[20 BBY]
[Executive Security Solutions City-ship/Capital-class Warship Stormcrow {II}, In Orbit Garn, Garn System, Cadma Sector, Outer Rim Territories]
Jedi Master Stass Allie sat cross legged atop a large cushion as the last of holographic avatars of the available members of Council flashed into existence in a half-circle in front of her. A decent attendance in these dark times, especially since they were occurring far too often in her opinion as matters continued to crop up thanks to the war. Of course this was another problem needing urgent attention, and even at the great distance between them she could almost feel the weariness emanating from them. Stass could relate, though the recent time here had been a brief break from such...till the current matter had arisen at the least.
"Master Allie, problems you have encountered..." Grandmaster Yoda's hologram stated "...concerns you have"
"Yes Master Yoda, there is clearly a Force user active on the planet, which could be dealt with, but the destruction of the droid scouts sent into the ruins around that crashed ship indicate a larger problem. One that is malevolent and long lasting in nature judging by the remains observed before the destruction of the droids...and, more importantly, is the presence of the soul stones..." she answered shaking her head a little "...prior to this event. If not for that I would likely be supportive of Daron's opinion to destroy the site from orbit and then place the system under quarantine. It is clearly a lure, in both the Force and these phantom messages for aid, to draw in the unwary"
Master Windu's holographic avatar nodded "Yes, having seen the recordings I would hold to a similar position, and leaving it unattended would be too dangerous with Separatist threat. This reeks of the Dark Side, and whatever is down there could be roused to activity should some of those we are hunting in the Outer Rim attempt to gain access to it"
"Would it not be best to quarantine the system? Leaving a defensive force in place to monitor the situation till are better able to deal with whatever problem rests on the surface?"
Master Yoda shook his head in response to her kinswoman Adi's query "Time we have not, ships we have not, such is true Master Allie?"
She nodded "Yes Master Yoda, there are not enough forces available to maintain a standard guard force till we can investigate matters in depth. I've spoken to Daron, and he has already been forced to redeploy a number of warships to maintain the illusion of patrols. That the forces here have not found something significant as well, and, with the recent setbacks the fleet staying here is a matter of days, perhaps a week or two at the very most, before it will be impossible to not redeploy it"
"Which is why he recommended destruction from orbit I imagine? Hmm..." Master Kenobi's avatar stated hand stroking his beard "...and I'd have to agree Master Yoda. These Sectors...we do not have the forces available to station a fleet large enough to prevent intrusion nearby, and we still have not located those Count Dooku have sent to cause trouble for us. Hmm...I can aid in the task, as can Padawan Tano, though Anakin will require a few more days at least to recover from his injuries"
"No, more we must send, a trap it is, caution we must show, face danger with strength..." Master Yoda replied after a moment "...help you Master Kenobi, Knight Tachi will, Master Luminara, her Padawan. Knight Skywalker injured he is, Master Krell needed with his fleet, but support your lost Padawan will give Master Adi? Hmm?"
She nodded "Most definitely I believe, though likely in the form of droids Master Yoda. Due to the contagion aboard the scout ship, and what occurred when it was boarded, it is a risk not worth incurring"
Though it was more Daron would be very unlikely to risk his Troopers without good reason, and she herself could see little reason to do so. Whatever was down there required a Jedi, or in this case multiple Jedi, to deal with and bringing others into the situation would likely only make it worse in her own estimation. While she believed her former Padawan was being overly cautious in implementing Rakghoul Protocols and maintaining a distance from the planet, the fact remained a Force Sensitive should be more resistant to whatever dangers rested down on that dead world.
"Reasonable..." Master Windu agreed, his avatar glancing toward Master Yoda's and getting a small nod in response "...and I do believe Master Yoda is correct. Stass, everyone available in your area of operations will be sent to aid you immediately. If that isn't enough...then I suggest your former Padawan's recommendation be implemented in a worst case scenario"
"Even with the soul stones present? Their release through destruction has been known to cause...troubles...in the Force"
Master Windu nodded sadly "The priority would be on recovering them yes, but we are stretched and these are not normal times. Evidence presented indicates a strong, and long lasting, Dark Side presence that has sought to reach out..."
