Gray Jedi Ch. 7

Gray Jedi Ch. 7

Malik struggled as best as he could, but the reflexes of the krykna spiders were too great. Every move he made to try and escape was stymied by the pinching beak of a nearby spider. Deeper and deeper they carried him into their lair, yet all the while Malik pondered the strange specificity of Bendu’s previous wording. He had called this a puzzle, one that they had to solve without the use of violence.

Soon, they brought him to an expansive den, the cavernous size of which surprised Malik a bit. Before he could try and comprehend what was happening, the group of spiders released him, placing him back on his feet and backing away from him immediately. This turn of events gave Malik one more reason to stop and ponder the situation at hand. What was their intention for him? Surely they could devour him at any moment they wished, yet had now released him, feeling that he would not retaliate against them.

Malik saw that the group of spiders had moved to block the only exit to the den, making him rather nervous. Maybe they had something special planned for his demise? Still, all this seemed to fit into Bendu’s description of a puzzle. Seeing no other choice, Malik crept further into the den. Though the darkness was thick, Malik had long since trained his senses to allow him to effectively “see” in total darkness, using the Force to enhance his hearing and detect incoming threats.

Ahead of him, Malik could sense the presence of a large creature. There was no other way out that he could find apart from the way he had come, but he was not under attack yet. He pressed on, seeing a faint beam of moonlight shining in through a hole in the ceiling. At last, as he approached the illuminated area, he saw it: a massive krykna spider easily twice his size. Malik surmised that this had to be their queen. The creature saw him at once, but made no movements towards him. Likewise, the group of spiders had not budged from their guard station at the entrance.

As Malik moved closer to the queen, he could sense that something was not quite right. The creature did not appear to be that old, as some hive monarchs were. There were not the numerous battle scars from fending off challenges that an elderly queen would have had. Still, Malik could hear that the creature’s breathing was ragged and labored. He reached out with the Force, trying to find some way to connect with the poor being. The queen seemed to respond to this, tensing up at first, but then bending down low and relaxed, coming to eye level with Malik. As they finally connected through the Living Force, Malik began to realize the truth.

“You’re dying, aren’t you?”

*****

“Malik? Malik, can you hear me?”

Serra heard no reply. The spiders must have taken him deeper into the cave, and so her path was set. Quieting her mind as best as she could, Serra reached out to try and sense her husband’s presence. It was faint, but she could feel him in a distant part of the tunnel. Still, the cave branched out in several directions, leaving her stumped as to which was the path forward.

Taking a deep breath, she chose a path, shining her flashlight at the ground ahead of her. As she came upon a dead end, one of the spiders made its presence known with its feral hiss. Serra tensed up for a moment, but as she gazed upon the creature, she saw that he was quite tiny as compared to the others, only reaching as high as her knees. The rest were at least as tall as she and Malik. Serra surmised that this must be a juvenile. She at first did not want to turn her back to the creature, but soon began to notice something more. It was swiping and biting at the air with its arms and beak, yet these actions seemed to be based in fear and apprehension more than anything.

“Well, here goes…”

Attempting a technique she had never been strong with, Serra reached out to the spider with the Force, attempting to make some sort of mental contact. At first, the creature’s behavior did not change, but after a few moments, Serra locked eyes with the spider, and they seemed to come to an acceptance of each other’s existence. It took a step or two forward, approaching the human with caution. She took a deep breath, deciding to go for broke.

“Where is the other human? I need to find him. Can you help me?”

The spider did not budge at first, but soon scurried between Serra’s legs and down another corridor. She followed right away, trusting the Force that this path would lead her to Malik. After what seemed like ages of twisting and turning, the path began to widen, seeming to lead towards a large cavern. Upon arriving, Serra tensed up at seeing the group of spiders that had carried Malik off. They turned, sensing her presence, and appeared ready to attack her. Before they could, a voice from around the bend up ahead sounded.

“No! Wait!” Malik stepped around the corner, locking eyes with the creatures. “She is a friend. She will not hurt you. I need her. Please, let her pass.”

To Serra’s surprise, the spiders parted, forming a path through which she could enter the cavern. After walking carefully through the mass of spiders, she rejoined her husband, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

“You ok?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He gestured around the bend. “Come on, there’s something you need to see.”

Serra gasped at seeing the massive queen ahead of them, and was further surprised at the casual manner in which Malik walked up to it. He ran his hand along one of the spider’s legs, seeming to calm the creature somewhat.

“This is my mate,” he said to the queen. “She’s going to help you; we both are.”

As the queen made a gesture of acknowledgement, Malik beckoned Serra to join him. She did so with great caution, yet was eased by Malik’s confidence throughout the situation; he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

“Here, place your hand on her leg and reach out with the Force,” Malik instructed. “You need to see what I’ve seen.”

Serra reached out a trembling hand to touch the spider, calming herself through the Force. Soon, she began to see into the creature’s memories. She saw that the spiders were indeed carnivorous, but were forced to adapt to the barren planet, devoid of most sources of meat. Thus, the queen had developed a means of producing food from within her body, enough to feed her entire colony. This ensured the survival of their species for many years, but the tainting of their only water source recently jeopardized their way of life. Much of the colony died within hours of drinking the poisoned water, though the queen has managed to endure for several weeks. Still, as the poison remains in her body, she is unable to feed her children, causing the entire colony to slowly starve to death. When the queen dies, her children will be too week to be able to anoint a new queen as per usual, and the spiders would likely go extinct.

“You poor thing… you’ve suffered so much,” Serra cooed. “Malik, we have to help them.”

“My thoughts exactly. I can draw the toxins from her body, but I need you to keep her in a calming trance, as well as monitor her vital signs. If she dies, I doubt her children would treat us with much understanding.”

Serra swallowed hard, catching his meaning. Saving the queen was their only chance of walking out unscathed. Kneeling down on the rocky ground, Serra continued her meeting of the minds with the spider. They locked eyes for a moment, and she began to hum a soothing, wordless melody. As she continued, the queen’s breathing slowed, helping to stabilize her vital signs. This allowed Malik to begin his work.

The healer opened his mind and began to analyze every inch of the krykna spider’s anatomy. Sensing that the creature’s stomach was located at the top of its large, bulbous head, he began his explorations there. It was not long before he was able to detect the presence of a foreign substance in the stomach. Though it had spread to most other parts of the queen’s body, the concentration was such that eliminating the poison in the stomach would trigger a chain reaction that would cleanse and purify the rest of the queen’s internal organs.

“Please stay calm, my friend… this is going to feel very strange for you,” Malik whispered to the spider.

Malik focused and targeted the molecular structure of the foreign substance, determining that it had mixed somewhat with the spider’s blood. Rather than be discouraged by this revelation, he decided to use it to their advantage. Bit by bit, he was able to alter the foreign substance’s makeup to make it more and more like the spider’s blood. It took almost an hour of intense use of the Force, but Malik finally managed to eliminate enough of the toxin’s strength that the queen’s natural bodily fluids overtook it, purging the poison from her once and for all. With a heavy sigh, he backed away and gazed at his patient.

“How is she, Serra?”

“Doing very well,” she replied with a grin.