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Chapter 10
While waiting for Janus' next message to appear, Dallon and Namakwo spent some time apart. Namakwo decided to assist with the effort on the Temple network. By this point, it had become fairly organized. Three different groups had been created: one to scrub and then back up the Archives, one to search for the virus and one to try and figure out how the network was hacked to begin with. Unfortunately, the Temple's resources were already heavily taxed, so only a few people could be devoted to each group. As a result, progress was slow. Namakwo was not officially assigned to any particular one, therefore he moved around between them to wherever he was needed most. Dallon, on the other hand, decided to spend some time in meditation. He wanted to know more about his experience on the asteroid. He was determined to recreate what had happened to him so that he could further hone his self control. However, so far, he had been unable to do so. As he continued to center himself, Dallon searched for some remnant or sign of that great power that had engulfed him before. But he could find nothing.
After about a day of this, the call finally came for them. They returned to the same room as before with Master Cordora and were soon greeted with the familiar holographic representation of Janus' head. "Hello again Jedi. I must say that I was quite impressed with your work on Metellos. The results were…unexpected. We're going to try something a little different this time though. How does a scavenger hunt sound? Not that you have a choice, I was just being polite. This hunt is going to take you all the way out to Tund. Somewhere, deep in one of the planet's jungles, lies a very ancient and very powerful artifact. All you have to do is find it. I don't even care what you do with it afterwards, just find it. Although, I would be careful and quick about it. I may have told the Sorcerers of Tund about it as well. You may want to get to it before they do. And just so it's not too easy, I have a couple of terentateks guarding the area around the artifact. I'm not going to tell you what the artifact looks like, but you'll know when you're getting close because it'll call to you. Good hunting."
"This has 'trap' written all over it. Honestly, a scavenger hunt? This is ridiculous!" Dallon stated, clearly annoyed.
"Maybe so, but that artifact could be extremely dangerous, especially with a group like the Sorcerers of Tund. In the wrong hands, it may…" Namakwo started.
"It may not even exist at all! He wouldn't even show us what it looked like, remember?" Dallon interrupted.
Namakwo sighed before answering, "I know, but if it is real, we can't let them get it. And even if it's not real, there's still the threat of the virus to our network here."
Master Cordora stepped in "Both of you, stop arguing. You're missing the point. The artifact, real or not, is not the immediate threat right now. It's the terentateks."
"Oh right, he did mention those. But…I've never even heard of them. Have you Namakwo?"
The Mon Calamarian shook his head in response.
The two Padawans both looked to the Jedi Master for guidance, "That's because they were thought to have been exterminated a long time ago. They first appeared on the Sith world of Drommund Kaas almost 5,000 years ago. They resemble a rancor in appearance, but also have many spikes on the back of their head and tusks by their mouth. All are highly venomous. Their hides appear to be resistant to Force based attacks. But worst of all, they feed on the blood of Force sensitives. They're Jedi killers. So much so, that the ancient Sith used them against us on multiple occasions in the past. It's even believed that they used their dark alchemy to create terentateks of their own. In the past, the Jedi Council sent out groups of knights to hunt these creatures down. It was only partially successful. But gradually, the sightings and attacks subsided and it was believed that the remaining ones had died out. It appears as though we were wrong. If they really are there, those abominations pose a threat to the entire Jedi Order, especially if there are more elsewhere. You cannot allow anyone, be it Janus or the Sorcerers of Tund, to take them off of that planet. They must be destroyed. And if at all possible, it must be determined how many there are. Fortunately, according to Janus, they are likely to be in the vicinity of the artifact, if it exists. We can take care of both together."
"Master, If they really are that dangerous, then the two of us should probably stay together for this mission. I think Dallon will agree."
"As much as I would like to test my saber skills solo on one of those things, you're right Namakwo. You always were the voice of reason."
"You two also need to be wary of the Sorcerers of Tund. They are a group of dark side Force users originally founded by outcast pure blooded Sith priests many millennia ago. They are masters of deception and are not fond of outsiders."
