"Tommy, it looks as though this could be a challenging climb. I suggest we grab the power packs from The Ultrazord," Billy said as he looked up the long winding staircase as far as he could before it vanished around a sharp corner.
"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea," Tommy agreed. The rangers and Leia went back into The Ultrazord and to the equipment room. There they each grabbed a backpack made of a lightweight but, extremely durable metal alloy. The packs contained rope, various tools including survival knives, small hatchets, a fire-building kit, compact but powerful flashlights, food, water, and medical supplies.
"Alright, let's go see this castle. Hopefully, we can get in, did anyone else notice that the drawbridge was raised?" Zack asked.
"We'll find a way," Jason said with a slight laugh as he followed Tommy and Kat as they started up the path.
"We seemingly always do," Trini laughed.
"Affirmative," Billy agreed. "The path seems well taken care of at any rate. Perhaps the climb up will not be that difficult."
"Billy, why would you say that?" Tommy asked flatly.
What Billy had said was true, the start of the path was clear of any major debris, but, signs of wear were present. Some of the steps were broken, others missing, others still, had shifted, sat at odd angles, and were treacherously slick. Tommy led the way up the path, followed closely by Kat, then Jason, Trini, Leia, Billy, and Zack bringing up the rear. The group rounded the corner and came to a stop. A large gap was left where part of the path had fallen down the cliffside.
"Wel, so much for an easy climb," Kat said placing her hands on her hips. "Anybody got any ideas?"
Tommy began looking at the cliffside. It was largely smooth. The only issue he could see was the distance, but his instincts, The Force itself told him it was possible. "Yeah, I've got one. Step back, I need some room." The other rangers and Leia stepped back, allowing Tommy to take a few steps back himself. Then, without warning, ran forward and lept angling himself towards the cliffside. When he neared it, he shifted his body so that his legs were angled toward the wall. He began to run along the wall, leaping again. Kat let out a loud gasp when Tommy caught himself on the ledge at the farside before pulling himself up.
"Hey, yo Tommy!" Zack yelled across the gap. "That was cool and all, but how are we supposed to get across?" Tommy smirked to himself as he reached out with his right hand. He reached out with The Force and focused on Zack as he slowly curled his fingers. Zack felt his body softly jerk forward then rapidly gained speed. "WHOA!" he yelled in surprise as he flew across the gap to where Tommy was waiting and came to a gentle stop.
"Like that," Tommy said dryly before turning his attention back across the gap. One by one he used The Force to pull the others across the gap. Once they were all across they turned the corner to find themselves facing a wall. Tommy looked up to the top and sighed. "Billy, what do you think?"
"Let me see," he said, pulling off his pack and taking out a scanning device. He held the device up to the wall and a blue light ran over it several times before the scanner beeped. "According to this," he said, pausing to look at the scanner's screen. "Scans indicate that the molecular structure is more than sufficient to support a climb."
"You heard the man," Tommy said taking his pack off and removing two black gloves with green accents. "Climbing gloves on guys. Remember to press hard against the surface," he added as he checked the gloves to make sure they were tight on his wrists before he pressed against the wall. The group worked their way up the wall slowly and carefully. When they finally reached the top, they walked out of a cave onto a narrow ledge.
"Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down," Trini thought as she steadily put one foot in front of the other.
"Trini, you okay back there?" Jason asked, knowing that Trini had once struggled with heights.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, Jase," she replied, her voice wavering ever so slightly with fear. Sensing her fear, Tommy reached out with the force, focusing on her and helping to calm her.
Once they were across the narrow ledge they continued along the path as it steepened and eventually rounded the mountainside.
"Back into a cave we go," Leia said with a sigh.
When they entered the cave, Tommy felt a tremor in The Force. "Wait," he said holding his hand up to stop the other others. He stepped further into the cave and pulled his original lightsaber into his hand. He heard a faint clicking sound, as if something hard, but fairly narrow was hitting the stone floor of the cave. He activated his lightsaber as he spun, sidestepped a large black centipede-like creature with dripping fangs, and swiftly decapitated it. The air filled with multiple shrieks as several more of the creatures emerged from the shadows. Tommy glanced ahead as he summoned his second lightsaber, activated it, and joined it with his original making a saber-staff. He could see the opening on the far side of the cave and could sense that the path was clear. "Go! Run through!" he yelled. He stabbed one of the creatures through the mouth as it tried to bite him. He then rolled gracefully through the air cleaving one of the creatures in half.
"Please be safe, please be safe," Kat thought as she and the others ran past Tommy doing their best to avoid the creatures and their leader's deadly weapon. She looked back as she reached the far opening and saw Tommy quickly cut down five more of the creatures before the remaining few scurried away. He walked backward slowly keeping his lightsabers ignited and at the ready.
"Man, those things gave me the heebie-jeebies," Zack said with an exaggerated shiver.
"You're not the only one," Kat said glancing back into the cave. "And I Thought Australia had big bugs."
Thankfully, the rest of the journey to the gatehouse proved to be uneventful for the group. Once they reached it they entered its large open archway and into the structure itself and stared across the wide chasm to the raised drawbridge on the other side. Tommy stood near the edge of the gap looking at the bridge, and consulting The Force for guidance.
