Ronin and Yothalt traveled across the barren land of Malachor for several rotations. During the night, they camped in utter darkness. Barely able to see two meters in front of themselves. The day's visibility was not much better. They only had about a klick in front of them. T-73 continued to guide them through the darkness.
"Let's make camp here for the night," Yothalt said from behind Ronin.
Ronin and Yothalt lept off the speeder and set up their bedrolls for the night.
"Looks like we are running a little low on fuel, but we should have enough to get us there and back," Yothalt said as he examined the contents in the speeder bag.
"Good. T-73, How many more klicks do you reckon we have left?" Yothalt asked the ancient little droid.
T-73 gave a boop, indicating they had another 500 klicks to go.
"Hmmm. In that case, we can probably make it by the next rotation. Thank you, T-73; why don't you power off for the night?" Yothalt said to the little droid.
"The droid did as was suggested and powered off, with his head clanging against the speeder.
"Master, R-5 hasn't contacted us yet. Should we be worried?"
Yothalt looked up into the air and held his hand before his face.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the atmospheric disturbances are too great to get any communication through right now," Yothalt said firmly.
"How long do you think the disturbances will last?" Ronin asked
"It's hard to say, but not only are we in the southern hemisphere, and the planet's axis is tilted away from the sun. Planetary atmospheric disturbances greatly increase in whichever hemisphere is furthest from the sun. And we are in the dead of winter. We might have a window at mid-day tomorrow, but I cannot be sure." Yothalt explained.
"I suppose that explains why it's so cold," Ronin said as he folded his arms.
"Well, there's not much more to be done; now get your rest. I will take the first watch." Yohalt said.
"Master, is that really necessary? I haven't sensed a single life form since we arrived, and scanners haven't picked up a thing."
"It is Ronin. We must always remain on guard. Especially when we are on a hostile planet."
"But who could be out here? The only thing hostile about this planet is the weather."
"As a Jedi, we must not take chances. I will wake you in four hours. Now sleep."
"Understood, master," Ronin said as he rolled over on his side.
As Ronin lay there, he thought about Master Yothalt. He was worried about him. Something did not feel right. Yothalt was acting strangely. While Yothalt and Ronin hadn't always seen eye to eye, Ronin still cared deeply for his master. Yothalt was the only person he knew closely. Sure, he had a few short acquaintances and friendly encounters with some other Jedi, but he did not know any of them well. His family had been killed when he was young, and the only person who even knew who he was outside of the Jedi temple was Jax. But Ronin had been unable to contact him since he was first taken to the temple. Ronin had only talked to Jax a few times since then, but the Jedi severely limited how often he could. And who knew where or what he was doing now? Jax could be anywhere. If it weren't for Yothalt, Ronin would not have anyone. And Ronin feared that something was amiss with his master. Ronin's thoughts were racing ahead, too fast to focus on sleep. Ronin rustled around for about an hour but eventually fell asleep despite his inner conflicts.
When Ronin's sleeping form was awakened by Yothalt's hand shaking him, he groaned and felt like he had just fallen asleep. But despite his lack of sleep, he shuffled around and eventually got up. Yothalt said nothing but proceeded to lie where Ronin had been asleep previously. Ronin leaned against the speeder bike, dreading the four hours of watch that were to come. Ronin sat there for about an hour, thinking about his master and the incoming clone war the council had discussed. Ronin decided to get his mind off of Yothalt and the incoming war. He knew that stressing over something he could not control would do no good. Ronin cleared his mind and tried to focus on something, anything else. As he was thinking, he drifted toward the young togruta Ronin had met when he first became a Padawan. She had been very kind and fun to talk to. He did not remember much, but he did recall her piercing blue eyes and smile. What was her name? Ashla? No, that wasn't it, Ronin thought some more. Ahsoka? Yes, that was her name. Ronin wondered if he would ever see her again. She was probably a Padawan as well by now. Ronin thought of who she may have been assigned to. He would have liked being able to catch up with her, even if they had only met for a brief moment. As his thoughts wandered, Ronin began to slip away into sleep. Ronin fought the urge, but his body started to decide for him.
