Reimagining and Fixing the Acolyte

Episode 1

 

We see a coven of lesbian force witches living an almost self-sufficient lifestyle on a farmstead on a backwater planet in the Mid Rim. They have droids to help out with manual labour and healthcare. They refer to the Force as the Thread, leading to metaphors of the tapestry of life, etc.

 

Adults are mindful and children play. The adults (including the twin's mothers) sense something in the Force. One of the twins' mothers tells the children that the Mother wants them. The leader is referred to as "the Mother".The Mother is a large woman reminiscent of the Mother Goddess of prehistoric Earth. She tells them that there is a threat to their peaceful existence. Something comes that means to destroy them.

 

Cut to four Jedi travelling to visit the LFWs, a Jedi Master, Jedi 1, Jedi 2 and Jedi 3. They discuss their upcoming mission. We get some exposition. It is expected to be short. They will ensure a lack of Dark Side influence and see if the LFWs need any Jedi support or protection.

 

The Jedi make planetfall. The LFWs do not want them here and ask them to leave. The Jedi refuse, explaining their mission. The LFWs take umbrage with the Jedi's weapons, their lightsabers.

 

Cut to the twins. One likes the Jedi and wants to go with them. The other is suspicious of them and explains why. No love. It is their way or none etc, etc.

 

Cut to some LFWs speaking with the coven's Mother. The Mother senses no evil intent on the Jedi but admits her senses are dulled. They argue about the Jedi's presence. The Mother eventually persuades them to cooperate in the hope the Jedi will leave and life will return to normal.

 

Cut to the Jedi. Jedi 1 senses a manifestation of the Dark Side. The Jedi Master questions this; she senses nothing. "Are your feelings clear?" He is surprised the others cannot sense it. It is strong but he cannot focus on a source. He walks beyond the farmstead looking around. A Shadowy Figure in dark robes retreats into the shadows.

Jedi 1 returns to the LFWs and the other Jedi. The twins are there. He walks into the middle of an argument. Good Twin wants to leave with and join the Jedi. Her Mothers and her twin don't want her to go. The Jedi test the twins and find them to have high M-counts, suitable for training, if a little old. Evil Twin has a tantrum and storms off. Good Twin also has a tantrum and demands that she be able to join the Jedi. Reluctantly, the LFWs allow the Good Twin to go with the Jedi. They take her on board their ship and show holograms of Coruscant and the Jedi Temple to her. They even do some Force exercises. The Jedi ask Good Twin if leaving is what she really wants. They suggest she meditate on it and to explore her feelings.

Good Twin still wants to go with the Jedi. The Jedi tell her to say goodbye to the LFWs.

 

Evil Twin is upset and runs away. The Shadowy Figure watches her but remains hidden.

 

Good Twin takes one last look at the home she is leaving behind and joins the Jedi aboard their ship. The LFWs watch the ship leave. One of the Twin's mothers says, "They were of one Thread. Now the Thread is broken."

 

Evil Twin sees the Jedi ship leave. She screams and has another tantrum. We get a close-up of her face. We see her expression darken. She returns to her home. She is horrified to discover everyone is dead. Shadowy Figure appears from the shadows. The shot is carefully framed to conceal his face. He tells Evil Twin that this is the handiwork of the Jedi. He tells her that he can give her the strength to get revenge. The two walk off together.

 

Cut to the Jedi ship. Good Twin is passing the time with Jedi training exercises. She loses concentration and bursts into tears. "Turn the ship around," she screams. The Jedi return to the planet and see the dead LFWs. Good Twin searches the bodies but cannot find her sister. Jedi 1 says the Dark Side he sensed earlier is gone. The Jedi Master regretfully says she should have listened to him.

 

 

Episode 2

 

Years later, Good Twin has passed the Jedi trials and we see Jedi Master promoting her to Jedi. Jedi Master looks old and haggard. The guilt of failing to protect the LFWs has taken its toll on her. Good Twin is very happy. She thanks Jedi Master for her guidance and tutelage. Jedi Master says she has learned a lot from Good Twin too. The assembled Padawans and Jedi applaud Good Twin's graduation.

 

Cut to a scene showing Evil Twin in a lightsaber duel with the Shadowy Figure. At first glance, it looks like they are fighting to the death, but it becomes apparent Shadowy Figure is holding back. It is shot in such a way that we don't see Shadowy Figure's face. Evil Twin is angry and frustrated. Her attacks become less coordinated. Finally, Shadowy Figure disarms her. Evil Twin rages that she is tired of hiding. She wants her revenge. Shadowy Figure says she is not ready. Evil Twin's lightsaber flies into her hand and she storms off.

 

Jedi Master meets with Yoda. She hands in her resignation from the Jedi Order. Yoda is sympathetic but is unable to give Jedi Master the emotional support she needs. The Jedi failed to give the counselling she needed to her to deal with her post-traumatic stress. Jedi Master gives her lightsaber to Yoda, stands and leaves. A troubled Yoda bows his head and shakes it slightly.

