Chapter 2

After Ahsoka finished her goodbyes at the Jedi Temple, she did what she had promised. She met Uni at the house on Humboldt street with a bag full of food and a brand-new tunic for him. The house looked old. Ancient really. Built from wood that is now rotten, the two-story house looked like it was ready to fall over. Water and bugs had left holes all over the outside of the house. There is no telling how chewed up any of the support beams look. Its wood had turned a dull grey, which included the boards nailed to cover up the broken windows.

Uni was waiting for her outside the house as she walked uncomfortably up the driveway. She stared at the house the entire time. Eyes opened wide as heart raced inside her chest.

"You live here," Ahsoka asks, hoping he would say no and lead her to another house.

"Yeah! It's not great, but it keeps me warm and dry," Uni says. He waves her in. "Come on!"

"I'm not sure about this," Ahsoka says. "Because it looks like it is nearly to collapse on us!"

"It's fine," Uni says with a laugh at her skittishness. "Come on!"

"Why don't we inform the Jedi Council about the artifact. Anakin would know what the artifact is," Ahsoka says. Even with Uni's assuring words, she still feels great unease about entering the house.

"Because I don't trust the Council. They expelled me, remember?"

"Okay," Ahsoka says with a reluctant sigh. "Let's go!"

Uni smiles again, then leads the way up the rickety steps, then into the house. He turns the rusty doorknob. It opens a few inches before catching on the floor. The wood in the hinges must be rotten and the screws are only catching air. Uni lifts up on the doorknob with both hands and pushes the door open with his shoulder.

"Come on," Uni says motioning with his hand again as he steps through the doorway into the house. The floorboards squeak and moan with each step he takes.

"Ahsoka has never seen a house made of wood like this before. She assumed all the structures on Coruscant were constructed of metal.

It wasn't a good first impression.

The house's staircase is a few feet behind the front door. There is just enough space for the door to clear the first step. Half of the staircase's steps are split down the middle of each broken board.

There is a wall that runs up the left side of the staircase and a hallway and a small alcove with a pile of broken rubble to the right.

Uni muscles the door shut once Ahsoka is inside. The house becomes completely dark inside. Her heart begins to pound. It is starting to feel like a tomb inside the house. Ahsoka puts her hand up to her face, but she cannot see it until Uni holds up a small orb that lights up the room.

"Thanks," Ahsoka says to which Uni nods.

The air is surprisingly fresh. Damp, but fresh. It smelled almost like pine trees. She expected it to smell musty or even have a sour mildew smell to it.

Somewhere in the house there is a leak. The repetitious dripping sound echoes off the walls in the hallway like a heartbeat. Drip drop. Drip drop. It rings in her ears and makes her head hurt.

Ahsoka follows Uni down the hallway, but halts after the first step and looks down. The ground feels funny. A little spongy. It's carpet. Yet, whatever color it was originally has now turned a dark greenish grey color. A thin layer of algae, moss, fungi has grown over the carpet. There is a sloshing sound as she steps and brown water squirts out, then is drawn back into the carpet when she lifts her feet.

"Are you coming," Uni asks her, peeking his head out from around a corner at the end of the hallway.

"I can't believe you live here," Ahsoka says with a soured look on her face.

"Well, I have choice. The Jedi Council refused to pay for my trip back to Harnun Kal, and I have no money, so I have to crash here," Uni says, looking at Ahsoka and waiting for her to finish walking through the hallway as she cautiously steps on the carpet. "Come on! I'll give you the grand tour."

"No thank you," Ahsoka says as she completes the journey through the hallway and off the carpet. "Let's just look at this artifact and then get me out of here!"

"Have it your way!"

They are now in a large room. Uni lifts the orb and moves it back and forth over his head, lighting different parts of the room for Ahsoka. There is more rubble that fell from the ceiling in the room. Piles of boards, sheet rock, copper piping, and electrical wiring. White specks of dust floats in the air like tiny insects.

Suddenly, Ahsoka feels a great amount of uneasiness and fear.

"Do you feel that," Ahsoka asks Uni.

"No. What?"

"I feel cold," Ahsoka tells him rubbing her arms to keep herself warm.

Uni frowns, shakes his head, then says, "You should have brought a jacket!"

"No, it's not that. It's like I feel cold in my spirit."

"Will you stop messing around! I already told you this place is fine," Uni says, sounding a little irritated.

However, there is something telling Ahsoka it is not fine. She feels afraid. The type of fear that seems irrational to everyone else, until something happens. The house feels alive somehow, like she can feel its presence. Or maybe it wasn't the house at all, but maybe someone is here and Ahsoka could sense him or her. Their presence feels evil and she can feel its malice towards them.

