Clink. . . clank . . . clink . . . clink . . .

Hunter turned, yet again, to stare at the hallway behind him – even though he knew he wouldn't see anything. Sure enough, nothing was there. He hadn't seen anything the past five times, either. Still, he couldn't seem to make himself stop checking. The clattering and dragging of heavy chains had been following the group ever since their second entrance into the prison level.

Even after they'd hurried down the stairs to the level beneath the room containing the stone prisoners, the illusion had continued to follow them. Now, three levels below that, it was still maintaining a steady pace.

"Uh, Quinlan?" Wrecker whispered, casting a worried look over his shoulder. "It's getting closer. What do we do?"

"Keep walking," Quinlan said tersely. "It isn't actually following us."

Wrecker reached the base of the stairway and turned to look up as the sounds continued to draw closer. "It's . . . not?"

"No." The Jedi sounded distracted, like he was only half-listening. "It just sounds like it, because we happen to be in the main stairway and that's its normal route."

Vythia did not react to his statement, although she was close enough to have easily heard him.

Watch what you're saying, Hunter thought, shooting Quinlan a warning look that made the Jedi flinch in realization. You're going to give yourself away.

He wasn't sure what that would even mean, anymore, or if it really mattered. The Jedi was right about the illusion, though. As the teammates increased their pace, the heavy rattling clanks became less and less audible. Finally, even Hunter could no longer hear them.

Casting a quick look over his shoulder, Crosshair exhaled sharply. "You mean the moment we slow down, that thing's going to start catching up with us again?"

"No . . ." Quinlan hesitated between one stairway and the next, waiting while Vythia and Tech drew farther away. He lowered his voice. "It's got a limited – route, range of motion, whatever."

"But the illusion wasn't in the stairwell last time," Hunter whispered.

"Nope." Quinlan started walking again. "Because this isn't the same one."

Crosshair switched his rifle from one hand to the other. "It sounded the same."

"No . . . it didn't," Hunter realized. "There were no footsteps just now – only chains."

"Exactly." Quinlan eyed Vythia for a moment, then bit his lip and looked sidelong at Hunter as Wrecker slowed down, joining them. "Do you think she heard that?"

"Heard what?" Wrecker asked in a hoarse whisper.

"That idiotic slip of the tongue I made a minute ago," Quinlan hissed back, seeming a lot more alert than he'd been so far that morning. "I can't believe – I could just about kick myself."

"Yeah." Crosshair cast a pointed look at the steep stairway that extended down before them. "But maybe you shouldn't bother yet."

"At least not on the staircase," Wrecker agreed, and chortled.

Quinlan shot them a vaguely exasperated look, then rubbed his forehead.

"Vythia didn't react when you said that," Hunter told him slowly. "Not that I saw – but I can't imagine she didn't hear it."

"Yeah . . ."

Ahead of them, Vythia stopped to glance into the next central room. As the others caught up with her, Tech came to a halt beside her, hummed interestedly, and leaned close to the wall. "This rune is familiar. Perhaps I saw it in Lothal's temple."

"Hm . . ." Vythia rested a finger against her mouth and tilted her head. "Yes. . . it does."

Tech compared a picture on his datapad to the rune, which was carved into the wall at eye level. "Ah. It is the same. Do you know what it says, Vythia?"

"Yes." She traced the carving with one finger. "It is the symbol for the word hâsk."

"Ah." Tech blinked, then glanced sideways at her. "And – what does hâsk mean?"

Her lips tilted wryly. "Anguish."

Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"And no," Vythia went on, before Tech could ask, "I have no idea why it was carved into this particular wall."

She continued down the stairs. As the others followed, Quinlan paused to study the carving. Hunter only spared it a brief glance, but it was several seconds before the Jedi's footsteps sounded behind him again.

"Hunter?" Quinlan said in a low voice as he drew even with him. "I've seen that rune before."

"Yeah." Hunter crossed the landing, turned, and headed down another staircase. "At Lothal's temple, you mean?"

"Yes, but – I also saw it somewhere else." Quinlan frowned, clenching and unclenching one hand against his side. "It was on the Sith dagger – the one Vythia had on her ship."