"Should we monitor them Master?" Dallon asked.
"As a secondary objective only. Your first and most important objective is to find and terminate those terentateks and determine if there are more elsewhere. Search for the artifact, as long as it does not interfere with your first objective. I suspect the creatures and the artifact will be close to each other. If necessary, we can reevaluate the objectives as conditions change. We can decide what to do with the artifact if and when it is found."
"Sounds good, Master. I think that for this mission, we should take the Morpheus. With its stealth cloak, we can help avoid suspicion." Namakwo suggested.
"Agreed. I suggest that you both depart as soon as possible. May the Force be with you both."
The two padawans left the room and made their way to the shuttle bay where the Morpheus was currently docked. As they were headed out to the Outer Rim, they would need to make sure that the ship was stocked with the various food and supplies that they would need for the long journey.
Dallon took this time to reflect on his actions. "Hey…Namakwo. Umm…I was kind of hard on you in there. I took my frustration out on you. I'm sorry."
"Dallon, my friend, truly, don't think anything of it. With everything that's going on, I'd be surprised if you weren't frustrated."
"But what about you? You always seem so much more calm."
"I get frustrated, just like you. I suppose I just don't show it that much. But we all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's important that we recognize what they are. I know for instance that you could outclass me in lightsaber combat any day of the week."
Dallon's mood lightened at that comment and he smiled, "I do believe that you're right about that."
Four or five days later, the Morpheus, with the two Jedi aboard, exited hyperspace near Tund and was immediately rendered invisible by its stealth cloak.
Dr. Sienn'aris stood in a clearing, looking out at the forests of Myrkr. Getting there had taken a little effort, especially since the Jedi pretended it didn't exist. She ended up booking passage with a private armed escort service. Although the civilized galaxy generally ignored it, it was a favorite hideaway for pirates and other criminals, so she was told. She had also heard stories of a vicious predator native to the planet. They were called vornskrs and amazingly, they had the ability to track their prey using the Force. So she figured that an armed escort couldn't hurt. He stood close by behind her, waiting for her to take the lead. His name was Rek. The Twi'lek had two cases with her. One had some samples of MEC-2183 in it, the other had some of her testing equipment. From her investigations she had a fairly good idea of what the ysalimiri looked like and where to find them, so she decided it was time to get going.
"Okay," she said to Rek, "follow me."
"Yes, ma'am."
They continued on into the forest, looking for the olbio trees where the elusive lizards lived. After about twenty minutes of walking, they encountered a group of about a dozen olbio trees, supposedly filled with ysalimiri. And sure enough, upon closer inspection, they discovered them sitting on the branches.
"Alright then," she said, " let's set up over here," as she pointed to one of the trees near the center of the group. After walking over, Dr. Sienn'aris opened up one of her cases and started taking out the equipment and setting it up. Then she opened up the other container to reveal several samples of MEC-2183 that she had obtained from the asteroid. Then she quickly got to work. After about half an hour of testing, she finally had her answer.
"Unbelievable!" she exclaimed, "I was right. This compound now has all the properties that it did on the asteroid. It didn't have them when I tested it on the ship. The only difference is the absence of the Force. That has to be it. Somehow, the Force seems to be neutralizing the natural properties of this substance. Amazing. I need to bring a few of these ysalimiri back with me for further testing." Turning to her guard behind her, she said "Hey, I'm probably going to need some help capturing a few of these things."
"That may not be possible right now ma'am." Rek responded.
"What? Why not?"
"Because we're being watched."
Her heart jumped a little as she heard those words. "Watched? By whom?"
"Not who, what. Vornskrs." He crouched down as he said this and the Twi'lek quickly did the same.
"You mean the native predators who hunt their prey using the Force?"
"That's right, Doctor. They've probably been tracking us since we first landed. Once we entered the Force void, they could still follow us visually."
"Can you tell how many there are?"
"Hmm…Well, I'm seeing about a dozen so far, but there may be more."
