The ship brought Mara and her droid, T.R-07, quickly to their destination through space. The Planet Tanqua was many shades of blue as different sections of the ocean collided with one another. The waves were powerful all over except around the landmasses. The three sets of land were no bigger than small continents, making up only thirty percent of the total mass for the planet. A few small moons were in orbit.
"There," Mara pointed at the planet through the cockpits window, "That continent is where we're going."
"What of the other two?" T.R-07 asked as he circled the planet.
"My comrades are heading there. I've been assigned to this one. Take us down to the structure on the landmass. There should only be one."
"Roger that, Ms. Dane!"
The ship smoothly descended onto the planet, bringing up its shields as it entered the atmosphere. The sky changed from showing the endless space to a beautiful sea-green. Mara was surprised the ship took the reentry so well; she wasn't used to flying in a ship that moved so smoothly. It made her wonder why all the Empire's ships weren't built the same way.
The ship flew over the endless ocean and kept its distance from the waves that crashed violently into one another. The conditions of the planet were too extreme to support much life beyond anything aquatic. It still amazed her that the waves were calmer around the landmasses but nowhere else. She'd see the occasional aquatic creature pop up from the ocean, but thankfully they held no grudge to the metal beast flying above them.
T.R-07 lowered the ship closer to the surface as they found themselves over the landmass. The land was green with life yet there were few if any trees in the area. At least there was enough life to produce oxygen for her; wearing oxygen suits always annoyed her as they were far too clunky.
"There it is," Mara pointed out, referring to the large complex coming up before them.
The ship slowed down so they could get a better look at the temple. Despite how old she thought it was supposed to be, it looked brand new. There were several towers all connected to a central building, with statues scattered all over the outside. It was made mostly from stone, but it seemed brand new. It should have looked at least a little broken down, but it wasn't; it looked like it was built only a short time ago.
Mars knew her colleagues were likely encountering similar structures where they were, and were probably just as confused.
The Arrowhead settled down in a landing zone just within the perimeter of the temple, as though the space was meant for a ship. Mara stepped out holding a hand gently over her saber that rested on her hip and examined the area. She hoped a closer look of the statues around the temple would give her an idea of whether it was Jedi or Sith built, but it was still impossible to tell. There was a lot of open space in the front of the temple. It reminded her of the open training spaces of the Sith temples, though the Jedi used similar designs.
It was really impossible to tell which side made this place.
"Shall I accompany you?" T.R-07 asked as he stood at the top of the ships ramp.
"No. Stay and watch the ship until I get back," She commanded without turning around to look at him.
She kept her senses on high alert as she moved forward through the temple yard. She could feel that the Force was strong here—very strong. Is this why the waters were calmer near here? They had been positioned around this planet long enough that they should have felt something this strong; how did they miss it until now?
She crossed the yard and climbed the steps to the front doors which were at least five times her height. There were two doors before her, identical in design except for a set of symbols she didn't understand. She was told to memorize many different languages as part of her Inquisitor training, yet this was one language she had never seen before. Why did the temple look new if it was that old?
Both doors had a circle drawn at head-level, with a set of runes surrounding it. She tried using the Force to push the doors open, but they wouldn't budge for her no matter how hard she pushed. There were no other entrances that she could see, at least from here. Carefully, she approached the door to the left and examined its structure. It was strong but looked as though it should move easily, further puzzling her as to why it hadn't when she tried.
She ran her hand over the runes of a circle drawn in a circle at eye-level. The center held a series of symbols she found rather intriguing; It was a diamond shape with lines sticking out the top and bottom, with a third line cutting straight through diagonally. Her palm pressed against the symbols in the center, as she thought using the force would give her better insight into what it was.
She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her palm, like something sharp had stabbed her skin. When she pulled away, her palm was hot and stinging, and the runes on the door glowed red.
The palm of her hand was altered; The same runes that presented themselves on the door now rested on her skin much like a tattoo. They blended so perfectly with her skin that you'd almost confused them for a birthmark. The marks felt warm and almost seemed to vibrate for a moment.
The door in front of her opened up like a sliding closet, splitting open from the middle. She felt a warm and welcoming gust of wind, almost like a whisper to her ear asking to come in. Her curiosity got the best of her whether it was sheer interest or desire to complete the mission, and she went inside.
