Raxus Prime - Sith Temple

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

"I am ready," Xae answered Jaina, looking instead at the preteen girl, not missing the turmoil roiling off of the girl.

 

I think that would be best. Xae didn't bother to voice that something felt "off" here, thinking that it was likely due to this place having served as something of a private Sith Temple from what she could glean from Jaina's description of the place while en route.

 

Leaving the two of them to have some privacy, she encountered Tares in the lounge area. "This should go well. The girl knows. I'm guessing you two neglected to check that she'd actually made it to bed after sending her?"

[Tares Vortex]

Tares had virtually fallen asleep in the same exact spot he had been sitting in when Jaina had turned in for the night. When he awoke, he found Atlas hovering silently above him. It almost seemed as if the droid had been watching him sleep. "Atlas, how long have you been there?" He asked with a slight hint of concern.

 

"Only six hours, twenty minutes, and twelve seconds. You achieved seventy eight percent of your intended nightly goal. Shall I make a note in the log?" She asked.

 

Log? He asked to himself. "Since when are you keeping track of my sleep patterns?" He asked.

 

The droid dropped several centimeters in the air before displaying a holographic read out of charts and graphs on the table, "I was bored and wanted to study the sleeping habits of stressed human beings. So far you are the first study subject, but this trip will present a unique opportunity to study sleep deprivation among a diverse sample of Force sensestive individuals."

 

Tares fought the urge to make sense of the charts in front of him, "Let's put a stop on that research project for now. The others don't need a droid observing them while they sleep. For that matter, neither do I."

 

"As you wish. I can, however, suggest a number of poses and stretches to facilitate a more healthy sleeping experience. Would you happen to have a comfortable mat and some lycra?"

 

"Poses? Lycra?" He asked out of confusion, "No, I think I'll be good. Go see if you can connect with the Holonet and send my message to the board."

 

The droid complied without further discussion, leaving Tares to himself for a brief moment in the lounge. His hands felt the mug he had been drinking out of the night before. Out of habit, he brought the mug up and took a sip. The cold liquid smashed in his mouth for a second as he fought his reflex to spit it all over the table in front of him. He finally forced the long expired beverage down and placed the semi-empty mug a few extra centimeters away from him on the table.

 

Despite the odd awakening, it didn't take him long to find the strength to bring himself to his feet. He could sense the others stirring and moving through the ship's bulkheads. Before long, Xae came entering into the lounge. The feeling in the air was not bright and cheery. Something was up.

 

"This should go well. The girl knows. I'm guessing you two neglected to check that she'd actually made it to bed after sending her?" Xae commented.

 

It took Tares a moment with his neurons still waking up to make the necessary connections. Tirzah finding out about the truth wasn't too much of a surprise. He had dealt with curious and creative padawans/escape artists before.

 

"Jedi tucking in younglings her age must be a new protocol since my departure." He observed before reigning in his usual sarcastic tendencies. Now was a time to practice what he had been preaching to Tirzah: choose to deal with the emotions. This morning, sarcasm was his emotion.

 

"My apologies, that was uncalled for." He said, "And yes, this will be interesting, but not due to whatever outcome is going to follow between the two of them. Through her actions, Tirzah has embodied a key tenant of the Jedi Code: there is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Knowledge of oneself is just as important as knowing the Jedi ways and the Force. Truth is important, regardless of how difficult it may be."

 

Despite the turmoil on the horizon in the ship, Tares was reminded of their new surroundings as he spoke. They had arrived on Raxus Prime, which meant a bigger picture was developing. He proceed to walk through the primary corridor in approach toward the landing ramp, "I'm going to elect to give them some space and check out the immediate surroundings. My comm is on should communication be required."

 

With that, he lowered the ramp and stepped into the new, foreign surroundings....

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

With barely a word, Xae slipped out of the crew quarters, her only acknowledgment, a brief touch of Jaina's mind. I think that would be best...

 

Having finished tugging the soft leather boots onto her feet, the newly-minted Jedi sat still for a moment, watching her daughter's movements as she prepared for departure. Now that she was alone with Tirzah, she wasn't quite sure where to start. But if she didn't speak now, she would lose her confidence entirely. And whatever the odd feeling that she detected from the girl, it would likely only grow more exacerbated with the passage of time.

 

"Hey, kid," Jaina breathed quietly, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her legs. "Look, before we go out there, I need to talk to you. I can sense that you’re conflicted, distressed. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I think you deserve some answers.”

 

Tirzah didn't even bother to turn towards Jaina, continuing to shove things in her bag. Maybe, if I ignore her, she'll go away, the young girl thought. Sensing Jaina's resolve, she doubted it.

 

Finally, she sighed. “I don't know what you're talking about. This is just my first time out in the field and I'm nervous. That's all.” It was true enough, anyway, though she knew that's not what Jaina had meant.

 

Jaina held the silence, watching the girl’s movements with a flicker of uncertainty. She didn't know whether to force the conversation, or just wait indefinitely. But, no, Tirzah's attempt at brushing her off was exactly that, and she sensed, whether through the Force or some kind of intuition, that somewhere within her, Tirzah hoped that Jaina had answers. But it appeared that engaging the girl would be the most challenging part, which came quite unexpectedly. She had been quite sure up until now that her confession would be the most difficult part of this.

 

So, she'd take a different tack. “You asked me about your dreams. What have they been telling you? Why did you leave Tython?” she prompted gently, her voice casual but solemn.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

((We're doing this in Google Docs and then posting each section here. All the permissions are being had.))

 

Something deep within Tirzah flared, and her anger ignited, but her Jedi training kicked into quickly suck away any of the oxygen that would have allowed it to continue and grow. “I don't know,” she whispered quietly, having run out of things to occupy her hands with. “It doesn't matter. I can't change it.”

 

It was a vague answer that Jaina might find unconvincing, but Tirzah didn't care. She had just enough manners drilled into her that she didn't voice the opinion, instead of walking past Jaina in an attempt to avoid the conversation and the emotions she didn't really feel like discussing openly with a relative stranger.

 

“Wait,” Jaina said calmly, rising to her feet, the weight of the Force behind her words. This was a pivotal moment, she knew, and while she wouldn't force the girl to stay in the conversation, she had crossed the galaxy to find her and wasn't about to let her go without a fight. The quiet intensity of her presence reached across the meters that separated them, and, like a blanket around her shoulders, adorned Tirzah with the renewed peace and clarity she herself felt. It was a drastic change from the Jaina of even a week ago, whose emotional state was so fragile, and yet that seemed to her to be almost a lifetime away. “I know who you are. I can't imagine what it's been like for you, and I can't erase your past, but I can help you go forward if you'll let me.”

 

The eager gentleness and calm in her solemn gaze didn't waver, but she was unable to keep wistful tears from forming in the corners of her eyes.

 

“You don’t know me at all,” the girl hissed quietly, but she had at least stopped in the open doorway of the bunk room. “I don’t need or want your help. I’ve made it just fine thus far on my own. I don’t need apologies or your pity. You might have given birth to me, but that doesn’t make you my mother,” her tone was terse and controlled. There, it was out in the open now. With a sigh, Tirzah moved forward to the next part of the ship, not really wanting to deal with any of this right now.

 

Finding the voice from her dreams had been her farthest flung expectation when she’d felt compelled to stow away on the supply shuttle bound for the Eternal Vigilance. There was no putting the blue milk back in the carton now. There is no ignorance, only knowledge.

 

But what did one do when the knowledge proved to be too overwhelming and pulled her in far too many directions for her to process?

 

She made it as far as the lounge area before she tossed her bag down and slumped onto one of the couches, crossing her arms. She knew Jaina would not relent and this conversation was going to happen at some point whether or not she liked it. And she did want answers…

 

“Fine. What do you want out of this then?” she answered as Jaina followed her into the lounge.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

So she had figured it out. Somehow, Jaina wasn’t surprised, between the girl’s natural sensitivity to the current of the Force, the clues that she herself must have dropped, and Tirzah’s inherited tendencies toward knowing more than she ought. It didn’t make the blow any less crushing, however, that she knew and didn’t care.

 

No, whispered a voice in her mind, a gentle nudge from the Force. In her mind’s eye, she could almost see the wounded little girl reaching out in an effort to be truly noticed, to be accepted and loved, desperate but deeply burned.

 

“Your insight serves you well,” she said quietly, pausing in the doorway to the lounge. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out, but I’m glad you know now.”

 

Slowly, she entered the room, kneeling on the floor in front of Tirzah in a traditionally meditative posture, and studied her for a moment before speaking again. Her daughter was not--and possibly never truly had been--a child, but something in her affronted air offered Jaina the truth of her external display of indifference, and in it, she found an answer to the girl’s sharp query.

 

“I want you to be more than the truth of your past and your parentage. I want you to be free. Free of expectations, able to make yourself into whoever you want to be. And I desperately want to be a part of that, Tirzah.” It was the first time she had said the girl’s name aloud in her presence, and something in it seemed to warm the frigid air between them. “But only if you’ll let me.”

 

She rocked back on her heels. “Say the word, and I’ll never bring it up again. You can be free of me, too. When we finish our mission here, I’ll drop you back on Tython. I have no doubt that you’ll do just fine without me, like you’ve had to all these years.”

 

Jaina reached out, hesitating for just a moment, before taking one of Tirzah’s hands in hers. She could no longer hold back her tears, and they streamed silently down her face. “But if you’ll let me, I want to start being the mother you should have had all this time. I want you to know how infinitely wanted you were and still are, and how much I want to know you.”

 

She pressed the girl’s hand to her lips. “If you’ll have me, I promise, I will give you something to call home.”

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Tirzah surprised herself by not pulling away at the sudden touch from Jaina’s hand. As much as she wanted to pretend the other woman’s words didn’t matter to her, she couldn’t ignore what the emotional pull of her heart told her.

 

A split second later she’d barreled into Jaina’s arms, crying into her mother’s shoulder not even really knowing how badly she’d needed to know that she was important to someone else. “W-Why? Why couldn’t you keep me? Was it the Order? Because I’m like this?”

 

Jaina’s arms reflexively encircled the girl, resting a hand on the back of her head. As she stroked the dark wavy hair, her own tears cascaded freely. For the first time since the day of her birth, she finally got to hold her baby. Into her embrace, she poured all of her grief at the wasted years, the time spent meters below Hapan soil, missing the formative moments Tirzah’s life. Her first smile. Her first steps. Every moment she had longed for a comforting embrace that had gone unfulfilled. For the space of several moments, she didn’t answer, content to linger in the momentary release of the flood of Tirzah’s honest tears.

 

“Oh, Tirzah,” she whispered. She had to work at relaxing her voice enough to rasp out her reply, squeezing the girl even more tightly into her arms. “I can’t begin to tell you... how excited your daddy and I were to meet you.” A fresh wave of sobs wracked her body as she recalled Andon’s expression, awash with utter joy, as a tiny bundle of blankets was placed in his arms.

 

“You were born too early,” she said finally, a catch in her throat. “I’m not sure what happened. Sweetheart…” her face contorted and she took a rattling breath. “I died minutes after you came into the world.”

