It took a long time to tell. Sitting in one of the meditation halls, we took turns recounting our adventures. My mother's face didn't flinch a muscle during the whole recounting, but she nodded or asked leading questions. The only one not involved in all this was Hadiya. Sitting on a desk a little away from us, she glanced back and forth at her mother, showing no sign of concern.
«You're all right," she shook her head indulgently, covering her eyes. - But I'm proud of you. All of you. Well done. You're learning fast and not breaking up an already solid team.
«Thank you, Master," Wes bowed.
«And now, what about your adventure. What have you forgotten in the Old City?
«It's about my father.
«Ta-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack.
«Mum, listen to me! I'm going to be needle-pointed. You can't argue with her without it. - We have definite information that the Stargazers want to get something out of Old Town. We have a map and an approximate time when they'll start working. We also know they'll put everything they've got on the case. Before it's too late, we want to figure out exactly what they're after.
«Hmm...
«I also want to find out what Dad was involved in.
«Okay. I'm not gonna ask how you found out or where you got it from. I'm not going to ask how you got involved," she glanced at Hadiya. - I'm just going to ask, what have you come up with in your plans?
«Nothing yet. I'm going to gather reinforcements, Hadiya will send some guys, arm ourselves, and work out a plan with you, it's a dangerous place.
«I see," she exhaled with undisguised relief.
«Mum?
«So, everything is cancelled! - She tapped her fingernails on the table in time with her words.
«А?
«What?
«Arg?!
«Quiet! - She slammed the table and gave us all the Force. - This case is doomed to fail.
«But why?
«Because it's booby-trapped and booby-trapped, Shade.
The amazement in the room could have been scooped up with a spoon. Even Hadiya lost her composure and flapped her eyes confusedly.
«Over a decade ago, a Je'Dyka tracker named Lanori Brock had seen in her dreams something devouring all of Tython and then the entire star system. The council members didn't take it seriously at the time, and that's exactly how it was until these days. About six months ago we learned that the Order of Stargazers had managed to collect a special, ancient artefact of the Gri, the first inhabitants of Tython, and with the help of Marionius had somehow charged the artefact with dark matter.
«Holy shit..." I whispered, realising what these geniuses... Real geniuses and, coincidentally, lunatics, had been able to do.
«This information was gathered from their activities on the Sunspot, as the artefact was collected there. We don't know where it is now, as soon as we tried to find it, all activity shut down.
«So much for the reason for the transfer," Hadiya commented.
«What's what?
«They recently moved their plans. I can see why.
«Hmm. Anyway, they want to use this artefact on a device hidden in the Old City. Legend has it that somewhere in the Old City is a Kwa hyperspace gate. A lot of people have tried to find it, but no one has succeeded.
«Dad must have found it.
«I thought the same thing. But it was too late to do anything about it. Now, with the new data... If the Stargazers try to realise their plan, it could create a black hole, and in that way, Lanori's warning plays out in a different light. So we were tasked with finding the hypergate, but due to disturbances in the Force, we were never able to find them. Instead, we set up traps and signalling circuits there. If anyone survives, we'll know for sure about the invasion of the ruins.
«N-da-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-," I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
What a number. It's a good thing I called my mother. I can see why she was so angry. If we'd gone in there, we wouldn't have made it out, and I'm a hundred per cent sure of my mum's talent for making and hiding bad things. I can't tell you how many times she hid candy from me. And the fact that I've found them doesn't exactly make me feel better.
«Hadiya, have you ever heard of anything like this?
«Not really. We don't have any points on the Sunspot. Besides, I wasn't really interested in Tython's history, I was more concerned with clan infighting on Chikaga.
«Oh, yeah.
«It's all in the Temple of Knowledge, Shade," Mum said.
«Which we haven't got to yet. I hadn't really thought of it that way.
«If you don't know something, go to the library," she smirked.
«I admit it, stupid.
