Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, even though I am an avid fan of it. Star Wars and KOTOR II belong to George Lucas and OBSIDIAN. I am using a Galaxy Map that I found on for the locations for some of the planets, however those in the Unknown Regions are either original names or inspired by other planets on the website.
Chapter II: Answers And More Questions
Well before the sun rose over the AAS Base Camp Keyan rose from his cot in the small tent that Ian had provided him and quickly gathered his gear, including wrist light that Ian had supplied him with. Pushing the tent's flap door aside Keyan stepped into the early twilight with the western sky growing faintly brighter with the approaching daylight.
Setting a brisk pace for himself Keyan quickly reached the perimeter defense turrets and walked past them to a small grove of trees just outside the camp's boundaries. Crossing his legs and sitting in the center of the grove Keyan slowly reached out and felt the life around him.
He felt nocturnal creatures as they hid themselves from the coming sun and daytime creatures rousing to begin another day. Keyan let himself be carried by the flow of the Force until he was aware of all the life surrounding him; he stretched out further to the AAS Camp and the ruins beyond.
The camp was a complex mix a feelings ranging from sorrow to anxiety, the ruins however, were very surprising as they still held the pain of all the deaths that had happened within their walls. As Keyan reached further he felt Revan's presence coming from the deepest parts of the ruins.
Keyan felt the warmth of the morning sun on his face and slowly came out of the trance he had fallen into until he opened his eyes to the sight of a beautiful sunrise whose light was beaming through the branches of the grove.
Taking a deep breath and rising to his feet Keyan turned to face the AAS Camp and walked off with the feel of Adumar's life still echoing in his mind.
When he returned to the clearing in the center of the camp Keyan saw that Ian had already gathered the team that was going to join Keyan into the ruins' catacombs. The leader of the team was a grizzled, scarred woman named Tera Nultin with a scoped blaster rifle on her back; Tera had been one of the camp's hunters before the sudden dangers of the catacombs had called for someone with her reflexes to start leading the expeditions. The rest of the team was made up of four men and one more woman; as Keyan approached one of the men looked up from cleaning his Disruptor Rifle. Keyan shook his head, if they were going to be disarming traps that Rifle wasn't going to do him any good other than slowing him down.
Ian was speaking to Tera when Keyan approached; the short man gave Keyan a smile when he noticed the Jedi Weapons Master approaching, which made the glare that Tera gave him seem even more fierce as Ian went to meet Keyan.
The early morning breeze stirred Ian's graying hair as he shook Keyan's hand, "Good morning Keyan, everything is ready. You can head out as soon as you say."
Keyan nodded, "Alright, then I guess we might as well head out," glancing in Tera's direction Keyan nodded, "Let's get going Tera."
Ian nodded and patted Keyan on the shoulder, "Good luck Keyan."
Keyan gave Ian a faint grin and jogged off after the AAS squad as it made its way to the ruins' collapsed wall.
When they reached to wall Tera lead everyone over the wall, her Blaster Rifle out and scanning ahead as if she expected an attack at any moment.
Keyan paused atop of the wall to glance over the ruins, taking in a few unique structures he could use to get his bearings if he got disoriented. He jumped down from the wall and landed in the long shadow cast by morning sun, his robes creating a brown pool around him before he rose from his feet.
Keyan rose to his feet and walked over to where Tera had gathered the team, the base of the wall that had been worn away till it only stood two meters high. Tera glanced at him angrily before addressing her team, "Alright people listen up we're going into the catacombs, so everyone stay alert, watch your partner's back, and we'll all make it out in one piece." The veteran hunter turned to face Keyan, her dislike of the newcomer obvious on her face, "Well Toban, you just do what you were hired to do and I'll make sure that you don't get yourself killed."
Keyan nodded his head respectfully, "I would appreciate that Tera. Now we should move on, delaying this isn't going to make this trip any easier."
Tera nodded, if a bit grudgingly, and marched off toward the entrance to the underground portion of the ruins. Everyone put their various light sources on and flashed them along the darkened passageways. The man with the Disruptor Rifle and another with a pair of Heavy Blaster Pistols lead from the front with Tera and Keyan next and the people remaining took up the rear, the last two placing small transponders that were used to let them retrace their steps to the surface.
They made their way through the underground warrens until they reached a hallway with large chunks of rumble littering the floor and a good-sized hole at the end. The faint sound of dripping water echoed from dark passages of the catacombs.
Everyone stopped when they reached the hole and Tera nudged Keyan's shoulder, "Alright Toban, this is where we see if you're up to this; you take the lead and check for traps, when you're sure that it's safe to continue contact me on my comlink and we'll catch up with you."
Keyan nodded and stepped past the two men in the front into the catacombs, his wrist light shining over the slowly crumbling walls. The ground beneath his feet squelched with every step and his wrist light revealed graves in the walls with only moss and wet matter, nothing that he could have ever identify as the remains of a human body.
Keyan gave a sigh and let his senses reach out to search for any threats and for where Revan's presence had been, he got his bearings and smoothly unclipped one of his lightsabers before he moved forward.