 

Jedi Master meets with Good Twin. Good Twin is initially happy to see her former master. This fleeting moment passes as she realises something is wrong. Jedi Master informs Good Twin that she has left Jedi Order. She wants to one with her former pupil one last time. They sit cross-legged and hold up their right hands against each other. The scene blurs and we see two women standing alone in a dreamscape. They embrace. Jedi Master says she still carries the guilt of failing to protect the LFWs. JM has done what she can for Good Twin but now must find peace. She explains that she is going back to the LFW's home planet. A colony of Twi'leks are living there now. They were rescued from slavery. Tears wet Good Twin's cheeks. She pleads with Jedi Master not to leave. GT says she loves JM. JM says she loves GT, too. They embrace again. The scene fades back to the physical world. GT asks if she will see JM again. JM says she hopes so. Good Twin remains seated while she watches Jedi Master leave.

 

Evil Twin sits cross-legged facing Shadowy Figure, whom we see from behind. The scene deliberately compares with the previous one. Shadowy Figure tells Evil Twin she is about to embark on her first real test. It will make her stronger or destroy her. Evil Twin says she is ready. Shadowy Figure says this remains to be seen.

 

Evil Twin hides in some bushes. She watches a Twi'lek leave a hut and head towards a farmstead, her former home. She looks around and sees her chance. She strides with purpose towards the hut. She pushes the door open and sees the now-former Jedi Master. She is sitting in a chair facing the door. Evil Twin draws and ignites her lightsaber. "Defend yourself!" The former Jedi Master does not move a muscle. After a short awkward silence the former Jedi Master says, "We wondered what happened to you. Good Twin knew you were still alive, but all of our searches were fruitless."

"Defend yourself!" Evil Twin screams, her frustration all too apparent.

Evil Twin rants, trying to goad the former Jedi Master into a fight to the death. Former Jedi Master wins the dual with words. Evil Twin swings her lightsaber. The death blows land just out of shot.

 

"Mother!"

Good Twin is with other Jedi who stare at her. No one says anything but their expressions speak a thousand words.

Good Twin thinks quickly on her feet. "I had this feeling before. It was when my Mothers were murdered. Someone has killed my old Master."

She goes to see the Jedi who sensed the Dark Side in episode one. He agrees to accompany her. They arrive it the murder scene. They see the body of the former Jedi Master with a large lightsaber wound. Good Twin says that her sister was here. The other Jedi says he senses nothing.

 

 

Episode 3

 

Good Twin and the surviving Jedi who originally went to her home planet stand before the Jedi Council. Dark Side-sensing Jedi reports that the Jedi Temple has been thoroughly searched. They have surveyed Good Twin's birth planet and the surrounding system. No clues have come to light that might lead to the Dark Side Force user.

One of the council asks if Good Twin is a security risk.

She says no. Her link with her twin is two-way. All she can sense is that her twin is still alive. That is all that Evil Twin can sense about Good Twin.

Yoda says he senses much pain in Good Twin.

She says she is still coming to terms with the murder of her former master.

Yoda asks if her feelings are clear.

She says they are. Mourning her former Master does not affect her link with her lost twin.

"But it does!" objects another council member, Evil Twin murdered the former Jedi Master.

Good Twin and the other Jedi exit the chamber.

The council discusses the situation. It is agreed that the Dark Side user will have to be flushed out. Yoda looks troubled.

 

Jedi 1 has joined a new team and is on a mission to check in on another group of Force users. Jedi 1 senses the Dark Side, similar to before but different. There is no mistaking its presence but it is fuzzy and unfocussed.  He believes the group they have come to visit is at risk. His new Jedi Master researches the incident with the LFWs. He is very concerned.

The new Jedi Master explains to the coven that they could be in danger and to take precautions. The Force users arm themselves with staffs and blasters. They put defensive precautions in place. They wait for the inevitable attack.

 

Good Twin speaks with a female Padawan. The Padawan congratulates Good Twin on becoming a Jedi. She complains that she still is not ready for the trials. Good Twin offers to help female Padawan.

They sit cross-legged facing each other and touch hands. The scene dissolves to their mindscape. They are in a sparring arena. They both ignite lightsabers and they practice. Good Twin offers advice to female Padawan.

They turn off the lightsabers and embrace. Good Twin tells female Padawan that she is improving. Perseverance is the key to success.

For a moment the two look into each other eyes. Good Twin leans forward and kisses the female Padawan.

Abruptly, Good Twin is returned to the physical world and watches her friend, the female Padawan leave. Good Twin buries her face in her hands.

 

Back with Jedi 1, days have passed and nothing has happened. The leader of the Force users is sceptical of the threat. The new Jedi Master persuades him the threat is still real. Jedi 1 still senses the presence of the Dark Side. New Jedi Master concurs.

Jedi 1 patrols the perimeter of the Force users' settlement. He scans his surroundings, vigilant to the potential threat. Something catches his attention. It is a distraction. He realises just in time to ignite his lightsaber and parry Evil Twin's attack. It knocks him off balance. Evil Twins attacks are furious and relentless. Jedi 1, desperately fends them off. However, it is futile. Evil Twin's lightsaber finds its target. Jedi 1's flies into Evil Twin's hand. The other Jedi sprint to join the fight but Evil Twin flees into the night. They gather around Jedi 1, but it is too late.

 

The following morning, the new Jedi Master says that she senses that the threat has passed. He says the Jedi will stay a little longer, but they must return to Coruscant with Jedi 1's body. He will have a fitting funeral and his name will be added to the roll commemorating those who fell while doing their duty.