 

Jaina straightened suddenly, resting her hands on Tirzah’s shoulders, and she searched the girl’s sightless eyes. She traced her fingers along the girl’s forehead, lifting a stray curl to tuck it behind her ear. “Nothing short of that could have kept me away. I would defy any Order, time and again, to be with you.”

 

Tirzah’s had clasped Jaina’s, resting it against her cheek. With her free hand she reached out to touch her mother’s tear-stained face, to finally “see” the woman that had been responsible for bringing her into the galaxy.

 

Her fingers traced the outline of Jaina’s eyes, nose, and mouth and she could feel the similarities between them. “I look like you…” she started, but paused when she felt Jaina’s long, straight hair. “Did Andon have curly hair like mine? Why didn’t he keep me? What happened to him?”

 

Jaina ran her thumb across her daughter’s cheek, caressing it gently. “I don’t know what happened to Andon. I had hoped that when I found you, I might find him too,” she said softly, relishing in the small hand pressed to her face. “I’m certain that he wouldn’t have left you of his own volition. But if you’d like, when we leave Raxus, you can come with me to look for him.”

 

She glanced down at the short lightsaber hanging from her belt, and immediately back up to Tirzah. “Yes, he had curly hair like you,” she smiled, her wet cheeks glistening in the canned light of the lounge.

 

“Okay,” the girl agreed. “But only if I can come as your daughter. No offense, but I don’t want you as both a mom and Master. Let’s just get one of them right first, okay?” She paused. “Do you think Master Tares would help us find him?”

 

A flood of mingled joy and relief welled up in Jaina. The choice she had told Tares she would give Tirzah had been decided without even forcing the question. Not only that, but the girl had chosen to keep her close. The weight of that decision hadn’t escaped her. “None taken,” she chuckled under her breath. “I think asking Master Tares along is a great idea, but I also know he has many responsibilities he’s put on hold to come this far with us. But let’s ask, okay?” She stood, letting her hand fall from Tirzah’s face to the shoto hanging on her belt.

 

“I have one more thing for you, though. If you’re going to come along with me, you’ll need to be prepared to defend yourself. One of the great rules of the galaxy is that Jedi seem to attract trouble,” she said, a sly grin crossing her face as she called the shoto to her hand and wrapped her daughter’s hand around it. “I made it for you, from the same crystal that Andon used in his lightsaber.”

 

Tirzah closed her hand around the hilt, pulling it protectively to her chest as she felt the Force swirl in harmony and balance between the two of them. “We should probably meet up with the others. Especially since you’re the only one that’s been here before and actually knows what we might find here that will be useful.”

[Tares Vortex]

Tares had once heard Raxus Prime referred to as the “garbage pit of the galaxy.” The label didn't quite capture the unique landscape that dotted the immediate surroundings. The land hadn't been used for discarded trash. It had been transformed into a place of industry: factories, mines, business assets. In its current state, it had been overused.

 

In many ways, it was a stark contrast to the typical locations he thought of when thinking about a Sith temple.

 

Tares stopped at the foot of the ship’s landing ramp with Atlas hovering close behind. The air felt thick as he drew in a few careful breaths. Atlas had assured him that the pollution in the air was within survivable levels, but he hadn't quite taken comfort in the droid’s mechanical use of “survivable.” The dull, yellow glow in the atmosphere didn't do anything to tide his initial concerns about the conditions.

 

He decided to stay close to Jaina’s ship while exploring the immediate surroundings. Raxus Prime was a new destination. He had been to Sith locations before: temples, fortifications, entire worlds. This particular temple was different, but had a distinct, similiar feeling within the Force.

 

There were few other resting ships nearby. It appeared as if the landing area hadn't been used in some time before their arrival.

 

“I detect a lack of any life signs in the surrounding area.” Atlas commented, “Outside of you and the others, that is.”

 

Jaina hadn't given too many details on the Sith temple. He had a vague idea from rumor and conjecture, but hardly anything concrete.

 

“Oh, before I forget, I received a personal message for you from Corellia.” Atlas continued.

 

Tares found the prospect of a droid forgetting rather perplexing, but he decided against indulging in his curiosity. Instead, he had Atlas download the message to his datapad. Finding a small, out of the way place to sit down, he began to read….

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Sensing Tares's need for a bit of privacy, Xae had opted to spend a few moments alone in the cargo bay getting accustomed to her new weapons. The turquoise-bladed lightsaber was perfectly balanced she could very easily feel the Force flowing through her and around it, causing the weapon to feel much like the extension of herself that had made its imprint on Jaina's psyche. The other, while still quite effective in the young Exorcists hands, was a bit heavier-hilted thanhis Xae-Lin was used to. When compared to how in sync she felt with the other, the crimson-bladed lightsaber felt as though it tolerated her handling of it.

 

This one is not meant for me, but I will hold on to it for safekeeping, for now, she mused, thinking about how she'd felt guided by the Force to pose such a unique challenge to Jaina as part of her trials. She'd expected the goal to be for Jaina to test out her own connections to the others around her and to channel the Force's guidance into making weapons with someone else at the heart.

 

Deactivating the lightsabers, she sensed that the conversation between Jaina and Tirzah had played out. Instead of lingering, she clipped the lightsabers to her belt and made her own way down the exit ramp and noted the additional ships and overall lack of people for what she'd understood to be some kind of Sith temple. Again, she wasn't sure if being in an area with ties to the Dark Side were throwing her off or not, but she definitely had a bad feeling.

 

Something was clouding her senses the more she tried to reach out, the less sure she was about things. Maybe it would have been better for her to have continued on to Lahon as she'd been ordered to by Tobias. Kirlocca's orders had been to lay low.

Who'd ever think to look for a Jedi at the base of a Sith Temple... she thought as she stood a bit away from the ship and looked around for Tares, who appeared to be off to the side engaging with his floating assistant droid. Her gaze wandered down the length of the hangar, past the other ships and ultimately to the entrance in the shadows at the far end from the open entrance that overlooked the junkyard of a planet. She took a few steps in that direction, before deciding it would likely be best for Jaina to lead the way since the other woman knew their current location the best.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Swiping the last vestiges of tears from her eyes, Jaina nodded to her daughter. "You're right, let's go catch up."

 

She led the way out of the lounge, following the curve of the corridor to the crew quarters. Ducking inside, she picked up her bag and slung it across her back, taking a moment to buckle on her wrist comm. She led Tirzah to the top of the ramp where she paused for a moment to steady herself, readying her awareness. Up ahead, she could sense that Xae-Lin and Tares had already exited the ship, and she pressed the ramp's controls to descend to the floor of the hangar below.

 

As she set foot on Raxus Prime for the first time in over twenty years, Jaina caught her breath. In the near-darkness across the vast hangar stood Andon, disheveled and haggard, his countenance uncharacteristically solemn. She squinted, then blinked, but the mirage didn't disappear. Slowly, his hand stretched towards her, yearning, beckoning for her to join him.

 

Light-headed as all of the blood drained from her face, Jaina's heart lurched, and her senses shuddered in the Force. She whipped her head around to look over her shoulder at Tirzah, who paused alongside her, then immediately back down the length of the room, but the apparition had vanished.

 

Much like her vision on Tython, all of this was wrong somehow.

 

Even so, the Force had led her here. There was some unseen link, some important piece of the puzzle she was missing. She scanned the periphery of the hangar, as though the spectral Andon might have ducked behind one of the docked ships. Xae and Tares were both a few paces ahead, but aside from the four Jedi, and the sounds of the Hope's engines settling and the ramp's magnetically sealed lock hissing into place, the hangar was more quiet than it ought to have been.

 

The Noghri, she thought, as the memory of little Emily popped into her mind, standing where Andon had stood, desperate to drain the invisible lava to save her alien servants. She had noticed the absence of the Temple's contingent of the silently devoted species when they landed, but the realization hit her afresh, intensifying her growing unease.

 

With an exhale and a shake of her head to clear the image from her mind, Jaina took several steps forward towards the other two adults.

 

"Stay alert," she murmured quietly to the group as they assembled. "I have a strange feeling."

 

Jaina gestured towards the entrance to the obsidian tower. "The Library is on the forty-second floor. Whatever relics John Skywalker had in his possession, we'll find there."

 

Quiet footsteps carried the Jedi across the vaulted hangar. As they drew nearer to the entrance, Jaina could begin to make out the outlines of several prone figures lying just inside the doorway, and her pace quickened until she had broken into a run. Her suspicions were confirmed as she reached them, kneeling beside the closest grey-skinned creature.

 

"Noghri," she explained to the others as she rolled the body over to examine it, pierced efficiently by what appeared to be a series of knife wounds, and still oozing viscous green liquid. "They run the Temple in their masters' absence."

 

Alarm bells began to go off inside her head. "They haven't been here long," she said, standing and stepping over the other two bodies to the control panel. "Maybe a couple of hours. Whoever did this either left recently--" she pressed her hand to the panel, and the door slid open, assailing them with the Temple's signature metallic scent of blood, "or is still here."

 

For an instant, she thought about ordering Tirzah back to the ship and relative safety. One glance at the girl told her that would be a futile endeavor, however. The youngling who would stow away on a cargo shuttle to an unknown destination was not one to shirk from the possibility of danger--a trait that she had no doubt inherited in spades on both sides of her parentage.

 

Her hand fell to the hilt of her saber as she stepped into the adjoining corridor, where three more bodies lay sprawled in various unnatural positions. Ascending the ramp to the turbolift, Jaina toggled the lever that summoned the lift to their current location. She paused for a moment, glancing at the others, before tapping out Sirvani's familiar comm code into her wrist comm. She was just about to activate the comm and speak when the turbolift doors hissed open, and she bit back a curse. Inside the large circular lift was a scene like something from a slasher holovid. Entrails and blood peppered the walls and the floors, and within were littered several more discarded bodies. Choking back the bile that rose in her throat at the sight, the thought of contacting Emily was pushed briefly from her mind as she scanned the carnage before her.

[Tares Vortex]

Tares felt his stomach turn as his eyes scanned over the datapad. It wasn't smart for him to be reading outside the ship, exposed in an unfamiliar environment. Yet, he couldn't help himself. Each new pulled on his attention with a greater force than the last.

 

By the time he had finished, he had lost track of time. Not sure if only a few minutes or hours had passed, he brought himself to his feet and slipped the datapad into his pocket. His eyes quickly scanned around to reorient himself among the nearby ships of the hanger bay. His chest rose and fell with increasing, deliberate strength.

 

“Are you okay?” Atlas asked from behind. Tares had failed to even notice the presence of the droid.

 

“Yes.” He muttered.

 

“Bad news?”

 

He wasn't too sure on how to reply to the question or even how to take in the information the datapad had contained, “No. Well, it's…”

 

Before he could think of how to complete the sentence, the presence of Xae, Jaina, and Tirzah nearby halted his attempt.

 

“Nevermind. Let's go rendezvous with others.” He said while stepping forward to propel himself into motion.

 

Tares quickly caught sight of the group after heading towards the exit of the hanger. Noticing Tirzah standing almost at Jaina’s side, he tried to observe the young girl’s demeanor in order to gauge the results of the conversation. The effort was futile. Any sign of resolve or rift was absent. Instead, the group seemed to be intently focused on something on the floor inside the doorway. A faint blur of green quickly resolved into a pool of foreign liquid by which Jaina was kneeling.

