Carry The World Interlude 2 : The sky is falling (Tondry)

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Sky Is Falling"

I watch as the daylight crawls
past the shadows hanging on the walls
it's been a long time since we felt the stain
of yesterday getting in my way

I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe
the sky is falling and no one knows

you leave me hanging on
only to catch my breath
I got you and I got nothing left
don't leave me all alone down here
with myself and all of my fear

I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe
the sky is falling and no one knows

no one knows
oh no one knows

I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe

the sky is falling and no one knows
the sky is falling and no one knows
the sky is falling and no one knows


--


Taking to Xazor had been ... thought provoking. The young woman and him had talked for some hours, before she had to go to sleep - the baby she carried was getting close to birth and she needed rest. Marcus decided not to sleep like it seemed everyone else was doing - he instead got out of the small room he had hidden himself in avoiding everyone else that they had grabbed off that damnable planet of overgrown cats. Some resuce mission - it had turned into a frelling farce. Those Vog'on had showed up and it had become a fight for life, where he damn near lost his again. Too reckless... but then again, he knew in that insane charge to free Helenias, Xazor and the others, he wasn't going to die.

Oh no. That was coming. In about a month if the foresight of the good Senator was right. Somehow, although his ability to split the future wasn't great, he knew it was closer. That final stand was coming - the events for it were in motion. he was now sure at wherever this boat was going, he was going to face his death.

I have no future. It's written already. It's over.

Dren. How could you live like this? Knowing that your days are numbered? You could count them on one hand?

But others have a future. You die to make sure Xazor and her baby live on.

Which was why, right now, he was walking alone in the darkness of the ship. while he was blind, he let the Force tell him where to place his footsteps, to know where to go, for he was looking for one certain place. He wanted to be alone to think and to consider. With no crew on this cruiser but for those that were resuced, it was a vastly clod and empty place. Dressed once again in his old worn travelling clothes, sword by his side and face hooded, he went for the bridge.

A strange place to be alone? Yeah, maybe. But in hyperspace, there was no need for anyone to be here. The trip was supposed to take another 5 days. And with so few people onboard....

Well, whatever. He was here now and his hand reached for a chair. He sat down with a sigh, his blind eyes not seeing anything as they looked out the viewing windows. He knew what would be there - the swirl of hyperspace.

He took out an old wooden pipe, then a small pouch. Stuffing the pipe full with leaf, an old style friction match he used to light it, then puff away to get the leaf alight. An old habit, a strange one for one like him to have. Worn boots up on the control surface, he looked completely out of place, a vision of an ancient warrior amongst the high tech of ths cruiser. He would look more at home with a dank old wooden tapcafe on some backward planet, open fire nearby and a tankard of mead.

he sat there puffing away, thinking, considering. Thinking of life and remembering. There for about half hour, he was almost asleep when his senses picked up someone coming. Marcus considered hiding, but... the smoke. It gave him away.

"Ah, who cares. Let them come" - he waited till the person, a male he sensed and more interestingly, the taint of a Jedi on them, entered the bridge cautiously. "Hello there" Marcus called out without turing around. "What brings you up here and whom might I ask are you?"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Well, well, well," Pierce said quietly. "Surprise of surprises."

Marcus turned the chair to face him. Pierce could see the eyes that looked at him were unfocused. "That's a very familiar voice," Marcus said. A smoke ring in the shape of an O floated across the intervening space, gently dissipating before it reached Pierce.

"Didn't know you smoked," Pierce said, a little louder. "Didn't know you wandered around the galaxy on uncrewed cruisers, either."

Marcus smiled subtly. "There's a lot about me people don't know, Pierce."

"I'll probably get the important parts one day," Pierce shrugged. "You should never underestimate what I can hunt down."

Marcus said nothing in response to this. Pierce shrugged again, in spite of the awareness that the Jedi Master wouldn't see it, and walked across the deck to stare out the viewport at the swirls of hyperspace. The entire short and ugly mess on Carshoulis with those aliens had left him no time to think of anything other than keeping everybody safe. The people he'd run into, and the amount of other Jedi on the ship left him wary. Long experience on the opposite side of the fence from Jedi had left him with the knowledge that large and seemingly random gatherings of Jedi were anything but. Still, there didn't seem to be anything seriously amiss, and the officer's mess was stocked with the makings for Chandrilan Dusters.

"So who all is with us?"

It was Marcus' turn to shrug, a movement which Pierce felt rather than saw. "Go search the ship and introduce yourself. The welcoming officer is on leave, so there aren't any records."

