The Tale of The Floating Cube

[Saaz Qadana]

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She was sound asleep. The cool outdoor breeze leaked through the cracks of the window frame, caressing the floors and walls as it seeped into the bedroom. She had wrapped herself in a thick bundle of blankets, trapping the toasty warmth of her body inside her cozy cocoon. Her face pressed into the clouds of endless pillows. Her body had become immobile from the anesthetic euphoria that the bed radiated. Nothing could wake her from this painful peace.

On her nightstand sat her alarm clock tick tocking the night away, tick tocking the days, and tick tocking the years to come. Next to it, lay her journal; a place where she let her imagination run wild, where she collected her thoughts and where she could be herself. Next to that, her lamp, an heirloom gifted to her by her grandmother, stood proudly, elegantly and tall. The large floral lampshade looked over her while she slept comfortably.

Unexpectedly but with fluidity, an invisible tug delicately pulled the round clock upward until its tiny legs dangled over the nightstand. The journal followed suit, lifting itself off the surface. The rustling pages were not nearly loud enough to wake her up from her slumber. Then, the heavy bedside lamp began to topple over on its side and fell in the direction of the floor. Expecting a bang, it instead decided to come to a halt, floating in air. It hung motionless for a while. Then suddenly, as if with a mind of their own, all objects lined up behind each other, and rose up making their way over her bed. There they danced in mid air, floating like the bright stars of the night sky.

------

A wooden crate appeared at the Landing Pad on Ossus.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

"Hello?? Lemme out!"

THUMP THUMP THUMP

[Karkoon]

Another sunrise dawned over Ossus, and with it another day of hard manual labor. There was no shortage of needs around the Jedi Academy, and it's surrounding facilities both Alliance and Cizerack. Those stationed on the planet were incredibly fortunate that the Shard Jedi Padawan, Karkoon, firmly believed rendering his service to all that needed it was a pillar of what it meant to be a Jedi. He was often found, on days like this, around the compound helping those who needed more strength than a simple man could give. With his powerful droid body that encapsulated his crystalline body he was more than capable of completing tasks impossible for the carbon-based lifeforms.

Today in particular he was working at the Alliance's landing pad. The foreman had a large cargo crate that had slipped off the repulsor sled. The overhead crane was awaiting repairs and the one repulsorlift was far too inadequate to lift the massive crate. Do not worry, Karkoon had told them, as he shouldered the load alongside the lift and eased it back on to the sled. They cheered, as they always did. The foreman thanked him kindly, and then asked why he didn't use the force to accomplish the same feat. "The Force is a river, Master Foreman, that runs through us all. We only drink when we need to, lest we abuse it's shore by ruining the balance." The man seemed to take it to heart. It was not a complete truth. Karkoon did believe the Force was a tool to be used only when needed, but also because he was but a padawan and could not move such a load on his own. His incredible droid suit made up for what he lacked in his Jedi training.

"Master Foreman, you have forgotten you cra-" His voice caught short, the verbalizer suddenly silencing as a thumping began from within the crate. A voice called out from within. Odd. A crate of that specification should not have living organisms in it. It lacks the proper coding or safety measures. Whatever was inside wanted out. The thumping continued. Perhaps one of the young padawans had been playing games and became trapped inside. They had a reputation for getting in trouble. Karkoon swore that if it was Draiya he would give her a good counseling, from one Padawan to another, about responsibility and workplace safety.

"One moment." He chimed as he bent his massive body over the crate and opened it.

[Saaz Qadana]

-----

The winds whispered.

Ossus… Ossus…

She woke up in a panic, and then felt the objects land on her legs. Her eyes opened wide, looking at the blankness of the ceiling. She brought herself up to a sitting position and focused her blurred vision toward the items, attempting to distinguish them. It was in fact the objects that had been floating over her without her even noticing. She looked over at her night stand to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. But her alarm clock, notebook or lamp had moved. They had somehow made their way to the foot of her bed
“Wha- How did…” She muttered to herself, trying to understand how the objects had gotten there. Could there be an intruder? A burglar? Could she be dreaming? She looked around her small space but found nobody. And even if there had been someone there, she would have surely caught a glimpse of the person as soon they dropped the objects. She shook her head, confused at the situation. She lay back down with her head digging into the pillows, thinking. But her eyelids became heavy and she fell back asleep.

-----

Loud gasps for air, sounding almost exaggerated, emitted from the box as soon as it opened. Saaz Qadana, a young, slender woman, sat uncomfortably in the corner of the crate. She breathed heavily, taking in what felt like the freshest air she’d ever breathed, despite the fact that vehicles emitted smog and fumes nearby. She squinted as she looked up, readjusting her eyes to the light. She pulled herself up and looked up with apprehension at the towering figure that had opened the crate.

"I.. This isn’t what it… Who… W-where am I?"

[Karkoon]

The contents of the crate did not product Draiya, or any padawans, or any person Karkoon had ever met before in his entire existence. Decades of years imprinted on his crystalline core passed through his mind in an instant, and no matches were made. A strange occurrence. Perhaps this individual had been actually transported within this crate, in the same fashion as one transports a package of new socks from buyer to seller. Whether intentionally or not. Her frayed speech pattern and confusion leaned toward the latter. A very curious ordeal indeed.

