Out Of Body

[ysonesse]

Unknown World: Tatooine

She was sitting on a sand dune, looking out onto the wide expanse of a gold-white desert. Was this a regular dream? Yes, it certainly felt like a standard dream setting. And yet...this place had the underlying feeling of a real setting as well. There was that solidity and sense of three dimensions which always vibrates in the unseen currents of the waking world.

For all of that awareness, it still gave Nalieza no immediate indication of what planet this desert belonged to. Yet she knew that the vista looked familiar. Somehow, she should have no trouble navigating her way across the dunes.

She looked up at the sky. Twin suns, white and glowing harsh over the landscape. Blinding if she were really on this world. But in a dream, the suns were merely bright. And here she was, sitting atop a sand dune as if it were one of the most natural things to do in the universe.

That was the nature of dreams, though. Everything strange could be normal.

A flutter in her stomach...and then a sudden stray thought caused her to realize it was time to get off the dune, and head towards...where? In this world, there was no need for knowledge of a precise location. All she had to do was think, and her inner mind would take her right to the place.

And then, she noticed that the setting around her was shifting. There was a rippling movement in the air, and soon, she was no longer sitting on the sand dune. She was now standing in front of a low and small building made of hardened sand. A simple and humble structure.

What drew her to this building?...The only way to find out was to go inside.

She walked into the doorway, with the light automatically shifting from very bright to rather muted. The only sound to be heard was the distant humming of an unseen cooling unit. A flight of steps was in front of her, so she walked down them into a wide room. The room was sparsely furnished with only a small table flanked by two chairs in one corner, and a trunk situated against a wall near the stairway. The trunk was plain and appeared to be made from cesim wood.

Oddly enough, she could see through the wood and into the trunk. The contents were minimal, including some metal odds and ends, which probably belonged to a starship once upon a time. There was a large square of navy fabric folded into fours, and in the center was a truly rare sight. A book, bound in shimmering dark brown shannt hide filled with many pages held together. Such an unusual sight, as the galaxy had abandoned physical texts several millennia ago. So this book, even though wrapped in such a humble piece of cloth, must truly be important.

A radiant energy came from the book; an eminence that flowed and shifted outward. It was definitely Light Energy. So much of the Force focused into one object that it could be felt so strongly.

She wanted to peek inside and see what was written on those slightly yellowed pages, but suddenly did not feel worthy. There wasn't enough Light in her to even dare contemplate something like this. That honor should more properly fall to an actual Jedi, one who could fully understand the knowledge enough to properly use it. Someone like...

He walked into the room. Clad in black, like some advanced initiate into a mystery religion. Which was not too far from the truth.


So, this was Skywalker. And she was here to...do what? Watch him in the middle of a hut? Ridiculous. There had to be another reason.

He was standing at a worktable, holding a small and perfectly round green crystal up to the light.

Nalieza stared at what he was holding. It shown softly, with a light that came from its center as he turned it slowly around.

She had come upon him in a most sacred act. The construction of a lightsaber. The first of many tests for a Jedi Knight. And she was now being given an opportunity to glimpse, however briefly and in a rather odd fashion, the process of creation.

This realization made her nervous. Having Force sensitivity did not mean that it was right or proper to witness this important act. Only a Jedi should have such a vision, not someone who occasionally used her only ability in some vague way that never really did much good to anyone. "I don't belong here," she said out loud.

Skywalker spun around, looking in her direction.

He couldn't have heard her speak. But why had he turned so suddenly after her declaration? Was it possible...through the Force...that he did hear what she said?

She panicked, and thought of the dunes...then felt herself retreating out of the house as if being pulled into a vacuum. There was a brief glimpse of the desert landscape...the feeling of falling from some high place...a descent that seemed endless...

Real World: Aeithera

...and then she crashed back into her body.

It took some minutes for her mind to adjust from what had just taken place. When her perception had cleared, she sat up and noticed that she was out in the living room. Had she been asleep? No. She had been sitting on the divan, running through the channels, trying to find something mildly entertaining. The remote was sitting in her lap

She had a waking dream...one that takes place when a person is not surrounded by the deep waters of true sleep. She had stepped outside of herself, and travelled on some unknown road to the desert planet. The real place, in its actual physical location. But what had drawn her there? Was there a reason she was able to see Skywalker engaged in the act of constructing a...lightsaber? Perhaps it was some small nudge from the Creatrix, telling her something that was important...to her life.

Only the future will tell.

Nalieza groaned. She remembered Josym's comment about the possibility of her becoming a Jedi...that couldn't be the reason. Not at all. Definitely not...maybe not ...or...

"Cut it out!" She said this out loud, for the universe, the Creatrix, and the Force to hear.