The Fleet of the Odanite Expeditionary Force, lead by Gui Sol’s Flagship, the Resurgent, exited hyperspace. The vessels groaned as the blue energy tunnels leading them to their destination opened up. The darkness of space swallowed them once again as a lush world seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
“Master, we’ve arrived. Should we ready the ground crews?”
“At ease ensign,” Gui cracked a smirk, “You’re far too stiff,” he mockingly shook his arms loose. “Relax, bud.”
“Yessir,” the ensign offered a salute and clasped his hands behind his back. Gui chuckled and his PIT droid, Barry, paused from repairing a relay long enough to shake its head.
“Get'em ready.”
He leaned back in his Captain’s chair, one leg draped over the arm. While he appeared to be comfortable. He was anything but. He had just received Intel from SeNet that a group of scavengers unveiled the coordinates to an artifact. What those scavengers most likely didn’t realize was that the artifact they were after was actually located within the ruins of an old Sith temple known as Salan Kor in the old tongue. While he suspected the artifact was of a dark origin, he feared that the purpose was far more sinister.
“Ground crews will descend to the surface of Kalsunor. There is a temple, called Salan Kor, which I have just sent coordinates for,” datapads of Odanites furiously chimed in unison, “SeNet has provided us with some intel but we don’t know much. We were given the possible location of an artifact being hunted by a group of scavengers. We cannot allow it to fall into the wrong hands as we are unsure of its true nature. Alchemically altered beasts known as Silooths are guarding the temple and have been picked up by orbital scanners so proceed with caution. May the Force be with you all.”
Wenet C. Bannog, the young Kushiban female felt the ship jolt as it dropped out of hyperspace. Instantly she stopped fiddling with her vibro blade and looked up. “I guess we have arrived,” she said to no one in particular and slipped her blade back in the scabbard strapped around her thigh. Until now she wasn’t even sure where they were or why but it didn’t take long after their arrival that she heard the familiar chime of her datapad.
Quickly, she grabbed the pad to read the message. “Kalsunor..” she whispered and continued reading. Even before finishing the message, the adventurous little bunny rabbit was excited to go and it was visible as her fur almost seemed to light up. “A temple… a mysterious artifact…” she mumbled. Then her big blue eyes widened “Alchemically altered beasts!” Wenet spoke with enthusiasm.
Wenet lowered the datapad and rubbed her hands together, “this is going to be fun” she smiled and got up to prepare herself before leaving the ship. She checked her gear, it wasn’t much so it didn’t take long. “I’m ready” she told herself and followed the others to the nearest transport that would take them to the surface.
“Silooths, they couldn’t have chosen something less grotesque?”
Liz followed the other Odanites onto the LAAT. She placed her back against the back wall and slid down into a sitting position. She took a minute to scan the faces of the others. Some old. Many new faces she had never met. She tossed a curly lock off her face and exhaled deeply and waited for the others to finish boarding.
Rin stood outside the LAAT staring at the ship. She hated the damn things and each time one either took off or landed or even just flew around, the Cathar felt like her stomach was turning inside out.
“Stupid bounce buckets…” she muttered darkly from within her helmet.
With a sigh, the woman stepped up the loading ramp and took a seat far from anyone else. A barely audible thunk sounded as the small Mercenary placed the almost excessively large power hammer on the deck plating.
She had never been a fan of small talk before a mission, never a fan of getting to know someone who wouldn’t come back. Rin closed her eyes and settled in for the journey, thinking of a quieter time when she had traded the accoutrements of war for a small house in the middle of nowhere.
“Nothing’s ever easy,” she remarked to no one in particular.
Liz noticed a small, youthful Kushiban who she’d never seen before. “Interesting creatures…” she thought as she continued to watch the white furred being standing roughly a meter from where she sat, look around eagerly.
“It gets easier, and more mundane after each mission. My name is Lizuni. What is your name little Kushiban?”
Despite her size, Wenet confidently stepped up the loading ramp, following the other Odanites into the LAAT. She watched a Cathar female take a seat further away and thought to herself ‘I guess she wants to be left alone.’ Then she heard someone speak to her, it had to be her as there were no other Kushibans onboard.
“It does?” She replied to their first comment about missions getting easier and more mundane. She looked up at the lady she tilted her head slightly “I hope not to easy, I like a bit of a challenge” she continued and let out a chuckle. “I’m Wenet.. Wenet C Bannog” she introduced herself with pride. In truth her name was just Wenet, a one word name like every Kushiban, but she had added the rest to sound more interesting. “And I am taller than most Kushiban” she added a little snappy..
As the crew of the LAAT nestled in, locked and loaded, meditated, or simply got to know one another. The voice of Gui Sol filled the ship through the comm.
“We’re nearly there.”
“We?” some thought as they looked around for the source of the voice.
At that moment, one individual saw a shimmer of light coming through the viewport. When he stood to investigate, he could see that it was the light reflecting off of the hull of a rusted out A-Wing as it flew in pace with their transport. When the young and very green O.E.F officer awkwardly locked eyes with the Kiffar piloting the fighter, he was greeted with the pearly whites of a grin that, oddly enough, gave him some peace of mind as the mission had already been making him nervous. Afterall it was his first one.
“Fon, stop worrying and just try to relax.”
The young recruit nodded his head to the senior officer but when he looked out the viewport once more, the A-Wing had vanished from sight.
As she was talking Lizuni, she heard the voice of Gui Soi over the comms. Wenet’s ears instantly stood up straight and her big blue eyes widened “ooh almost there” she responded with obvious excitement and gazed out of the viewport to have a look. She saw a glimpse of the A-wing but didn’t notice who was flying it, she was focused on the planet itself as they got closer to their destination.
Enzo Dek had curled themself up into a small barrel shape in order to fit into the LAAT. He felt the warmth of two people choosing to sit on his upper back, not seeming to notice that he was in fact a real entity.
No matter, the tree thought.
Two formations depressed into his upper back, forming a more comfortable positions for those who had decided to sit there. He would simply wait out the ride in this meditative stance, happily humming to himself the tunes of old.
