Chapter 2: Searching

From Tython to Ryloth was not a quick journey. It had been a week, nearly two since they left Tyrhon. Dominik made sure to plot the most direct, but safest course they could take through hyperspace lanes so they they would arrive as quick as possible. He didn't blame Lo for the boredom she began to express as the trip dragged on. The Master Jedi supplied her with Holocrons to study with while they waited.

Take the time to relax and study peacefully, you may not be afforded that opportunity once we arrive. he would tell her. The mans body had fully healed since the skirmish on Corellia works ago, his hip being the only part that would still continue to bother him, as it had for years.

The ship pulled out of hyperspace, coming to a slow glide, Ryloth positioned in their front, allowing a full view of the colorful planet, earthy tones making up its surface. Scanners were quickly activated as soon as the ship pulled out of hyperspace, searching for enemy ships, distress signals, anything.

Minutes went by as Dominik allowed the ships scanners to complete a full sweep. The sector visuappy looked clear, but he was taking no chances. During their time en route, Dom had taken the time to teach Lo some of the more simple tasks of flying. During their stops to refuel, he began to let her take control as they landed, taking her with activating their landing gear, lowering the ramp, and slowing down the engine.

Reaching out through his communication systems, Dominik attempted to make contact with some form of antenna in the  village they planned to land in. His information provided by the Council indicated they had crude but working communications systems amongst the rubble that was their villages.

Pressing and holding a switch on the dash, Dominik waited to receive a small signal, indicating they had made contact.
His hand remained there for several moments, the Master himself silent and focused.

"We're going to land on the surface Lo," he began, removing his hand from the toggle switch and increasing the thrusters, moving the ship forward. "Prepare the landing gear and shutdown procedures as I showed you, but keep the engine running." He instructed the Bothan. The man's tone was serious, almost urgent as he spoke. He sensed something was wrong, but decided not to speak of it until they had eyes on their destination.

"Right," Lo then flipped the switches. Each one clicked and turning from green to red, save one. She found her breathing began to slip into a steady pace and her early week anxieties became lost in her focus. The engine’s dull humming became her background noise indicating she left it on. After flipping the switches, she leaned back into the seat. A thought occurred to as she caught Dominik’s emotions.

“You’re worried… Why, Master?” The title rolled off her tongue easily causing her to pause. She blinked with surprise at the habit developing.

"Because our contact on the surface isn't connecting to our signal." Dominik replied, looking to Lo before his eyes returned to their front. Dominik carefully maneuvered the ship as it entered Tython's atmosphere, its scanners still not picking up anyone else's signal, be they friend or foe. As the Mirage neared the planet's surface, much more detail was revealed. A planet consisting of numerous scatters mesas and jungles, deserts and valleys that stretched and connected for as far as the eye could see. A dense fog lay on the horizon, hiding the terrain from view as it stretched as far as they could both see. Below, Dominik steered the ship towards a large clearing on a cliffside. The clearing was bordered on one side by the cliff, and on the other side by an arching treeline of a jungle. As the pair grew closer to the surface, Lo's keen eyes made out a small village, evident by dark wooden and rock structures that dotted the clearing.

Lo did as she was told, almost perfectly. The landing gear started to emerge from the bottom of the ship, the thrusters throwing up dirt and pebbles as the Mirage gently touched down on the planet's surface.

Taking a moment, Dominik ensured his ship's systems were prepared and operational should they need to board quickly and take off. The engine sat at a low idle, quieting down as the boarding ramp started to lower at the back. The Master Jedi turned towards his Padawan, his eyes still scanning their surroundings, watching, observing.

"Remember what I've told you. Stay alert, reach out with the Force, feel your surroundings, look at everything. If anything feels wrong, you tell me. Do you understand?"

Dominik's eyes finally moved to Lo as he finished talking, ready for any questions that may come his way but also showing that their time to be serious and understand each other was now.

