Yet again, the exit from Hyperspace felt like the ship had just suddenly hit the brakes. Still, it was pretty easy to get used to, compared to entering an exiting Slipspace, which always had the Spartan ajar. He eyed Ahsoka, who had been asleep for the whole half-day run here. He poked her, getting a yelp of surprise out of the young Jedi, before she turned to him, raising a brow. He motioned to the emerald planet dead ahead of them, then took the controls of the ship into his hands.
She sighed, then chuckled and called on the com "Khoonda control, this is the Ghost Eagle, we're transmitting out ID codes and requesting a location to land that can fit a Consular."
"Kriff, that's a big ship you're asking us to land, Ghost. But we can arrange something..." The Khoonda ATC officer spoke, before noting "Proceed to landing pad five, Heavy Cargo. Watch your vectors, though. We got a lot of other Cargo coming in too."
"Thanks." The Jedi girl smiled. She nodded to Six, who began the slow descent through the planetary atmosphere. As he did so, the team caught faint glimpses of much of the small town on the plains. The Khoonda spaceport was one of the biggest local settlements, while parts of the massive, wind-swept prairie were occupied by other towns, villages and simple estates of the nobles. The buildings themselves were homes made of various materials and half-buried into mounds or hills of green, augmenting the picturesque landscape of the otherwise wild planet.
The ship landed in the 'heavy cargo' section of the Starport, in the middle landing pad. They'd caught glimpses of several other cargo vessels nearby, most of which seemed normal. Most of. One had fairly prominent yellow stripes and a symbol Six had recognized. He chose not to say anything, standing up and turning to the door. Ahsoka and the newly-awakened Barriss exchanged a look of confusion, before the two followed the Spartan.
Fay had also appeared from her meditation chamber down below, stopping Six for a moment. He raised a brow and she gave him a look of concern. Something was afoot here, so the Spartan had taken his rifle and marched down the ramp, followed by the Jedi and the Echani warrior soon after. He eyed men and women wearing heavy duty armors and uniforms and carrying Blasters...
The trooper, apparently of the Czerka corporation if his gold and black clothes were anything to go by, raised a hand and said "Halt. State your business in Khoonda."
"Leisure visit." The Spartan quipped snarkly, continuing his march. The soldier raised his rifle, then glared at Six. The Spartan walked on, unfazed, as the trod of boots came from around the corner. Soldiers in green overalls, wearing webbing and actual helmets approached the Czerka troopers, ushering them away while one of the Khoonda troopers stayed behind.
"You must be the Lieutenant I was pinged about." The woman smirked "Neat armor."
"Thanks." He nodded "What the hell was that about?"
"Czerka bastards here got jumpy. They lost a bunch of their own while out and exploring the Jedi Enclave ruins. Place is a right mess, has been for almost 4 millennia now. We haven't touched it outta respect for the dead Jedi that call the place their home nowadays too." The Trooper explained. She then paused and said "Ah, right. I'm Lieutenant Mira, of the Khoonda Militia. Don't let the name fool you, though. We're one of the better-trained planetary defense forces."
"Nice to meet you." Six hummed "Now, we should probably get to talking to whoever's in charge. Even if the Enclave is as big a mess as you say it is, we need to get in there and I doubt we're gonna be let in without the local governor's express permission."
"Well..." She looked past Six, noticing the Jedi and the Echani woman with him, then she shrugged "Alright. Follow me... Governor was probably gonna ask me to fetch ya anyways."
He looked to his teammates, then stopped them and said "Offee, you and Kae are coming with me. Tails, you and master Fay stick by the ship... Just in case the Czerka boys try anything."
"We will keep our ship safe." Fay nodded, placing a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder "And I will call you, should I feel anything odd."
"Mhm." He nodded. His two elected comrades joined him, walking away, while a curious Ahsoka looked to master Fay.
Fay hummed "We would interfere with something, young Ahsoka. I feel it."
The Jedi girl felt it too. She didn't like it, but didn't wanna go against master Fay, simply giving her a nod. She watched the Spartan, Echani and Barriss turn the corner out of the Starport, then she sighed. She went back to the ship with master Fay, while the trio of explorers was lead forth by the Khoonda militawoman. Khoonda was a massive settlement, going by the multitude of houses and administrative buildings right near the Starport. The city center, built around an old estate, wound up one of the major points of interest.
