Chapter 7

Ben landed the undetected on Coruscant. Despite being greatly reduced of its population, Coruscant was still a center of activity in the galaxy. Ships came down every day with researchers investigating the Yuuzhan Vong creatures, civilians making a life for themselves, and workers rebuilding as much of the former city planet as they could. Through it all Ben managed to take his ship and land. Ben masked his presence in the Force to remain undetected. After he landed his ship he got out and locked the ship. His hood was draped over his head so no one could recognize him.

He didn't know where he was going but he let his feelings guide him. He knew he had come to Coruscant for a reason and he was determined to find out what. There was something here that would answer his question as to why he had killed his friend. Something had called to him in the Force; something had wanted him to come to Coruscant. And Ben wanted to find out what.

He traveled through the former city, passed civilians and workers, humans and aliens alike, and even some Yuuzhan Vong. No one noticed him as he walked by. He was like a shadow in the dark; to everyone else he was not even there. He continued on, noticing that his path was taking him on a descent. Buildings and vegetation began to surround him and the light began to dim. There were fewer and fewer people and soon there were none. He was the only one as he walked on.

Ben approached a hole in the ground, almost unnoticeable in the dim light. He gazed down into its dark depths. He could not see anything except for what looked like a small, narrow staircase leading down into it. He ignited his lightsaber to give himself some light to see and went in. He slowly went down, not wanting to slip and fall. He held his saber out in front to light his path as he slowly and arduously made his way to the bottom. He walked forward onto a step and it crumbled beneath him. Ben tried to find a hold in the wall but it was too late, he was falling. He didn't know how long he would have until he hit the ground. The air was rushing all around him. He thrust his lightsaber into the wall, the blade digging deep into it. Slowly his descent began to lessen as, his lightsaber still in the wall, he put his feet against the wall to slow his descent down even more. His descent eventually stopped and he continued on his way down. The stairs ended. Ben looked up to try to find where he came in but could not. He guessed he must be miles underground. The feeling in the Force still called to him.

Now on level ground Ben continued walking forward, at least he thought it was forward since he could not really see where he was going. With his small light he was able to see only some of his surroundings. It looked like he was in an ancient part of Coruscant, possibly even the original city. The few buildings he could see looked like they had been there for centuries, even more, and they were beyond repair. As he looked around he noticed that not even the Yuuzhan Vong animal and plant life existed down here. He guessed probably that no one had been here in years and that he was probably the first to be here in centuries. He walked on, guided by the Force.

Suddenly the feeling in the Force was gone, replaced by nothing. Ben reached out to try to find the feeling again but could not. He reached out again, not for the feeling this time but to feel the people above him. Again he could not. He had been cut off from the Force. Not knowing what to do, and only having one thing to do, Ben continued on his journey.

Slowly his Force sense returned, and he felt the Force call to him, guiding him again. But he also felt a new presence in the Force, one much more substantial. He paused and tried to understand what the feeling was exactly, and then he knew.

Danger.

He turned around just in time to see a clawed hand swipe for him. He slashed the hand away with his lightsaber. It fell to the floor as something in the darkness nearby growled in pain. Ben raised his lightsaber blade and came face to face with a horrible creature, because there was no other word for it. It looked like it had once been a human male, but no longer. It had clawed hands and feet, its body was very pale and completely bare, except for a small line cloth around its waste. The creature had sharp serrated teeth and white, liquid eyes. It roared at Ben and slashed again, getting singed by Ben's blade.

Ben had heard of creatures like these, from stories he had been told when he was a child. These creatures had mutated from other beings after centuries of living underneath the surface of Coruscant. Most people thought of them as a myth, because no one ventured down as far as to see one. A bite or scratch from one of the creatures would eventually turn the victim into the creature as well, and Ben was not about to turn into a monster.

The creature roared again, though not at Ben. Another roar answered from the darkness and was followed by three more of the creatures. One looked like it had once been a human female, it's hair bleached white. Another one looked like a former Twi'lek, but whatever its skin color had been was white as bone. The last one Ben could not identify but it looked as ferocious as the other three. The four surrounded Ben in a small circle, waiting to pounce on him.

The Twi'lek was the first to move. It slashed at Ben with its claws and Ben backed away to not get cut. However he was backing into the human female creature. With his lightsaber Ben twirled around and sliced the human female creature before it could react and as he finished his turn sliced the Twi'lek as well. Both fell to the floor with a sickening thump as the freshly cut flesh sizzled, giving off a terrible odor. The human male attacked next but with only one hand was easily overcome by Ben, who skewered the monster through its heart. The last creature roared a swiped at Ben, making him duck. Ben then drove his blade through the creatures chin and up through the back of its head. The creature paused for a moment, surprised, and then fell dead to the floor. Not wanting to encounter anymore of the creatures Ben quickly hurried off.

After venturing even further down into the darkness Ben at last found what he was looking for. He approached a door, rusted and worn away by age. He pulled the handle and slowly and squeaking the door opened to a well lit room. Ben went in and closed the door. The room was white and well lit and clean. Computers and monitors beeped on the walls. It was actually a rather big room, considering its location. Ben continued to walk in and then noticed the person sitting on the floor nearby in the center of the room.

The person was wrapped in a black robe which flowed over his body and onto the floor, covering the person's head. Ben tried to see the person's face and saw it was a man, looking slightly younger than his father, with his eyes closed. Ben knew that this was the person that called to him in the Force, and he wanted to find out why. Ben was about to speak when the person opened his eyes, revealing black eyeballs.

Ben screamed as he bombarded by feelings of death and oblivion. He felt like he was being pushed back as the world began to warp around him. The man started to stand up and walk over to Ben. Ben fell to the floor as the world began to slip away. The last thing he saw before he fell into unconsciousness was the man kneeling down beside him, black eyes staring.