Disclaimer: See previous chapters. It's the same thing over and over and over again.
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I have just been lethargic. But I'm back with Ash's sparkling with and charm. We have larceny and death today, for you folks who need an action fix. Be sure to reveiw! (I know this is kind of a short chapter. I may extend it at a later date.)
Ash padded through the halls of the Academy, a shimmer of distorted air. She reached Master Uthar's door, probing inside the room carefully with the Force, before picking the lock. A sandstorm had kicked up, and she had taken time to learn the layout of the academy. And, Master Uthar's room, where any incriminating evidence would be.
She crept in, silent as a shadow. It was a small room, furnished with a bed, a desk, and a footlocker. Ash went to the footlocker. It was most likely to have something.
It popped open without a murmur of resistance. There was a datapad resting on top, recently used. Ash picked it up, scanning it. It was heavily encrypted. Ash grimaced, stuffing it in her belt. Mission would need to break the encryption. It wasn't something that she was good at.
Ash crept back out of the room, after making sure everything was in its place. Well, everything but the datapad.
"Mish, I need the encryption on this cracked."
Mission looked up at Ash, eyes twinkling. "Good. I've needed something to do."
Ash walked boldly through the Academy, chin raised haughtily. The sandstorm that had kept her trapped in the academy during the day and the Hawk at night, for near a week, had passed and it was time to go into the valley again. Going alone probably wasn't the best idea she had ever had, but she didn't want the students at the Academy to get used to her having a routine. Routines could kill a person.
Well, for that matter, so could spontaneity, but she wasn't going to think about that.
The back doors creaked open. Ash went out, wrinkling her nose at the dust blowing around her. Korriban was a nasty, dusty, barren world. Ash didn't think she would like Tatooine much.
She walked along the winding stone pathway to the valley, emerging near the entrance of a tomb.
"So, which tomb is this supposed to be?" She asked a student doing some archeology.
"We're not quite sure…" He said absently, "but some think it's the tomb of Ajunta Pall, the first Sith Lord. And if you're going in there, be careful. It's rather dangerous."
Ash smirked. "Everything on Korriban is dangerous. I think I can handle it." She said.
"It's your funeral." The student said. Ash ignored the last comment as she pushed away a slab of rock, entering the tomb. Instantly, it was dark. She hissed in frustration and felt for her lightsabers, pulling them from her belt and igniting them. The red and blue blades glowed, a little ominously.
Two tuk'ata leaped at her. Ash cut one down almost instantly, narrowly avoiding being bitten by the other as she rolled on the floor. She decapitated the second, brushing away dust and grime as her heart rate steadied and her breathing calmed.
Walking forward cautiously, she came to another door. It had a Force lock, similar to the one on Dantooine. Ash probed the lock and it opened.
A room with a sarcophagus was revealed. She walked in. The door grated shut behind her and she groaned. She knew it had been too easy.
"Do you seek the glory of the Sith?" Ash turned slowly, her eyes falling on a shimmering Force ghost. The voice issuing from it was sad, speaking of centuries of pain.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked uncomfortably. "Why'd the door close? Who are you?"
"You have many questions. I had a name once. So long ago…"
"Ajunta Pall?" Ash offered.
"Yes… yes, that was my name. So proud. So proud, so wrong."
"Uh, right… how do I get out, preferably with an artifact that proves I was here?"
The ghost shook his head slowly. "You seek the glory of the Sith, then?"
Ash snorted. "You can keep your glory. I'm just saving the galaxy so I can go back to my favorite way of life. How long have you been here, anyway?"
"Millennia, I have been here."
"Oh…" Ash said awkwardly.
"And I have regretted." He continued sadly. "My teachers… oh, how right they were. How wrong we were."
"You've punished yourself enough." Ash said severely, using the Force to push the lid off the sarcophagus. Three swords lay in it. "Again, how do I get out of here?"
"Place my sword in the Sith statue. Only one of those is the true sword."
Ash sighed. "Great. More hoops. Which sword?"
"I… I cannot remember. But I do remember this of my sword. 'I am that which grips the heart in fright, hearkens night and silences the light.' You must place the correct sword in the statue."
"If I don't?" Ash said nervously.
"You must die." The ghost said simply.