«So it's cancelled? - Ramira looked first at me, then at her mother.
«Wait, Rami. Mum, tell me. Don't you think it's weird?
«What is?
«The Stargazers may be fanatics, but they're not idiots. They want to go back to where our ancestors came from, not destroy our star system. What's more, these developments are more years old than I am. And Dad's never been an idiot, so they're pretty much counting on this actually happening.
«No, Shade, we're not going to Old Town, full stop," I was stared at.
«I'm not talking about Old Town, I'm not talking about Old Town at all! - I responded in the same way, equalising the pressure. - I hate this uncertainty. One of them imagined something, the others are doing something weird, the others, operating on the first two murky facts, have started to cook up something themselves. I want to know exactly what's going on in this story! Precisely, clearly and point by point! Why did Dad contact the Stargazers? Why did he leave us when he loved you? Why are the Stargazers so sure of their plan? And anyway, maybe that's not why Lanori had the vision, maybe there's some other fucked-up thing going on around here that we don't know about! - I blurted out. What kind of a peaceful life can we talk about when there's so much passion around?!
«What do you suggest? - tapping her fingernails on the table, Mum said.
«Nothing yet. I have to think about it.
«Excuse me... - Hadiya intervened. - 'Ah... Why not ask the Stargazers themselves?
«М? - we turned round at once.
«I have contacts, you have arguments, - she looked first at Aala, then at me. - Moreover, you, the son of the adventurer who got involved in this case, are well within your rights to know the details. You, Aala, are his consort and so have every right to approach Dalien and shake him a little. Especially since you have something to nail him with. And if that's not enough, you can always talk like this," she jokingly put a knife to her throat.
«Wait, wait, wait. You said: "Dalien?" Dalien Brock? - Mum was wary.
«Yeah.
«He's dead!
«No, he just changed his name and address," Hadiya grinned. - I had to work very hard to find the people who'd changed his name and address.
«An acquaintance of yours? - I squinted at my mother.
«He..." My mother turned red and clenched her fist, averting her gaze. For a moment I even thought her eyes turned yellow. - He studied under your father, Shade. A good man, kind, but a little lonely and battered. He got into some trouble, I don't know exactly what it was, but after that he became disillusioned with the Force and tried not to use it. It got to the point where Dalien gave it up. He hardly had any friends, at least here on Tython. Saros had replaced him as both friend and father. But... Because of his beliefs about the Force, Dalien left the Order. And then he had an accident that killed him.
«It turns out he didn't," Hadiya shrugged.
«Are you sure about that? - Mum looked at Hadiya seriously.
«I'm sure! Like she was digging for herself.
Mum bit her lower lip....
«Ma, do you think Dad knew about his 'friend'?
«He sure did.
«It'd be quite a number if Shade's father also helped set up a cult," Feng grinned, but he realised what he'd said under our gazes and gave a coughing fit.
«No way. Saros would never do such a thing. Besides, he'd told me straight out about a find that would change the world. He wasn't interested in the cult, he was interested in the hypergate.
«So let's give Dalien a call and ask him nicely for a meeting. М?
«I can help with that," Hadiya chimed in. - There's no direct contact, of course, but indirectly I can get the news out. And there... It'll be such news, it'll be so good!
«Then," Mum tapped her fingernails on the table and looked at Hadiya. - Hadiya, when you make an appointment, speak straight to the point.....
«Aala... - Hadiya wrinkled her nose. - 'You can rest assured, I(!) will organise the meeting. He won't be able to not show up at it. The only thing is, who to arrange for?
«Me and Shade.
«All right.
«Ar gru-uu?
«And you study," she pinned the boys with a look.
«А...
«Study!
«Yes, Master," the humanoids said in a halting voice.
«So, we've sorted that out," she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Hadiya.
«М?
«Tell me, please, how did a person like you end up in this company?
«Elementary! Shade is my husband, so naturally I decided to visit him. And help him as much as I can.
