Last time: Kyr got what he needed while taking a tour. Sasha and Viran remembered a Clone from their past. Cien got word of the Jedi.

Now: Kyr discovers a problem in his search. Sasha and Viran reach a dead end in their search.

Chapter 6- The Dead End

Kyr settled heavily into the cockpit seat. Behind him, at the data terminal Tac was plugged in and calculating the next system in this endless chain. This planet was defined by mud. Horrible mud. The kind of mud you thought of in your worst nightmares as you tried to trudge from one place to the next. It was a chalky paste that got everywhere, and if you weren't careful would suck you down, drowning you over the course of days as it trapped you like quicksand. The endless gloom of rain made sure that it stayed that way. He was covered in the stuff, and his cape was just a singular glob of mud clipped to his shoulders. He sighed. The temple had at least been at the top of a hill, so it was relatively dry, the stone pavers a welcome relief after trudging from a safe landing site, across the way and up the hill to reach the stones.

The stela had marked the time with Kyr's figure being jumped upon by some kind of huge frog monster. With that little bit of forewarning he had been able to have a high explosive grenade ready, and thrown it down the creatures gullet at the last second as it tried to envelop him in it's gigantic mouth. It had slurped it up and then exploded, quite spectacularly. The viscera he had been showered in did not add to the cleanliness of his armor. He had been so thoroughly disgusted by the experience that he had simply told Tac to come pick him up, grabbing hold of one of his fast drop ropes and being reeled in so he hadn't had to trudge through the muck anymore. He had walked directly to the refresher's shower and just simply turned it on to try to get his armor cleaned off a little bit. He would have to perform a thorough cleaning of all his equipment after this foray.

He was not in a good mood. He closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes as his ship achieved a high altitude orbit. After a few minutes Tac chirped at him, to let him know the next destination. Sighing again, he leaned forward to look at his scope. Then his mood fell.

It was a cataloged system. It had an Imperial garrison on it. He was surprised it had taken this long for the Imps to be thrown into the mix on this journey. He thought for a moment. He could do a low power pass through the system in an elliptical spiral orbit, that would let him get close by without alerting their sensors. Maybe, with some luck, he could just avoid the garrison all together.

He set the destination, it was a relatively short hop, only three hours. He would come out of hyperspace far outside the system so he could sneak in. He programmed the navicomputer, pulled the levers and shot forward into the swirl of hyperspace. He got up to go take a proper, long, hot shower.

The alarm went off for hyperspace exit soon enough, and he returned to the cockpit wearing only his flight suit, the armor vest he had left in the lounge to keep scrubbing at, and all the little pockets of mud that had gotten into every single crevice. Even though he was covered head to toe in his black suit, and had his leg armor still attached, he felt kind of exposed not wearing the beskar, especially as he dropped out of hyperspace into a system claimed by the enemy.

Swirls of hyperspace streaked into long lines and then resolved to a starfield. The distant star of this system is only a bit brighter than the rest of the pinpricks of light that made up the rest of the view. He set the course for his wide orbit, and performed a precise burn from his engines, then powered down all systems except life support and passive sensors. It would take the better part of the day to complete this journey, though it was better to reconnoiter the system properly before running head long into a fight, he had no details on what this garrison was like. He got up to go back and keep working on his armor.

Several hours passed, he was able to get his armor nice and shiny again, and had freshly laundered the other soft parts, and was back in his comfortable beskar shell. His buy'ce was back on, and he used his link with the ship to monitor his progress. He sat in the cockpit, cleaning the rifle he had made the mistake of taking with him to Mud World. He had the barrel out and exposed, looking down the length of it checking for any left over debris, when he got an alert. The planet was coming into optical sensor range, to him it was just a slightly bluer dot than the rest of the stars, though the systems primary had definitely grown in size to a proper star that dominated the view outside the canopy. He noted the sensors were doing their long exposure takes as he passed by, and kept cleaning the rifle. Next up would be his blaster pistol.

The first image came in, an oblique image that showed a pass of the garrison itself. He started looking at the images as they started coming in, the overheads changing angle as his ship moved and the planet rotated. There were no ships in orbit, which was nice. They might have been able to spot him, but the planetary sensors the ground side base had wouldn't be able to filter him out through the atmospheric noise.

