"Geldar and Tarrsk"
Operative Historical Data 4.3
A Mutual Debt
Tarrsk made his way back to the secluded place where
he had left the Jedi, moving as quickly as he could
without drawing attention to himself. The camp was on
alert again, but this time all attention was focused
within the main complex building. Tarrsk knew that if
he were going to get the fugitives out, it had to be
now.
When he arrived, he found Kylarra awake and
surprisingly better. Tarrsk again looked at her in
amazement. Geldar was attending her and both were
surprised to see him again so soon. He wasted no time
getting them to their feet as he explained the urgency
of the situation.
Tarrsk led them across the grounds to a guard shack
near a corner of the complex. The shack was all but
abandoned as soldiers were summoned away by the
alarms. Two guards in a tower on the wall were
preoccupied and did not pay attention to a fellow
Trandoshan leading two prisoners. Once inside the
building, Tarsk opened a weapons locker and began to
set explosives against the outer wall. He then
instructed the two jedi to take cover on the far side
of the room behind some heavy equipment as he set the
timer.
At that moment the door opened and in walked Oktoth.
When Tarrsk had escaped he had sent others to follow
him, expecting that he would lead them to the jedi.
Now they were trapped and outnumbered by several
trandoshan slavers with a bomb ticking at their backs.
Knowing there were mere seconds before the explosives
detonated, Tarrsk attempted to stall by challenging
Oktoth to a one on one fight. He knew that he did not
have a chance against his superior. Oktoth was one of
the best trandoshan fighters and had proven himself on
many occasions. Tarrsk only hoped that he could get
the dangerous leader between himself and the
explosives.
His plan succeeded, but only barely. With less than
10 seconds left on the counter, Oktoth had him pinned
on the floor with his head about 5 feet from the
charge and a knife pressing in toward his throat. In
desparation, Tarrsk played the only card he had. He
told Oktoth about the explosive that was about to go
off. Oktoth lifted his eyes toward the wall. Seeing
the counter nearly expended, he was distracted by
sudden panic and Tarrsk seized the opportunity to kick
him up and over his head. The trandoshan slaver hit
the wall and scrambled to move away just as the bomb
exploded!
Tarrsk, already on the move, was propelled through the
air and into the guards using their bodies to break
his fall and rendering them unconscious. Meanwhile,
Geldar and Kylarra, knowing about the bomb as well,
took action to shield themselves and when the smoke
cleared, they helped the battered Tarrsk to his feet.
The hole in the wall was open, but Tarrsk had
misjudged the ammount of explosives needed and the
thickness of the wall. The hole was not big enough
for his large body to fit through. Geldar and Kylarra
had already squeezed through and Kylarra was working
feverishly to enlarge the hole with her lightsaber,
but her strength was all but spent. She wavered once
again on the edge of consciousness even as she
finished the work. Geldar supported her as Tarrsk
began to push through the enlarged hole.
But suddenly Tarrsk hissed in pain as a blaster shot
was heard from within. Geldar rushed to the
Trandoshan and pulled him through the hole. His back
was bleeding from a blaster wound and he was losing
consciousness quickly! Geldar didn't know what to do.
They were outside the camp, but he was the only one
healthy enough to make a run for it.
At that moment, it was Kylarra who took control.
Quickly, drawing from a hidden reserve of energy, she
forced herself to her feet and stumbled into the
forest away from the camp, ordering her son to follow
with the body of the dying soldier. Geldar did as he
was instructed, clearly worried about his mother.
Thankfully, no one appeared to be pursuing
immediately. Whoever had shot Tarrsk had not
continued the attack for whatever reason.
They were not able to go far before Kylarra slumped
against the large root of a tree and motioned for
Geldar to take cover beside her. He quickly set
Tarrsk down and went to her side.
Kylarra Tharn touched her son's face tenderly. Her
eyes spoke volumes of love and tenderness for her
grown son as she spoke. "Time is short, Geldar, and
my time is done."
Immediately Geldar attempted to silence her, fear and
sorrow flooding his being at her ominous words, but
she continued.
"Do not grieve long for me, son. The force has a way
of balancing all things. My life ends, but another
shall be spared." She looked over at Tarrsk. "I see
great potential in this one. He has a great heart
that may yet bring change, not only to his destiny,
but to his people. I foresee that he will be a great
ally to you. Do not reject his aid in the days to
come. I gave my strength to him once before and was
not disappointed. I shall do so again without
regret."
"Mother, no!" Geldar protested. "You are too weak.
You'll die!"
"I have already died, Geldar, to all that truly
destroys. There is only life beyond death for those
who remain true to the light. See that you walk in it
and release me to make that transition the way I see
best; by making that transition count for something."
Kylarra seemed as if she wished to say more but she
held back the words as if reserving her strength for
one last action. Then she gently shoved Geldar aside
and leaned over toward the motionless body of the
trandoshan. As her hands touched his clammy flesh,
she looked one last time at her son.
"Tell your father that my love continues by his side
forever..."
With that, she closed her eyes and began the healing
meditation that would bring life back to the young
Trandoshan. Geldar could only watch in stunned
silence through a veil of tears until his mother
slumped forward. Reaching forward, he caught her in
his arms and held her as she slipped away.
Moments later Tarrsk sat up, still weak, but alert.
Geldar hardly noticed him, too wrapped up in his
grief. He had come through so much to save his mother
only to lose her so close to freedom.
Tarrsk knew almost instictively what had happened.
But before he could voice his feelings to Geldar, a
loud commotion was heard at the wall of the camp and
it was clear that their pursuers were back on the
trail! Tarrsk was not about to let Kylarra's
sacrifice be for nothing. He was now obligated to
live and he would not leave the son of this noble
woman behind either. There was no time for emotion.
Grabbing Geldar's arm, he shook the young man from his
grief stricken daze with words to that effect, then
hoisted Kylarra over his shoulder and began to move.
He was still weak, and it did not help, carrying the
extra weight of the woman's body, but neither of them
were willing to leave her after all she had meant to
them both.
The journey upwards was long and straining, but their
pursuers were called off quickly, having greater
issues to deal with. The escaped wookiees that
Kylarra had led to freedom, had returned with a
military force to attack the compound and it was they
who found Geldar and Tarrsk a few hours later.
After they had recovered, Geldar was visited briefly
by Master Orruwarr who was strangely silent about his
activities at the Trandoshan slave camp. All he would
say was that he had sensed a presence that required
his attention and had compelled him to take action
alone. When pressed about Tarrsk's observation of him
in Oktoth's chamber he neither denied nor confirmed
his presence or it's outcome. This made Geldar
uneasy, but his Master would say no more about it and
he dared not push the issue.
Instead, Geldar took a leave of absence from his
Master and made arrangements to visit his Father on
Corruscant. Tarrsk insisted on accompanying him as he
broke the news of his mother's death.
And so the relationship between a young jedi and a
trandoshan soldier was begun, both pledging a mutual
debt of loyalty to the other through their common
bond; one losing his mother, the other a place among
his people. Both guided by something greater than
themselves, the pursuit of peace in the Galaxy.
That pursuit of peace would soon lead them through
many adventures starting with a summons by the Supreme
Chancellor on Corruscant to join with a small band of
unknown specialists in uncovering the clandestine
works of an uprising group of intergalactic
terrorists.
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