Chapter 56
The Temple
The group moved in silence through the jungle, breakfast had been taken in silence on all had been woken up. The monotony was broken only by the denizens trying to attack the group.
Melissa closed her blade of as the last Kinrath fell to Juhani's blades.
"We are being watched." She calmly said, before taking a sip from her canteen
"He has been following us for a while now." Bastila replied, wiping a bit of ichor from her lightsaber emitter with a piece of cloth
"Very shy for a Wookie." Terri added, retying a shoelace on her boot
"Shall we pull him in?" Juhani asked
"Not yet, let us get to the star map first." Terri answered
Terri turned to Jolee who was sitting down on a fallen branch breathing hard from the exertion
"How far are we from it?" She asked
"Can an old man not get a moment for rest first." He demanded
"Do you also want a blanket and a heat pad?" Terri asked helpfully
"We will see who laughs last once you get old." Jolee grumbled
With a sigh he eventually stood up and pointed to a nearly overgrown path.
"We go that way. It has been quite a few years since I last came this way." He said
As they moved along the path changed subtly, the first warning was when their boots made a scrunching noise. Juhani bent down and brushed against the ground. Stones were revealed as she brushed away. Weathered and illegible patterns barely visible on the stones. The other three crouched down to see the patterns for themselves
"Does not look like the symbols we saw on Tattooine." Melissa remarked
"Too weathered to say for certain, but I think you are right." Bastila said
A dark shape started dominating the gloom, Terri fired three pistol flares revealing a ziggurat.
"It looks similar to a structure on Yavin four. Massassi possibly." Bastila remarked
"But here? I have never heard of anything of theirs being found beyond the Perlemian Trade route " Juhani asked
"That is true. Where did you learn of them? I can not recall the Enclave having a record of them." Bastila asked, surprised
"My favourite fantasy writer have used them as a basis for a lot of her stories, so I read up a bit about them on the holonet." Juhani answered
"The holonet sites are a bit unreliable in their depiction of the Massasi." Bastila replied, slightly taken aback
"The Starchaser series?" Melissa asked exitedly
"Yes, did you read them?" Juhani gushed
"It is one of the reasons I love using a bow, never got to finish the series though. Could never get hold of the books past the fifth volume." Melissa enthused
"That series is so historically inaccurate it beggars belief." Bastila objected
Terri whistled sharply
"As amusing as this is, we can keep that argument for deep space." She said, hiding a smile at the sight of a fuming Bastila
Quick slashes from a lightsaber took care of the plant growth covering the entrance. Equipping headlamps the group continued. Terri felt a slight dip as she stepped onto a stone. A light flickered to life before turning in a being none of the group had seen before.
"There is the irritating thing." Jolee stated
The holograph flickered before reforming into another figure. This one more terrifying for the three that had seen it in their dreams. The armoured figure seemed to be sitting on a stone similar to the ones making up the ziggurat
"Hello intrepid adventurers, I am certain you know who I am. If however you do not. The name is Revan. And I bid you welcome to my challenge." A mechanical voice spoke
"This never happened before." Jolee spoke up
"Meaning?" Terri asked
"It was always that first being asking a lot of questions."
The holograph seemed to have paused for a few minutes before continuing
"Sorry for the delay. If there is someone named Jolee Bindo here the pause was just for him or her. Two hundred and fifty nine attempts and never getting past the original gatekeeper. I applaud your tenacity but damn you are stupid." The hologram taunted
"Burn." Juhani muttered
Jolee bridled as a series of involuntary chuckles rippled through the group, barely holding back from retorting to Juhani. Holographic Revan leaned back on the stone it was seated on.
"Now if you started your journey on Dantooine as I did, I am certain you were as un amused as I was by the ease of gaining the so called securely hidden information. I mean all that effort, and then dealing with substandard droids. I ask you. Where is the challenge? The thrill of the chase?"
"That is true." Juhani stated
"You know you are agreeing with a dark lord, just saying." Melissa piped up
The Revan leaned forward and rubbed its hands in anticipation
"When I got here what do I find but the same easy challenge. So I thought let us make life interesting, why get the reward for no risk taken? To achieve this, I spent some time to truly make this challenging. You will thank me for making this much more fun. So welcome to my challenge. The information you seek is somewhere in this temple. Good luck finding it, if you are worthy."
