Crosshair stared silently at Tech. "Flash floods."
"Yes." Tech quirked his mouth to one side, looking concerned.
"Awesome," said the Jedi, already walking forward again. "Perfect. Just what we wanted."
Crosshair slung his rifle over his back and put on his helmet. "We need to get out of here, fast."
Hunter rested a hand on the wall, head tilted and eyes narrowed as he felt the earth for tremors. He didn't comment, but Crosshair saw the slight twitch of fingers that meant he'd felt something. "Do we go back over the chasm, or into the riverbed?"
"River's closer," said Quinlan. "If the water enters the tunnels while we're still in 'em, we'll get crushed, even if we don't drown."
"I agree." Vythia rested one hand against the black satchel she carried. "How long do we have?"
"Not very long," said Hunter. "Tech?"
Tech clipped his datapad to his belt and secured it with one of the many leather loops. "I do not have enough data to provide an accurate analysis of the situation."
"Then we get to the river and hope for the best," decided Vythia, and broke into a run.
The others fell in behind her. Crosshair automatically dropped back to rearguard position as he ducked his head to avoid the increasingly low-slung ceiling. As if that wasn't bad enough, the tunnel was narrowing again, and stalagmites sprouted from the floor, getting in their way. Wrecker, who was directly behind Vythia, had to slow down, which made everyone else slow down as well.
Hunter skidded to a halt, while Wrecker squeezed past a grouping of stalagmites, and rested a gloved hand on the tunnel wall. He froze, then looked back at Quinlan.
"Let me guess," grumbled the Kiffar. He took a step back before vaulting sideways over a half-formed pillar of rock in his path. "The walls are vibrating. Cue the oncoming flood. We need to move faster or we're gonna die."
Hunter nodded once as he resumed running.
Quinlan gave a dramatic huff and grumbled, "That just figures, doesn't it? Good thing Tech thought everything out."
Crosshair didn't agree . . . out loud, at any rate. They were very nearly out of the tunnel now. The light was stronger, and when Vythia switched off the lantern she carried, it didn't make too much of a difference. Crosshair's senses, apart from his sight, weren't as sharp as Hunter's, but he could hear a dull-pitched rumbling now, like a distant, oncoming tram.
"Hurry!" shouted Vythia, reaching the mouth of the tunnel. She wavered for a moment, then jumped and vanished downward.
Wrecker followed, then Tech, Hunter, and Quinlan.
Crosshair paused on the very edge, feeling the way the rock vibrated beneath his hand before he jumped down to land in six inches of ash. Here, the stone ceiling extended above them and sheltered them from the wind and rain; but the storm, which appeared to be centered directly above the collapsed roof of the cave, swirled in yellow-tinged clouds.
"We've got to hurry," Hunter muttered obviously as he stepped back to eye the steep banks that towered overhead, at least seven meters in height. The rock walls of the riverbed were smooth, almost polished as though they'd been ground down. Definitely too smooth for most people to climb.
Crosshair eyed a slight protuberance some four feet above his head. "Wrecker."
Wrecker dropped to one knee, and Crosshair scrambled up to his shoulders and clutched at the narrow, rocky shelf with one hand. He caught sight of another one, some two meters up, and carefully pulled himself up until he had one knee on the ledge he was clinging to. He tried to reach the second ledge, but couldn't get to a full standing position.
"Let's go upstream," Quinlan suggested, eyeing the far end of the riverbed. "There's a shallow area there."
"No," said Tech warningly. He grabbed his cable attachment from his belt. "It is too narrow. The water will come through there with enough pressure to crush you and then drag you under."
Hunter whirled his grappling hook around a few times before releasing it. It disappeared over the edge, but slithered back down in seconds, having found nothing to hold on to.
Crosshair, still balancing precariously on the ledge, slipped his own cable attachment from his belt with his right hand.
The riverbed walls were shaking harder now, and the oncoming sound increased from that of a distant tram to that of a roar.
"Tech, I need a target." Crosshair and Hunter said together.
Crosshair looked down. Hunter looked up.
"I have one," said Tech, who was studying his datapad again. "Hunter! A meter to your right and six from the edge."
The vibrating roar was still increasing in intensity.
Hunter threw his grappling hook again as Crosshair fired his cable. Both caught, and Hunter climbed rapidly hand over hand and swung himself over the edge in a matter of seconds. "Wrecker! Tech, show the others how to get up!"
Wrecker used Hunter's cable and climbed two-thirds up the wall. Crosshair leaned down, grabbed Tech's wrist, and hoisted him up. Tech braced one foot against Crosshair's knee before kicking off toward Wrecker, who easily boosted him the rest of the way to where Hunter was waiting.
