Break the chains

[Zereth Lancer]

The silent void of space; an absolute and consuming darkness sprinkled with hot pinpoints of light that were just as dangerous as the icy void itself. How inhospitable and threatening an environment that traversing it was a feat most remarkable, and yet one that no one gave pause to acknowledge. A single fault in your craft could lead to a plethora of horrible ends. Without particle shields you were susceptible to every rock and debris floating through the expanse. A glitch in the navigation system could fling you into a planetoid. A system failure could leave the craft crippled and floating through space as environmental and life systems failed and you slowly froze and chocked to death inside a metal coffin.

And yet, knowing all that, he had somehow allowed an even more dangerous force aboard that same craft. All the bang and bluster of space pirates and military regimes could not levy a finger against what was laid up in his hold. It haunted his every moment since they left Obroa-Skai. It ripped sleep from his mind and frayed his nerves knowing that any miscalculation in the dosage could cause his passenger to wake prematurely and tear the ship in half, or worse kill him. The screams of rage still echoed in his mind. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

But something greater weighed on his mind. While truly he had rescued this man from what would have been an eventual death at the hands of the Empire after a bloody and gruesome campaign to retake the ruins of the city that would leave hundreds, perhaps even thousands, dead at the hands of the powerful and unfocused telekinetic, he had still more or less kidnapped the man, without giving him choice or chance. That was not what this as about. That was not what he had signed up for. This was about choice, not to give into gluttony and grab up every force adept as the Empire and Jedi did. They fought like schoolyard children, laying claim to people like they had a divine right to them.

This was about freedom; and he took that away.

It was with a set jaw and a shaking hand that he tapped in the command to unlock the bridge and pressurize the coupling. Several more moments passed before Zereth finally stood and stepped through the portal into the airlock and then the hallway beyond; leaving his lightsabre behind. Weapons would do him no good here. The second bedroom door was still open, and inside the man slumbered. He did not look restful, his body was not calm even in a drug induced sleep. There was tension and a pain hiding just beneath the surface. The antidote to the sleep agent was produced from the same medical cabinet, a chemical agent he brought just in case the man did not wake up when needed.

There was a hesitating moment, standing over the man, before the drug was finally administered and Zereth back up against the wall. Hands exposed, nothing hidden. No weapons. Only a knot of terror. Just him and his prisoner. It was time to make this right.

[Tyber Jaan]

Between fluttering eyelids and tensing muscles, his mouth moved. No sound came, but it was plain to read the words on his lips.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force."

Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes flicking open in an instant. Fingers and toes moving as he stared at the ceiling. Breath coming in deep in and out bursts from flaring nostrils.

"I can feel your fear."

Tyber sat up, or attempted to. Pain racked his body and he fell back to the bed in a shuddering heap, rolling to his side as his knees tucked to his chest.

"What are you...so afraid of?"

Examining his hands in front of his face, he saw where one of the mangled fingernails hadn't quite been torn fully from the quick. He eased his trembling finger into his mouth and bit off the rest of the nail, spitting it aside.

[Zereth Lancer]

"You."

The reply was simple and flat, Zereth's eyes never wavering for a moment as he watched the adept try to push himself up, only to fall again. This was hardly the same being he encountered on the fallen prison ship. He felt his guard lowering, but his attention did not wane lest this be a trap.

"I saw your terrible powerful and all consuming rage. Such a combination is dangerous. Especially now, aboard a starship. I must apologize for seizing and sedating you. My fear caused me to act irrationally. My name is Zereth, and I'm here to help you."

[Tyber Jaan]

"Help?"

Peeking behind his hands, Tyber looked at Zereth with glazed eyes. He'd grown so accustomed to seeing his own shadow, it was strange to see another shadow cross it's path. One shape. Formless and monstrous. Again he sat up, this time managing to complete the task. He crawled on hands and knees to the end of his medical cot. Looking at Zereth. Around Zereth. Through Zereth.