Still, the place mixed nature and technology beautifully, with those old mound houses still acting as the primary homes of the folks. Several people, Civilians in the square just outside the Spaceport, eyed the Spartan. Many looked surprised to see him. Others looked like they enjoyed the sight of an armored fellow walking onto the scene, with two ladies escorting him.
Some clones, those few that the Republic probably managed to spare for garrison, greeted Six with curt nods, before going about their business of patrolling. Entering through one of the doors into the main estate, he and his allies were greeted by an opulent-looking mansion's main hall, with three doors leading into the main building. The Lieutenant led them past the reception desk of the mansion and into the back, to the central meeting hall.
Two banners hanged behind the raised central desk in the room. One of the Republic and one of Khoonda. Sat behind the desk, meanwhile, was a Twi'Lek woman working on datapads and holo-display computers. She had blue skin, not unlike the woman next to her. Looking up, she smiled, then said "Ah. You must be that new Republic agent. Welcome to Dantooine." She stood up and extended her hand "I am governor Okho of Khoonda."
Six shook her hand, then said "Call me Six. These are my aides, Barriss Offee, a Jedi Padawan and Mara Kae, an... Echani warrior, was it?"
"Yes." The swordsmistress offered a nod to him. "Greetings."
"Hello to you as well." The governor nodded. She sat herself back down, then asked "What can I do for you today?"
"I'm looking to gain entry into the enclave ruins nearby." He spoke, then noticed color almost draining from the woman's face. He asked "Is there a problem?" as he watched her lean down and pull out a datapad which she handed to him. He read a bit from it, then said "Well... This is a slight inconvenience."
"What is it?" Barriss asked "Something wrong?"
"Czerka locked down the place..." He sighed, setting the tablet down onto the desk, before leaning forward to ask "Can they do this?"
The Governor shrugged "Legally, they shouldn't be allowed to, but... Czerka is good at finding loopholes. It's why they've been around for as long as they have. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to talk to them personally." to which the Spartan rolled his eyes. The woman then said "Thankfully... The Czerka branch office is a two-minutes walk from this place..."
"I could just sneak in." He said "Not have to pay a visit to them."
"I think it would be wiser." The Echani noted "While going against a military-industrial conglomerate like them could be a poor choice in some regards, I do believe the rewards outweigh the risks here... As an added bonus, if we do get caught, we can try and talk or shoot our way out."
"I like your thought process." Six nodded, then said "We'll be off to the Enclave them... And if the Czerka bastards asked, we never were here, alright?'
It took the Governor a moment of staring right at Six before she and her Lieutenant put on proud grins. They shrugged, then turned back to work. Six and his team bid goodbye, before walking out of the building. Barriss stepped up to Six once outside, then said "While you two seem fairly eager to go and fight the entire corporate army probably present here if your stealth mission fails, can I be the voice of reason for a bit?"
Six nodded "I'm listening. Any other plan?"
"Well... Uh..." Barriss was caught off-guard by that "No, but can't we discuss one? I mean..."
"If this is the best we got, then no. I don't really like Czerka, considering they're running a side business supplying the same Cult we're hunting down." Six noted. He looked to Mara, then asked "Any chance you know infiltration techniques?"
"I have learned a few, yes." The Echani responded "Though I'm curious as to how the Enclave was neither picked clean by now, nor recovered by the Council... Perhaps you should visit their regional office, if only for answers."
Six shrugged, then gave a simple nod... It couldn't hurt, could it?
And Barriss hummed "You have a fair point there... I'll consult the files when we're back on the ship." and she looked around, watching as Czerka corpo and local militia walked past, eyeing one-another with malcontent. Six hummed, then showed the two girls to follow. He stepped up to the office, saying to himself it was better to try and talk for a bit with the local chief of operations. He made it clear by one hand signal, to which the two were left outside of the main Czerka corporate office, a rather large, blocky-looking building, not fitting the sights of Khoonda at all.
Inside, the Spartan was greeted by the bog-standard corpo office building, run by both droids and employees ranging from Twi'Leks to humans and other humanoid alien species. At the reception desk, a young human woman with black hair sat, turning to greet him, only to go slightly pale at the sight of the tall, armored giant with a Blaster rifle strapped to his back. She swallowed empty, then greeted, faking friendliness "Hello, welcome to the Czerka regional branch office on Dantooine! How may I be of assistance?" with as good a fake corpo smile as she could put on.
