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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3407600" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 445: Father and Son BondingNight on Yavin IV could be very dangerous if one wasn’t careful. Even though Tobias had only been on the moon for a short time, he was well aware of the many native creatures. Some of the first lessons in the Force were learning to identify them, both for the practical purposes of honing one’s Force technique and knowing what the local creatures felt like. He was filled with a sense of unease the entire trek through the thick jungle, but kept his ears, eyes, and sense in the Force good and alert...and nothing approached beyond a distance to curiously watch him.    After the surprisingly short trek in the darkness of the moon, with the gas giant of Yavin not visible in the sky above during this night, Tobias stood looking at the Temple from the day before. There was much more of a haunting quality to it in the night air, with the blue-grey mist rising off of the nearby lake doing nothing to help. But he didn’t let this affect him...at least, not much.    He stood in front of the entrance again, that dark corridor that was blacker than black. A part of him felt it would have been a good idea to morph back to his Alraxian body. Not only could he have heard things better that way, but his eyes could see much, much better...especially in the darkness. But Tobias shook that off. He would do this as a human. The darkness was part of the test. Negating that, even though he was not technically human, was too close to running away for him. He came here as a human, and he would stay here that way.    A few deep breaths, and Tobias decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He clenched his fists at his sides, then let out a last breath and relaxed his body and mind as best he could. Then, calmly, he started in. Remembering the place fairly easily, Tobias simply started walking forward in the blackness, unable to see his hand when he put it up in front of his face. Since it rendered him completely blind, he turned to his other senses.    As Marix had taught him, he let his ears focus on his own footsteps. The echo helped to determine what he was walking on and how close the walls were...and, if he was careful enough, if there were side corridors. With his nose, even the weaker human nose, he could pick up a smell that wasn’t the dank disgustingness of the Temple’s interior...a clearer smell might hint at hidden passages or other openings...or dangers. A trick Jyren taught him he also quickly adapted, reaching out to his right side until he found the stone wall. Tobias kept his hand there as he walked, making sure was he going the same direction as best he could.    But most importantly, he opened himself up to the Force. The second he did that, the oppressive, heavy and cold feeling that permeated the Temple bore down on him. At first he had trouble breathing, and had to stop and take time to force himself to keep calm, knowing that it was the strength of the Dark Side, or something like that if there wasn’t actually a Dark Side, that was doing this. After a good half minute, Tobias started walking again.    It took fifty four steps before he felt something different. It was not in the Force, but under his boot. Instead of the usual stone flecks and pebbles, something crushed under his foot and he heard a cracking noise. Tobias stopped and tried to place himself...it didn’t take long. That was where the glowrod had first shattered. That meant he was close to the open chamber.    He started walking again, making sure to count his steps the entire way if only to keep him focused as he had no other markers. With each step, he felt the Force bearing down on him more and more, something prodding at his mind like a predator testing its prey. He did his best to defend against these, but found out it was much harder to do that and keep track of how far he’d walked to get where he was.    Thirty eight steps later and the wall left his hand. Tobias stopped then, moving to his right and feeling that the wall moved out at a sharp angle. He’d found the room...but there was no change in the smell of the place or the light...though he did note his footsteps were sounding slightly different.    Okay. Now the hard part.    There were steps in the room. Small, and only a few from what he remembered, but they led down to the center area where the pillars were. It would be very easy to simply fall down them in this darkness. Not only that, but he’d have to leave the wall and could get easily lost in this place if that happened.    Now it was time to trust the Force.    Doing his best to push through the natural weight of the Temple’s presence in the Force, Tobias opened himself up to it even more to attempt to actually see through it. As he did so, his hand left the wall. The Force tried to tighten the air around him, but he still pushed against it, forcing it to let him see like he knew it could...    His eyes opened, or at least, he was fairly sure they opened, to see a blue-white view of the room. Maybe his eyes were closed. All that mattered was that, while concentrating strongly, Tobias could see. He could see the blurry, somewhat indistinct pillars and the objects on them...three swords in the middle, a single empty pillar there, too, then the other three looked to hold simple, odd-looking pyramid-like objects.    And in front of them all, arms crossed across a large torso and a neutral look on his dangerous features, was Ket Halpak, “You’ve come back.”    The words weren’t spoken. Or, at least, Tobias was almost sure his ears didn’t hear them. He also didn’t see Halpak’s mouth move.    “You’re still dead,” Tobias said back, speaking out loud and part of him still wondering if he was seeing all of this with his eyes or not.    The figure of Ket Halpak shook slightly in what could have been a slight laugh, but Tobias heard nothing. Halpak did not move, and again, neither did his mouth, but Tobias heard him, “I am proud you listened to me, my son. It does not do well for you, a Halpak, to run from a fight.”    “I did not come back here for a fight, Halpak,” the last word was spoken like the curse it really was, “And I came back because a BlueIce does not leave a task undone.”    “Really?” a look of amusement was on Halpak’s face now, though again he wasn’t actually speaking and not even moving really, “BlueIces are political idiots. They are the ones who enslaved us. They disown any children with eyes like ours and enslave them, too.”    It was then that Tobias noted Halpak’s eyes were a sold, slightly-glowing silver that strongly contrasted against the blue-grey tone of everything else he was seeing. But he didn’t let this intimidate him, and shook his head, “They took me in when you threw me out. They let me make my own choices where you enslaved me just as you claim they did to you. Times have changes since you’re death, Halpak.”    Finally, Halpak moved. He took one step forward, unfolded his arms, and pointed a single, accusing finger across the chamber to Tobias, “Do not use your own name as a curse.”    “It is not my name,” Tobias ground the words out as calmly as he could manage considering the situation, “And it is a curse. You were a curse.”    “And you are a disgrace to my legacy!” when Halpak yelled this, Tobias was sure his ears weren’t hearing it because they were the only part of him that didn’t hurt. A shockwave of the Force slammed into him with the words, nearly sending him into the wall however far behind him it was.    But Tobias held his ground, digging his feet in as best one could do with stone under them, and growled back, “Your legacy deserves nothing less!”    And that was it.    “Enough!” Halpak’s yell was as powerful as before, but Tobias had been ready for it and just felt the strong push of it against him, “This was your chance, child. I told you before that I am not as dead as you think. I am very much here, and if you will not accept who you are then you will be dealt with as who you wish to be. Accept your heritage, my son, or I will have no choice but to end my line.”    Tobias took two steps foward, standing at the edge of the steps and actually able to look down at Halpak despite their height difference. He planted his feet again, stood as tall as he could, and spoke firmly, “My father is dead. He died protecting his people, his family...not trying to murder them. He did not betray his people. My father, my real father, is a stronger man than you could have ever hoped to be, Halpak...and he killed you.”    The words echoed through the chamber and then it faded into silence. The silver slits of Ket Halpak’s eyes narrowed as he examined Tobias, and there was a strong sense of probing through the Force...but Tobias fended it off with all of his strength while still focusing on the Force to help his sight.    Slowly, and without a real sound, still, Ket Halpak drew a long, metal blade from his side. He held it in front of him, then looked through its blurry form and straight into Tobias’ very core. The words he ‘spoke’, Tobias only felt.    So be it, BlueIce.    And then the image took a single step forward before bounding straight for Tobias withe a push of the Force...but the one footstep sent a sudden tremor of fear through Tobias because it was like nothing else. It wasn’t soundless. It didn’t just appear in his mind. He heard it. He heard the echo. It was real.    In the seconds as Ket Halpak dove towards the young human, Tobias realized he could see the figure with his own eyes, and not through the distorted image of the Force.    He was real.</blockquote>

Verification