"Helpers help to be helped right back scratching backs and scratching back raw and bloody bleeding intentions desires on the floor."

His eyes screwed shut and his jaw tensed as he hissed through his teeth.

"Not a virtue! Not a virtue!"

Tyber's eyes opened then, surprised by his outburst. He slunk back on the bed slightly, almost ashamed by it.

"Help me. I need..."

The padawan hit at his forehead with a closed hand repeatedly, as if trying to physically start his brain into recalling something buried.

"...so...many...things...all I remember how to do is be hungry starving dying and everything tastes of ashes. Everything tastes of ashes."

[Zereth Lancer]

He tried to take a step back as the man's outburst escalated, filling the room. Zereth's heel bounced off the wall behind him. There was no where to go. He was stuck in here with the broken man and his own discomfort.

"Please, calm down. Tell me what you need. If you need food I have food. Real food, not ashes. You are safe here. Let me help you."

Zereth was at a loss of how to approach this man. He had never encountered someone so broken, so lost in his own mind. It reminded Zereth of the years he spent being broken and molded by his first master Drexel Kane. Those were scars that took many years to heal, and many more for him to accept what they had done to him. He didn't have years for this man to come to terms with whatever had happened to him. He needed to rehabilitate him so that he could make the choice.

[Tyber Jaan]

He was asking so nicely. Tyber looked up again. His eyes no longer frantic, they were softer in expression, a tear threatening to swell under each.

"Mandalore."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Mandalore?" An arched brow accompanied the words. What a strange request, of all the things in the galaxy, that this man would ask for the leader of the Mandalorian race. "I don't even know who the current Mandalore is. I don't think anybody knows. There are only feuding clans who claim to be lead by THE Mandalore. I know one so called Mandalore. She is the leader of a group of force practioners to whom I lay my allegiance."

[Tyber Jaan]

Zereth could feel the hairs on his skin prickling. Behind Tyber, some of the medical equipment started to spark and the lights flickered slightly. Tyber sat silent for what seemed like an eternity. Staring at Zereth. Breathing deeply in and out. In and out.

"I want to meet your...clan leader."

[Zereth Lancer]

He didn't think it was possible to get closer to the wall, but Zereth managed to flatten himself even more against it as the man began to lose control again. Fortunately only the equipment and lights were manipulated and the ship was not sheered in half or the hull punctured. The still silence that followed, though, was somehow worse. It left Zereth standing there idly while the man did the same. He took the moment to take in the room, note potential weapons, possible projectiles for both parties, the location of the door behind him, and calculated just how long it would take him to reach it and exit. Not that there was anywhere safe to go. He was trapped with a time bomb. One that he could only hope would not go off before he reached Lilaena, and solid ground.

Finally he spoke, a simple request, and one that Zereth would be happy to oblige. "We are on route to her as we speak. Please make yourself comfortable, the trip will not be long. Is there anything I can get or do for you in the meantime."

Warrior, poet, and excellent host.

[Tyber Jaan]

"Food. Water."

Still starving, Tyber returned to his bed, clutching at his empty middle.

[Zereth Lancer]

No sooner had the simple two-word request exited the man's mouth than Zereth was out the door. The movement would have easily been lost in a blink as he left the room as quickly as he could. It wasn't until the room was behind him that he finally let himself relax and breath. He looked down at his hands, expecting them to be shaking, but instead they were firm. Solid. Perhaps he was over thinking the situation.

Down the hall from the private quarters was the recreational room and kitchen space. Zereth packed light when he had no crew to provide for. There wasn't much variety of food, he kept things simple. Some noodle soup was heated and a bottle of water was fetched from the cooler. The items, along with the necessary eating utensil, was taken back to the room and offered without a word.

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber ate like a feral being, the sort of frenzied action desperate people did when they abandoned all decorum and clung to only what mattered to survive. Frenzied bites and greedy slurps of broth as he paused only to drink as much water as he could choke down. The water ran from the corners of his mouth in his haste, dampening his shirt as he slaked his life-threatening thirst.