Six nodded, already feeling tired of this whole shtick "I'm here to talk to your boss about entrance to the Enclave ruins."
"Oh... Are you a scavenger?" She asked "You... Don't look the part."
"I'm here looking for bits of info, not to scavenge." He returned with a hint of hostility "So. Your boss?"
"Oh, right..." The slightly frightened corpo greeter nodded, before leaning in onto the desk and saying "Uh... Ma'am? Madam Faux. Someone is here to see you about the Enclave."
"... For the love of..." A voice came from the com device, angered. Following up with a sigh, 'madam Faux' said "Tell them to come in. I was just finishing up the meeting with the heads of the corporate board." And she shut off the com. The woman pointed to the top of some stairs, then to her right. Six followed the indications, stepping away and letting the woman breathe a sigh of relief. Between her boss yelling at her and an armored fellow with a blaster, she'd rather her boss screamed bloody murder at her for the entire day... At least she would be sacked instead of killed.
The Spartan, meanwhile, walked up the stairs and took a left, as indicated by the woman, before approaching the door. It slid open and the poisoned velvet cake voice of the woman on the com said angrily "For the last time, to all you Scavs, I'm not letting you into-..." But she paused after turning her chair, revealing a scarlet-haired, blue-eyed beauty of a woman. Her brow quirked up in curiosity, she stood to meet the Spartan that marched into her room. With a low whistle, she observed "You're one mean-looking bastard..."
"Thanks." He said sarcastically, crossing his voice "I need to get into the Enclave ruins. Special Jedi business."
"Oh, great." She rolled her eyes "Business or no business, pal, I'll tell you what I told the last dozen guys who walked in, saying they wanna get in there and scavenge:No! Because the Enclave ruins are under Czerka jurisdiction and the kriffin' team I sent in there went radio silent after getting some sort of artifact and yelling about war machines tearing them to bits! I'm not gonna risk a PR screw-up by letting just anyone waltz in there..." And she took a thinker's pose "Though you don't look like just anyone. Not with that alien kit."
"Mhm. War Machines, huh?" Six hummed "Listen, your team went silent, right? And I'm kitted for war. Don't you think it'd be a sensible idea to toss me in there instead of more of your own? Less post-mortem salaries to pay to the deceased's families, at least. And I won't sign a Czerka contract if you put a gun to my head and threatened to blast me. Less rewards than risks in doing that, far as I can tell."
"Man of actual business, then?" The woman quipped, smirking "You're smarter than your armor and gun lead me to believe, kid. Alright... I'll let you in, but you gotta get the bodies or at least their datapads off of their corpses. Whatever else you find is yours, or you can just come back and sell it to us... Glad you did come this way, though. If you do have Jedi business here, I'd'a thought you'd try and sneak through our guards."
"How many people do you even have guarding the entrance? Five? Ten?" Six raised a brow
"A Battalion." The woman grinned "No matter your armor or any Jedi pals you had, you'd get hosed by Blasters before you even stepped foot outside... When you were gonna leave, at least."
"Eh. Less hassle for me too... Wouldn't want to waste my ammo on half-idiot goons with shit aim anyways." The Spartan retorted, then said "Anything I should take so I can be let in with my companions, or nah?'
"I'll call ahead for the boys to let you in." She said, producing a tobacco pipe and taking a deep puff, before setting it down, "Just make sure you don't damage anything after you deal with the 'war machines' that the others mentioned. Now, move along. Some other business partners are coming this way." before she waved the Spartan off. He walked out of the room and back down and out of the complex. He met with Barris and Mara in the courtyard, then the trio started walking.
Six noticed a slightly sullen look from Mara(for what little passed as emotion on her otherwise perfect poker face) and asked "Something wrong?"
"I have to admit..." The girl sighed "I am slightly disappointed."
"Oh?" Six and Barriss looked at her confusedly.
With a single sideways glance, the girl spoke, seemingly in jest, "I had wanted to test my infiltration skills. No mission I've undergone required them and I was eager for it..."
Six snorted at the admission, then said "I feel that. I remember my first mission. It involved only stealth." while Barriss giggled.