"What?" Something in his tone made Hunter wary. "What do you mean, had?"

". . . I think she's got it with her, now."

After the discovery of the solitary rune, the overall mood of the team was much more solemn and withdrawn – a fact which didn't surprise Hunter at all. There certainly wasn't anything encouraging about finding the word 'anguish', apparently carved at random, in a Sith academy. Hunter repeatedly found himself wondering who had put it there, and why. Maybe it had been an apprentice, in a strange, religious fervor. . . Or an instructor, reminding his or her students what awaited if they failed an important test. . . Or maybe it had been carved by a prisoner or slave who was half-crazed with pain and couldn't find the words for anything else.

Hunter tightened one hand uneasily, trying to ignore the strange images his mind kept bringing up. Something about the atmosphere of this place must be getting to him, because he wasn't the kind of person to spend a lot of time imagining things. . . especially things he wasn't even sure had happened.

Silently, the team continued down several more levels, pausing only to activate more of the strange green or white lanterns. Stairway after stairway, no one commented – not even when they passed a towering, multi-pronged structure that reached up to the ceiling of one of the central rooms.

Hunter paused to look at it, and noticed Crosshair doing the same. He wasn't sure what the structure was supposed to be. It had been carved or formed from a single piece of fluted white and black marble. Hunter couldn't figure out exactly why, but it gave the clear impression of something reaching desperately for the sky, only to be cut off abruptly by the stone above it.

It was five flights of stairs after that when Vythia stopped on the landing and leaned back against the railing. "Let's rest for a moment," she said, pressing a hand against her side.

The others, except for Quinlan, glanced questioningly at her, and she responded with a faint shrug. "We just descended over four hundred steps. It is nowhere near similar to traveling over four hundred steps on level ground."

"Except in number," Tech pointed out.

Crosshair and Wrecker both turned to stare at him, heads tilted to one side.

"What?" Tech asked, removing his helmet. "It is true."

"Yeah. . ." Wrecker snorted. "That wasn't the point."

Tech narrowed his eyes, appearing utterly confused, and Vythia laughed. "I suppose I should have said that it is much more strenuous, not nowhere near similar."

Despite her light tone, she was watching Quinlan again – but the Jedi didn't seem to notice. He had stepped away from the others and was staring down the next dark flight of stairs.

What is Vythia waiting for him to do? Hunter wondered. Or does she just suspect he's more than he's letting on? But if she does, what's the point in her waiting for Quinlan to give himself away?

Crosshair glanced silently between Vythia and the Jedi, then sauntered forward to activate the lantern at the head of the new stairway. As the flickering green light burned into existence, Quinlan blinked and looked at it, drawn out of his thoughts.

"Tech," Hunter said. "Any stormbeasts nearby?"

"Yes," Tech replied, and opened his vambrace screen to type in a couple of commands.

There was a brief pause.

"And . . . you were going to tell us this when?" Hunter asked.

"When it became relevant." Tech looked up. "There are three small groups of stormbeasts two levels below us, but they are nowhere near the center. Also, their behavior has been particularly erratic."

"What do you mean?" Quinlan asked, joining him.

Tech tilted the screen towards him. "They are traveling a good deal faster than any of those that we have run into so far – even outside of Trayus."

"Yeah, I can see that." The Jedi frowned and pushed a couple of dreadlocks out of his face. "Maybe they're not sick the way the others were."

"That is possible, but not at all probable," Tech said, flipping his screen closed with a quick jerk of his arm. "During my shift on guard this morning, I also noted that there were fifteen stormbeasts in the sixth level from the main entrance. Their pattern of travel was much more noticeable, as they were closer together. Each of the groups was headed away from the center, but in different directions."

"Trying to escape something," Crosshair suggested.

"That is exactly what I theorized."

"But escape what?" Hunter glanced at Quinlan, remembering how he'd been muttering something about 'presences' and 'there are two of them' the night before. "Not us, surely."

"That would be highly unlikely," agreed Tech. "And I am not picking up anything else on scanners."