It was over within a minute. Tyber fell back into bed, clutching the empty bowl and bottle against him as he drifted into fitful sleep once more.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth watched in silenced, his soul crying out for the horrible display before him. This was not a man, this was an animal. Whatever had happened aboard that ship before he crashed into the planet must have been terrible. There may be nothing left to save. He liked to think that any obstacle can be overcome. Perhaps, just perhaps, if he could get the man calm and collected that a healing meditation may help him recover what's been lost.

Once he crumbled back to sleep Zereth left the room, closing the door behind him and standing there in the hallway for several minute. The low thrum of the engines was just enough to mask the sound of his own heart beating in his throat. A few minutes and his heartbeat slowed and his body calmed. Only then did he head back to the cockpit and checked the navigation charts to double check where they were. Right on course. They would arrive in a few hours, and then the man would be Lilaena's problem, but Zereth would be lying if he said he wasn't already invested in the man's recovery.

It may take a formerly broken man to save one.

Hours later the man was still asleep, balled up like an animal. Ahead of them, the Aranar and Ne'ta Prudii loomed, growing closer by the moment. The pair of ships looked naked without their sister ship to compliment the ever traveling convoy. The Star of Oblivion hooked it's trajectory and came up beside the bigger of the two ships, the Aranar and after a brief conversation with the Mando'ade on the other side an umbilical docking array was extended between the two and the ships married. "Inform Lilaena that I have returned."

And with that he set the ship on automatic and traveled back to the personal quarters, to Tyber's chamber. He almost walked in, but stopped himself. A man deserved to be treated like a man. Instead he knocked. "We've arrived. My clan leader awaits us."

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber drew a hand across the air from where he sat on the bed. The force obeyed, opening the door for him.

"Thank you."

The words were a comfort, though Tyber had to remember how to smile. He gingerly stepped off the bed, still shaky on his bare feet.

"You've been kind to me, Zereth. I don't forget kindness."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Did he say why I needed to meet him?"

"He said he had a passenger," said Jer'ai, the female Mando'ade assigned to shadow her today. Lilaena had convinced the Mandalorians she did not need a full honor bodyguard, and had talked them down to a single warrior. Neither of them were wearing armor, Jer'ai in a simple jumpsuit and Lilaena a belted tunic and pants.

"Very well, let them know I am on my way." She started for the turbolift that would take her down to the appropriate level, Jer'ai at her heels.

<center>####</center>

The airlock doors cycled, opening the passage between Star of Oblivion and Aranar. Five Mando'ade were present to greet Zereth and his passenger, and neutralize any threats that might appear. They all wore armor and helmets and were well armed, which was not unusual. They liked to be prepared for anything.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth escorted his passenger through the ship, pausing only to pull his cloak off the peg by the door. The auxiliary docking port took a bit of effort to pull open. The electronic lock and motor had been fried for as long as he had owned the ship. Instead he had to settle for a large metal bar that he laid across it to keep the door shut just in case any turbulence shook it loose. It was nothing a little brute force could not fix, and was soon shoved open. The umbilical passage between the ship was a mere twenty feet long, mostly cast-plast for flexibility with metal elements to give it some structure. He knew it was safe, but he would never be comfortable crossing that threshold with nothing but space in every direction.

The duo reached the other side of the umbilical, although in Zereth's case he kept his eyes straight ahead and did not dare look anywhere else. He imputed the code into the door and it opened up, whooshing aside to allow them passage. He stepped in and to the side, allowing the man to follow after him. "Welcome to the Aranar."

[Tyber Jaan]

The sight of five soldiers wearing beskar caused Tyber to stop in his tracks. Their aesthetics were much different than his Neo-Crusader tormentors, but there was no mistaking those distinctive T-shaped visors. The Padawan's eyes widened.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.


His hands started to tremble. The words came back to him and offered no comfort. They hadn't protected him before - from them! Their evil sect endured despite every principled Jedi that stood against them. If Jedi principles could not shatter beskar, then new principles were needed.

