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He was falling fast.
Plummeting to his death was the inevitable outcome. The calculations never wrong.
One final quick glance down confirming his projections as the ground was getting nearer. But somehow now, as he looked more closely, it looked like the target was farther away than initially calculated? As no matter the time already having been spent, he was still in mid fall. And by now, taking into an account all the odds, he should have landed. Or more likely having plummeted to this death. There was no other data to confirm the estimate having been wrong.
And yet, here he was, still falling, ever deeper and father downward. Against the odds for sure
Closing his eyes for a moment taking a deep swallow of air. A breath exhaled, perhaps one of his last ones… he would miss this all… the breaking, the being alive. But the choice had been made. The sacrifice to save the others of his family.
And so, it would inevitable. Death, things that nature.
Suddenly, he felt a jolt. Opening his eyes but seeing nothing. It was as if something grabbing a hold of his body. It was as if something was pulling him. Grabbing him with… hands? No, couldn’t be right. He had been in midair, mid plummet to the ground. Nobody there but him?
Before he knew what was happening, he could see a flash of light in the corner of his now open eyes. The light part getting larger and lager… a tunnel? And he, was being pulled right through… a portal of some kind?
He finally landed, without feeling pain or any broken bones.
And surprisingly he had landed onto his own two feet. Unexpected was the word to describe what he was experiencing right now. But, being a scientist of sorts, he did not doubt this could be actually happening.
Glancing around him, he could see several mathematical symbols as if drawn to the nightly skies all around him. The light in the otherwise dark place. Then turning around having sensed eyes on him.
Two people there standing close by.
“Welcome!” The shadowy figure greeted him.
“Who are you what is this place?”
“I am Ahsoka and this, is Ezra.” The two came to light, seeing them more clearly.
“Tech.”
“Welcome Tech!” Ezra eagerly greeted Tech.
“You… are a clone.” Ahsoka approached him, seeing the all too familiar features of the new arrival.
“Yes, how did you… Jedi, right?”
“Yes, we both are.” Ahsoka admitted as much, then again, there was no point in lying now.
“What is this place?”
“Some call it a midway station, while others a path to ones destiny.”
Ahsoka tried to explained the place while Tech trying to do his scans. Alas the tech wasn’t working not if the readings were correct. Tech shaking the device to get it working yet the readings, well, they were strange at best.
“The World between Worlds.”
Ezra cheerfully told Tech, the younger Jedi being all elated to be there, here, wherever it was they were in. But the other one, Ahsoka, someone Tech vaguely knew he had heard of, never having met though seemed more stoic, and most likely more reliable with their intel as well.
“Oh? I haven’t heard of such place.”
“Perhaps not. But you were pulled in here for a reason.”
“A reason? Me? What could that possibly be?”
Tech's brain was rattling, loudly, trying to figure out one single reason he was pulled away from his inevitable death and then landed in some world between worlds and with two Jedi no less. Did not sound plausible at all. Perhaps he had already died and this was some kind of bizarre post death dream?
“Yes, we all got pulled here, for a reason.”
“A higher purpose awaiting for us.”
Ahsoka too being more doubtful than her companion.
“A new purpose for me? That is unlikely. I was on a mission, which, well failed…” Tech trailed off. “Hence I died.”
“That wasn’t your mission to succeed then as you ended up in here.”
Ahsoka’s point was valid, reasonable without a doubt. But Tech was a clone, not a Jedi, not even a Force wielder, so why would he end up in here with two Jedi no less?
“Why are you both here?”
“Same reason, we guess. We still have something to accomplish. Out there.” Ezra nodded towards the portal still open on the end where Tech had come through.
“Yes. We’ve been here a while longer before you arrived.”
“How did you two get in here?”
“Well, we… um died?”
“Yeah, that.”
“I… think I died too.”
“Yeah, that happens sometimes.”
“Ezra!”
“But if we all died, then why are we here and what exactly is this place?”
Tech still had no clue as to if or not this was the after life or some twisted memory just when he was dying and why he was there with the other two. The answers his new friends were giving leading nowhere, clearly. As Tech needed valid intel, not hunches.