"Hmm." Vythia folded her arms, looking uneasy, then uncrossed them. "Either way, we should keep moving."

As they started down the next flight of stairs, Quinlan said, "Stormbeasts wouldn't be trying to get away from an artifact."

"No," said Vythia. She had one hand around her whip handle. "I suspect that they are trying to escape whatever it is that has been weakening them."

Hunter glanced at her, frowning.

"But they weren't running away when we saw 'em before," Wrecker said. "Does that mean there's something else around, now?"

"If there is, I cannot locate it," said Tech.

Quinlan, who was walking just behind Wrecker, nearly missed a step as he turned to raise a questioning eyebrow at the sergeant. He thinks he can locate it, Hunter realized. That must have been what he was trying to do when –

Well, Hunter still wasn't sure what had happened, really; Quinlan had stared at nothing for a full two minutes before suddenly gasping and jolting up to his knees – then he'd muttered a few half-formed phrases, looked scared, and ended by saying he didn't know what had happened.

Shaking his head, Hunter exhaled sharply. They were just lucky Vythia hadn't woken up during whatever that had been all about.

Whatever it had been about, Hunter definitely didn't think that it would be a good idea for the Jedi to try to locate the 'presence' – whatever that was. It was nowhere nearby, currently, and Quinlan would know if it intended to attack . . . or so he'd said.

When Quinlan glanced back again, Hunter caught his gaze, made a slicing motion with one hand, realized that the Jedi might not be versed in commando signals, and settled on giving his head a warning shake.

Quinlan hesitated, narrowed his eyes, then turned around and kept walking.

They passed through the level the stormbeasts were on without seeing or hearing a single sign of them. When Tech reported that all the creatures had gathered on the eastern side of the level, and 'appeared to be milling about', Hunter told him to check the western side.

"I have," Tech answered. "Nothing is appearing on scans."

Hunter frowned. What in the Force were the stormbeasts hiding from, then? The situation was getting more and more irregular. Hunter almost wanted to suggest that they return to the level they'd spent the night on, and then move from there to the Phoenix as soon as the storm let up. But there was no guarantee it would let up before nightfall.

Hunter glanced up at the ceiling. After this long a storm, he had stopped being consciously aware of the lightning overhead. When he shut his eyes and focused, though, he could still feel the continuous flickers like a vague buzz in the back of his mind. The storm had not only not abated, but it seemed to be getting worse.

Definitely not a good idea to wait it out, he thought, trudging after Wrecker. We'll have to keep heading down . . . Anyway, once we reach the main level, we should be able to make it through the storm to the Marauder, regardless of the wind.

"Tech," said Crosshair, and Hunter looked up. "Maybe you're not picking anything up because your sensors aren't strong enough. That was the case half the time we were in Adas Academy."

"True," Tech agreed, and gave his datapad a dissatisfied look.

"But – hang on." Quinlan paused. "You told me you were observing the stormbeasts on a level near the ground last night. How's that work?"

"I was tapping into the Marauder's sensors," Tech informed him. "At the time, we were close enough to the top of Trayus that I was still able to communicate with the shuttle's computer through the storm. That no longer appears to be an option."

"So we're back where we started," Wrecker said. "We've got inaccurate intel."

"Not inaccurate, precisely." Tech tapped a couple more controls, then huffed a little and put away his datapad. "I would say that we simply do not have intel at all."

"That will not matter too much," Vythia said. "From what we've seen, these particular stormbeasts are hardly a threat. As long as we pay attention, we should be fine."

"Weren't you listening at all?" Hunter asked her. "We're not worried about the stormbeasts. We're worried about whatever it is that's been injuring them."

"I was listening," she answered, completely unoffended. "But the level we were on, with the stormbeasts, had nothing else present, as far as we could tell. If Tech is correct that the creatures were fleeing from something, then perhaps it was an illusion."

"An illusion wouldn't be making the stormbeasts weak, though," Quinlan said. "Not from what you've told us."

"I agree." She shook her head slightly. "And yet, I cannot be certain of that. I also see no reason to suspect that there is some dangerous predator nearby – at least, not a physical one."