"Well, what now?" Leia asked.
"We lower the bridge," Tommy said matter-of-factly.
"H-how exactly do you plan to do that? Rip it down with The Force?" Trini asked.
"Don't overdo it, bro. Remember Dantooine?" Jason asked placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder.
"I'll be using The Force, yes, but not on the bridge itself. Look above it. Notice anything."
"A gold ball? Zack asked, "What's so special about that?"
"Look at the markings on it, does it remind you of anything?" Tommy asked with a smile.
Trini gasped, "Hey is that..." she began leaving her unasked question hanging in the air.
"Affirmative, I do believe you're right, Trini," Billy said as he examined what Tommy had noticed.
"Is that... a Holocron?" Kat asked.
"Not a Holocron no, but, I believe it functions similarly to one," Tommy said as he reached out with his right hand toward it. He closed his eyes and focused intently on the device. It took a few seconds but, it began to rotate and shift around. Small swirling pieces broke away, intricately re-intertwined, and then fell back into place. When it did the drawbridge gave a jerk before it began to slowly lower, the heavy chains that held it rattling loudly. With a loud thud, it hit the small lip that extended from the edge of the cliff that the gatehouse was built on.
Without a moment of hesitation, Tommy began to walk across the draw bridge. Leia and the others looked at one another and shrugged before quickly following him. When they reached the other side and walked into the entrance hall they were surprised to find that the marble-like floor was polished to a high shine. There were no signs of neglect on the chairs, tables, paintings, and sculptures that lined the walls. Metallic footsteps caught their attention. Tommy turned toward them and saw a protocol droid similar to C-3PO only in white and blue coverings approaching them.
"By The Force, visitors!" the droid said waving its arms excitedly. "I welcome you travelers to The Jedi Temple on Verosis. I am TC-989, a humble servant to The Jedi Order. How may I be of assistance?" the droid asked as it gave a bow and introduced itself.
"I'm Tommy Oliver, a Jedi Knight, this is Leia Organa, my padawan, and these are my friends, Zack, Kat, Billy, Trini, and Jason. Masters Yoda, Kenobi, Windu, and Nu sent me here in hopes of rebuilding The Jedi."
"Forgive me sir, but I have no record of you or your Padawan in my memory banks. Although we have been cut off from the main temple on Coruscant for quite some time."
"CT, you might want to sit down, we've got to catch you up," Zack said.
"Whatever do you mean, sir?"
"CT," Tommy said with a slight sigh. "Tell me what you know of Chancellor Palpatine."
"At the time of the disconnection, Chancellor Palpatine was the long-serving leader of The Galactic Senate and Republic. He had been in office long after his term should have ended and The Jedi High Council had begun to grow suspicious of him, and suspected he might have something to do with the war."
"They were right, CT," Tommy said with a sympathetic look. "He was behind it, all of it. Chancellor Sheve Palpatine was also Darth Sidious. A Sith Lord that engineered the entire war. He painted the Jedi as traitors to The Republic, installed himself as Emperor, and rules the galaxy with an iron fist."
"Surely that can't be. The Jedi Order would have done something," CT said after taking a long moment to process what he had been told.
"By the time they figured it out it was too late. Sidious managed to turn Anakin Skywalker to The Dark Side and ordered all the clones to kill their Jedi commanders. Most of them died never knowing what truly happened. When Skywalker, now called Darth Vader led a battalion of clones into the temple Master Nu severed the link from the main temple to this one."
"How horrible!" CT said again waving his arms wildly. "If you are here and are a Jedi as you say then there is still hope, I suppose."
"Yes, there's a growing Rebel Army that wants to restore The Republic. We're all members of it," Kat said.
"Then, Master Oliver please consider myself and the rest of the droid staff at your disposal. As the highest-ranking Jedi here, please allow me to show you to the master's chamber in the central Tower. After that, I will have some of the others see that your padawan and your other companions have rooms of their own."
"Thanks, CT," Tommy said with a nod.
"It is my pleasure and honor, sir. Follow me please," CT said as he turned and began walking to a large set of stairs that led up to a landing which had two more sets of stairs leading off of it, one on either side.
"Well, this should be most interesting at the very least," Billy said as he and the others followed CT and Tommy.
"Yeah, I wonder how many doids are here?" Trini asked.
"I'm betting quite a few. Would you get a load of the size of this place?" Jason asked with an amazed look on his face as he continued to look around the castle as they moved up the stairs, then took a right and continued up to the next level.
A few minutes later they made their way up a long spiraling staircase and came to a large heavy door. "The master's chamber," CT said opening the door. Tommy stepped in and made his way up another short staircase. When he reached the top he stood in a large bedroom with a four-post bed, a large dresser, and an old but well-cared-for large wooden desk. The tower had doors leading out onto balconies on three of its four sides offering a view of the surrounding mountains.
"This place is isolated and sits on high ground, it would serve quite well as a base of operations for us away from the rest of The Rebellion while we're here, should it become necessary," Billy said as he stood beside Tommy.
"My thoughts exactly, Billy."