Vythia was next, following easily in Tech's footsteps. She was surprisingly strong, lifting more of her weight than Tech had been able to, and swung over the edge without needing Hunter's help.
Quinlan had just grabbed Crosshair's hand when the entire wall jolted, and the Jedi nearly lost his grip. Still hanging in mid-air, he glanced at the cave entrance to the riverbed, and Crosshair followed his gaze. A grey sludge filled the mouth of the river for a short instant, blocking out the dull light, then rushed in.
"Right . . ." said Quinlan, for no apparent reason.
He jumped, catching the ledge Crosshair had been unable to reach, and snatched at Wrecker's cable with the other hand.
Crosshair and Wrecker climbed up after him, pulling themselves over the angled stone edge to the road that bordered the river. They got to their feet and backed away, waiting with the others as they watched.
A few interminable seconds later, the ponderously moving flow of ash and water surged past. Crosshair eyed it in surprise – he'd never seen water moving that slow. It swelled and rippled like water, but much more heavily. Even when it sloshed against the rock walls, it folded back in almost reluctantly.
The grey, pulsing water slammed into the opposite end of the tunnel and backwashed, sweeping back over itself and creating odd slurping sounds as the riverbank vibrated.
"We should get to higher ground," Tech observed.
"Let us return to the mansion," said Vythia. "It will be safe."
Crosshair cast a final look at the churning, rising mass of thick grey mud. "You sure about that?"
"Yeah," said Hunter dubiously. "Why don't we just get to the ships and get out?"
"I am not entirely sure yet that there is not an artifact to discover in the labyrinth itself."
The Jedi glanced up, and Crosshair raised an eyebrow at the look on his face. It was startled, almost frightened, and yet he seemed preoccupied. Crosshair narrowed his eyes and followed Quinlan's gaze to the satchel Vythia carried at her side. Vos was going to give himself away if he didn't focus.
Crosshair stepped forward. "We already searched the labyrinth."
"But Quinlan did not locate the artifact there," she replied.
"I did find the artifact," the Jedi interrupted. "Lothal's mask – that's what I felt from the labyrinth."
"Nevertheless," she said, following Wrecker along the street towards the mansion. "I would like to at least see if you believe you can feel anything else in the labyrinth now that the mask's presence is not overpowering it."
The Jedi, who was walking between Hunter and Crosshair, huffed and muttered, so low that only they could hear him, "Yeah, except I can still feel that thing."
A minute later, they reached the mansion. Wrecker opened the door and gestured the others in. "Hey, Vythia, how long do you think it'll take us?"
"Perhaps an hour or so," she said questioningly, resting a hand on the black satchel. "Why?"
"Because, uh –" Wrecker waved a hand toward the river. "That thing's just gonna keep on rising, isn't it?"
"I suspect not," she replied. "It has been four thousand years since the Scourge, and yet the rooms show no evidence of having ever been flooded. It would be extremely unlikely for the entire town to flood more than usual during the one day we are here."
Hunter glanced at Tech, who nodded in confirmation.
". . . Okay," Hunter agreed. "Still, I want the Marauder moved."
"Yes. I will move the Phoenix, as well."
Hunter nodded. "Tech?"
Tech was frowning at his datapad. "We can land outside the cave system, a few hundred meters to the east or the west of the riverbank. . . Or we could simply move them as far from the river as possible, given that the storm outside the cave is more likely to be a problem than a little water, should it reach the shuttles."
"Right. Then move the Marauder to the east end of the cave. Wrecker, go with him."
"Sure thing, boss."
Wrecker, Vythia, and Tech left.
Crosshair waited a few seconds after the door had shut, then folded his arms and turned to face the Jedi. "What's the problem?"
". . . What?"
"What's with the mask?"
The Kiffar gazed blankly at him, then shook his head once. "Uh, Crosshair, the mask is a dark side artifact."
"Yeah. Got that." Crosshair removed his helmet, tucked it under one arm, and put a toothpick in his mouth. "What's your problem with it?"
"It's a dark side . . . artifact?" Quinlan rubbed his forehead. "Which . . . I always hate? Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
Hunter tilted an interested eyebrow. "Isn't your shielding supposed to keep you from being affected by the mask, though? You said shielding keeps the dark from – entering your mind?"
Quinlan's eyes cleared with understanding. "Oh. Right. Yeah . . . That's the general idea, but my shields are getting weaker. It's not easy to block the presence of dark objects anymore."
"Yeah, and it's obvious," Crosshair informed him. "I'm surprised Vythia hasn't noticed."
Hunter stepped forward before the Jedi could retort. "Why are they getting weaker?"