 

 

Episode 4

 

The Jedi Council discusses the death of Jedi 1. They underestimated their enemy. Jedi 2 and 3 will be better protected. They recognise that there is a leak within the Jedi Temple. There will be another investigation.

 

Good Twin and her friend the female Padawan meet. There is an awkward moment. Both want to say something, but words fail. Finally, Good Twin says, "I am sorry. I forgot myself. It won't happen again."

Female Padawan is conflicted. She says her Master has complimented her on her improved lightsaber technique. Padawan wants to practice with Good Twin. They go to a sparring area and spar with orange-bladed practice sabers. Female Padawan is not feeling it. She suggests they go somewhere private so that they can become One with the Force.

Again they spar in the mindscape. Despite being in their minds, it feels more real to the Padawan. The Padawan is more aggressive and quicker to respond to Good Twin's attacks than previously.

After they have finished, they look at each other again. Female Padawan brings up the kiss. Good Twin apologises profusely. She explains that the group she was born into expressed love through the Force. It is a powerful feeling. Sometimes it is hard to resist.

Female Padawan kisses Good Twin. They agree for this to be their secret and only to bond when in the mindscape created when they are One with the Force.

 

A Jedi, his Padawan and a droid visit a unit in one of Coruscant's industrial areas. It is a cleaning company that operates cleaning droids. The owner sees the Jedi approach and instructs his protocol droid to deal with them. The Padawan wonders out loud how this company got the Jedi Temple's cleaning contract. The Jedi says, "Cost."

The Jedi requests access to the records for all the cleaning droids. He wants to cross-reference it with an audit. The Jedi looks around suspiciously. The droid asks if anything is wrong. He says no. The Padawan gives a knowing look to his master.

The droid says that all cleaning droids are accounted for and the Jedi's audit is fully reconciled with the droids on the company's contract. The Jedi is disappointed. He says that all of the company's droids in the Jedi Temple will be impounded for a full analysis. The droid informs the Jedi that this will render the company unable to fulfil its contract and that it will accept no responsibility or liability. The droid only agrees if the Jedi agree to keep up payments and to accept full responsibility and liability for any disruption in service. The Jedi finds this tiresome and agrees.

The Jedi, Padawan and their droid leave. The Jedi stops outside and looks around. The company's owner is watching from an alleyway. He retreats out of sight. They head off back to the Jedi Temple.

 

We see the funeral of Jedi 1. Encomia are given. At the end of the funeral, the body is cremated and the ashes interred into a Jedi mausoleum.

Yoda and another Jedi Councillor watch from the sidelines. "Close the threat is. Draw it out, we must."

 

 

Episode 5

 

Evil Twin sits at a table with Shadowy Figure as they eat a meal. Shadowy Figure praises Evil Twin. The murder of Jedi 1 made her stronger. He is pleased. Predictably, the Jedi are protecting Jedis 2 and 3. Evil Twin's path to vengeance now presents greater tests.

Evil Twin understands.

"Do you?" asks Shadowy Figure. He lowers his hood and the camera pans to reveal that he is the owner of the cleaning company. He says that the Jedi are closing in on him and soon he will lose his intelligence. He asks Evil Twin what her plan is.

They continue to eat in silence.

 

Good Twin's friend, the Padawan is no longer a Padawan. She passes the tests. She is very happy and grateful to Good Twin for her help. There are hugging and tears of joy. The former Padawan's Master is unimpressed by the display of emotions.

They celebrate by sparring with real lightsabers.

When they have finished, they sit and become One with the Force.

 

Later, the former Padawan visits Good Twin in her room. She informs her friend that she is leaving tonight on her first mission as a Jedi. There is a tearful farewell. They will miss each other. Good Twin says she is leaving Coruscant, too. The council believes it will do her good to get away from the Jedi Temple. They worry that she has become too emotionally attached.

 

A clunky, armoured droid, that looks cobbled together, appears at an entrance to the Jedi Temple. It opens fire with multiple blasters. The Jedi in the vicinity deflect the blaster bolts back to the droid with the lightsabers. No one is hurt. Another appears at another entrance with the same result.

A figure that looks like Good Twin, but clearly is not, runs through the corridors of the temple. She stops a passing Jedi and asks where Jedi 2 is. She needs to get him to safety. The passing Jedi says he is in his room upstairs and runs off. Disguised Evil Twin runs upstairs. She gets to a door and knocks. She calls out Jedi 2's name. The door opens and two Jedi emerge with ignited lightsabers and move in on Evil Twin. They ask her to surrender. She makes out that she will but then runs off. The two Jedi give chase. Evil Twin swings wildly with the Jedi 1's lightsaber at anyone in her path. She manages to injure some. She gets to a window, cuts a hole in it and jumps out. Several people look out to see where she is headed. One gets out a comlink asking for Coruscant's law enforcement to be informed. A fugitive is on the loose near to the Jedi Temple. She is dressed as a Jedi and is considered highly dangerous.

Two pursuing Jedi find a discarded Jedi robe. Evil Twin has escaped.

