There were less people now... much less. Rec could feel a significant change in the Force-signatures around him. There was an almost tangible feeling in the air, a potent mix of despair, fear and shock emanating from the masses. While most would have been killed with the death of Graveyard Station, there were still too many for Rec to count.
He had only been on the station for a few short weeks before the day's events unfolded, and over that time he had begun to get a sense that something was wrong about the place. Every time he had looked out at the asteroid belt through the windows and viewscreens, he had felt uneasy. And now he knew why, since the feeling had intensified. The deaths of so many, concentrated into a single place... it seemed to leave a residue behind it, one that Rec knew was there but couldn't quite get a strong hold of.
The game hunter paced restlessly around in a circle as he thought over the aftermath of the station's destruction. He would have to find some form of transport off of the Liberation - he had been told that that was the name of the ship, not being able to see it for himself - and from there... who knew. The Force would guide him to his next job, as it had in the past.
That thought gave him pause. The Force worked in mysterious ways, known only to the greatest Jedi of the galaxy. Perhaps it had sent him to Graveyard Station for a reason. The order given to him by the Jedi Vasera came back to Rec, remembered in perfect clarity.
"Find an escape pod...when rescue comes, try to find a Duros refugee called Rana. Go!"
To Rec, Vasera's first, and most likely last, words to him should not be merely considered, then cast aside. This Rana was obviously special, maybe even a Force-sensitive like himself. With that in mind Rec took a seat on the floor, ignoring the slight jostle of the crowd nearby, and began to look through the throng of refugees and ex-residents of Graveyard Station for the stronger auras around people, brushing aside the multitudes of blunt minds in search of the - undoubtedly few - bright sparks.
There was one. A slightly familiar Force-signature... Focusing a little more, Rec recognised it as belonging to the PURK trooper he had passed moments before events unfolded. Joseph Knaake. But there were other strong points than just the one man... Rec picked out a cluster of three together, though he couldn't tell them apart individually. Just that their auras were stronger than almost everyone else in the docking bay. They were about as strong as Knaake, he could tell -
Rec stopped, head cocked almost comically to one side. Something else, something totally alien to him had made its presence known to his mind. A different Force-signature was there, in the middle of the group of three. Its strength eclipsed the others for a moment, and Rec got a sense that something incredibly powerful was within the vicinity of his search. But even as he tried to focus on it, the aura flickered and seemed to blend into the minds around its location. The cluster of brighter signatures seemed to shroud the stronger one, in the same way a natural cavern would hide a krayt dragon. Rec had to investigate it, learn what the aura belonged to. It could be another Jedi trying to hide among the refugees. He had to know for sure.
The game hunter picked himself up from his spot on the floor and began to carefully part the crowds in front of him, occasionally moving around a huddled group as necessary as he made his way towards the cluster of Force-signatures. As he did so, he unbuckled and took off the helmet of his armour, so they would see him for what he was and recognise him as a Force-sensitive given the nature of his race. It was doubtful at best that a Dark Jedi would have stowed aboard an escape pod, and so Rec figured he was safe without the helmet on. He kept it securely tucked under one arm as he made his way through the crowds.
He had only been on the station for a few short weeks before the day's events unfolded, and over that time he had begun to get a sense that something was wrong about the place. Every time he had looked out at the asteroid belt through the windows and viewscreens, he had felt uneasy. And now he knew why, since the feeling had intensified. The deaths of so many, concentrated into a single place... it seemed to leave a residue behind it, one that Rec knew was there but couldn't quite get a strong hold of.
The game hunter paced restlessly around in a circle as he thought over the aftermath of the station's destruction. He would have to find some form of transport off of the Liberation - he had been told that that was the name of the ship, not being able to see it for himself - and from there... who knew. The Force would guide him to his next job, as it had in the past.
That thought gave him pause. The Force worked in mysterious ways, known only to the greatest Jedi of the galaxy. Perhaps it had sent him to Graveyard Station for a reason. The order given to him by the Jedi Vasera came back to Rec, remembered in perfect clarity.
"Find an escape pod...when rescue comes, try to find a Duros refugee called Rana. Go!"
To Rec, Vasera's first, and most likely last, words to him should not be merely considered, then cast aside. This Rana was obviously special, maybe even a Force-sensitive like himself. With that in mind Rec took a seat on the floor, ignoring the slight jostle of the crowd nearby, and began to look through the throng of refugees and ex-residents of Graveyard Station for the stronger auras around people, brushing aside the multitudes of blunt minds in search of the - undoubtedly few - bright sparks.
There was one. A slightly familiar Force-signature... Focusing a little more, Rec recognised it as belonging to the PURK trooper he had passed moments before events unfolded. Joseph Knaake. But there were other strong points than just the one man... Rec picked out a cluster of three together, though he couldn't tell them apart individually. Just that their auras were stronger than almost everyone else in the docking bay. They were about as strong as Knaake, he could tell -
Rec stopped, head cocked almost comically to one side. Something else, something totally alien to him had made its presence known to his mind. A different Force-signature was there, in the middle of the group of three. Its strength eclipsed the others for a moment, and Rec got a sense that something incredibly powerful was within the vicinity of his search. But even as he tried to focus on it, the aura flickered and seemed to blend into the minds around its location. The cluster of brighter signatures seemed to shroud the stronger one, in the same way a natural cavern would hide a krayt dragon. Rec had to investigate it, learn what the aura belonged to. It could be another Jedi trying to hide among the refugees. He had to know for sure.
The game hunter picked himself up from his spot on the floor and began to carefully part the crowds in front of him, occasionally moving around a huddled group as necessary as he made his way towards the cluster of Force-signatures. As he did so, he unbuckled and took off the helmet of his armour, so they would see him for what he was and recognise him as a Force-sensitive given the nature of his race. It was doubtful at best that a Dark Jedi would have stowed aboard an escape pod, and so Rec figured he was safe without the helmet on. He kept it securely tucked under one arm as he made his way through the crowds.