Although she had been told of the creatures, she had never actually seen one herself. That is, until now. On top of a hill about twenty meters away stood a large canine beast with a long whip like tail and dark brown and shaggy fur. It's eyes seemed to glow red as it growled. It then let out a bone chilling howl that could be heard far and wide. Then, as if in response, more howls began breaking out in all directions around them. They were surrounded.
"Alright, stealth cloak is now engaged," stated Namakwo, "We should have a fairly easy approach now."
"About time," Dallon chuckled, "I need a change of scenery and some fresh air. All this sitting around is driving me crazy."
"We'll be entering the atmosphere shortly and, honestly, I'm not really sure where to start. I'd suggest that we avoid using the Force to search for anything for right now. I don't want to risk alerting any Force sensitives to our presence if we don't have to. There are a lot of jungles on this planet. I could run some bioscans of those areas for the terentateks, perhaps narrow our search area at least. Also, if that artifact is as real and powerful as Janus said it is, then it is probably giving off an energy signature. I could scan for unique ones."
"Good ideas Namakwo. It would probably be best to do both. Janus gave us almost no information about location. We're going to need all the help that we can get. In addition, let's monitor any local communications that we can find. You never know what people might be talking about."
So, for the next hour, they scanned and monitored whatever they could, looking for a lead.
"Namakwo, anything?"
"Not yet. The thick jungle canopies may be interfering with the bioscan. As for the energy signature, there's nothing out of the ordinary, nothing you wouldn't expect to see in settlements like this. If the artifact is real and generating power, then it is exceptionally well shielded. How about you Dallon?"
He sighed, "So far, there has been no mention of the Sorcerers of Tund or anything else suspicious. All I've heard are diplomatic transmissions, trade deals and local news broadcasts. Speaking of which, apparently the weather in the capital is supposed to be nice for the rest of the week."
Namakwo smiled, "Very funny."
"Well," Dallon sighed, "I don't think that this is getting us anywhere. I think we are going to have to risk reaching out. Perhaps only one of us to start. May I?"
"Be my guest."
Dallon sat down and began to relax his body and calm his mind. Then he began to reach out, first to his surroundings in the ship, then to the space around the ship, finally to the surface of the planet below.
"There's…something here. I can sense it. It feels…familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I've sensed this before. No, wait. I know what this…oh no. It's here."
Suddenly he felt as though something had grabbed him and pulled him from the ship. The next thing he knew, he was in a black formless void. Try as he might, he couldn't return to the ship. It was like he was locked in place. A dark and seemingly disembodied voice spoke to him. It had a hollow and metallic tone to it. All the while, he kept hearing whisperings in the back of his head that he couldn't quite make out.
"Human, male. Identify."
"Who am I? You're the one who pulled me out here without asking and doesn't even show his face. Who are you?"
"What you choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."
"Well I think it's relevant to me. Who are you?!"
A familiar figure appeared before him. It was the strange creature from his dream on Metellos.
"We are the end of everything."
"It's you!" Dallon exclaimed, shocked at this reveal.
With that, Dallon snapped back into reality and found himself back on the Morpheus. Namakwo was kneeling in front of him, with his mouth moving, but Dallon couldn't make out any words yet.
"…hear me? Dallon, are you okay?"
"I'm…I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Namakwo asked again. "As soon as you said 'It's here," your eyes went blank and you went into some sort of catatonic state. What happened?"
"I…I saw it. I talked to it."
"To what?"
"That ancient evil I sensed a while back? I saw it's source."
"Is it here?"
"No, I don't think so. It felt like a remote connection. Perhaps it's communicating through the artifact."
"Well Dallon, it looks like that artifact might be a lot more dangerous than we thought."
"I guess you were right."
"It does happen from time to time."
Just then, the ship started shaking violently and multiple alarms were going off.
Namakwo jumped up and went to the controls, "Propulsion, navigation and communication systems are all offline. We're losing altitude fast."
"What about the pod?"
Namakwo looked at the console, "It's not responding either."
Dallon remarked, "It looks like we're going in."