Iriz'li'dililil, or known by his core name as Zlid, felt his grip tigheten on the steering handles of the LAAT. Zlid willed himself to relax, steadying is breathing the way he had been taught by his proctors back in the Ascendancy.
You will not falter, he ordered himself mentally, even as his eyes never once ceased flitting between the myriad of sensor-read outs and the skyline beyond him. You will not lose your composure. You are Irizi, and you will not allow yourself to fail here.
The mantra, one he had repeated to himself countless times since he had first taken up his role as a pilot, did precious little to truly calm his nerves, but it did allow him to shove the feelings down and back, into the recesses of his mind where they could be properly ignored in favor of the task before him.
Where mental health failed, sheer tunnel vision would see him through.
In truth, this was his first true mission since being recruited in Odan-Urr’s flight corps, barring a handful of meaningless escort missions within the Kiast system that offered no real danger of failure or humiliation. Now? Now he had been tasked with a true test of his skills as a pilot, as a soldier, and as a nascent Odanite.
This was his chance to prove himself to his newfound allies, and he refused to entertain even the possibility of true failure.
Waza Pulled from his meditation as his data pad chimed with new information. I really need to get a new one of those he thought, its been almost a decade since my last big excursion. I should go meet my clan at the LAAT. Waza walked the corridors of the powerful ship. Memories of battles flooding in; warning klaxons and explosions echo in his mind. ‘Enough of that’ he thought. The past is but lessons learned, time ot pass on knowledge and learn from a new generation of Brotherhood. Waza Entered the Hanger Deck and stepped into the drop ship giving a nod to those already taking their places. Trying no to look as old as he felt he prepared for the coming excursion.
Seeing movement in the cabin Waza addressed a pilot he couldnt see. “Thank you Pilot for making this trip with us” Turning to the ready seats he saw several others in what could only be the quiet of the mental assessment of who are you and how will you perform in the stress of battle. “Greetings everyone” He said once the announcements were finished from Gui Sol. “anyone know details of the scavenger group we are about to encounter?”
Rattletrap, which is what Gui called his A-wing, broke away from his Freighter the Rogue Star as the Resurgent shrunk in the blanket of space. His resplendent Emerald colored eyes reflected the luminescent celestial bodies of the vale.
Bucket, the rusted and battered astromech droid of the Proconsul nestled in its socket, chirped and whistled into Gui’s comm-link. The words popped up on his view-screen but the translation wasn’t needed as the Kiffar at times felt more fluent in binary than he did basic.
“Nope, you don’t need to do anything. Just enjoy the ride.”
At that moment, Rattletrap’s droid brain, V10, or Vio, chimed in.
“Readying the vessel for atmospheric re-entry.”
Bucket whined with a low whoop that sounded depressing. Even to the untrained ear.
“Don’t worry, nothing could replace you.”
“Master Sol,” the co-pilot of the LAAT spoke up, Zlid just focused on the task at hand. “We’ll form up and follow you in, sir.”
Gui choked back his excitement as his vessel made contact with Kalsunor’s atmosphere, flames encapsulated his hull and tugging at his mind’s eye were the thoughts of those aboard the transport.
Wedge, a new recruit, was eager to please as he watched the procedures of his new Clan closely, Waza gave off a curious vibe, Zlid was sharp, Wenet was glued to the window in wonder, Liz was allowing her inherent grumpiness to subside if only for a time, and Dek was a bench.
Gui was proud of each and every one of the Odanites on board. He was filled with a sense of pride as the awakening of Clan Odan-Urr had just begun. Each one of them would be instrumental in the future and Kalsunor would be the trial to forge bonds that would last a lifetime or it would become the hammer that shattered their resolve. No matter how you sliced it, the Kiffar was excited to discover the secret of this trinket. If it could be wrested from the sticky fingers of the Lotho Minor’s Scavengers Guild.
Then there was Rin, filled with her own sense of pride.
Wedge tugged excitedly at the base of his uniforms tunic to straighten it. He smiled and hopped on the balls of his feet
Waza placed a hand on the seat structure for balance as the LAAT bounced through atmospheric entry. Thinking out lout “At least its not a drop pod insertion, those were terrifying.”
The transport jostles and Wedge throws out a hand against the bulkhead to steady himself. After a moment, he was back to his nervously excited hopping
“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a drop pod sir.”
“imagine willingly sitting in a tube a little bigger than an astromech droid with all the gear you’d need for the upcoming war and being fired at a planet like a torpedo. You just hope the parachute isn’t burned off before it can deploy. ‘
Wedge blinks in disbelief for a moment “They… they use parachutes? Like fabric and all?”
Waza stares at a spot on the wall, fading off into thought “yeah Fabric and all.” Memories of close quarters combat. screams, explosions, friends lost and made in the heat of battle flash through his mind. Snapping back to reality “But that was a long time ago young Wedge now we have these mighty find landing craft. I wonder do they even have shock troopers anymore? I imagine if they do they are just as crazy as we were in our youth. Pop the bolts tuck and roll use the momentum to come up fighting. Those were the days.”
“If you say so sir. Personally, I’m excited to get into a cockpit… or a bridge! Which ever role I can fill to serve!”
With her tiny claws, Wenet braces herself as the transport bounces through the atmospheric entry. Her long furry ears twitched as she listened to the others speak whilst she continued to gaze out of the window. For a moment she glanced at the one that spoke about drop pod. He obviously had seen combat and that immediately made the small Kushiban curious so continued to listen..
Wedge examines his blaster in his belt holster. He tugs at the belt but stops suddenly as he catches a glint of light from the cockpit. He leans forward as much as he can. The shuddering of the ship had stopped as they were now stabilized in the planets atmosphere
“ya know I remember this one time I had a mission to distract some jedi from an operation I was on, we were on Dantooine I think. Had them running all over. They even fell into a nest of gundarks. I was surprised when the padawan was able to save them.” “We were recovering a relic then too, these old school Sith just left stuff all over the galaxy. It’s like keeping up with a youngling sometimes” Waza waited a few second to see if anyone was going to engage in other stories to break the stress of pre-mission silence before opening his data pad to look for a briefing or other information that would keep them alive once on the planet.
