Chapter 21: The Ruins

Calak, Carth, and Bastila made their way to the ruins further down the path from the enclave while the rest of their group went out to scout the plains. They came to the entrance, which was blocked by an ancient door. As they approached it Calak touched it and it opened.

"Amazing," Calak said. "This door must be thousands of years old and it still works."

"This is likely the oldest intact structure on Dantooine," Bastila said.

"And you really think we're gonna find something to help us defeat the Sith in here?" Carth asked skeptically.

"We can only hope," Bastila said. "The force gave us this vision for a reason. We must trust in the wisdom of the council."

The two Jedi walked in while Carth shook his head. He wasn't so sure he could call the council wise. When the Mandalorians came and began their full scale invasion of the Republic, they had not taken immediate action and abandoned the army in his eyes. Revan and Malak had come to their aid and they'd turned the tide of the war that surely would have destroyed the Republic. He didn't say this, but intended to ask Bastila soon enough.

They walked inside. The light from the sun above vanished as they entered the ruins. It was cold in this place, like when Calak went to the grove where Juhani had been.

"Malak said the dark side is strong in this place," Bastila said with a shudder. "He was right."

"It certainly is a scary place," Carth agreed.

Inside was a short empty hallway carved from dark stone with another door at the end. Mist seemed to fill the place and obscure it. They approached that door as well and Calak touched it. Like the entrance, it opened. Beyond was a smaller square room with a door on each side. Then in the center of the room was a droid of some kind with four spider shaped legs.

The droid spoke as it saw them. It spoke in a strange alien dialect, one that Calak (for all his expertise) was helpless to translate.

He gazed at the droid in confusion. "What language is that? I can't understand you."

The droid spoke again, but this time in a different language from the last.

"I still didn't understand," Calak said before turning to his companions. "Bastila, do you or Carth understand it?"

"Not me," Carth said.

"I think the droid is trying to communicate with us by cycling through a variety of languages," Bastila said. "Each time it spoke it used a very different form of alien dialect."

Then, as if the third time was the charm, the droid spoke again.

"I can reproduce any language belonging to the slaves of the Builders."

"Hey I recognize that language!" Calak said in relief.

"I do as well, it's an archaic variant of the Selkath spoken on Manaan!" Bastila said as well. "But why would a droid on Dantooine be programmed to speak ancient Selkath?"

The droid answered Bastila's question. "Communication was vital so the Builders had me programmed with every language possessed by their slaves."

Builders? Slaves? Calak hadn't heard of the former.

"How long have you been here?" Calak asked.

"My chronological tracker estimates that I have been here for ten revolutions of this planet around its sun," the droid said.

Bastila's eyes widened. "Ten Revolutions would take more than Twenty Thousand Years!"

"Whoa," Calak said.

"But-" Carth started.

"If this is true then this droid is five thousand years older then Republic itself," Bastila finished in disbelief.

"That's impossible," Carth said in a similar tone.

"I don't know," Calak said. "This is the oldest intact structure on Dantooine right? And how old is it estimated to be?"

Bastila hesitated. "I suppose it is possible. The Jedi Archaelogists predict this is actually older then the Republic. But its amazing the droid is still functioning."

"I was built to last for eternity unless destroyed," the droid said.

"So what is your purporse here?" Calak asked.

"I am the Overseer. It is my duty and programming to the builders when they return."

"Have you seen a builder recently?" Calak asked.

The droid's response was negative. "Not since the construction of this temple was complete. You are not of the species that are of the slaves… or the builders. You are like the ones that came before."

"It must be referring to Revan," Bastila said. "The Dark Lord and Malak likely encountered this droid when they entered this temple."

That had not been in Calak's vision from a few weeks ago. But that didn't mean it hadn't been here.

"So, what happened here?" Calak asked the droid, it was time to find out the whole story as much as he could.

"All the slaves were executed and the Builders left once the construction of this temple was completed."

"Who were the builders?"

"The Builders are the great masters of the galaxy. They built the infinite empire and ruled over it with the glory of the Star Forge."

Infinite Empire? Star Forge? Calak wondered. These were things he'd never heard of. And looking at Bastila, she hadn't either. Carth was confused as he didn't understand the Selkath tongue.

"These builders must be an extinct people. But it is strange. I don't recall a record of their existence," Bastila said. "In the years before the Republic the Hutts were a dominant species, but they never constructed an empire. In fact, I know of no species that would fit this description."

Calak briefly thought that Selkath might have been the builders but the droid had said the Selkath had been slaves.

"Something must have happened to wipe them out," Calak said.