 

 

Episode 6

 

The Jedi Council discusses Evil Twin's invasion of the Jedi Temple. There is speculation that the Jedi have lost their edge. Evil Twin has killed two Jedi and injured seven more in an attempt to kill a third. This renegade Dark Side force user is still at large and the council is no nearer to discovering how she got her Dark Side power. The Senate is increasingly concerned about the Jedi Order's inability to bring this matter to a close. Senators are asking questions to which the Jedi have no answer.

A Councillor hypothesises that her mysterious master may have got hold of a Sith Holocron. Another dismisses the notion as mere speculation.

 

Good Twin sits alone at a console in a Jedi ship. She calls her friend on the subspace transmitter. They talk about their respective missions. They both seem happy.

 

Evil Twin spars with Shadowy Figure in what looks like an abandoned warehouse. She is using Jedi 1's blue-bladed lightsaber while he is wielding his normal red one. Shadowy Figure says that Evil Twin's plan was as reckless as it was bold. The Jedi are not so easy to hoodwink. He does believe they have gone soft in the centuries since the Sith wars. He can no longer gather intelligence with the cleaner droids. Their memories are wiped out before they leave the temple. Shadowy Figure does know that Good Twin and her friend are on missions somewhere off Coruscant. Evil Twin has a special connection with Good Twin. Shadowy Man says he can enhance the link. Perhaps Evil Twin can find her sister. He is lying. He is using the Dark Side to suppress the link.

Evil Twin sits cross-legged, closes her eyes and meditates.

 

Good Twin is relaxing in the Jedi ship. She sits up. She senses the presence of Evil Twin on Coruscant. The connection severs. Good Twin goes to the subspace transmitter and calls the Jedi Temple. She reports that Evil Twin is on Coruscant. The droid at the other end confirms this. It informs her of the attack on the temple. Good Twin goes to the Jedi Master leading her current mission and explains the situation. She knows Evil Twin is coming for her. They need to prepare for her arrival.

The Jedi Master calls in reinforcements. He also updates the Jedi Council on the situation.

 

Two ships arrive. One of them carries Good Twin's friend. They manage to have a private moment together. Good Twin says the situation is dangerous and she worries for her friend's safety. Her friend says not to worry. She has been well trained. She has Good Twin to partially thank for that.

There are half a dozen Jedi and Padawans on the planet. Good Twin's Jedi Master says that they are to capture Evil Twin alive if possible or to take her dead body back to Coruscant if not.

 

Episode 7

 

The Jedi still await Evil Twin's arrival. Good Twin meditates to try to sense her sister's arrival. The two Padawans are nervous. The other Jedi wait patiently. To keep the Padawans occupied while they wait, the Jedi have them practice their skills.

 

A ship flies across the sky and lands some distance away. Good Twin announces that her sister has arrived. Shadowy Figure has remained on Coruscant. He is unable to suppress the twin's link in the Force.

Good Twin hears a voice in her head. Evil Twin says she knows this is a trap. Evil Twin challenges Good Twin to face her, alone. If Good Twin does not accept, Evil Twin says she will leave.

Good Twin explains the situation to the other Jedi. She says she will face her sister, alone. Good Twin's friend asks her if she is sure she wants to do this. Good Twin says she does.

Good Twin walks away from the other Jedi.

 

The two twins face off against each other. Good Twin tries to talk Evil Twin down. Evil Twin is not interested. She is too angry. They duel but each anticipates the other's moves perfectly. It is a stalemate.

Evil Twin cannot comprehend why Good Twin joined those who murdered their Mothers. Good Twin says she did not, Evil Twin did. They argue and fight. The stalemate persists.

Good Twin persuades Evil Twin to be one with the Force with her. They touch hands. Flashback of Good Twin sensing her Mothers' deaths while she is in hyperspace travelling to Coruscant. Followed by a flashback of Evil Twin sensing their deaths. Finally, a flashback of Shadowy Figure lying to Evil Twin.

The return to the physical world. Evil Twin is very upset and angry.

Good Twin says that Evil Twin's anger and hatred led her astray. They allowed her to be seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.

Evil Twin, now redeemed, vows to show Shadowy Figure what righteous anger is.

The twins head off towards Redeemed Twin's spaceship.

 

During the flight to Coruscant, Good Twin says that they will never be able to land. The authorities will be waiting for them. Redeemed Twin says that she knows a way around the official routes onto the planet.

Redeemed Twin has lost much of her anger and hatred for the Jedi. She has not forgiven them for not protecting the coven and their mothers. She promises that her vengeance will end with the death of Shadowy Figure.

The twins touch hands and become One with the Force. They relive happy memories from their childhood.

 

 

Episode 8

 

A member of the Jedi Council sits in session with a committee. It is composed of senators tasked with investigating the twins.

A committee member accuses the Jedi of negligence. Not only in allowing the slaughter coven of LFWs but also in training Good Twin and then allowing her to abscond with Evil Twin.

The Jedi Councillor says that the Jedi are searching for the twins. The Coruscant authorities were advised of Evil Twin's ship and will impound it if attempts to return to Coruscant.

What if they don't return to Coruscant?

The Republic's forces are on alert with orders to intercept and bring in the ship. However, it is the view of the Jedi that the twins will return to Coruscant to kill the person who trained Evil Twin.