There is no peace, there is justice.

He winced, a high pitched noise screaming in his head like a tea kettle. Tyber grit his teeth.

There is no knowledge, there is justice.

He could taste the blood that still ran beneath their skin. So unrepentant and alive.

There is no serenity, there is justice.

The scream became a roar in his head, and Tyber grabbed ahold of his ears, twisting his head violently from side to side to make it all go away.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Mandalorians backed up a bit from Zereth and his guest, two of them raising their blasters to point at the stranger. "What is this? Do you need assistance?" the squad leader questioned Zereth.

[Zereth Lancer]

Everything had been going so well, and then it immediately fell apart. Zereth moved in between the man and the Mandalorians, motioning for them to lower their weapons. Turning to Tyber he stretched his hands out wide, as if to protect him from what laid beyond, even while his mind slipped into his, not to access his thoughts, which were a maeltrom he could not hope to survive, but instead to the sensory cortex of his brain. Here he could play with the functions of his senses, even as he manipulated existence around them. The Mandalorians, the ship, the very hull beneath their feet, and even sound faded away into blackness so that, to the man, the only thing that existed was himself and Zereth, illuminated by an invisible light source. There was nothing else for him. The illusion was complete.

"There is no danger. You are with friends. Calm yourself. Tell me what is wrong. Let me help you."

[Tyber Jaan]

It all slipped away. In the roaring crescendo of his rage, those horrifying masks and the brutality they bore as a standard had fallen into serene emptiness. It was just his friend Zereth.

Tyber tried to reach out to him, but his hands betrayed him, twisting into fists held close to his chest. He tried to answer Zereth, his voice usurped by the unquenchable anger that now built upon itself deep within.

ZEEEEREEEEETH HEEEEELP MEEEEEE

Beyond the illusion that held him in momentary check, Tyber was falling apart. He snarled and growled, eyes rolling into the back of his head as veins bulged against his forehead. He doubled over, wild hands scrabbling at his scalp as if he was trying to tear off his own face, his withered and gone fingernails making this a useless act of self destruction. Saliva frothed at the corners of his mouth as he screamed, a guttural and inhuman sound that seemed more the dying bleats of a tortured animal. Around the hangar, small tools and objects began to shake loose from where they rested, some falling off utility pegboards with an audible clang.

GIVE ME THEIR BLOOD GIVE ME THEIR BLOOOOOOOOOD NOW DO AS I DEMAND

The illusion shattered. Zereth and the Mandalorians immediately standing close by were thrown to the ground as if a bomb went off.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Mandalorians were thrown down the hallway and against the bulkheads, one of them involuntarily firing his blaster into the ceiling. De'Ville came down the passage at a run, her hand on her lightsaber hilt. "What is this?! Zereth?!" Jer'ai began checking one of the fallen warriors.

A young man was doubled over, raving and frothing at the mouth. She focused on him as the probably source of the Darkside disturbance that she had felt. "Stop, or you will be stopped!"

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth did what he could, and it amounted to nothing. For all his power, for all his strength and combat prowess, the ability to kill and maim, he could not for even a moment begin to calm or heal the man. All he could do was reach out with his big, useless hands, and try to calm him. Give him some kind of support and comfort. He hazarded a touch, gentled laying a hand on the man's shoulder and was reward by the world exploding.

The shockwave sent them scattering to the floor. Zereth immediately rolled over and propped himself up on an elbow, even as Lilaena stormed the room, shouting and demanding answers. She was not helping. Yelling never helped.

Crawling back toward the man, Zereth kept himself as small and non-threatening as he could. "Calm yourself. Focus your mind, look deep inside, and find serenity. Focus your anger, your rage, and turn it inward. Let it become a source of power, not a source of impulse." He was grabbing at straws, trying to coach him into meditation. He saw no other alternative. He was out of control, and everyone on board was in serious danger. Moving closer yet, he stood again, cautiously hunched, prepared for another shockwave.

