GJW XVI Phase I] Fiction - Strange New Worlds
“Entrenched”

Now what?

Ethereal Realm
The Shattered Plains
ABY 41

The bleak sky of the Ethereal Realm turned from haze to black. As the light failed across the plain,a small blue Twi’lek sat cross legged in the bottom of a ravine.

“Now what?” she queried out loud to herself. The events of the day had not gone to plan and the diminutive Rutian was out of ideas. Here she was on an enemy world in a strange dimension, out of food, low on water, and even lower on hope.
“How did it come to this…”
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16 hours earlier….

Ethereal Realm
Reflection of Eos
ABY 41

“Well, guess this is the place,” the diminutive Twi’lek said to her astomech as they exited the wormhole. A distorted version of the city of Eos lay before her, with its massive skyscrapers shimmering then momentarily blinking out, like a Holoprojection with an intermittent short circuit. The sensors showed a huge field stretching from the portal’s exit in all directions with a disorganized jumble of trenches criss-crossing the surface and floating land masses of various sizes hanging in the sky. In the distance was a fortress made of the same crystal infecting the Children of Mortise, and beyond that, the Chain.

The droid tweedled nervously as they continued to monitor the ship’s systems. The energy fluctuations and gravimetric anomalies already caused the droid distress while they worked fervently to make adjustments. “Don’t worry, R3. I’m sure you can handle it.” And handle it they did until the ship passed near a sky island. Suddenly the ship was plummeting…up? The ship and the droid were having a problem figuring out the orientation as gravitational forces shifted towards the massive rock that defied physics.

R3 screamed as they frantically readjusted to the changing conditions. The engine roared as it suddenly accelerated beyond its own capabilities, jettisoning the spider cruiser out of the floating isle’s gravity. This time, the droid couldn’t compensate, especially when the engine completely cut out–.

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Ethereal Realm
The Shattered Plains
ABY 41

Having calmed her mind, the stranded Twi’lek Nightsister stood. “It can’t get worse, so it has to get better,” she said aloud to herself. “But nothing will get better sitting in this Force forsaken ditch.” She donned her climbing claws and started climbing out of the ravine…

It had taken her two hours to climb up to the crest. She collapsed in sheer exhaustion as she wasn’t conditioned for that level of exercise. The shattered plains stretched out before her in the fading light. Her rendezvous point was somewhere between her and the fortress, but that left a possibility of several miles to go. She didn’t know if she could manage it. Especially without the Force as her ally. She scanned the horizon with her macrobinoculars– THERE! She spotted another Brotherhood ship, as it settled on a steep not five miles out.

Gathering her gear and what strength she had left, she began to walk. As she reached the next crevasse, she could feel the Force returning. She leapt across the twenty foot trench like it was nothing. Sinya’ni reveled in the revitalizing energy coursing through her. The start of her journey had been perilous; however, with the Force as her ally, the remaining distance to the rally point went smoothly.

Die Another Day
By Sinya’ni

It was a simple exchange. The Twi’lek had been on many such missions while in House Tyranus. Meet a contact, slip them a credit chip, receive a data stick, walk away. Simple…or so it seemed.

“Slagar never had me do these unarmed. That’s just stupid,” Sinya’ni said out loud to herself as she contemplated slipping a vibroknife into her boot. “Nah, too risky. What if they have a scanner? Don’t want to scare them off.” So she set off into the seedy streets of the Smuggler’s Moon unarmed. “Yeah…this will end well. What could possibly go wrong,” she muttered under her breath as she pulled the hood of her cloak up over her lekku.

The streets were crowded. Sapients from all over the galaxy found their way to Nar Shaddaa for any number of reasons, none of them good. As the four foot, nine inch Rylothian zigged and zagged her way across the plaza trying not to be stepped on, she realized one good thing about not having anything in her pockets…she didn’t have to worry about pickpockets.

Sinya’ni reached the alley where the rendezvous was to take place and stopped at the entrance. Leaning against the wall, she watched the people as they passed. No sign of her contact. She waited a bit longer before ducking down the deserted roadway.

“Well this is just great. How long am I supposed to wait befo–“ the Twi’ilek stopped mid ramble. She looked both ways and up at the roofs of the surrounding buildings before cautiously approaching the pair of boots sticking out of the rubbish pile. Sure enough, she’d found her contact. The Nautolan was dead. This simple exchange just got complicated.

