"There's actually one more thing I haven't told you," Amir said after a moment of thought, and finally revealed the truth about his origins.
Previously, he had deliberately concealed the real reason why Gideon had captured him, brushing it off by saying he possessed "important information."
"No way—you grew up on Coruscant. I watched you grow up!" Veronica protested, clearly shocked.
Amir found her words oddly phrased but couldn't find a way to refute them.
"Incredible…" Ahsoka murmured, falling into thought. She had harbored some suspicions before, but the reality was far stranger than she had imagined.
"You'll need a more thorough medical examination," Parkes said, adjusting his glasses out of habit. "Even if your body's been fine all these years, we can't rule out the possibility of side effects. Whether it's a sudden illness or rapid aging later in life—either would be unacceptable outcomes."
Amir felt a twinge of anxiety at Parkes's words. He hadn't worried about much before, but the state of his body had always been an unknown variable. Reading through the stolen research logs and seeing how many test subjects had died from illness or unexpected failures only deepened his unease.
"I'm starting to think my sensitivity to the Force might have been influenced too," Amir said. "Lately, my connection to the Force has been growing rapidly."
"That's not too strange," Ahsoka replied. "There are many cases in Jedi records where Force sensitivity increases suddenly. Especially since you've only recently begun your training—it's likely you've just tapped into your latent potential."
Her explanation helped settle Amir's nerves.
His recent anxiety had stemmed from all the intense stimulation and stress he'd endured over the past few days. But over time, his usual mindset would reassert itself—focusing on the present, with only a distant, cautious hope for the future.
Worrying about wars yet to come or the people suffering across the galaxy wouldn't do much good—better to eat a good meal, train harder, and become strong enough to make a difference when the time came.
And even if evidence eventually revealed that he only had a few years left to live, Amir would focus on doing what he could now—like toppling the Empire before he died and going out in glory… maybe even meeting Qui-Gon Jinn on the other side.
Though first, he'd have to learn how to become a Force ghost.
"We don't have the right equipment here," Parkes continued, "but one of our members runs a clinic on a space station. You can go to him. I'll send you his contact info."
"A clinic?" Amir raised an eyebrow. Ordinary clinics weren't equipped for full diagnostics. Even his old friend Victor on Coruscant only had a decent treatment pod from the military—most clinics were stuck with outdated, barely functioning medical tanks.
"It's just called a clinic," Parkes clarified. "It's more like a personal hobby. The whole station belongs to him—and it's filled with top-tier, smuggled equipment."
Ahsoka added, "He's one of our key patrons. A lot of our ships came from him, along with a great deal of technical support…"
"Thank you," Amir said sincerely. Ahsoka and her team clearly trusted him as one of their own, even going so far as to reveal one of their most important sponsors—something usually reserved for the highest levels of leadership.
"No need to thank us," Ahsoka said. "You've done plenty for us too."
"Also, Parkes—I'm sending you the full data set," Amir said, transmitting the stolen files. "Some of my personal records are encrypted. I haven't been able to crack them yet."
"Leave it to me," Parkes replied.
So reliable, Amir thought again. He was tempted to recruit him as his first officer.
The jamming signal from the cruiser was still active, but the methods Gideon used to track him were detailed in those same stolen files. Once deciphered, he'd finally be able to break free from the constant pursuit.
"We're almost there," Ahsoka said from the copilot seat, examining her map.
"We discovered a very old temple on the holorecordings," she continued. "The information was vague. If it hadn't been on Gulegina's homeworld, we probably would've missed it."
"Have we scouted it yet?" Amir asked, scanning for a suitable landing spot.
"Not yet," Ahsoka answered. "Before you arrived, we only did a brief aerial pass. Didn't see much."
Parkes interrupted, "Except for one thing—we picked up a lifeform signal. Likely a large creature. But the fog was too thick to get a clear reading."
"Could be some rare native species," Ahsoka said, brushing it off. "Gulegina and her people didn't recognize it either."
Many planets had undiscovered creatures, especially those that lived in remote or hidden biomes. Or they could be nearly extinct—either way, it wasn't unusual that no one had identified it.
Besides, the temple site was far from Gulegina's village—nearly half the planet away. The ecosystem here was completely different.
"The fog is too dense—I'll have to fly lower to find a place to land," Amir muttered, squinting through the white haze. These were mountainous regions, and a single misstep could mean crashing into a cliff.
"Eeeeeee—!" A piercing cry suddenly echoed through the valley.
"There it is!" Parkes said. "We heard it last time too, but couldn't confirm. Now we can be pretty sure."
Amir reached out with the Force to sense the surroundings, but the valley was saturated with vegetation and small wildlife—the life force around them all tangled together, making it impossible to pinpoint the source of the call.
"Above! Look up!" Veronica suddenly shouted.
Amir finally realized how the light had dimmed without him noticing.
Everyone looked up—there, above their heads, loomed a massive dark shadow, blotting out the sunlight filtering through the clouds.
The silhouette merged with the jagged outline of the distant peaks. Amir had initially thought the dimness was caused by the mountain blocking the light—but now he saw the truth.
"Could it be…?" Ahsoka stared upward.
Flying creatures were always more troublesome than ground-based ones. For ships, agile fliers were particularly dangerous—they could easily tear through lightly defended hulls.
Thankfully, the Traveler had sturdy shields, so Amir wasn't too worried.
More importantly, he could sense the creature wasn't hostile. It had simply drawn near out of caution and curiosity.
"That's one big bird!" Veronica blurted out—voicing what everyone was thinking.
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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Uncover ancient Jedi relics before the galaxy does.
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