Chapter 1:
Riddles and Reasons
Chapter 1:
Flight
Guard duty was always so tiresome, thought the Sith guard protecting the Sith Academy entrance into the ruins in the Valley of the Sith Lords. The only ones who could ever get into the damn valley were the Sith who trained at the academy anyways. What was the point of having to stay at attention on a planet where hot days are all too common? The planet was almost completely lifeless, barren, mountainous, windy, and full of opportunities to meet a premature death. If any one was actually foolish enough to try and get through, be it through brute force or guise, then they'd be killed faster than a gizka in a rancor chamber, if they were lucky. He heard stories of what happened to their prisoners, and it was never pretty. More often than not, death was a sweet release when it came to the Sith, and that thought alone was enough to bring him back to attention.
Still, nothing seemed out of the ordinary today. The only ones to come by were a few Sith Acolytes eager to prove their worth in the tombs, most likely dead by now, and a lone excavator sent to map out a newly restored portion of Ajunta Pall's tomb. Most of the tomb had been destroyed a few years back by Revan himself, and that in of itself earned the attention of the current Sith Lords. Although, he thought, it was weird for him to be hooded and wearing a bandana to cover his face, especially considering that the winds aren't particularly harsh today. What was even stranger, though, was that he went in alone. Perhaps I was too hasty in letting him pass? Eventually, however, he dismissed this notion believing that the fool just had a bad sense of fashion and had made some powerful enemies in academy that used the tomb as an execution method for him. That wasn't very uncommon afterall.
Suddenly the guard's thoughts were disrupted by the opening of the doors beside him. He came to attention immediately and was soon in the presences of three of the most prominent and feared Sith in the academy. All wore traditional black Sith robes.
"Guard has anyone come through here recently?" asked the leader of the three. She was in her late teens, probably 19, and was attractive to be sure, but the only feelings she made him feel were fear and dread.
Somehow the guard managed to speak in a somewhat calm sort of voice, "Y-Yes mam. Some three academy students passed through here about 6 hours ago, and not long after that a lone excavator passed by on his way to the tomb of Ajunta Pall. He had the proper documentation and said he had to map out a newly recovered portion of the tomb." Never before had the guard felt so lucky to have been wearing his full body armor, otherwise she would have seen the sudden look of uncertainty on his face.
She seemed to take this into consideration as she brought her fingers to her chin in contemplation, and then she suddenly smiled. "Mai, Ty Lee, it seems a Jedi spy has slipped in past our defenses and is now plundering our heritage. Let's show him what we do to grave robbers." She began to set out in the direction of the Valley with the other two girls in tow, but then stopped. "Oh, by the way girls, what good is a guard who can't safeguard his post."
The guard suddenly felt himself go paler than an albino cath hound. He new what was coming.
"Hmm, I guess he's not good for much Azula." The girl with the long, braided ponytail, and a far too cheerful tone of voice replied.
Before the guard could even respond, Azula turned and unleashed a blast of Force lightning that killed him instantly before it smashed him into the stone wall with such force that the wall partially cracked and shattered. Azula then turned casually and continued on her way to the Valley of the Dark Lords with her two companions a few steps behind her.
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Deep inside Ajunta Pall's dark, cold tomb the supposed excavator was busy searching for something, but he didn't know what exactly. It was really more instinct than reason that drove him forward, and in truth he really wasn't sure why he was their in the first place. Nevertheless, this same instinct was the reason he wasn't dead yet, well that and his own skills as a former soldier and scout of the Republic Army. He had made his way through the labyrinth successfully without setting off any traps, and he also skillfully avoided all the beasts that had made their home within the tomb. "Heh, if I didn't know myself better I'd call myself a Jedi." The young man said to himself as he made his way through a narrow passage that had been recently cleared by Sith excavators, real ones that is.
Soon he found himself crossing a stone bridge that crossed a seemingly bottomless pit. This is it, he thought. A few minutes the later he had crossed the chasm and was now standing at the entrance to Ajunta's grave. The stone door had been forcefully removed by the previous excavators through some less than subtle means, so he was free to walk in and explore as he pleased.
The whole time he was there he couldn't help but chuckle at how the Sith's own security measures had made it so that he could search the tomb undisturbed. They had expected the academy to serve as a buffer to would be spies and thieves, and that the ancient Sith traps in the tomb would take care of any others that slipped through. More to the point, their overconfidence in their security's efficiency had made it slack enough for them to fail to notice his stolen documents and to fail to provide him with an appropriate security escort. Lucky me, he thought.
