The Ghost's Spell

Chapter Two - A Mother's Love

The weapons were far from what Hera was expecting. They were nowhere to be seen, which mildly confused her. They'd been sighted by a passing ship who had informed the fleet of their location. If they were visible from above, they should've been visible from below, Or at least have left an indent in the ground as they were removed. That was assuming they were crates of explosives though, the mission details were vague.

They could be explosives, or guns, or anything in between. She just knew that they'd been abandoned and now she was assigned to retrieve them. Hera tried to withdraw herself from the darkness in the caves, to pull away from its grasp, but it was still reaching out to her. Before she left, Kanan had warned that the dark side was powerful on Dathomir. He had warned her that it was surrounded by dark energy, a sort of magnet for the worst creatures in the galaxy. But how awful could it really be? She trusted Kanan like she trusted herself. He was her other half, her best friend, lover and constant companion. But he could be overprotective, and he would exaggerate to keep his family safe. Which, although adorable, wasn't much use when a mission was mandatory. Maybe there was something in that cave. The weapons? Possibly. Something else? Probably. Something they needed, something that followed her wherever she went on the swampy planet. Something she couldn't shake off. She ran her finger down the side of her boot, her weapon was loaded and secure, so if anything did come too near she could attack and run.

She was pretty fast, and good with a blaster. She could scare any creatures away, or draw them in if it was necessary. Without another thought she felt herself move closer, as though her feet weren't moving themselves. Like she was being carried by an invisible being. The darkness was no longer rising, it just stayed as it was. Yet something made her shiver as she stepped into shadow.

It was far darker than she'd anticipated, the small amount of light that shone off her blaster intended to illuminate the target wasn't making much difference, and she had to squint to see what surrounded her. All she could see was a few dark columns of rock that cast looming shadows into the clearing. Something lightly glowing in the corner caught her eye, green, glistening smoke fading out of a flat piece of stone that had been rigidly burnt in half. She ran her finger along the edge, but strangely it had no heat to it. For such a recently burnt sculpture it was truly stone cold. It left a brown ash on her gloves which seemed uncomfortably familiar. The leftover ash of a lightsaber burn. No matter what the blade hit it would disintegrate into the same brown ash, which had been cleaned up around the Ghost more than a few times. That's when the realisation hit her. Kanan, Ezra, and Sabine had been here. They'd fought here. This was the exact place she'd been warned to avoid. She had to go before something bad happened to her too.

"Hera." A voice startled her. Immediately Hera whipped her head around, her lekku lightly hitting her in the face as she rapidly glanced into the darkness. Maybe it was a trick of the mind, a slip of the tongue if you will, but she was sure she recognised the sound.

"Hello?" Hera's reply was shaky. She wasn't scared. The young twi'lek rarely got scared, but something about the voice made her feel uneasy. Her reply echoed off the walls and came back to her rigid frame. "Hello?" It was all in her head. She was alone in the cave, and alone on the planet.

"Hera?" The voice came again, this time more as a cry. "Hera Syndulla?" It was recognisable, distinctively gentle and soothing. But it still made Hera shudder.

"Hello?" Hera stepped forwards, hoping the owner of the voice might reveal themselves. Maybe that wasn't the answer they needed. "Yes." She swallowed as she walked back into the center of the clearing. "Yes. It's me."

"How you've grown." The voice couldn't be pinpointed to a spot. It just seemed to be everywhere, in every shadowy section of the cave. It surrounded her from everyone angle, closing in around her.

"Who. Are. You." Hera lowered her thumb onto the trigger of her blaster. She would only usually shoot if it was absolutely necessary, but this time could be an exception. She hadn't quite fallen back into the rhythm of solo missions. "Fulcrum?" No. No matter who it was Fulcrum only ever sent audio signals so they could mask themselves from the empire. They wouldn't talk face-to-face unless it was an emergency situation, which this certainly wasn't. She paused to rethink her word choice. "Are you with those who stand against the empire?"

"Maybe?" The voice sounded more feminine now, or maybe Hera was just getting used to its presence. "I am with you Hera. I stand with you." A shadow fell from the ceiling nearby to where Hera was stood, but appeared not to land, rather just disappear.

"I don't understand."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Hera knew someone was behind her now, she spun quick on her heels and stared at what now stood before her. Someone in a cloak that covered their hands and feet, but revealed her face. It was almost a mirror to whom was looking upon it. A young, green faced, wide eyed twi'lek. It took Hera a moment, as the being looked so much like herself, but as soon as she recognised her she felt tears sting her eyes. She ran towards the figure, so enchanted by her spell, but felt its frame slip through her fingertips. "What?" She looked at the empty space in her view. Was it all a trick of the mind? A phantom touch? Was there really just her in the cave? She felt a hand on her shoulder, and immediately glanced over, her mind falling to Kanan's comfortable touch. But of course, it was just Hera and the figure. "It's impossible." Hera turned fully so they were face to face. "How are you here?" She reached out again, her hand falling lifeless as she tried to rest it on the other girl's shoulder.

"In spirit." Her mother replied. "I need your help Hera. I need you to do something for me."

"Anything for you Mother." Hera bowed her head to her Mother, having not spoken to her in years. "What is it I can do?" Her accent slid into her words as she became a little emotional, her mother, though only in spirit, was there. She'd recognised Hera and she'd spoken to her, Hera was reunited with one of her biggest heroes.

"I need you Hera."

"To do what Mother? I will do anything for you."

"No." Her mother placed a hand on Hera's shoulder. Hera could feel her touch, but she was cold and it was wrong. "I need you. Without flesh and blood, my sisters and I cannot reform our beloved society, and without our beloved society. We have nowhere to go. Will you help us dear?" There was definitely something wrong, Hera could sense it, but something felt so right too. What she was saying was nonsense, about sisters and society, but it was still her mother. And why would her mother ever try to hurt her?

"Anything." Hera confirmed, bowing her head once more, and, with that, her mother dissolved into thick glistening green smoke that entered Hera as though she had no flesh to herself at all.