Checking her surroundings again, the diminutive Rutian searched the unfortunate cadaver. There was no datastick. Not one piece of electronic information. But the former amphian did have a small backpack and a blaster burn the size of a kowakian monkey on his chest. Inside the pack was a handful of worthless items.

Nerf Towel
Radiation Detector
Glowrod
BlasTech DL-21 Blaster Pistol
Fantafly Polyhedral Dice
Assassin's Ring
Audio Recording Rod
Keyring with keys
Dental floss

She grabbed the pack and quickly left the alley. Her small stature and Force concealment made it easy to get lost in the crowd. That’s when she saw the assassin. He was hanging out by the alley watching her leave. The Klatoonian male followed her into the street but soon lost her. However, she did not lose sight of the tall dog man.

As the suspect turned back, Sinya followed. One hand was on the blaster, the other clutched the pack. “Come on, that’s right. Take me to your leader, slobbermouth.” She muttered. The assassin did not, in fact, lead her to his boss. But to another back alley where he disappeared.

Reaching out with the Force, the Twi’lek tried to sense her prey. However, there were too many people in close proximity. It was an overwhelming sensation. So many thoughts and feelings bombarded her that she abandoned the Force search in favor of good old fashioned walking, but in the end, the assassin was nowhere to be found. “Well…guess that’s it then,” she said as she turned away and made the long trek back to her ship.

Question 2: Jedi Master Yoda is thought to have said “Difficult to see; always in motion is the future.”. What do you believe he meant?
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That is an interesting question. What did he mean by the future always being in motion? Obviously he was not talking about linear motion. He was talking about a fixed point in time and whether that point would remain constant or was subject to change depending on the actions of sentients. The concept is a complex one. It is a philosophical dilemma argued about for a millennia.

Yoda was delusional and weak. He subscribed to the Jedi’s fear based teachings about the Light side and Dark side. That is a bunch of poodoo. A hokey religion looking for an external reason for the selfish desires they so desperately wanted to hide. However, though his overall philosophy was flawed, he was correct in his statement about the future.

The future *IS* always in motion because it does not yet exist. Nothing is predetermined. The Force can only show what a possible future is. Sometimes the future shown actually happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But who’s to say the vision itself didn’t create the foretold future?

Sometimes the actions taken to avoid the premonition is the very thing that brings it to be. What would have happened if the Jedi or Sith hadn’t tried to change what they saw? Would it have happened anyway? If so, is it possible to affect the future at all? Many philosophers have contemplated this very issue.

If the future is set, why does it matter what we do? I think the craven denizens of the galaxy believe this. They lack the courage to admit they have the power to affect change in their own and others’ lives; because, if they did, they would have to accept responsibility for their own destiny and their own failures. The truly great heroes accept their failures and successes. They take ownership of their decisions for better or worse. The important thing is, they know that what they do matters. They effect change with even the smallest action or even inaction, and they are brave enough to accept their part in the outcome.

Yoda was right about the future being in motion and that our actions could change the outcome. However, he still tried to hide from the responsibility of his decisions. Placing blame on the Force for your own darkness or valor is lazy and dishonest. There is no Dark or Light side. There is only the Force. The Dark Side is a manifestation of your own inner darkness. We all have it. The inner darkness. The part of you that wants. The part that will do whatever it takes to win no matter who it hurts. It is not some evil entity or force acting upon you. It’s a natural part of who you are. Accept it. Embrace it. But don’t ignore the part of you that dissents.

The part that the Jedi and Sith call the “Light Side” is also a part of you. The part that knows we have a responsibility to our neighbors and fellow sentients. Let it temper your actions. Don’t follow the Light Side out of some misguided guilt or religious nonsense. Just remember that your actions have consequences for more than just yourself. Ask yourself how you would like to be treated.

Now, when it comes to the future, Just do your best. There is no way to predict the outcome. There are too many variables. Those that strive to control the future are doomed to destroy it. All we can do is make the best decision we can in the moment and work towards a goal. It’s when we try *NOT* to do something that we will always fail.

Answer by Sinya’ni (Sinya Ani)

Manually added by Prophet Dacien Victae