Upon entering, the young man quickly made his way to the back of the chamber, completely ignoring the Sith Lord's remains. The chamber itself was probably darker than any other part of the tomb, despite the recently installed artificial lights. In the center of the room what remained of Ajunta Pall was housed in an open stone coffin, the walls of the tomb were bare and cold, with the exception of a few carved out areas for vases and other artifacts. At the very back of the room there was a carved out space that at one point housed an elegant vase, which was now nothing more than sand and rubble. He began his search there by gently feeling around for any loose stones until…Bingo. With a sudden clank the switch opened a secret compartment a few feet away from where he was, and it revealed what looked like a small black pyramid. He quickly made his way over and took the pyramid in his hands, examining it closely by the recently installed lights in the tomb. It had several groves written in a language he didn't recognize, which was odd considering his linguistic skills, and it gave off a faint, warm pulse that almost made it seem alive. Despite his best efforts, however, he could not activate it. Well, probably for the best, I don't want to spend more time here than I have to after all. With that he quickly stuffed the holocron in his side pack and began to make his way back out the tomb.
He'd made it only to the halfway point of the bridge out side the room when he was stopped dead in his tracks by a cold voice. "So, you actually made it this far into the tomb and found something our men missed, I'm impressed." Azula said as she eyed the irregular shape of an artifact in the young man's side pack. She was standing at the bridge's end, not thirty feet from him, and had two of her friends standing behind her, waiting for the command to attack.
Crap! I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but did it have to be Lord Ozai's own apprentice?!
He reached for the only weapon he had, a simple blaster pistol that he had stolen along with his disguise and false documents, but as soon as his hand reached the end of the pistol it suddenly flew out of his grasp and into Azula's waiting hand. "Honestly, did you really think this toy would do anything more than maybe injure you further? I'm actually doing you a favor." She grinned maliciously as she tossed the pistol into the pit.
"Well thank you for your concern, but I'd really would of preferred to keep that. I did have to return it after all." He responded with his own smile, although that gesture was almost wasted behind the bandana covering most of his face.
"What a charming fellow. Don't you agree ladies?"
Giggling, Ty Lee responded. "Well, the hood and bandana do bring out his blue eyes quite nicely."
The third girl, who had pale skin and black, long hair styled into two buns with ponytails merely shrugged and spoke in a somber tone that matched her complexion. "Well, can we just get this over with and take him back to the academy for interrogation? The moisture in this cave is messing up my hair and makeup."
"I suppose you're right Mai, we don't have time for chit-chat, and I'd love to know how a non-force sensitive got past our defenses so easily." Azula turned her gaze back to the young man. "If you cooperate with us, hand over whatever it is you found, and give us the details of your infiltration and employer I'll promise you a quick and painless death." She gave him another malicious grin. "That's far more generous a deal than I usually offer."
The young man stood his ground and kept a cool demeanor despite the fact that the situation was all but hopeless. How am I going to get out of this one? I've got nothing left except two sonic mining charges that'll end up killing probably only me and… Sudenly he was struck by inspiration. He made it seem like he was going to reach inside his pack for the holocron, but instead pulled out an active mining charge.
Azula's eyes suddenly narrowed and became stern. "Don't be foolish. That won't work on us and we won't simply let you play the martyr."
"I never said it was for either of us." He smiled and tossed the mine into the air above him. BOOM!! Suddenly the whole cave was alive with some awfully angry Shyrack who had just been rudely awakened from their slumber. They screeched and clawed as they made their way towards to the tomb's exit by the hundreds to avoid the pain of the sonic pulse. The three Sith stood their ground and kept their calm, but it was impossible to focus in on the intruder, with the Shyracks screeching all around them. They combined their dark energies to send a massive force wave through the center of the retreating creatures and cleared a line of sight between them and the intruder once again, but it was too late, he had vanished. "Damn!" Azula cursed. "He must've slipped out along with the first wave of the Shyrack, but he can't have gotten far."
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Elsewhere in the tomb.
Well, that went pretty well. Thanks to the commotion the sonic mine had stirred, the young man managed to sneak by the three girls without them noticing, but he had a few extra injuries and a nasty headache to show for his ingenuity. He was still gripping his ears, which wouldn't stop ringing, under what was left of his hood that now exposed his semi-long, dark brown hair. Amidst all his aches, however, he still maintained a triumphant grin. The Shyracks were known for their piercing screams and even more piercing claws and fangs, something he was reminded of when he ran with them for cover. If I do make it out of here, then this stunt will add to my merc cred for sure. About half an hour later he felt fresh air and a few minutes later he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally! It looks like I'll have another story for the ladies at the cantina tonight. No sooner had he finished his thought, however, when two daggers struck the back of his right leg and left shoulder. He fell to the ground and quickly turned to see the dismal Mai at the end of the hall with her hands outstretched and her palms open, so as to better guide the several daggers she was suspending around herself with the Force. Beside her were the other two girls. "Excellent work Mai. And as for you," she turned to face him, "I applaud your effort, but it's the end of the line."
"You would think so, but no." The young man quickly took out his last sonic charge and shoved it into a small crevice right beside him. Then he used all the will power he had to remove the dagger in his leg and began running as best he could, although it looked more like awkward hoping.