«I'm sorry, what-what did you say? - she stepped forward. - Husband?
«Yeah.
«She-e-e-e-aid? - That look made me shiver, but the guys smiled. Bastards. - Wasn't that story a farce?
«It was, Mum, it was!
«Then I don't understand..." she looked first at me, then at Hadiya. Neither I nor she was lying, which gave the poor Togruta cognitive dissonance.
«Hadiya was just twisting the facts a bit, thinking I was her husband when in fact I wasn't.
«Yeah, but for now!
«What's with the love triangle?!
«There's no triangle, I just have a problem, you know what it is, teacher, I've been pushing Shade with her and waiting for him to find a second one, I thought I'd look for him myself, because that's not the point, and then Hadiya showed up. Well, I checked her out, gave her some advice on how to build bridges with Shade, because she is sympathetic to him, and in general - she is a very serious ally from a purely practical point of view. So I'm calm now, Hadiya is happy since she has a future husband who even agreed, and Shade has us.
«(O_o).
«Somehow.
After Vessira's mundane monologue, a suspicious Silence hung in the room. That's right, capitalised. Both mum and the boys looked equally dumbfounded. Mum was probably more so, though, because mine were more or less used to the weirdness around me.
«Um... Two at once? - Zeng looked at Ramira, to which she made a fist.
«Grau-rar-grue.
«I agree, Gris. Wes, your speciality, is it racial? - Feng asked in a businesslike manner.
«Well, yes.
«Hmm... And where do we have the Cathars living here?
«Feng!
«I was just asking! - puffs of indignation from the zabrak.
«No, why-" Mum looked at me, then at Wes scratching her fingernail on the table, then at Hadiya. Which is just Hadiya - and as usual looking down on everyone. Well, except me.
«Is something wrong? - Hadiya tilted her head.
«'No, no,' Mum shook her head immediately, even the timbre of her voice changed. - On the contrary. I used to be so worried that Shade wasn't getting involved, all day and night, learning about the Force. Then Vessira showed up, and it was like a stone fell from my soul. And now there are two of you," she brushed away a tear. - I am so happy... Everything. I can be calm about my grandchildren.
«Mum!
«Well done Shade, but watch out, be careful, one or the other can hurt you, - she said instructively, ignoring my indignation.
«Okay, I'm out of here," I got up from the table.
«Where to?!
«To settle in! - I shouted, walking out the door.
The others followed me. The guys were smiling, Ramira was shy, but she didn't care. Weight... She just didn't care, but Hadiya, on the contrary, was enjoying herself. Man, this is crazy... Am I really in Star Wars? I have my doubts.
Meanwhile, Mum took us to the Master of the Temple and there we parted. She went about her business, and we were met by one of the local masters, who gave us a tour of the Enil Kesh Temple.
Unlike other temples, Enil Kesh is the most difficult to classify as such. In fact, it wasn't even a temple, it was one huge laboratory. Which stands over a huge and deep fucking abyss that really doesn't have a bottom. At least, there wasn't one to be found. However, in the depths of this abyss is one of the most powerful sources of the dark side of the Force on the planet. To which, well, purely for the record, not that no one could not get to, and can not even approach, there is such a background - that the brains are blown away. And the top of this absurdity is three not very credible "paws", on which the laboratory is attached. And this is on fucking Tyton. Where storms, earthquakes, hurricanes are the order of the day. Show me the genius who decided to build one of the temples here?!
«Shade, are you okay? - Wes asked worriedly as I stood by the railing and looked down.
«No... I'm not okay, Wes. I'm really, really sick. I'm seriously considering writing a thesis on the effects of the Force on the human mind. Otherwise, I just can't explain the location of this particular temple.
«What's wrong with it? - Ves stepped closer and looked down just like that.