"Then what?" Hunter glanced quickly at her. "A non-physical one?"

"I could not really say." She looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head so that her long tendrils swished against her back. "I would imagine that the Dark Side would empower them, not weaken them."

A few steps later, Quinlan suddenly looked up. "Vythia . . . what would cause an absence in the Force?"

The Nautolan paused, ever so slightly, between one step and the next. "Why?"

"Because if those things – the stormbeasts, I mean – live on the Dark Side, they might be weakened by something taking it away. A few days ago, Tech was talking about these small animals . . . uh, Tech?"

"Ysalamiri," Tech filled in without blinking.

"Right. Those. Something about them blocking the Force. . ."

"Neutralizing, yes," said Vythia. "And you think that maybe there is something here that does such a thing. . . Hm. I suppose Nihilus' tomb would qualify, but –"

"Yeah," Quinlan interrupted, kicking at the thick reddish dust that coated the top of the next stairway. "Maybe his tomb is kind of – draining? – the stormbeasts."

" – I doubt that very much," she replied, finishing her previous sentence. "If that were the case, we would be feeling the effects as well."

"Yeah?" Quinlan cast a look over his shoulder, back up the long staircase. "You sure about that?"

"I am not. I do know that when it came to Nihilus, the stronger in the Force something or someone was, the faster that person or creature was killed. The stormbeasts, being half-alive, would certainly take longer to kill than we would; but if Nihilus' influence truly extended throughout the whole academy, they would have been dead long ago."

"Presuming you are –" Tech tripped, caught his balance, and hopped down the last two steps before beginning again. "Presuming you are correct, Vythia, that still leaves the fact that the stormbeasts here have been severely weakened. Not only that, but they appear to feel immediately threatened. And if you are right that illusions are not . . . aware . . ."

"They are not," she assured him. "They are simple trickery. They have the appearance of life, to some extent, but no awareness or ability."

"I see. Then that means that there is something else, physical or otherwise, that is slowly killing the stormbeasts. I agree with Quinlan that Nihilus seems to be the most likely option for the – oh." Tech stopped short, halfway down the next flight.

"What is it, Tech?" Crosshair demanded, also pausing.

"Vythia, when you spoke of Nihilus' alchemy –"

"Yes." Vythia's eyes widened slightly. "You think the creatures he made – the leviathans . . .?"

She and Tech stared at each other for a moment. Then Tech pulled his datapad out and started a new search.

"Tech?" Quinlan leaned sideways against the wall and toyed nervously with his knife as he watched the commando. "You've got no access to the holonet here. Just sayin'. . ."

"I hope I will not need it," Tech said, not looking up as he started walking again. "I have many resources already loaded onto my datapad. Before coming to Malachor, I uploaded several holobooks' worth of data on the Jedi and the Sith. That is how I found the legends about Nihilus. As for the leviathans, even a bit of knowledge about them might prove to be useful . . ."

He trailed off, and Hunter slowed his pace even further, walking beside Tech as he worked. Quinlan had also slowed and was now wandering down the stairs, hardly paying attention to where he was putting his feet. His gaze appeared to be going through the walls around him as he looked around.

As they reached the next central room, the pillar flamed to life. Crosshair checked the area carefully, then moved to activate the left lantern while Wrecker took the right. When Crosshair gestured the team to the landing, Vythia peered down the next stairway, signaled that it was clear, and started down.

A silent minute passed. Hunter was just thinking about how glad he was that they wouldn't have to go back up all these stairs when Tech said, "Found it!"

Everyone stopped short and turned to face him.

"Oh. Hm." Tech scrolled down. "Once again, it appears that we will have to rely on legends and folklore. Here it lists the leviathans' abilities as being 'many and varied', but that most of them had to do with destroying Force-users."

"Huh. Well, that's not surprising," said Wrecker, then took off his helmet. "Wait, what about the Sith? They're Force-users."

"Were," Vythia corrected dryly.

"There are still some left," Tech said absently, still skimming through text as he started walking again. "Count Dooku, for one."