Wenet turned her gaze away from the window and glanced at Waza. She was intrigued by his stories. “So you’ve seen your fair share of combat” the small Kushiban spoke up, hoping he had more stories to tell. “Never came across a gundark before.. but I have fought Xinkras” she said with a smirk. “That’s how I got these beauties” she chuckled pointing at the two claw marks across her face. She purposely left out the bit of being knocked out, but then again she was six and most humanoids wouldn’t dare to fight beasts at that age..
“I’ve not had to fight one of those before in my travels, but it looks like you handled yourself well, aren’t those beasts over 3 meters tall? ”
“My Name is Waza Sunrider, It’s the will of the force we have come together on this adventure. I look forward to spending untold hours of dreary boredom punctuated by sheer terror with you and leaving our enemies in heaps behind us.”
Wedge was sure Waza wasn’t addressing him. But he still felt pressured to respond. He nods and smiles before giving a half salute
“Thank you sir. This is embarrassing, but… could you brief us on the mission again before we touch down?”
Waza returns the salute, “Don’t be embarrassed asking question can keep you alive. You seek knowledge of a situation we are walking into. no harm in that question in my book. So best I can tell the information we’ve been given a scavenger group, but in my experience that could mean anything from researchers to unruly youths who found something they shouldn’t have. On that part we must tread carefully, but the Sith alchemy beasts that are suppose to be guarding the area only know how to kill everything but their master. If this thing is an artifact chances are they have no master so we get to fight some sith spawn and create new stories.”
The LAAT lurched to one side as the strong winds of Kalsunor slammed into its hull. Everyone inside shifted in their seats.
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” one of the soldiers chimed.
Liz, who had been silent as the LAAT broke through the turbulent atmosphere of Kalsunor, held her stomach as the transport rolled onto its side by the strong gust of wind but inhaled deeply once the ship was righted by it’s pilot. The Nightsister cursed Gui under her breathe for volunteering her for this mission (she always found the tech junky a bit odd). Her stomach settled for the moment as she looked around hoping nobody saw her brief moment of weakness. The witch closed her eyes and braced herself against the corner of the LAAT.
Wedge grabbed ahold of the wall the brace himself for the lurch. He felt invigorated… and worried. This was his first mission, and it was on the ground. Not exactly his specialty. He rests a hand on the DL-44 on his hip and looks up at the LAAT’s weapon rack, where his E11 rifle was currently stowed
Waza rolled with the ship hoping it appeared at least graceful if not comedic, popping back up to his feet he heard the sharp inhale and turned to see stunning blue eyes look around the transport and nodded to the Nightsister as she returned to her inner contemplation. “This is where the fun begins”
“Yeah… and?” She responded slightly agitated, assuming that Waza didn’t believe her because of her size. She squinted her big blue eyes at him as he continued to speak to the others present.
“And? that means you must be a mighty warrior my friend, I’ve seen many beings fight battles and not live to tell the tell. Your scars are trophies and will make enimies recosider the actions they make in error.”
While she was listening to the others the small bunny was caught off guard when the LAAT suddenly jolted. She didn’t just shift in her seat, she flew across the room. “wow!” Using her long tail she managed eventually twist herself and land onto her feet. If she wasn’t covered in fur she would be blushing in embarrassment. She chuckled awkwardly and hopped back onto her seat and this time hold on tightly with her small claws..
Back on her seat, she straitened her robes and smiled with pride. ‘That’s the right answer’ she thought to herself. It was definitely not the answer she had expected, most would think her stories were lies. She couldn’t blame them though, she was only half a meter tall. “Many will underestimate me because of my appearance, and I always used that to my advantage.” She smirked “they never see me coming” and let out a chuckle..
Rin stood slowly from her seat as the ship bucked and rolled. There was an ominous scrape as the Cathar hefted her weapon that was more akin to a maul than a hammer.
“You people are too karking loud,” her voice seemed to hiss through her helmet. “You want fun and excitement? Try hunting on the savannahs of Cathar armed with only your claws.”
The helmeted woman shrugged. “Nothing will ever beat the exhilaration of not knowing if you will survive the fight.”
Wenet glanced at the Cathar female and wringled her nose. ‘What an unpleasant person’ she thought to herself.
“I had nothing but my claws when I fought that Xinkra” she snapped back. It was no lie though, she had charged the beast that was holding her mothers lifeless body, without any weapons. Filled with rage she tried to safe her mother.
Wenet went silent and turned away, once more gazing out of the window at their destination. Her fur changer colour, it became a dark grey as she saw the image in her mind of the Xinkras again that attacked their farm.
Rin eyed the Kushiban through the visor of her helmet with a slight grin. The lagomorph obviously had spirit. Curious how the beings fur seemed to shift between colors and absently thought of the few Falleen she had known.
“It always seems…uncivilized to me to use weapons to fight. But, some species get more than a little appalled when you reach in and rip out a few yards of gooey things.”
Rin gave a short bark of a laugh before she seemed to saunter towards the rear door and leaned against the bulkhead. The Cathar regarded the Kushiban for a moment and the smile could be heard in her voice.
“Maybe when this is all over, you and I can step into a battle circle and see what happens. Name’s Rin by the way you might need to know that if you do want to look me up.”
Her ears twitched as she heard the Cathar lady speak. Wenet didn’t look, not untill she heard the invitation. Instantly the small Kushiban turned her gaze to Rin. Her big blue eyes simmered with excitement, “I’d love to” she replied with confidence. “The name is Bannog.. Wenet C. Bannog” she added with a smirk…
Wedges smile was gone. Had they been joking? Did members of the Clan challenge each other with duels to the death on a daily basis? He was beginning to feel uneasy. He’d lived with many aliens from many different backgrounds during his training at the Shadow Academy, but the people around him seemed not just alien but… ALIEN. They all looked incredibly different. And each of the warriors around him seemed like such life and death banter was a pleasant part of daily life
He sighs and mutters to himself
“I’ve got a lot to learn.”