 

“Noghri.” She commented as he finally caught up with them.

 

Many Noghri were well known warriors, often found in the ranks of Imperial armies, local planetary militia, and private security details. He had encountered very few of them in his time.

 

It appeared as if these Noghri hadn't even put up any resistance.

 

The group moved on to the turbolift. They encountered more bodies along the way, each one having similar wounds. Tares hadn't seen the effects of a physically bladed weapon in years. Blasters and lightsabers were deadly, but left little in terms of a mess. The sharp, metallic edge of a vibroknife offered something different. It usually cleaved flesh apart, tearing it from bone with a wake of bodily fluids that would indiscriminately splatter all over the surrounding environment.

 

The turbolift opened to display an even worse demonstration of the weapon’s capability. It was close to a scene out of horror fiction: graphic in a way that the fake depictions never quite accurately captured. The worst part was the smell. The group of slain Noghri had been decomposing just long enough for the smell to seemingly reach a peak, strong enough to overcome the natural industrial aromas in the air. It was an odor Tares lacked the words to conceptualized.

 

He took a moment to fight back his natural resistance to the scene, after which he unknowingly found himself grasping the hilt of his lightsaber. “This is no longer just a simple trip to the library.” He observed….

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

((Actions posted with permission.))

 

Upon seeing the prone and bleeding alien bodies, Xae-Lin held out an arm, stopping Tirzah in her tracks right before the girl nearly stepped on one of the bodies. "Tirzah go back to the ship," she ordered in a tone that brooked no argument, picking on Jaina's impulse and considering it a wise one. "We'll need you to keep things ready in case we need to jump out of here quickly. Do you feel you're up to the job?"

 

Xae felt the sting of being left behind course through the girl, though it seemed lessened ever so slightly at being given some semblance of a job for the mission, no matter how thinly veiled the attempt had been.

 

"You want to be taken as a Padawan, one day, yes?" The Jedi Exorcist asked point-blank, knowing the answer to the question already. "There will be times where you must put your own feelings and impulses aside and trust the guidance of your teacher, even if it's not what you want or you don't agree with it. It's a sign of maturity and I don't know any Jedi who'd be willing to take an immature hopeful on as a Padawan. The risks for both are too great to chance it. I would venture even among the Sith the chances are even less likely and the consequences for disobeying would be far more severe."

 

Tirzah's arms uncrossed as the girl seemed to be genuinely considering the Jedi Knight's words. It seemed the girl hadn't considered that her own recklessness could be getting in the way of her goals of advancing within the Order.

 

Xae-Lin unclipped an extra comm link from her belt and pressed it into the girl's hand. "Here. We'll keep in communication. I know it doesn't seem like that much fun, but it's vital to making sure that we'll have the ship ready for us should we need to get out of here. Those short minutes between standby and ready can make all the difference and if you can save us those minutes...all the better. I hope we won't need it, but it's all of our jobs to do what we can to ensure your safety as much as it is to challenge you when appropriate. Understand?"

 

Ultimately the girl nodded and started walking back to the ship. Xae watched her long enough to see her use the entry key Jaina had given her and close the boarding ramp as Tares and Jaina held the lift.

 

"Good decision Tirzah," Xae called over the comm joining the other two. "We'll keep our end open so you aren't left out."

[Raynuk Montar]

Silently, and from the shadows, the Cult of Morthos was watching.

 

The ship that had been identified as incoming soon arrived, setting down on the opposite side of the hanger from the shuttles that brought the cult here were sitting. From the position, he had hidden with his main squad leader, Azron studied the ship itself as it swooped in for a landing, but saw nothing that tipped him off to who, or what, the ship was bringing with it. So, it was that the cultist was forced to wait and see, always keeping a plan for escape fresh in his mind. At last, a few moments after the ship settled, the ramp lowered, and a man with silver hair descended and began looking around, stopping at the foot of the ramp. Azron squinted, trying to discern any recognizable features; he had been told that the prime subject had white hair, but the two colors could easily be misinterpreted for one another.

 

Only then did Azron notice the small droid floating behind the man, who appeared to be dressed in business attire. For a few moments, the man looked around, then appeared to be conversing with the floating droid, before walking off to a corner of the landing area, and sitting down. Curious... thought Azron. When the man appeared to be fully engrossed in his datapad, Azron produced his own, and carefully snapped a picture of the man for future reference.

 

Not too long afterwards, another appeared down the ramp; this time a fairly short woman with Auburn, waist-length hair that had a pure white streak at her left temple. This woman however, was almost instantly recognized as a Force user, as the two lightsabers that hung from her belt were a dead give-away. Yet still, she did not match any information Azron had been provided with either regarding those who could be traveling with the prime subject. She too looked around the landing area, spotting the shuttles -- unlike the silver haired man -- but seemed to not react overtly to their presence, before moving away from the ship before spotting where the silver haired man had gone. While the man had apparently been distracted by whatever conversation had lead him to move off and consult his datapad, this woman appeared to be much more observant of her surroundings. Her gaze seemed to sweep the entire hanger before falling on the doorway that lead to the temple, which she began to walk towards before something made her stop, looking back towards the ship. Azron likewise documented this small woman as he had done with the silver haired man.

 

And then, as if on cue, another woman appeared from the ship; taller than the first, with shorter dark brown hair. This one too was visibly carrying a lightsaber, she too paused at the foot of the ship’s ramp, but somehow her stop seemed more sudden and unplanned. Soon enough the woman shook whatever thought had caused her pause, and proceeded forward, falling in beside the smaller woman. It was quickly apparent though, that she appeared to be the leader of the group, judging by the way the other two that had already exited the ship responded to her presence. The three met and conversed briefly, giving Azron an opportunity to snatch a picture of the three together, when further movement caught the cultist’s eyes.

 

A fourth figure appeared from the ship, roughly the same size as the first woman, but it was instantly clear that this was a teenager at best. What was also immediately apparent was that the girl, and presumably her adult companions, were all Jedi. She almost cautiously crossed towards the others, standing among them while the other three talked. The taller woman gestured towards the entrance to the temple, and as a group the four moved towards it.

 

It was an almost stunning revelation to know that a group of Jedi had just been dropped into the lap of the Cultists; a group that might actually be able to stand a chance if conflict ensued. They had already gained what they needed, sitting safely aboard the shuttles. All the information he was gathering now would simply be icing on the preverbal cake, but now Azron saw an opportunity to bring back so much more for the Masters.

 

However, his thoughts of pleasing the Masters and potential promotion was broken as the squadron commander behind him inhaled sharply. Azron refocused on the group, just in time to catch the leader kneeling beside the three Nohgri that had been the first to die at the hands of the Cult. She again addressed the rest of the group, then almost callously stepped over them to the control panel, opening the door to the temple. She disappeared into the shadows of the temple’s hallway, a hand on her lightsaber.

 

The silver haired man followed in turn, entering the temple almost casually, leaving the shorter woman and the Jedi girl. The girl began to move to follow, but – as Azron noticed with a bit of amusement – the older woman, though barely taller than the girl, stopped her with an arm. The woman spoke, presumably to the girl, yet her gaze seemed to be focused into the temple. It seemed, only when the girl did not initially react did the woman turn, giving Azron his first opportunity to eavesdrop by reading her lips.

 

He did not catch every word as the woman spoke, but managed to figure out ‘padawan’, ‘impulses aside’, ‘don’t agree with’, ‘immature’, ‘risks’, ‘consequences for disobeying’ and ‘severe’. Those words did little to give Azron an effective grasp on the situation, but they implied a tone that was unmistakable. Whatever the purpose had been, the teenager soon relented and seemed to relax before being handed something, nodded and turned to return to the ship. Yet again Azron felt there was something… off with the way the girl crossed the space to the ship. The woman likewise watched, until the girl had disappeared into the ship, only then turning to disappear into the temple with the others.

 

Azron also waited, allowing enough time for the three Jedi to move farther from the hanger. Before he silently stood, the commander following suit. The cultist coldly apprised the Jedi’s ship from afar; he had been kneeling behind a solar panel of one of the older TIE Fighters that had been sitting in the hanger collecting dust as the Jedi's ship had come in for a landing. He began to formulate a plan for this entire situation; a way to potentially capture the Jedi and the information they possessed, but also knowing that a group of Jedi entering a Sith temple would likely mean others -- either Jedi or Sith -- may also arrive given enough time.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Jaina met Tares' eyes with his solemn admission, and nodded. "I think we need to move quickly," she said, her voice grave. She climbed aboard the gruesome lift, and as Xae joined them, after her comm ensured that Tirzah would stay put where she was asked to be, they shot up through the tower. Silently, the turbolift rose, its durasteel walls offering them little indication of where they were in the tower beyond a simple readout on one of the inner display panels. As they neared floor 42, Jaina stopped resisting the urge to draw her lightsaber. Tugging it off of her belt, she held it loosely at her side, steadying herself through the Force and trying to show less apprehension than she felt.

 

The doors hissed open, and a fresh burst of air, carrying the lingering smell of the Temple's unique baths, wafted into the turbolift. Strange, Jaina thought briefly as John's massive library came into view, I never thought I'd be so relieved by the smell of blood...

 

The marbled floors sparkled in the orange light of the Raxus sun as it streamed in the wide windows that flanked this fabled library. In all actuality, the Temple's library began on the forty-second floor, but its expanse extended for three floors beyond that. Immensely vaulted ceilings allowed for stairs to connect from tier to tier. The first tier boasted aisles upon aisles of books, printed in flimsiplast, catalogued to John's obsessive-compulsive standards. On the second, large transparisteel containers held artifacts of flora and fauna from across the galaxy that had held interest to the Sith Lord. The third tier contained his collection of holocrons, that which was not strictly informational. Here, the artifacts maintained a deep connection to the Force, and the lessons and stories contained within generally either brimmed with redemptive light or wallowed in explosive darkness.

 

As Jaina stepped out of the turbolift, her grip tightened on her lightsaber. The bodies of more Noghri were strewn here and there, dumped unceremoniously throughout the library, the deep green of their blood dotting the shelves and the floor. A computer terminal stood active in the center of the first floor, and Jaina gestured to it before turning her head to regard the other two. "I'll tap into that terminal and see if I can find any record of what happened here," she said decisively. "Sweep the perimeter, and check in if you find something, or notice anything missing."

 

With that, she picked her way through the bodies, the hum of the digital archives the only sound besides their breathing and footsteps in the vast chamber. Clipping her lightsaber back onto her belt, she sat down at the central terminal, choosing the only seat that didn't have some manner of bodily fluid on it, and brought the interface to life.

 

 

User code? She had received a guest access code, decades ago, from John and Sirvani that had allowed her and Andon access to various parts of the Temple. It was not a master code, but if she remembered it correctly...Her fingers flew across the keypad. The Force was with her today.

 

0205acturncoat

Access all recent users.

Access recent history.

 

Jaina banged her fist on her thigh in frustration. This was getting her nowhere. She had one last idea to try before it would simply be a matter of searching out the Dark Side relics in the third tier, and even then, the computer wouldn't be of much help.

 

Access recent communications.