"Dooku?" She almost scoffed. "He only became a Sith because he disagreed with the Jedi."

Quinlan looked curiously at her and opened his mouth, then hesitated as though he wanted to ask a question, but wasn't sure that he should.

"Vythia," Hunter interrupted before the Jedi could say anything stupid. "Wrecker's got a point. Why would even Darth Nihilus give creatures abilities that would kill other Sith? I mean, I get that they killed each other a lot, but –"

"Oh, the leviathans could control those abilities. Also, remember that the Sith – certain ones, anyway – controlled the leviathans." Vythia paused at the next landing to brush dust from the side of her skirt. "Tech, do your sources say anything about the extent of their range of attack?"

"It was also 'varied'." Tech quirked an eyebrow, probably peeved by so much inexact information. "It does say that their 'most unique abilities could only be employed on a non-Force-sensitive when the victim was in sight'. That is peculiar. This report does not clarify the point, but it would seem to imply that Force-sensitives could be attacked at a greater range than that limited by sight."

Hunter exchanged a look with Quinlan, who was fidgeting with his knife again.

"Ah. I thought as much." Vythia tapped her fingers against her whip handle. "I read that they were unleashed on a large group of Jedi at one point. The details are unclear, but it seems that although the leviathans had great physical strength, they did not need it for that battle. Somehow, without even approaching the Jedi, they were able to utterly incapacitate them. The Sith could then simply walk through and kill their enemies at their leisure."

Crosshair huffed through his nose and jumped down the last few stairs to the next landing. "Sounds like they fought fair," he muttered, removing his helmet to look around. "Hm." Vythia smirked. "That is an interesting criticism, especially coming from a sniper and a bounty hunter."

"I don't execute people," he muttered as the central pillar burst into flame.

". . . Not yet, maybe."

He glanced slowly at her, gaze narrowing.

"You have not been required to yet," Vythia went on.

Hunter looked at Wrecker, who shrugged.

When Crosshair continued to stare at her, Vythia raised an amused eyebrow and brushed past him. "Let me alleviate the situation. If you were facing an enemy intent on destroying you, and that enemy were knocked down but not killed, wouldn't it be foolish for you to step back and wait for the next attack?"

Crosshair didn't answer, instead continuing to watch her suspiciously.

"You could take him prisoner," Hunter suggested, only half-listening. There was something distracting him – something close by –

Taking off his helmet, he shook his hair out of his eyes and tilted his head to one side to listen. He almost thought he heard a dry slither, a long distance away.

"Well, yes," Vythia admitted. "But Jedi were dangerous."

"Were?" Wrecker asked. "Aren't they dangerous now?"

Hunter gave his head a sharp shake and took a step down. He needed everyone to stop talking for a minute – there was something moving, just at the edge of his hearing . . .

"They are nowhere near as dangerous as they used to be," Vythia said. "Not that they don't have the potential, but they lack the will."

Something rasped quietly over stones.

"Vythia –" Quinlan said. "What are you –"

"Quiet!" snapped Hunter, and jumped down to the landing. "Everyone be quiet!"

They froze, staring at him. Hunter dropped to the ground and lay flat, pressing one ear against the floor as he shut his eyes. He heard nothing at all for a long fifteen seconds, except for when Wrecker shifted uneasily.

Then it came again, that dry rasping sound as something immensely long and heavy slid along on one of the levels below them. Hunter stayed where he was for a full minute, tracking its direction, then got soundlessly to his feet. "Stay quiet," he ordered. "There's something here, below us but moving upwards. Tech?"

Tech shook his head, eyes glued to his screen. "Still no results from either thermal or biosignature scans. I will attempt to detect motion only."

"Can you reach the Marauder's sensors from here?"

"No."

Hunter sighed, reaching up to adjust his bandana. "Then keep running the localized scans. Whatever it is, it's on the opposite side of the academy, and it's big. I can't tell if it knows we're here, but –"

"Hunter." Tech stepped over, holding out his datapad. "The stormbeasts we recently passed – they are moving again."