"I know anger. I know rage. It will consume you. Try to calm yourself. Dig deep. Find your balancing point, that place you feel safe. Let me help you." He reached out to him again, an open hand, and perhaps a soothing touch.

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber could feel Zereth's presence braving the torrent, trying desperately to ford the swollen river of his rage to reach him on the other side. His protector was strong! So much stronger than he was! Everything he knew had fallen to dust. Not even the Jedi code could guide his heart! Unquenchable and demanding, and utterly beyond his control at the peak of terrible passions.

PLEEEEAAAAAASE

The veil had fallen for an instant and Tyber knew the face of his enemy so well. The false face of beskar he wore to become thousands of others but always the same. Mandalorian. Tyber fell to his hands and knees, snarling as he tried to stand again. Muscles strained against themselves, against two masters vying for his control. Crimson leaked from his nose down and across his bare-toothed grimace as he roared.

"GGHHHRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!"

Zereth tried again to console the troubled padawan with a touch, drawing back immediately at the sensation of pain. Something raw and electric snapped through him the instant his hand made contact, and as he watched Tyber convulse, he could see the faintest snaps of electric blue against the younger adept's skin. Tyber reacted as he'd been stung, instinctively backing away from the pain, only to find it again on his other side. Wild hands clawed and swatted at himself, even as he convulsed at the effect of the wild energy unleashed inside him.

ZERETH PLEEEAAAAAASE

Tyber's instinctive anger multiplied at the pain, and only fueled the terrible machine further. He screamed and wailed and whimpered, the lightning coarsing into him only encouraged by his added pain. Raking blue tendrils snaked up his neck and head, snapping across his teeth as he screamed, reaching for one of the Mandalorians like a man possessed. The Crusader flung to the ceiling like a ragdoll and screamed as his helmet began to buckle inward and collapse into his head, raining blood down on Tyber who smeared it on his forehead as if it was the cooling spring storms coming to end a terrible drought.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena gaped at the sight of her loyal soldier being slowly crushed to death inside his helmet, and a blaster snapped into her hand. She thumbed the controls and then fired at the stranger, concentric blue stun circles spreading out and wrapping around him. He slumped to the ground, the Mando'ade warrior falling on top of him a second later.

She tossed the weapon aside, and leapt forward, pulling the dead Mandalorian to the side. Jen'ai helped her, Mando'a curses pouring out of her in a steady stream. De'Ville didn't stop her - couldn't blame her for that reaction. The others were getting to their feet, including Zereth Lancer, the person responsible for their strange visitor.

De'Ville looked at him, an alarm sounding as someone belatedly activated it. "What in the seven hells just happened?"

[Zereth Lancer]

A snap crackle and pop, and Zereth's hand recoiled just seconds after finally finding purchase on the man's shoulder. The pain was intense, but not crippling, but still he recoiled for fear that his whole hand may explode if he continued contact. There was only a moment of inspection of his cracked fingertips before he reached out again, unhindered. The man backed away, screaming and lashing out, but Zereth continued to reach. He must. He had to. He needed to. In the face of a distressed and angry force adept he saw the faces of all those he could not save, all the lives that slipped away. Hara, Southstar, Jorshal, Tardis, Naria, and many others who perished on Korriban when the Temple was lost.

No, he would not lose another.

Zereth was vaguely aware of the screaming behind him, he could feel it more than hear it, but he didn't turn nor lose focus. He inched closer and closer until he once again rested his hand on the shoulder of the out of control man. A word was framed on his lips, a few comforting syllables forming in his mind, even as pain crackled on the skin of his hand, and then a blue pulse flashed by and the man crumbled to the floor in a pile. Zereth followed him down, dropped to his knees and catching the man, cradling him to the floor.

Even when unconscious he looked angry...