 

 

1140? That was mere hours ago, the thought came with a sense of foreboding, and she suddenly felt the absence of her wrist chrono. What time was it? The message certainly confirmed her suspicion that whoever made short work of the Noghri was not long absent. Her toes twitched in her boots while she waited.

 

 

"Dammit!" Jaina swore under her breath. She raised her comlink to her lips. "I didn't find much, but I did find confirmation that whoever did this did it within the last few hours. Recommend that we..." she trailed off. An indicator on the panel was blinking, and she reached down to activate the notification.

 

<Transmission Received: unknown. Sender: unknown.>

 

The display before her winked into light, and her insides collapsed. There he was. Years that had passed her by were evident in his appearance, but he was no less handsome, the lines of age on his visage marred by the familiar light-colored scar that ran from eyebrow to jaw. The volume on the panel was quiet, but even so, it carried in the silence of the library.

 

"This is the last testament of the Jedi known as Andon Colos, left to Emily Skywalker, my only remaining family in the known universe.”

 

So taken was she by the startling appearance of her husband that he was halfway through his sentence before Jaina thought to grab a datacard from her bag to record it. Yanking at the fabric, she finally inserted it into a slot in the computer and set it to record as he continued.

 

“I am farther into the stars than I have ever dreamed to travel. So far out, in fact, I can barely detect any other beings through the Force. There is such an emptiness on the fringe, there is so little here that is actually alive.”

 

The set of his shoulders was strong, but in his pause, Jaina saw his reluctance to continue speaking, a flicker of grief that tore at her.

 

“I cannot feel the flicker of your future, I do not even know if you are alive, but I choose to believe that somewhere you are safe and loved. I have no possession of worth to leave you with, but what I have is a tale. It is the tale of how I came to witness the fabric of eternity unravel and mold before my hand.”

 

Andon's steady gaze went briefly out of focus. On his face, he wore the ghosts of a thousand memories better unlived, the pain of too many for one man to carry, a tale of loss under which he had borne up alone. “My story is not an easy gift to receive, but it is mine to give and I will gladly share it with the little girl I remember, whose eyes were too smart for her own good. And like all good stories, my Emily, it all starts with a girl…”

 

The transmission winked out.

 

No, Jaina thought reflexively, in disbelief, pushing every button on the console in an effort to get it to start up again. That can't be all. I need to know. I need to know! She leapt to her feet, panic setting in. I need to know, I need to know, I need to know, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

 

"...no, no, no, NO!" At a point unknown to her, her shouts became verbal. Her pain screamed into the void, a hole ripped in the fabric of her healing. "NO!" She brought her fist down on the desk surrounding the control panel, and the metal gave way to her anguish.

 

The dangers of her surroundings no longer mattered, the mission for which she had come to Raxus Prime was forgotten. Pins and needles ran the length of her arms and legs. The knife's edge had tilted just too far, and she was falling. Dimly, she was aware of the need to retain control, knew the power of the destructive energy that could explode out of her.

 

Mostly, she didn't care.

 

A low rumble sounded from somewhere and metal groaned as she fell to her knees, doubled over, palms pressed to her forehead as though she could press the sight of him out of her mind. He was gone, then, disappeared out of the known galaxy, run to where his pain couldn't follow him anymore.

 

If he was no longer in the galaxy, the galaxy no longer had a reason to exist.

 

An unearthly wail escaped her, propelled by her anguish in the Force, shattering several of the transparisteel containers on the second tier.

 

Silence followed, where the only sound was her own breathing, labored under the agony that tensed her abdomen and shook her shoulders. Her consciousness swam in a void of loss, warped back to the Dejarik Board, but this time she was no Grey Goddess, she was a pawn crushed under the heel of a creature too strong for her. It clawed at her insides, ripped at her heart, poked at the very fiber of her most sensitive memories. The piecemeal fabric she had begun to weave together of her life unraveled with a pull of the single thread that was called Andon, the loom collapsing in the tension of his absence. The Jedi Master who had left the Order to keep his promise to her had suffered wildly in her absence.

 

Was this what he had endured at her death? Swimming in a subconsciousness so empty that there is no longer a reason to hope to emerge, no longer a reflex to gasp for the breath of clarity?

 

The hollowed, wearied look she had seen on his face in the transmission was the same she had seen in the mirror on Tython, the same she had seen reflected on Tares' face not a day previous. It spoke of loss, of grievous injury that could not be mended, of a wound too great to repair. Time was the only true healer. But even then, it seemed only as a shot of lidocaine to the wounds of the soul.

 

Andon's final missive bore all the flavor of one who had tried to endure such numbness for far too long.

 

Jaina opened her eyes and found her lightsaber clutched between both palms. It would be an easy thing to do, to join him. To pass out of the galaxy as he had, to abandon the thankless residents to their own devices, to turn her back on war and strife and pain, to make her peace with him. She had lain dead for the past twenty years, missing the life that her husband had lived without her: to return to death would not be difficult. Oneness with the Force, oneness with the great Jedi who had passed before her, oneness with Andon, whose embrace she missed so deeply it was a physical pain. She could take her own life.

 

From whom will you take it?

 

The thought was so startling, her lightsaber rolled out of her hands and clattered onto the ground. It came in Andon's voice, a gentle caress in her mind. Frowning, she closed her eyes. What?

 

From whom will you take it? The Andon-voice came again. It belongs to you, you need not rob anyone of it.

 

Her chin quivered. Whether she was communicating with her husband, or a figment of her imagination, she wasn't sure. It mattered not. Her soul was flooded with a hot wave of emotion as she reached out to him. I wanted to give it to you. I wanted so much for you and I, she thought, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

 

Spectral-Andon reappeared before her, taking her hands in his. He nodded, but didn't say a word, and in his face she could see his teary assent to her wish. There had been years of adventure and discovery they should have shared, together, roaming the galaxy, the two of them--

 

Three, his voice came again, his gaze steady and unwavering. He brushed her cheek lightly with his thumb. You can't come with me yet. You know what you have to do.

 

An anchor settled into her soul, containing her anguish to a corner of her heart once more. To take her own life would be to rob her daughter of the chance they had to be a family. No matter her grief concerning Andon, she would not fail Tirzah again. She could not. A warmth spread through her limbs at the thought of the girl. A piece of me, came Andon's voice once more, here with you.

 

He pressed his fingers to his lips, and to hers, and then he was gone.

 

For a moment, she sat motionless, as if waking from a dream that she could not quite remember. Collecting her lightsaber, she stood to her feet and tugged the datacard from the port, taking her husband's last words with her. It would be something to show to Tirzah once they had finished their task here.

 

Here, on Raxus Prime. Emily. Emily was coming. Jaina would have to tell her. She lifted her comm to her wrist, activating Sirvani's comm code again. "Emily, it's Jaina." Her voice sounded strangely hoarse after Andon's gentle tone. "I'm here on Raxus, and something is wrong. Someone's been here. The Noghri..." she trailed off. "I'm here with Tares Vortex and Xae-Lin Ardel. And I have something to show you. Please, hurry."

 

Running her hand over her face, she turned to see to her companions, to offer some kind of explanation, to learn what they had found.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Tirzah hadn't been happy about being sent back to the ship, but she was glad, at least, that Master Xae-Lin had given her a reason instead of just blindly expecting her to obey. As much as it pained the sullen pre-teen to admit it, the petite woman was right.

 

As the ship's ramp closed and secured behind her, she felt her way to the bunk room and laid down, deciding that it might be better to get what rest she could since she hadn't slept all that well the night before. She placed the comm Xae had given her near her head so that if it activated in alarm she'd wake up. She'd always been a light sleeper.

[Raynuk Montar]

More minutes passed in relative silence within the hanger, as Azron formulated his plan in his head, all the while watching for any movement that was not his own or his men. Finally deciding he had given the Jedi enough time to move into and through the temple, he turned to the squadron commander that was with him, and put his plan into motion.

 

"Commander, tell second and third squadron to secure the entrance, you and two of your men will come with me; the rest will back us up if needed. Is that understood?"

 

The commander nodded, turning slightly to relay the instructions to the others through his commlink. the Second Squadron of soldiers all emerged from where they had been hidden; behind ships, crates and corners within the hanger, and began moving towards the entrance to the temple before disappearing inside just as the Jedi had done. Third squadron was already hidden within the temple, and presumably began moving to join Second squadron unseen. Once the two had joined up, third squadron relayed a report intended for Azron. The majority of First squadron meanwhile remained hidden, as the closest two soldiers to Azron jogged over to join the cultist and their commander.

 

"Sir, Third squadron reports the Jedi entered the turbolift, heading upwards." The commander reported, relaying the information.

 

"Good...good. Shut down the turbolift. That should buy us the time we require." Azron responded, before waving the commander and the two soldiers to follow.

 

The foursome began moving across the hanger deck, towards the Jedi's ship. Once at the foot of the ramp, Azron instructed his soldiers to remain on the ground, weapons set to stun and at the ready. Then he made an odd request; he ordered the commander to punch him across the face. The commander hesitated for a second before complying, rocking Azron's head to the side with suitable force that made the cultist stumble. But it had the desired effect, as it had also split Azron's lip. He now looked suitable beat up as he turned, took a deep breath, and ran full tilt up the ramp to the door, and began banging on it as hard as he could.

 

"HELLO!? PLEASE! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME! I SAW YOUR FRIENDS ENTER THE TEMPLE! YOU'RE JEDI RIGHT?! PLEASE! HELP ME! EVERYONE'S DEAD! I...I... I SAW YOUR FRIENDS GO IN! I HAD TO GET OUT OF THERE! PLEASE! IM JUST A LIBRARIAN! THE SITH TREATED ME LIKE A SLAVE! ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAAD! PLEASE HELP ME! I CANT STAY HERE ANYMORE!"

 

Azron smashed against the door, at times flailing his entire body against the door as he fell deeper and deeper into the charade. Tears began streaming down his face as his voice was filled with anguish and fear, his now bloody and bruising face a mask of terror as he continued to bang his fists on the door, alternating between sobs and pleads of aid until the door would open.

 

And when the door did open eventually, Azron's face changed like someone had flipped a switch.

 

"Oh hello there dear." His voice was now normal again, and perhaps even had an edge of a predatory tone.

 

The moment the door opened, the commander and two soldiers pivoted into view as Azron turned and made himself flush with the side wall as the three soldiers unloaded several stun rounds into the figure standing on the other side of the door.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Within the temple entrance, second squadron moved in and waited as third squadron began moving to their position. When the two groups had rendezvoused together, the order came through to shut the turbolift down. The soldiers moved to do so immediately, A few minutes of work saw the soldiers pry off the control panel to the turbolift, and cut the power to the system from this end. So too was the power to the outer doors of the turbolift severed, effectively cutting this level of the temple off from the turbolift. The only thing left to do was to dig in, taking up defensive positions around the entrance to the hanger, turning the area around the turbolift into a potential kill-box. At several spots, explosive charges were even set, including one on the outer turbolift doors.

 

Whatever came at them, Nohgri or Jedi, would have an intense fight on their hands.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

A loud banging on the outer hull of the ship jolted Tirzah awake after only a few minutes of dozing. She sensed urgency through the Force and wondered what might have gone wrong this quickly, though she also had no way of really knowing how long she'd been asleep. Another series of hammering brought her to her feet, her new lightsaber somehow finding its way into her waiting hand as she strode towards the source of the noise. It took her a few tries but she found the button that would bring up the outer cameras, though it would do her little good. She was more interested in hearing what was being said.