The doors shut behind her and locked again, leaving her with whatever was inside.
…
Avlis's small Fighter ship zoomed out of light speed and came to an abrupt stop. His head nearly hit the window of the cockpit from the whiplash as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking out to see the planet down below. It was mostly water with only three large enough landmasses to be considered continents. His master had to be here; he had left so long before him and hadn't come back yet. Avlis attempted to communicate through the ships radio and reach master Bando, but only picked up on a few Imperial channels instead of the encrypted channels the Jedi Order uses.
Then, he saw it; An Empire ship casted its shadow over his small fighter ship like a boot above an ant. The Jedi used those ships during the war, but after Order 66, the ships ownership was stolen. What used to be a comforting sight was now the cause of his fear. As his master taught him, fear was the path to the Dark Side.
He moved quickly down to the planet to avoid detection.
Before Master Bando left, he had mentioned a signal coming from Tanqua. It didn't take much rewiring to follow that same signal. Of the three continents the signal came from, the strand he followed led him to the Tribus continent. The land was lively but there were few trees. At least there was enough to produce oxygen; he didn't have an oxygen suit handy.
It didn't take long before the signal led him to a temple he had never seen before. His ship settled down in a landing zone just within the perimeter of the temple, as though the space was meant for a ship. What worried him was that there was already a ship there; it was dark and shaped like an arrowhead. It wasn't like any of the imperial ships he had ever seen, nor did it look like the masters. Until he knew more, he had to treat it as a threat.
He stepped out of the cockpit and examined the area, keeping one hand on the hilt of his saber. The temple looked new, like it had only just been built, or at least kept in good condition. His senses were on high alert as he moved forward through the temple yard. He could feel that the Force was strong here—very strong. In fact, the closer he got to the temple, the stronger it seemed to get. Is this why Master Bando needed to come here? Is he here to Investigate this temple?
He crossed the temple yard and found a set of doors more than five times taller than him. They were decorated with runes he didn't recognize. His senses told him to investigate the door to the right, as that's where he felt the strongest energy from.
His hand gently caressed the door until he found a circle of runes at eye level. The center held a series of symbols she found rather intriguing; It was a diamond shape with lines sticking out the top and bottom, with a third line cutting straight through diagonally. His palm pressed against the runes in the very center, as he thought perhaps using the force would give him better insight into what it was.
Instead, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm, like something sharp had stabbed his skin. When he pulled away, his palm was hot and stinging, and the runes on the door glowed blue.
The palm of his hand was altered, as well. The same runes that presented themselves on the door now existed on his skin much like a tattoo. Tried as he did, he was unable to rub them off; they blended so perfectly with his skin that you'd almost confused them for a birthmark. The marks felt warm, and almost seemed to vibrate for a moment.
The doors opened wide and stole his attention away. The gust of wind that came from the inside was warm and welcoming, begging him to enter. It was like a voice was calling out for him; a siren he could no longer resist as he entered.
The doors shut behind him and locked tight.
…
Mara found herself trapped in a small room. There was another door forward, but it was locked tight with no way of opening it. She had already tried using the Force, and cutting through the door with her saber. Neither seemed to do anything., and it aggravated her.
The rooms walls were covered in symbols and images she didn't understand. This place seemed so ancient despite its prestige condition. None of that mattered to her, or rather it shouldn't. She had one goal and she needed to stick by it.
Echoing sounds of a door opening startled her, though it didn't come from within the room. The sound came from outside, possibly the second door she was unable to open before. Was someone else here? One of her colleges, perhaps? If they didn't find anything at their locations, perhaps one of them had quickly made their way here to assist her.
The door in front of her finally opened, letting all the light in to hit her skin. It wasn't terribly bright, but at least she was able to see now. Her impatience made her quickly move through the door to find whatever it was the Empire wanted.
She found herself in a massive chamber, like the multi-class training rooms the Empire used for Force training, except made from stone. There were statues and pillars against the walls, surrounding her on all sides. Now that she was inside, she felt something more powerful than she had ever felt before. It was strange because it wasn't just the Force, anymore. It was the darker, more powerful edge; the Dark Side. All the negative emotion and raw power could be felt in the ground beneath her feet. This had to be what Vader wanted; whatever was here was giving off so much powerful energy.
