Whoa! We’re definitely not on Arx anymore!” Vicxa Varis yelped as gravity suddenly switched directions mid-flight, sending the Mirialan nosediving upwards towards a looming sky island. Tongues of flame trailed her jetpack as she tucked into a roll to change direction, now facing ‘up’ towards what had mere moments ago been ‘down’.
“You are doing great, young one!” Ood Bnar creaked from down below. The Neti camouflaged near perfectly among the patches of shadow flora that covered the previous sky island like a week old stubble. “Just a little further. The Force should be more stable to—” he closed his eyes and extended his senses, feeling out the twisting labyrinth of the Force that wove in upon itself like a rope. “—your left.”
Vicxa banked as instructed, feeling a moment’s weightlessness as the contents of her stomach changed direction once more, but this time not a full a hundred-and-eighty degrees. “Aaaaaagh!” the Mirialan yelped as the pull of what passed for gravity suddenly shifted to suck her towards a jagged cliff face, jutting out the side of the island she was scaling.
“Oh, I meant your other left…” the venerable Jedi muttered, before extending his hand towards the careening explorer. With a furrowing brow like two mossy outcrops meeting in the middle, he willed the Force to obey his direction. With a lurching sensation of two invisible forces pulling at her from both sides like bickering children, Vicxa halted in mid air, suspended between faux gravity and the Neti’s telekinetic grip.
“T-thanks! You can let go now!” she called back to him as she braced her feet against the jutting cliff face that had come within inches of her own. Feeling a moment of vertigo as she stood sideways, staring ‘up’ to her right and then ‘down’ to her left, back where the rest of their vanguard was waiting for her to secure the grapnel. “Okey-dokey, this place is officially weird. So don’t try to use people logic,” she muttered under her breath as she affixed the vibropitons for a secure grip and then launched the scaling line back towards the others.
The projectile wavered as it passed through the gravity zones, but arrived more or less where she’d aimed it, landing at the feet of the towering Shistavanen. Doon Sulvir picked up the grapnel, pulled the line taught, and sank it firmly into the shadowstuff beneath his paws. He firmly hoped its integrity would not be as fickle as that of the base laws of attraction.
“Who goes first?” he grunted, looking between the Neti and the smaller redcoated pack mate who seemed consumed by the sight of a butterfly spirit.
“Perhaps it might be best to test it with the heaviest load?” Ood suggested. “If you should falter, I will assist you the rest of the way.”
Archian voiced no objection, too distracted by trying to make the ghostlike insect land on his clawed finger. Doon sighed, his shoulders sagging with a clack of armor plates.
“Sure, let’s just get this over with.”
The Red Shistavanen was truly distracted by a spirit insect, which at that moment landed on the Shistavanen’s sharp claw. He noticed his bigger wolf-like comrade trying the rope in his paws, and the tree-man discussing who should go first.
It was an important topic as they needed to move quickly to find out what happened to the previous team, and every earlier agreed tactic would be beneficial for future “jumps” and climbing between the floating Islands.
Besides that was also important, interesting and noticeable how local fauna was migrating between the islands - at least for him as the animal lover. The mirror images of the avian and insect creatures with their spiritual appearances, were traveling by the use of their wings. A bit larger but more smooth critters jumped between the force fields up and down until they could reach the climbable, rocky walls of the islands - similar to how his green skinned Mirialan recon teammate reached the next island, with a small help from Ood. He was left wondering, however, how the larger animals could pass the sometimes huge gaps between flying pieces of rock.
Red noticed that Force sensitive Ood was preparing for his turn to pass the gap.
As the Neti observed his surroundings and quickly planned what he could do here, the forest noises grew louder, as if small critters and animals were panicking about something. The Force began to feel heavy. Slowly but surely, the old tree unfurled his Force presence just far enough to do what he intended. The danger of being sensed by the enemy, measured against the need to trust the Force to help him achieve his current, momentary goal. Would someone notice a bright light shining through the Force, even if somewhat muffled? As the team silently observed him, the Neti cracked his neck and with a chin jutting forward, he began to walk towards the edge of the island seemingly believing he could walk on the air. At the same time, a soft rumbling was heard deeper on the island.