The first handful of minutes was quiet as Keyan passed through areas that didn't have any traps, and then he found where the first of the traps had been found and tripped by unlucky AAS personnel. The traps ranged from primitive weapons on axes that swung down on you when tripped them to others that were so complex that Keyan would have had to take more time than he had to study them and figure out how they worked.
Finally Keyan found the first trap; his foot snapped a thin wire and released three axes that swung down from the ceiling, arcing where Keyan's head was. Keyan easily ducked under the axes and with a flick of his wrist snapped them free with the Force and set them against the catacomb wall.
Keyan gave the area a quick search, with both his eyes and Force senses, before lifting his comlink to his lips and contacted Tera, "All clear, move up." Shortly after the team arrived, lead by a stone faced Tera.
Tera glanced at the three broken ax heads, "So you can handle the simplest of traps, we'll see how you deal with the more advanced ones. I've seen them kill a man in seconds, with nothing but his boots left to bury."
Keyan gave Tera cold smile, "Thanks for the words of comfort, if I didn't know better I'd say you want me to fail."
Tera sniffed slightly, "If you did, I wouldn't shed a tear."
Keyan gave a small internal sigh and headed out, leaving Tera to stare at his back angrily.
He stepped around the next corner and suddenly felt a warning through the Force, with out thinking Keyan pitched himself forward as flames shot up from the floor and down from the ceiling, scorching the entire area he had just been standing in.
Shaking his robes off and facing the firetrap Keyan glanced over the blackened stone, looking for any trip wires distinguishable from the piles of ash. Keyan searched the area with the Force and quickly found a small stone that would move if someone stepped on it, triggering the trap. With the practiced efficiency of someone used to disarming traps Keyan jammed the trap and stuffed loose rocks and dirt into the half dozen openings where the fire had come from.
Moving on slowly Keyan came to a chamber where two more pathways branched off. Reaching out with his Force senses Keyan searched the two pathways until he found Revan's presence down the right one.
Before he started down the right path he contacted Tera and no sooner than the team saw which way he was going, then Keyan disappeared down the dark passageway.
Keyan stepped slowly through the long hallway, graves carved out of the rack walls covering every area that he could see.
A faint grinding alerted Keyan that he had set off another trap, jumping back with the grace only another Jedi could match Keyan dodged a block of stone that slid down from the catacombs ceiling. The soft, moist floor deafened the impact to a low thud, though the stone block still cracked into several small pieces.
Keyan cautiously climbed over the stone and checked the next stretch of catacombs and found two more similar traps further on. If anyone tried to dodge the first stone by jumping forward they would trigger the others, killing the unlucky person before he could recover from dodging the first.
After disabling the two other traps Keyan called the team up before moving forward into the depths of the catacombs.
The next twenty minutes were filled with similar traps, some more advanced and others that seemed to not be working correctly, but either way Keyan triggered or disabled every trap and called Tera and the team forward until he was standing in front of a large stone door with Tera and the rest of the team waiting behind him.
Tera tapped the door with her knuckle, "So how do you expect to get through this? We didn't bring any explosives with us and I doubt you did either."
Keyan resisted the effort to make return with a snide comment as he powered up his cyan lightsaber. He waved it slightly, letting Tera's eyes widen as she realized what it was, "You'd be surprised how well these things work at opening stubborn doors." Tera quickly stepped back from the man she suddenly realized was a Jedi Knight at Keyan's gesture as he poised his lightsaber over the middle of the door.
Keyan gave the door a quick check, looking for any weaknesses in the stone that cutting it could cause a cave in; satisfied that the stone was sturdy enough Keyan stabbed his cyan blade into the aged stone.
The stone instantly melted and seemed to jump away from the glowing blade, Keyan quickly cut a roughly man sized door and withdrew his lightsaber as the stone cooled. With the stone once again a dark gray color Keyan gave the cutout a swift kick that knocked the stone into the room beyond.
Without waiting for the dust in the next room to settle Keyan ducked through the stone door and found himself standing in a massive underground cavern. Shining his wrist light around as Tera led the rest of the team through revealed massive stalactites and stalagmites that had been carved to resemble people from centuries ago who had been buried here.
Keyan heard someone inhale sharply as they entered the cavern and soon six other beams of light were scanning over the intricately carved figures. Keyan walked deeper into the cavern, leaving Tera and her team to gaze in awe at the scale of the cavern.
At the end of the cavern Keyan found another stone doorway, though it was already opened Keyan still checked for traps and shined his wrist light into the room beyond for as far as he could.
What his light revealed was a long corridor with intricately carved coffins sitting in small cut outs in the walls, but before he could find the end the shadows and dust smothered his light to nothing about ten meters in front of him.
Keyan took a deep breath and entered the room, Revan's presence was the strongest in this room; he must be getting close to where Revan had left his message and whatever else he'd thought that Keyan would need.
The corridor ended abruptly as a circular chamber with a large stone sarcophagus on a pedestal in the center. Keyan cautiously ascended the pedestal and brushed his hand over the aged stone, clearing dust away to reveal that image of an ancient king on the stone clutching some type of sword. But what caught Keyan's eye was a metallic circle placed in the carving's shoulder blending in slightly with the armor carved in the coffin; at least it blended in until Keyan shined his wrist light over it, then it shone brightly against the stone carving.