When she started looking around, her heart skipped in shock and terror when she saw who was standing far to her right, coming out from the other door beside her own. It was a boy dressed in white—the one from her visions.
Avlis spotted her and held the same expression as her as though looking in a mirror.
They stared at each other in disbelief. Their fingers trembled as they wondered who was going to make the first move. Was this another vision? Another trick from the Force? Even though they tried, they couldn't feel one another's energies despite being so close. Yet, a feeling in their guts told them this was real—this wasn't some vision of the past or future. This was right here, and right now.
And she wasn't very excited.
Mara was the first to draw her saber from her hilt and ignite it, speed walking toward his side of the room. Avlis backed up in terror and drew his own saber in defense. He tried to keep distance between them but she was moving too quickly and had already reached the center of the chamber. He knew he wasn't going to leave here without fighting her, no matter how afraid that he was.
She never did reach him, however.
Mara had been bounced back by an invisible entity when she reached the line that split the room in two. It wasn't solid, rather a tingle that shoved her back and attacked her skin like needles. Avlis felt himself calm down, still retaining his cautious posture.
He inched closer as Mara kept her saber up. He used his own saber to poke at the invisible wall between them. A grey energy emitted around where he pointed the laser sword and kept him from pushing it any farther. He concluded that it had to be a force field.
Still, he didn't feel confident enough to put his weapon away.
Setting the apparent barrier aside, the two were just a yard apart now. This had to be the reason the Force was connecting them up till now; it had to do with this place, in this moment. Mara didn't feel it, but Avlis's side of the room was rich with the power of the Force; calm, elegant and focused. Two energies on different sides of the room; two warriors from different sides of the war.
Neither of them said anything for the longest time—what were they meant to say? There was no easy way to greet the enemy without it being followed by a death threat. The training that was burned into their brains prohibited it. Yet, what else were they to do in this situation?
"Who are you?" Mara asked first, finally breaking the unbearable silence between them.
"I was gonna—You beat me to it," Avlis said, "What's the Empire doing here?"
"Why were you in my visions?" She pressed.
"Your visions? You assume I had something to do with that? Those visions were a two-way connection."
"So, you didn't cause it?"
"Did you?"
She shook her head, more to knock some sense into herself than anything else. This wasn't the time to fraternize with the enemy. There was no way of knowing if he was telling the truth, nor was there any real reason to trust him even if he was. "I don't know why I'm talking to you," She said, retracting her saber and clicking it back onto her hilt as she walked away from him, continuing to examine the area.
Finally feeling as though he was safe, Avlis put his saber away but kept his shoulders up. Each time he saw her, she seemed different. The first time was when they 'fought' in their shared vision. She was so full of rage and discomfort. The second time was when Vader showed up; she seemed so worried and fearful. Now, it was a mixture of the two into some sort of hybrid. She was angry, but also scared?
Which one caused the other, he wondered.
He examined the floor and found the line that divided them. It was a line of symbols that ran across the room, up the walls and across the ceiling. Some were red and others were blue, but they always alternated in a pattern; three red, two blue, two red, three blue. Nothing seemed to suggest any technology was responsible.
"I can't feel you," Avlis spoke aloud, "In the Force. It's like I can't feel anything past this force field," he put his hand gently to the field and felt it push back on him, "Can you sense me?"
"Stop talking," her tone was poisonous.
"Well, I don't see what else we can do, given the situation," he threw his hands in the air, "Do you?"
Mara wasn't listening to him; she was too focused on the door ahead. The entrance to this room had two doors, but the exit only had one, and it wasn't split in two like the others. This one looked as though it opened upwards rather than to the side.
A large sphere with symbols drawn in red hung from the ceiling. The sphere was attached to a chain that was kept aloft through a hole in the ceiling. What intrigued her was that there was an identical sphere hanging on Avlis's side of the room, only the symbols drawn on it were written in blue. They must have been part of a pulley system, which hopefully opened the door.
Rather than asking permission of her unwanted roommate, she used the dark side and reached out her hand to grab the sphere with telekinesis. She felt it in her grip and pulled down as hard as she could. The sphere shook and budged along with the movements of her hand, and she was able to pull it down a bit. Somehow, though, it seemed to get stuck on something. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't budge any further than it already had.