Ronin's doze was interrupted when he felt he was being watched. Ronin opened his eyes and looked around the camp. Then he noticed a dark figure standing off in the distance. Ronin stared at the shadow more closely. The shadowy figure did not move but stood there. Ronin reached down and grasped the hilt of his lightsaber, ready to defend himself. The creature then shrieked and sprinted toward Ronin. Ronin pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, holding it out toward the advancing creature, but when he looked up, it had vanished. Ronin stood there, petrified. He held out his saber, with its blue blade illuminating the campsite, reflecting a dark shade of blue onto everything the light touched. Yothalt had woken up to the sound of Ronin's blade and quickly bolted up from where he had been sleeping.
"What is it, Padawan?" Yothalt said as he reached for his saber and ignited his amber blade.
"I... I... Saw something. It was watching us. Right there." Ronin pointed to the spot it had been.
"It charged at me and then disappeared into thin air. What do you think it was, master?"
"It could be the dark side of the planet manipulating your mind. If it were a living thing, you or I would have sensed it before you saw it." Yothalt said.
"Right," Ronin said, deactivating his saber and placing the hilt on his belt.
"Nevertheless, stay alert, Padawan. The dark side of the force is strong here. Clear your mind. You must detach yourself from your thoughts. Only then will you be safe from the manipulation of the dark side." Yothalt advised.
Sensing the turmoil in his student, Yothalt decided to stay awake with him."I will keep watch with you, Padawan."
"But master, what about your rest?"
"I will be fine, Ronin, thank you. We only have about an hour until daylight, after all.
"Oh, I hadn't realized how much time had passed," Ronin said as he scratched the back of his neck.
"I sense you are troubled apprentice. What is on your mind?" Yothalt queried.
"I just worry about what the council said. Do you think a war is really upon us, master?"
"I believe the war is inevitable. Tensions have been high since the techno union invaded Naboo all those years ago. Rumors about an organized group of Separatists seeking power have also been floating. There have been small conflicts arising in the galaxy. Now, everything has formed to a head. You have heard the council. The war has already begun."
"So I guess it's unavoidable at this point, huh?"
"That it is, my young Padawan. All that we can do now is hope to end it before it destroys the galaxy."
After an hour or so of conversing, the two ate their rations for the day, and Yothalt got back on the front of the speeder. It was Yothalt's turn to drive, as Ronin had piloted for most of the previous day. Before getting back on, Ronin walked around the speeder to power the T-73 back on. The small droid lit up and chirped with life. T-73 spun his head around as he booted all of its systems back up.
"Morning, T-73. Are you ready to continue leading?
T-73 beeped a yes. Ronin hopped back onto the back of the speeder, and the three of them were off once more. After several hours of speeding along the barren landscape, T-73 released a whistle, informing them they were ten kilometers from where Silas Dymo had last been. In the distance, they could see a large formation of massive stalagmites sticking hundreds of meters into the air. As they grew nearer, one large stalagmite stood higher than the rest. It was ginormous, at least three hundred meters high, Ronin estimated. At about one Klick out, Ronin felt a dark sensation. He stumbled a bit but grasped firmly to the side of the speeder.
"Do you feel that, master?" Ronin said with the slightest hint of terror in his voice.
"I do. The dark side is stronger here than anywhere I have ever been." Yothalt said from the front of the speeder.
"Keep your mind clear. There's no telling what darkness lies ahead."
"Yes, master."
With the group of stalagmites now within a hundred meters, Yothalt pulled the speeder to the side and depowered it.
"T-73, is this where your master was last?"
T-73 responded with a light ding, informing the Jedi that this was the place. Yothalt got off the speeder and unstrapped T-73 from the speeder's hull.
"Lead the way, little one," Yothalt said as he picked up the droid and placed it on the ground.
The droid scooted along with its four treads and toward the biggest of the stalgmites.
"How did I know he would go straight for that one?" Ronin chuckled.