"They're moving up?" Wrecker whispered. "But it's still below us somewhere. They must be really scared of it."

The commandos all watched the screen as one of the small red dots slowed, dragging far behind the others of its kind as they rushed for the stairways. It came to a complete halt, and then, from several levels above, they heard the faint but shrill screech of a dying stormbeast. The next instant, the red dot on Tech's screen winked out.

"It can kill them from that far away?" Crosshair demanded in a sharp whisper, gesturing downward with his helmet in one hand.

"I guess?" Hunter turned to look down the stairs just as a cavernous bellow that was almost a yell sounded from beneath them and vibrated the floor. Tech jumped and twisted to face the stairway.

Vythia put a hand on the wall, as though to steady herself. Her black eyes swept the stairwell in both directions, then moved to Quinlan and stayed there.

Hunter followed her gaze. The Jedi was grimacing faintly, one hand pressed to his chest and the other to his head as he leaned sideways against the wall. Then Wrecker flinched and grabbed at his helmet.

Hunter stepped forward, just as a stabbing pain shot through his temples and the stairway tilted beneath him. The next instant, he felt normal again, but no sooner had he straightened than Tech gave a full-body flinch and almost dropped his datapad. Crosshair drew in his breath sharply, narrowing his eyes. Vythia wavered, then leaned back against the railing and gripped it with both hands.

For several seconds, no one moved except for Quinlan, who took a jerky step forward and stumbled down the next stair into Wrecker.

Vythia stared at him, eyes wide and face still, then turned to the others. "We need to hurry," she said in a low voice. "It knows we are here."

"I gathered that," Hunter retorted, half-reaching for his knife as he looked down the stairs again.

Another stormbeast screamed. Everyone looked simultaneously at Tech's screen – just in time to see another of the little red dots fade.

"It is a leviathan," said Tech expressionlessly. "And – it is hunting."

"Not us," said Vythia. Her tone was returning to normal, now, and her fingers had unclenched from around her whip handle. "Not yet, at any rate. If it could have killed us just now, it would have."

Hunter pressed both hands and his forehead against the inner stair wall, feeling the tiny vibrations. Now that he knew what to look for, it was easier to pick out the large creature moving . . . it was going up the stairway, on the very edge of one of the outermost halls, right for the level they were on. He caught his breath, clenching one hand against the stone, then froze in surprise as the thing continued up, moving slowly, through the very level they were occupying and on, up towards the top of the pyramid.

Nobody spoke or even seemed to breathe until Hunter relaxed, ever so slightly.

"I see it now," Tech said in a low voice, and pointed to a wavering and flickering indicator. "It is . . . even less 'alive' than the stormbeasts."

Hunter nodded and signaled for his teammates to form up. "It knows we're here, but it's ignoring us."

"We should hurry." Vythia drew in a long breath and released it. "The stormbeasts are dependent on the Force to continue existing, so they will die easily. That is why the leviathan is hunting them, because it can kill them from far away."

Quinlan finally straightened, lowering his hands to his sides while Wrecker hovered nearby. He blinked slowly, then swallowed and said, "And when it's killed all of them, Vythia?"

"It might come for us." For a strange instant, her gaze seemed to turn inward. "But it cannot truly harm us unless it is within sight. We still have time – for now."

Hunter caught the Jedi's gaze and tilted his head towards the stairs. "We need to pick up the pace. Tech, try to keep an eye on the leviathan. Vythia, lead the way."

She nodded and hurried down the stairs, the others falling in behind her until Quinlan and Hunter were in back.

"Hunter, we need to leave," Quinlan said. "The leviathan – it's the weaker . . . it's what attacked me last night."

"I figured as much." Hunter eyed Vythia for a moment. She still wanted to get into Darth Ghant's tomb, and short of stunning her and dragging her out . . . they didn't exactly have options. "Do we keep going, or not?"

The Jedi didn't answer for several long seconds. "I don't know. If we keep going along with her, and she trusts us enough that we can go through her to get to the Prince –"

"Is he that important?" Hunter glanced over his shoulder, but saw nothing. "We've dealt with monsters before, and maybe we could handle this one, but is the risk really worth what we're after? None of us know what that thing can really do, except to take you out."