Welcome Human..." He boomed, his vocalizer rising in volume as he stood up to his full height and stretched out long metal arms thick with armor plating to either side of his body in what he imagined was a spectacular fashion. "...to the dusty green jewel of Ossus. Birthplace of the Ysanna, and now a foothold of the Alliance of Free Planets and the home of the Jedi Order. Fewer places in the galaxy are safer, and less are as beautiful. I am Karkoon." His hands dropped, one to his side, while the other pressed against his solid chess piece. "Jedi Padawan of the Jedi Order. How may I be of assistance?"

He offered a hand to help her out of the crate.

[Saaz Qadana]

"O…Ossus?"
She paused for a few seconds. She attempted to map the galaxy in her mind, trying to remember where exactly Ossus was located. She wasn’t familiar with Ossus but the name rang familiar to her.

Saaz’s thoughts raced: Inner Rim? No, can’t be. Definitely not Core either. Outer Rim territories? Maybe. Who is this guy? What does he want? Is he actually helping me or is this a trick? Did he just say… Jedi?

"Jedi?? You’re saying Jedi?? Those don’t exist anymore." She replied to him, very sure of herself. She’d only heard of them from the distant Clone War stories. She knew that there were fanatics. Perhaps this was one of them. She also had heard the legends that they were still around. Legends for children to believe in something, for hope. To her, they were legends of the past.

"I have to get back home. I… I ended up here by accident. I wasn’t supposed to be in that crate."

Saaz reached to her back pocket, pulling out a necklace. Her heart warmed up.

-----

"Saaz," a young man’s voice called out. "Saaz… SAAZ," his patience began to thin out as he shouted her name.

"What?" Saaz replied, mildly irritated.

"Here. I made this for you"

He handed her a necklace made of multiple brown strings with a small circular charm at the end. It was delicate. It was simple. He never showed much affection toward his sister. Instead, he would actually tease her or annoy her. But he saw how much she’d grown and he appreciated her friendship, despite their quarrels. Saaz looked at the charm. She felt warmth circulating through her arms, her chest, her face and her eyes. She looked up at him, smiling.

"Why are you giving this to me? This is really nice." She looked at the necklace again and then looked behind him. She saw the food supplies that had been sitting on the docks all day. "Are those supplies still sitting there? Don’t you know those have to ship out today? The old man is going to kill us. We’ve got to get these done. Get these droids to start sealing these crates."

"Don’t worry about it, Saaz! We’ll get these sent. We always do. A thank you would be nice," the young man replied, calmly. He wasn’t the type who liked to be rushed, especially at his job. Saaz rolled her eyes at him as she continued to pack the food deliveries. She usually wasn’t at the docks, packing up the food but they were short-handed. She set a few boxes within the crate, reaching down to make sure they were set in order. As soon as she set her boxes down, her necklace fell in the crate. She couldn’t see it so she decided to climb into the crate to fetch it. The crate was about 4 feet wide by 4 feet long by 4 feet tall. She fit comfortably in it and could even rest there if she wanted. She kept digging behind the boxes.

"Let’s see… where is it? Ah ha! Found it!"

She stood up rapidly, bringing her head upward in one quick motion. A droid approached the crate, lowering the cover in one swift motion, it connected with the top of her head, sending her back to the bottom of the crate and knocking her unconscious.

-----

[Karkoon]

"Yes, Ossus. Grid R-6 of the Galactic Atlas. Outer Rim. Auril Sector of the Adega System." Karkoon's reply came immediately after she finished speaking, having taken the liberty of pulling up the planet's entry on the Holonet. Even one as poor sighted as him could see the marbles rattling around in her head, as they say, as she tried to digest her new location. She seemed agitated. Panicked even. However, Karkoon hardly trusted his ability to interpret the emotion ranges of other sentient beings. Or any beings made of squishy biomass for that matter.

"Despite popular belief to the contrary, the Jedi do exist and are in fact thriving here on the beautiful planet of Ossus. I apologize for you arriving at the wrong destination. I can speak to the foreman on your behalf and negotiate transportation. Where do you need to be little one?"

[Saaz Qadana]

"Naboo," she turned away from him and answered in an angered tone, knowing well that she wasn't little for a human but only compared to him. But she ignored his comment. She knew it wasn't the issue at hand. Saaz turned back around and looked at him. She thought about how he probably didn't mean any condescension. In fact, he seemed to mean it as a term of endearment. Nevertheless, Saaz's frustration over the situation got the best of her. She noticed this and took a deep breath.

"If there's any available transport to Naboo..." Saaz replied. "Adega system? That's really far. I'm... I'm not sure how I ended it up here"

She looked down at her feet as she tried to think of a solution to get back to Naboo. There weren't many transports that traveled between Ossus and Naboo directly or often. Even the shipment that she was sent in was a rarity because Naboo was not part of the routine delivery destinations. If there was anything available it probably wouldn't leave at least until the next day. Who's going to take care of everything at home? The farm is going to be a mess when I get back. Okay I can wait a day...

Her mind raced. Where would she sleep? What would she eat? She'd left her credits at home. Hesitantly, she looked at Karkoon hoping he would be able to provide some help or would be able to point her in the right direction.

"If, for some reason, I'm not able to get a transport back today... do you know where I would be able to stay for the night?"

[Karkoon]

"Naboo is halfway around the galaxy. There are no ships traveling there from Ossus. It's outside our clout. Do not fear. You can get home. You will just have to hop from one planet to another. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. It will take time to plot out the many paths necessary for such a trip. In the meantime let me treat you to the hospitality of the Jedi. We have ample lodgings that you can make use of. Are you hungry?"