Yothalt laughed in return, and the two followed the droid into the massive rock formation. As the duo entered a gap in the spire, the air grew thicker, and the temperature dropped significantly. The inside of the giant stone was unbearably dark, forcing Ronin and Yothalt to ignite their sabers for light. Walking along the stony path, they saw the black forms of charred bodies scattered across the floor. Not only were their bodies everywhere, but malformed metal cylinders were next to each body. Ronin and Yothalt recognized them for what they were almost immediately.
"Lightsabers," Ronin said in a low tone.
"Yes, it appears a great battle was fought here long ago, although I cannot tell who the victor here was. Stay alert, Ronin." Yothalt said quietly.
"Hard not to be master," Ronin replied.
"The two of them followed the droid deeper into the cavern, only to be met with more bodies of fallen Sith and Jedi warriors dispersed across the ground. As the group continued, a light shone through the cavern's roof, illuminating a giant black pyramid at the cavern's end. In front of the cavern were more fallen force users. While neither Jedi recognized the large structure, they knew what it was immediately.
"Padawan, before us stands the temple of souls. Be ready. We don't know what lies ahead of us."
While they no longer needed their sabers for light, the two kept their sabers ignited and held their blades in front of them. As they continued down the path, An avalanche of stones fell onto the entrance behind them, blocking the way from which they had come.
"Master! We're trapped. What do we do?"
"Calm yourself, apprentice. There may yet be another way out."
"Yes, calm yourselves." said a voice from behind them.
Ronin and Yothalt froze in their tracks. Then the two whipped around, holding their lightsabers out, ready for combat, and were met with a cloaked figure.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!" Yothalt commanded.
'I am Silas Dymo, Jedi Knight." the figure said as he drew back his hood to reveal a friendly-looking face with deep gray eyes and a knowing smile.T-73 beeped in utter joy and whirred to the Jedi in an excited dash. Silas placed his hand on the top of the droid and rubbed his hand across the head of the droid.
"It's been a long time, old friend," Silas said cheerfully.
"How, how are you still alive, Silas? You went missing over a century ago."
"This temple has done that for me. You are familiar with the mythical power the Temple of Souls has been said to possess, yes? Well, it's all true. The temple has given me the power to live forever as long as I reside within its borders." Silas said simply.
"And you used the powers of an ancient Sith temple to accomplish this? Yothalt asked
"It is not a Sith temple. It is a temple of the force itself. Its power is meant to be used by all who harness the force. Now if you two want to get out of here, I suggest you follow me." Silas said as he walked around them and towards the temple with T-73 following him.
Ronin turned to speak to Yothalt.
"I don't trust him, master," Ronin whispered.
"Neither do I, but he appears to be the only way out of here. I will humor him for now, but be on your guard." Yothalt said as he turned to follow Silas and T-73.
"Silas, tell me how you came to be here on this planet," Yothalt said as they walked toward the temple.
"My ship was attacked above Dantooine by a group of pirates. My ship sustained too much damage, so I got a suit and boarded one of the pirates' ships. Before I took control of the ship, the pirates had called for reinforcements; with only a small tank of fuel on the ship, I jumped out of there to the nearest spaceport, which happened to be in the Malachor system. Little did I know, the pirates had trackers on every ship, so it wasn't long until they found me. After I had fueled up, their fleet came out of hyperspace and shot me down. I crash-landed here on Malachor, where I have been ever since." Silas explained.
"And you have stayed here for the century since? I thought humans' life spans rarely exceed a hundred years, and I doubt that you were under thirty when you crashed here." Yothalt said with a raised eyebrow.
"True, but as I have said, the temple filled me with renewed life," Silas said as he began up the steps to the temple.
"Tell me, Silas, who was your master when you trained as a Padawan?" Yothalt questioned as he stopped in his tracks with Ronin sopping as well.
"Why, I trained under Grand Master Yoda, of course," Silas replied as he continued walking up toward the temple.
"Strange. Your file says otherwise. You are not Silas Dymo."