 

Shadowy Figure returns to his abode. He is alarmed to see a Bith sitting in an armchair facing the door. He draws and ignites his lightsaber. The lightsaber flies through the air, switches off and the Bith catches it. "If I came here to fight, you would be dead already."

Shadowy Figure glances around. He is fidgety.

"Don't think about it. There is more to the Dark Side than proficiency with a lightsaber."

Shadowy Figure looks at his lightsaber in the Bith's hand. "You want this back? I think not. Someone might get hurt. And by someone, I mean you. Now, be seated and tell me everything you know about the twins."

The Bith wants to know everything Shadowy Figure knows about the twins. He is disappointed to learn that Shadowy Figure killed the LFWs before he learned of the twin's conception. The Bith is particularly interested in how the women imbued the foetuses with the Force. Did the process cause the fertilised egg to split into twins or is that unrelated? The Bith is not happy that Shadowy Figure does not know any of this. Shadowy Figure has outlived his usefulness.

Shadowy Figure says that the twins have the power to kill the Bith.

With a gesture from the Bith, Shadowy Figure flies into the wall. There is a sickening thud. The Bith mimes picking him up. Shadowy Figure kicks frantically, gasping for breath. He flies into the opposite wall. Blood spurts from his mouth. Shadowy Figure still struggles for breath but his kicking is less frantic. The Bith drops him on the floor. "I don't know what made you believe you to be worthy to become my apprentice. I would never take on someone as weak as you." The Bith finishes off the broken man with Force Lightning. Shadowy Figure screams and writhes in agony but not for long. After he falls silent the lightning stops. The Bith levitates the body and a flick of a finger snaps his neck. The body drops unceremoniously to the ground.

The Bith sits back in the chair.

 

At Shadowy Figure's residence, the front door flies open. Evil Twin enters with murder in mind. She sees Shadowy Figure's broken and charred body on the floor.

The twins see the Bith, still seated in the chair facing the door, waiting for them. "Hello, ladies…"

 

Separate from the Herd

Separate from the Herd

There are worst things than being alone, he mused… actually no, this is the worst thing that could to happen to a Puppeteer – to a Puppeteer? – to a citizen. He had spent far too much time living among humans; now he was thinking like one of them. He felt shivers run down his necks. He surrendered to the urge to groom his mane. He adjusted, tucked and readjusted but no matter what he did he could not get it right. He tried curling up into a ball but regardless of where he put his heads he was unable to find comfort. He was just too fidgety.

He was regarded as insane by members of his species. There were few able to do what he had done: leave the herd but even an insane Citizen needs a psychological fourth leg and his was gone. Despite how far away he was, or how long the mission, there was always the thought that he would eventually return to the Fleet, once again to be with his own species and to smell genuine herd scent instead of the synthetic one aboard ship. Scientists assured him that they were the exact same chemical compounds but he could smell the difference.

He assessed his situation. The instrumentation was still working, as far as he could tell, though far from optimal. Checking the read-outs revealed that much of the cabling was sheered. The wireless back-up systems were functional, where needed, but less efficient.  All external scanners and sensors were off-line, presumably destroyed: such was the peril of attaching them to non-hull mountings. General Products hull integrity, status intact. Otherwise would have been unexpected but even so it was still a relief. The rest of the ship had not fared so well. The stasis capsule had saved his life but much of the ship was wrecked. Life support was functional, but two layers of redundancy were gone. He would eat, drink and breathe for the foreseeable future. The power plant was still intact but there were some structural stresses. Now that was a worry. It was designed to survive a high energy impact but even Citizen technology had its limits. There was nothing he could do about it now; he moved on…

Next, he assessed his surroundings to estimate the level of threat. He had crashed on an airless ball of rock in orbit about a star that humans classified as a yellow dwarf, despite the fact they appeared white to human eyes. The threats? Radiation could be discounted, the hull would protect him from any emitted by the star and also from cosmic rays. No, the threat was from the vacuum of space. The first priority was to ensure that potential hull breaches could be sealed off to keep the ship’s solitary occupant safe and alive. Solitary, not a word used in polite society and the concept made his legs quiver. No one wanted to be separate from the herd.

Momentarily, he considered going outside to assess the damage but the risk was too great. His thoughts drifted back to the humans he had studied; doubtless, a human pilot would have gone outside with barely a second thought. Despite all of the years spent studying humans, and other aliens, he had yet to gain an understanding of their attitude towards risk. Their languages had words for risk-averse individuals and they were always derogatory. How a sentient being could not only regard risk as acceptable but also to seek it out, to embrace it, was something utterly alien and beyond rational comprehension.

Again, he checked the hull integrity. It was intact. Atmospheric pressure had not dropped since last time he had checked it. His fear subsided but was not dispelled. A certain sense safeness was beginning to form, albeit fragile.

As his mind cleared, his training become hindmost in his thoughts. First thing to do to prevent panic was to stand with fore-legs apart. So that was what he did. His tutor had taught that this stance altered the brain chemistry and changed blood flow. The hind leg got an extra boost of blood in readiness to kick. His instructor had also told him that the kick of a Citizen could kill or seriously maim a Kzin. He could not imagine himself kicking a Kzin; some things were beyond even an insane Citizen. Whether or not there was any truth to any of this, it seemed to be working. He now stood firm and took control of the situation, at least, that was what he was telling himself.