The hologram shut of but not before the group got a double one finger salute from the figure.
"Fuck you too." Terri stated in the silence.
"This is bad. Shit, we are so screwed. No, we are totally fucked" Bastila ranted
"What have you been teaching her?" Melissa asked looking at Terri
"Why are you looking at me for? I already told you how she is once she gets going." Terri replied
"This is no time for jokes." Bastila snapped angrily
"The best times is when you are totally buggered. Takes your mind of how totally karked you are" Juhani deadpanned
Bastila looked at Juhani in shock, mind requiring a reboot as she had not anticipated a remark like that from the Cathar. Melissa and Terri? Yes. Not from Juhani
"Who is this Revan person?" Jolee demanded
"The grand strategist who not only defeated the Mandalorian war machine, slew Mandalore The Ultimate in single combat, but the one who has been whooping the republic fleets ass in every engagement till she was taken out by Bastila and a strike team, granted they were helped by Malak turning on his master at the time." Terri said
"A genius at combat, charismatic enough to turn half of the young Jedi in her training group and the temple to her cause and given enough time might have created an eight lightsaber style." Melissa added
"What is this about a new style?" Bastila demanded
"I found a treatise she and Meetra Sutrik had written about how lightsaber combat needs to evolve to stay relevant in modern warfare in the archive before I got kicked out." Melissa answered
"And where did you find it? I know for a fact that both the Hall of Learning and the archive had been extensively searched for any thing Revan might have left behind." Bastila stated, hand on her hips
"East window. Third shelve from the back between a treatise on narcotic plants and animal husbandry on the shelf reserved for biographies on all the Grand Masters." Melissa answered
"That is very specific." Terri remarked
"Vrook had spotted that I had grease on my hands while I was reading up on force jumps to see if there was another way to do it as I had been struggling with that at the time. As a "lesson" in cleanliness he assigned me to organise the shelves in alphabetical order." Melissa explained
"That would have taken you hours if not days." Terri replied
"Master Dorak threw me out when I had a laughing fit while doing the sorting." Melissa shrugged
"He does love doing that if you disturb the Archives piece." Juhani reminisced
"I am almost afraid to ask what was so amusing." Bastila remarked
"The other two tomes were defective, the pages were stuck on a section on artificial insemination of Gorns and a type of narcotic leave when chewed will let you halucinate, someone wrote on it for confirmation of facts check Vrook's room on Friday nights when he goes to "meditate"."
The statement got a chuckle from Terri and Juhani. Bastila looked pensive.
"Revan, always had a contentious relationship with Vrook." She stated
"As does anybody with a sense of humour, you think Revan left that there deliberately." Terri replied
"It would fit with Revan's brand of humour, which I was told was rather earthy at times." Bastila responded
"We can check it out when we are back on Dantooine sometime." Terri suggested
"No need. The tomes are in my footlocker. Dorak told me to take them with me as they did not have archive tags. I guess he assumed they were mine." Melissa interrupted
Terri shook her head.
"Something for later then. Let us get back to our current challenge." She said
"I suggest we leave our gear here and lay out markers to get back here. Mobility would most likely be our best asset" Juhani added
They chucked their backpacks and Terri fired a pinion into the stone and attached a neon yellow cable to it. Melissa knelt next to her pack and started pulling her tool roll from the side, instead of coming loose easily it was stuck as something had slipped loose and was now preventing her from pulling it out
"Come on Slowpoke." Bastila called over her shoulder
"One moment." Melissa called back
There was two crackles as shields suddenly sprung up. The four were stuck between two shields, a third shield had sprung up over the entrance. The hologram sprung back to life. Revan snapped her fingers
"Sorry I was forgetting something. This is an individual challenge, not a group project."
Yellow gas were released between the two shields, The four immediately tried to conserve oxygen. Four thumps followed one after the other. Melissa heard hissing come from behind her and yellow gas started spooling towards her from the rear by the shield.
Rapidly she threw her lightsaber at the shield only to have it rebound the shield undamaged. She looked up at the ceiling and the side walls to see if she could see any clues to escape. Both the left and right walls had a handprint hidden in the wall paintings. As she looked down she saw what looked like a footprint on the ground.