“You’re expecting trouble.” A statement rather than a question as Lo looked hard at him, seeming to tune in on their bond. She frowned at how weak it still remained causing her to exhale in frustration.

“I can do that. Are you heading out first?” She expected she knew the answer, but her lips still asked. There was little reason to keep the ship on idle unless someone would remain behind and be ready to lift off.

"Expecting, yes. But I think the conflict has passed. When I reach out, Lo, I can sense there are no living beings in that village." He explained, gesturing to the group of houses just a couple hundred feet in front of them. "Yes, I will go out first. Keep your wrist comlink on," he said, gesturing to the same device that was on his wrist, "if I give you the all clear, seal up the ship and come join me. But prepared to take off if I tell you to, do you understand?"

“I do.” Lo bite back the unnecessary questions.

She had gotten better at it, especially when the timing was inappropriate. Her brown eyes stared a bit longer than she intended as fear and concern rosed at the back of her attention. As the wristcom was offered, she placed it onto her wrist and let it fasten there. It rubbed a bit, but she didn’t mind it.  

Lo inhaled then exhaled, trying to push the emotions away.

“I think I’m ready when you are. Just… be careful.”

Dominik smiled softly at her concern as he stood. "Trust in yourself, trust in me." He said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before he moved out of the ship.

“Harder than it sounds.” Lo forced a chuckle, trying to hide her insecurities. Her posture immediately relaxed when she noted his hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head and followed him until he vanished past the cockpit door.

Master Rothul stepped down the ramp after making his way through the ship. He tapped a small button on his comlink to ensure he had a connection with Lo's before stepping onto the surface of Ryloth. The man moved slowly, now without his walking stick to side him, unlike two weeks prior. The limp in his gait was minimal, but there. It didn't slow him down though. Dominik started towards the village farther into the clearing, looking behind him at the ship as he grew farther away.

It took the man about five minutes walking to reach the village. Nearing it, Dom felt nothing out of the norm. His lightsaber still hanging at his hip, the Master Jedi could sense it wouldn't be needed; the conflict had passed. Regardless, he started looking through the small houses, knowing Lo probably could hardly see him from where the ship was now. It was a good lesson in trust and patience.

Searching the houses, empty home after empty home. They were just, gone. Dominik had been given instructions by the Jedi Council that he was to make contact with one of the colony heads, Glie Tualin. Word had reached the Order that clans, whole villages even, had started to suddenly vanish. Buildings and objects were all that remained, but their people were just gone. There was never a trace of who or what was behind it, or where the Twi’Lek people would be going. That was why Dominik had been sent here with his Padawan. With a history of gathering intel, piecing together clues and tying up loose ends, along with his experience as a diplomat, Dominik was the man for the job.

Meanwhile in the cockpit, Lo’s hands remained on the steering. Her eyes closed as her senses extended, trying to apply her training into effect. She focused on her breathing first. Calming her jittery and untamed emotions into still presence. With some struggle, she began to listen to the wildlife outside as her force sense extended beyond the boundaries of the ship. Her comlink’s light blinked indicating an incoming communication from her master.

Raising his wrist to his mouth, Dominik started to speak into the comlink. “We’re all clear Lo,” he began, making his way up an eroded stone staircase to get a better view of the ship over the houses. “Toggle switch three on the rear control panel, in the central access chamber.”

Lo’s head cocked in confusion. “Umm, all right. Why?”

Even as she asked the question, the Padawan began to toggle the switch on the control panel. Her ears caught the sound of something rumbling from the central access chamber. She frowned then jerked out of her seat. With building curiosity, she treaded lightly toward the source. Her fur puffed out in concern creating a furball effect. Secretly, she hated it, but her dislike faded when she spotted the elevating speeder bikes.

Her finger pressed the button to comment, her muzzle curled into an eager smirk. “You didn’t tell me you brought a pair of speeders.”

“Of course I didn’t,” came his voice over the comlink, “Where’s the fun in that?”

