It was long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But also, far, far away from where most of the grand drama of the Galactic Republic and Empire played out. This was Peridea, in a separate galaxy, but one linked to the other by bonds mystic and misunderstood. The night sisters called it magicks. Jedi and Sith called it The Force. Even the Mortis Gods who understood more than almost any mortal, referred to is as the force, but this may have been so the mere mortal beings they interacted with could understand. The mighty Bendu didn't ever really refer to it his own way, though he could converse with mortals. He too understood things that most mortals did not. They may try and use their science to describe things like midichlorians, but that was a fallacy. True, it is one that did explain how a few beings could connect to the immortal forces around the universe, but midichlorians were no more the source of the force than a canteen was a source of water. It might hold it, might be useful for transporting it, but the water did not come FROM it. But Peridea was such a place, where the power that connected all things did emanate. Most beings used this power in service of what they knew: Jedi could master the Force here in ways far beyond what might be considered normal. It was why Sabine Wren had her first success with the force here, and why she grew by leaps and bounds in an instant. It's why Ashoka Tano could rest easy even though trapped, because the power here gave her clairvoyance such as no Jedi ever had. And it's why a lone Imperial crew member who deserted found himself possessed of a power unlike any the Jedi OR Sith had ever dreamed of.
Our story starts far from the events at the night sister temple and the destroyer Chimera, and while our character did start there, and will intersect with those events once more, he is ignorant of what transpired as Ezra Bridger escaped this place, while Tano, Wren, Skoll, and Hati were stranded. And our story starts without them, but who is to say which is any will cross paths with our wanderer?
Tamio Polis was Corellian by birth, but long since enrolled in the Imperial academy and he had a natural talent for materials sciences and chemistry. He entered the engineering track and was the highest graduating student of his class, scoring an appointment to the fleet. His first posting wasn't fantastic and working on such a large project as what he only knew as 'stardust' didn't give him the chance to explore and push boundaries like he wanted. But his work there apparently had enough merit that some Admiral in the outer rim requested him by name. And that was how he came to be aboard the Chimera, and how he came to know the ruthless strategy and cunning of then Admiral Thrawn, just before his promotion to Grand Admiral. While he appreciated the chance to stretch his legs in materials science and contributed to the development of the tri-fighter, proud of the first shield and hyperdrive fighter the fleet ever tested, he also saw firsthand the sort of cruelty the Empire was capable of, especially on Lothal. Tamio knew he could not voice his concerns, because he saw what happened to others, especially during his time working on the battlestation under project stardust. So, while Thrawn gave him a chance to work on developing new materials, Thrawn also gave him a reason to dread his own work, to realize he was in the service of evil. But what to do about it?
What to do indeed, until one day above Lothal, after watching his battle station turbolaser battery pummel the capital city, all because Thrawn wanted one boy, Tamio was just as helpless as all those aboard when these huge space whales came and pulled the ship into hyperspace. It was a perilous journey and with damage to the hull, Tamio saw firsthand some of his fellow crew sucked into hyperspace, likely sundered down to atoms in the void. But finally they came out of hyperspace, engines damaged, limited sublight capabilities, leaking atmosphere, but within sight of a planet. They made atmosphere there and began trying to rebuild.
Here was where Tamio saw Thrawn make his deals with the night sisters, these wizened and mystic witches, who helped fortify the storm troopers, but also seemed to enthrall them directly to Thrawn, not just the Empire. Tamio was spared that sort of enchantment, because Thrawn needed his mind clear, his skills with materials to lead a work party to find resources, such as they were, on this inhospitable planet. And so he was sent out with a squad of troopers in a drop ship to scan for ores that might be of use in repairing the Chimera.
On this trip, they landed and found a gold colored mineral that Tamio reported could patch the hull damage though forging it would be impossible, so the patches would look slapdash. Thrawn approved the use and location of the mineral vein was marked. But before the mining and security operation could arrive, raiders attacked. In the fire fight, the troopers lead a pincer movement, which drew the raiders away from the science team. But the raiders had more coming, and they caught the troopers in their own pincer, wiping them out. A bomb of some exotic sort exploded not far from Tamio, wiping out the majority of the science team, and the blast was far enough to spare him disintegration but close enough to toss him over a cliff into a canyon. He was there unconscious two days, and the raiders never found him, while the Imperials wrongly believed he had been vaporized with the rest of the team. Waking up and stumbling down the canyon away from the site of the battle, it took Tamio three more days to realize he was free of the Empire and Thrawn, and if he could live, maybe he could make amends for the crimes he contributed to, even out of ignorance.
But he needed to survive and to do that he needed food, water, shelter...and all on a planet he knew nothing about. But he did know materials, and he found a type of gemstone that became key to his survival, and his journey into the power that binds all things. When he first found one of these gems:
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