Mai, however, had no intention of letting him get any further and sent a barrage of daggers at him. Fortunately the mine detonated and the resulting shockwave knocked the daggers away, but also sent him flying some five feet forward. His ears were ringing again and the pains in his leg and shoulder were know accompanied by an ache over his whole body. Nevertheless, he forced himself up and began running towards the exit. Come on damn it!! Don't give up on me know body! He made it outside, but he had not time to savor the moment, he reached into his pack once more and pulled out a communicator. "Looks like we're going to have to go with Plan B HK, and for the sake of the Force, don't be late!" A well mannered voice responded over the communicator, "Statement: Understood master. ETA, five minutes." After having confirmed his evac, the young man put back the communicator and started making his way towards the cliff at the end of the valley. He was nearly there when Ajunta Pall's tomb exploded with dirt and rubble comming out of the entrance, followed by three very agitated Sith.
As soon as they spotted him at the far end of the valley all three girls used a burst of speed from the Force to make up for lost time. Soon they had him cornered at the end of the cliff, it was over. "You've put up a valiant effort, but unfortunately for you, there's nothing I hate more than an insect's attempt to stave off the inevitable." Azula raised her hands, positioning herself for another Force lightning attack. "Goodbye."
"Later," the young man smiled under his bandana while he gave a mock wave and jumped off the cliff.
The trio could hardly believe his foolishness. Even Azula's eyes widened in surprise for at least a second. "Hmph, he took the easy way out. That coward," she said as she made her way towards the cliffs edge followed by her two comrades.
"Awwww! And I really wanted to see what he looked like under that mask! I bet he was cute." Ty Lee said as she made a childish pout. Mai turned to face her friend. "You'll get over it. After all, I'm sure there are plenty of other spies out there that…" Her words were soon drowned out by the sound of starship engines.
A few seconds later a mid-sized star ship sprang up from the cliffs edge with the intruder sitting atop of it, still waving at the trio. The ship's turrets began to fire at the three Sith who all managed to narrowly avoid being blown away. Then the ship turned and headed out past the valley and started to ascend into space. By then the young mercenary had already made it aboard and began to limp his way into the medical room where he fell on the bed there. "HK, I'm going to need some med packs and a ton of painkillers."
An orange colored, human formed protocol droid, although much more heavily armored than normal droids, entered the room with a tray of what appeared to be white and red hexagonal packages, and a few injections. "Apologetic Statement: I'm sorry master but we only have 27 ounces of the anesthetics you requested. However, we do have plenty of med packs readily available."
Taking a few of the med packs, he applied them to his injuries as he chuckled. "I was only joking HK." He took one of the injections and used it on himself. "This will be more than enough. After he had finished he lay back down on the small bed and closed his eyes while he continued his conversation with his droid. "We're in trouble. We may have made it out of Korriban in one piece, but they probably made the ship."
The droid voiced his agreement "Confirming Statement: I do believe you are correct master. You did a splendid job disabling the turrets, but their tracking sensors would still have been operational despite your best efforts."
Placing his right hand on his front temple, the mercenary began to think. Finally he came up with his plan. "I guess we're going into hiding for a bit until we can get the I.D. signature changed on the Lunar Wolf again. Set a course for Nar Shaddaa HK, its time we visited our old friend Tienn."
"Acknowledging Statement: Right away master!"
"Oh, and one more thing HK." The young mercenary brought himself up on his elbows for this. "Contact the Jedi Enclave on Alderaan. I have a feeling we're going to need their help for this one." The look on his face grew solemn as he said this.
This order perplexed the droid. "Query: Master, why would the Jedi help us? Our last venture with them didn't end well. Moreover, why do we even require their assistance? We've dealt with Sith before, and I'm sure you are more than capable of solving the "riddles" yourself."
"Don't worry about it HK, they're definitely going to want in on our mission." He stopped to look up at the droid now, his eyes strong and determined. "And as for the 'riddles,' only an experienced Force sensitive can solve them. I'm sure of that now that I have this." he pulled out the holocron. "And I'm no Jedi."
"Acknowledging Statement: Understood Master. I shall contact the Jedi and have them meet us in Nar Shaddaa as per your request." After making his final statement, the droid left to the cockpit and prepared to send a long range communication.
Ok, so chapter 1 is online now!
Just in case you haven't figured it out, the imposter in the tomb was Sokka. Oh, and for any KOTOR fans, the HK droid on his ship isn't HK-47 from the game. He's a different number model, HK-45. This is one of my first actuall fan fics so be honest in your critiques please. I''ve had some serious english teachers before, so negative critiques won't bother me too much, as long as they're constructive that is : ) Oh, I labeled a mature warning just to be safe. I know their isn't much violence or gore yet, but I'd rather not risk it. Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, Star wars, or any of their characters and locals.