When Rey awoke she noted for the first time how much better she felt. She pushed away the lingering emotions from the night before and ignored her stiff muscles as she made her way back to the main hold. Jarda sat alone at the computer, looking up as Rey entered. "I think I've got it figured out." She pressed a few buttons and a holo of schematics populated in front of them. "This is my best guess for the room. Whoever initially mapped this place marked it as secured storage and I doubt that any Sith would be interested in moving anything around." she pointed to a highlighted room at the base of the pyramid shaped building.
"The entrance is here" she points to the side. "But I'm guessing this isn't the only way in. These old fortresses are known for secret passages. If we search the perimeter I'd bet we'd be able to find a back door." Rey nodded and turned the map. Of course the room they need to get into is the farthest from either entrance, deep within the structure. Even if they managed to sneak past most of the guards, there was almost no chance at getting in and out undetected.
They sat in silence for a bit, thinking through the routes. Rey noticed Jarda's lingering gaze and turned to her, raising a questioning brow. Jarda pursed her lips for a moment, and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes dropped back to the holo. "I could sense your distress last night." she says in a quiet voice.
Rey froze. Kriff. How many times is she going to forget to keep her wall up? She paused for a moment, doubting she could have kept it up in that moment anyway. "I knew after the tomb I was wrong about you, but since then I keep realizing just how wrong. You mentioned that you didn't kill the Supreme Leaders.." she trailed off but Rey could sense the hidden question. "No." she sighed quietly. She could probably recount most of her and Ben's story without giving away any of the details for what she was about to do.
"I knew him once." Jarda started. She fiddled with the controls absentmindedly. Rey wasn't sure exactly who she was talking about, Snoke? Kylo? Surely she would have worked with both of them if she was becoming a Knight of Ren. Rey sat silently, waiting. "I left with him that night. He told me what Luke did and I.. I was so fed up with all the Jedi bullshit that I followed him when he went to the First Order." she said slowly, not looking up.
Rey's attention had immediately caught. "You were a part of Luke's school?" she questioned. Jarda sighed. "I was on the verge of getting kicked out myself. I guess that's why it was so easy to watch it burn. I was so angry." Her eyes seemed to darken at the memory. "I felt the way about the Force that you do. No Light, no Dark, only the Force. But Luke would never hear of it. There was only the Light, anything else would be corrupted." she grimaced and pushed her chair back to cross her arms.
"Ben and I were friends. He took me with him when he left, and for a while I was happy. But he turned into someone else." she sighed. They both knew. "He went off to become Kylo Ren. Tried to have me become a Knight too.. But initiation required me to kill someone close to me, and I couldn't do that. So we ran, and never looked back." she finished, her eyes lost in a memory.
"What about Theo and Doj?" Rey asked and watched Jarda's lips curve into a small smile at the mention of her companions.. "Doj was going to be my sacrifice. He's…. important to me." she bristled for a moment uncomfortably before looking back at Rey. "Theo is his brother. There was no way we were gonna leave that loudmouth by himself to get killed." she shook her head with an irritated smile.
"So now you know all my secrets." she sighed and leaned back in her chair to look up at the ceiling. Rey couldn't help the feeling of admiration for her. She wasn't too unlike herself. Even after everything, Rey was glad she hadn't gotten any Jedi training. Maybe what she had faced with Ben was just as the Force had wanted it.
Rey pressed her lips together in thought for a moment. "Ben sacrificed himself to save me." she said quietly and watched Jarda's startled face snap to hers. "We… we found out about a year and a half ago that we are a dyad. Are you familiar with it?" Jarda nodded slowly, eyes widening and brows knit together in disbelief. "We fought. A lot. But we would appear to each other, and our connection was so strong we could see into each other's minds with ease. I could see his hurt, his anger, and his pull to the Light. He is the one who killed Snoke. To save me. He wanted me to stay with him, but I couldn't." her voice strained at the memory.
Jarda gave her an encouraging nod. "We continued to fight. He followed me when I learned of Sidious, but we were both almost drained completely when he learned of our dyad and siphoned our life forces. I used everything I had.. And then some." she lingered, remembering the power of the Jedi that flowed through her to finally defeat Sidious. "But it killed me. Ben used the last of his life to heal me." she finished. Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks again but Rey held them at bay.