"I... I don't know." Came Zereth's reply. He did not turn from the floor. "I rescued him from a crashed prison ship. I felt him calling out. He was unhinged and wild, but... but I thought we could help him. He made only a single request, to meet 'mandalore', and you were the next closet thing Lilaena. I have no idea why he did this." Finally he turned his head, looking on the crushed Mandalorian. There was sadness in his red mottled eyes. "If anyone is to be punished I request it be me. This man needs help."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"You did not know," she said, eyeing the fallen man who was covered in Mando'ade blood. Lilaena snapped her fingers. "Take him to the infirmary. Tell the OneBee to keep him sedated." The Mandalorians quickly obeyed, more appearing in the hangar in response to the alarm. A cleaning droid appeared out of a bulkhead, whirring over and clicking to itself as it set upon the spilled body fluids.

"You," she said to Zereth, "Will tell me about this prison ship."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth fell in line behind Lilaena. He told her everything. There was no reason to hold back. Nothing to hide. He told the tale of the call in the force, a strong force signal that ripped through space and attracted him like a moth to light. How by the time he arrived at the planet the prison ship, or perhaps a space station, it was impossible to tell from the wreckage, had already crashed into the planet, decimating an entire city sector like a recreation of the travesty over Coronet. There had been no other life signs that he felt on board. Either it was unmanned or everyone perished, except for them an he rescued. The story continued into the battle for control of the room where he found the man, about how he display strong powers and a lack of control.

There was a man in there, he assured Lilaena. Lost, frightened, and confused. Whatever events had put him on that prison ship had been terrible indeed to create such a broken man. Every word of their conversation on board the Star, how the man had been a wreck without focus and his single request for "Mandalore", and how he reacted as soon as they stepped on board the ship.

"He's been reduced to an animal run by basic instincts. Fight. Flight. He is incredibly powerful, and completely unfocused. I fear he may be beyond saving, but I will not give up on him just yet."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville listened as they made their way to her room - a cramped crew cabin as space was at a premium on the Aranar. She had Zereth wait outside as she changed into a fresh tunic, tossing the bloodstained one into the sonic shower.

She stepped back into the passageway, a thoughtful look on her face. "If you think he will be more asset than liability, we can attempt to rehabilitate him. If not..." Her voice trailed off. The ones abused and damaged beyond repair...it was a mercy to put them out of their misery.

Entering the infirmary she could see that her orders had been carried out. The man was laid on a bed, sleeping.

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth waited patiently outside her quarters, arms crossed, starring down the hallway at nothing lest his eyes wander and catch sight of something through a closing or opening door. She returned as quickly as she left, and the conversation continued unbroken.

"His power is incredible. I do not like to assume, but I feel he may have been responsible for that prison ship falling to ground. What he lacks in control and sanity he makes up for with pure, unbridled power. Power that can be refined, control that can be taught. I am not giving up on him just because the road is rough and the way is hard. He needs help, and I took an oath to give that. To give help, a way, a place, and a hope to those who don't or have lost it. He deserves a chance."

[Tyber Jaan]

Lost in tortured dreams, Tyber's eyes flitted quickly under closed lids. His face tensed and relaxed in time with his hands clenching and releasing. Even in peace, he could find little solace. As Lilaena neared, her presence served as a catalyst for him to wake. Blood-shot eyes cracked open, and the lost padawan strained against his restraints, a quickened panic to his breath as he looked around the confinements of his infirmary room.

"Mandalore!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She raised an eyebrow at Zereth, but did not reply as the man chose that moment to wake. Lilaena crossed quickly to his side, her hands well clear of his body. "Do you seek me as friend or foe?"

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber looked at the woman now addressing him. The feral edge to his expression lost it's sharpness, and he eventually fell into a dull, disinterested gaze.

"I don't know you."

Zereth promised to bring him to Mandalore. To allow him to open the floodgates to bathe in their blood.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Nor I you," she said. "I am Mand'alor of these Mandoade. There is another, out there," Lilaena gestured off into the distance with her hand, "Yet to these with me I am their leader. We have no interest in the Mandalore system or it's conflicts." Yet.

