Chapter Thirty Two: Conversing with Spirits
-Meanwhile-
Rainbow Dash sat in the speeder leaning back glancing at Shae who was flying. She patted her knees before looking at her as Shae focused on flying.
“You know I could always….” she began but Shae shook her head saying. “I am not going to risk you dropping me because you want to fly.”
“I don’t have to carry you.” huffed Rainbow and Shae glanced at her. “What? All I’m saying is that we could have gotten there faster.”
“We’re already in the speeder.” Shae told her, and Rainbow slumped in her seat seeing the Jedi Temple come into view. It was too slow for her, she could be there in an instant. The speeder landed and Rainbow Dash hopped out seeing Yoda standing there. Shae glanced at them hesitantly before climbing out and walking next to Rainbow.
“Master Yoda!” Rainbow greeted before giving him a salute and a huge smile on her face. Shae mirroring the salute but not saying a word. Her eyes flickered at the Jedi walking around before glancing away.
"Pleasure to see you it is." Yoda told her with a warm smile. Rainbow approached him saying. “So, I think I need a little help. My abilities are starting to affect my performance guarding Senator Amidala and I was hoping that you can help me understand them a little better.”
Yoda stared at Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes saying. "When experiencing these powers you do, your mind, where it is?"
“It’s hard to explain, when using them for the first time it’s when I’m getting overwhelmed. It’s like an act of desperation or instinct to escape or in need to defend myself. Recently though… my mind’s been getting fuzzy.” Rainbow Dash admitted looking at Shae who spoke up. “Recently she came into the medbay after training with Crossbones. While we were talking Kory and myself noticed that her eyes changed color for a brief moment. She did say something in that brief moment about how the positioning of the troops are more likely to get them killed and even offered advice on how to correct it. Saving the lives of more troops as well as saving money on lost equipment.”
Yoda turned to look at Shae with a curious look. "Different she was, you would say hmm?"
“It’s subtle, but she did act differently.” Shae admitted as Rainbow Dash glanced to the side shuffling her feet. “We try to see if she’s alright, but she doesn’t really remember those moments clearly enough. Like she remembers what she does but not really what she says. We were hoping you can look into this. We don’t want an incident where she loses control and hurts herself or others.”
"Hmm...unsettling this is. Young Dash, how feel do you?" Yoda asked as he put his hand to his chin. Rainbow Dash shoved her hands in her pockets drawing back a little as she thought about how to answer. She did not want to mention Darth Imperius, she didn’t want to sound crazy, yet she couldn’t keep it a secret if she wanted help.
“I want to be able to get a grip on this, I thought I could do it by myself, but the more this happens I can’t.” Rainbow sighed as she looked at the ground shaking her head.
"Old I may be, but blind I am not." Yoda said as he bonked Rainbow Dash on her head with his walking stick. "Troubling you more, something is. If help you require, all the truth you must say."
Rainbow drew in her breath before looking at Yoda before saying. “I’ve been seeing… people. There’s been an old man who calls himself Etaitiv Kaas, a woman who vanishes in yellow electricity, and someone who calls himself Darth Imperius. The female never introduced herself and told me to think about the other abilities. Imperius has just been helping me get through issues when he can and Etativ….”
Rainbow felt her breath leave her body as she saw Etativ watching her carefully a distance away from the Jedi. She figured the best way to explain him. “He’s the guy I told you about, the one I saw when I was in the medbay on Christophsis. The one who I said held no emotion in his eyes.”
Yoda's look turned from curious to concerned. "Moraband, you said you've been? If involved this Darth is, the work of Sith spirits this must be. With me, you must come."
“I thought that would have been one of the things you would have been looking out for when you found her.” Shae spoke crossing her arms across her chest and leaning her weight on her right foot. Rainbow glanced at Shae, her eyes wide in disbelief, a rare blush appearing upon her cheeks.
Yoda looked at Shae and said. "Wait here you must." His head then turned to Rainbow Dash. "Come!"
Rainbow Dash followed after Yoda as Shae leaned against the speeder looking at the other Jedi Masters who gathered around. She focused on a small bug on the ground watching it crawl around avoiding any gazes.
Yoda brought her to a small room with minimal lighting, it had the appearance of a room for meditation. He motioned for Dash to sit on one of the meditation cushions as he sat on another across from her. "Close your eyes you must, your mind on those you see focused you must be."
Rainbow Dash took a seat and closed her eyes, she took a deep breath as she began to focus. Whispers began to surround her as lights of different colors appeared in the room. The red was faded as her eyes opened revealing solid red. They narrowed at Yoda as her wings folded behind her like a cloak.
Yoda sat silently with his eyes closed, his voice appearing in Rainbow Dash's mind.
"Explain who you are you will. The girl, torment her no longer." Yoda spoke. Rainbow Dash chuckled for a moment before saying. “I would have thought that the Jedi would have used their words, not their minds. I would say it isn’t polite.”
"Little of the Jedi and the Force you know. Possess her, why you do?" Yoda said in response to the spirit. Rainbow’s shoulders pulled back as she tilted her head up staring at Yoda answering. “You shall know me as Tempest, the Wrath of the Empire and its not that I want to share a body with her. I could care little for this small being yet I owe a favor. When called upon I came and was trapped, not even your ‘cleansing’ wiped me from her mind.”
“Lies and deceit, the way of the Sith that is. Believe you, why should I?" Yoda asked his voice calm but his head tilted slightly. Tempest sighed as he climbed to his feet walking to the window as he whispered. “Even Sith have their honor, you can sense truth in words, I have no reason to bring down the Republic. The Sith Empire died a long time ago, their knowledge lost, and the blame passed on those who had nothing to do with their beliefs. Forced to hide, forced to allow their culture to be wiped from history, to us… the Jedi and the Republic are the monsters. Tell me this Master Jedi, what reason do I have to believe that you will not just use her and her abilities for your own gain? That you are trustworthy?”