"Of course Revan would assume the intruders would be force sensistive." Melissa thought
She stepped on the footprint and force pushed against the handprints. The floor collapsed underneath her. Melissa felt herself sliding along a chute. Rapid twisting and turning had her quickly disorientated. Her force sense screamed a warning at her. She pushed her hands in the direction of her feet and pushed back with the force. She came to a stop with her lower legs hanging through a hole in the chute. Sitting up she looked down and gulped as she saw the distance down from the hole in the chute.
Playing her light along the walls of the chute she started checking for a way out. On the opposite of the hole she noticed hand grips. She felt an object hit her in the back and looked over her shoulder. Her backpack had followed her down the chute, a hydrospanner fell out, the same hydrospanner that had kept the toolbag stuck in her backpack. Angrily she tossed it at the handgrips on the opposite side. Blades flashed as it struck the handgrip, sparks flashing as the blades connected to the spanner handle.
" Right jump to get hold of the grips and lose your hands. Knew it was to easy." Melissa spoke to herself.
Melissa stuffed the toolkit back and closed the flap. Opening the other side she pulled a microfibre cable, a carabiner and a spare grapnel spike for her vambrace launcher out. She tied the carabiner to her belt and threaded the cable through it and tied of the cable to the spike. Holding the spike against the roof of the chute she struck the spike with the hilt of her lightsaber. With a hiss the grapnel deployed and the barbs dug into the chute.
Melissa dropped the rest of the cable down the hole and sat down. She pulled her rucksack back on before looping a section of the cable twice over her boot to act as a brake. Taking a deep breath and a two handed grip on the cable she slid through the hole. Slowly lowering herself down the cable as she descended into the darkness.
On reaching the bottom safely she left out a sigh in relief. The sound of moving water reached her ears. Two Wookie torches were bracketed in the walls. Using the heat of her lightsaber she lit them. The flickering torches revealed an underground pool. Steps led to the water.
"Again too easy, but what is the trap?" Melissa asked.
She looked around her and spotted a glittering white mass. Stepping closer she saw a skeleton dressed in rotting dark Jedi robes. The multiple fractured bones showing the cause of death. Picking up the duel blade lightsaber of the previous owner, she activated it, The blade lit and flickered out shortly thereafter
"Battery is dead, so the body has been here for a few years." Melissa mused.
She looked back at the water and then the skeleton and back again.
"Come on Skelly, time for a swim." She grimly joked
Levitating the skeleton she stepped closer to the steps. Dipping the skeleton in the water she started pushing it through the water to the barely visible opposite edge. Halfway through the water erupted in a plume and a reptilian head grabbed hold of the skeleton, pulling it down in another splash. Further splashes told her that there was more than one of those creatures in the water.
"Okay. Plan B then." She told herself.
Elevating one of the torches from the brackets she pushed it over the water. A shape close to the ceiling caught her eyes she lifted the torch higher to see what it was. A candelabra made of wood was hanging from a vine rope attached to the ceiling. The candelabra caught fire easily and more light flooded the area. The water churned as the animals in it were drawn to the light.
Parallel lines ran along the walls of the cavern. Melissa bent down and force jumped to the line on the right. She gripped the edges of the carved lines, her body slamming against the edge. Swearing she pushed her feet against the wall and started crab walking using the edge as handholds.
Barely after dropping to the opposite landing, the candelabra burned through the vine rope and crashed into the water, A wall of flame erupted as the oil in the candelabra spilt into the water. The trashing in the water intensified as the animals reacted further to the added light. Stepping forward she felt a stone shift under her feet A rumbling noise had Melissa jumping for the carved line. A large splash doused her in water. The fire increased in intensity. Looking to the side she saw a ball made of steelmesh slowly sinking, the contents of the ball having added to the fire.
If she had stayed where she was the ball would have knocked her into the infested water. She dropped back onto the landing and looked at the paving trying to see where the trigger was. She stepped on the trigger stone and felt it sink slightly, no rumble followed. A sharp incline led the way up. A hole in the ceiling showed where the ball had come from as she saw hints of the clamps that had held it.