“What planet do your people come from Wenet?”
Wedge threw himself into the discourse again. Mostly to ease his own unease. He stood up and grabbed ahold of one of the gunships hand rails to steady himself
As the tensions build in the cabin Waza says in his human accented Catharese “I’ve not hunted the savannas bare handed but I did Help clear a Kiltik hive in the Rough Uplands two decades ago.”
“I’m from Kushibah, it’s in the Outer Rim, along the Pinooran Spur.” She replied. “What about you? Friend?”
Wedge smiled at being referred to as a friend
“I grew up on Nevarro. But I doubt my parents were from the planet.”
“Nevarro?” Wenet tilted her head and smiled “Nice place. Been there a couple of times with my old crew. There’s always something to do there” she chuckled.
Wedge smiles and nods in agreement. His eyes grow distant as he remembers the planet he’d grown up on
“The wards estate had an old skyhopper. I’d fly along the lava fission in the rocky surface… the black glassy surface contrasting the bright big blue sky. Do you fly?”
“Touch down in one minute.” Zlid spoke into the intercom.
Everyone began to gather their gear as their time of arrival had come.
Rattletrap was the first to touch down and the cockpit slid open. Gui Sol climbed out and hopped to the ground. Bucket, his astromech used its jump jets to propel down next to him. His Jedi robes kicked up around him in the wake of the LAAT’s descent as it hovered and rotated for better positioning before settling onto a dilapidated cobble stone courtyard.
The engines hushed from a roar to a whisper as the landing platform lowered and Gui eagerly awaited his brothers and sisters.
As the first being’s silhouette could be made out, Gui smiled.
“It’s about time.” He quipped.
Wedge pulls his E11 down and steps off rhe lip of the gunship. The wind whips at his hair and tunic as they all form up by the jedi master
“Me? Well. Eh.” She was about to replied when she was interrupted by a voice over the comms telling them they were about to lands. Wenet immediatly braced herself.
A moment later the she was standing on the landings platform as it lowered. The wind ruffling her furr. She was ready
Rin strode up to the Jedi and slugged him playfully in the arm. “Not all of us know how to fly ourselves places.”
The demeanor of the Cathar was wholly different when speaking to Gui than she had been on the ship. “Besides, I still remember having seal the ventilation ducts to your quarters to keep you from sneaking out instead of training.”
The small woman shook her head and tilted her head in acknowledgement. “But, here you are now. Man high and full grown.” A quick glance up and down his height before she shrugged, “Well, maybe not. Why did you summon us to this accursed rock again?”
Waza walked down the ramp, the wind fluttered the robe and his hair. Scanning hte area for immediate threats, buildings and entrances to said buildings. Plotting attack avenues, ambush points and bottlenecks that could turn into kill zones. “So what exactly are we really looking for and who has it.”
Standing next to him, Wenet looked up with a frown. “You didn’t read the mission details we got onboard, did you?” She bluntly replied before anyone could answer his question..
“Possible location of artifact, true nature not known… hunted by scavengers… cant fall in the wrong hands…” she began to summarise the details. “Alchemically altered beasts guarding the temple… proceed with caution.” The last bit sparked her excitement again and cause her fur to shimmer more brightly..
Gui looked down at the Kushiban with a smile as he rubbed his arm from Rin’s wallop. He side-eyed her, but she was special to him.
“Atleast someone was paying attention. I like her.” He thought to himself.
“Wenet is correct, friends. While we don’t have much to go on. The Scavengers that potentially have the relic in their possession are a rough group from Lotho’s Minor. Members of a scavengers guild that is borderline piracy. Keep your eyes peeled for the Silooth that stalk the area. Be mindful.”
He waited for the group to devise a plan. Gui knew what he would do. But he was more interested in seeing what his team was going to do.
“Yes I read it but there is always something kept from official reports and briefings, this could have been a clandestine strike at another clan for possessions. Its always good to ask question when a thing seems to straight forward and vague at the same time.” Waza stepped full off the ramp feeling the planet beneath his feet, opening up his sense searching for the Sith Beast.
Rin grasped the haft of her hammer in both hands and rotated left and right a few times before taking a few experimental swings.
The head of the weapon seemed the scream through the still air around them as she held it in one hand resting on an armored shoulder. “We don’t usually do clandestine anymore.”
The Cathar started to walk off in a seemingly random direction and called over her shoulder. “Besides, if he had wanted something like that, Gui wouldn’t have called me away from my farm. I’m more blunt instrument than exact knife.”
The Cathar thought for a moment and then began laughing softly at her own little joke that probably no one got.
Wedge holds his rifle close to his chest and walks away from the group. He veers left and makes an arc, circling the others in a makeshift parameter.
Waza moved towards the north following faint sounds echoing through the wilderness. Observing the ground for signs of paths, movement and wildlife. After several minutes of travel he comes upon a broken temple area. Opening his senses he prepares for combat and moves towards the remains of the building. Hearing voices beyond the complex of destroyed buildings Waza sticks to the tree line moving to the series of tents and tables. Waza sees a number of people with light weapons near them and some carrying pistols in holsters. Waza keys up his communicator to relay his findings to the group. “It appears be a small encampment with several containers of supplies, and a four people so far. Do you have orders or shall I kill them all?”
Wenet smirked and wiggled her head with pride when Gui complimented her on paying attention. When Waza explained his questions, she side-eyed him and shook her head, thinking to herself ‘excuses.’
Following the others the small Kushiban hopped off the ramp. She glanced at the Cathar. Wenet liked her attitude and was impressed with her weapon of choice. Wenet didn’t have any unique weapons, just the standard gear the newbies in Brotherhood got.
While the others began to move, Wenet waited a moment and scanned their surroundings with her long ears trying to hear if there were any creatures or beasts nearby. She could hear faint sounds of people in the distance. Quickly she followed the rest but stayed alert at all times as they moved closer to the temple..
Engines rumbling in the distance grew louder as bursting through the clouds was a turtle tanker. It shuddered through the atmosphere and slowed to a descent right next to the LAAT.