"Why do you seek the Mando'ade?"

[Tyber Jaan]

Was she mocking him? Tyber again fought his restraints, his hands balling into fists as he did so.

"Liar! I sense the force in you! No Mand'alor would ever train in such a way!"

Yet Tyber sensed no deception from the woman. If she spoke the truth, then what of her and her so-called Mando'ade.

"You above others should know well enough why I seek them. I will bathe in their blood and dine on their ashes for what they've done!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She nodded slowly. "Yes, bathe in blood, dine on ashes... right. Perhaps they deserve it. What did 'they' do to you?"

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber paused, sitting up slowly as he fixated on her eyes. There was no obfuscation and no deception there.

"The Mandalorians are animals, and they deserve to die like animals. Haven't you taken a look around? The Jedi have been slaughtered in this war!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Her mind skipped to several different places - the Clones had been based on a Mandalorian man, so the rumor was at least. The Jedi had certainly been slaughtered by the Empire. But this man obviously meant something different.

"What war are you referring to? The Mandalorians have not been at war with the Jedi, or anyone else for that matter, for centuries." Lilaena looked to the medical droid, reassured to see it had a dose of sedative ready to administer if needed.

[Tyber Jaan]

She was wrong. In a rage, Tyber lashed out, the force knocking medical equipment to the floor with a crash.

"Have you been carbon frozen? Open your eyes! The Mandalorians are conquering entire worlds! If not for Revan and Malak, they might even be at the threshold of Coruscant itself!"

[Zereth Lancer]

"No, she has not, but perhaps you have." Zereth's voice traveled from his position against the wall, arms crossed across his chest. "The Mandalorian War is ancient history, and yet you speak as if it is recent or even ongoing. New wars have come and gone since then. The once great Mandalorian people are but handfuls; pockets scattered across the void. They will never be capable of waging war across the stars again.

What happened to you aboard that starship I pulled you from?"

[Tyber Jaan]

Tyber's eyes flashed wild and angry in Zereth's direction, and yet despite the man's ludicrous words, his feelings and the intent behind the did not waver. If this was not truth, it was indistinguishable from it. Incredulous, the insane padawan could only laugh, low at first, and then growing manic until he began to cry. The stasis chamber. The dessicated skeletons.

"It was a Mandalorian prison ship. They tortured us during the war to give up information on the Republic war effort. Most prisoners broke. I didn't."

Raising his head up, a question formed on Tyber's tongue.

"How long?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Almost...four thousand years. The Republic defeated the Mandalorians at the Battle of Malachor in 3960 BBY. I'm not sure what the date was in the system of that time period. The wars lasted for about sixteen years if I recall correctly." The same conflict that had led to Mandalorians being stranded on Dxun and separated from galactic civilization. Lilaena wanted to ask questions, but the man seemed on the edge of a cliff, emotionally. Better to let him try to process his new situation.

[Zereth Lancer]

"Not even the Republic still stands. It was not destroyed, but corrupted from within. Changed. A shadow of it's former self. It has been reborn; liberated some would say. There is much you have missed. All will be revealed in time, but for now you should recuperate. I can provide you with a summation of the history you have missed, if you like. For now may I recommend meditation?"

It was a lot to take in, and the mind can only stretch so much. Zereth remember what it was like to be tortured. Zanon had put him through the wringer in his laboratory. Adjusting to the real world once he escaped had not been easy, and he had wandered aimlessly for years without purpose or anyone to help him. With them here to offer support, this survivor of the Mandalorian War might just adjust to his new reality.

[Tyber Jaan]

"MEDITATION?!"

Tyber roared the suggestion back at Zereth, reddening in the face with rage. He locked eyes with his liberator in that angry moment, then softened, cracked a smile, and laughed. He cupped a hand over his mouth suddenly, afraid his laughter would spill out and sully his anger as he glanced back to Manda'lor.

And then suddenly, he was calm.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there..."