 

...EASE! IM JUST A LIBRARIAN! THE SITH TREATED ME LIKE A SLAVE! ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAAD! PLEASE HELP ME! I CANT STAY HERE ANYMORE!

 

The male voice seemed to be quite hysterical and even Tirzah could pick up on the man's panic through the Force. After a moment's hesitation, she keyed open the door and stepped back as the man nearly fell into the ship.

 

She blinked down at him in confusion, bending to help him up when he spoke. Another sound caught her attention just before a series of blasts hit her. She dropped to the decking on top of the librarian, her lightsaber falling from her grasp and rolling its way down the ramp and under the landing strut.

 

Things couldn't get much darker for the poor girl, but her mind finally quieted enough that she could get the rest she sought.

[Tares Vortex]

Somehow, the tight confident of the turbo lift seemed to intensify the sights and smells of the lift’s gruesome dressings as they rode up. The ride was quick, but every second was too long for Tares’s comfort. He had seen his share of blood and gore; this topped everything.

 

Deep in his mind, he knew he had made a mistake. The business suit was going to be a casualty of this adventure; hopefully the only one. He found himself actually longing for a set of simple Jedi robes. They were easier to clean. Tares’s attire rarely lasted a week of daily use.

 

The lift finally stopped, and the doors opened to reveal the grand view of the library. The turbolift continued to hum in standby as they stepped into the looming space.

Their arrival into the three story library seeded a rather unexpected in Tares’s mind. He couldn't help but notice the similarities Jedi and Sith had in their design for a grand entrance. Large halls, dominating pillars, expanding views: it all was a stark contrast to the pragmatic approach and lifestyle many Force users adopted.

 

While Jaina moved to access the library’s computer, Tares began skirting the outer perimeter. Atlas naturally hovered out of view to run scans of the interior. Between the speed of his droid and his sense in the Force, he could cover a greater amount of ground than visually checking every square inch of the space.

 

The Force was eerily calm given their location. Tares’s views of light and dark had always differed from the Jedi’s interpretation, but even he recognized the influence Sith and Jedi imparted on the energy field. Even physical locations could enter into a symbiotic relationship of influence.

 

Tares had expected to feel the typical twists and turns a Sith location often created in the Force. Instead, there was stillness. Beyond the faint outlines of Jaina and Xae, he could only sense the lack of motion within the objects in the library. Beyond the great walls of the room, the rest of the temple was a cloud of unknown. If he reached out far enough, he could make out a pinpoint of detail in the mundane walls and floors, could even feel the faint presence of Tirzah in the direction he knew they had left the ship in; but it wasn't enough to find any more signs of the other guests.

 

Atlas interrupted his attempts with an all clear. Beyond the trio of Force users and a droid, the library was empty save for the relicts left behind.

Tares stopped his movement and looked outside one of the library’s windows. The Raxus sunlight colored the glass and highlighted the exterior scrapes and imperfects. It would have almost been an inspirational moment if it hadn’t been on a near desolate, industrial world in a Sith temple full of decomposing corpses and untold dangers.

 

Before the sights took away his attention, Tares began to back track. Atlas was in tow. “Any chance of accessing the temple’s computers?” Tares asked.

 

“I can try, however the system most likely has significant security measures in place. I’m not sure if I can even establish a stable connection.”

 

“Go ahead and try.” He finished as he finished retracing his steps back to the turbolift.

 

As he spoke, a mass of emotional energy began to swell from further in the library. The energy began to crescendo and shift in hue from Tares’s perception. It felt warm and positive at first, almost radiating. Then, it quickly morphed into something… else. He had neither the time nor the words to describe the sensation. Before he could even consider the task, the energy swelled and exploded outward.

 

The feeling was intense, almost physically painful to have. It was similar to experiences Tares had had before: short bursts of what could be grossly labeled as sadness or anger, sometimes even fear. The energy had the distinct mark of Jaina’s presence in the Force.

 

Eventually, the feeling receded and pooled around the space Tares had felt Jaina stop in. He quickly moved a few steps to readjust his view. Glancing down the central aisle coming from the turbolift, he caught sight of Jaina. She stood, almost motionless, with her back turned from his view. He stood still in observation to assess the situation. It felt like a moment that any normal person would naturally run up and provide a warm and comforting embrace. Tares, however, hesitated. The Force provided a light pressure of resistance in front of him that indicated not to proceed. This was her moment.

 

As he stood and contemplated the correct course of action, his peripheral senses began to tug at his awareness. Something was off. There was an absence in the wake of this episode, but Tares struggled to identify what was missing.

 

Then it hit him: the hum. The hum was gone.

 

Tares quickly spun on his heel and approached the still gaping opening of the lift. The scene was just as they had left it. Gently, he placed a hand against the blood stained, curved bulkhead and paused to feel. There was no vibration.

 

Almost from reflex, Tares keyed the hilt he had been carrying and ignited the blade. The move was less of a defense one and more of something to catch the other’s attention.

 

“I think our path back to the ship has been cut off.” He stated forcefully while keeping a close proximity to the lift….

[Raynuk Montar]

Azron was quick to catch the teenager as she fell on top of him. With a grunt, he stood, bringing the girl with him and dragging her into the ship as the three soldiers ascended the ramp and followed him. Once the four were inside the ship, they closed the door behind them. Azron handed the girl’s unconscious form over to one of the soldiers, then frisked the girl, finding an access key and little else on her. Only when she had opened the door did Azron notice the girl’s blank white eyes, putting together that with the way she moved to the fact that this girl was blind. Satisfied, Azron proceeded into the ship further, reaching the main corridor junction. To his left down the corridor appeared to be a cargo bay, so he proceeded right, coming to the crew cabin first, with the captain’s cabin directly next to it. It was there in the captain’s cabin that Azron instructed the solider to deposit the unconscious girl, as he instructed the commander to begin digging through the storage container in the corner of the room. Azron returned to the crew cabin and likewise began to search through all the lockers with the other soldier.

 

Anything that was deemed of use for the cult by Azron was quickly collected and inspected. A few datapads and notes were among the items found, neither of which were immediately recognized as important, but taken none the less. He was quick to grab an empty pack from the nearby storage container and placed the items, along with the datapads and any other objects he and the soldiers found into it. Leaving the crew quarters, he checked in with the commander, who had found a few more datapads in the captain’s cabin. They moved to the crew lounge, the soldiers tossing it as quickly as possible for further prizes while Azron slid to the computer access station, inserting a datastick and began skimming it for relevant data while the soldiers worked behind him before moving to the adjacent repair bay. When Azron finished combing the computer, the group moved back towards the entrance, intent on leaving when Azron spotted the teenager where they had dumped her.

 

No witnesses… he thought before crossing to the doorway and sealing the door to the captain’s cabin, then locked it with a seventeen-digit code, the longest code allowed by the system. If nothing else, the girl wouldn’t be getting out alone to cause problems. He then turned and approached the cockpit, deciding to scour the navicomputer and comm unit for further useful information. Once there Azron instructed the two soldiers to take their prizes to the shuttles, and to tell the pilots to start up. The pair turned and jogged out immediately to exit the ship.

 

Azron sat in the pilot’s chair, finding it extremely worn compared to the other four chairs. Pushing that observation aside, he began accessing the comm and navigation systems, downloading as much as he could while periodically glancing out the cockpit to ensure the Jedi were not returning. When he began digging though, he noticed that the ship had not been shut down; merely placed on standby.

A purely evil smile grew across Azron’s face; he could give himself a window of time to further download the data, and push the Jedi off from pursuing even further, whenever they figured it out in the first place. He pulled out the access key he had taken from the girl and used it to bypass any security on the controls before turning to the squad commander.

 

“Recall our soldiers to the shuttles. Once they are all onboard, or the moment a threat is perceived, inform the shuttles we are leaving, and to meet up at rendezvous point Foxtrot.”

 

The commander nodded, turning as he began relaying the orders, watching the docking bay.

 

“Everyone, back to the ships. We are leaving. First Squad, go.”

 

Azron then fired up the engines, closed and sealed the boarding ramp, and began quickly ensuring everything was set. He would steal the Jedi’s ship as a final insult to the Force users.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Everyone, back to the ships. We are leaving. First Squad, go.”

 

The moment the order came through, the remaining First squadron soldiers immediately began to move, retreating back towards the three shuttles, which had already begun to fire up for departure. They arrived quickly, filing into their designated shuttle before signaling they were all aboard.

 

“Second Squad, go.”

 

Inside the temple, the members of Second squad nodded, glancing at the members of Third squadron who would remain while they retreated. The soldiers stood and began moving carefully towards the hanger as a group, their squad commander the last to leave. The trip from the temple to the shuttles was longer, and offered almost zero cover, but thankfully they were still operating without having been detected for the most part. They too filed into their shuttle and signaled once they were set.

 

“Third Squad, go.”

 

Having had no response or reaction to the first two squadrons movements, Third Squadron’s commander ordered his soldiers to make the trip two by two, spread out by fifteen seconds apiece, until it was just the commander left by the turbolift. The commander stood and approached the explosive pack on the doors, setting the trigger to proximity detonation before turning and hightailing it in pursuit of his men before the charge could be triggered by him. Because of their staggered retreat, Third squad took an extra minute to make the trip to the shuttles, but was likewise unhindered. By the time Third Squadron was all aboard their shuttle, all three ships were ready for departure.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

“All shuttles and squadrons report ready sir.”

 

Azron couldn’t hide the smile that crept across his face as he removed the datastick from the computer before him and stashed it in a pocket.

 

“Then we depart.” He said.

 

A moment later, as the commander signaled the shuttles to go, Azron fired up the repulsors on the Traitor’s Hope, lifting the ship off the ground with a wobble as he began to accustom himself to the controls, moving the ship out of the hanger. The Traitor’s Hope rotated towards the exit just in time to see the three shuttles blast from the hanger, arcing up towards the sky.

A moment later, the Traitor’s Hope likewise blasted from the hanger, taking a much more vertical vector to clear the planet’s atmosphere than the trio of shuttles had. Azron sitting at the controls, with the commander of First Squadron standing behind him, while an unconscious Tirzah napped in a locked and secured captain’s cabin, leaving the other three Jedi stranded on Raxus Prime.

[Emily]

After food, a nap, and a change of clothes, Emily found herself in the cockpit of the Shadow’s Shine, searching the holonet for Jaina Jade Skywalker Colos. There was a surprising amount of data available on everyone if you only looked hard enough. Her financial records were fairly non-existent, which gave Emily a date of death, some twenty years ago. That explained why she hadn’t heard from her aunt before now. Perhaps something tragic had happened; it was the only explanation for the strange memory loss Andon had had concerning Jaina the last time Emily had crossed paths with him. She wondered what had happened to him, too…

 

Place of death: Hapes.

 

Age at death: 24.

 

Cause of death: unknown, possibly related to childbirth

 

Those were from a hospital record she stumbled upon. For a moment, she had a strange thought: if Jaina had been resurrected at the same physical age that she had died, like Quietus often had, then her aunt might be physically younger than her. That will be weird… She shook her head.