Mara shouted at it as though words would effective; Avlis suddenly felt less afraid of her.
When he looked up to see what she was doing, it didn't take him long to figure out what was missing. She knew it too; she just didn't want to admit it.
"You need my help," Avlis said.
He pointed to the sphere that rested on his side. It seemed to pull and budge whenever she tried moving the red sphere. Somehow, the two seemed to be connected to the same pulley system. She wanted to deny it, but in reality, there was only one explanation; the door wasn't opening unless both spheres were moved.
"I don't need your help," She scolded, "I'm strong enough on my own."
"I'm not saying you're not-"
Using her free hand, she tried using the dark side to reach out for the other sphere. Normally she'd instantly feel the grip of the object in her hand. Instead, there was a faint grey glow on the force field, positioned directly between the sphere and her hand. Her energy refused to extend past it no matter how hard she tried.
This was impossible, she thought. Even with a force field, her powers should still reach past it. The Force, the Dark Side; it exists everywhere. There should be nothing in the galaxy she couldn't reach, and this was in the same room.
"I think you need my help," Avlis deduced, "Whatever this field is, it's cutting off the Force from this side."
"I'm not using the Force."
"Force, Dark side, whatever. It's cutting us off from each other. It's like …the field is pure energy that not even our powers can surpass."
He was right, whether she liked it or not. She couldn't reach for the other sphere from this side of the room, and she already tried going through the doors every other way.
"Why do you want to help me?" She said, dropping her grip on the Dark Side, "You and I both know the moment we get the chance that we'll be at each other's throats."
"I don't see any other way out of here," He said, "We need to get out of this place as soon as possible!"
"…You mean you do," She deduced, stepping toward the barrier, "Why are you here, Jedi? Are you even a Jedi? You seem too young to have earned the title."
"I could say the same about you," He said stepping closer to where she was, "Are you an Inquisitor, yet?" He felt more confident in his words the more he came to grips with the fact that she couldn't hurt him.
"Big talk from a people who are supposed to be dead. You wouldn't be so confident if not for-"
"You're scared."
Avlis didn't say that out of malicious intent. It was curious, rather, as though something had just come to him. It wasn't words, or a vision for proof; it was a feeling with no description, coming from nowhere and arriving in his chest.
"It's strange," Avlis continued, "I can't feel your presence, but I can feel …your emotions. You're really scared, right now, because …you never thought you'd meet a Jedi."
Mara backed away slowly, and kept a hand on her saber hilt out of habit, "You don't know that."
"I think …I think I do. You aren't an Inquisitor yet; you aren't broken like the rest. There's still something intact."
"Quiet!"
Her anger pressed the Dark Side against the force field, causing tension in it for just a second. He could feel her rage, but it didn't feel like it came from her—the anger felt like it came from within himself. Even though her presence was masked, her emotions weren't.
Mara turned away with her arms crossed. Her burst of rage had released a memory she buried. Much like how Avlis was haunted by the memory of the purge, Mara had a nightmare that drove her into hiding, and he could feel it even from behind the barrier. She was the enemy, and he knew that, so why was he trying to help her? He came here to help his master, not an Inquisitor trainee.
"'Broken', you say," Mara mocked, "The Jedi were no saints, you know. You must have been too young to understand what they were really like. The things they did; the rules they followed."
"The Jedi protected people-"
"Protected?!" She finally turned around, dust rising around her feet, "They protected laws no one wanted to follow!"
"What does the Empire do?!"
"At least we're allowed to feel something!"
Her words stopped like a ship coming out of light speed as she felt something new in her chest. She could see it on his face as plainly as she could feel it coming from within her. It was fear, but not the traditional kind. It was a fear that came from trauma and pain, something she knew well. She didn't feel it coming from him, yet she knew there was nowhere else it could have originated.
"You're afraid, too," She said, "Of me. Of my saber and the colors I wear."
He looked away from her gaze but kept his body parallel. He did fear everything she represented; the very thought of it corrupted him in ways his master had forbid during training. Admitting fear to the enemy wasn't ideal, but he didn't know what else to do. Whether he liked it or not, he wasn't getting out of here without her.