"You should tell us about your work before arriving on Geonosis some time." Barriss smiled at Six. The Spartan hummed, then nodded. Some time, perhaps. But most definitely not today. As they continued walking, the Spartan's MT tracked multiple squads around them, with some already in sight at the top of hills and around the main, bombed-out entrance of the Enclave.
Ahead of them, a trio of men appeared, one wearing heavy armor bearing Czerka colors. He raised a hand, then showed Six to come forward alone, which got the two girls behind him to tense up, with their hands hovering a few inches away from their weapons;Barriss with her lightsaber and Mara, her handgun, specifically. The Spartan was stopped about two feet from the man, who had to look up at the towering figure. A half-smile and a look into a datapad later and the Czerka soldier showed the Spartan to go ahead.
The team stopped to look at the massive Enclave. A massive building with a central hub and two(visible) extensions, one leading down to the sublevel and one, probably damaged, leading to the main area. Barriss sighed, dejected, then said "I can't believe that this place has lasted as long as it did... Even with looters and mercenaries, it still stands."
"Let us hope it isn't just an empty shell and that it has what we seek." The Echani battle-maiden noted, looking to Six. She noticed him a bit more tense than they were a few moments ago. She nudged him in the shoulder, to which the Spartan jerked his head toward her. She asked "Is there something wrong?" with a raised brow. Six looked back to the building, then to the girl and shook his head.
She hummed, then showed him to lead the way as the soldiers opened the main sliding door of the building, to reveal a poorly-maintained hallway with metal floors and concrete and stone walls. It was a ramp that went down to the lower levels, providing the team their way into the building. The team marched down the road, with the Czerkas closed the door behind them.
"I have a bad feeling about thi-" Barriss started
"Do. Not." Six interrupted her, approaching the lower door. He punched in the open command and the doors slid apart, while the Spartan brandished and aimed his Blaster around, scanning for targets. They descended into an open 'hub' formed of waterfalls, rocks and a giant glass dome overhead. Surprisingly, the dome itself was intact, but overgrown and dirty.
Several doors lay open. One on the left, one just past the fountain and resting area and one on the right. The flow of water was the only noise in the area. On the walls and floor, cobwebs and thick layers of dust that showed the boot prints of the Czerka squad. They'd taken the left door, apparently, but the Spartan felt it necessary to take the middle door. He showed the duo to follow him, marching deeper into the middle portion, to find a narrow hallway that ended in a wide-open, damaged robotics room, as well as two more side rooms.
There was nothing of interest here, though, except dust. The Spartan sighed, lowering his weapon and sliding it on his back as he walked toward an ancient-looking footlocker. He propped it open, then looked inside. Among the scrap, there was more scrap and even more. Around them, the place thrummed as electricity coursed through it and the consoles, though ancient, still flickered and made noise.
"Hello...?" He heard a young woman's frightened whisper, almost ethereal, behind him. The Spartan jolted, spun about and stood to his feet, drawing his Blaster. He scanned the corridor through which they'd entered the room, catching nothing.
"You okay, Six?" Barriss asked from his right. The Spartan turned to her, to see the concerned Mirialan girl, her Lightsaber's hilt in her hand. Beside her, Mara had already drawn her own sword.
Six lowered his blaster, asking dumbfoundedly "You... Didn't hear that?"
"Hear what?" Mara asked "Are you well?"
"There was... I'm fine..." He sighed "Let's keep searching around. See if we can't find anything worthwhile in here."
While the two girls looked to one-another with concern, the Spartan went to the single console in the room. He attempted access, but the console sputtered and lost power. He sighed, shaking his head. Yet again, that same voice "... Hello?!"
"Hello?" Six turned around again, facing exactly where the noise had come from, "Somebody back there? This better not be Czerka fucking with us, or I swear..."
"Six..." Barriss walked up to him "Are you sure you're okay? I..."
"I'm fine, Offee. I'm fine." He seemed bemused "You seriously can't hear that voice?"
"No." The Echani sword-mistress spoke, approaching them. She was holding some kind of artifact in one hand as she said "This entire place is deserted... None of these items are of use."
Six's shoulders sagged, "Right... Let's get moving. We gotta find those boys."
He drew his Blaster Rifle and led the two girls out of the place, passing by the two open halls and rooms and keeping eyes open, both on his Motion Tracker and on the corridors. It was, however, only the three of them in there. Barriss, meanwhile, held the Echani girl back a few steps and said "Something's wrong." in whisper. The Echani nodded, staring at Barriss almost quizzically. The Jedi Padawan explained "I didn't mention it to Six when we came in, but... I can feel something here."