"Osik." he said under his breath. As the images turned more directly overhead, he was able to recognize the formation of the temple stones in the middle of the base; they had built the garrison around it. He had no idea what that meant, if they knew something about the temple, or that it had just been a handy reference site for the initial setup. The base itself looked like it had a small hanger, maybe enough for a flight of six TIEs. It looked like there was support and logistics for a battalion. If they were a special mission battalion there to study the temple, then that would mean almost 750 Imperial troopers and specialists. The temple was intact, it looked like, so they could still get the alignments scanned. For that he was grateful. The Imps weren't exactly careful with artifacts like that, and they might have otherwise thought the site would make good target practice and blown it to small chunks of… dolomite, if he remembered correctly. Hopefully the stela was still intact, though he had yet to encounter a scene that didn't coincide with his trip there. He didn't really want to guess on that however.

He leaned back in his seat, resting the partially disassembled rifle on the co-pilots seat as he thought. A plan started forming in his mind. He would need Sasha and Viran for it to work, though they would probably hate the plan. He'd do another wide orbit through the system to get the other side of the planet and another sweep, maybe nudge the orbit a little tighter when he was on the far side of the star in their sensor blind spot so that he could do a closer pass to get more detail. Then he'd contact them and see if they were willing to help. That would be another day and a half.

Viran was right. This really was a vicious cycle. As more days passed and more temples were visited, it was really starting to wear on Sasha. At one point, she actually thought she had heard Cien reaching out to her, but decided to ignore it. She was sure that Cien was dead. So hearing her voice was probably just Sasha's exhausted mind playing tricks on her. And if she was still alive then that was a big problem, but not an immediate one. But aside from hearing things, Sasha and Viran were doing other things to keep each other busy, because one can only train so many times before they need a mental and physical break. They would play games like Sabacc and a couple other card games in their spare time while traveling between temples. And much like Tac, Sasha had taken up sewing. Except she wasn't making a sweater for a lothcat, whatever that was about.

Sasha had decided on a whim at one point after hearing about Tac's interest in clothes making to make something for Viran and her. After seeing Oppie arrive at Chikara in his new Jedi garments, Sasha and Viran agreed that they wanted their very own Jedi outfit. So every time they would stop Sasha would grab materials from fabric to thread to a small sewing device as she was not very good with hand stitching. During some down points, Sasha would work on putting together the pieces. She primarily focused on making them shirts, tunics, tabards, and obis. When it came to pants, she just thought it would be easier to have them buy their own then having her attempting to make them. They also decided to personalize them a little. Every few stops they would grab items like armor or belts to help personalize their outfits. Sasha actually grabbed a pair of white shin guards that she decided to paint over and make them unique.

Their plan was to wear these new outfits when it was finally time to bring Oppie back so they all three looked like Jedi together. However, after their most recent temple, they need to change into them sooner than later. The last planet they visited had its temple located in a swamp. The swamp wasn't the issue nor was the temple's location. The issue was the large slug that decided to attack them and ended up slimming them. Now their clothes were covered and soaked in slime. They switched off on using the small refresher on the ship to clean themselves, but their clothes were sticky and gross without the use of a washing machine. And normally they would wash their belongings every time they would stay at an inn. Sadly though, the nearest inn was in the middle of imperial space. So they changed into their new Jedi outfits as Sasha managed to finish them early.

Viran sat in the cockpit dressed in his new Jedi outfit. Usually he wore a bomber jacket and looked like a hotshot pilot more so than a Jedi. His outfit now was different. He wore a dark brown, long sleeve under shirt with a light tunic over it and a set of dark brown tabards on top with a matching obi. His pants were also a dark brown pair with his black boots and spats. He also wore a Jedi-esque belt around his waist and his blaster holster on his hips.

He was sitting there keeping an eye on the navicomputer as they were coming up on their next planet. A moment later, Sasha appeared dressed in her new Jedi look.

