Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan or George Lucas.
Enter Mara, moving through the underground tunnels. She leans against the nearby walls to support herself, and utilizes her crutch to assure herself that there are no traps ahead. The more she moves, the stronger the presence of the dark side.
Eventually as she moves on, her comes across cobwebs on the wall. This elicits a yelp of shock, though she immediately chides herself for making a sound.
Mara. [aside] It's only a web. I knew this was coming. Nevertheless, the webs make her realize how close I am. What was I thinking? I can't do this quest alone. [shakes her head] Too late. Just keep going.
The cobwebs grow thicker the further Mara ventures into the tunnels. At last the corridor ends in a doorway which looks as if someone attempted to barricade the entrance.
That doesn't bode well.
Using her crutch to move the wooden boards out of the way, Mara climbs over the remainder, receiving a few splinters for her effort.
As she arrives in the chamber beyond, the Mark of Ashla materializes over yet another doorway. Unfortunately between her and that doorway is a chasm fifteen meters across, lined with two parallel wooden planks too far apart for her feet, and yet each is too narrow for her to walk across.
Enter the arachnes, slithering across the floor anc coming toward Mara.
What kind of arachnes? I have no idea. I only know they are coming for me. And I only have seconds to figure out a plan. I want to sob. I want someone, anyone, to be here for me. I want Ben with his pyrokinesis, or Jacen with his lightning, or Tahiri to collapse the tunnel. Most of all I want Luke. I always feet braver when I'm with him. [takes a deep breath] I am not going to die here. I'm going to see Luke again.
As the arachnes make a steady pace toward her, Mara seizes a torch and, drawing a match from her backpack, sets it ablaze. She then sets the wood planks on fire, burining the arachnes to a crisp.
All right. I've bought myself some time. But I doubt that killed all the arachnes. They will regroup and swarm again as soon as the fire dies.
Examining the chasm, Mara deduces that it is far too deep to jump in, and it would be foolish to try and cross one of the bars by hands. The more she analyzes the scene, though, she realizes the bars — which she'd initially mistaken for the remains of a bridge — are in fact some kind of loom.
Desperate, Mara draws the string from her backpack and begins weaving a path across. Using hitherto unexpected skills, Mara's efforts bear fruit, and before long she is halfway across.
How have I learned to do this? [with realization] Of course. It's Ashla. My mother's skill with useful crafts. Weaving never seemed particularly useful to me . . . until now.
Glancing behind her, Mara notices that the fire is dying, and a few arachnes are beginning to resume their journey. She quickly hastens her efforts. Once safely across he uses the torch to burn down her makeshift bridge, thus forestalling any pursuit by the arachnes. To her shock as the bridge burns Mara notices she had weaved a pattern of a griffin — the symbol of Ashla.
Mara holds her breath.
I don't see any reason why the arachnes can't reach me by climbing the walls of the ceiling. If they start to do that, I'll have to run for it, and I'm pretty sure I can't move fast enough.
However, rather than continue pursuit, the arachnes simply mass at the edge of the pit, then disperse, flooding back the way they came.
It's almost as if they no longer find me interesting . . . or I passed a test.
The torch extinguishes, leaving Mara with the light of her vibroblade alone. Also her crutch was inadvertently left behind as she weaved her away across.
The Unseen Queen. I must be close. At least I know what's ahead.
Mara hops onward in order to keep the weight off her bad foot.
Finally Mara reaches her destination: the hive of Lomi Plo. Chained to it by giant cobwebs is the Galactic Roundel — an eight-rayed stellar symbol centered in a circle whose circumference is made up of dotted lines.
The Galactic Roundel. It's really here. The emblem of the Old Republic. I'm the first child of Ashla to stand before it in millennia.
Mara forces herself to swall.
I could stand here all day looking at the insignia. But I've only accomplished half my mission. I've found the Galactic Roundel. Now . . . how to liberate it from this cavern?
Taking in the cavern, Mara notes that were it not for the cobwebs the insignia would have fallen into the bottomless abyss below long ago — an abyss which unbeknownst to her leads straight into the Maw.
Where is the guardian? How can I free the insignia without collapsing the floor? I can't very well shove the Galactic Roundel down the corridor from which I've come.
Glancing around the cavern, Mara notices the beauty and skill of Lomi Plo's tapestries, depicting the Je'daii battling the Yuuzhan Vong, the lanscape of the Netherworld, the skyline of Bastion, and even the underwater kiss between Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade.
Mara catches her breath, unnerved.
How is that possible?
Lomi Plo's Voice. For ages I have known that you would come, my sweet. I have seen you in my dreams. I had to make sure you were worthy, the only child of Ashla clever enough to pass my tests and reach this place alive. Indeed, you are her most talented child. This will make your death so much more painful to my old enemy when you fail utterly.
Mara. You're Lomi Plo, the Unseen Queen. The weaver who was turned into an arachne.
Lomi Plo's Voice. Cursed by your mother. Scorned by all and made into a hideous thing . . . because I was the better weaver.
Mara. But you lost the contest.
Lomi Plo's Voice. That's the story written by the winner. Look on my work. See for yourself.
Mara. [aside] I don't have to. The tapestries are the best I've ever seen . . . better than the witch Talzin's work, and, yes, even better than some weavings I've seen on Tython. I wonder if Mother truly lost, if she hid Lomi Plo away and rewritten the truth. But right now, it doesn't matter. [to Lomi Plo] You've been guarding this insignia since the early Empire years. But it doesn't belong here. I'm taking it back.
Lomi Plo's Voice. [scoffs] I'm afraid you would have to defeat me first, my sweet. And alas, that is impossible.
Enter Lomi Plo, a hybrid of humanoid and insectoid; her face is melted with no nose, and her eyes, jaw, and leg has been replaced with insectoid equivalents. Above her humanoid arms are a pair of insectoid arms, and beyond her insectoid mandibles are a full set of human teeth.
Lomi Plo crawls closer to Mara.
Now I will feast on you, my sweet. But do not fear. I will make a beautiful tapestry depicting your death.
Exit all.