A long passage was ahead of her. She looked down at the paving in front of her. All of the stones seemed the same, not one looking different from one another and none standing higher than the others.
"Where is the damn trigger stone." Melissa hissed through her teeth
She moved the wall and pressed herself against it. She wanted to scream in frustration as she felt movement against her shoulder. A whooshing sound filled the passage. Looking in she saw blades swinging like pendulums. She dropped her backpack, it would only slow her down now. She timed the first blade and jumped. She felt a snick as the blade caught the edge of her braid. Looking down she saw the tip of her braid on the floor. She swallowed slightly, a second slower that would have been her. The pattern of the blades had her moving in a zigzag pattern through the gauntlet. Stepping through the last she felt the now familiar click as she stepped on a trigger stone. The blades stopped swinging and retracted into the roof, resetting the trap.
Not trusting the peace. Melissa pulled the rucksack to her with a force pull. Two passages led of the chamber one had a sharp incline the second had the opposite.
"If I would have to take a guess, the incline is where the main trap is, though that does not mean going lower would be any easier or safer." Melissa mused.
She looked around and noticed various stones that looked different from the others set in the wall. The first one two metres from the ground. Using a force pull had the stone sliding out. Immediately it started sliding back into the wall
"Okay, so a speed challenge then."
She pulled the stone again and jumped. Her feet barely touched down before she pulled at the next stone, the stone sliding under her feet as it retracted. Sixteen jump and pulls later had her standing in a small alcove with hand rungs leading to the opposite end of the chamber. She traversed hand over hand to the other side and dropped into another alcove. A small bench was set to the side, a message was carved into the wall above it.
"Take a break, you earned it." Melissa read it out aloud
Ignoring the blatant trap she set along the opened passageway, another skeleton drew her attention, this one had been decapitated. Feeling the click had her dropping prone. Two blades flashed from the wall before clicking back into place. She retrieved another lightsaber from the second skeleton. Staying on her hands and knees she crawled along the passageway, blades flashing overhead every once in a while. Stepping warily into a large chamber she stopped as the chamber lit up. Stone slid behind her and the road back sealed up. Dust dropped from the ceiling and she noticed the ceiling lowering
"Of for fuck sake, come on." She shouted in exasperation
She moved to the centre of the room and rapidly looked around. Four sets of exposed gears were seen in slots. Firing her blaster had a shield blocking the shot. Melissa gave a savage grin and pulled her bow and quiver loose
" You could not have forseen this, bitch." She said
The shields snapped the shafts of the arrows, but the damage was done as the arrow heads jammed the gears. The ceiling stopped dropping.
"Up yours." Melissa screamed at her foe.
Revan was not done with her tricks. Water started dropping from the ceiling. The droplets become rivulets of water, the rivulets becoming streams. Water started pooling quickly and started rising. Melissa splashed her way back to where she had entered and placed her entire demolition supply against the sealed door and slammed a detonator into the pile. She waited till the doorway was covered with water and she was treading water before blowing the charge. The water drained quickly.
The final stage of the trap was revealed as a slot opened and a weight dropped down onto the damp floor, A legless reptile flopped around on the ground it snapped at Melissa who jumped back rapidly. If Melissa was to take a guess what ever this reptile was it was the same as the ones in the first water trap. She pulled her blaster and shot it between the eyes and the creature stilled.
"I am going to get a coat and boots out of you." Melissa told the dead animal
Ten minutes later holes opened in the floor and another ten minutes later had another door slide back. Carefully grabbing her prize by its spiked tail she started dragging it after her to the next room.
The now familiar emitter of a star map was in the middle of the room. A throne was set against the far side of the room, piles of crates surrounding the throne. A hologram flickered to life and an image of Revan appeared in the throne sitting regally, she waved a hand over the crates
"Congratulations on beating my challenge, the prize is yours. I salute you brave adventurer. Enjoy the riches you have earned. Hope to meet you soon." Revan said
"You ass is already dead, so not going to happen any time soon." Melissa snapped back.
Spotting a side passage she made her way to it. The passage led straight to a terminal. Slicing it she activated the cameras. It showed where her companions were strewn across the ground. She found the commands for the force shields and shut them off, another command had a door to the main chamber opening.