Normally, she wore a black tank top with a purple or black and white jacket with black pants and boots. Now she was dressed in garb that just screamed Jedi. She wore a dark brown sleeveless top with a high collar with a pair of light tan tabards and obi over it. Her tabards fell to about mid thigh over her combat/cargo esk brown pants with a pair of knee high black boots with her new armored shins over the boots. She also wore a set of bracers on her forearms and wrists. And her hair normally in a simple updo was now pulled back into a very powerful style. Plus she added a small touch of make-up that made her look more dynamic.

"Damn, you look great," Viran said with a smirk as he leaned back in his seat.

"Thanks. You do too," Sasha said with a smile.

"It feels right wearing this," Viran stated. "You did a really good job on putting these together."

"Thanks. I was nervous that they wouldn't turn out great, but I'm glad they look so good," Sasha said as she sat down in the copilots chair. "So how much longer do we have until we arrive?"

Viran glanced down at the console. "Any minute now. It is a good thing the last temple and this one are so close."

"Yeah seriously," Sasha agreed.

"So have you heard Cien's voice recently?' Viran asked out of the blue after a silence.

"No, just the one time," Sasha said with a shake of her head. "I'm sure I was just hearing things and I was exhausted. I've just ignored it and haven't heard it since."

"That's good," Viran nodded slowly. "I just wanted to make sure."

"I understand. After everything she did to me, I understand your worry," Sasha said.

The console then beeped at them telling them they had arrived. Viran pulled the ship out of hyperspace over the planet. Just like every other temple before this one, Sasha used the Force to guide them to the temple. As Viran guided the ship, the temple came into view. They both gasped when they saw the temple in complete ruin.

"Oh no," Sasha gasped.

"Kriff," Viran cursed as he started the landing of the ship. "Let's hope we can still salvage something from it."

Once the ship touched down, Sasha moved to the back to grab the bag that held the imager like always. As she grabbed it, the strap pulled as she noticed it was caught in a drawer. Kneeling down, Sasha opened the drawer to pull out the bag strap. Inside the drawer sat the busted holocron. Sasha gasped as she looked at it. For months now, it had been dull and lifeless. Now it was glowing just slightly. She grabbed the holocron and slowly stood as she heard Viran enter the room.

"Is that the holocron from Chikara? I completely forgot about it," Viran commented. "You've kept it in there the whole time. Why are you pulling it out now?' His question was answered when he saw it glow. "Uh why is it glowing? I thought you said it was completely useless."

"I did! And it is or at least it was!" Sasha explained unsure. "It seems like it's reacting to something."

"Could it be the temple? Maybe it's reacting to that," Viran thought out loud.

"Maybe, but it hasn't reacted at all since I found it on Chikara. Or at least from what I've seen," she said. "And if it is connected to this temple, maybe this is where it comes from."

"Potentially, but let's take it with us and find out for sure," he said. "Just in case."

Sasha nodded in agreement. Handing Viran the backpack, Sasha held the holocron in her palms as if she was going to present it to a higher figure. Together they walked out of the ship and headed towards the crumbled temple. They both frowned as they stared at the ruins. Removing the pack, Viran started pulling out the imager.

"Alright, while I set this up, let's see if we can clean up this mess a little to get a clear image for Tac. Hoping there still is a clear image to work with," Viran said as he started setting it all up.

"Okay I can handle clearing stuff. Keep an eye on this and let me know if it starts reacting again," Sasha said as she set down the busted holocron next to the pack.

Viran nodded continuing to set it all up. Sasha used the Force to move as many of the broken columns, pillars, and other forms of debris from the temple. It took her quite a while on her own, but Viran soon joined in to help her finish it off. Once the rubble was cleared, the temple was still a mess and it appeared nothing had survived the damage.

"Who could have done this to the temple?" Sasha asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I have no clue," Viran shrugged.

Sasha glanced back down to the holocron that was still glowing. She walked over to the holocron and picked it back up. Slowly, she turned and headed towards the crumbled temple. As she got closer, it grew brighter. The Force in it came back just long enough to almost light her way then it went out. Sasha stopped short, confused. She tried stepping back and moved forward again to see if it would do it again. It didn't. Whatever was causing it to glow suddenly disappeared and now it was back to its dull lifeless form.

Furrowing her brows, Sasha looked from the holocron to the temple remains. She suddenly spotted a piece of fabric sticking out from under the rubble. Kneeling down next to it, Sasha examined the cloth. Up close she could see it was bloodstained.