“It’s a Force thing!”
“Again, Ezra! But yeah, Ezra is right. This is a Force state of being and guess, if we all are here, well, the Force doesn’t want us dead… but…” Ahsoka paused and glanced at Tech for a moment.
“There is a but there somewhere?” Tech wasn’t sure what to expect to hear.
“But, it would also mean you have something to do with the Force.”
“I am a clone, not a Jedi.”
“Well, the Force comes in many forms, so…” “Oh.”
“Yes, oh.”
Tech was silent for a spell, not really sure what to do with this tidbit of news. But, then his big brain kicked into high gear again.
“How can we change what happened? I mean, I was on a mission that didn’t go to plan exactly. And like you said, I died?”
“Yup, we saw the whole thing on the screen back there.” Ezra pointed at something.
“Yeah, there are, viewers here and there, all over basically. And Ezra saw me and helped me in here.”
Ahsoka gave Ezra a sideways stare, as clearly this wasn’t something he was supposed to do. Help Ahsoka to the World between Worlds, but the Force had not objected so all was good.
“Did either of you help me here?”
“Not me!”
“No, there was no time, but the portal was open when you…. fell.”
“So, I am alive.”
“Somewhere there in between living and dead we guess?”
“Yeah, not really living, not dead either.”
“So, ghosts.”
“Nope.”
“It’s a Force thing, again.”
“So, if the Force doesn’t want me dead, how can I prevent myself from dying? As you said, I need to do something still out there?”
“You can send a message back.”
“We did that, to our alter selves.”
“And you… these versions I am seeing of you now remained here?”
“Guess so.”
“Yeah. There is that. But a version of you gets to live.”
“Curious.”
“That’s all you got to say?”
“Well, what else is there to say?”
Tech did not understand what he could say or do to change the outcome of where he was now.
“Like said, send the message back to yourself to prevent the mission.”
“How?”
“The portals. You still have your gadgets with you right? Record the message and throw it through the portal.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“That part is. Sure.”
“The catch being?”
“Convincing yourself out there pre this…. Ya know, to not go through the mission leading to your death.”
“I see.”
“Yup.”
“But I should try.”
“Totally.”
“Yep!”
“Alrighty then.”
*
Back on the Marauder, some time ago before the deadly mission.
“He is still our brother, we need to get him out.”
“Fine, we’ll go on the mission. Gather the data Tech.”
“On it Hunter.”
Just as Tech was checking up on the downloaded intel, something popped up on the screen. His eyes wide, holding his breath as Tech listened to the odd message having been put there by…
*
“Um, we should scrap the mission.” Tech, contrary to his earlier demand even told the others gathered there in the cockpit.
“You were the most vocal on going though with it.” Hunter wasn’t sure what was going on, but they had already made the plans and all.
“I know. But, there are other ways to get Crosshair back.” Tech paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “And there is more you should know.”
“What more could there be?” Echo sounded grumpier than his usual, not sure where the winds were blowing from at the moment.
Tech punched the keys on his datapad and directed the message he had received to the large screen. Much to everyone’s surplice Tech’s face appeared, the background unfamiliar to them all and behind Tech was mostly darkness with soft lights but also two other figures standing in the distance they could not see clearly.
“What is this Tech?” Hunter asked confused.
“Well, you’re about to find out.” Tech could only say.
“Tech, it’s me, from the future. I… am dead. Or in some sort of limbo between life and death. But that is not the point I am making. If you go to Eriadu, the mission will fail and you, my other self as it were, will die.”
The rest of the message played out, describing the failed mission. After it ended the silence was such that a pin dropping could easily have been heard. If someone was throwing pins around. They weren’t.
“So, guess we’ll scrap the mission then?” Hunter noted simply.
“Yeah, we should listen to the um… other ah Tech.” Wrecker chimed in.
“But Crosshair—”
“We will find him Omega, I promise you that.” Tech stated solemnly. “There is always another way.”
“Well, guess the Force really does work in mysterious ways.” Echo managed.
The silence once again falling over the space, none of them sure as to what they should say or not. So, quiet if was, for now.