Terri groaned in pain and grabbed her neck as she woke to a stinging sensation. Melissa pulled the hyposyringe back
"Welcome back. Had a nice nap?" Melissa asked chirpily.
Terri groaned and rolled over. Melissa jumped back as Terri started vomiting, barely keeping her boots out of the splash zone.
Blearily Terri glared up at a bedraggled Melissa.
"You look worse than I feel." Terri rasped her mouth dry
"Love you too, sis." Melissa replied, extending her canteen
Terri thankfully swallowed the offered water. Sitting up, she held her head in agony
"Damn, what were we hit with?" Terri asked
"Some kind of gas." Melissa replied
"How long was I down?"
Melissa checked her chronograph
"About three hours, give or take." Melissa answered
"How long ago did you wake up, and can I have whatever you took to be so chirpy?" Terri asked
"I was not hit by the gas." Melissa replied
"It took you three hours to break through the shield?" Terri querried
"It took me three hours to get through Revan's challenge to be able to get to the shields controls." Melissa corrected Terri
Terri laid down on the ground and closed her eyes with a sigh
"Wake up the others, it is not fair that I am suffering alone right now." She said
Four very grumpy companions followed Melissa back to the throne room. They paused as Melissa made her way back to the dead reptile to where she had dumped it
"What is that and why is it here?" Bastila asked
"Don't know. It is here so I can skin it." Melissa replied
"Why?" Bastila asked again
"It tried to eat me, so I get to make clothes out of it." Melissa answered
"Fair enough." Juhani shrugged making her way closer to the animal
Downloading the map to a datapad took seconds. Terri cautiously moved closer to the throne where a datapad was visible under the hologram of Revan seated in the throne. Pulling the pad to her. She opened it up. A small version of the original hologram formed above the screen. Unfamiliar symbols flashed across the screen. Unable to read it had her closing the pad down. Bastila was behind her looking over her shoulder
"Propably a copy of the original program." Bastila hazarded a guess
"Most likely. Will take it back to Dantooine for Dorak to take a look at." Terri replied
Bastila gestured as the crates surrounding the crates.
"Are we going to search them?" She asked
"I wouldn't do it." Melissa replied from where she and Juhani were busy skinning the animal
"Why not?" Jolee asked
Melissa pointed a bloody knife blade at them
"I believe her final trap is in it. It would not surprise me if she booby trapped them. Letting you think you won and then blowing you up when your greed overcomes you." She explained her thoughts on the matter
"Also a matter of who is going to carry it, we do not have a lot of extra space as it is." Terri added
"But we have space for the skin of whatever that animal was." Jolee commented
"Hell, yes." Melissa answered, going back to her bloody work
Another hour later they walked out of the temple. A figure stood in their path. A very dishevelled Wookie started growling at them. Jolee stepped forward
"Let me handle this." He stated
Jolee walked closer slowly
"Good to see you Freyyr. It has been some time since we last spoke." Jolee enunciated clearly and slowly
The wookie shifted to a ready stance
"The last time I saw you, I helped you escape from Chuundars hunters, do you remember that?" Jolee pressed on.
Terri suppressed the urge to bring her rifle up and finish the confrontation with the crazed Wookie. Jolee slowly sat down in front of the Freyyr and placed his hands on his knees
"Come sit with me old friend and let us have a meal like we have done so many times before." Jolee invited, sliding his pack from his shoulders
The Wookie took a step back before slowly lowering himself to the ground. Jolee took out a meal pack and warmed the contents. Taking a bite from the food first before extending it to the wookie before taking one for himself and started to eat. The Wookie grabbed the pack and ate rapidly. Jolee extended the pack he was eating from to the clearly hungry Wookie. Freyyr did not hesitate to take the second pack of food. Gradually he seemed to settle down. Jolee looked over his shoulder and gestured for the four to sit down.