There was another break of silence until Pierce turned away from the main viewscreen. Marcus was still watching him. "Where are we going on this boat, anyway?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

"I dont know" Marcus admitted. "Supposably back to Arcan IV, but there's no way for me to be sure. It was supposed to have been preset. Before you tell me to check, I can't. I'm blind"

The voice was definatly the same as he remembered, but the sense wasn't. There was something different about the Imperial. Right now, he was getting more than just a bit bitter about not being able to see in light - it was hard enough not being able to see his wife, this was just another example of what vision in the Force lacked. No textures, no colours, only a knowing where things were and what they were.

But Marcus probably looked different from when Tondry last saw as well. It was his trueself, finally. No hiding behind names or false identities, facial disguises or fancy clothes.

"Pull up a chair and join me, if you will. Maybe I'll tell you some of those important parts you dont know - seems we've never been formally introduced, the name's Elessar, Marcus Elessar."

[Pierce Tondry]

"Another name?" Pierce shook his head and laughed lowly. The entire bridge felt subdued, and Pierce was loathe to break the quiet. "Well, you know who I am."

"I suppose I do," Marcus said. The elder Jedi gestured. "Sit."

"Not unless you want me ripping something off its mounting," Pierce replied, glancing at the fixed seats on the cruiser's bridge. "Though if you don't mind, I think I'll glance at the navicomp myself."

"Be my guest."

Pierce's boots echoed softly on the metal decking as he walked over to the nearest navigation station. His fingers danced lightly for a moment and the glow lighting his face shifted from blue to green. "We're not headed to Arcan."

Marcus turned in the direction of his voice. "Where are we headed?"

Not quite looking in the right direction there, Elessar... "I'm not sure," Pierce said. "Some planet I've never heard of. Seems uninhabited though, and it's definitely out of the way. Looks like someone designed this setting as an emergency stop."

Marcus shifted, then settled back into the chair. "Feels wrong."

Pierce ran a hand through his hair and stared at the screen. It did feel wrong, somehow. "Yeah, it does." Keys clacked. "There's no data on the planet at all. You'd think that if this was an emergency stop, they'd at least tell you whether it had a breathable atmosphere you could survive a crash on."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Marcus murmured.

Pierce's eyes flickered between screens for a moment and then he tried accessing some control functions. "Well, we don't have a choice. The setting's locked and won't shift while we're in hyperspace. We'll be there too damn soon to undo every safety in place and unlock the preset system. We'll just have to ride it out."

He looked up at Marcus, who seemed to have already accepted it as inevitable and was busy with his pipe. Pierce sat in the station's chair, leaning back, folding his hands behind his head, and putting his feet up on the display. "I'll defend her, you know."

Marcus looked up sharply. "Helenias," Pierce continued. "And the rest of them. They'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

The other abruptly turned away. "Don't go sacrificing yourself for anybody. That's ridiculous."

"I'm not planning on it," Pierce said mildly. "But I will defend those who need it. Everyone who needs it."

[Marcus Telcontar]

It's not Arcan we're heading for?

This was disturbing, but Tondry was right. Absolutly nothing they could do about it. But right now, that wasn't what he was thinking about mainly. The Imperial had just said something very, very odd.

"Commendable that you think like that Pierce - I wish it could truly be like that. Might I ask why your concerned about defending Helenias however? In fact why were you with those Jedi? I'm afraid your presence is puzzling and what you just said moreso"

Just what is your interest in my wife?????? Has she already replaced me in her heart??

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce laughed aloud, breaking the subtle spell of quiet on the bridge. "I guess you really are behind the times. I've been her Padawan for- well, some time. In order to accommodate my special situation, I was transferred from normal Intel service to her personal staff as a bodyguard. So not only is it in my interest to keep her in one piece, it's also my job. And I figured you'd always be wondering about her, so I took it upon myself to put you at ease."

A sly grin crossed Pierce's face. "I'm such a generous guy these days, no?"

Marcus seemed to consider this. "We were on Carshoulis because of a diplomatic conference," Pierce went on. "The Senate picked Helenias to go negotiate, but it was a last minute thing. There was also an attack on her life a day or so before we left. With the bits and pieces of subtle alterations to our travel arrangements, I guess I figured you to be involved behind the scenes, trying to make life easier for her. And for the rest of us poor schmucks by proxy. I really ought to check on Oriadin and make sure he's okay. I think he took a knock to the head during that mess onplanet."

"Mess? You mean the attack?"

"Of course I mean the attack. What else would I mean? On Carshoulis, all the amusements are either aggression or sex, and I don't go for either of those."

"But what about-"

"Don't!" Pierce's face had become as fixed as a granite block. "Don't bring up Lilaena. She's not who I thought she was. Who I trusted her to be."