The old Jedi smirked as he felt the giddiness from his Padawan. Standing atop one of the houses, watching the ship for another few moments before turning to look farther out into the horizon, the Jedi pondered. The ship was decently hidden near the treeline for now, and they would not be far. Investigating needed to be done before they started announcing themselves to the surface of Ryloth. Somewhere, there were other clans, other leaders, other connections. If they were to receive periodic support from the Council and the Republic, connections needed to be established.

It was early morning, and the days stretched long, giving the pair of Jedi the light they’d need for their search. If they could find a clan or village, they could find a leader. Then, they could start assisting with relief, and try to find the missing colonists.

“The blue one is mine, by the way.” Came his voice again, teasing the Padawan for a moment before instructions followed. “On it, punch in these coordinates: Twenty-five North, at point three-five mark eight. Follow it to the village, I’ll be waiting for you here. And seal up the ship, we’re going to do a little scouting.”

“Favorite color?” Lo asked suddenly, pressing in the numbers.

As the engine began to warm up, she flipped a switch and the back doors began to lower. Her figure quickly shifted to her own and turned it on. Just seconds before hers warmed up, Dominik’s claimed speeder took off. She flinched when she heard the bike scrap against the door’s side in its take off. She silently regretted not waiting until the door was fully open before starting his bike.

Biting her lip, she leaned and made a jump start to catch up to his.  

Dominik chuckled at her question, but didn’t let that through the coms. “Yes, it is.” He heard the rev of a speeder a few moments later, watching it kick up dust as it followed a path towards the inputted coordinates. “Now hurry out here, we’ve got some ground to cover and I want to make sure we use the daylight to our advantage.”

Dominik waited until he saw both speeders headed towards him before taking the old staircase back down to ground level. His senses pushed out, he still didn’t feel anything near them; both good, and bad. Moments later the blue speeder stopped in front of him, his eyes seeming to miss the scratches on the side as they looked to his Padawan. He waited for Lo to come to a stop before climbing onto his speeder and looking to her.

“Keep your senses sharp. If you feel anything, alert me with your comlink. I’ll see it.” The man wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to wait to explain exactly what was going on; the information from the Council, what he pieced together so far just by walking through the village. But in the back of his mind he also wanted to wait, to see what his young Padawan gathered about the situation simply by watching, and observing.

Relief flooded Lo when her Master didn’t mention the scratches. After thinking that, she chided herself for her stupidity and knew he cared more about the villagers than a speeder. She began to turn hers to an idle then wait for him to mount his. She nodded as she considered what to say next.

“Do we have coordinates for the nearest village? What happens if the next one we stop at has been hit too? Do we keep moving until we reach a village that isn’t empty?” Lo’s questions poured out, one after another.  

Dominik couldn’t help the smile that came to his face at the young girl’s spew of questions. He didn’t blame her curiosity; how could he when he had kept her in the dark for most of the trip?

“We don’t have the coordinates, that’s why were going to take speeders. They’re lower profile and easier to hide. We’ll keep moving until we find one of the Twi’lek clans. We need to make a connection with one of their leaders, otherwise our mission will be for naught.”

Dominik took the handles to his speeder in his grip, revving the machine for a moment before looking back to his Padawan. “Follow me closely, keep your lightsaber close and your wits about you. And if I tell you to turn back to the ship, you turn back.”

Lo opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. She nodded her understanding. Her fingers wrapped about the handles of her speeder as she twisted it, the engine roaring back to life. She leaned into the seat ready to take off at the same time he did.

“Ready.”

Dominik pushed a foot down on the right pedal, speeding forward as Lo said she was ready. He followed a main path that kept pretty straight, following the village across the plains before the houses ended and a faint path continued. He had confidence in Lo’s ability to maneuver a speeder, otherwise this would have proven difficult. He planned on following a deep, dried up river bed that swept through the canyon next to the village. Someone needed to be found. They couldn’t waste days looking for the colonists, so Dominik would hit the search hard until clues were found.