"When we get out of here," Mara continued, "I'm going to kill you; you understand that, right?"
"Trust me, I know," He affirmed.
No further words were shared between them as they moved onward. Both Mara and Avlis reached out with their powers toward their respective spheres, grasping them with an invisible grip. They gently pulled down on them in unison.
Avlis noticed the different between their hand's positions; Mara used the Dark Side, so her fingers were curled and stiff, while his were more relaxed and straightened. He wondered how uncomfortable she must have felt using that power—what did it feel like?
When the spheres had been completely pulled down, something had locked them into place and forced their grips off. Gears turned from behind the walls and the door slowly opened for them, pulling upward into the ceiling. When it had been completely risen, the two warriors stared at one another. Neither wanted to go first in the fear the other would stab them in the back—literally.
Eventually, they opted to move together and remain parallel as they exited the room.
…
On another continent of the planet, Avlis's master, Bando, had arrived some time ago to investigate one of the temples. Much like the others, this temple was made from older material despite looking new. He had parked his ship a small distance away from the temple in case he was to expect trouble; leaving his ship out in the open wouldn't be good for his escape.
The strength of the Force on this planet was so strong that it was almost impossible to sense anything but the planet itself. Relying on his senses to protect him may not work for this mission. He honestly didn't know what he was supposed to be expecting here. All he knew of this world was its strength in the Force; that strength had to come from somewhere.
The doors he stood in front of were massive, yet, it only took a single push of the Force for those doors to open wide for him. It was one large room with no lights except for what was let in through the entrance. Unlike outside, the Force was far more focused in this room. There were no other doors, so this was the only room for this building.
There was a meditation circle in the center, with pillars of varies heights surrounding it in a diamond shape. The symbols written on the walls were a language even he didn't know. He had been taught many of the primary languages as a padawan, yet none of them matched these inscriptions. Whatever this place was, despite its fresh-looking state, was ancient.
Bando was caught by surprise when the ignition of a saber sounded off behind him. He turned around with his own ignited saber and attacked without thinking. A red saber collided with his own; it belonged to a young boy dressed in black, known to his friends as Garm—one of the three trainees sent to this planet. Despite his age, Bando could only assume it was an Inquisitor.
"So, the Empire is here," Bando confirmed, "What's your name, boy?"
Garm remained on the offensive and pushed back on Bando, striking him from every conceivable angle. Bando blocked each attempted strike with ease, finding the boys skill to be impressive, but lackluster.
Bando finally turned offensive and with one push, Garm was sent to the ground by the Force. Garm rolled into a recovery just in time to block the next incoming attack. Instead of holding that position, however, Bando turned his black sideways and struck horizontally.
The strike sliced straight through Garms wrists and cut off both his hands. He screamed in agony as he fell to his knees. The smell of burning flesh nearly made him sick, watching as the heat of the blade had sealed off the wounds. He looked to his severed hands in horror, mentally trying to move his fingers but getting nothing in response.
"Time to stand down, boy," Bando pointed his lightsaber at him, "Tell me everything you know."
Despite the condition of his hands, Garm stood up and fought the pain by biting his lip. The rage in his eyes told Bando he wasn't done fighting just yet.
"Stand down, boy," Bando commanded, "That's your final warning."
Garm didn't listen to him. All his training told him to never stop fighting; surrender was not an option under any circumstances. If you couldn't fight, then you had to die.
Garm charged for Bando in fury. Regretfully, Bando backed up just enough to wind his attack and strike straight forward. His lightsaber pierced Garms body and burned through to the other side. There was little blood as the wound already sealed itself through the heat, but the blade had pierced several of his vital organs, including his lungs.
As Bando retracted the saber, he gently helped the boy to the ground and watched as the life fled his eyes. Bando felt remorse, but not enough for even a single tear. True, he was only a child fighting under the Empires control, but he was still a part of the Empire. The only way to survive them is to not take any chances. He told the boy to stand down; his death is his own fault.
The symbols on the walls around Bando began to suddenly glow red. Their energy reacted with one another as the door of the temple had shut tight on him. The only light he could see now was the red glow of the symbols. Their energy flowed in a circle around the room, as though light had been wounded and bled.
That was the last thing Bando saw before everything went black.