And suddenly in the midst of his tantra, he paused with a confused look, shared with Zereth and Deville.

"...are you comforted?"
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[Zereth Lancer]

"No. I fear for your health. Through meditation I find peace, balance, and serenity. You recite the Jedi code, and a core principle of the Jedi is meditation. Perhaps it will help you find peace. We can only offer you our help. Receiving it is your decision."

His dedication to helping this man was weakening. They were going in circles. Outstretching a hand only to have it bitten again and again. It was becoming increasingly clear just how unstable and mentally ill this man is. They needed to get him out of the dangerous vacuum of space and back on solid ground where fresh air and open spaces should help his far more than the cramped, stressful corridors of a starship.

[Tyber Jaan]

"Receiving consuming devouring lusting. I am the singularity."

Tyber's eyes met Zereth's in sincere contemplation of his words.

"I want to remember what it feels like. Contentment."

The insane padawan then turned his attention to Mand'alor, a tinge of worry in his expression.

"You can show me?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I can," she said, reaching out and pressing her hand to his forehead. New abilities she had just begun to learn how to use clicked into place, and the man's eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped back into the bed, unconscious.

***

When Tyber came around, he was lying in the middle of one of the vast grass fields of Dantooine. Lilaena sat cross-legged nearby, her eyes closed.

[Tyber Jaan]

"Nngf!"

He was awake with a sharp inhalation, sitting bolt upright.

Light.

It shone on his face and eyes, and Tyber instinctively squinted against it. When his irises adjusted, his squint relaxed. The dark silhouette against the verdant green and blue became a face he'd only recently encountered.

Mand'alor

Ancient hatreds turned over their still-red coals. They would consume him, if not for something more familiar.

The sea of green. The sky, as open as the galaxy.

Tyber bolted to his feet, standing still against a breeze that hit his face. It brought smells as unchanged as the sight of it. Time had not vanquished this.

A quarter turn brought him within sight of Zereth Lancer. His friend.

A child-like smile apeared on the ancient padawan's face. He dropped back to his knees, hands kneading the grass. He pressed his cheek against it. Warm like the sun.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She was relaxing as she waited for the wild man to awaken, enjoying the calm before what was no doubt going to be another storm. Zereth stood nearby, a dark silhouette against the late afternoon sun. There were no other sentient beings nearby. The shuttle they'd traveled down on was a hike away, behind a rolling rise of the native grasslands of Dantooine, and if the man made a break for it the Force users were confident they would be able to catch and subdue him before he reached it, if he could even sense it was there.

When he awoke it was abruptly, and for a moment he didn't seem to notice that she or Zereth were there, but then his eyes traced over them and she felt his animosity rise as he looked at her. Then he saw Zereth, and his anger melted away as he literally hugged the ground.

"What is your name?"

[Tyber Jaan]

For the moment, Tyber ignored Lilaena's question in favor of the moment of bliss in reconnection.

"My first memory was here. I don't know how old I was. Master Vol Syad brought us outside for lessons when the weather was good."

The ancient padawan took a reassured breath, still basking in the residual warmth of the grass on his face. He paused in his recollection, slowly opening his eyes.

"I don't remember what we were talking about. I just remember feeling...complete."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Master Vol Syad - she'd never heard of such a Jedi, but if the man had been in stasis for four thousand years then that wasn't exactly surprising. The Jedi temple had been located on Dantooine during that time period, De'Ville knew that from her training as a padawan herself and many exhausting history lessons when she had been a child. If this was an act, it was an extremely good one. However, she sensed no duplicity from the man. What he felt he seemed to feel completely, and wore his emotion on his sleeve. Right now that emotion was peace. Hours earlier it had been fury.

Keeping him at peace was what she wanted, but since she'd been introduced to him as Manda'lor, something that he hated, it was going to be an uphill battle. "My youngling clan often studied outside, in the gardens. Closer to nature, Master Frr'nn would say." Lilaena smiled a bit at the memory.