Lo’s speeder kept hot on Dom’s tail. Her muzzle curled into her smirk as she moved through the entangled landscape. She lifted her hips then leaned down causing the front to press close to the ground, skidding underneath the large root bridge. She jerked to the side taking a hard left before realigning herself back onto her master’s wake.



It had been hours of an exhaustive search as Dominik’s mind moved to focusing on finding them a path back to the Mirage. Their search had turned up empty. Nothing but seemingly abandoned villages that left no trace of where its inhabitants had gone.

The Master Jedi’s speeder started to slow. He banked it to one side, giving Lo time to notice his speed change and adjust hers. Soon after, Dominik halted his speeder, pulling it to the side to that he was perpendicular with the path they had been travelling. As soon as Lo had come to a full stop, he dismounted his to approach her.

“We’re headed back to the Mirage. I need to contact the Council and let them know what we found. Then perhaps we can get better intel on where to look for more Twi’lek colonists.” He explained, watching the young Bothan to see how she took her information.

Lo had contemplating what had happened as they found more and more empty villages. Barely any signs of struggles and none that fit anything that could make a whole village vanish without a trace. Her figure leaned back in her seat while she put her speeder into idle. She looked into her master’s direction, listening to the information he gave.

“It makes sense, but eventually it will get dark. Maybe we should consider using the Mirage for a shelter when it does?” Lo asked, considering the future likelihood they would be staying here.

“Good thinking, Padawan.” Dominik said, smiling with a nod to Lo at her suggestion. He had planned on them taking shelter in the Mirage until they were able to make contact with a Twi’lek colony. He was glad to hear that she was thinking, preparing, ready should that need arise.

Lo’s fur stood on end as her eyes jerked to the side, her hand lingered near her lightsaber. She quickly dismounted fully to stand near her master, half listening to him.

“We’ll-”

Taking his lightsaber in hand, Dominik ignite the green blade, turning quickly to look back the way they had come. Dominik took a couple steps back towards that direction, holding his lightsaber out as his senses tugged at his mind. Suddenly, from around the bend of the canyon they were in, came a herd of Gutkurrs. Large, two-legged, insectoid carnivores whom the Twi’leks were known to hunt, and be hunted by. Six of them ran at the pair of Jedi from one direction, and when Dom turned towards his speeder, many many more were headed from the other bend of the canyon.

“Lo, get up on that ledge, now!” He ordered, pointing to a rock ledge that hung down from the cliff wall, about fifteen feet above to their side. Gutkurrs were fast, had very impressive endurance, and were relentless. In order to deal with the herd, he wanted to make sure Lo was at least safe, for now. The more that focused on him, the better.

Lo’s head turned to him, her thoughts hesitated at his orders. A split second too long. The herd advanced on the pair causing her to remember Dominik’s orders. She coiled her legs underneath and leapt too late. A Gutkurr screeched then slammed into her side. It sent her tumbling a few feet behind Dom, curled into a defensive ball. She shook her head to clear the ringing from the hit while she struggled to stand upright.

Seeing Lo get hit, Dominik stepped back to better defend his Padawan. He sent a strong Force push towards a pair of the creatures that charged at them, forcing them back and off balance as they crashed into each other. That same hand reached out then, Dom’s keen eyes spying Lo’s lightsaber fly from her side as she was knocked down. He took it with that free hand, holding it tight as he quickly rolled out of the way of a Gutkurr that had focused solely on him. He turned back, Force pushing another pair that would have trampled Lo had they kept going.

Lo whimpered as her ankle refused to accept her weight. She leaned on her right side to avoid pressure on her left ankle, her hand reached down to feel it. The joint felt swollen and hurt every time she touched it. It had to be sprained.

“Master Rothul, my ankle… I think I sprained it.” Lo meekly said through the pain.