 

The only other data she found was a ship registration—an ancient Corellian YT-1930 called the Traitor’s Hope. She shrugged and logged the transponder code into her own ship’s systems.

 

Twenty minutes later, her comm crackled to life again. “"Emily, it's Jaina,” came a hoarse voice. "I'm here on Raxus, and something is wrong. Someone's been here. The Noghri..." she trailed off. "I'm here with Tares Vortex and Xae-Lin Ardel. And I have something to show you. Please, hurry."

 

Something in her aunt’s tone caused warning bells to go off in Emily’s mind. She set the computer to do a data pull on the other two people Jaina had mentioned, then playing on a hunch, she headed back to her quarters and put on her armor. Roe’gall had picked up on her sudden tension and begun to pace the hold.

 

A few minutes later, she was back in the cockpit. She had no idea what could have happened. Raxus Prime was essentially a sleepy backwater. The Temple there was still listed in the Sith archives, but those were not easy to gain access to, and it was not known to the public at large. She wondered if some Sith had come and thrown everything to chaos in her absence. If so, she was going to have to have words with the interloper.

 

The reversion chime sounded, and Emily pulled the lever to send the ship dropping out of hyperspace into the Raxus system. She immediately did a full scan of the system with her sensors, and quickly detected four ships outbound from the planet. She had a bad feeling about this.

 

As she came in closer, the ships registered as the Traitor’s Hope and three shuttles, mostly old and beat up, although one was pretty heavily armored. Emily frowned. Why was Jaina leaving all of a sudden? She had commed not even ten minutes ago.

 

Before she could do much else, she saw the ships jump into hyperspace as a group. She grabbed their heading, just in case, and logged it. Opening a comm connection back to Jaina, she spoke as she brought the Shadow’s Shine down towards the planet. Even if Jaina had left, she’d still visit and see what had happened firsthand.

 

“Aunt Jaina?” she called. “I’m here in the system—just in time to see your ship leaving. Umm…where are you going?”

 

The ship dropped through the atmosphere with a slightly faster-than-normal approach. The computer pinged, and she glanced at it to see the information she had requested scroll past: Xae-Lin Ardel was a Jedi Master, and Tares Vortex the CEO of Solaris Enterprises—also a former Jedi Master, if her information was correct. So she was with the Jedi…makes sense if you’re hiding from a Sith.

 

Minutes after she had initially received the message, the Shadow’s Shine approached the Sith Temple where it had spent so much of it’s lifetime. Emily had the scanners on full ground-sweep, but detected no unregistered ships. It seemed like Jaina had been on her ship. But why call her here and then leave?

 

Emily reached out in the Force. She sensed death, and an afterimage of rage burned through the Force. That was enough to convince her: something was seriously wrong here. Anger bubbled inside her. She paused. Could this be a trap set by Jaina? A trap for her? She thought back over Jaina’s communications. Her aunt had seemed genuinely distressed, and seemed like she genuinely wanted to see her. But if she had discovered that Emily and Raynuk were together, she might be trying to lure Emily here in order to gain leverage over Raynuk.

 

For a long moment, she thought about it. But deep down, her instincts told her that this wasn’t a trap—at least, not a trap set by Jaina. Trust your instincts. She had just told Raia that. She took a deep breath, then settled the Shadow’s Shine in for a landing in the main hangar.

 

The ramp lowered, and Emily strode out, followed closely by Roe’gall. The hangar was empty of living beings. Scattered by the main entrance to the temple were several small gray bodies. Emily was next to them in a flash, bending to examine them. They had been killed by blaster fire, not lightsabers, which told her much about the assailants. If they weren’t Force-users, they’d have to be extremely fearsome warriors to overcome three noghri.

 

She headed over to a computer terminal. The screen was blank. She tapped it a few times, and a message flickered on the screen. DEFENSIVE GRID OFFLINE. MAIN POWER RESTORED. ENTER COMMAND CODE OR QUERY.

 

She frowned. Why was the defensive grid offline? Jaina would have had the access codes; she wouldn’t have had to take the whole grid offline to land. The thought occurred to her that whoever had killed the noghri might have been responsible—and it might have been those shuttles that she had seen leaving the system—but if so, why had Jaina gone with them?

 

None of this made sense, and it gave her a bad feeling. A few keystrokes entered her command code, and reestablished the defensive grid. She then ran a quick diagnostic. MAIN TURBOLIFT ERROR.

 

She sighed. She was no good at fixing things. She needed to figure out what was going on here. She began to walk towards the turbolift.

 

Suddenly, she got a flicker of warning. She froze in her tracks and reached out with the Force. It showed her two things: one, there was a cluster of Force-users still here, somewhere up. Second, there was danger coming from the turbolift. She shook her head. She’d figure that out later. For now, she could take the servant’s stairs.

 

Turning away from the turbolift, she popped the hatch on a small door, revealing a thin hallway. These halls ran throughout the whole temple, and were the way that the noghri got around without drawing the attention or ire of any visiting Sith. Of course, Emily was familiar with their labyrinth, having explored every inch of this temple during her lonely preteen years. Roe’gall stuck his head in behind her and whined.

 

“Oh come on,” she said. “I know it’s cramped for you, but you’ll fit just fine.”

 

He whuffed reluctantly and followed her, the door sliding shut automatically behind him.

 

The woman and beast moved through the temple, working their way generally up towards where Emily had felt the other presences. Occasionally, she exited the servant’s halls and walked through the main hallways of the temple. Whenever she did, she inevitably came across more noghri corpses. The more she came across, the more a dark black anger descended upon her. Whoever had killed them all would pay.

 

Worry and sorrow were mixed in with the anger, though. These beings hadn’t been friends, per se, but for years, they had been her only companions. She had always been the mistress, but she had gotten to know these noghri, and had felt varying levels of affection for them. Suddenly, she was possessed with a strong desire to find out where the others were hiding. Biting her lip, she changed direction towards her old quarters.

 

Arriving outside her door, she paused for a moment. It was so strange being here. It was almost like she was a little girl again, alone and afraid and angry. She shook herself and pushed the button to open the door. A thousand memories washed over her as she beheld her childhood room. But her attention was focused on the center of the room, where two living noghri were tending to several others who were wounded. At the hiss of the door, they turned, snarling, ready to pounce. But when they saw Emily, an expression akin to surprise crossed their faces. “Mistress Emily?”

 

Emily let out a relieved breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Meelmaim! Gabarakh!” She immediately came in. “What happened here?”

 

Gabarakh shook her head solemnly. The nohgri was really looking old now, Emily thought. “Intruders came a few hours ago. Took our guards by surprise.” Her old nurse looked ashamed. “Killed many. We couldn’t overcome them, so we hid to make a surgical strike later. But they raided the library, then fled.”

 

Emily frowned. “Did you see who they were?”

 

“No, mistress,” Meelmaim replied. “They wore no markings.”

 

Stang, Emily cursed. “What of the others here? The Jedi?”

 

“Khabarink said they had access codes, but that is all we know.”

 

She thought for a moment. “Call off the counterattack.” She knew the noghri tactics well. “Leave the Jedi to me. I’ll check it out and figure out what is going on.” After a moment, she put a hand on Gabarakh’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re alright,” she said softly.

 

“It’s good that you’re back, Mistress Emily,” Gabarakh replied. Emily could sense the genuine affection in the older noghri. She had taken care of Emily since she was a baby, and the bond between them was undeniable, even if they never spoke of it.

 

Emily turned back to the door to see Roe’gall nosing around curiously. She shook her head in wry amusement. Roe’gall had never been here before, which was strange. Why had she spent so much time away? She couldn’t quite remember.

 

“Come on, you big oaf,” she said. “Let’s go greet our Jedi guests. No eating them. At least, not until I tell you to, okay?”

 

He whuffed and Emily knew he understood. She glanced back once more at the noghri. “I sense the temple is clear of hostiles,” she said. “You can move freely. But don’t use the turbolift. Something’s up and I haven’t checked it out yet.”

 

The gray Master headed out and resumed climbing the stairs. Finally she reached the library. The panel slid open silently and Emily stepped in, followed by the hulking tuk’ata. She stepped up to the railing on the second floor and saw three figures. One was a short auburn haired woman, another was a man in a business suit. But her eyes jumped to the third figure--a woman of medium height with chestnut brown hair. A sudden nervousness shot through her, but she didn’t let it show. “Hello,” she called softly.

[saberforce]

Tros watched as the starlines broke from to streaking designs they were in during hyperspace. From the cockpit of the Orar, he watched the planet of Maxus Prime slowly fill up the viewport. He stared with some intensity from behind his buy'ce. There was a stirring in the pit of his stomach, as it only now dawned upon him that Xae-Lin Ardel, his potentially half-sister was a jetii. Which could mean that she traveled with more jetiise. From the sounds of the woman's voice of whom's transmission he had intercepted, it seemed rather unimportant to think about his dislike for the jetiise now. There was no eyaytir. Carefully, he began to make his decent. He would use the signal he intercepted to follow until he found what he was looking for...

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

As they began their ascent in the turbolift, the unease in Xae's stomach seemed to grow along with the smell of blood that seemed to permeate everything around her. Doing her best to ignore the way the hair on the back of her neck stood on-end, she stepped out into the Library with the others. Though not as menacing as the Monolith on Gala had been, the darkness in this place set the young Exorcist on edge.

 

Xae shook her head as her eyes took in the strange beauty of the Library of the legendary John Skywalker. She was just about to ask Jaina (who bore the same family name) if there was any relation, but she was distracted by some obviously empty shelves in what otherwise seemed an athenaeum teeming with volumes to the point that there was little space that had gone unutilized. Looking closer, she noticed that there was no dust or anything where the missing sections should have been, indicating that whoever had killed the Noghri had likely liberated the items as well. There was no way of knowing what sort of dangerous knowledge Skywalker's library had held. It chilled her to think what might be out there even now and what those that had taken such knowledge intended to do with it.

 

Her attention was drawn to another spike from Jaina as she pounded on one of the terminals, screaming before falling to her knees. Her keening cry of dispair and anguish shook the tower and shattered several of the artifact cases on the upper tier of the library, but Xae didn't concern herself with anything but approaching Jaina, sensing her intent as she gripped her lightsaber.

 

No! You just found your daughter...you can't deny her a chance at knowing her mother! The woman thought as she rushed forward, stopping just an arms-length away when she saw the ghost materialize in front of Jaina.

 

The Force guiding her, Xae stepped away, allowing Jaina her private meeting with her personal ghosts as Tares ignited his own lightsaber.

 

"We've been cut off?" Xae echoed, drawing the two sabers from her belt and igniting them just as another panel slid aside and a third figure joined them followed closely by one of the largest beasts Xae had seen outside of the jungles of Dathomir. The Exorcist wasn't going to take any chances and placed herself between the new figure and Jaina.

 

Her eyes narrowed at the other woman, probing her slightly and not surprisingly meeting up with much resistance, there was one element that stood out to Xae though. She belongs here, where as we do not...

 

"Jaina, care to explain what's going on here? Who is this?"