"Hey Vir, can you please hand me the scanner?" Sasha asked as she turned back to him. "It should be in the pack."

Viran rummaged around and found the scanner she mentioned. He then came over and handed it to her. Sasha took the scanner and pressed the button.

"Scan a blood sample," Sasha spoke clearly into the microphone of the scanner before lowering it down to the cloth.

After a moment, a hologram appeared from the scanner with an image of… of a Jedi. Sasha and Viran gasped as they stared at the image.

"Jedi Master Jacen Par..." Sasha trailed off. "Based on the blood stain and these records, he must have died in the last year or two. Because according to this, he is listed as an enemy of the Empire and disappeared five years after Order 66."

Suddenly, the lightsaber on Virans belt started shaking. Sasha and Viran stared at it curiously then glanced at the image.

"Wait, zoom in on his belt," Viran asked the scanner. The scanner did as it was asked. Suddenly a lightsaber identical to Virans lay resting on the Masters belt. Paling, Viran looked down and grabbed the saber. "This was his. That means Kopesh was here." His breath caught in his throat. "Which means this is the temple where Dracul got the holocron and that's why it lays in ruin. He destroyed this place after killing Master Par and taking the holocron!"

Sasha couldn't believe it. "But Oppie had a fragment for a long time. I don't think the whole holocron came from here, but this is definitely a strong source of it. Maybe the next set of coordinates will guide us to where Op's piece came from."

As if on cue, a buzz came from Viran's commlink. Viran checked the comm.

"Looks like Kyr is calling," Viran said. "I'll go check it out. See if you can get something with the imager and find that stela. I'll be right back."

Viran moved off toward the ship. Sasha slowly moved away from the cloth, went over and switched on the imager. She then went to go find the stela. After some digging, she found the stela completely ruined. But part of it showed Sasha and Viran finding the body. That was it. And they already did that. Frowning, Sasha stood back up and brushed off the dust.

"Sash!" Viran called. Turning, she saw him standing on the ramp. "It's Kyr! You need to come hear this."

"I'll be right there," Sasha said as she moved toward the imager.

She took a quick glance and noticed that it failed to find anything. She frowned, tore it down, packed it and the holocron back into the bag, and grabbed the bag as she returned to the shuttle. Once aboard the shuttle, Sasha dropped the bag and followed Viran to the cockpit where Kyr was waiting on hold.

"Okay, we are both here," Viran said as he unmuted the comms.

"Good" Kyr's voice came over the comm line. "I hit a snag, the next temple has an imperial garrison built around it, and I think I'll need your help to get inside."

"What are you thinking?" Sasha asked.

"Prepare my ship." Cien called into the comline.

"At once my lady." Some unknown person said at the end of the line. She left her quarters for the journey to the hangar bay. After receiving the data from Moff Jiardon, her crew had delved into the Imperial network to find any other temple sites. There was only one other on record, and it was part of a semi-secretive research outpost the Empire had set up to study the ruins two years ago. She felt the need to inspect it herself, since she had no acolytes to call her own, yet, to send on such a mission and use the Force to determine what was at the site. If these temples were points in the Force where that other place could be reached, then she had to find out.

She would go under her cover as an Imperial Inquisitor, she rolled her eyes at adopting such a lowly title, as she was thinking of herself more as an empress at the moment than the minion of a minion such as they. But she was not in a position to reveal herself to the galaxy yet, and the Bloodstorm exiting hyperspace in the orbit of an Imperial garrison would expose her to those uninitiated to the fact that their future empress was visiting them. So inquisitor it was.

Her fighter was still a prized possession of hers, even though she had assumed ownership of this vast dreadnought. The sense of familiarity it gave her was most welcome, and she smiled, a little, with genuine contentment. With the stress of ever present death no longer hanging over her head from a murderous and unpredictable master, she had found herself actually enjoying this existence in a way she had not felt since before entering the Sith Academy all those years ago. And she would stop at nothing to ensure she was never in the thrall of someone else again. She stepped aboard and climbed into the cockpit, exiting the hangar and jumping to hyperspace for the journey.

REVIEW!