"Yeah." Quinlan was quiet for a moment before smirking humorlessly. "And I said it was probably just a hemorrhage."

Hunter stared at him in realization, feeling like a complete idiot. "I – we thought it was the statues, because they moved, but it was a leviathan?"

"Yep," the Jedi answered, his tone falsely chipper. Then he sighed. "It was probably beneath the center of the main level when we got here. I must've woken it, and it moved the statues to get out. And . . . I guess it's been living on the stormbeasts all this time. Or it didn't need to eat anything until it woke up."

"Right . . ." It was fully ten stairways later that Hunter spoke again. "Quinlan, last night you said that there were 'two of them'. Two leviathans?"

"Two presences. The other was a lot more . . ." He hesitated. "I don't know. It was more alive, more deliberate, more – focused? Personal? All I know is, it wasn't a leviathan."

The sergeant glanced sidelong at him. "Do I want to know how you know that, or are you going to say, 'it's just a feeling' again?"

"Umm . . ." Quinlan dragged a hand tiredly down his face. "Guess."

"You're going to say, 'it's just a feeling'."

"Not anymore, I'm not." He hunched his shoulders slightly as they passed the next central area. "Hey, Hunter?"

"What?"

" . . . I can't wait to get out of here."

When Wrecker glanced at his chrono, it was fourteen-forty-six, two minutes later than the last time he had checked. Sure didn't feel like it, though. . . Wrecker peered down the main corridor in both directions, unloaded and reloaded his blaster, glanced at Tech, who was once again accessing the Marauder's sensors, and returned to the others.

Hunter was tugging at a horizontal metal bar that had been set into the wall. Vythia, who was standing behind him, had said there was a door behind it, but it didn't look like it. Crosshair, who'd already tried and failed to open the door, wandered back and forth a few meters away. Vythia hadn't wanted the door broken, which was why Wrecker was standing around waiting. Whatever – he knew how to be gentle.

"Okay, Hunter," he said, jostling the sergeant aside with an elbow. "Want some help?"

"Yeah," Hunter answered, sounding breathless. "You give it a try."

Wrecker hooked his blaster on his belt, gripped the bar, and heaved against it. Nothing happened – that was kind of weird, but at the same time he hadn't really been trying. Bracing his feet, Wrecker resettled his grip and yanked at the bar with all his strength, only to be brought up short with a sharp jerk.

"Ow," he mumbled, surprised.

"Not as easy as it looks," Crosshair said snidely.

"Yeah, you ought'a know." Wrecker studied where the left end of the bar was set into the wall. It looked like Vythia was right about it being a door after all – he could see a tiny crack in the stone, which he could trace with his eyes, up and around, all the way to the other side. "No hinges," he said to himself.

"You're pulling the wrong way," Crosshair commented abruptly.

"Hey!" Wrecker protested. "You pulled outward, too!"

Crosshair smacked his elbow and pointed up at the top of the outline. "That was before I actually looked. Try pulling up, Wrecker."

Frowning, Wrecker squinted at the door. Sure enough, there was the tiniest amount of overhang at the top of the crack. Bracing his feet again, he heaved upward and met immediate resistance at the base – something was holding the door shut from the inside. But he could almost –

Crosshair joined him, but the lock still didn't break. No surprise there, of course; it wasn't like Crosshair's helping him would make much of a difference. Wrecker looked over at the sergeant, ready to enlist his help, but Hunter had gone to check in with Tech.

Wrecker didn't want to bother waiting. "Hey, Quinlan, help me with this."

"Sure." The Jedi joined him, eyed the door, and poked Crosshair out of the way. "Shove over, Cross. You're too much of a lightweight for this."

Wrecker snickered. "Yeah, that's for sure."

For once, Crosshair didn't come up with a response – he was probably too busy rolling his eyes or something. Wrecker grabbed the bar again, and then he and Quinlan jerked up at the same time.

The door shot upward into the wall, so suddenly that Wrecker let go. "Whoa!"