«That's what I'm talking about," I stepped back from the edge and shivered. Goosebumps were running up and down my back, and my hands were sweating profusely. It was strange, but for some reason, I had a momentary vision of something not so pleasant, and I shook it off. And it wasn't the Force. - Oh, fuck. No, let's just finish up here and get out of here.
«Mm-hmm.
I shouldn't have looked downstairs or even walked down the street. Now I'm always twitching at every creak and listening to the floor. The laboratory is very small compared to other temples. Together with the guests there can be up to a thousand reasonable people here at a time, but, as the master who gave us a tour said, there have never been more than seven hundred souls here at a time. I can understand all the people trying to get out of here.
But Enel Kesh has the most advanced equipment in the system and even more, special alchemical labs. Having looked at this business, as well as the monsters on the floor below, I realised where the alchemy of future adepts of the dark side grows its legs. Remarkably, to work with this area, Je'Dayu had to mostly tip the balance to the dark side of the Force. At least it was the one that the local alchemists thought had the tastiest plushies.
Really, the only thing that got me hooked on alchemy was making strengthening solutions. It turns out that half of our healing tinctures and ointments are made using alchemy. There are also solutions for strengthening metals. Otherwise, I looked at it with a kind of disgust. I didn't like the idea of giving a rancor wings. Or an extra pair of legs. A second set of fangs. Or scales. I wonder where they got the rancor from, but come on.
On the other hand, everything was being developed here, but only a little bit at a time. Engineering, weapons, medicine, there was even a shipbuilding and energy department. Everything except... Force. Force, as a major subject, was not studied here. It was an addition to all of the above and was a bonus.
After walking from one segment of the lab to another and giving us a tour of what they do here, we were politely asked if any of us were interested in this or that subject. The only one who was interested was Gris, but he was more interested not in inventing new things, but in studying what had already been invented, and that was already Vur Tepe. The Master nodded disappointedly and complained about how few young people were going into science. Somehow it seems to me that it is not about science at all.
But, and when the excursion was over, I went to pester the gunsmiths. Already at the words: "laser sword", the scientific men and ladies twisted their fingers at the temple, and asked to leave. Yeah, right on! So I left. While these geniuses of lasgun and lead did not give me the theory of laser weapons with all the accompanying documentation, I uninterruptedly ate my brains with questions.
Already on the second day people agreed that it was easier to give me what I needed than to send it. And they did. And I was even satisfied! It remained only to understand what is "coherent", "monochromatic" and "polarised" energy of the radiation stream. I approached the physicists. They, having just seen my face, tried to explain on their fingers the abracadabra that their colleagues had given me. I felt like a monkey, which for some reason got to people, because already at the words: "correlation of several oscillatory or wave processes in time", my brain produced a blue screen, and there was emptiness in my eyes.
My vis-a-vis understood it, sighed sorrowfully and tried to explain it even more simply. On the third attempt, I gave up myself, but there my brain came out of my ears. Having paused and eaten the "Sweet Joy" that Hadiya's ragamuffins had brought, I decided to go the other way round and returned to the armourers. They promptly referred me to the volcano. I mean to Vur Tepe, which is on a volcano. Well... They know where to send me, so we'll walk.
Meanwhile, Hadiya had contacted the Stargazers and arranged a meeting. Surprisingly, with Dalien directly. He didn't mind talking to the wife of his teacher and his son, even without additional incentives or conditions. The only thing was that we had to leave Tython and arrive at Knox, where another ship would pick us up. So I had five more days on Tython to keep the locals busy, and then I'd have to fly to the meeting.
But I've already realised that nothing in my life goes smoothly, and so it is now.
Knock, knock, knock.
«Come in, Hadiya," I said without opening my eyes. I'm trying to keep up the habit of always monitoring the situation.
«Shade, hi," a light blue, even a little greyish figure slipped through the door. And with her appearance came the aroma of a very tasty drink. - Meditating?
«Not anymore, - I opened my eyes and looked at this miracle. - Is something wrong?