"Via the Force, I presume..." Mara mused "And? What has that got to do with him hearing things?"
Barriss shrugged "It's... Only a theory so far."
"Then let's not interrupt proper research, shall we?" The Swordmistress offered, only getting a nod from the girl. She, too, felt the darkness within this place. The pain. Her ancestor had opened the Echani's eyes to the Force and how it could be used, to both train and perfect that training. The Echani, however, relied little on the use of it themselves. They just knew about it enough to listen to their 'gut feelings'. And this place? It felt wrong.
But what did this say about Six?
The two caught up with the Spartan again, turning to and taking the right-hand path to follow the boot marks left on the dusty floor. Down the halls, the team saw the rubble that remained after the bombardment. Caved-in roofs, some skeletons and the likes, all caked in layers of ancient dust, almost undisturbed. The Spartan and his trio marched past several rooms, some of which were closed...
Until Six ground to a halt, hearing footsteps and screams inside the room on his right. He showed the two to ready up and the deep thrumm of an igniting lightsaber followed the hiss of a sword being drawn. Blaster raised, the Spartan opened the door, before snapping the rifle to meet anything behind it. He lowered the rifle, finding naught but a set of skeletons with torn Jedi cloth and a single, deactivated and rusted droid. The trio walked in, with Barriss stopping by the bodies and whispering something to them after taking a knee. Some kind of Jedi burial right, Six assumed, so he didn't intervene.
He saw Mara approach. She whispered to him "Are you certain you are well?'
"Yeah... I'm just a bit surprised neither of you can hear the noises." He noted "Footsteps, like someone was running, single words... Screaming."
He swallowed empty as the memories of Reach's glassing came back to haunt him. The burning skyline of New Alexandria, the radioactive rainfall that followed and the hazy orange sky over the planet, punctuated by the slim, monstrous shapes of the Covenant's fleet in low orbit and the flashes of plasma boiling away the world's oceans, its land and any left on it... God, he hated that... He hated all of those alien bastards. He hated them for what happened to Jorge, to Kat, to Carter, to Emile. To his entire squad.
Rapidly shaking his head and squelching the memory, the Spartan went to the droid in the middle of the room. It looked more rudimentary than most droids you'd see in Republic space, but it resembled a protocol droid. He took a knee in front of it, checking its insides for anything he could salvage, before taking a step back and nodding to the girls. Both looked slightly concerned, but neither dared voice what was on their minds.
He sighed deeply, showing them to follow back out into the corridor. As they turned the corner, walking past the caved-in roof section, the Spartan said "You know, I can feel you staring at me, you two... If you think I'm going insane, I may as well be, but I'll be damned if I don't hear what I hear..."
"We believe you." Barriss offered a smile "It's just..."
"Odd." The Echani noted "Odd that you would hear things as specific as those, considering this place's history."
"What happened to it, anyway?" Six looked back, continuing "Looks like someone had too much fun with explosives, to be honest."
The Padawan girl then started to explain "According to historical records, during the Jedi Civil War, a conflict from almost four millennia ago, the then-Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Malak, arrived here with a fleet and bombed the Khoonda settlement and the Academy and Enclave from orbit. Very few, if any, survived the onslaught of orbiting artillery and fewer still walked away from this place, probably trapped under its rubble."
"That's just fucking great..." Six sighed "So what am I hearing? Ghosts of the people who once lived here?"
"... Uhm..." Barriss chuckled awkwardly "If you are hearing things, then... More than likely?"
"Ah..." He hummed, then continued walking, unsure if he wanted to find out more. Yet, he asked again "So what's that mean for me?"
"We don't know yet." The two said almost in unison, with Barriss giving a smile to the girl. Six sighed as they continued further down the corridor, promptly ignoring any opened room. They reached what looked like a halfway point where the corridor opened to the right, to reveal a massive amphitheater-like room. Six felt a crunch under his boots as he walked inside, only taking a step back and looking down.
A pile of ash sat below his feet, with a single bone which he'd broken sticking out of it like a sore thumb. On the right, a broken datapad and a half-burned backpack sat. He stopped, scanning the entire room, only to see several, similar piles of ash mixing with the dust caking the floor around them. Dropped on the floor, square in the middle of the place, there was a single blaster rifle of Czerka making.