“Who?!” The team in unison swiveled their heads and Gui just rubbed his temples.
“It’s Riggs… it’s always gotta be Riggs.” Gui added, turning to face the vessel as the fires bursting from all four of the ship’s legs, that’s right. Legs. Scorched the ground, spewing it’s toxic fuel into the area.
The rusty jallopy screeched and groaned as the engines decreased in thrust. An ungodly sound caused Gui to wince as the landing platform lowered. Standing at the top was a stocky brute wielding a sawed off scattergun, polarized glasses hid his gaze and a full beard flickered in the churned up dust.
“Ey, Sol.” Came a deep gravely voice from the mystery man. “You and your mystical Force thought you could leave without me, did ya?”
“We’re on an important missio-”
“Yeah yeah yeah, artifacts, knowledge. Doesn’t mean bunk to me. That karkin scrap is worth a bundle I hear.” He added, stomping down the ramp. “Those scavies are broadcasting it all over the holonet.”
“They already have it?”
“Not for long.”
Riggs let out a sharp whistle and scurrying inside his vessel, followed by the banging of stuff falling over could be heard.
“Let’s go, Deeva.” He shouted to his Corellian hound, his most loyal companion, as it charged down the ramp.
Hearing the atmosphere shattering rumble Waza knew he had to act quickly. The pitch of the engines changed as the ship passed nearby and landed. The Four people began scurrying about beginning to pack things up and make a run for a speeder hidden under a camouflage tarp.
“Forget all the stuff that’s two ships now we have to get back to ours. Let go!!!” one of the persons began barking orders.
Waza reached out through the Force and snapped his neck mid word. Changing his focus Waza sent a surge of force lightening through their small speeder, blowing the electronics making the transport inoperable.
As the panic takes hold of the three remaining people one just froze unbelieving of what she just saw. Sprinting from his cover Waza ignited his lightsaber severing both legs just below the hips. The others drew their blasters and began firing towards Waza. Blocking a couple of wild shots Waza sent a blinding flash in the area then threw his saber decapitating the last two.
With one last remaining person screaming and slipping into shock Waza began to search the area for anything “relic”looking. Finding a couple cases secured Waza brought them to the table to open and inspect.
“Sol I have secured this small encampment and have one survivor for questioning, but if you want her move quick she is going into shock.”
Keeping his senses alert for possible incoming threats Waza began flipping open the boxes. Nothing inside screamed Artifact or relic, so he kept looking.
Keying up his datapad for any image of what this thing might look like Waza moved back into the tent and began going through datapads and notes.
“Oh Sol these people said something about their own ship so might be more people here besides whoever just showed up. We need to find their ship the relic might be there.”
Gui momentarily clawed at his chest as the weight of violence weighed heavily on his conscious. He had seen his fair share of it. Still, he would probably never get used to it.
Opening his eyes, the sparkle that once resided in his stare had vanished as his mind hardened to what was about to transpire.
The others would learn of this act of aggression. There was no room left for negotiation outside of intimidation.
Gui raised his hand and motioned for Rin and Wenet to sweep the encampment and nearby ruin. Whereas others may have been confused by such a gesture. Rin knew exactly what he meant, hell, she taught it to him. To speak volumes with no words.
“Waza, see what other Intel you can gather and then rendezvous with us near the scavengers ship. The rest of you, follow me. I sense..”
In that moment, predatory screeching echoed through the temporary encampment. The smell of blood lingered in the air and would be enticing to any carnivorous creature.
“My instincts tell me we ain’t the only ones huntin’ something.” Riggs scanned the area and pumped his scattergun.
Wenet’s ears twitched when she heard the sudden sound of an rumbling engine in the distance that became louder as it moved towards them. She looked up with her big round eyes and saw another ship approaching. Gui Sol, said it was someone that went by the name of “Riggs”, and he didn’t seemed to be overjoyed that this Riggs was joining their mission. A moment later the ship was parked next to the LAAT, Wenet watched the landing platform lowering and saw a brute of a man appear. She smirked and thought to herself ‘this is going to be interesting’ listening to the exchange between Riggs and Gui Sol.
Once more her long furry ears twitched “the Scavengers already have it?!” She exclaimed in shock, “can’t let them get away with it” she then added to one in particular. ~*~
Wenet saw Sol’s signal, she wasnt really sure what he meant but she assumed that she had to search the encampment. She decided to just follow the Cathar’s lead as she received the same orders.
Wenet grabbed her lightsaber off her belt and moved towards the tents. She entered the first and went through it see if she could find anything useful. There wasn’t much of intrest there so she moved to the next when she heard the screeching sound. “Krrrifff” the little Kushiban said and became more alert. She had no idea what these cretaured looked like but the sound somewhat reminded her off Xinkras.
As the howl echoed through the air Waza began scanning the various datapads laying around. Information on mutliple artifacts scrolled by. Ludo Kressh, and Marco Ragnos, Shiv Palpatine were a few names on a list with acquired next to them. One entry with Ludo Kressh was listed on this planet. A pedicure set. “really? You just died for a pedicure set. I hope there is more to this planet than that.” Waza went back to the cases on the table and flipped them open; one case had a chartreuse cube of resin with a label of LK relic. Not really wanting to touch it he closed the case and brought it with him. Going back to the computers and datapads Waza began downloading and collecting the pads for the intelligence group to comb through. Packing his backpack full of datapads Waza began searching for the scavengers ship. Hearing the rustle of underbrush Waza Heard the clicking of mandibles for a large, extremely large bug. “well I guess I found the Silooth; hopefully its just one not the thousands probably millions by now left behind 5 millennia ago. Time to find the ship. Hopefully they didn’t wipe the hyperspace log.”
Wedge pokes his rifle around a cluster of personal belongings left near a cot. He takes a pair of boots with one hand and peers inside. Nothing. He sets the boots down and walks back towards Waza. As he walks away, an off insect crawls out of the boots and scurries away
“What are we looking at here? Treasure hunters? Maybe another clan?”