«Not really, - I was handed the drink. Mmm, it's delicious. - I just thought that since you're leaving and I have nothing to do at the meeting with you, I'm not going to miss you here. So while you're out there, I'm gonna head back to Chicago. I'll personally check things out and clean up, because they've been a little slack in my absence.
«That's the right thing to do," I nod and take a sip.
«Yeah. I'm leaving tomorrow.
«So soon?
«Why wait?
«Yeah.
«This. You be careful, okay?
«I will," I was given a sceptical look. - Honestly!
«Yeah, yeah. And don't forget to call. Or at least don't forget to give me your number if you change your communicator again! - grabbed me by the pecs and gave me a little shake.
Laughing and sending the glass levitating onto the table, I grab her and sit her on my lap and tickle her. Hadiya started trying to kick, break free, threaten, but the vicious tormentor and emotional junkie has no mercy, he's getting high! Eh... If her father could see her now, he'd be heartbroken. With him, Hadiya never lets her guard down. And she tries to be cruel in public, but there's such an audience that... Well, I see.
«What are you guys doing here? - Wes came round to see me. She must have sensed my happiness.
«Playing. Do you want to join us? It's a three-person game.
«Shade!
«I meant the party. It's decent. What were you thinking? - I squinted at Hadiya, but she blushed, then squinted and reached for the knife.
«Too bad. I'd have been all for it," Wes said with a wink. And here I didn't even realise if she was in on my joke, or if she was serious.
«Mine! - I was hugged and pressed to my chest, forgetting all about the weapon. - You get in there and shut the door. I'll talk to you tomorrow when I leave," Hadiya waved her hand in the spirit of "shoo-shoo".
«Fly away? - Wes tilted her head.
«Yes. The crown won't fall into my hands.
«What do you care about the crown? - Wes crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorjamb. - Do you really want power so badly?
«I want order, Vessira. And I want my word to be law, because I'm sick of it!
"How lovely... She's a tyrant in a skirt," I blurted out. Although, Hadiya doesn't wear skirts, she always wears trousers.
«But! In advance of your next question. Power for power's sake is nonsense," continued the young tyrant in my arms. - I understand perfectly well that those who have enormous power, to a certain extent, its hostages. After all, this power must be properly managed, otherwise it will destroy you. My father has neglected his personal life because of his position, switching between me, the clan and business.
«And you want the same thing? - Ves raised an eyebrow.
«No, of course not! I have subordinates and deputies for that. And thanks to Shade, I have more or less confidence in them.
«What if those "confidants" let you down? Or even betray you?
«Then they'll regret it. Two of them tried to get through to me, and now their mutilated bodies stand as scarecrows for the rest of us to see.
Wes' face stretched and his mouth opened.
«You know how quiet it's been? It's idyllic. But my power does not rest on fear alone, I am cruel but fair - and I know how to encourage. So there are those among my staff who are truly loyal to me and will tear down anyone I tell them to.
«Hadiya. You're a scary woman.
«But even hit men are afraid to take orders from me, and that's an indicator.
«That's true.
«What's wrong? - She wiggled her eyes.
«Yes, just ... Here I look at your wardrobe with skeletons, and I do not understand how you can so carefree, sitting on his lap?
«I can. Because Shade is mine, I've been petted. And I don't care at all, we have our eyes closed, smiling, and we're meditating. Yeah, yeah, we're meditating.
«Yeah. Okay, I'm just stopping by. Hadiya, I'm sorry, but Shade's name is Shade.
«Who? Who?! - I was truly indignant because I didn't even want to move. That's fine.
«Master Aala.
«Um... Why?
«I don't know, but it's something urgent.
«Okay," I lifted Hadiya off my lap with the Force and got up from the pillow. - Where is it?
«At the Master of the Temple.
«I guess the only peace I'll see is in a coffin.
«No coffin for you, only a bonfire, - winked Vessira.
«Even better.
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