The droid objected to that. "The strength of the builders was mighty and everlasting, there is no way they could possibly have been destroyed."

Apparently the droid was programmed to believe its masters were infinitely superior to other forms of government as well.

Carth hummed in thought. "You know, there is a legend that hyperspace was brought to the galaxy by a forgotten species now extinct. Maybe they were the ones that made this Infinite Empire!"

"I suppose that makes sense," Calak said.

All of them had heard the legends growing up about hyperspace. Perhaps the Builders and their Infinite Empire had been the source of it all. There was also a legend of a great galactic battle being fought from which the Republic and Jedi were eventually created. Perhaps that foe had been the builders, and they'd been purged from history after that. This was an interesting find today, if Calak had been an archeologist he would have called this the galactic discovery of a lifetime.

"Well, what is your purpose here?" Calak asked.

I was tasked to wait until they returned and guide those that sought knowledge of the Star Forge."

"Star Forge?" Calak asked. "What's that?"

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders

"The droid is obviously not programmed with the knowledge we seek," Bastila said in disappointment. "The Star Forge sounds like some sort of weapon. Though in fact it could be anything."

"Star Forge huh?" Carth said, intrigued.

Calak had an idea as well. The word Forge certainly sounded like it was used to create something. "Could it be a factory or a weapons plant?"

"Maybe," Bastila agreed. "That might explain how Revan and Malak were able to amass a fleet so quickly. But I suspect the Star Forge is more powerful then a mere factory!"

"They've had a secret plant out there somewhere this whole time that just keeps making them ships!" Carth exclaimed. "No wonder we can't seem to see an end to their fleet. Our ships dwindle and they just keep making more."

"How can we can acquire knowledge of the Star Forge?" Bastila asked the droid.

"I do not give answers to females," the droid said.

Bastila frowned. Apparently this droid's creator had been of the ancient opinion males were superior. She turned to Calak.

"I guess it responds to you."

Calak sighed to keep his emotions in check at the disrespect Bastila had received.

"How do we acquire knowledge of the Star Forge?"

"You must enter the proving grounds on either side of me," the droid said.

They looked back around them. The way back behind them was the way out, and the two doors on the side must have been the proving grounds. Then the knowledge must be held in…

"The room behind me holds the key to finding the clues leading to the Star Forge," the doird said. "But be warned, the dangers inside are formidable. One who is ill prepared like that one there…"

It gestured to a body lying in the corner. Calak took a close look and saw it was the old Jedi he'd met when he set out to face Juhani.

"Poor Nemo," Bastila said sadly. "The council sent him here to investigate, and it cost him his life."

"Did you kill the Jedi there?" Calak asked reaching for his lightsaber.

"I am not programmed for combat," the Overseer said before Calak could light the blade. "The trials in the doors beyond were what killed your fellow seeker."

Calak sighed.

"Guess if we want to find out what this Star Forge is we have to face the trials ourselves," Bastila said.

"Guess so," Calak agreed.

They turned to the doors on the side. Right or left first?

"Let's go this way," Calak said heading to the door on the left.

He stopped and Bastila and Carth flanked him soon enough.

"Be ready, for anything," Calak said. "Whatever is in here is capable of killing a lone Jedi."

Good thing there were two of them now, just as there had been with Revan and Malak. And Carth was there as well. They could only hope for the best as Calak pressed the ancient door and it opened.

They entered the proving ground to the left. As the door opened the saw a droid that looked exactly like the one in the small room behind them. This one, however, must have been programmed for combat.

The droid beeped, and Calak didn't need to know its language to know its tone was one of a deadly threat. The droid shot blaster fire at him, but he managed to light his lightsaber and simultaneously use its brilliant blue blade to deflect the shots back at the droid. His training in Form III Soresu was certainly coming in handy against these blaster wielding opponents. He even managed to send the shots back at the droid, but its armor seemed to completely negate it.

Ah well, that won't matter once I cut it in half! Calak thought as he switched from defense to offense, going from Form III to IV. He leapt forward, his blade hitting the droid on its armored shell. But incredibly… it didn't cut, there wasn't even a trace of heat left on the metal.

Calak's surprise at this gave the droid the opportunity to thrust out with its sharp legs. The barrier from his armband belt protected him thankfully. This was not good though, both he and this droid had formidable defenses against each other. He could use his lightsaber and Jedi reflexes to block or avoid the shots, and his shield would protect him from physical attacks, but the droid could resist his lightsaber. A battle like this could drag on potentially for a long time, and eventually Calak would tire out most likely. The droid might have been over twenty thousand years old but it was still functioning fine and showed no signs of malfunctioning.