Feeling the most confident he had been since emerging from stasis, he continued to follow the training. Herd scent: the calming and soothing scent of the herd was proven to reduce stress and the levels of flight hormones. Food and drink: for the brain to work efficiently it needed fuel and to be properly hydrated. Make a plan: working out how he was going to get out of this mess that was the difficult part.

# # #

“Separate from the Herd.” It was an expression that was used freely by Citizens every day without a second thought. He guessed that its original usage, way back in the mists of time, were literal rather than the modern figurative, for example, being the only Experimentalist in a room of Conservatives was considered to be “separate from the herd”. The literal meaning of the expression was weighing on his mind rather too heavily as he surveyed the hyperdrive. Verdict: it was now little more than a collection of metal parts ready for recycling. He was about as separate from the herd as it was possible to be.

He stood there, legs apart, assessing his situation. He was beginning to think that standing in this position was nothing more than a pile of half chewed grass because right now his legs felt like jelly and he believed that if he were to kick with his back leg he would collapse in an undignified heap.

Thankfully, the ship’s thrusters were still operational. Thankfully? If he escaped from the planet where would he go? Yes, he could get off this unnoticed and insignificant rock; he could never catch up to the Fleet of Worlds on thruster power alone. He thought about where he might go where a Puppeteer — he was thinking like a human again — where a Citizen would be safe and wait for assistance. Safe, the key word was “safe”. Where could he go that was safe? That question was hindmost in his mind. He would have to go into stasis. It would take so long to get there that anything could happen during his journey, especially now that the herd was fleeing and was not guiding the other, more dangerous, species.

Various scenarios formed in his mind. He might be found by a Pak ramscoop, or perhaps by a ship crewed by vengeful humans working for ARM, or perhaps a ship of hungry Kzinti. His forelegs trembled. Maybe it would take so long to be discovered that  his kind would have been forgotten or,worse still, he might continue until the wave of lethal radiation caught up with him. The possibilities were endless. He tried to think of a low-risk scenario that led to his safe rescue and a return to the herd. For the first time in his life he was genuinely missing being with humans: they were so much better at dealing with risk.

The strength in his left leg gave way. He tried to compensate but it was no use. He found himself sprawled out on the floor.

# # #

His two heads emerged from under his torso. He was still in the engine room in front of the hyperdrive. He had no memory of curling up and entering a catatonic coma nor a sense of how long he had been out. He stood, shaking out his mane. The time out must have done him good; he was feeling much better and was ready to continue the task of assessing the damage to the ship. It was but a tiny jump by stepping disc to check out the condition of the thrusters.

They had survived remarkably well. In fact, he found it odd that the thrusters should be operational and pretty much intact while the hyperdrive was useless. The thrusters had not escaped unscathed from the crash but there was no damage beyond the reach of a thorough service. The more he thought about it, the odder it seemed.

There was nothing he could do here so it was a quick step back to the hyperdrive. He tongued the controls and ran a full systems check. Better to be thorough, better to make sure he had missed nothing. Structurally, it was still intact; there was little in the way of physical damage and yet it was completely inoperative. Granted, he was no expert when it came to hyperdrive technology but the idea that the damage was inconsistent with what might be expected from the crash refused to go away.

The engineers who had fitted the ship had told him not worry about any of its systems. They had installed multiple layers of redundancy. So, it was possible that one too few redundancy had been installed in the hyperdrive or, more likely, something nefarious had happened.

He decided to go over the events that led to his crash. He had been sat in the pilot’s seat watching the mass indicator when, without warning, he found himself in normal space. He had panicked, as any Citizen would. An unidentified fault in the hyperdrive had caused it to fail. Hyperdrive shunts built by Citizens did not have unidentified faults. In fact, faults unidentified or otherwise, were not a feature of any Citizen technology.

His sensors had revealed that he was near to the outskirts of an unchartered system. It was a single star with a catalogue number and a spectral analysis: such was the extent of Citizen knowledge in his ship’s database database. He had set the autopilot to take the ship onto a course into orbit around the star and then he had rolled up into a ball to quiver with fear, as was only natural.

In retrospect, it was clear he had not been thinking clearly. Fearing sabotage or, worse still, space piracy he had chosen to land on a small planet, safely out of sight. Normally, he would have let the ship’s automatic systems handle it but this time he got his mouths on the job and landed the ship himself. He came down too steep and far too fast. The stupidity of it stung as the memories resurfaced. If he had not gone into stasis he would not been stood here to feel embarrassed about it. The one advantage of his solitude was that there was no one to witness his shame.

Getting back to the here and now, he studied the results of the damage assessment. Some circuits were burnt out caused by a current overload. Current overload? There should be multiple systems in place to prevent that from happening. He felt his right leg tremble. There were spare parts aplenty in stores; he needed to get his mouths busy.

# # #

Five days later he had finished replacing the damaged parts; he spent another day testing. While not particularly arduous work, he had found it exhausting. There was only one way to found out if his repairs had worked: pilot the ship to the edge of interstellar space and try it. The thought terrified him.