--
[20 BBY]
[Executive Security Solutions City-ship/Capital-class Warship Stormcrow {II}, In Orbit Garn, Garn System, Cadma Sector, Outer Rim Territories]
Studying the footage was mildly concerning, along with the combination of feelings in the Force and the energy readings. There was just something...off...about the whole thing as I watched the last unit's feed suddenly cut out as it was destroyed. Physically destroyed by being grabbed according to the sensor data, or at least that was my interpretation of it, and there were odd flickers before the recordings cut out showing potential attackers when magnified and slowed down. Stass wasn't overly sure, and neither were my analysts, but the general consensus was potential animals or created creatures under a Force Sensitive's control that had ambushed from behind.
'Or more fungus-Force-zombies of course, fast ones at that' I mused sitting back in my Sanctum, taking the datapad with the details into hand and studying it again. Predatory fungal species, but in of itself shouldn't have caused locomotion of the dead bodies let along the aggressiveness displayed aboard the Sunlight Dreaming; which was no atoms after been sent flying into the sun. It just wasn't worth the risk even after decontamination to put it back in service; a light freighter like that was just easier to replace in my view.
Ancient Force 'plagues' were often dangerously ridiculous, and ridiculously dangerous, after all, so I wasn't happy with this setup of an ancient ruin with a Force User lurking about inside. As much as the Order, and my former Master, wished to argue otherwise the fact was the Jedi and Sith of the ancient wars had been far more powerful and skilled than modern ones. And that was merely using access to the available records in the Temple Library rather than grand meta-knowledge on my part, or attempting to gain access to the more restricted places in said Library.
"Now comes the hard part of ensuring the lemmings all wear sealed suits of course rather than trusting in the Force when we go down there" I murmured to nobody, and ignoring the irritation at having yet more Jedi hovering around and preventing me doing things. Ventress had failed, as I'd expected, but now I was stuck in this middle of nowhere system and it was impossible to coordinate more private things when the risk of discovery lingered in the air. I sighed. There was little to be done on that beyond send Jurdan away with part of the fleet and agreement for him to manage certain things in my absence – it'd also mitigate the risk of whatever was down there getting to a larger fleet. Still...
...I gave snort of amusement, putting aside the datapad and taking the glass of brandy into hand. It'd be good to see Barriss again, even if was under terrible circumstances, and before she went off and turned from the perfect Padawan into the perfect Jedi and likely cut all ties with me as Tiplee and Tiplar had effectively done. Anakin hadn't, but in all honesty Anakin made a terrible Jedi for this day and age and got passes due to the Order's desperate need to believe in a very incorrectly understood prophesy. I took another sip, resting back into the chair and thinking through my next moves.
'What do we know about Pius Dea and this Order of the Terrible Glare? Nothing good apparently'
Reading about the madness of the Pius Dea Crusades in the Temple was a lot more entertaining when the sparse details weren't threatening to get you killed. Human-centric fanatics, with a number of Jedi as best I could tell, though they definitely had Shamans...though after this length they should be long dead, though Force Ghosts were a thing that existed. Existed and could have pulled off what was occurring down below us. Could even be Sith, though that seemed unlikely, especially with the nature of the ruins and the fact Garn seemed to be one of the 'Last Stands' made by the remnants of the Crusaders according to my limited copy of the Temple Library here aboard the Stormcrow...
--
[20 BBY]
[Base Camp Alpha, Surface of Garn, Garn System, Cadma Sector, Outer Rim Territories]
Jedi Master Luminara Unduli watched as Padawan Tano fidgeted in her sealed, and lightly armoured, hazard suit as the gunship landed on this supposedly dead world. Somewhat understandable, she hated the uncomfortable things as well, and not unexpected of Knight Skywalker's Padawan. Even Bariss was discomforted by her own suit after all, the odd shifting of feet indicated the stoic acceptance of that, so she merely smiled inside at memories of her own time as a Padawan. It was always good to think of pleasant thoughts and draw upon their serenity when going into such danger as they were now she'd found.