Bastila came forward and attempted her own lightsaber as well but was met with the same result.

"Our lightsabers are useless!" she exclaimed as she dodged the droids counterstrike.

Carth shot at it with his blasters, but those yielded the same result.

"Damn! If only I brought my ion weapon with me!" Carth said before gazing down at his vibroblades.

He sheathed his pistols and drew both melee weapons. "This better work!"

Carth charged forward with his blades as the droid focused on Bastila. She was backed into a corner however and it thrusted its legs out at her. She tried to block but the force and speed of the thrust was too much. She received a shallow stab wound on the leg that caused her to cry out.

"Bastila!" Calak exclaimed. "No!"

He lashed out with the force, pushing the droid as Bastila limped off to the side. Carth engaged the droid now. His blades vibrated and he cut. The armor was designed to repel energy primarily, but it still held a bit of resistance to cutting. However, Carth was able to see weaker spots in the metal, and he aimed for those.

Well it seemed sometimes physical blades might be better then lightsabers. Calak thought. Maybe he should keep his prototype vibroblade on him as a backup weapon? He knew the Sith were using cortosis laced assault droids to stand up to lightsabers. Yeah, might be a good idea. He and Bastila might have been lost if not for Carth there.

They looked through the room they were in. Toward the back was a computer, an ancient computer.

"Could it really still be functioning?" Carth wondered.

"Well, the droids do," Calak said.

He approached the computer and located the power button. Pressing it, he saw to his relief the screen lit up. But when it did so he saw characters of runes that he did not recognize.

"Ah great how am I supposed to figure out what the Star Forge is or pass the test without even being able to read the language?" Calak said.

There was a clicking sound below and Calak saw a data receptacle open.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It looks like a data reader," Bastila said. "Different from ours but it looks it should still fit with our datapads. It might have a language translation system like many of ours do."

Calak sighed and was glad he kept his datapad with him at all times. He removed it from his belt and inserted it into the receptacle. It popped in and the ancient computer began to collect data. Calak just hoped all his data would still be intact. He and his friends waited in silence for a while and then Calak sighed.

"Ah, come on."

As if it had been waiting for him to say something, the receptacle opened. The runes on the screen turned to Galactic Basic and a question appeared.

Identify the three life giving terrains.

A list of choices followed. Volcanic, Barren, Oceanic, Aboreal, Grass, and Dessert.

Calak paused before working the controls. This test required a little bit of thinking and understanding of planetary terrain. Seems the builders wanted someone who was not only strong but also intelligent to find the Star Forge, whatever it was. But it was easy once one remembered what sort of things worlds needed to make life hospitable. Water, plant-life, and clean air. True many worlds held mixtures of these things, but there were some that had too much of one and not enough of others. Some worlds out there were difficult or even impossible for life. Like Lava or dessert planets.

He selected the two options he knew would support life better. Oceanic and grassland, but he didn't know about the last one. Barren, Desert and Volcanic were out as they were harsh environments that made life hard and more often brought death.

"What's arboreal?" Calak asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"That means plant life," Bastila said.

"Ah, that's it then," Calak said as he selected that one as well.

Correct, life seal broken. The screen read.

They heard a click nearby. Did that mean they'd unlocked one lock keeping the main door closed? They made their way back to the center room and the droid greeted them.

"You've opened one seal. But the next remains," the overseer said. "Enter the death proving ground and face its tests as well."

Death Proving Ground huh? That certainly sounded menacing. Hopefully it wouldn't be much more difficult than the life ground. The trio walked over to the door on the other side of the one they'd just come out of. It opened and Calak expected to see something worse than before. But… it was just about the same. Except for being emptier than the last room. The only thing inside was another droid and a computer.

"Okay, guess its up to me again huh?" Carth said. "Well, you Jedi can just sit back I suppose!"

Boy he was getting cocky. But given that their lightsabers weren't of any use in this situation most likely, he might have earned bragging rights. It wasn't every day the Jedi had to rely on soldiers to protect them more then it was the other way around.

Carth charged forward to deal with the droid, his energy shield activated to ward off any blaster shots that might come at him. But the second droid didn't fire blaster shots. Instead it sent out a stream of ice that froze Carth in place.

"Carth!" Calak exclaimed.

The droid fired at Carth who could do nothing but take the hit. Good thing his energy shield was still up even though it hadn't protected him from the ice.

"Looks like we have to be the heroes again Calak," Bastila said.

The two Jedi got in front of Carth as the droid sent another set of shots. Calak deflected them while Bastila used the force to send her lightsaber flight at the droid. But its specially made metal, which was likely cortosis or possibly something else, resisted it just as the other one had.

