"Dolan, don't do this. You know how expensive breaches of contract can be." Kell stood in front of the crates, arms crossed.
Dolan's hand tightened on the wood box had held at his side. "You don't understand. Kell, if this-"
Kell stabbed a finger towards Dolan. "No, you don't understand. We can't just go opening crates that belong to the Republic, especially to the Jedi, just because we get bad feelings about them."
That brought Dolan up short halfway between the stairs and Kell. "Jedi? You never mentioned Jedi before."
"Three of them delivered the crates. I ran the credentials twice."
Dolan swore. "You should have told me. I'd've stayed on Kodai."
Kell dropped his guard some, rocking back on his heels. "Dolan..."
Out of nowhere a voice spoke quietly in Dolan's mind. "He denies you what you want. Destroy him."
His eyes widened at the voice. It was completely alien and yet very familiar. "No, I won't."
"Are you simply going to let him deny you the knowledge that is rightfully yours? Those crates contain the answers to the questions you've been asking yourself all these years. Are you really going to just let him stop you?"
"No. But... I won't hurt him." As Dolan answered the voice, Kell said something, but Dolan wasn't paying any attention to him.
"Make him stand aside then. You have the power."
"Kell, please, get out of my way. I don't want to do anything I'll regret, but I have to see what's in those crates."
"Fine. Alright. I don't know what's gotten into you, but fine, take a look. But if the Republic doesn't like you messing with its cargo, I'm not taking any of the rap. This one's all yours."
"Okay. Help me get them unlocked and opened." The voice in Dolan's head scoffed indignantly but otherwise remained silent.
It took several minutes to unlock the crate's side and open it. Once it was open, the two looked in to see half a dozen clear blocks suspended in an internal repulsor field. Each of the blocks contained a pyramidal crystal and metal sculpture that glowed faintly with an internal light.
"Holocrons." The single word Kell spoke said volumes. "No wonder they wanted to keep this quiet. Sith artifacts are prime targets for pirates." He turned to Dolan. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you earlier."
"It's fine. I didn't want to believe it was true myself. It's not in here. Let's check the others."
The next crate was exactly like the first: half a dozen holocrons embedded in clear blocks and suspended in a repulsor field. The third, however, was different. Two holocrons were suspended inside this one, and in addition to them were a number of other artifacts: a skull mask in a block, a metal case marked "clothing," another marked "parts (lightsaber?)," a third marked "miscellaneous," and one last item. It was encased in a clear block as well, and when Dolan saw it, he immediately pulled it out. Except for being more worn, it matched to every last detail the wood block he held.
"What is that thing?" Kell asked.
Dolan walked to the side of the crate and sat down, leaning back against it, his expression one of shock and amazement. "If I'm right, this is Darth Caries' lightsaber crystal. In fact, these must all be his. Incredible."
"Why were you looking for this crystal?" Sitting down next to Dolan, Kell looked at the boxes his friend was cradling.
"Back when I was with the Republic Navy, I was stationed aboard an old Foray-class that was checking an asteroid field for pirates rumored to be in the area. We found a shuttle drifting in the asteroids, thought maybe it was a survivor from a raid, and decided to check it out. Turned out the shuttle had been there for a couple of centuries and there was no one aboard. The interior of the shuttle was practically destroyed, looked like there had been electrical arcing all over. All the computer systems were fried too, we couldn't get anything out of them. There was only one thing not destroyed in the whole shuttle: this block of wood."
"How'd you find out it what it was?"
Dolan shifted against the crate, handing the block of wood to Kell. He held the clear block up to the light, as if examining it for flaws. "I didn't for a long time. Ora got assigned to our ship a few months later, and when she saw the block she went nuts, asking me how I could dare to keep a Sith artifact on a Republic ship. Told her I didn't know what it was, found it on a shuttle and it looked interesting, so I kept it. Well, long story short, turned out that it was a replica of some ritual lightsaber crustal holder for one of Exar Kun's Sith underlings. Sent a report back to the Republic to that extent, and we got reassigned to track down the original. Another long story later, and after nearly getting killed by some Jedi we were working with, I resigned from the Navy, found myself on the Rim, and you know the rest."
"I see." The two words hung in the still air of the cargo bay for several minutes, pilot and co-pilot each looking down at the block they held and thinking. At long last Kell broke the silence with a joke.
"You know," he began with a wave of the block in Dolan's direction. "That still doesn't explain the whole mango thing. "
Dolan smirked, but didn't rise to the jab. "No, no it doesn't. I have this nasty feeling though that if I ever do find out what's causing it, I'll regret ever asking the question in the first place."
"So long as this stuff isn't yours, I think we'll be okay." Kell gestured at the crate with the wood block before handing it back to Dolan.
His friend's gaze didn't rise from the clear block he held. "And if it is?"
There was another uncomfortable silence as Kell tried to decide what to make of the comment. Then Dolan started to laugh. Kell took a mock swipe at him. "Not funny."
"Sorry, couldn't resist." Dolan got to his feet. "You said something about nerfsteak?"
"Yeah. We've got a couple left. Want me to get them going?"
With a nod Dolan turned back to the crate. "Sure. I'll get this cleaned up and resealed. Have to remember to let Ora know what we were hauling when we get back to Kodai."
As be began to put the clear blocks back into the crate, Kell turned and went up to the common room. The moment he was out of the cargo bay, Dolan stopped working. He held the crystal holder's cube up and squinted at it.
"Take what is yours" The dark voice said in his mind. "You know how. You've always known."
Dolan hesitated, glanced up to make sure that Kell hadn't come back, then put his other hand on top of the cube and twisted, thinking about the molecular structure of the polymer shell dissolving. It did, and Dolan stared in wonder at the wood box in his grasp. With a trembling hand he flipped the lid open to reveal a deep red crystal sitting on a velvet interior. The crystal was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It seemed to pulse with an inner light and call out to him with familiarity.
"You ran because the Jedi wanted to train you. They wanted to turn you into a mindless slave to their will. You have great power inside of you, all you have to do is unlock it."
Mouth dry, Dolan shook his head reflexively, closed the box and started to put it back in the crate. As he did so, his hand brushed against the clear cube of one of the holocrons in the crate. It lit up and a small holographic figured rose from the top of it. The figure wore battle-scarred armor under a black robe, and its face was obscured by a skull mask identical to the one in the crate. "Darth Caries."
"This is a record of the knowledge of Darth Caries. If you seek power, you will find it here. If you seek truth, you will find it here. But first you must prove yourself worthy." The figure spoke, arms crossed across its chest. "Present your lightsaber."
"I-I don't have one." Dolan stammered, stunned by the apparition before him. Maybe this holocron could tell him what his dreams meant.
The figure shook its head slowly. "You have failed the first test. Correct your error or do not return."
As the figure finished speaking, it flickered and winked out of existence. The voice spoke to Dolan again: "Your answers are there. All you have to do is reach out and take hold of them."
When Dolan finally entered the common area, Kell was already eating. "What took you so long?"
Dolan almost told him the truth, but decided that Kell wouldn't understand. "Had to put my keepsake away. Don't like leaving it out in the open too long."
As Kell nodded and returned to eating, Dolan frowned inside. It didn't feel right to lie to his friend. But how could he have told Kell the truth? Kell didn't want him to open the crates in the first place, how would he react if he knew about the holocron and the disassembled lightsaber in his room. Or about what the dark voice was already teaching him about power.
- - - - -
Lying, hate, and pain
All part of the devil's game
Got his foot inside the door...