Waza turns as Wedge asks his questions. “From what I’ve seen in these datapads it looks like these people are working with a larger group to collect relics. Not sure if there is a purpose beyond making money but that is what it seems for now.”
Keeping his senses open he approaches Wedge. “Did you research these Silooth while we were on our way here?”
Wedge racks his brain for ‘Silooth’ and unfortunately comes up empty
“I did not… what’s a Silooth?”
“Well it is a beetle type bug. About the size of a bantha that spits acid about 30 feet. Several millennia ago a battle happened here where the Sith unleashed several thousand of them on the plant to take it over. they could not control them and left the planet and the bugs behind. now about 5,000 years later the bugs are still here. By the hundreds of millions or more i’d guess.”
“ I think I head one a minute ago.”
“Ehhgh, bugs are the worst.”
As Waza explains to Wedge the sound of liquid splatters on the tent can be heard followed by a sizzle sound. Waza leaps towards Wedge grabbing him in a bear hug raising barrier to shield them both from the acid.
“When I let go I’m going to throw you out of this tent and back several feet, you think you can land and come up firing? This is about to get ugly.”
The acid destroys the tent and falls on the the force barrier projected by Waza. As it falls to the ground Waza drops the barrier and lifts Wedge with Telekinesis throws Wedge 25 feet back out the front of the tent. Rolling to the side Waza comes up on his feet bringing his saber to life.
Wedge braces himself as he feels his body become weightless. He flies out of the tent and hits the ground. He rolls and comes to his knees. He raises the rifle and trains it on an enormous bug like monster. He grits his teeth and lays into the monster with red blaster fire
“Gaahhg!!!”
After Wedge opens fire on the creature, Waza sweeps the tent up with a swirling motion pulling it from the staked and secured ground and throws it at its eye hoping the force is with him and it covers it so a better fighting position can be found with some cover. When the tent flies though the air Waza grabs the case with the relic and hurls it towards the busted speeder.
Waza moves towards an overturned table and fires Force lightening at the creature so wedge can find good cover
Waza Keys his mic on the com link, “What ever that was that howled is not our problem right now, we have Silooth in our perimeter!!”
Wedge sees his chance as the creature is momentarily blinded. He steps sideways towards another tent and takes cover. He props his rifle around the tent and aims for the gapping jaws of the creature, what he assumes to be the weakest spot
Waza spins as the roll forwards ends and takes off a leg at the knee. “One down five legs to go.” Waza exclaims and acid sprays though the air. “Frak is there more than one of these thing here or did that one reload already”
“Wedge can you get a kill shot on this thing?”
“I’ll see what I can get you!”
He stands for a better line of sight
The creature flails. He see’s the opportunity and advances. Red bolts of energy fire from the rifle and slam into the insect, tearing away at it’s exoskeleton
After they heard the first screech, the small Kushiban’s tail puffed up and her fur shifted to a darker shade. “Oh boy.. must be one of those Silooth” she softly muttered as she entered another tent to search through the belongings. She had no idea what these beasts looked like but from.the sound she heard they sounded very big.
Wenet found a travle trunk next to the bed and opened it. “Well well well, what have we here” she said when she saw several parchment scrolls. “What are these?” She reached in pulled one out to see. A text she wasnt able to read with strange runes and symbols but also something that looked like a map.. “this looks useful” she said and slipped it in her robes.
Wenet was going to check the rest of the trunk when she heard a lot of noise nearby. She hopped into the air in shock when she heard screeched and sound of sizzling.. holding her lightsaber in her hand she moved to the exit and peeked outside. She could see a huge spiderlike cretaure trashing through the encampment where she’d seen Wedge and Waza go. “Kark…, that’s not good” she said to herself when she saw Wedge being thrown out of the tent. She grabbed her rifle of her back and aims at the creature. She starts shooting, hoping that she can help the others..
After a time, the creature stops squirming and acidic ooze drips from numerous blast caters in its body. Wedge walks over and fires again. The creature doesn’t stir and he waves his hand before his nose from the smell
“Nice Shooting Wedge and Wenet, Lets hope we can survive another encounter. Keep your senses and eye open. Wenet did you find anything? I got a cube in a case over here.”
Her furr brightened from the excitement, and this was only the start of their mission.
“I did.. ” she pulled out the parchment, “I can’t read it… but it looks like a map.” She showed it to the others. “Theres a trunk with lots of papers in that tent over there…”
Rin stalked through the trees, looking cautiously at the bore holes and strange mounds with a fair measure of apprehension.
“Just like back home, I suppose.” The Cathar said to the air around her. “Big bugs, big trees and me wishing I was anywhere else.”
The small woman continued her muttering as she listened to the sounds coming from the camp with a measure of curiosity but didn’t really pay it much attention. The old human seemed capable enough. Besides, Gui was there and he’d been trained to handle just about any incidental that got out of hand.
A skittering behind her was the only warning before something slammed into her back and sent Rin careening into a nearby tree. Dazed and confused for a moment, her visor indicated more than a few problems nearby. Getting to her feet, Rin gripped her hammer two handed and screamed in unrestrained fury at her surroundings.
As her vision cleared, the Cathar saw two large, UGLY beetles chittering at her. “Karking bugs. I’m going to skin that erstwhile student of mine after he buffs the dents from my armor.”
With a loud thud, she slammed the head of her hammer into the ground with a low growl beginning to come from her throat. It was time for the dance to begin.
A short burst from her jetpack helped her close the distance as she landed beside the first creature and lashed out, catching it in the horn. Another howl of fury as she spun and struck again, the hammer’s head leaving a deep divot in the side of the creature’s armor.
The effect of the enraged Cathar was staggering as the blow sent the abomination through several trees while she turned to face the second monster.
“Maybe I will have a bit of fun here,” she said softly as she smiled. “Besides, if I let anything here get a solid hit, that kid will never let me live it down.”
Bracing herself, she waited for the creature to make a move.
Waza picked up the case with the cube from under the busted speeder.
“Wedge if we find their ship can you fly it?” Waza asked.
“Wenet do you want to find your master or come with?”