"What do we do?" Bastila asked. "Carth's vibroblades are better against it then our lightsabers!"

Calak thought for only a couple seconds. He then reached out to Carth's frozen form.

"Mind if I borrow this for a second?" Calak asked as he took the vibroblade in Carth's left hand.

With the new blade, Calak charged. His lightsaber deflected the shots aimed at him now while the vibrating shortsword dug into the metal of the droid. Bastila deactivated one blade on her yellow lightsaber and took Carth's other weapon.

"After that assault droid on Taris and now this… remind me to carry a backup weapon for a while!" Bastila said. "I think I still have that double vibroblade from the race!"

She joined him in the assault. The droid shot ice at Calak but thanks to the force he felt a warning vibration and his Jedi reflexes allowed him to dodge it and avoid being frozen. Clangs echoed through the room as he and Bastila used their borrowed weapons to cut at the droids ancient circuits. Finally after several strikes it sparked and overloaded. Calak then looked at Carth. He reached out used the force to remove the ice casing around his comrade.

"Ah! Ooh that's cold," Carth said as he lost his footing.

Bastila tended to Carth with the force while Calak continued on to the second computer. It was the same process as before. It opened its slot at the sound of his voice and he inserted his datapad. Then when he called over his shoulder to see if Carth would be fine it returned his datapad and finished translating. Seemed it needed to be talked to just a couple times and then made an accurate translation of the language. Of course, it probably had basic stored in its databank as a language. That tongue had been around since the beginning of humanoid life practically.

Soon the same question appeared on the screen of the ancient monitor. But for the other kind of landscape.

Identify the three primary death giving terrains.

That was easy as it was the reverse of the last set. If Calak had been a naïve child unfamiliar with things like terrain things would have been different. He selected barren, desert and volcanic. The second lock opened and they headed back to the middle and to the last door. It opened and the three of them walked in with Bastila supporting Carth. The room beyond was dark like the others, but at the end they saw something on the ground. It looked like a set of three tale black claws, and Calak recognized it from the vision they'd had of Revan and Malak the night before he'd begun his training.

The tri-claw like structure was attacked to an orb at the bottom. As the group approached the mysterious device suddenly seemed to detect them. The claws fell flat on the ground and an orb rose from the center of the inside of the device, it lit up and projected an image that looked like a star chart showing four planets that shined brighter among several others.

"This… this must be what Revan and Malak found when they entered this temple," Bastila said. "This must be where their journey down the dark side began."

"But I don't understand, this doesn't tell us what the Star Forge is," Calak said.

"No. This is a… map," Bastila said. "Some sort of intergalactic navigational chart."

She took a closer look at the map and gestured to one of the planets. "You see this, it looks like Korriban, a Sith World. Then if that's Korriban…"

She examined the other worlds that stood out, there were a total of five counting Dantooine which had an orange marker above that must have indicated this was the planet they were on.

"Then if that's Korriban, then this is Kashykk," Bastila said gesturing to the next world. "And Tatooine, and here's Manaan. But this doesn't tell us where the Star Forge is."

"Perhaps those other worlds hold clues?" Calak suggested.

"I was thinking that too. I know Revan and Malak visited Korriban at least once. Perhaps they found something there. These planets must have other maps, puzzles pieces for us to put together. Then that is what we have to do as well," Bastila said. "If we go to every planet and find every map… we find the Star Forge. Then perhaps we can destroy it and allow the Republic to defeat the Sith."

"That sounds like quite a supposition," Carth said. "What if you're wrong?"

Indeed, even if the Star Forge was destroyed, the Sith already had a great army already.

"What if I'm right?" Bastila asked in turn. "Regardless, we must inform the council of this discovery. They'll know what to do."

They turned back the way they came, leaving the ancient droid behind. They headed back out into the sunlight of Dantooine, hoping the knowledge they'd found in those dark ruins would light the way to defeating the Sith.

Calak looked across the plains, knowing the others were out there.

"Do we need to go to the council right away?" he asked. "Lot of things going on out there like the Mandalorians and missing people like Shen Matale or Elise's droid."

Bastila nodded reluctantly. "I suppose if we're trying to help people the council won't mind if we take a little more time."

Calak nodded and they headed in the other direction out onto the plains. He got out the commlink and activated it.

"Hello? You guys there?" he asked.

"We're here," Canderous's voice came from the other end. "We're all okay. And we may have found something you should see."

Okay another chapter down and we will be heading into the plains to deal with other threats like Sherruck and find the missing droid.