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

In the utter silence that permeated the library, a snap-hiss broke the heavy atmosphere that hung in the wake of Jaina's discovery. Whirling to face Tares, she saw the grave realization on his face a moment before he announced it. "I think our path back to the ship has been cut off," he said gravely, his eyes as they met hers almost apologetic.

 

"We've been cut off?" Xae was mere meters behind her.

 

Still clawing her way out of the fog of memory, Jaina struggled to follow their statements to the logical conclusion. If the turbolift wasn't working, they'd just have to take the stairs, even if that did mean a lot of them. But why would the turbolift not be working? Hostiles, she chided herself. Noghri bodies. Hostiles in the library. THINK!

 

"If we've been cut off," she began, screwing up her face in thoughts that took far more effort than they warranted, "then that means..."

 

The pang of realization hit her all with all the subtlety of a Star Destroyer. "Tirzah!" she cried out, scanning their surroundings frantically. She had not come all this way to reconcile with her daughter just to have something happen to the girl in the brief moments she had been out from under her mother's watchful eye. "We need to find another way down, now," she ordered, desperate urgency in her tone. "We need to get back to her."

 

But even as she said it, she knew it was too late. Her senses stretched out toward the hangar, and she felt for her daughter's now-familiar presence, as though fumbling in the dark. Her shoulders slumped, and she turned back around, reaching out to the computer console to steady herself. Tirzah was already gone. Not dead, but faint, fainter by the minute.

 

"Hello," came a gentle, musical voice, followed by the dual snap-hiss of Xae's newly crafted sabers. The timbre was familiar, but this time wasn't surrounded by the hiss and crackle of long-term communications. Slowly, she turned, and the newcomer came into view, peering down from the second floor between a cross of teal and crimson.

 

"Jaina, care to explain what's going on here? Who is this?" Xae's question was sharp, testing. Whether or not the Dathomiri Jedi had anything to say about Jaina's outburst remained to be seen, but in her voice, Jaina could detect a protective probing. But the ghost of Andon had not wholly departed this place: even in the distance, Jaina could see her husband's hazel eye gazing out from the woman's face.

 

"Emily," she breathed. She was beautiful, all black hair and white teeth, her slight athletic frame gracefully silhouetted by the orange Raxus sunlight. When she had met Tirzah, the girl's ignorance as to her identity warranted a degree of standoffish behavior, a careful consideration of when and how to introduce herself. Here, she bore none of those considerations. The cherubic round face of the six-year-old she had played with in the hangar, led around the market on Corellia, and held while she slept on the long journey to Raxus Prime was worn, changed by time but no less recognizable, on the woman who stood in the fragments of the cases that had been shattered by Jaina's anguish.

 

In an instant, she darted into motion, bypassing the protective barrier of Xae's weapons, running at her niece full-bore. "Emily!" she called, vaulting up the stairs in a single Force-assisted bound, and as she landed before her niece, pulled her instinctively into an embrace. The daughter of John Skywalker deserved not only her gratitude, but her continued presence. Like Emily had urged her via comm, like she had urged Tirzah in turn, Jaina had come to one conclusion as an anchor to her soul: family should stick together.

 

Stepping back from the embrace sooner than she might have liked, she looked back down to answer Xae's question. "This is Emily Zsahra-Skywalker, daughter of John Skywalker, and the rightful mistress of this Temple."

 

Her eyes flickered to Tares, wondering if he ever knew, or might remember, that both Jaina and John had served as apprentices to Bishop simultaneously. As she looked back to Emily, a thought hardened in her soul, strengthening her resolve and flooding her veins with determined fire: it was not out of consideration for her husband's bond with John Skywalker that she chose to be family to his daughter. In her own way, she was John's sister as much as Andon had been his brother. "Emily is my niece," she called quietly, her gaze unblinking as she assessed Emily's reaction. "And I think she's here to help us."

[Emily]

There was a moment of pause as Jaina met her gaze. It was enough for the other woman Jedi to ignite her lightsabers threateningly. Roe’gall growled menacingly in response. But then Jaina was moving, using the Force to leap up to the balcony. The tuk’ata raised his hackles; he was trained to attack anyone coming at Emily at that velocity, particularly a Force user. But Emily firmly reigned him in with a Force command, and then Jaina collided with her, embracing her in a huge hug.

 

Emily returned it, clinging to her aunt. It was the best feeling in the galaxy. This was simple, uncomplicated. Her anger at what had happened here didn’t disappear, but it faded into the background for the duration of that embrace. It was funny—they were essentially strangers. But the bond of family, even if they didn’t actually share blood, was undeniable. Here was a woman who was part of that family, and Emily knew that no matter what happened, that would never change. It was beautiful, and it was something Emily would always cherish.

 

They drew apart after a moment, and Jaina introduced her to the others, then turned her eyes back to Emily. Emily smiled warmly. “Indeed I am.”

 

She glanced at the other two. “You must be Master Ardel and Mister—Master?—Vortex. You are both welcome here,” she said. “Any friend of Aunt Jaina’s will always be welcome here.” There was a questioning whuff from behind her as the tuk’ata came forward. He sniffed the top of Jaina’s head and gave a confused whine.

 

Emily’s smile broadened. “And this is Roe’gall: my pet, protector, and partner,” she introduced the beast. She spoke to him. “Viņa ir daļa no mūsu iepakojuma tagad. Viņa ir ģimene.” She gave him a scratch under the chin, and then gave him a mental command to check out the perimeter of the library. He headed off obediently.

 

“The noghri filled me in on the details of the attack, but they had an incomplete picture,” she said, turning her mind to business. She longed to ask her aunt where she had been all these years, to learn how she was coping with being ripped from death to life, to get to know her as a person—but that would wait. She swung herself over the bannister and used the Force to land gently on the first floor of the library. “They said that a force attacked this place, using stolen clearance codes to land. They were excellent fighters, or they wouldn’t have taken out so many of the noghri.” A wave of anger washed over her again, but she held it in check. “Clearly,” she said, glancing around at the damage as she walked towards the other two, “they intended on plundering my father’s library. When I arrived in the system, I saw them leaving—with your ship,” she added, turning to Jaina.

 

She sent her Force senses down the turbolift and felt the same danger she had sensed earlier. “They also rigged the turbolift somehow, although you clearly have already discovered that. We need to figure out what they did and disarm it.”

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Did any of you see any of the attackers?" Her tone grew cold. "I am very interested in learning their identity.”

[Tares Vortex]

The situational tension in the library seemed to escalate and descalate in almost rapid succession. Tares had been ready for a fight. It was the first time in several years that he had felt the fight or flight response: the Force screaming at him of the threat; the sudden burst of energy from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. It was an experience he remembered all too well.

 

Emily’s arrival was a welcome surprise turn to the prospect of fighting their way out. The way Jaina embraced their new arrival made it clear that she was no threat. Tares quickly deactivated his lightsaber and returned Emily’s greeting, “Thank you for your timely arrival. Please forgive our intrusion into your home.”

“Did any of you see any of the attackers?" Emily asked.

 

“Unfortunately, no.” Tares replied with a slight lowering of his tone, “I don’t suppose your ancient Sith temple has modern day security surveillance?”

 

Unfortunately, there was still little information on who had raided the library and left them stranded. If Emily had seen Jaina’s ship departing from orbit, it meant that Tirzah had most likely been taken hostage unless she had managed to escape. Tares’s inability to feel her when he extended his senses outward wasn't a good sign.

 

Time was paramount.

 

While letting the others exchange information, Tares approached the turbolift and reentered its gory interior. His eyes fell towards the floor and began scanning the blood stained carpet. After a few seconds, he found the faint outline of a hatch sticking through the mess.

 

He pressed his hands gently onto the carpet until his fingers found the edges of the hatch. He fumbled around for a few moments until the locking mechanism came into view. A loud, metallic clank rang through the floor and walls of the lift, and the hatch automatically lifted to a vertical position. Tares briefly looked down the opening that revealed the forty-something story drop.

 

Atlas came hovering from behind and immediately squeezed into the negative space of the hatch. Tares had come to appreciate the droid’s ability to seemingly read his mind. It usually came in handy when he was needing files for a project or the contact information of a shareholder, but he could see the value of having a psychic droid in tense situations.

 

The droid quickly descended into the shaft, taking scans of the walls along the way. By the time Atlas reached the bottom of the shaft, she had cleared the entire route of bombs or traps. The turbolift had merely been shut off.

 

The doors at the base of the turbolift were a different story. Through Atlas’s video feed on his datapad, Tares could see the faint outline of an explosive pack attached to the exterior of the door. It was difficult to see the specifics of the charge, especially since Tares wasn’t an explosives expert. “What do you think?” He asked Atlas over the comm.

 

“The charge is most likely set to explode once the doors open.” Atlas replied, “I would offer to trigger the explosive in a heroic act to save you all, but my altruism subroutines have been disabled during my firmware update. If you don’t mind waiting for another 10 hours, 36 minutes, and 9 seconds, my update will be complete and I can proceed to blow myself up.”

 

This was one of those times where Tares wasn’t sure whether the droid was speaking matter-of-factly or not. “Let’s put that in the ‘Plan B’ category for now. Any other ideas?” He replied.

 

The video feed on his datapad as Atlas hovered from one side of the turbolift shaft to another. Eventually, the shifting subsided and the droid came to rest on the floor, “I am reconfiguring my repulsorlift generator to produce a micro-EMP burst. This will effectively disable the proximity charge on the explosive, along with my own operating system.”

 

“I thought we were tabling the 'blow myself up' plan?”

 

“We are. This will involve me going into an electromagnetically induced-deactivation. A nuclear nap if you will. Please remember to recharge my power pack before reactivating me.” She concluded before the video feed went blank.

 

Tares looked at the blank datapad for a few moments before returning to his feet. He looked out beyond the turbolift’s entryway, back towards the group, “Um, I think the explosive charge has been deactivated. Let’s reactivate the turbolift.” He said with a slight sense of caution….

[saberforce]

Tros constantly scanned the surface as he approached the location of where he may find his half-sister. There was a great many things wrong with what he could find. Ships seemed to be lacking at what appeared to be a temple of some sorts. Tros hoped that it wouldn't mean that there was a flood gate of more jetiise. He really was just curious as to see if this woman was related. But now, he had to most likely fight his way to her. Carefully finding a spot to land, he made sure that his ship would remain safe and untouched. If he had to leave in a hurry, he wanted the ship to remain ready and away from potential harm.

 

After landing, Tros made sure that all of his weapons were ready and that his beskar'gam was secured upon himself. Quickly, he made sure his buy'ce was linked in to the Orar and would be able to give him what he needed in potential lower levels or deep parts of the temple. He could already scan very faint life signs in the temple. So, the beroya slowly made his way into the temple, trying to not set off anyone or thing to his presence in the temple. Hopefully, he would find Xae-Lin without and problem...