A rustling in the trees behind the group drew some attention as a set of five flat moss-encrusted stones, roughly the size of a humanoid chest, floated out and moved out over the abyss. As the Adept’s foot left the edge of the island and hung over the abyss, a rock moved to place itself underneath it. This allowed the Neti to leave the island and move his other leg forward as the next rock rushed to place itself strategically to serve as a stepping stone. Slowly, the other three stones did the same thing and a strange floating rock path formed itself in Ood’s path. As he put his foot down on the third rock in the sequence, the first one floated out of its place and began to move forward to the front of the line to be reused. Nimbly, the elderly Jedi began to walk from stone to stone across the void. From the islands, it appeared like the Adept moved with a slow and silent poise across what he believed to be a wide promenade but was in fact a set of floating rocks. Trusting the Force, the Neti held to the belief the rocks would do as they were told and kept walking.
As he arrived on the new island, the rocks grouped themselves into a graceful tower, carefully balancing themselves on top of each other, ready to assist the Elder should he wish to return from whence he had come.
Turning around, Ood Bnar looked back at the rest of the team as if to ask what was taking them so long. Glancing towards the animals, the Neti made up his mind and sat atop the pile of rocks as he sunk deeper into the Force.
Another rumbling as a large boulder moved out of the forest, uprooting several trees as it made its way to the abyss. Serenely the boulder turned itself over, so a large flat surface formed the top of the rock. As the boulder lined itself out with the edge of the island, the Neti focused deeply on the Force.
‘The size of the item does not matter, as long as you believe you can lift it. The Force will assist you.’
Archian, impressed how the ancient Neti reached their next stop, decided to do it in his own way as well. He whistled at his Stroilk, who was nearby playing with a spirit butterfly. The big cat came closer and let Red stroke it at the back of the head, and under the neck with both paws, and then felt push at his back. He forgot about another member of the team - Nerf! Herbivore was looking closely at his paw laying at the Stroilk’s head, and chewing small flowers hanging out from its snout - and now both were making staring contests.
“I will see you up there.” Said Doon and started to lift up himself at the rope. Archian just nodded, looked straight at the other Shistavanen, and then he spotted it…
A group of a few Gornts jumping down the cliff. He quickly made his way in that direction to realize how to easily transport the heavy Nerf to the next Island. When Red looked down from the edge of the cliff, the herd was “swimming away” very slowly with gracious moves towards the rocks of another island. It looked like a Force river was connecting the islands like the veins within a body.
Archian decided to take a chance and called the herbivore closer. It followed his steps and like taking by its instincts started running and jumped down the cliff like a diver. With the same speed as when falling behind the cliff, suddenly Nerf showed up in the air above the edge and with fast moves reached the rock of the Island where Neti and Mirialan were standing.
Both of Ood and Vicxa were staring at the creature with confused smiles as it was pushed by force walking upside-down from the under the edge of rock finish its turned upside down trip under the island. “Spider-Nerf..?” Ood looked with question at the Vicxa when the herbivore walked past them and started chewing on the close by growing flowers.
Archian with a big smile and reassured that Nerf is with others jumped at the Stroilk’s back and together jumped off the cliff at the first “Force step”.
Doon was just finishing clipping himself to the rope for safety when Archian plummeted off the ledge next to him. He peered over, watching as the Shistavanen began maneuvering towards the other Island. The thought of following brought a tenseness to his chest, one he shook out as if he was trying to dry off. His single ear flapped as his head shook and he sounded a soft growl. Hesitating here is ridiculous, a paltry fear of falling when surely the rope was capable of holding his weight.
He tested that fact by slowly crouching, stepping on the taught line with more and more of his mass. The odd gravitational fluctuations were causing the rope to lift and droop at unpredictable intervals, but the rope was holding. The wolf’s tension eased the more he stood on it, until nearly all his weight caused the line to creak until the rope slipped an inch along the secured vibropiton at the top, catching on the thicker head of the climbing device.
The black wolf tumbled over, arms flailing towards the edge he slipped off with a gargled Yelp that was silenced as the safety harness caught him dangling over the empty air like one of the encouraging Lolth-cat posters found in most places devoid of hope. Shaking claws rose to grasp the rope, steadying the Shistavanen before he attempted to cross over.
His movement was slow, methodical. Every new well of gravity swung his body around the rope as he started falling towards the sky, then the horizon, then back to the ground. His effort was great, his grip tight enough to start to cut into his paw pad as he approached the ledge of the next Island. His golden gaze bore into the vibropiton that had let the rope shift under his weight, but his attention quickly shifted to the ledge. His angle on the rope offered only an awkward grip, one that would require quite some maneuvering if he were to lift himself up alone.