"Because they're under constant attack." Quinlan tilted his head towards the door leading into the main room. "This whole planet is full of dark energy, and places like Lothal and Adas Academy – and wherever it is Vythia wants to bring us next – they're even more strongly steeped in the dark side."
"That sounds like it's gonna be a problem." Hunter spoke neutrally, but his eyes were narrowed.
From outside came the sound of two ship engines starting.
The Jedi took a deep breath, then let it out, wilting a bit. "It is a problem," he muttered. "If she doesn't leave that mask on her ship, it's going to be even more of a problem."
"Hm," said Hunter. "So, your shields work like normal energy shields in that the more they're under attack, the more they're weakened?"
"Yeah. Think of the whole planet like a – like a power drain on a shield, right? And the artifacts end up being like constant, direct attacks. There's a reason those things were kept shielded even by the Sith."
Hunter nodded slowly. "Okay. Anything you do about it?"
"Normally, I'd meditate. But that's really not going to work here. I need to reach the Force in order to meditate, and to do that I have to lower my shields."
Crosshair tilted his head. Jedi sure had weird problems.
The two shuttles landed, clearly audible in the silent town as Vos continued to stare thoughtfully at the ground.
A minute later, he straightened. "Leaving Malachor as fast as possible is our best bet. And I guess that means finding artifacts as fast as possible."
Crosshair took the toothpick out of his mouth. "What about the one Vythia thinks is still here?"
Quinlan knelt down, rested his hands on his knees, and bowed his head. Hunter eyed him uncertainly, then turned suddenly to face the door – the others must be coming back.
"I . . . don't feel anything," the Jedi said, and got up again. "Vythia's coming back, but she doesn't have the mask. Well – that's one thing in our favor. Of course, she's not gonna believe that there isn't another artifact unless I tell her I searched through the Force instead of with psychometry."
"So we'll still have to enter the labyrinth," concluded Hunter. He glanced briefly at Crosshair, who frowned at him.
The door opened, and Wrecker said, "Okay, Hunter, the Marauder's moved and locked up."
"Good. Tech, what's the river looking like?"
Tech looked up from his datapad. "It is continuing to rise, though at a far less advanced rate than I had initially feared. The storm, however, is worsening. I am concerned that if we do not leave soon, we will not be able to leave at all."
"Why not?" Vythia asked, looking mildly surprised.
"Well. We will not be able to leave until the storm has passed," Tech amended, and paused to push his goggles back up to the bridge of his nose. "It is causing a significant downdraft, and even if we did manage to get out of the cave, flying in these conditions would be highly inadvisable."
Quinlan checked his chronometer, looked up and opened his mouth, hesitated, then shut it again.
Crosshair cast a brief look at his own chrono. It was just past fifteen hundred hours, which meant that it wouldn't be all that long before nightfall . . . something that seemed to worry the Jedi. Crosshair had begun to think that if it worried Vos, it might be worth exercising caution over. "We might have to stay the night if we don't leave now," he said.
Vythia glanced at him. "Well, what of it?" she asked with a faint smile. "If staying in this building concerns you, you can always move to your shuttle. Or is it staying in the city itself?"
Crosshair replaced his toothpick. "Just making an observation," he said.
"Mm-hmm."
"The initial plan was to return to the shuttles after searching the basement," Tech pointed out, not looking up from his datapad.
Vythia nodded her agreement and headed towards the main room. "Yes. We could rest for a bit before searching the labyrinth."
"I still don't know why we need to search it again," said Quinlan, following her. "The mask was what I felt – why are you so sure there's another artifact down there?"
She shrugged once, eloquently.
Crosshair eyed her retreating figure with suspicion. She had been fairly open so far about answering the team's questions. Why was she avoiding this one? Or did she not want to admit that she only hoped there was another artifact down there, and had no reason to suspect that it was actually the case?
Hunter dropped back a bit and glanced at his squad mates. "I think we should try to beat the storm and get out."
"I disagree," said Tech, then raised a finger to halt Hunter's raised eyebrow. "But only because I believe it is already too late for that."
Hunter let out a huff. "Okay. Then let's rest later. I'd rather get started so Vythia doesn't decide to search the labyrinth in the middle of the night."
"Good idea," Wrecker whispered, stepping around the lady Zabrak. "Vos wouldn't want to do that."
Crosshair paused to eye the statue of the female Zabrak and wondered if she had been Lothal's wife. The markings on the cloaks seemed to match. Tech noticed that he was observing the runes and paused next to him.
"Why do you say that, Wrecker?" asked Hunter.
"Well, he was worried about getting out of the academy before the sun went down."
"Because of the stormbeasts," Tech interjected quickly.
"No . . . I don't think so."
I don't think so either, Crosshair thought, though in any other situation he'd have passed off Quinlan's dislike of the night as a ridiculous superstition. What was it about this place, anyway? Everything seemed all . . . wrong.
