Chapter Text
Part One: Confluence
45 ABY
16 years after the Yuuzhan Vong War
Fourteen-year-old Cassen Solo sat on a patch of grass, meditating.
He reached out in the Force, feeling the life of the forest around him - the tampasi, as the Ferroans called it. The tampasi was more than just the forest. It was the whole biosphere of the planet; every creature that called Zonama Sekot home, like Cassen himself.
Growing up in this place, Cassen had developed a strong connection to the Living Force. His parents encouraged him to cultivate it; and so he was here, meditating in the forest after a long day of Jedi training. Sitting in the midst of the tampasi, this great hub of life, the interconnectedness of all living things was at his fingertips.
He sensed a colony of wild sparkbees nesting in a nearby tree. Descended from the bioengineered weapon-bugs of the Yuuzhan Vong, the insects now lived wild like their ancestors. Further away, Cassen felt the mighty breaths and heavy footfalls of a herd of rakamats. The former war-beasts were used sometimes for heavy hauling or transport. When their services weren’t needed, they roamed free in the plains and browsed the sparse woodlands at the forest’s edge.
Reaching down, Cassen could sense the flow of nutrients and signals through the roots of the boras ‘trees’ - towering, semi-sentient organisms that formed the backbone of the tampasi. Their roots all connected to each other, forming a living network that spanned the planet. Any of Zonama’s inhabitants could communicate through this network. It was a learned skill, but required no special attunement to the Force.
Everywhere, Cassen felt the vast, steady presence of Sekot - the great mind whose body was the planet itself. The planet was named Zonama, and together they were known as Zonama Sekot - the legendary sentient world. This unique place was home to over a billion reformed Yuuzhan Vong. At the end of the war, they learned that Zonama Sekot was the offspring of their long-lost homeworld, Yuuzhan’tar.
This stunning discovery shook the Yuuzhan Vong to their core. They were forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew about themselves and the people they had made their enemies.
Sekot invited them to live on his world and set aside their warlike ways, hoping they could rediscover the life of harmony and symbiosis their ancestors had lost long ago. Most Yuuzhan Vong accepted his offer, and he restored their connection to the Force. They begin calling themselves Sekotan Vong in his honor.
Besides the Sekotan Vong, Zonama Sekot was also home to Ferroans and Langhesi - near-humans who had been here for generations. A few humans lived here too, including Cassen and his parents.
Cassen felt Sekot greet him. The world-mind was always present, rarely interfering overtly in the lives of his people, but always available to reach out to. Cassen returned his greeting, then continued to cast his awareness outward; basking in the great ebb and flow of life.
“Good, Cassen,” said his mom, Tahiri. She sat on the ground across from him, sharing in the meditation, letting Cassen guide it. Neither of them opened their eyes, but Cassen could tell she had a smile on her face. He felt her approval and encouragement in the Force. “Now, pull your focus back. Feel the life immediately around you, and within you.”
Cassen took a deep, cleansing breath and followed her instruction. His awareness returned to the ground beneath him. He felt the life in the grass; the roots and fungi in the soil; worms and burrowing insects; the rich microbiome of the loam. He felt the quiet, plantlike life of the robeskin he wore. He sensed the microbiome of his own skin, which the living garment kept in healthy balance.
He felt many tiny organisms within his body, most of them benevolent or harmless. No creature in the galaxy lived alone. Every complex organism, every sentient being, was a whole ecosystem; a world of life unto themselves.
He had only recently developed the ability to sense life on such a small scale, and could only do so in deep meditation. Even then, he could not usually sense individual microbes. It was like watching a crowd from a distance, seeing its overall shape and movement but unable to pick out faces. That was a skill very few Jedi ever developed. His teachers had cautioned him against pushing too hard, too fast. He usually followed their advice.
In this microscopic realm, Cassen noticed a tiny, quiet presence at the edge of his perception, distributed through every cell of his body. These must be the midi-chlorians. Those Force-attuned symbiotes dwelled within every living organism. They were a domain of life unto themselves, seemingly unrelated to anything else in the galaxy.
Their nature and role had been debated for millennia. In most cases, the stronger someone was in the Force, the more midi-cholorians they had. The old Jedi Order had believed that they were the source of Force-sensitivity. Others believed that the midi-cholorians were merely attracted to Force sensitivity, and did not actually grant it to their hosts. The Sekotan Vong were only beginning to try and understand them, but already the leading shapers believed the truth was somewhat more complicated.
Cassen felt his mom’s mind brush his own, with a renewed sense of approval. “Good,” she said again. “Now, reground yourself.”
He took a deep breath, returning his awareness to its ordinary, macroscopic domain. He opened his eyes.
His mom smiled at him. Her face was strong and smooth, except for three vertical scars on her forehead. Her blond hair fell to her shoulders, brushing against her forest-green robeskin tunic. A lightsaber hung on a woven belt at her waist. Her feet were bare, as they usually were.
During the war, Tahiri had been forcibly imprinted with a Yuuzhan Vong personality. It had been meant to overwrite her mind, but she prevailed, incorporating it into her own identity. As a result, she had come to understood the aliens’ culture and living technology - even as she still fought to stop their invasion of the galaxy.
On Zonama Sekot, biotech was a part of everyday life. Cassen had grown up with it. Even his father Anakin had become accustomed to it after sixteen years, although he didn’t embrace it the way his wife and son did.
Cassen wore a robeskin outfit similar to his mom’s, with brown leggings and a lighter green tunic. He had yet to build his own lightsaber, so his belt held only a few pouches and a knife. His feet were also bare. He stretched his legs out in front of him, letting the tall grass pass between his toes.
"I think I sensed the midi-chlorians," he said.
Tahiri smiled. That was a milestone for any Jedi trainee. The new Jedi Order had never given much attention to those microscopic symbiotes, but a conscious bond with them was an important sign of attunement to the Living Force.
“That’s great, Cassen,” she said. “Did you feel anything from them?”
He thought for a moment. “I just sensed them. They seem quiet.”
Tahiri nodded. “That’s normal for most Jedi. I can feel their presence, but that’s about it. It’s good to be aware of them, but don’t try so hard that you loose touch with the outside world.”
Her son nodded. “I’m more interested in other things, anyway.” He picked up a fold of his living tunic and rubbed it gently between his fingers. “I’m glad we live here, not somewhere like Coruscant. Everything’s so alive. I want to understand how it all fits together.”
“There is plenty of life on Coruscant too,” his mom reminded him. “And the Force is in all things, even machines. But I agree with you,” she said with a grin. “And that’s not just my Sekotan Vong side talking. It’s the girl who was born on Tatooine but got to live on Yavin IV.”
She got to her feet. “You did great today. Come on, it’s almost dinner time. I think I can smell your dad’s cooking from here!"