"Protect her I will, use her I will not. Lost you are, both in young Dash and your knowledge of the Living Force. Confused and uncertain she is of her abilities, wants to protect others she does but her heart clouded with fear it is of those who lurk inside." Yoda responded calmly without opening his eyes. Tempest chuckled as he lowered his head, shaking it once. “She reminds me of my apprentice, not as soft spoken, but her heart is in the right place. I am linked to her power of defense, the red lightning that surrounds her body creating a barrier between her and an armed opponent. It can be used as a weapon if she is willing to learn. What she does with her abilities, how she uses them, she will need to figure that out on her own. I will not help her learn unless she proves herself, so far she has fallen short.”
Rainbow Dash started to fall backwards as Yoda opened his eyes, catching her with the Force and laid her on the cushion. Yoda placed a hand on her forehead willing her to come back to consciousness. "Young Dash, awake you should."
Rainbow let out a groan as the red light grew brighter. “You know, you should really figure this out before asking her to connect to us.”
Her eyes opened revealing yellow as she blinked looking around. “Well this is awkward, I’m not really used to Jedi-y temples and stuff like that.”
Yoda spoke normally outside her mind saying. "Another spirit you are?"
“I’m the Voidhound, callsign Ace.” Rainbow Dash spoke sitting up before stretching out her arms. “Wow, this is weird, never thought I would be able to feel what it’s like to have fingers again.”
She seemed rather preoccupied with Rainbow’s arms and fingers before looking at Yoda. “Sorry Master Oteg… I mean errr… sorry.”
"A Sith, you do not sound like. Oteg, a Master of the Old Republic he was." Yoda said in response, almost looking confused. Rainbow nodded her head before climbing to her feet saying. “Well, I knew it as the Republic but I guess to you guys it would be the Old Republic. It’s been that long, huh? I wonder….”
Rainbow crossed her arms shrinking back slightly as she glanced out the window. “What happened to you Corso?”
Yoda moved back to his cushion and sat down. "Strange this is. More to the ways of the Force I must learn."
Rainbow Dash walked up to Yoda and placed a hand on his shoulder giving him a sideways smile saying. “Hey, none of this was my idea, but we owe it to Rainbow Dash and her friends. This is our way of helping her connect to her abilities as they evolve. Granted that it keeps us from fully moving on… I think the best way of putting it is that the Force still has plans for us.”
Yoda stroked his chin as he responded. "A plan you say? A connection to young Dash you have perhaps?"
“I never really talked with her, we share a mutual friend.” Voidhound chuckled before looking away. “That’s what Darth Grumpy Pants said when he got stuck as a Force Ghost. Wonder if he’s still mad about that.”
She smiled at Yoda before sitting down on the closest seat narby. “That’s what the Outlander said anyways.”
"Intriguing this is. Speak to young Dash I must." Yoda said to himself. "Enough I have learned, leave her you will."
The Voidhound looked a little hurt before looking to the side and nodded her head saying. “Kay. See you around Master Jedi.”
She closed her eyes, yellow arcs of electricity bouncing off of Rainbow Dash. She fell to the side letting out a grunt pressing her hands against the cushion pushing herself up. “I hope that was helpful, Master Yoda.”
"Much I learned, yet understand little I do. Strange the Spirits are, not fully known the motives. Release them I cannot but harm you they won't." Yoda told her shaking his head a little before looking at her. Rainbow Dash frowned before saying. “Are any of them mentioned in history? Maybe that’ll help us figure out a motivation.”
"The Emperor's Wrath, one was called. Tempest his name was. Something on Moraband to shed some light, there might be." Yoda responded, tilting his head up as he thought. "Go there you must, but not alone will you be."
Rainbow Dash felt something weighing on her mind as she looked away. It must have been one of the spirits telling her to correct Yoda while the others were silent. Her eyes flickered up as if searching before looking at Yoda. “Isn’t that dangerous? Even if you send me with more people the spirits there go for any chance to possess any body they can inhabit. Besides… they didn’t really stay on Moraba… Korriba… that place. If we’re looking for information on them, we’ve got to find their vessels or places that they stayed in for long periods of time.”
"Dromund Kaas, the ancient Imperial capital perhaps." Yoda said. "Hard to find now it is. The spirits, lead us there through you they might."
Rainbow’s fist clenched at the mention of Dromund Kaas, not even noticing the action. She heard Etaitiv’s voice in her head. “How interesting.”
Her eyes widened slightly but she didn’t move purple slowly seeping into the iris. Purple energy began to surround her body before letting out a blast of energy throughout the room. Ripples of purple light seeped into the dust as they floated around. Yoda watched realizing that another spirit was taking over. Rainbow’s hand swept through the air before placing it over her heart and bowed her head. “Apologies Master Yoda. I would have rather kept myself from interfering but it was necessary.”
"Know me you do? From the other spirits, different you seem." Yoda said to the new spirit. "Necessary to interfere you say? A visit to Dromund Kaas perhaps?"
“I have always been watching.” Rainbow Dash spoke, her voice even before shaking her head. “Not with Dromund Kaas, though I would not mind it if that world remains untouched. At the moment though it was a presence that I had not realized lurked in the shadows of her mind.”
She chuckled a bit, muttering. “Though it is not me you should be concerned about. There is someone who is being lured to the Dark Side. It is only a matter of time before they fall.”