Pierce abruptly got up and made his way back to the main viewscreen. The swirling patterns of hyperspace gave his eyes something to do while waiting for the tension to pass.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Holy frell, was he behind the times or waht. He hadn't sought out Helenias, hadn't kept up to date... all because of his blindness and the fact he was trying to avoid her at all cost. But the suspicion had flared the feeling he had for her in is heart, surprising him with their strength and clarity. Now unless Tondry had been lying... no, he knew that wasn;t the case. Tondry had told the truth, because it would have taken someone damn powerful and convincing to hoodwink him.

In some ways, this was the best news he could have had and it cheered his mood up no end.

"Allright, I wont bring her up. But really, your her Padawan? I didnt even know you were Jedi! And your her bodyguard???"

The thought of Helenias with a bodyguard was amusing to say the least. She was single minded and independant, having a minder would have annoyed her no end. Now that he was thinking this over, he could hardly stop smiling. Or stifle the laughter.

"Your... being bodyguard to Helenias? Oh Lord, have you got a job on your hands! And your her Padawan?!? My friend do you have any idea how good this news is...." No, it was too much to continue. He burst out laughing again, genuine and joyous.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Laugh it up, fuzzbeard," Pierce crossed his arms and gave Marcus a stern look. "You'd think ornery was a gene, the way the two of you are. One of these days, I'm just going to have to handcuff her to her bed to keep her from getting in trouble."

"You do know... when she got out... she'd come and do worse to you," Marcus managed get out between laughs.

"She'd have to find me first." Pierce quietly began tapping away at his console.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing important."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm telling the truth. If what I were doing was that important, I would've done it before now." Pierce finished typing and began examining the console again.

"Well?"asked Marcus expectantly.

"This cruiser is a nice piece of hardware." Pierce withdrew a cylindrical data card from the console and tucked it in his pocket. "I think I'm going to need to be very well acquainted with this craft before the week is out."

Marcus did not reply, causing Pierce to look at him. "What do you think, O Jedi Master?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Your welcome to it, when I'm gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone. Dead. I'm afraid this trip isn't over by a long shot, especially after we get to Arcan IV. Well, maybe it is for you, but for me it's the final dance. It has been foreseen I give my life to save others and..... here they all are. All of them are right here on this ship. Xazor does not give birth for a month.. but... yet here all the players are. It's come earlier than I thought it would"

The depression was threatening to decend on him again.

"I dont get what yur doing here tho. Were you seen somewhere in this mess?"

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce laughed, a sound that threatened to defeat the gloom Marcus had brought about the bridge. "No one ever sees me coming," he chided Marcus gently. "You could have defense rings six ways from center and I'd still be in and out before you knew."

His smile faded into a thoughtful expression. "I don't know. I never saw myself here, if that's what you mean. If I had to guess, I'd say no one has really predicted me being here, least of all me. I wouldn't even have been on Coruscant in time to get caught up in this, except that I made a choice to end my little trip there. And now I get to catch the sky when it falls."

"What choice?" asked Marcus casually.

Too casually. Was there interest in that question? "Just a choice," Pierce shrugged the question aside. "One of those everyday kinds of choices. You know- picking a breakfast food, deciding on a uniform, choosing to live or die- those kinds of choices."

"Living isn't always a choice," Marcus said despondantly.

"Then don't pick it," Pierce said. "Just choose not to die."

"The future is not always so simple, young Padawan."

Pierce's eyes fell to the pocket where he'd put the data cylinder. He began walking towards the exit. "Isn't it?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

"No, not if you saw it, I meant Helenias. She is the only one who saw this coming. I would feel much better if I could see much in front of me - but the future is a blank. It is dark. that is not normal. She saw remarkably clearly and I, I don't all"

"But I do know two things. One, you are seen in ways you may not understand. Two, death is a choice - the difference is that... if it came to it, I would sell my life for the maximum price. I could walk away now and live. I know that - all I have to do is just leave your party. I can let you face whatever it is alone. You, Helenias, Dasquain.. Xazor, her child... even Lilaena for I know she is here too will be killed if I do so....and...."

Hang on a moment. Something had been nagging in his mind since Tondry said they were not going where they were supposed to and all this talk was stirring the idea. Who would want him dead the most? Suspicion flared in his mind. Vog'on? Not going where we were supposed to? Just wait one moment!

"Where exactly are we going?"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Harvii." Pierce said, his tongue tasting the name as he spoke it. It had a sinister texture. "We're heading to a planet called Harvii."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Holy Son of God..." he breathed.

"what?" You know the place?"

"Just slightly" replied Marcus, his voice dripping with menace and anger. "Just slightly - Helenias and I have been there before. I suppose if you checked, the comm unit non functional, the hyperdrive will fail when we exit hyperspace and we'll be forced to make land fall to make repairs. Yes. It alllll makes sense now"

[Pierce Tondry]

It was a confirmation.