"Feels strange to be fighting beside droids Master..." her Barriss said through the communicator in her suit, an odd look upon her face through the clear see-through face plate "...not that I do not understand why, but..."
Luminara smiled tapping the button to communicate only with her Padawan "I cannot but agree Padawan, but such is the way of things when the situation demands. Be at ease though, they are your friend's droids, and Master Paratus would argue otherwise as well I imagine. Considering the likelihood of what we may face it is best to avoid placing others in danger they would not be suited to deal with"
She watched as 'General' Stormcrow dismounted his own gunship with two large MagnaGuard-like droids flanking him along with a squad of these up-armoured B-1's his forces used. They looked far too much like regular Troopers for her own liking, but those were personal feelings and such emotions were beneath a Jedi she reminded herself. It was disgraceful then that the Council would be attempting to exploit such by place her Padawan in a clearly uncomfortable position of dealing with an attachment by making use of it. Bariss would make an excellent Jedi, and this parading of herself and her Padawan grated on her...as while Bariss would be make such a Jedi, she was not one yet and should not be expected to deal with such.
'Though should any of us be expected to deal with such things in these dire times...' she reminded herself as their group dismounted their transports and assembled amidst the droids commanded by the former Padawan turned Republic General as Obi-wan Kenobi began to detail their mission '...too much rushing. Too many stop-gaps to deal with problems...such as we are doing now'
Though it was a fair approach to the problem; herself, two Masters, a Knight, two Padawans, and effectively one other Padawan despite leaving the Order, should be adequate to investigate this problem. Their 'ally' seemed to be taking the matter seriously after all as several of the droids had heavy flamer packs or heavy weaponry, and an overwatch had been established on the outside of the crashed-ship/ruins along with signal tracking. As such it was an 'easy' walk through the 'mists' clouding this sickly world...the Force feeling slightly *off* in a way that appeared to bother Knight Tachi somewhat. Understandable considering what she knew of the human Knight's abilities.
"...corridors are large, but we'll have to move in a column..." the actually armour clad, in some sort of heavy mandalorian design, former Padawan was saying in a synthesised, near mechanical, voice through his suit as they approached the entrance to the old structures "...but I can I suggest droids at the van and the rear? Something was weird about the footage"
Kenobi nodded in his white hazard suit, Padawan Tano fidgeting beside the two of them, voice coming through the communication circuit to everyone as well "An acceptable precaution"
Despite that the immediate entry into the dark gloom interior was uneventful, the ruins a fascinating, albeit discomforting, architecture; it clearly had been a Temple of some sort. Or perhaps still was, though the silence that greeted them as they moved cautiously forward, lightsabers at the ready but unignited, may have argued otherwise as the droids probed into every crevice with lights. They came across the first ancient skeleton, a sort of mummified one, in ancient armour of the Order's members...
"How long have they been here? Remarkably well preserved for thousands of years..." she stated calmly studying the corpse as behind her the armour clad 'General' Stormcrow knelt down, hand touching the ground as his head looked around at the wall. Luminara resisted frowning, glancing at him and opting for his name over his title as was judged best for Barriss's sake "...do you sense something Daron?"
"No..." came back after a moment as the helmeted head studied the ground and the walls "...but this was where one of the droids was destroyed. Where is the body?"
"That..."
Something flickered in the Force even as Obi-wan began to reply, something dark and oppressive, a twinge in her head as she flinched. Lightsabers ignited, the two large MagnaGuards moving into a defensive stance as their group watched for trouble at the edge of what looked to be an entrance to a large chamber. 'General' Stormcrow stood back up, a blaster coming into hand "Two of our rearmost droids just went down..."
...something flickered again...
Under the light of their weapons THINGS began to flow into realty, skittering and squelching through the inky black walls on either side of them...
--