Slowly he rested his hand on the circle and jerked it back suddenly when he felt a slight prick on his finger. When he looked at his finger he noticed a small bead of blood on the surface.
Without thinking about Keyan quickly prepared his body to fight off any poisons, even in tiny amounts some could kill a man instantly. But, instead of poison the needle that had stabbed him withdrew inside itself and suddenly a hologram, static eating away at it from age, flashed to life.
When the image finally materialized Keyan immediately recognized the figure as Revan, clad in an off-white robe with brown ceramic armor covering his upper body covered by the brown robe of a Jedi Master and his lightsaber at his waist. Revan's face was smudged with dirt and weary lines made his face seemed older and his loose brown hair stuck to his face from sweat and dirt, but his gray eyes still held the same fire Keyan remembered from the Mandalorian Wars.
Revan's holographic figure smiled, "Hello Keyan, its good to see you again."
Keyan's eyes widen from surprise, How could he have known I would come here?
The holographic figure continued, "I know you must have many questions, but I don't have the time to answer you now. But if it is the will of the Force we will meet I can answer you in person." Revan gestured to the sarcophagus below him, "In this sarcophagus you'll find information on the Unknown Regions, which should allow you to at least find my trail in the true Sith Empire. I don't know how long it will be before you find this message, but I've tried to keep the information simple enough that it will still be useful to you."
Keyan nodded slowly, Just like Revan, always planning ahead, but still how could he have known that it would be me how came here and not someone else?
Revan finally bowed his head slightly, "I wish I could leave you more, but I have run out of time and I am still not certain that you will even find this message. However, in this information will be the codes you will need to unlock the navigation computer without a matching voice; you'll need T3-M4, so I hope that little droid is still with you. Go luck Keyan and May the Force be with you, my old friend." With that the holographic image collapsed in on itself and then the small holoprojector began to smoke as the disk and the unit slowly burnt.
Keyan smiled faintly and used the Force to lift the lid of the sarcophagus so he could retrieve what Revan had left for him. It also occurred to Keyan as he lifted the large stone lid that without the Force it would most likely require heavy machinery to lift this thing, obviously Revan's plans again.
Setting the lid at the foot of the pedestal Keyan shined his light in the coffin he revealed and easily found three small data discs disguised as pieces of armor in the king's scale mail suit of armor.
Placing the discs in his robes Keyan carefully replaced the lid and turned to rejoin the AAS Team in the cavern.
But as he turned he felt a jolt of pain through the Force and without thinking activated his lightsaber, casting a pale cyan light over the chamber as he held it ready before him.
Only a slight crunching sound told Keyan that he wasn't alone before a dark robed figure stepped into the chamber; the figure gripped something in its hand, but the shadows of the corridor hid it from Keyan.
Keyan faced the figure as he slowly stepped down from the pedestal, "Who are you?"
The figure laughed, a sound that reminded Keyan of dried leaves cracking, "I am you executioner Jedi, but it is not your time to die, for now I've just come to cause you pain." The figure threw what it was holding and when it stopped rolling at Keyan's feet, the Jedi Weapons Master had to struggle to keep from feeling sick.
It was Tera's scarred head, blood running down a face contorted in pain.
The figure laughed its dried leaf laugh again, "She was the only one who put up a fight, the others nearly killed themselves, but that one nearly escaped to warn you; but, as you'll come to learn, then no one escapes me."
Keyan tore his eyes away from Tera's lifeless gaze and locked his gaze on her murderer, "You will face justice for the deaths you have caused."
The figure's voice became mocking, "Not more of that Jedi nonsense, you have no idea who I am, do you? Well it just as well, the entire Jedi Order never knew about me except for two, but they didn't know about me, or much else, for long either."
Suddenly blood red lightning sprang from the depths of figures robes and arced toward Keyan with amazing speed. Keyan threw up a wall of Force to stop the attack, but the impact shattered it completely. Desperately Keyan threw a massive wave of Force to try and knock the figure off balance and halt his attack, but somehow the figure blocked the attack while increasing his attacks.
Then the first bolt of Force lightning hit.
At first Keyan felt nothing, then a wave of pain hit him so hard that his lightsaber fall away and his body collapsed to the ground as more waves of energy ran through him.
With every ounce of his will Keyan tried to fight off the pain long enough to defend himself, but all he could do was scream out in pain. Then suddenly the pain stopped and Keyan heard that voice, like snake skin being crushed, "If you are the best the Jedi have to offer now then you are not even worth my time. I have heard of a stronger Jedi who now wanders our realm, perhaps I will seek him out and see if he can stand up against me."
Keyan began to rise to purse the figure, but by the time he lifted his head the shadows had swallowed the black robed assailant completely.
Author's Note: Well that's Chapter 2; sorry if it's a little short, but this seemed like the best place to end it. If everything goes well Chapter 3 should make up for it. Thanks to those who reviewed and look out for the next Chapter.