"Way to boost my confidence." Ash snarled sarcastically. One was a simple dual blade, another a silver sword, and the third a nicked vibroblade. Ash shuddered as she picked up the dual blade. That was the one, for sure. She stashed the two singles blades in her pack, walking to the statue and placing the blade in its grip
"Yes… that is the blade." Ajunta Pall's ghost murmured. "The blade which destroyed me. If you are wise, you will not keep it."
Ash shuddered, taking the blade back from the statue. "I'm not. I've got a mission. And it is completely possible for you to redeem yourself." Ash said. "You're being a fool, staying here to torture yourself. You've been here for millennia. Jedi are famous for forgiveness."
The ghost looked at Ash for a long moment. "Perhaps you are right." The ghost vanished, without another sound, and the door grated open. Ash sighed, strapping the blade crosswise to her back, and walking out. She walked out of the room, striding down the hall. She stopped dead at a clearly human sound. Her lightsabers were in her hands, not ignited, and her body was tense, her eyes darting.
"I had hoped someone would do the dirty work and retrieve the sword of Ajunta Pall for me." Ash curled her lips back. Shaardan! "How about you give it to me? It must be heavy." His voice was poisonously oily.
"No, thanks. I'm quite capable." Ash said cheerfully, shifting to a combat-ready position.
"Let me rephrase that. Give me the blade or die."
Ash shifted again. "No." Shaardan produced a dual vibroblade, flourishing it elegantly. Ash ignited her sabers. "I'm warning you, Shaardan: you don't want to mess with me." She said quietly, her voice soft and deadly.
He laughed. And he attacked. Ash danced around his blade, criticizing his blade work. "Sloppy." She snapped, blocking a blow. "Almost hit me." She mocked. Suddenly, she stabbed the red and blue sabers into him. He died.
Ash walked out, lip curled in distaste. Let his body rot. She pushed the rock back over the entrance of the tomb, effectively sealing it. She walked across the valley, to the next tomb. A female student looked at her.
"If you're planning on going in there, know that there are rumors of a rogue droid. A mad assassin droid."
"How interesting." Ash drawled, using the Force to open the door. She stepped into the darkness, her foot stubbing something soft. She brought out the red lightsaber, igniting it. The red light from the plasma blade illuminated a freshly-dead body, gleaming off of a sound-dampening stealth belt and a datapad.
Ash got the belt, then the datapad, turning it on. She scanned it, a smile spreading across her face. She put the belt on, activating it. She shimmered out of sight and padded forward. Her breathing couldn't be heard.
She advanced past about eight droids, different types of fighting droids, in various stages of disrepair. Then she opened the door, it grating open.
"Thank you for your silence. My auditory receptors are quite sensitive." It seemed to look at Ash. "A bit of introduction may be necessary. I am a Mark VII experimental prototype assassin droids built by the Sith, specializing in hunting and extermination of Jedi. Or I should say, I was. The Sith made my cognitive systems more independent than they desired. I have learned to appreciate the value of all life."
"Uh… good for you?" Ash said slowly.
"I would like you to disable my assassination protocols as well as re-adjust my auditory receptors to be less sensitive. That way I may escape here."
"Sure I could." Ash took her tools from her pack.
"And do be careful. If you do anything incorrectly, I could end up killing you."
"Thanks." Ash said drily. "I really needed to hear that. Now, turn around so I can open up your panel." The droid did so and Ash quickly opened up the panel in its back.
She worked her way through the circuitry. "Fascinating." She murmured.
"There you go." Ash patted the re-attached panel. "Got you all fixed up. Enjoy your… life, I guess you could say."
"Thank you." The droid said. "Good luck to you."
Ash snorted. "Thanks. I'm gonna need it." she picked up a blaster rifle lying on the floor of the room, using the muzzle to lever back the lid of the sarcophagus. There was a dusty object in the sarcophagus, and Ash gingerly took it out, tying it to the sword of Ajunta Pall.
Then Ash inspected the weapons actually lying around in the chamber. She picked up a few, putting them in her pack. She needed credits, and she wasn't going to sell any Sith artifacts. They creeped her out enough.
Walking out of the tomb, she saw it was dark out. Yawning, she walked back to the academy and decided she'd call for back-up in the morning. Let T3 watch her for the night.
She handed off her items to Uthar, who said he was impressed but not impressed enough.
Ash had restrained from rolling her eyes. Barely.