"Uh . . ." Quinlan looked down at his hands, then at Wrecker. "I hardly even tried."

Wrecker shrugged. "Maybe we'd almost broken the lock already."

"Broken it?" Quinlan muttered as Vythia moved forward. "I didn't feel anything break."

"Hey, yeah." Wrecker stepped back, looking up at where the door had slid neatly into the upper wall. "I guess that is kinda weird."

"No surprise there." Hunter joined them, pulling out his flashlight. "Everything in this place is weird, Wrecker. Let's get that scroll and get out."

Vythia turned on her lantern, and the light glinted off something in the back of the small room. As she took a step forward, the yellow glint came again. It was probably more of those creepy statues with the weird eyes.

Wrecker turned on his own flashlight, then almost dropped it as Vythia jumped back with a startled gasp. It was a pair of eyes staring at them all, but the eyes were yellow, not gold – and they did not belong to a statue. They belonged to a man, a red and black Twi'lek, who was sitting upright and facing them.

"Darth Ghant," said Vythia, in a small voice. "He is . . . still here."

Next to Wrecker, Crosshair exhaled unevenly and lowered his pistol. "He's – dead."

"He is, but – " Tech holstered his own pistol and shot a look at Hunter. "He does not appear to be dead."

Quinlan and Hunter didn't say anything – they were just standing there, staring quietly at the staring, quiet corpse.

Feeling cold all over, Wrecker dragged his gaze back to the dead Twi'lek. For the first time, he noticed that Darth Ghant was sitting in a throne with low armrests. He was dressed in a sleeveless, knee-length black tunic that was edged with gold. His legs and arms were a solid crimson, and his lekku were weirdly long and thin. The right one coiled around his neck and down into his lap like a snake, and the left lay along the armrest – Darth Ghant's left hand was resting on it, as though he'd been about to shift it aside. His right hand lay on the opposite armrest, facing up, and in it was the scroll.

"There it is," said Vythia, just as Wrecker opened his mouth to point it out.

"Yeah," said Quinlan tersely.

Not one of them moved to get the scroll. Crosshair actually took a step back. Then Tech's datapad let out a faint beep, and Hunter started visibly.

"He is dead," Tech said, a bit more certainly this time. "But – he appears to be in a perfect state of preservation."

"Yeah, I noticed," said the sergeant.

Still, no one moved. Wrecker imagined himself walking into the room, picking up the scroll, and walking out. He could have done it . . . it would be easy, except that Darth Ghant was holding it.

"Okay," said Hunter under his breath. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself to move.

Tech and Crosshair exchanged questioning glances, then looked at the Jedi, who shook his head vehemently. "I am not going to touch that thing."

"I will get it," said Vythia. She handed Tech her lantern. "Please ensure that the door does not close behind me."

After taking a quick breath, she stepped fully into the room, hesitated, then walked swiftly over to Darth Ghant's throne. For a long moment she hovered her hand over Ghant's upturned palm and the scroll that it held. Then, with a quick, darting movement, she grabbed it and ran back to the others.

"That is the last artifact," Vythia said as she left the crypt. Despite her rapid breathing, she looked almost excited.

"Good." Hunter's tone was short as he started down the hall. "Now let's get back to the Marauder."

"Agreed." Vythia followed, not seeming to notice Quinlan's wince as she passed him.

Wrecker was so glad to finally be getting out that he was probably a little rougher than he'd intended to be when he elbowed Crosshair. The sniper caught his balance, then glared and stalked off after Hunter and Vythia and Tech.

Quinlan was still staring at Darth Ghant.

Wrecker tilted his head in confusion, then jabbed his shoulder. "Hey," he whispered loudly. "Hey, Quinlan, you're not . . . seein' things again, are you?"

"No." The Jedi backed away from the room, huffing a weak, insincere laugh as he gestured towards Ghant. "Only thing I'm seeing is – that. He looks so alive, Wrecker."

"Yeah. But he's not." Casting the dead Sith lord a final glance, Wrecker prodded Quinlan after the rest of the team.