missing it's head. Scanning the settlements she found a reasonable sized place that might do. She'd been able to pick up communication traffic chatter and was given the coordinates to a large field just outside of the city as a place to land her ship. If it could be called a city. That didn't bother her though, she had goods to trade and they said they'd be interested in buying, that was all she needed to know.

"and the mome raths outgrabe..."

[Aelor Oli'Shol]

'Where are you, little mouse. Your trickery will only hide you from the cat for so long. she thinks to herself.

Aelor sniffed the air. She cocked her head this way and that way, trying to listen for her prey. She reached out with the force sensing across the field. She could feel the little mouse, but it would take a moment for her to pinpoint the exact location.

The force brought part of her attention to the skys. Something was coming. A ship of somesort. Was this what her prey was looking for?

Finaly, the force pinpointed the mouse. Aelor dropped from the tree she was crouched in and, slowly, started to make her way through the tall grass. She was crouched down so as to keep herself hidden. She barely moved the grass as she moved through it.

[Laodice Laos]

Though the muscles in her legs and arms were tense with the urge to run, Laodice ignored them and lay still. The grass swayed gently. It was a strange peace, amidst the suspense.

In the center of her chest, Laodice felt a building pressure. She almost yelped just to cut throught the taut air and put an end to the whole thing.

As it was she didn't have to.

Starting as a mere pinpoint in the clouds, the shape of a descending ship grew to form as it neared the ground. The wind grew, fueled by the gusts of the landing ship. For a brief second Laodice was visible, the grasses pressed and flickering against her.

In the distance a low, friendly whistling could be heard. No doubt one of the townies come to welcome the pilot.

Laodice waited, eyes flickering to catch site of the pursuer.

[Mu Satach]

The landing gear extended from the <i>Starry Night</i> as Mu carefully worked the controls. It hovered gently over the grassland as jets of hot air blasted out from the sides of each leg as she settled into position. Mu checked to see that all systems were clear and shut down the engines.

Mu stood up, stretched and grabbed her jacket hanging off the back of the pilot's seat. She slipped into it and pulled her hair out from underneath it. As she walked past the inert droids body she reached out and patted it on the shoulder, "Take good care of the ship."

The body slumped forward a bit and Mu let out a burst of laughter. Somewhere in the back of her head a small voice wondered, <i><small>"How many of those pills did you take?"</small></i> She did a little slide shuffle around the ship and tapped the controls to lower the ramp.

Bright white light shot out as the ramp descended and Mu strode cheerfully down and stood at the bottom looking for her contact. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, there was something or somethings in the air she couldn't quite put her finger on.

An eyebrow raised and her hand dropped casually down towards her side and reassuringly touched her blaster strapped to her thigh while her other hand triple checked that her lightsaber was hidden from view.

Just then a friendly voice called out from the blackness, "Ello!"

"You Jime'liae?"

"Tha be me, come on down and have a drink an we'll see what we can work out."

Mu relaxed a bit, "Don't you want to check the merchandise first?"

"N'ah, ain't no reason to mistrust until there's a reason to. Sides... it ain't often we get strangers. The folks like to hear a little news now and then from them what's been out there aside from what we pick up off'n the grid." The man had stepped into the light and was a jovial round fella with a slap happy grin to his face. "Come and sit for a spell."

Mu half laughed, damn it was good to hear a real voice again. "All right." She stepped off the ramp and into the darkness and headed into the town.

The edginess was still there, but she decided it must be either tension from being trapped with the tin can for too long or too many happy pills. <small><i>Better double check the dosage before you use those again.</i></small>

[Laodice Laos]

She was glad it was Jimi. He'd talk your ear off and then start to working on your skull.

With a slithering movement Laodice slipped through the grass, drawing close to the ship. The woman tensed for a moment as Jime'liae's voice rose in laughter; the pilot's sooned joined his, but the pair didn't move from their positions.

There really wasn't a lot of time before the darksider grew impatient and decided to lop her head off.

Jimi and Mu's conversation (by now having been joined by Iso, Jimi's wife, and a few other locals) was drifting towards dealing. With a sharp breath, Laodice bolted as fast as her legs could carry her up through the open entrance ramp.

"A-plus." She whispered hollowly, quickly traversing the narrow passages in search of a hiding place.

[Aelor Oli'Shol]

That was it. That was what she was waiting for. The cat took off like a bolt after the mouse, at her heels again up the ramp. This time, the mouse would not get away. Play time was over. Now it was time to feed.

As soon as Aelor had dodged up the ramp, she used the force to trip the young woman. Aelor slammed her fist onto the ramp lift button. The ramp began to close itself, sealing herself and the young woman off from those that were speaking outside. She slowly, step by step, walked towards where the woman lay on the ground until she was at her feet. Even though her eyes were bound, Laodice could still feel the woman stareing at her. Finaly, she spoke. Her voice was nothing more then a airy whisper with an unknown accent. But it spoke volumes through the force.

"Hello, little mouse..."

[Mu Satach]

At the sound of the ramp activating Mu's arm shot out and grabbed Jime'liae by the throat. Jerking him close to her she snarled in his face, "What kind of game are you playing?"

Jime'liae only gurgled a response. Iso grabbed Mu's arm, "I swear it's not us! I saw two shadows enter the ramp!"

Just then the darksider's voice carried by the Force washed over Mu. <i>"Hello, little mouse..."</i> Her finger's released the fat man's throat.

"Sorry," she straightened the man's collar. Then turned and looked at the ship. It wouldn't go anywhere without her, she had kill switches and booby traps installed all over the ship that prevented anyone but her from operating it. What disturbed her more was that she had been caught off guard.

Iso called out to a couple of the others, "Go get the constable!"

Mu held up her hand. "I don't think that's a good idea," she shook off her jacket and walked towards the ship. "Not unless you want to bring a coroner as well." Reaching up she dragged her hand along the underbelly of the ship.

<i>Speak to me baby,</i> she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. <i>Two heartbeats... one frightened... one deadly.</i>

Mu opened her eyes and called out to Iso and Jimi, "I suggest you all stay a safe distance from the ship, no matter what happens."

Iso and Jimi exchanged worried looks. Mu cocked a smile at them, "Don't worry," Mu reached up and grabbed the edge of the ship. "Just make sure you have those nav charts ready for me." She winked at them and kicked her legs up to flip herself onto the top of the <i>Starry Night</i>.

[Laodice Laos]

"Hello."

Her voice sounded flat. Not scared. It was just there. Laodice stared at the blindfolded woman, completely still on the floor. Then with silent force, the woman kicked with all her might, twisting as she did so. Using her hands as a brace, Laodice pushed up from the floor and ran down the corridor.

Her chest ached from all the running. The hallway came to a sudden end and Laodice veered left, into a small room with a sleepcouch and a few nondescript crates. There was nowhere else to go.

She felt, rather than saw, the darksider step behind her. Laodice turned, raised her eyebrows. "You won't, you know. They say that you think too much of yourself, but she'll get away in the end. She is very clever, a very clever girl."