Chapter 140

The rest of her walk through the Valley was uneventful for the most part. She could hear the sounds of movements around her and a few times, she was certain that there was movement around her. However, the tuk'atas, or whatever else was there, left her alone.

Yet, as she reached where the graves and monuments seemed to be closer together, she was certain she could hear whispers. It reminded her of a hissing sound, much like a serpent.

She didn't stop to listen. She knew that they were most likely spirits of the Sith and those were spirits she did not want to pay any attention to. She knew she was strong, but also knew that allowing herself to communicate with any Sith, living or dead, could shake her and she needed to keep her wits around her for the mission.

She stopped and looked at the cliff she was quickly approaching. From the other side of the valley, it was impossible to see any distinguishing features, but from here, she could tell that what she thought was part of the cliff was actually a temple. A shudder ran through her, but she knew that is where she had to go.

Reshifting her pack, one hand on the hilt of her lightsaber, she walked with purpose even as the shadows around her seemed to play tricks on her. She felt like she was being watched and it was worse when she was certain the stone cloaked figures were moving. They are not really moving. It is a trick of the shadows. She kept repeating this to herself as she approached the stairs.

Looking at the large structure, she took a deep breath of the chilly, dry air, which made her feel even colder and did nothing to help calm her nerves, which had been the intent. She started up the stairs, the sound of her footsteps covered by the wind racing through the Valley. Behind her, it sounded as if there were whispers. A low murmur she could not understand, but she was almost certain it was the Sith language.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she glanced back. She could see movement, she was certain, but she didn't know what caused it. She shook her head. She had a mission to accomplish.

She turned to face the darkened corridor and took out a glow rod from her pack to light her way. Her other hand still rested on her lightsaber. She might need it.

It was so still in the interior of the temple fortress that the sound of her footsteps, mixing with her racing heart, sounded too loud. She willed herself to stay calm. There was nothing to fear. Fear led to the Dark Side and she was a Jedi, trials or not.

Her footsteps were still louder than she like, in case something was laying in wait down one of the darkened corridors. She remembered the B'omarr Monks, whose brains traveled through Jabba's Palace with the use of spider droids. The first time she saw one, she didn't know what to think. It didn't hurt her, but she had a feeling if something like that was in this temple, it would.

She focused on which way to go, using the Force only as much as necessary, since she could feel the darkness that surrounded her pressing down on her. It felt as if a heavy, cold blanket had been thrown over her. She thought of Hoth, and then shook her head. She wanted to rub her arms to warm them, but didn't want to risk taking her hand off her lightsaber or moving the glow rod.

Instead, she pushed back the chill and continued. Nothing else jumped out, but she had the sense that she was being watched. Closely. She glanced behind her, but saw nothing there. While being careful, she allowed the Force to lead her down the darkened hallways. She turned left, then right, then left again, keeping aware of the path she was traveling and other hallways. Keeping aware of her surroundings meant that she wouldn't be caught off guard. Luckily, she didn't run into anything. The only senses of things she got were brief and none that caused her trouble.

She approached two large doors at the end of the hall, she noticed that one of the doors was open, just an inch or so. She couldn't help but frown. Why would a door be open like that? It should only be open or closed, not partially closed. She hesitated outside. Could it be a trap set up by the Emperor?

Carefully, Ari lowered her shields. She could feel the Dark Side all around her, but she searched with her senses, reaching into the room. She didn't sense any traps, but she did sense something odd there. She sensed something or someone alive. At first, she thought it was an animal, but it felt different. As she reached to touch the presence, she was met by a void. She couldn't feel a presence, but couldn't feel the emptiness of the room as if the person was gone. Whoever it was, they had Force training.

Ari put her glow rod away and slowly crept into the darkened room. There was dim lighting coming from somewhere in the room. Ari could tell it was large and vast, but couldn't see anything specific. She couldn't even see where the light was coming from. It seemed to be coming from above her, but she didn't see any lighting fixtures.

Ari found herself wishing that she had thought to wrap cloth around her boots to muffle the now too loud sound of her footsteps. She could feel her heart racing as she moved under the cover of a shadow. She couldn't tell what had caused it, but hoped that whoever or whatever was with her wouldn't see her there.

Slowly, her eyes became accustomed to the darkness. She still didn't see anything specific, but she could make out shapes. She seemed to be in the shadow of a large pillar, one of many in the large room.

She could see that there seemed to be more at the other end of the room, but she wasn't focused on that. Instead, she was focused on the void she felt. She could feel there was someone else there, but couldn't tell where that person was.

Moving from the shadow of one pillar to the next, she kept her eyes open. She could have left the room and gone elsewhere, but something had pulled her to this room for a reason. Something had called her here.

As she neared the far side of the chamber, she saw a few stands and it looked like various objects. Deciding it was worth the risk, she crept closer to investigate the closest one. She didn't recognize the device and felt a pull to the next object.

She crossed to it and felt an odd sensation. Whatever it was, it was important. Then she saw the familiar cylinder and she knew she had found Master Yoda's lightsaber.

Reaching for it, overcome by succeeding in half of her mission, the warning that came through the Force was almost too late. Ari dropped to one knee as blaster fire erupted. She rolled to the other side of the stand and ignited her saber.

The blaster fire stopped, and then she heard the snap-hiss of another lightsaber. A blur of light, that looked magenta or violet in color moved toward her and Ari raised her saber to meet her assailant's. As the sabers met in a clash of color, Ari recognized the other lightsaber's owner. Arica. One of the dancer's from Jabba's Palace. The one Ari had a bad feeling about. She thought she might be a spy, but she clearly was more than that. Leaping back, Ari managed to put some space between the two of them.

"Who are you?" Ari demanded.

The other woman looked at her, hate in her eyes. "The Emperor's Hand."