Freyyr gestured to the four women after tossing the second empty container aside
"Friends of your son, Zaalbar." Jolee explained
"Zaalbar is here?" Freyyr growled
"At the village, a hostage to Chuundar. Chuundar send them down here to hunt you." Jolee proceed to explain
Freyyr glared at the four, growls escaping from him
"If they wanted you dead, you would be dead already." Jolee snapped
Freyyr brought his attention back to Jolee
"They are like me. They are friends to your people like I am." Jolee said placatingly
"Words with no proof." Freyyr replied
"Does the name Gorwooken mean anything to you?" Jolee asked
"A good hunter and an honest one. Not one for village politics." Freyyr replied
"These four avenged an attack on his group after healing him enough to get back to the village." Jolee spoke
Melissa had to keep herself from shaking her head, now their violent ways were useful to the crotchety old man. Freyyr paused to think about this.
"Was it the iron shells that attacked the hunters?" He eventually asked
"We can take you to where their armour has been stashed. The small one wanted to keep it as a prize of her hunt." Jolee offered
"Show me then. But they stay here till you do that" Freyyr acceded
The four watched as the two walked off into the jungle. Bastila was frowning slightly at the departing forms
"I don't like this idea at all." She muttered
"It is Jolee's play and we have to trust he knows what he is doing." Terri replied
Jolee came back two hours later alone. The four stood up from where they had lounged against their backpacks. Jolee briskly rubbed his hands together
"Good news is I managed to calm him down, he is now relatively stable." Jolee started
"Bad news?" Juhani asked
"He wants us to retrieve his symbol of chieftainship." Jolee answered
"Let me guess this symbol will let him reclaim his title and is currently held by Chuundar." Terri stated sarcastically
"You are half right. The item is a blade and he lost it down here." Jolee replied
"So we are to search the shadowlands for a blade?" Bastila asked incredulously
"No he knows where he lost it. Not far from here is a clearing where the chieftains have to prove their valour by fighting a creature. Freyyr dropped the blade when he was forced to retreat by the creature." Jolee explained
"What type of creature?" Juhani asked
"He could not tell me, simply called it the chiefs prize." Jolee shrugged
Terri shook her head
"Sure why not? Let us go fight some unknown beast. Everyone gets to do that on their tour down here." She said
They found the clearing easily enough, Several vines were hanging down in the middle of the clearing. Three clawed tracks littered the area. Juhani placed her hand down on one of the tracks, there was several centimetres of space to the side of her hand.
"At a guess five to six metres in height and several hundred kilograms judging on weight displacement. Probably within that cave at the end of the clearing." She reported
"And going in after it would give it even more advantage than it already has." Melissa commented
"Dark cave, close quarters fighter with height and weight advantage, it would be suicide." Juhani completed, nodding to Melissa in concurrence.
"So we have to lure it out." Terri summed up
"Did Freyyr say how they fight it?" Bastila asked Jolee
"He only said it is traditional to bring it an offering to get it to fight." Jolee shrugged
"So we have to offer it some bait then." Bastila deduced
The familiar chittering of kinrath drew their attention. Five of the Viper variety was approaching them menacingly. Terri lifted her rifle
"Since they are volunteering, why not take them up on it." She said, blandly.
It took some trial and error to get the Kinrath tied to the hanging vines. With the Kinrath hanging the second problem presented itself, how to make the creature aware of the feast in its honour.
"Gut it." Juhani suggested after some thought
"Problem. Lightsabers will cauterise the flesh so it will have to be done with a knife." Bastila pointed out
"Not it!" Melissa cried out
"I agree, Melissa has done her fair share already today." Juhani added
"Rock, flimsy, blade?" Terri suggested
Bastilla firmly held her breath as she drew the knife through the Kinraths abdominal cavity. Four piles of blood and guts littered the ground. With a squelch gravity helped in her grisly task and another pile plopped down, splattering her in the process.
She made her way back to where Jolee and Juhani were standing at the far end of the clearing. The two not so subtly gave her space, or more accurately got downwind from her. A growl filled the clearing and a set of sulphuric yellow eyes appeared in gloom of the cave. Thudding steps followed as the creature revealed itself as it approached the offering.
"A Teranterak. They are supposed to be extinct." Juhani exclaimed loudly.
The beast stopped by the hanging vines and screamed loudly. The sound hit them and they had to shake themselves to shrug of the stunning effect of its scream
"That is a force power." Bastila called out
"They were created by the Sith." Juhani called back.