"Are we alone, or is someone else here," Ahsoka asks, trying to peer through the darkness.

"We're alone," Uni says. He laughs at the absurdity of her question. "Will you stop it! You're scaring me!"

"Sorry," Ahsoka says with a shrug. Uni sees the fear in her eyes.

"If it makes you feel better, we can check every inch of the house together," Uni says reluctantly, tilting his head to the side. He knows she cannot help being afraid. The house is creepy, but he has spent so much time here he doesn't notice it.

"Okay," Ahsoka says as he ignites his purple lightsaber. Ahsoka ignites hers and the two of them inspect every square inch of the house together, except the room the artifact is in. They find nothing. Not even a rodent.

It makes her feel better, but she still feels the presence.

Uni finally takes her to see the artifact. It is diamond shaped and its outer casing is made of a thin layer gold, which covers the edges of the artifact. Underneath the gold is a layer of glass that glows florescent green. There is writing on the artifact, in a language Ahsoka has never seen before.

The object is much larger than she expected it to be. It rests on its top with its point sticking up in the air. How the decrepitated floors are able to bare its weight, is beyond her? Uni bends down to scoop up the artifact into his arms. The artifact covers up his body, from his hips to his chin.

Suddenly, the artifact begins to glow red from inside, after Uni's hands touch it. The light pulsates as if it were a beating heart.

"Let's move it to the rec. room," Uni grunts out. The weight is too much for him.

"Do you want me to help you carry it," Ahsoka asks, worried Uni drop and shatter the artifact.

"No, I can handle it," Uni grunts out. He has begun to sweat from his brow under the strain of the object's weight.

Ahsoka ponders on what the object really is as they walk it out to the large opened spaced room. A holocron would be her guess. Whether it is a Sith or a Jedi holocron she cannot tell. Yet, it is too large to be a holocron. Holocrons usually fit in the palm of your hand and this object is difficult to carry with just one person.

"Ahsoka. It's slipping . . . it's slipping out of my hands," Uni says, staggering as he walks. Ahsoka rushes to him and grabs one of the artifact's edges before he loses his grip and it smacks against the floor. "Thanks,"

Upon touching the artifact, a red light begins pulsating within its core. Moments later, something inside appears to be spinning.

"No problem," Ahsoka says absent mindedly as she watches the light.

Suddenly, a shrill, whisper of a voice calls her name. She looks around the room, but then realizes the voice is coming from the object. Ahsoka accidently drops the object in fright. It lands inches away from Uni's feet when it smacks against the floor. He jumps back to dodge it.

"What was that for," Uni asks her angrily. "You almost dropped it on my feet!

"It called my name," Ahsoka says. Her face looks pale and terrified as she stares at the artifact.

"What did? The artifact," Uni asks. This time he begins to look frightened.

"Yes," Ahsoka says still staring at the artifact lying on the floor.

"Get away from," Uni tells her, but she is frozen with fear and does not move. "Ahsoka, move away," Uni shouts louder.

He steps towards her to move her out of the way, when the artifact's point's peel back like the skin of a topato. Blinding bright light emanates from the opening, illuminating the entire room. Then the light is gone.

The artifact is gone too, and in its place, there is a round thing floating in the air at chest level. It is about the size of someone's fist. The thing glows a black light – if there is such a thing – that shines upon their faces. Like a mass of fluffy black pollen mashed together, it simply floated there.

"Ahsoka. Ahsoka," it called to her. She stared at it, mesmerized by it. She wanted to touch it. To hold it in her arms, and even have it be a part of her. Yet, somewhere in the recesses of her mind she felt a warning. It was dangerous and it took all Ahsoka's will not grab it.

It must have been calling to Uni as well, because he began walking towards it in a stupor.

"Uni no," Ahsoka shouted. She reached out her hand towards him, to push him away from it.

But she was too late.

The black cloud floats into Uni's chest. He begins hyperventilating and claw at his chest as if he is trying to dig it out of him. Uni looks at Ahsoka, frightened and wanting to cry out for help. A faint moan is all he can manage.

Ahsoka clasps his face and asks, "Are you okay?"

"I . . . I . . . I don't know," Uni says, looking from his chest to Ahsoka, then back to his chest.

"Maybe it was just a dust cloud, or something," Ahsoka says looking at his chest. "Either way, we need to get you to a hospital."

"Maybe," Uni says. Suddenly, his mouth shoots open and he begins grasping his chest once more. "Aaaaaggggh," he screams, then collapses to his knees. "It burns! It burns! It burns!"