Waza put on his backpack of data pads and with the case headed off down a trail looking for their ship, he hoped was close by.
Waza wondered if those other people had even gotten off the LAAT yet.
Wedge holds his blaster loosely to his torso and smiles as he walks beside Waza
“I can fly anything. What do you think we’re looking for? A shuttle? Light freighter?”
“My master?” Wenet asked in surprise, “I don’t have a master yet sir” she replied and then tilted her head wondering if Waza knew something she didn’t know. “If you mean the Cathar lady… we were supposed to search the camp. I lost track of her when I began searching through those tents back there.”
“My apologies, the banter you and Rin had I thought you were master and apprentice. I shall not make that mistake again.” Waza says with a bow of contrition.
Wedge climbs up onto a bluff giving him a better view of the surrounding area. He reaches for his binocs and fiddles with range. He scans the horizon until he sees a piece of hull poking out from between some rocky mounds
“I think I got something. One click west.”
Wenet shrugged “that’s alright sir.. who knows what the future will bring” she said and wondered if anyone would ever want her as an Apprentice..
“Any signs of the Cathar lady?” She asked Wedge while he was using his binocs. “Maybe she went to the ruins… master Sol did orders us to sweep the camp and the nearby ruin.”
Wedge zooms in with his binocs. He could make out the housing of an engine intake
“No signs of people. But maybe their ship.”
“Ok lets go find that ship and see if we can get their hyperspace logs and maybe just take their ship for the clan” Waza started heading out with Wedge and Wenet keeping an eye open for more bugs or whatever made that savage howl.
Once they moved on the trail the base camp and temple ruins quickly disappeared into the forest.
“Let’s pick up the pace a bit maybe get this done and avoid death by bug.”Waza said as he started a brisk jog towards the ship.
Wedge jogs with the others until they round one of the large rock mounds. Wedge sees the ship is a WTK-86A transport. And around the ship, we’re several of the insectoid creatures
“Too late!”
Wedge raises his rifle and Fires at the closest bug
Waza sees the ship swarmed by several of the Silooth.
“I’m going to try to get in and see what I can get from the Navi-comp. Cover me but if things get to hot fall back to the LAAT”
Waza sprints towards the ship headed towards the ramp.
Wedge fires at another bug and quickly runs after Waza to defend the ramp
Waza makes it up the ramp on the ship dodging Silooth and acid puddles along the way. Heading to the cockpit Waza lands in the navigator seat powering up the system. Just as the display lights up he can hear the thumping of the claws over the hull. Last several jump leads back to the Corporate sector and the involvement of Tenixir Revenants searching for planets. Just as Waza connects the pieces together acid splatters across the view ports.
“Wedge” Waza Yells. “Get out of here, This ship is not taking off again” Waza Stands to leave and sees a swarm of silooth numbering up close to 50 or more bounding towards the ship. Waza runs again sprinting down the passage way moving to escape the ship and this nightmare of a planet.
There had been no sign of Rin, so Wenet had decided to stick with Waza and Wedge.
She swung the rifle on to her back and began to sprint on all fours when they two others picked up the pace. She didn’t like to run like this but she was alot fasten that way. When they stopped, Wenet took cover behind a fallen tree and grabbed her rifle again as she has heard the screeching sound of the big bugs again. Together with Wedge she gave Waza cover.
Wenet stayed were she was while the others ran for the ramp. Firing at the bugs that were trying to follow them. But then suddenly hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight when she heard something behind her. She turned and saw that one of the creatures had snuck up on her. “Oooh kriff!!” She hopped over the fallen tree and backed away while firing at it. In her panic Wenet tripped and fell onto her back as the silooth got closer. She could hear it clicking and screeching, it was have her as a little snack. Wenet was so small that from her angle she could easily aim as the creatures stomach. “Aaargh!” She kept firing and rolled away just in time before any of the bugs acid splattered on her.
“Yuck!!” She exclaimed as she got back onto her feet and looked at the silooth she just killed. That was a close call she thought to herself I need to be more alert she poked it with the barrel of her rifle to make sure it was dead. Then she quickly brought her focus back to the ships shooting at the other Silooth, given Wedge and Waza cover.
Wedge was slowly backing up the ramp. The creatures he’d shot were either clustered around the bottom of the ship or bleeding out their acidic insides at the base of the ramp. The ship shudders from the strain of the swarm and begins to creak
Wedge feels his balance fail as his foot slips around in The acidic goo
“BLAST!!!”
(Message deleted)
The goo coating the bottom of his boots begins to eat away at the synthetic material
Wedge, still struggling to regain his balance, summons his composure for a brief moment and leaps away from the ramp over the dangerous remains
The bugs turn as the young pilot leaps away from the ship. They rear and start to follow as Wenet’s cover fire fills the air
Wedge sprints towards his companion firing blindly behind him. The blaster rifle flails around in the one hand behind him as his smoking boots thump across the ground
Waza runs down the corridor towards the ramp, opening a comm channel, “IF you can hear my voice get to the evac ship we are outnumbered. Fire up the ship this mission is over. Let’s get off this rock.” Waza sees Wedge and Wenet firing wildly at the bugs. Waza charges down the ramp. “Let’s go you can’t fight this many. Run!” Waza gets 25 feet from the ramp spins and fires off an arc of force lightening through the air. “Get moving!” Wenet and Wedge run towards the landing zone as fast as they can. Waza brings up the rear of the trio ‘this was a bad idea’ he thinks as bugs clamber through the trees and flattening underbrush as the move. Throwing his saber like a lethal boomerang and dishing out lightening at random intervals Waza keeps his apprentice and his new friend from the horde. Bursting from the tree line sprinting towards the landing ship “I hope you’re all ready to leave! Where are the other people who were on the drop ship? They need to be here now. We can’t fight this without them if we want to survive.” Waza turns toward Gui and this new guy standing there. “I hope you’re a fighter.” Waza says as hundreds of bugs explode from the tree line.
Wedge crouches near the dropships swinging doors and fires off round after round from his E11. He grits his teeth as his anxiety builds with the approaching line of acidic bugs.