Bastila pulled a detonator from her belt and pressed the button. The charges hidden by the bloody guts went of and the beast screeched in pain. Two laser bolts pulsed out from the tree branch above them, both struck true hitting the right knee joint, The creature dropped to one side. Juhani produced another detonator and depressed it. The charge placed at the side of the clearing went off in the face of the creature. Amazingly it still moved after getting a face full of explosives. A flurry of bolts remedied that situation. Terri and Melissa dropped down from the branch and secured their rifles. Melissa handing Bastila her rifle back.
Cautiously the five stepped towards the cave. Bastila nudged Juhani
"Earlier you called that thing a Teranterak. What can you tell us about it?" She asked
"I read of them in reports of the last Galactic Civil war, they are the products of Sith Alchemy. Bred to hunt Jedi. But the creatures were as happy to hunt Sith when they lost control of their beasts." Juhani lectured
"Whoever thought beasts like theses were good ideas?" Terri asked
"The Sith Lord Ajuunta Pall, or as he was called The great Alchemist. At the conclusion of the Sith war a trio of the greatest Jedi were dispatched to ensure the extinction of these beasts." Juhani answered
"What happened to them?" Bastila asked
"Unknown, they simply disappeared." Juhani replied
Playing their lights in the cave revealed a sliver of metal. Stepping closer they found a double bladed staff, with the one blade broke off mid blade. Runic etching lined the blade.
"That might be the blade Freyyr wants but he will want the whole thing. So we have to find the broken piece as well."
"Found it." Melissa called
She pointed to a festering wound on the downed beast where a shard of metal was visible. Terri picked up the blade and her boot scuffed through the detritus it was dumped in. Something clinked as her boot struck it. She let the beam of her light drop, the hilt of an ancient lightsaber was against her boot tip a much more ancient datapad under it, The lightsaber had clinked against a visor like device lined in gold filigree. She pointed to the visor like device
"Does anyone know what that is?" She asked
"I have seen pictures of it in the records I talked about. What exactly that is I have no idea." Juhani replied
"Another thing for Dorak then. Ther might be records to tell us whose lightsaber that was." Bastila said
"Guys, I found eggs." Melissa called from deeper in the cave
Five glistening eggs were in a nest in the farthest reach of the cave
"So we know how they procreate then." Juhani stated
"So that means there is another one close by." Terri said
"Not necessarily. Some species eat their mate after procreation and some species of reptile has been known to spontaneously change genders in single gender environments." Bastila espoused her theory
"So who has explosives left?" Terri asked
"Why must we kill these innocents?" Jolee objected
"Sith created Jedi Hunters. We can not let this species return to the wider galaxy." Melissa enunciated slowly and clearly to get her point across
"Again take a walk if you have an issue with what must be done." Terri told Jolee.
Two charges were set one to destroy the eggs, a second to drop the cave roof to seal the cave. They made their way back to the entrance tree of the lower shadowlands. Melissa stopped as she checked her datapad or more accurately their rough location.
"Whats up?" Terri asked
Melissa pointed to a path leading to the side.
"The Vesalik base is close to here according to the coordinates we retrieved."
Terri dropped her rucksack and grasped her rifle tighter
"I will go with you, quick recon and we fall back if we spot anything." She said
Melissa nodded as she too dropped her rucksack. The two merged into the jungle as they stalked off to find the base.
Multiple tents were standing in line in front of a square building. Anti aircraft camouflage netting was strung over the camp. A power supplier was hooked to the square building. They felt no living presence near the structures
"Want to go in?" Terri asked
"As much as I want to, no. I will give the location up to the Council of clans and have them send specialists to check the site. I am afraid I might trip a safeguard and lose everything here." Melissa replied
"Then let us get back to Jolee's place, I could really use a shower." Terri said, giving Melissa a sideways hug
Freyyr and Gorwooken were seated by a fire in front of the entrance to the lower shadowlands. The elder Wookie nearly ripping the blade out of Jolee's hand when he presented it to the Wookie. Plans were made by the two Wookies to take the traditional way back to the village by climbing the trees and to gather those loyal to Freyyr. Hnading Gorwooken a comlink to contact them when ready the five went back through the portal to the upper shadow lands, following the siren song of promise of an ice cold open air shower.