At the Beach House on Coruscant’s moon, I stand over Gavin Greshh as he lays unconscious on the table. I hover my hands over him. “Much of his strength has left him. Whatever happened to him much have involved some powerful Force energy.”
I stand nearby. “We found him in the tomb of Freedon Nadd on Dxun. You think the dark side there might have done something?”
“The dark side alone could not do this. It is like he has been drained of life. Either somebody did this to him... or he did it himself.”
“Why would he do it to himself? Some ritual gone wrong?”
“Very possible. Now, give me a moment. I believe I can heal him.” I close my eyes and channel healing energy into Gavin. My face contorts into a sour grimace. “I can sense a lot of darkness here. This may very well be the result of a dark ritual.”
“Just do why you can for him, please. Mand’alor needs him for a special assignment.”
“While I do not agree with her methods, I believe they may be our best option at the moment. I will do what I can.” The next few minutes are long and deathly silent as I channel light energy into Gavin, forcing the dark taint out. Eventually, I can feel his own force essence beginning to return, slowly repairing the spiritual damage done to his body. Whatever had happened must have been blocking out his focusing points, making it difficult for him to draw on his power to heal himself. With my help, he can finally begin to wake.
My eyes begin to flutter open. “Uhhh....C...Cosen?” I glance around, beginning to realize I’m no longer on Dxun. I shoot up to a sitting position. “Father!”
I rush over to help Satele restrain Gavin. “Woah! Easy, kid. We’re here to help.”
Tries to stand up. “Where is Cosen!? What did you do to my sister!? And where is my father!?!”
“Your sister is safe... well, relatively. She’s helping us take Coruscant back. As for your father... well, don’t you remember? He’s dead.”
“He.... he was, yes. I remember.” Finally takes a deep breath and willing sits back down. “But Cosen and I... we had a plan. We brought his body to Dxun... to the Tomb of Freedon Nadd. We dressed him in the Armor of Tepes.”
“Tepes? As in Darth Tepes?”
Nods. “Cosen and I’s grandfather. Legends said that he imbued it with Sith Alchemy to give it special healing abilities. Supposedly, the armor could keep a Sith alive even if he were an inch from death. So we thought...”
“You we’re trying to bring your dad back to life?” I frown. “Not sure how to feel about that, to be honest.”
I glair in her direction, but make no retort. “The armor... requires fueling though. Cosen and I hoped the power from Freedon Nadd’s tomb would be enough... but it wasn’t. The armor needs to take life in order to give life. A sacrifice. So... we thought that if we split the burden, if instead of draining a whole life, we each gave half...” I leave the rest unsaid.
I wait a few seconds for him to continue, but when he doesn’t, I ask, “So, did it work?”
“I do not know. Neither of us were prepared for the magnitude of power required to preform the ritual. Cosen was nearly consumed by the power, and I was forced to intervene and draw cast her out of the circle.”
“And That is why you suffered far greater than she did. You gave far more of yourself than she did.”
“I’ll say. We could see the flashing lights all the way from our camp. Our scouts found you both half dead in the main chamber of the temple, though you were way worse off than your sister.” I pause, thinking a moment. “But... there was no trace of your father or his armor.”
“Then we failed, and his body was destroyed entirely. Our father would never abandon us to die in that forsaken place.”
“That’s a shame. We should have used his help organizing the Revolution. I walk up close to Gavin. “We have Cosen trying to rally them now, but we need your help too. From what we hear, you had a lot better command over the people than she did.”
I think about it for a few seconds. “You’re really trying to liberate the planet now? The Mandalorians and the Revolution are on the same side?” I think a little more. “I don’t fully believe your intentions are as noble as you claim.... but you did save my life and the life of my sister. For that, I will willingly help you... for now.”
“Great! Because option two was this shock collar.” I hold up the collar, which draws a disapproving look from Satele and my mother. “But... since your cooperating, I’ll just hold onto it... for now.” I give him a look that I hope is intimidating. When he doesn’t react, I turn away and activate my commlink. “Temari, this is Kamari. Gavin is awake at last. Give us you and Cosen’s location and we will meet you there.”
