Break the chains

[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?"

[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.