“How am I supposed to-”
He was interrupted by a red metallic hand blocking his view, offered to him by Vicxa in addition to a confident smile.
It was met with a disgruntled stare. The Mirialan was well over two feet shorter than the wolf.
“Are you serious?” he growled up to her, ear laying flat against the top of his head.
He was answered by eager nodding and the hand wiggling in the air, waving him closer.
A distant voice shouted to the pair from the other Island. “Good job! Almost there!”
Despite every instinct wanting Doon to stay clenching the rope, he acquiesced. In a quick motion he moved from rope to hand, immediately pulling down on Vicxa. She wasn’t able to let out more than a squeak as she was pulled into the ground, air forced from her lungs as her shoulders were pressed against the edge of the Island.
Thankfully for the both of them, a gentle presence surrounded the wolf and pressed him upwards towards the ledge. Doon had just enough time to scramble over the lip and roll onto his back, gasping from the adrenaline coursing through him. Vicxa sat above him and gave a single pat to his breastplate, smiling despite the sore muscle.
“See? Everything went perfect.”
The first one’s always the trickiest. Such was true for most of life’s things and scaling floating islands seemed to obey that same rule. Although any others they might have followed were precious few and far between.
“Curious,” Ood Bnar mused as he patiently observed the hulking Shistavanen pacing forward as if through quicksand, or a quagmire, and yet seemingly unaware of the slow progress he was making.
“Is he alright?” Vicxa inquired, concerned, her eyes darting between the dark pelted wolf and the mossy treeman—the two normal things about today.
“I think so, the Force is merely affecting the local flow of time,” the Neti replied. “I believe there may be a pattern of sorts to these anomalies. While we wait for him to take his next pace, would you mind taking two steps to your left?”
“You mean here?” Vicxa said, shuffling to the side. Nothing happened.
“Ah, I meant your other left.”
“You mean here?” Archian suggested, helpfully stepping onto a patch of penumbral grass. His head snapped back, eyes glowing with unlight, mouth agape as rays of shadowstuff illuminated his visage.
“Purpose. Discomfort. Dedication. Five men as one. Danger. Danger. Danger all around. Confusion. Pain. Frustration. Frustration. Frustration begets realization. Flow. Follow the flow. A pebble in the stream. One. Two. Five pebbles. Caught in a net. Five pebbles.”
The red furred Shistavanen snapped back, gasping sharply. “Did something happen? You two look like you saw a ghost!” he chuckled.
Ood and Vicxa exchanged a look. The Neti raised his barked shoulders. “I knew something was going to happen, didn’t I?”
The Mirialan did not deign a reply, instead latching on to what to her ears sounded like a prophecy, or from the lack of future promise of wealth and power, a regaling of past events.
“The recon team we’re after. They were how many men?”
Ood fished out a datapad and tapped it a few times. “Six men—No, one injured himself on the way to the Sky Islands. Five men pressed on.”
“Five pebbles in a stream. Caught in a net, five pebbles.”
“That is a poor fisherman,” Archian stated bluntly. “Catching pebbles? Should catch Burra, or at least Monsails. The trick is to boil them slow, so the gelatine really has time to work out. Makes for great pie stuffing!”
Vicxa ran her tongue over her teeth.
“Amusing aquatic anecdotes aside, I believe you may have a point, miss Varis,” the Neti stated. “And the only river that flows up here is that of the Living Force.”
He closed his eyes to reach out with his senses, witnessing the true vista of the Ethereal Realm’s flora, a vivid and vibrant jungle of which the shadowstuff renditions were, quite literally, mere shadows. With his mind’s eye he reached out, parting the thickets of shrubberies, vines, and foliage to unearth a crystal clear stream that ran through the lush forest floor.
It held no analogue in the shadowstuff, but to him it was beyond real, and it flowed with the purity of the Living Force. Had they not been in such a hurry, he could have spent an age studying it alone. Alas, the concerns of the Clan took priority. With a heavy heart, he pulled back his senses just as Doon finally stepped out of the time flux.
“I know where we need to go,” Ood declared.
“Huh? How? Why’s everyone in such a rush all of a sudden?” the bewildered Shistavanen grumbled.
