Thank you all for the reviews. A question was asked about Anakin beind alive or dead, but I don't want to give anything away. You'll just have to wait and see...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or anything Star Wars related.

PART SIX

New Discoveries

Padme felt as if she was going to faint. Surely she must have misheard her friend. Surely they had not found the tomb of the infamous Black Knight. Frozen in place, she merely stood and stared at the casket in astonishment. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever expected to be the one to make such a discovery. In fact, she had never expected anyone to make such a discovery. She thought that the Black Knight would forever be a myth, nothing more. But if the burial chamber truly did hold the remains of the ancient Sith Lord, she finally had the concrete evidence she needed to prove that he had existed. It was a lot for her to wrap her mind around.

"There's a warning," Sabe's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"What?" she asked, trying to focus. "What warning?"

"It says not to open the coffin," Sabe explained. " It mentions an eternal slumber and something about the Black Knight rising again. It's a little hard to read."

"Well, I'm not going to let an old fable deter me," Padme replied. "He's dead, Sabe, he can't do anything now. It's just meant to scare off explorers." Then, turning to the worker droids, she waved them over to the sarcophagus. "Open it up."

"Are you sure about this?" Sabe questioned.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Padme assured her nervous friend. "Don't worry."

Moving aside, they allowed the droids to begin their task. In a matter of minutes they were tugging on the coffins lid; slowly and scrupulously pulling it away from its grimy casing. Even with the greatest of care, fragments of stone crumbled and smut filled the air as the covering was delicately placed on the ground. Padme slowly moved forward to look inside when Sabe clasped her arm.

"Be careful," she warned.

Padme only nodded in response and continued her accession. Her heart was beating so fiercely that she could hear it in her ears, and she found herself unable to release the breath that she had been unconsciously holding in. Stepping forward to get a better look, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next. Resting within the coffin was a sight that would have stolen her breath away had it not been taken already. A suit of black armor lay with its arms crossed across its chest. Beneath its arms was what appeared to be some type of computerized control panel…but what captured her attention the most was its face. Shielded by a mask and dome-shaped helmet, its ominous eyes seemed to bore into her very soul, frightening her beyond words. Without even thinking, she took a fearful step back.

"What is it?" Sabe asked.

"It…it's him," Padme whispered through her terror. "It's really him."

Building up her own courage, Sabe moved forward to join her friend and take a glimpse for herself. Her jaw dropped in stunned silence when she laid eyes on the suit of armor.

"Look at this," Padme said as she shakily reached into the coffin. Pulling out a long, metallic device, she held it up for the others to see. "His lightsaber."

"Imagine all the Jedi he killed with that," Sabe muttered. "It's enough to make a person sick."

"There's something else," Padme pointed out, craning her neck to get a better view. Handing the Sith's weapon to Sabe, she reached into the casket a second time and retrieved a small stone box. Unfortunately, it was locked. "I can't get it open."

"We'll take it back with us," Sabe replied.

Padme only nodded her head in agreement as she continued to stare at the masks haunting eyes. She couldn't explain why it struck fear into her heart, but it most definitely did. There was something about it that made her extremely uneasy. Perhaps it was because of the legend; perhaps it was designed to evoke such a reaction. If that were so, it certainly did its job well.

Tearing her gaze away from the suit of armor, Padme returned her attention to the box she held in her hands. That was when she noticed an odd marking on its side. "Sabe, what's this?"

"Let me see," Sabe said as she took the box for inspection. "I'm not sure. It isn't in any language I'm familiar with."

"Strange," Padme murmured to herself.

"Maybe you can check the archives for that too," Sabe suggested.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Padme's mouth. "And I know exactly where to look…"