"Christ..." He murmured as he looked at the ashes "What kind of weapons could even do this?"
"... Could be disruptors..." Barriss mused.
"Those were outlawed." The Echani soldier said. She garnered a look from Six, for which she answered "I wanted to buy one for my work against the assassin. You never know when you would need more firepower."
Amen to that, then. He responded "I doubt Disruptors, whatever they are, would leave piles of ash... Never saw them in the works, though, so..." And he took a knee, picking up the broken datapad and sliding it into the bag, before putting that on his back. He hummed, then said "Let's keep moving. We probably don't wanna meet whatever did thi-..." he paused as he heard the patter of feed behind them.
Metal feet?
Barriss ignited her Lightsaber and the Spartan looked to her, as if asking if she finally heard it. A single nod is what he got, before he saw Mara brandish her own sword and her pistol. The Spartan took a knee, shouldering his blaster rifle and watched as something turned the corner. Something god-awful looking. Six had seen that design before, somewhere. Once, perhaps...
Made of silver alloys and with a blood-orange shine inside, what looked like four-legged monster ants surged down the hallway. At least a dozen of the machines moved forward, their robotic jaws chomping at the bit to get a bite out of the girls and Spartan. He didn't hesitate for even a milisecond, squeezing off Blaster shots as fast as he could, until he started seeing the barrel of his rifle glow red.
He'd hit a few of them, but most either shrugged it off or staggered thanks to the alloys. Six swore to himself, continuing to fire and aiming for the lit-up spots of the mechs. Barriss staggered, looking at the constructs as they charged, then asked "WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS!?"
The Spartan called back "No idea!" with no panic in his voice. He slung his rifle on his back and murmured "If energy weapons don't kill you..." as he drew his Energy Sword and his combat knife, before telling the girls "Close quarters only! Stab and hit whatever the hell you see lit up!" and he saw his shields flare as the little things started 'spitting' energy shots at them.
The trio dodged, taking cover. They exchanged glances as plasma slammed into the walls and the small horde of creatures drew ever closer. They nodded, before all three burst out of cover, slashing and stabbing at the wall of alien metal. Their blades cut through them, surprisingly enough, with ease. Mara made herself most acquainted with the creatures by 'gutting' three with her Vibrosword and stomping a fourth's head in on the first attack.
Six followed up, delivering an upward slash and vivisecting a creature that tried to pounce on him. His shields were being whittled away by the creatures' energy weapons, but the Spartan didn't care. He still had his armor plates to protect him. And these things didn't fire projectiles hot enough to burn through them in a single hit. He didn't want to find out how many hits it'd take, though. He kicked down a creature, squashing its head under his titanium heel, before he cut two more creatures in half.
Barriss slashed, stabbed and thrust her blade into them, but soon found herself surrounded and nearly pinned by the creatures that pounced on her. Six and Mara were quick to notice, with the Spartan stabbing into one's open mandibles with his knife and throwing it off the girl. He picked the girl up, spun about and slashed two more behind her with the Energy Sword, then said "We're thinning out the herd! Form up!'
And as they did, the team started to manage their sectors, cutting swaths through the small horde of creatures, whittling down their numbers and taking shots in the process. Barriss herself had received several glancing hits that burned and harmed her. Mara, too, had received similar wounds, as well as minor bite marks from the creatures. Thankful her armor held, the woman stabbed into the last creature on her side and twisted the blade.
Each time they'd killed a creature, it shattered into shards. Panting, the two girls stared at the remnants of the bots. Weaves of dust and fire and... Six noticed the silhouettes of familiar weapons on the floor. Well, familiar being a fairly broad term here. Going by what he had just picked up, it was a pistol. Following that, there was either an SMG or an assault carbine of some sort. Their designs, however, were as alien as they came.
Six examined the strange, bulky, orange pistol in his hand, noting that it was formed of multiple moving parts before he slid it onto his thigh's mag-lock and his Energy Sword back onto its belt. The knife had already been sheathed, to accommodate. He looked to Barriss and Mara and asked "You two doing alright?"
"Yeah... Just need a minute to... Catch my breath." Barriss panted "That was insane..."