However, he was exhausted. He did not trust the autopilot to take him out of the system, at least not without him being awake to keep an eye on it. No, it was better to rest, he decided and pilot the ship after he was refreshed. There were no predators nearby.

He stepped into the recreational area and settled down onto a three-legged stool. The environment controls were within easy reach and he flooded the room with herd scent. He could not be with other members of his species but having their, albeit artificial, scent in the air was not a bad second best under the circumstances.

One of his heads turned towards the huge vid-screen that was one of the walls of his rec-room. There were multiple cracks across it. He wondered if he could fix it. An image of a herd of Citizens would be most welcome right now but his brain and his lips protested: no more manual work!

Instead, he set to work straightening his mane. There was no one here to judge his appearance but that did nothing to diminish the need to groom. On reflection, he found grooming to be much better for his state of mind than the legs apart stance. If he ever got back, he would have to give some very stern feedback to the Citizen who had given that bad advice to him.

The blood flowed freely in his arteries and his rear leg felt strong and ready to kick anything. Unfortunately, his front legs felt weak and wobbly.

# # #

He awoke and realised with great disappointment that he had been dreaming. He had been in a large and predator-free meadow with thousands of his fellow Citizens. The herd galloped across it as one, a great stampede. The wind had felt wonderful rushing through his mane but alas the tyranny of the waking world had reasserted itself and here he was on his crash-landed space ship, alone.

On the plus side, he was feeling refreshed and ready for anything, well almost anything. “Ready for anything”, it was a human expression, not something a Citizen would normally say. He was thinking like a human again. The thought weighed heavily on his mind – how abhorrent but maybe that was what he needed right now. At least his front legs had stopped shaking.

“Let’s do this.” He said the words out loud. In the humans’ language the words sounded right. They had a “ring”, as humans would say (he did not really understand the expression: human voices were incapable of reproducing a ringing sound and therefore it was not a feature of any human language but it sounded good). In his native language it sounded ridiculous, at least it did inside his brain.

He stepped to the bridge and settled onto the pilot’s stool. The ship shook worryingly but he coped with it by repeatedly telling himself that it was safer to leave than to remain behind. He just about managed to believe it.

The ship’s external sensors were nothing more than a memory but he could see the stars through the transparent hull and was therefore able to point his ship in the right direction after escaping the gravity well of his host planet. The journey was uneventful. It nearly always was through the vast emptiness of normal space.

He was on his way now. He had made the first steps towards facilitating his own rescue. The plain was predator free. He was hindmost of his situation.

He left the bridge and stepped in to the observation deck. Not even an insane Citizen would rely solely on external sensors. In here were telescopes he could use to plot his position. Once he had that and he was far enough out of the star’s gravity well he could send a hyperwave message to the Fleet and await rescue. He was not looking forward to explaining how he had managed to crashland but there were fates worse than humiliation. He considered the possibility of being sentenced to a few years labour on one of the agri-worlds. He found the prospect appealing.

The telescopes on the observation deck were only sensitive to electro-magnetic waves of the visible portion of the spectrum, those wavelengths that could penetrate a General Products hull. The remains of the sensors for the rest of the spectrum were mounted on the outside of the hull. In theory, it should be easy to find some familiar stars and plot his position and bearing. In practice, he was not a skilled astronomer.

The first thing he had to do was plot his location on his course through space. The calculation was simple. He knew how long he had spent in hyperspace, he knew his velocity relative to normal space. Multiply the two together and he had his result. Now he had his location in space he had to match the pattern of stars he could see outside to the pattern of stars in the ship’s star charts. Citizen astronomers had catalogued and plotted the orbits of countless millions of stars in the Galaxy.

Someone had once told him that there were more Citizens alive today than stars shining in the Galaxy. He wondered if it were true. As he looked out at the countless points of light in the sky, he, somehow, doubted it. He found this line of thought chilling, reinforcing his solitude. He forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand.

If he still had the external telescopes his task would have been much simpler. Finding the positions of millisecond pulsars and X-ray sources would have given him a much more manageable sample set of stars with which to do his calculations.

The ship continued inexorably towards the outer system while he studied the stars and compared them with his star maps. He extracted spectral analyses from the data he obtained from the on board telescopes and plotted the positions of blue supergiant stars. It took time but he eventually managed to plot the local distribution in space to calculate his position. It took many days for him to complete his work. It had not occurred to him that he would be off course; if the ship was where it was supposed to have been, the task would have been much simpler. He was in a little explored section of the Galaxy; there were no known spacefaring aliens within easy reach.

The more he thought about it the more he came to one inescapable conclusion: sabotage. Such a thing was beyond the capability of a Conservative therefore it must have been planned and perpetrated by one of his fellow Experimentalists. An alien would not have enough information to accomplish such a feat unless it had obtained it from a Citizen. That seemed unlikely; once sensitive information regarding Citizen technology was passed to an alien, it was passed over permanently. The risk that that information could be used against Citizens as a species was far too great. Not even an insane Citizen would consider such a foolhardy action.

He had studied and worked with humans for a long time: they would make excellent predators of his species, given the opportunity. He felt more afraid of humans now than he had ever done while in their presence.

He let out a whine with clear harmonics denoting despair.