Jarda's eyes had grown wide. "You loved him." It wasn't a question. Rey nodded. "It's just hard sometimes, to be alone. To not be able to feel him." Her voice choked and she closed her eyes to try and steady herself. When she opened them, Jarda was fidgeting, her fingers absentmindedly brushing over her lips. "I'd never believe it if I didn't feel how strongly it affects you. I'd always hoped one day he'd change but after everything I saw.. I just.." she trailed off shaking her head.
Rey suddenly felt very exposed. She hadn't shared any of this information with anyone else before. There hadn't been anyone to talk to. She quickly dried her tears and took another deep breath. "What do you say we finalize this plan and get ready." She steered the conversation away. Jarda flashed her a sympathetic look and sat back up.
"What can you tell me about this Sith organization?" Rey thought back to Jarda's admission yesterday. "You mentioned you've worked with them for a while, if they know we survived are they going to come after you?" Jarda's brows lowered in thought. "That's the tricky part. I've only really had one contact all this time. His name was Xen, though I doubt that was even his real name. He was the one that contacted us first after we had started to make a name as hunters." She paused at the memory.
"He's only contacted me a few times. He's only shared a little information about the organization. Everything was need to know in order to preserve the secrecy of it." She looked over at Rey sheepishly "We were so desperate to try and be a part of something greater than the Order that we never even questioned it. Stupid."
Rey listened carefully as Jarda spoke. She never sensed any deceit, mostly just regret and embarrassment. "I understand. I'm just glad we were able to make it out and that you three have the chance at a new life." She reached out to give Jarda's arm a small squeeze. "But this is worse than I thought. We have no idea what could be waiting for us inside there." She looked to Jarda's screen and saw the blue tinged map. "How did you get that?" She nodded to it. "It's outdated. One of the few scans that had been taken when the planet was abandoned, however long ago that was. But the temple has been here for centuries, so there's a good chance the layout is still the same."
Two hours later, they had worked out a plan and memorized the map as best they could. Jarda had moved the ship away from the tomb while Rey was unconscious so they remained on the planet undetected. "I've landed us just outside where I believe their monitoring range should reach. It's going to be quite the walk for us to get there. Theo and Doj will be ready and waiting. We should be good to go from here." She worked on putting her armor on. Rey, beside her, had changed into a dark tunic that covered her well. Not from blaster fire, but it would do well to keep her hidden in the shadows.
They had decided to leave the men here, so they could come swoop in later to pick them up if needed. That, and Jarda had made a good point that the two non Force-sensitives would be better off staying out of the way, to which they heartily agreed.
"Ready?" Rey called. Jarda nodded once her helmet was in place. They headed down the Falcon's ramp and into the forest mist once more. Rey didn't have Jarda's advantage of night vision in the dark. She reached out with the Force in front of her to see instead and they began their trek.
Thirty minutes later Rey could feel the Darkness seeping from the fortress before she could see it. They made their way towards it. There was no light coming from anywhere around them. Rey could see pockets of red torches from the windows high above. They stood at the base of the pyramid shaped fortress for a moment trying to sense if there was a hidden passage anywhere near them. Jarda motioned for them to begin to walk the perimeter.
The walls were thick, and Rey began to lose hope as they made their way around. She placed her hand on the cool stone and closed her eyes. Finally she sensed the hollow passage hidden behind the thick wall. "Here." she whispered, leading them a few feet to the side. Jarda nodded and they pulled the stone towards them, making room for a small opening into a passage. Rey tentatively stepped in first. The passage was narrow. She could feel her shoulders brushing against the walls. They had gone about twenty feet before Rey sensed another stone. She pushed, as slowly and quietly as she could, the stone rumbled and moved forward into a dark hall. They stepped silently inside and placed the stone back.
"I think I know where we are." Jarda whispered. Rey couldn't seem to make sense of it yet and gestured for the other woman to lead the way. They walked silently through the long halls. They could see signs of dim lights here and there but nothing and no one in sight. Snaking their way through the temple, Rey could sense the darkness growing closer. The halls were decorated with the same black obsidian from the tomb. Sculptures of various Sith lords dotted the halls here and there. Doorways appeared every so often, but were all closed. Lightly lit by the seemingly ever burning torches outside of each of them.