"What were these things?" Mara asked absentmindedly, staring at Six almost as if she expected an answer. He shook his head, unknowing of the origin of these robotic creatures. The woman hummed, then said "We should probably go. Barriss... What is at the end of these halls?"
"I... Think it's the library..." She shrugged. Six hummed, then nodded. Maybe they'd find what they need in there.
He looked to the girl, then said "You doing okay?"
She nodded "Yeah... Yeah, I think it's passing..."
"Alright. One more minute, then we head for the library." He said, going to pick up more 'ammo' for the strange energy weapons the enemy was using, as well as one of those odd SMG/Carbine weapons. Moments later, the team marched down another hall, to the right and to the left. Whatever those things had been, they must've felt Six and the others approaching, so it was safe to assume whatever they were protecting 'knew' they were here.
Six stopped in the middle of the small, underground library, but not to admire the architecture. Far away, he heard the sounds of screams. Women, children cried, calling, calling out for salvation. Calling out for someone or something to save them. And they got closer, closer, ever closer... Until the Spartan heard them ring in his ears. A hand landed on his shoulder, or at least he felt it... Weighing down on his shoulder.
It was an armored hand.
He swiveled about, catching only a brief glimpse of... Jorge, in his armor... And several Civilians, Jedi padawans, one of which had ginger hair, and even working civilians from the UNSC, all of them looking ghastly, terrifying, pale, empty. He staggered back, drawing his pistol and calling out "BACK OFF!" as he started to breathe heavily, feeling sweat beading down. When he figured out what he'd done, he looked to Barriss and Mara, to see them staring at him and holding their hands close to their weapons.
He cleared his throat, sliding the weapon back into its holster. He looked to them, then said "I..."
"Six..." Barriss placed a hand on his shoulder. She saw him twitch, then said "It's okay... It's just us now."
"... I saw them." He said "I saw Jedi... And Civilians and... A girl... And... I saw one of my team-mates. What the fuck is going on?"
"Nothing good, I would assume." Mara noted. She saw him turn to face the statue of a Jedi in the middle of the amphitheater-like back of the place, then asked "What is it?"
"There," He pointed at the statue and at a flicker of light from it, "There's something there." and almost as if entranced, he stepped off, followed closely by the two girls. The statue itself represented an ancient Jedi master, long lost to the world and one that the girls couldn't even remember by themselves. Whoever she was, she must've been quite important. The trio then looked down right in the middle of the statue's pedestal. A strange shape, almost like a Lightsaber hilt, sat there, surrounded by strange symbols and iconography.
The Spartan knelt in front of the statue, looking at the weapon. He heard two women, one younger than the other, whisper at him "Take it." but didn't flinch. He also heard Jorge's voice as his hand stretched out to grab the ancient weapon. He spoke reassuringly "You got this, Six... We all know you do." garnering a chuckle out of the last member of Noble team. Mara stopped Barriss as she tried to intervene, giving the Mirialan a reassuring look.
The Spartan's fingers dug into what felt like goo, his hand wrapping around the hilt of the weapon, phasing through the false stone. As his fingers locked around the hilt, the symbols around it flared, burning a bright azure light. Six's shields flared for but a moment as he tugged at the weapon. In front of his eyes, images flashed like a slideshow. A small freighter bearing red and white as its colors, two blades, one red and one blue, clashing against each-other on board a ship of the dark, the modest robes of a Jedi and the face of a blonde, blue-eyed woman, wearing a smile.
"Welcome home..." She spoke softly.
Six gasped, pulling back and retrieving the ornate lightsaber from its 'prison' and staggering back. The two girls caught him, though barely, with Mara saying "Whatever you just did... It worked." while all three looked at the statue. It slowly moved aside of its own accord, revealing stairs and a tunnel that went beyond the academy grounds. A blue light pulsed at its end, like a beacon, calling for them.
Six looked at the Lightsaber hilt in his hand, then said "Barriss...?"
"Yes...?" the dumbfound Jedi girl asked
"Do me a favor... Look through the records when we're back and find out whose this lightsaber is... Until then, I think that's calling for us." He tilted his head toward the light at the end of the tunnel. The girls nodded, drawing their weapons as Six clipped the lightsaber to his belt and drew the energy pistol he got off those creatures. If anyone was gonna go down those steps first, it was gonna be him.
For safety... And answers...