# # #

He was assaulted by the stench of his own waste when consciousness returned. He let out a surprised yelp and fled to his personal quarters. He immediately trotted into the shower; it felt good to be clean again. Next, he visited the autodoc to check that he had not picked up an infection. He clambered in and let the device work. Thankfully, he came up clear.

He stepped back to the room where he had soiled himself. He activated the automated housekeeping and ordered it to clean up the mess. He returned to the stepping disc and went to the bridge. He checked the ship’s course, which revealed he was well on his way towards the outer system. It was here, as he stared at the chronometer, that he realised he had been out for just over three days. It was now that his brain acknowledged his hunger pangs. The ship had not deviated from its course therefore he felt safe enough to step into the kitchen to eat.

The grass seemed sweeter than usual. He tongued the control that increased the amount of herd hormone in the room. It was comforting but he knew his situation had not improved.

His thoughts returned to his distant life back on the Fleet of Worlds. The Hindmost himself had awarded him with the right to become a parent. His insanity had ruled him out previously but the success of his studies of and dealings with humans had overcome this obstacle or so he had been told. He considered the reasons why this might be. Was it because the Fleet needed more of the right kind of insane Citizen, able to leave the herd? Maybe the Hindmost had not expected him to return? He wondered if he would ever discover the truth and whether or not it was better not to find out…

With the satisfaction of a good graze and a full belly he returned to the bridge. He felt restless with the need to occupy himself but there was nothing to do. The ship followed its course inexorably without requiring the intervention of a pilot so he kept himself busy by making another complete check of the ship. As expected, he found no more faults. He ran the diagnostic on the hyperdrive again: zero faults. He studied the holographic readout wanting to believe it but that particularly crucial part of his ship had failed before without reporting a fault. What was preventing it from failing again? He was no engineer so there was no way he could do a thorough investigation to discover why it had failed at least not without spending who knows how long studying hyperdrive technology. There were many Citizens with more of an engineering inclination than he who were unable to grasp the concepts of the technology. He was only an alien liaison, he did not fancy his chances. The more he thought on it the more he realised that using the hyperdrive to get back to the Fleet of Worlds was dangerous, perhaps too dangerous.

He had two possibilities: send a hyperwave message to the Fleet requesting aid or attempt a rendezvous with it.  The former seemed the obvious choice but he had no idea who was responsible for sabotaging his ship. Would the culprits be the ones crewing the rescue party? The thought of it was like a stalking predator just out of sight. The alternative could hardly be described as safe either.

# # #

It took him five days to overcome the paralysis of indecision. During those five days he had made his decision, unmade his decision and changed his mind more times than he could possibly count before spending the final day curled up in a ball wishing it would all go away.

The decision was made: he would call for help. It was better to die at the mouths of those who had put him in this predicament than to die alone in space, lost, forgotten and separate from the herd. At least, he might have the satisfaction of some answers.

He steadied himself, assumed the legs apart stance and tongued the controls. Nothing happened. The hyperwave had failed. The strength drain from both his necks and his heads flopped onto the console. The urge to kick with his hind leg welled up in his mind but this was vetoed by the strength draining from there too.

There was only one course of action open to him. He allowed himself a short time to despair. Then, he set to work,

The Fleet’s destination was the Magellanic Clouds, as the humans called them, two dwarfs that were making a close approach to the Galaxy. Gravity had distorted both and would continue to do so in the future. In fact, it looked like the larger and closer one was tearing apart the smaller. The primary target was the larger, which was believed to be on a parabolic trajectory around the Galaxy, headed in the direction of the Galaxy’s south pole. Such was what he learned from the ship’s library.

Riding a dwarf galaxy away from the predatorial aliens of the main Galaxy might be a good idea but no one knew what species had evolved there. Some Experimentalists had expressed the opinion it might be sterile due its low metallicity but how could they be sure? He had heard the theory that the long term plan was for the Fleet to return to the post-explosion core, by then sterilised and ripe for re-colonisation. Unsurprisingly for a Citizen in contact with aliens, no one had confided with him regarding the Fleet’s ultimate plans. Working out an intercept course was more difficult than it seemed. The object appeared stationary in the night sky but he knew it was moving at a high speed relative to the Galaxy.

He called up the course on which the Fleet traversed and plotted a parallel course through the Galaxy. The Fleet would arrive ahead of him but that was not a bad thing. The ship was now on its way.

Fatigue weighed him down. Time for food, he reflected. As his hoof touched the stepping disc, he felt a sense of inevitability but also of accomplishment. If it were possible to overcome his current predicament, he believed he had done everything he could have done to make it happen.

The synthesised leaves tasted sweet. He tongued the herd scent up to maximum. He closed his eyes and imagined himself to be in a pasture surrounded by the herd, grazing as his ancestors did for millions of years but it was a short-lived fantasy. His meal finished he set to grooming his mane.

Humans had a tradition: a person condemned to death was given one last meal before sentence was carried out. He wondered if he had just eaten his last meal. The thought should have terrified him but he was strangely calm.

He stepped back into the cockpit and checked his trajectory. All was fine. The thrusters were working perfectly. He programmed the stasis field to switch off after he reached the edge of the Galaxy. From there he could recalculate his trajectory to his destination.

He had done everything he could think of. The only thing left for him now was to active the stasis field.