Something was off, that much Rey knew for sure. They hadn't come across a single thing, droid or living. She looked to Jarda for a moment, wondering if she had been right to place so much trust in her so soon. There was no telling if she was being led into another trap. Stupid. She berated herself silently. "Just up ahead to the right." Jarda whispered.
They made their way in front of the door. Rey waved her hand and it hissed open. Rey sensed the darkness pour from the room like thick smoke. The doors hissed again behind them. "You want to tell me what we're looking for now?" Jarda asked, causing Rey to hesitate for a small moment, scanning the room around her. "A stone." she says, feeling her chest tighten. Then suddenly, as though she can sense it clearly for the first time, separate from the darkness she had felt coming from the room. Something was coming.
Jarda had obviously sensed it too. They shared a quick look before beginning to run around the room, almost frantic. Velvet boxes line the walls each one filled with its own artifacts. Jewelry, books, sabers. Some magnificent staffs and sabers are hung on the wall. Rey sensed traces of each artifacts master on them, whispers of the past. She felt the intent crafted in each one. The whispers were intoxicating, calling Rey to claim them as their new master.
"Rey, is this it?" Jarda calls, snapping Rey's attention back. She rushed to the opposite side where Jarda held a purple crystal. The pull in her stomach lurched. "That's it.." she moved silently to grab it. Her hands shook in front of her as she reached out and took the cool stone in her hand. There wouldn't be time to figure out what she needed to do to bring Ben back here, she'd have to bring it back to the ship.
Her thoughts were interrupted when sirens began to echo throughout the chamber. "They're coming. It's a trap!" Jarda yelled as the room rumbled around. Footsteps clamored in the hall. "Welcome, honored guests." A gravelly male voice called to them over the intercom. "Surely you did not think we were oblivious to your attempt at theft? Congratulations on making it this far, we have not had someone try to break in here for hundreds of years. Perhaps we were overconfident." The voice boomed, malice seeping through it.
"I am afraid we've all enjoyed our fun for too long. I must thank you for the entertainment." The voice finished and the room went silent. Suddenly, the dark walls were alight with the same wording Rey had seen in the tomb. They're trying to trap us again. The whispering began and Jarda pulled her mask off.
"You can do this again, can't you?" her eyes wide with fear. Rey dropped her gaze to the floor and shook her head. "I don't even know how I did it the last time, and I don't know how much power I can take. I've hardly recovered..." Rey called back desperately. "Jarda, I know what I have to do, I just don't know if I have the strength to do it." she gives her head another abrupt shake before stretching her hand out. "Will you help me?"
Jarda paused for a moment, locking her gaze with Rey before she tentatively reached her hand to grasp Rey's. "Clear your mind, like meditating, open yourself to the Force and let it in. No Light, no Dark. Only the Force." Rey said quietly as they stepped towards the wall. She could feel Jarda shrink back beside her for a moment as the whispering intensified again. Rey gave her a reassuring nod, this was the only way.
They placed their hands on the words. This time, Rey felt the tainted power of the Force more clearly as it drew into them. It seared her skin like a flame and weighed her down, her knees threatening to stone in Rey's free hand began to glow as power from the wall began to be pulled into it. "No!" Rey thought when she noticed, but it was too late.
It was over in a second and Rey felt Jarda's hand tremble. She looked over in amazement, she had felt drained and renewed at the same time, and altogether overwhelmed. Jarda was unable to speak, and looked like she was ready to pass out. Rey reached over gently to steady her, but the look in her eyes told her she wasn't getting out of here consciously. Rey looked back to the stone, which had stopped glowing and returned back to the cool purple color from before.
The alarm had stopped, much to Rey's surprise. She turned for a moment to check the door, which somehow had remained shut, to the avail of whatever was on the other side pounding angrily. Rey hardly had time to process, Jarda's body had gone limp in her arms, while angry Sith yelled, ready to break in at any moment.
Rey trembled and tried to process what was happening. There was no way she could carry Jarda, the stone, and fight her way out of here. Her senses were still overwhelmed with the Force Purge, as if thousands of memories had passed through her. She took a breath to try and free her mind before she realized whose thoughts and feelings had been in her mind. Her head whipped around and her blue eyes met brown; The familiar spark of their bond coming fully alive.