"How unfortunate. I had hoped you would remain ignorant enough to follow me into the temple. It appears not." Silas said.
As Silas stood there, two large stones flew out of the darkness, heading straight for Silas. Before the Stones could hit Silas, they stopped on each side of him, floating there. Lightning shot out of Sila's hands, shattering the stones into thousands of pieces. Out of the crumbled pieces, two smooth, cylindrical stones floated out of the rubble and into Silas' hands. Silas held the two cylinders in his hands are turned to face the two Jedi. As he turned, he charged form from the bright robes and face of the Jedi Silas Dymo to a shadowy blaze with scarlet eyes peering out at them. Crimson blades shot out of the cylinders in a hiss of ignition. Silas held them on his sides, at the ready.
"It seems I'll have to deal with you two now rather than later. No matter."
With that, he violently grabbed T-73 with the force and threw it at the Jedi duo.
Ronin and Yothalt dodged out of the way of T-73 while T-73 crunched against a stone wall behind them in a shower of sparks and bolts.
The shadow leaped off the stairs, swinging his dual blades toward Ronin and Yothalt.
All four of their blades collided in a screech of lightsabers clashing against one another. Ronin and Yothalt pushed the shadow off of them and backward.
"Who are you?" Yothalt demanded.
"I am your demise!" The shadow screamed as it charged again at the two Jedi in a flurry of strikes and thrusts. Ronin and Yothalt rapidly parried the shadow's attacks but with some difficulty on Ronin's part. The shadow recognized Ronin as the weaker of the two and focused his onslaught of lightsaber strokes on him while simultaneously blocking Yothalt's strikes from behind. Ronin desperately blocked and dodged the strikes as fast as he could. Then he remembered the disarm maneuver Anakin had taught and executed the move perfectly with an upward stroke, sending one of the shadow's sabers flying into the air. Ronin immediately charged in for a killing stroke, but the shadow sent a blast of force lightning into his chest. Ronin cringed in pain as an electric bolt shot across his body, burning his flesh; Ronin rocketed into a rock behind him, writhing in pain. While the shadow was focused on Ronin, Yothalt saw an opportunity and went for the shadow's torso, but the shadow reacted quickly and parried Yothalt's thrust. With Ronin temporarily disabled, The shadow reached out toward his fallen lightsaber and caught it in his hand, igniting it and colliding his sabers against Yothalt's in a duel of strength between the two.
"You are old, and you are weak." The shadow taunted Yothalt.
"I may be old, but I am not weak! Yothalt proclaimed as he pushed the shadow's lightsabers away, causing shadow the shadow to skid backward. While the two dueled, Ronin stood up and watched in awe from behind while he clutched his chest in pain. Yothalt pressed his assault on the shadow, with his amber saber clashing against the shadow's deep red sabers, resulting in flashes of vermillion to be cast onto the surrounding rocks and walls. Yothalt kept swinging his lightsaber against the black figure with much success, driving it back towards a pit on the left side of the temple. The shadow noticed what Yothalt was doing and tried to find a way out of the lightsaber lock, but the old Jedi's strikes were too powerful and rapid to escape from. With a quick swivel of his saber, Yothalt cut the shadow's left hand from it's body, sending it and the blade plummeting into the abyss below the pit. The figure screeched as it held its stub of a hand in agony. In the creature's moment of hesitation, Yothalt cut the shadow in half and force-pushed it into the pit. The beast released a horrid screech that sounded all too familiar to the Jedi as it fell into the darkness below. Yothalt turned around to see Ronin crouched by the rock he had collided against, watching intently.
"It's over, Ronin. It's over-
"Master, Behind you!" Ronin yelled from across the room.
Yothalt turned to move, but it was too late. Yothalt stuttered and coughed out blood as he gazed down upon a single crimson blade piercing through the center of his chest cavity, with the dark red light illuminating the floor below.
"NOOOOOOOO, MASTER!" Ronin screamed as tears began to fall down his face.
Yothalt slumped to the ground, revealing the Sith shadow standing behind him menacingly. The shadow held out its red saber towards Ronin.