He halted at the back of the group and cast a look back at the empty doorway that led back to the entry room. It was still open. Good.
It was nearly four hours later that the group climbed wearily back up the long stairways and to the top floor. The storm was still raging, worse than the previous night, though for some reason there was very little lightning. Hunter was just as glad about that, because the constant pricks of alertness were just . . . tiring.
The Jedi was not looking as though he were really paying attention to his surroundings. He'd been quiet during the fruitless search in the labyrinth, answering Vythia's questions in brief sentences and not engaging in the half-hearted conversations the others had begun.
"This seems as good a place as any," Tech said.
Hunter looked up. They were at the doorway of one of the unfurnished rooms he and Wrecker had searched earlier in the day.
There was no question of returning to the shuttles. Hunter would have preferred to, though he didn't exactly have a real objection to staying in the mansion; but the team had agreed it was probably better to stay here, where they could keep an eye on Vythia. Even Vos hadn't disagreed, though he seemed far more nervous about staying in the mansion than the others did.
Vythia stepped across the hall to a second room. "We might stay here only a few hours," she said. "I would like to head to our next destination as soon as the storm clears."
"Works for us," said Hunter promptly. "Tech's going to keep an eye on the weather conditions."
"Very well." She entered the room, but Quinlan raised a hand before she could close the door.
"Vythia, what is our next destination?"
"Trayus Academy." She smiled distantly.
Quinlan stayed where he was, hand half-raised. "Trayus Academy? Is it anything like Adas Academy?"
"Who can say?" She closed the door.
Everyone collectively relaxed, and Hunter looked up at the realization. That was a bit odd . . . "She making you nervous?" he asked quietly.
Crosshair and Tech looked at each other in confusion. They didn't seem to have noticed their own reactions.
Wrecker shrugged. "I dunno. A little, kind of."
"Yeah, she's making me nervous," said Quinlan. "Since the beginning. Something's wrong."
"The whole planet's wrong," said Crosshair coolly. He seated himself against the wall and crossed one leg over the other.
"Yeah." The Jedi shot him an unamused look. "I meant . . . besides that. And now we're headed to Trayus Academy. Kriff it all."
He sat down, resting both hands on his knees. Hunter almost asked him about the academy, but decided to wait when Quinlan shut his eyes.
There were a few minutes of relative silence while everyone tried to get into a comfortable position. Hunter lay flat and clasped his hands behind his neck. Wrecker sat against the wall near the door, and Tech sat cross-legged next to Hunter and started typing.
Hunter watched him through half-closed eyes. Tech had been unusually twitchy for the past couple hours. Seeing the statue's eyes glow must have bothered him more than Hunter would have expected.
Opposite the door from Wrecker, Quinlan apparently gave up on trying to meditate, or whatever it was he was doing. Flopping onto his stomach, he rested his head in his arms and shut his eyes.
Tech continued working. The clicking and rattling of the keys didn't bother Hunter, but being ready for the next phase of the mission was important. Being ready usually involved some form of actual rest.
"Tech," he said.
Tech hummed inquisitively, not looking up from his screen.
"What are you working on?"
"Researching," said Tech. "More accurately, I am attempting to research. I cannot locate any new facts about the Sith or their artifacts."
Quinlan mumbled something.
"What?" Hunter asked.
The Jedi lifted his head so that he was no longer speaking into his sleeves, and repeated, "For good reason."
"Well, yes, but it would still be useful to know a bit more about – "
"Lower your voice," warned Quinlan. "Nautolans have excellent hearing."
"Her door's still shut," reported Wrecker.
" – what we will be dealing with in Trayus Academy," finished Tech.
The Jedi groaned and shut his eyes. "Don't remind me."
Tech blinked and went back to reading while Hunter thought over what he knew about Vythia. It ended up being almost nothing.
"Hey," said Wrecker thoughtfully. "I wonder why Vythia left."
Crosshair let out an impatient sigh. "Maybe she wanted to get some actual sleep."
"Aw, come on." Wrecker cracked his elbows. "It's not that late."
"And I am asleep," added the Jedi defensively.
The others glanced at him.
"You are not sleeping," Tech said, finding it necessary to reply for some reason.
Hunter realized he'd better intervene. He tapped Tech's knee with one hand. "Tech, time to get some rest. We might be headed out shortly. And that goes for the rest of you, too. Go to sleep. That's an order."
"Sir, yes sir," mumbled Crosshair. Hunter didn't have anything handy to throw at him, so he only huffed and shut his eyes.
"Right away, sir," added Quinlan, and Wrecker chuckled.
Hunter pretended he hadn't heard either of them.