Everything that had happened so far had seemed fine on the surface. But every incident had a wrong cast, and every victory a bad taste. First it had been escape from some assassins. That had led to a diplomatic mission that perhaps they weren't the most qualified group for. That, in turn, had led to strained negotiations with the Cizerack, which had been interrupted by a fight with those (damn persistent!) aliens.

And escape from them had led to this cruiser, where the trap had been sprung.

With a tech team and some command codes as a starting point, it would have been possible to undo this trap. Would have been. As it was, all it seemed they could do was finish their ride in this giant flying coffin and die.

No.

That would not happen.

Pierce would not let it happen.

Determination flared from some hidden wellspring inside Pierce, burning away every other thought. The people on this ship would not die. Pierce would stand against the force that intended to kill them and he would prevail.

'I will defend them all. No one and nothing will break through. I'll... I'll create a perfect defense. A total defense.'

Yes. A total defense. The thought felt so right.

"In that case, I've got a lot of work to do," Pierce said. "And the more bodies pitching in to the effort, the better. Any of the other Jedi you can contact, do it and get them to help me. If I had a trained team, I could un-rig this ship but I'll settle for turning it into the worst damn trap these alien freaks will ever run into. The worst, and the last."

Abruptly, the flow of words stopped. Somewhere in the menegerie of thoughts swirling around this idea of a total defense, something had occured to Pierce.

"Marcus, you said this series of events had come earlier than you thought it would. Right?"

The elder Jedi, who had waited patiently to this point now spoke. "Yes, I did."

"What if it is early?" This statement elicited a confused frown, so Pierce continued. "What if this whole thing- the negotiations, the fight on Carshoulis, us taking this Cruiser- what if it was supposed to happen later or more slowly? And what if it's supposed to end with us all dying on Harvii? But say it's here early. By a day, or a few days, or even a week. If we're hitting our endpoint sooner than expected, we might be able to take the future by surprise."

Marcus gave him a look. "You're bugger off your command chair."

"Maybe." Pierce smiled a feral smile. "But maybe I'm right. And maybe I can screw over the kash-ni-ka who want my hide by hitting them first."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"No, Master Tondry, the future can not be taken by surprise. We are arriving exactly when we are intended to, by a Sith Mistress named Callista the Balck who is looking to clean up a job that started on this planet 15 years ago. We are the ones who had no idea when this moment would arrive. And nor how. We now do. We also however, have an unexpected upper hand as the Force has chosen to reveal certain things to us, certain key points."

The voice was still quiet, but it had a tone of power added to the menace.

"These key points form a prophecy that we can now read. I'm afraid, its now clear there is much more at stake here than any of us realised - that what Helenias spoke of is the end game of a much longer and anicent prophecy named The Dark Fury. That has to be it, nothing else makes sense."

Oh Lord, it could only be the Portal. That's what this was about. This must be the time and place.

But she didnt know. That must mean that Callista is an unwitting pawn of fate, that she was used to bring us here. She thinks she is setting us up for death. It must be....

"Listen to me and dont argue back. It is indeed up to you to get this box of rust going again - you and the others. There is a space port that I think you will be able to find parts that are needed, we will set down not there but about 10 kms from there. Helenias knows this place well, but it will be hard for her as it will for me - we are two of a handful of survivors of a full assault by those creatures, Vog'on. There's literally thousands of them on Harvii and you stand exactly no chance in a stand up fight. You see them, you run. Hard"

"What about you?"

"I'm not leaving" Marcus stated. "Callista will be there. She is my former Master in the Dark Side and... well.... I could explain what is to happen and why, but it would take some telling. It is best that you simply tell Helenias goodbye from me and that the time for the amulet is now. She will understand why I wont do so in person"

[Pierce Tondry]

It had felt brilliant at the time to say what he had, but having most of his guesses quashed so firmly by Marcus left Pierce remembering that he was, in fact, still just a Padawan with a lot to learn.

Pierce's eyes flickered about the bridge, taking it all in. Even with this dreadful new sense of urgency about him, he could still feel a calm in the room, a calm that pervaded everything. Before it had been a calm of weariness; now it was a calm borne of two men facing the inevitable. He bit his lip and spoke.

"I'll keep them all safe, don't worry. Nothing will get by me." Even if I have to take it myself.

Pierce coughed once, then twice. "I don't agree on one thing, though."

Marcus stopped in the middle of returning to his seat. "What's that?" he asked.

"I think we make our futures in the now," Pierce replied. "And there's no real way to tell what will happen until everyone's finished choosing theirs. Anyway- see you."

Pierce was off the bridge before Marcus could respond.