Kasha

Khan and Belia looked at each other's strange appearance and smiled. They've used the same form for so many years it felt strange to become something else.

"For now on my name is Shi-Maku-Lindu and you are Norn-Aba-Lindu." Khan looked at Belia with a sarcastic smile.

Belia rolled her eyes. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were serious. Come on, our sister wives are waiting."

She flicked Khan's enlarged chest as she passed by.

"Why did that hurt so much? These things are two big weaknesses." He shifted his form slightly to take all touch receptors and nerves from his chest.

Following behind Belia, they soon saw the other four women working in the field. This whole area belonged to the village they reside in. The families take turns caring for different parts of the fields and taking what they need on a rotational basis.

The village isn't very big, only around a hundred adults; Only eighteen of which are male.

"Shi-Maku, Norn-Aba where did you go? We've almost harvested the grain our family needs for the week." The head wife, a beautiful Cerean with short dark black hair covering her entire cone looked at them with scrutiny.

"I thought I heard something, I took Shi-Maku just in case." Belia casually told a lie while waving her hand.

"You heard something? Did you find what it was?" Her face changed drastically to one of concern.

"Nothing." Belia shrugged.

"Oh, that's good." She patted her chest in relief. "Those critters from the forest ransacked our fields last time. We'd need to gather the village together if we had to push them back again."

Khan watched as Belia used her mind tricks to fool the woman and smiled. 

Because they were in no rush, they helped them pick a blue elliptical vegetable from the ground. They placed them in baskets and carried them back to the village.

The village consisted of only twenty buildings. Each family lived in a five-story house made from wood. The outside walls were overgrown with vines and the structures looked ancient.

The place was full of the laughter of children playing on the grassy ground. They kicked balls and chased each other around without a care in the world.

They carefully moved everything inside their house. The moment the door opened, four little girls around two or three years of age ran to three of the women.

"Mama!" They clung to their legs with smiles on their faces.

A male Cerean walked out of a room with a smile on his face. "It seemed like everything turned out okay this time?"

"Yes, we could have finished sooner if we had a Moof to help carry these heavy baskets back." One of the women complained as she stretched her back.

"The Moof are in mating season, we can't move them irresponsibly." The male shook his head.

Khan got bored of their ramblings. His eyes turned yellow and he raised his hand. Nine red tendrils drilled out and hit all the Cereans at the same time. Their bodies seemed to pause and their eyes turned dull before recovering.

They almost immediately fell under Khan's control, no longer taking repeated assaults like last time. "Their minds are so weak for a race with such strong mental capabilities. Living such a peaceful life has dulled them."

"Not every race can be naturally telepathic like Shi'ido, have you thought, maybe our mental abilities are just too strong?" Belia shook her head and disagreed.

"Are you suggesting that I capture other telepathic species to run tests on?" Khan's eyes glowed slightly.

Belia slapped her forehead. "I didn't say that at all."

While Belia and Khan talked, the family continued on like they weren't even there.

Khan led Belia to the top floor based on memories. There, a yellow disk the size of a human head sat on a stand. It was covered in strange markings and gave off a subtle atmosphere.

Their minds felt clear and distracting thoughts vanished from just being in the same room.

"See what happens if you hold it while meditating." Khan pushed Belia's shoulder forward, hinting for her to try.

She didn't hesitate to pick up the crystal and sat with it in her lap. She immediately fell into meditation. Problems she had before were viewed from different angles and new solutions came to mind.

All other thoughts soon faded from her mind and she could focus solely on the force. Her mind seemed to wander to all the places she touched today. She could feel that her presence had left a mark that slowly faded away. Like ripples in the force.

Everything her ripple touched changed the flow of things around them, sending their own ripples through the force. They all combined together to form a current that wrapped the planet.

Her mind expanded further. She felt the ripples the planet sent out, combining with the larger flow of the galaxy.

Just when she wanted to explore further, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Khan, except he felt different in her eyes.

Not the fact he looked like a Cerean woman, but she could feel him, his presence in the force. Unlike the calm ripples exuded by everything else, the force moved around his body like a storm. The ripples twisted around him, assimilated into his presence instead of spreading along the path.

His presence in the force was like a whirlpool in the middle of a river, pulling the surrounding water to him.

"Well? How was it?" Khan saw her bewildered look and asked again.

Belia placed the crystal down and the ripples disappeared. "It allowed me to focus more and be in tune with the force. I could even sense the force alignment of everything."

"Is that how Cereans become so intuned with nature?" Khan fell into thought. He picked up the crystal and studied the patterns carved into it.

With the crystal in hand, he felt his mind was clear and his thinking became faster. It didn't take long for him to see the same ripples as Belia but only those around him.

The only difference was everything he did was like destroying the natural order of things. Khan sat on his heels and focused on how he interacted with the force around him.

He watched the ripples hit the storm surrounding his body. They got ripped apart and assimilated every time. 

He stretched his hand towards a vase in the corner. A twister of energy poured from his hands and surrounded the vase.

When he closed his fingers the vase shattered. He watched as the chaotic energy slowly faded into the force. Turning his attention downstairs, he could feel the same chaotic energy surrounding their heads.

"How fascinating." Khan's eyes began to shine, realizing he truly found a treasure. This crystal heightened one's ability to sense the force to an amazing degree.

"It's strange, right? I felt like my mind was one with the planet."

"I feel no such thing." Khan shook his head and placed the crystal back on the stand. In that brief moment, he felt like his understanding of the force had greatly increased.

For a moment he felt like he could see gravity or space itself. If a scientist could see how their actions affected the world around them technology would boom.

Just like he could see how he interacted with the force, a lot of problems that plagued him before now had new ideas. 

If he could shield the ripples from interacting with him, he might be able to hide his presence in the force. At the same time, if he can change his storm to feel like ripples, he can fake his force alignment.

"What now? You got the markings, is our mission complete?" Belia touched the crystal and looked at Khan with interest.

"This form of kyber crystal is special. I want to go to the capital to see how they process it."

Belia picked up the crystal again. She liked the way it made her feel and the connection to the force it gave. "What about the other crystals in the village? There are nineteen more of these things just lying around."

"If we get enough crystals and the secrets behind these runes, we can build a meditation chamber on the ship." 

The corners of Khan's lips rose. "My next set of experiments require a large number of people anyway."

"I don't think you can control so many people." Belia shook her head.

He knew she was right. Eleven people already put a lot of mental stress on him. Holding the crystal helps clear his mind, but he can only dominate the minds of around twenty people based on how he feels now.

If he only wanted to subtly influence them, a hundred people should be no problem.

"When night falls I'll control eight females from different families to steal the crystal." He took the crystal from her hand to ease the burden on his mind.

He sat down to meditate, trying to block himself from the force ripples around him.

Belia sat in front of him and placed her hands on the crystal, using its capabilities to help her feel the living force of the planet.