Hearing his Padawan, Dominik doubled his efforts, stepping back to her as he pushed another creature away. Dominik picked Lo up in his arms, numerous more Gukurrs starting their charge towards the pair. The man knelt down, placing Lo’s lightsaber in her hands before he took hold of her fully, launching her up in a Force powered toss up to the ledge. When Lo left his arms, her body shrank into itself. Her eyes couldn’t help but close, her breath sucked into her lungs.

The Master Jedi couldn’t join her on the ledge, the creatures would only shift their focus and attempt to reach them. Gutkurrs would do anything to get to their prey.

He used the Force to guide Lo’s form safely onto the ledge, releasing his hold on her before he jumped high. The Jedi leapt up, his feat finding the constantly moving bodies of the Gutkurrs as their focus shifted as he moved. He moved nimbly across their tops, managing to gain some ground as found an open spot within the herd. He drew his lightsaber again, stabbing it through the head of one of them as it missed its charge. The Jedi moved, almost dancing as the creatures charged at him, ultimately crashing into each other as their target moved suddenly.

Lo twisted about to look over the ledge. Her lightsaber in her hand, but useless due to her condition. With each movement Master Rothul made, her heart thumped in her chest and seemed to bruise it. Unable to physically help, she reached out a hand toward a small chunk of rock near one of the Gutkurrs. As it snapped at Rothul’s foot, she shoved it upward. About the size of a melon fruit, it smacked hard into the creature’s jaw causing it to slam shut.

Dominik took advantage of Lo’s help, turning and stabbing his lightsaber into the head of the stunned Gutkurr. The Master Jedi felt it then, more lifeforms, headed quickly towards them. He turned quickly, feeling the ground shake as his eyes looked farther down the canyon. Charging towards the pair of Jedi and the Gutkuurs were a dozen Twi’lek riders mounted upon Blurrgs. They didn’t seem to stop as the Twi’leks spotted the herd, steering their mounts into the large group, unaware of the Jedi Master within them. The Gutkurrs, seeing pressure from further down the canyon, turned and started to challenge the herd of riders coming in.

The two groups hit hard, throwing up dust and dirt as they challenged each other. Master Rothul braced himself, focusing in on the groups and the creatures that ran amongst each other. He moved gracefully, hidden amongst the dust constantly being stirred up.

Only a few minutes went by, but to Lo and Dominik it may have felt longer. One of them waiting for her Master to emerge, and the other using all of his focus to be able to emerge once the chaos was over. Suddenly, the herds started to die down, the Gutkurrs either killed by the Twi’leks or having run off. Dominik stood his ground at the base of Lo’s ledge, lightsaber drawn and eyes on the Twi’leks, all focused in on him and Lo. Blasters held up as the dust settled, their mounts moving uneasily as the Twi’lek warriors stood up against the newcomer.

“Well well, Master Jedi, I really thought the Jedi Order had abandoned us.” One Twi’leks voice rose over the coming silence as the man urged his mount towards Dominik. An orange-skinned Twi’lek, his lekku striped with darker orange stripes down to the end of them.

“Master Rothul, can I come down now?” Lo’s timid voice broke out from on the ledge, peering down at the scene.

“No.” Dominik replied bluntly, his hardened gaze on the arc of wary Twi’lek warriors around them.

“Not abandoned, but dealing with things closer to home.” Dominik argued, holding his saber loosely at his side.

“Surely you’ve noticed what is happening to us? On our home planet? Our people disappearing, those that remained are starving. And what does the Republic send? A Jedi Master and his little Padawan?” the man yelled, hands thrown out above his head, causing Dominik’s grip on his saber to tighten.

“And you’re showing such distaste towards two, how would you feel if we brought fleets? Invaded your home?”

Dominik knew why only two had been sent. For one, Ryloth was on the outer edge of the Outer Rim, edged up against Sith territories and far from any major outpost. Secondly, the Jedi could not just send fleets of starships and fighters into the system. It would draw the attention of the Sith and effectively break the treaty. The Jedi did not have the full support of the Republic, and could have very little to no response from the Republic to send troops and ships.