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Immediately after she let go of Emily, a hulking figure came into view, and Jaina recoiled visibly, taking an instinctive step back. It looked like one of the beasts she had seen on Korriban in Raynuk's company--a tuk'ata?--but those stood only a couple feet tall, a small, dark-colored predatory creature that traveled in a pack. This behemoth stood two meters tall, and was jet black. It inclined its head to hers, and she held herself immobile, knowing that fleeing would be the most likely trigger for a predatory beast's instinctive reaction. Emily grinned, introducing the creature, and leapt down to the lower level to make her acquaintance with the other two Jedi. Jaina moved as if to follow her, but paused for a moment to reach a hand out and touch the creature's snout. Roe'gall pushed back on her hand, what seemed like a gesture of acknowledgement, if not acceptance, before trotting off to the third tier of the library with a forceful whuff.

 

Gracefully descending the stairs, she rejoined the others. "I don't suppose your ancient Sith Temple has modern-day security surveillance," Tares was saying. With a brief glance at the computer panel that still bore the imprint of her fist, she turned her attention to Emily.

 

"They've only been here a few hours. I found a record of them in the system, although I couldn't access it with my ancient guest code," she said with a halfhearted attempt at a wry grin, before remembering the other secret of this place her guest code had unlocked. "I found something else, too. A message, from Andon."

 

Tares turned to examine the turbolift, the hovering droid Atlas behind him. A flicker of anxiety crossed Jaina's mind as he reentered the gruesome scene. It wasn't the reaction of her danger sense to his actions, strictly speaking, so what was it? As she glanced sidelong at her niece, who was also eyeing her, she felt suddenly exposed in a way that evaded description. The emotions of her encounter with the Force-ghost were so raw, so new, that while she felt the importance of sharing them with the woman to whom they had been addressed, there was some part of her that seethed that Emily had been the subject of her husband's last missive. Whereas with Tirzah, she had possessed information beyond the girl's awareness that had given her a measure of control of her interactions with her daughter, Emily was her peer, and in some freakish twist of fate, her elder: a woman with a powerful aura who had a galaxy of experience under her belt. Jaina found herself holding back from following Tares into the booby-trapped turbolift to escape Emily's calculating gaze. There was so much conversation that had to happen between she and her niece, it was odd not to jump immediately into the list of questions she had. But the desecrated library and extra companions dictated that paying attention to their surroundings was the more pressing issue, not to mention Tirzah.

 

The reminder pushed away the awkwardness of the moment and jolted her into action. If her ship had been seen blasting off the planet, there was no time to waste. She turned back to Emily, and her hand shot out to grasp the other's arm. "Tirzah was on that ship. We have to get back down to the hangar, now."

 

"Um, I think the explosive charge has been deactivated. Let's reactivate the turbolift," came Tares' voice.

 

Rushing toward the lift, Jaina's fingers flew nimbly over the control panel next to it, activating the emergency function of the lift. The hum of power returned, and Jaina motioned to the others. Gingerly stepping inside the lift once more, she looked around, but nowhere among the bodies did she see the frame of the droid. However, at the back of the lift, Tares was crouching near what appeared to be a maintenance hatch. With a glance at the datapad he held in his hand, she suddenly knew what he had done to deactivate the dangers that awaited them.

 

"Allow me," she said with a half-smile, and held a hand out, palm down. Moments later, the still form of the droid slid through the access hatch, and Jaina set her gently on the cleanest spot of carpet she could detect. After they closed the hatch, she reached out with the Force to activate the panel, and the lift flew down the shaft. As they grew nearer to the bottom, however, Jaina became aware of another presence quickly approaching, and frowned at the others.

 

"There's someone here," she murmured. With a deft movement, she tugged her saber off her belt and activated it, the violet light playing across the walls as the door to the hangar access floor hissed open. A silhouetted figure stood in the dim emergency light of the still-deactivated central power grid, but it was a silhouette recognizable across the galaxy. A Mandalorian.

 

Holding her lightsaber at cross-guard before her, covering the entrance to the lift as she stood at the front nearest the door, her mind quickly assessed the situation. To have successfully raided the library and decimated the Noghri complement in such a short time would have required more than just two hands. Either this Mandalorian was here with many hidden knife-wielding compatriots, or he was a late arrival to the party.

 

"Stop there," she commanded, the Force carrying her words. "Who are you? What is your purpose here?"

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Jaina's recognition of the other woman and movement to greet the newcomer led Xae to extinguish her lightsabers as she watched the interaction between Jaina and her niece. This is her home. We're the invaders here, Xae thought to herself, standing down out of deference to their host being there with them.

 

As Emily filled them in on what the Nohgri had witnessed and what she'd seen on the way in, the Jedi Knight felt as though she'd been punched in the gut, nevermind how Jaina had to feel at hearing the news her ship had left without her. The Exorcist found her attempts at the Jedi calming techniques did little to help here in this place, and it was very hard to suppress the instinct to punch something. It was her fault that Tirzah was now in danger, either taken, incapacitated, or worse down in the hangar forty-two stories below them. She could get angry or she could figure out a way to help Tares do something to fix it, though he seemed to have things well in hand with his droid assistant.

 

Xae felt utterly useless, a feeling she hated more than anything. Well, perhaps not hate, as Jedi weren't supposed to cling to such manner of emotions, but she utterly loathed feeling stuck and unable to contribute in a positive manner to the events unfolding around her. She was beginning to feel like she should have tried Lahon. At least she wouldn't be dealing with the constant cloudy feeling she got from the darkness that seemed to emanate from the walls of the very temple structure. There was the urge to cleanse the darkness, but, again, she reminded herself, this was someone's home. What right did she have to invade and then rip away anything and everything that likely mean the world to Emily? She'd be no different than the Sith that forced their own will on others. An eye for an eye would just leave the whole galaxy blind and it fumbled enough without the extra help.

 

While she was ruminating and struggling to find her own balance, Jaina came past her determined to get down to the hangar by any means necessary and had already reactivated the lift.

 

As the group piled into the turbo lift and began their descent to the hangar below, Xae finally found her voice. "Can we please get at least one thing straight? Vos saying I'm a Master and council member does not make it so. He's not even Jedi, let alone has had the training to be a Master of the Light Side of the Force. I am a Knight of the Order, nothing more. I'm afraid the darkness here clouded my judgment when I told Tirzah to remain on the Hope for her safety, and for that, I'm truly sorry Jaina. We'll get her back somehow. I promise you. Relic hunting be damned. This is my fault and I will rectify it."

 

Jaina didn't immediately answer her as the woman's attention was drawn to something Xae had also detected. Activating her lightsabers with Jaina, Xae stepped out beside her and stopped cold at the sight of the Mandalorian armor. "Bounty Hunter." She responded flatly. "Either a very brave one or a very unlucky one to think he might raid a temple. No doubt seeks to collect on us," she murmured to the others, her grip tightening around the two lightsabers.

 

Her mind flashed back to her time with Joreel, when he'd taught her how to fight like one of his people. Granted, it hadn't been much, but it had helped Xae gain some insight into how they operated and what made them so dangerous as opponents, despite the usual lack of Force-aptitude. Hesitation could be deadly, but something told her to hold her position despite her guardian instincts. "If you seek to collect, beroya, I suggest you look elsewhere. As you can see you're more than outmatched with four veteran Force Users in alliance," she called throwing in the word for "hunter" from the Mandalorian language into the Force suggestion, hoping the shock of it might help it slip past his no doubt considerable mental defenses. She held little illusion it would work, but she lost nothing by trying.

[saberforce]

Tros was suddenly stunned by the sight of four jetiise before him, two of them, had jetii'kad activated. Carefully, he assessed the situation himself and couldn't take his own eyes off Her. He had come looking for Xae-Lin, but it would seem that she found him. He still couldn't take his eyes off the spitting image of his buir. Xae-Lin had his eyes, hair, and almost his exact stare. It was eerily creepy to him. he just told there with his arms at his side and stared behind his buy'ce at without question anymore, his half-sister. Taking in a few breaths as he stood must have been awkward for the jetiise before him. After he collected himself, he decided to just jump in head first. Slowly, he pulled off his buy'ce, leaving all of his weapons still attached at his side and back.

 

"I am Tros Ardell, Bas’lan ade. I came not for the bounty, but rather on personal gain. I came to seek out my tal'din... Xae-Lin..."

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

She wasn't sure if the suggestion took or not as the Mandalorian merely stood there for a few moments before removing his helmet and facing the Jedi-Sith quartet directly. No, she thought.Not at them, at me.

"I am Tros Ardell, Bas’lan ade. I came not for the bounty, but rather on personal gain. I came to seek out my tal'din... Xae-Lin..." he explained, code-switching Mando'a that Xae felt she should know, but the words had faded from her mind. Her name was clear enough though.

 

"How do you know my name? And what is it you seek to gain from me Tros Ardell?" She called out, deactivating the lightsabers as her hands had started trembling for some reason she couldn't explain. Bas'lan...Bas'lan...why do I know that name? Wait... A face floated in her vision, an older man in armor from when she was younger. Her mother's Champion, for a time anyway before he'd fallen out of favor. Xae-Lin had always liked him, when Kyp had asked her for her family name, she'd given Bas'lan's clan name as her own.

 

This man bore the same clan name. Was it a conincidence? Was this hunter related to the old hunter? What was even happening right now? Was this some carefully orchestrated destraction the invaders had cooked up to buy them more time?

[Tares Vortex]

A bounty hunter facing four Force users (with bounties on their heads), calmly talking to them. It was the setup of some poor punchline. Yet, Tares found himself glad that people were only talking instead of shooting or cutting. Despite the fact that Jaina’s ship had been stolen, her daughter kidnapped, turbolifts had been rigged to explode, and now a bounty hunter had appeared, Tares realized this had been one of those rare trips where he hadn't had to kill anyone in defense.

 

It was a trip for the record books.

 

Tares’s knowledge of the Mandorian language was nonexistent, but the way this bounty hunter spoke, pointed mainly at Xae, gave the impression that the hunter was connected to the Jedi in some way. Either way, no shooting, cutting, or killing yet; take the win.

 

A pinpoint of pressure nagged at the back of his neck as he kept their present purpose in mind: find Jaina’s ship, find Jaina’s daughter.

 

He decided to be productive while letting the others conduct their unexpected business. Holding to the lifeless body of Atlas in one hand, he took out his datapad and set up a powered wireless connection to the droid. It wasn't enough to reboot her, but it would give Tares access to her databanks and, hopefully, some useful information.

 

He kept his attention on the datapad with only a punctuating glance back between Xae and their new arrival every now and then. The wireless was quickly established, and Tares began to search Atlas’s memory banks for the data downloaded from the Traitor’s Hope before they lost the datalink. After a few minutes, he found the information he was searching for: the metadata from the last download of Tirzah’s comm.

 

The metadata contained information related to its connection with the Holonet: local nodes and receivers the unit was using to communicate. It would be enough information to triangulate the ship’s position; hopefully enough to get them close enough to detect the ship on sensors.

 

As the datapad began running through calculations, Tares returned his attention to the group for a brief moments. Inching his way forward, he placed himself between Jaina and Emily and held up the pad. The screen blanked for a moment and then reactivated with a map of a local star region. A blue dot hovered in the middle of the region.

 

“I believe I've triangulated the last known position of your ship.” Tares said in Jaina’s direction before turning his head toward the rest of the group, “Since no one seems to be killing each other, might I suggest we exchange pleasantries on the go? There’s still a presumably kidnapped Jedi out there, and time is no doubt limited” He said while keying a command into his datapad....