With the leadership of ancient Ood, and his deep connection to the Force - they were passing from one Island to another. Doon was each time staying a little behind as he was leaving stacks of stones built in the shape of pyramids at each edge of the floating rocks to point the safe connection and passage between each of them to the Brotherhood Army.
Vicxa and Archian were carefully staying a few steps behind their tree-looking guide, but spread to his flanks to make sure that nobody would ambush them. Ood raised his hand to show them what had shown up ahead.
The big long floating rock was visible in front of them, and even though they still hadn’t reached the edge of their Island, they could see each hanging separately from the ropes, the lost scouting team.
“They look like dropping from the good quality soaked pickle” Said Archian, stroking Stroilk’s head and reminding himself about checking his own pickle collection.
In the meantime Doon caught up with them and bypassed them, layed down, started to crawl to the edge and looked down. Vicxa followed his steps and crawled next to him leaving Ood and Archian exchanging their opinions about pickling methods.
Down, with quite a big gap below them was another Island - but this time it wasn’t abandoned.
There could be seen a few shapes hanging around, a pack of Shistavanens: twins who just threw a grenade each from the edge and started laughing hysterically when they heard the explosion; a larger, thicker Shista handling a scalpel in his paw, chatting with almost the same size dog figure which was cleaning its heavy blaster; the slim figure laying down at the edge taking a look around through its sniper rifle, luckily in the opposite direction where the Arconans were standing.
“Look at them. They do not even want to hide.” Vicxa said, but also pointed up at the hanging down, captured allied team. “That’s weird. They got something in their hands… Are those controllers with buttons?” She said with suspicion.
“Probably it is a trap” Doon barked back in common language to the Mirialan, still keeping his focus on the shapes below. “I recognise them and someone is missing, it’s only five of them there…”
“How do you recognize them? Aren’t they just ghosts?” Vicxa pressed. “And what do you mean only five?”
“They stabbed me in the back, all six of them,” was all the hulking Shistavanen was willing to admit.
“And who’s still missing, then?”
The answer made itself known, stalking into view from behind a large, brown boulder with a pair of blaster pistols pointed at them. “Me,” the sleek wolf-like Shistavanen replied, keeping his weapons steadily aimed at the two of them. “Unless you want your friends to end up with more holes than they started with, I suggest you disarm yourselves and come quietly,” he demanded from Archian and Ood.
The pair exchanged a look and complied, Vicxa and Doon raising their hands in begrudging surrender. This had definitely not gone according to plan.
“You never learn do you, Doon?” the man mocked as Ood tossed aside his lightsaber and Archian dropped his bow onto the shadowy grass. “A new pack you’ve gathered, and none with a pair of eyes between them. You really know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?”
The hulking Arconan snarled in reply and was about to speak his mind when his red furred companion piped up.
“And you are one to teach lessons!” he jabbed, before giving a sharp whistle.
The brown ‘boulder’ the wolf had stood beside rumbled, rising up on four legs and rolling. The man’s screams died under an avalanche of Nerf meat and fur as Archian’s pet perfectly executed its treat roll.
“Welp, that just happened,” Vicxa Varis chirped in wide-eyed wonder. “Ood, send a message back to HQ. We’ve found the team and marked a path. Start sending troops after us. We’ll deal with the rest shortly.”
The venerable Jedi nodded, relaying the message on his comlink while Archian patted his pet lovingly, offering some well-earned treats. Doon stalked over to the edge of their Island, visibly perturbed and itching for a fight. The shadow-wolf’s words had clearly struck a chord.
“Hey, you ok, big guy?” the Mirialan inquired, resting her metal hand on his shoulder—or halfway up his bicep anyway.
“It’s nothing,” he lied.
She paused for a moment, reading his demeanor before taking a wild stab. “Look, your pack ain’t weak. No matter what some ghosts of the past tell you. We’ve got you, and you’ve got us. And they just got crushed under a ton of Nerf. So who’re they to talk smack?”
The Shistavanen stood for a moment, then rumbled with a low chuckle. “I suppose you’re right. Still, he did strike a nerve.”
“Then let’s go show the rest of ‘em just how much ass your ‘New Pack’ can kick, eh?” she offered.
Taking a look behind him, seeing the venerable Neti igniting his saber, his red furred sibling mounting the Nerf, and finally Vicxa readying her blaster, Doon broke into an approving smile.
“Let’s.”