“Is that a threat, Jedi?” the Twi’lek leader growled, edging his mount closer towards Dominik.

Dominik withdrew his saber, taking a deep breath as he returned his saber to his hip, “It is a promise if you force the wrong hand. Jedi and Republic aid would draw attention from the Sith Empire, and bring full on war to Ryloth.”

The Twi’lek male suddenly held out his hand to the warriors around him, and in return they began to lower their blasters. The man took a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment, thinking. His gaze then focused back on Dominik, “Come, Master Jedi. I think we have much to talk about.”

---

The man’s name was Sar Tarkona, a thirty-two year old Twi’lek who had grown up in a time where his kind were often kidnapped for slavery and invaded by independents who wished to take the planet's resources for their own. It was a never ending battle for the Twi’lek people. As soon as one conflict was resolved, another would follow in its wake. There was never rest, never any true peace. The minds behind exploiting the Twi’lek people had been identified as the Hutts, a council who denied every involvement but refused to make any of their records public or to come before the Republic Senate to argue against the accusations thrown at them.

This is where the Twi’leks had requested help from the Republic, the Jedi, anyone. But after the Sacking of Coruscant, many relief efforts and security projects were called off, and all eyes turned from Ryloth yet again.

Sar led the Jedi through the canyon to a small underground cave system that remained close to the surface, but very hard to detect or notice.. Their speeders were brought along and stored near the entrance that was heavily guarded by very well hidden Twi’lek scouts. Inside the caves, natural light was brought in by grates that acted as windows to the surface, allowing in light when the sun was high. Torches and illuminating rocks were used to line the rest of the caves, and kept the area bright and welcoming despite the fact that it was a cave.

One Twi’lek helped Lo as the group followed Sar through the tunnels, ultimately coming into a large cavern that seemed to be the central space for all of the Twi’leks living in this clan. Tents provided sleeping areas for many while rooms carved into the side of the cavern supplies spaces for the rest. The middle of the cavern was wide open and flat, while further in the back was another, smaller cavern, seemingly used for gatherings and meetings. Rooms were also carved farther back into the smaller cavern, and it was into these rooms that Dominik and Lo were led.

A Twi’lek female tended to Lo’s injured ankle as they all were seated, discussing the current situation and trying to make sense of both sides views.

Lo tried not to squirm as the wrap was applied. Her energy began to flood inside her causing her to become restless. She leaned forward into the stool as her fingers dug into and released from the seat’s edge. Her other leg bounced on the foot while she watched the process closely.

“Our villages are being emptied because of slavers, our holds invaded by pirates and raiders. Yet no one has come to help us, Master Jedi.” Sar explained, a few other warriors sitting around him in the circle.

“The information that the Jedi Council received did not explain your situation fully. We did not know entire villages were being emptied, and we have no evidence as to who’s behind it. Have you seen any of these raids? The slavers taking your people, do you know what they look like?”

“No,” Sar began, clearly frustrated at his lack of an answer. “Only one of us here has ever walked away from an attack,” he continued, gesturing to the blue-skinned male beside him. “Farsa.”

The man nodded to the Jedi as his name was spoken, his body language speaking a lot to the Master Jedi.

“Farsa,” Dominik began, nodding in respect to the man, “Do you remember anything from the attack? What weapons they used, their armor? What language were they speaking? Anything.”

“I remember their armor,” the Twi’lek began, his voice quiet and raspy, “It was brown… leather I think. With gold inlaid into it. Their helmets were oddly shaped too, but I never saw their faces. It was dark when they attacked.”

“These villages,” Dominik began, looking to Sar, “Can you take us to more of them?”

The Twi’lek man nodded, his gaze then moving to the men besides him who stood and egan filing out of the carved room. “Tomorrow we’ll bring you.” He explained, standing from his perch upon the small rock ledge many of them had shared as a seat. “But for now you and your Padawan should rest. If you are hungry, we don’t have much to eat or drink, but it is our tradition to share what we do have with our guests.”