A Sheathipede-class transport shuttle of the blue color with the emblems of Old Reblic and the Jedi Order, descends behind a huge noise.
“This is Blue Spark, do you need help,” a young woman’s voice came through the open channel.
Elyon de Neverse, she monitored the communications and learned of this mission and decided to participate. The situation did not look good at all. She swooped even lower and began firing at the edge of the forest to stop the bugs from continuing to follow the team members.
“I’ve got plenty of room here if anyone needs a ride,” Elyon said, turning to next fly past and she was ready to attack the enemies again.
“Leave!?…” Wenet asked as she glimpsed between Waza and Master Sol. “Already?” Her ears drooped down, it was obvious she was disappointed. “But what about the artifact? So far we’ve only found an old map of the temple and some information about these scavengers.” As she was telling them she heard the sound of engines and instantly her ears stood up again “there’s a ship approaching” she noted a moment before they heard a voice coming from their commlinks.
Not long after they saw the Sheathipede-class transport shuttle fly over them, opening fire on the army of Silooth that had emerged from the tree line. When the wave of bugs was killed the transport shuttle came towards them “hop on!” The voice of a woman spoke over the comms again, urging them to board before more Silooth would come. Still hovering above the ground, the ramp of the shuttle lowered. Everyone looked at Master Sol, who looked back at them with a subtle smile “well don’t look at me, you heard the lady” he said and was the first to step on. “Wenet is right.. we can’t leave without that artifact, but we could use a ride.” Sol said as the others hopped on board. “But what if we do have it?” Waza suddenly replied when they were all on board and grabbed a case from his pack. “I found this in the camp” he said and handed it to Master Sol who opened it revealing a chartreuse cube of resin with a label that said ‘LK relic’. “What is it?” Wenet curiously asked. But before they could answer, Wedge interrupted “what about Rin?” Wedge suddenly asked, remembering the Cathar warrior.
Meanwhile..
Rin had followed the fresh tracks of the scavengers, they led towards the Temple. It was completely overgrown and almost looked like it was part of the jungle, even from the sky it was difficult to see.
Rin glowered up at the temple, her armor scored and pitted from the acidic blood and she’d lost her helmet somewhere. The Cathar’s amber eyes took in her surroundings.
“Just like old times, eh?” She said to the empty air around her. “No comms, no back up and a stupidly big building to search through.”
Tearing her gaze away from the temple, Rin looked around and snarled softly as she shook her head. “I’m sure someone will eventually come looking. I’ll find a quiet place to watch for a bit.”
She flexed one of her hands into a fist with a vicious grin on her lips. “Maybe there’s still a few rodents in the nest that will bring me the prize and I won’t need to search through a musty old building.”
Feeling that her logic was impeccable, she climbed up one of the nearby trees and settled in to watch. She pulled out a small datapad and shrugged.
“It isn’t likely the boy kept it all these years, but what the hell. Maybe he did or put it in one of his little friends.”
A few taps later and the small device began to emit the SOS call they had worked out when the Kiffar was still learning from her. “Now we wait.”
The tiny PIT droid, known to the members of Odan-Urr as Barry, scurried up to its master and tugged at his robes as he stroked his beard. He visually inspected the artifact that Waza had uncovered. While this trinket would most likely have its uses. He doubted that it was what they had been looking for. Over the years, especially during his Sentinel training with the Knights of Allusis, he had learned to discern energies. This one wasn’t dark enough, it didn’t feel right. What he had neglected to tell his group was that what he had been looking for beckoned to him. It had whispered to their Consul Revak. In fact, Revak was the one that sent Gui on this errand in the first place. To trace the source of this outreach through the Force.
“What is it Barry?”
The droid chirped, pointing to the blinking light on its chest.
“Give the pilot the coordinates, bud. Rin needs us.”
Barry scurried off to perform its duties and Gui briefly closed his eyes and reached out through the Force.
“It’s good to hear your voice again, Elyon. I’m glad you’re back.” He spoke with no words.
Just then, the engines erupted and the Silooth piling up behind them burst into flames as the combustion instantly ignited many of them as Zlid increased the throttle and headed towards Rin’s last known location.
“Liz, you can tell Revak we’ll have his relic soon enough.” He grinned.
Elyon held the ship still so the landing party could board. Once everyone was safe in her shuttle, she flew away from the attack site and ascended a few tens of meters higher, maintaining her current position until she received further instructions. And she didn’t have to wait long for them when the little PIT droid, whom she knew from seeing Master Sol, alerted her to the S.O.S., which was now picked up by her systems as well.
“Thank you, little friend. I’ll enter the coordinates right now. And we’re flying to the rescue.” Said the young Jedi droid, and then felt the touch of Gui’s mind. She closed her eyes for a moment and reached out through the force to answer him.
“I, too, am glad to be back and to be able to help. I am very glad to see you again, but now I have to fly for a team member."The young Jedi then opened her eyes and pointed the ship towards the signal bud. And in a few moments, the ship was hovering over the location of the signal.
"To the S.O.S. transmitter. The lift is here. I’ll go down with the ship as low as possible. The boarding ramp is at your disposal.” Elyon spoke again into the open channel, hoping the castaway would hear her.
“Rinn popped an SOS? This is more than just a pick up, I’m going down there.” Waza said as the ship moved into position with the ramp down.
When the ship slowed to a hover Waza leaped out lightsaber in hand. Using the Force to control his decent Waza took the time to observe the area and assess threats. He landed near the temple and made his way through a crumbled wall. Opening his senses he was hit with waves of emotions of hunger, anger, fear, desperation. What he knew of Rinn unless she was near death none of that was her; even then he doubted fear would be present from her. Waza continued to follow the ebb and flow of emotions through the building. Down a small corridor only 6 foot high Waza saw the back of a Silooth skittering away. From a side room Waza heard stifled cries of pain. Entering the room he saw one of the scavengers laying in a pool of blood and acid. One leg completely missing from the hip and one arm from the elbow bubbling into a puddle of goo. With tears in her eyes she tried to speak to Waza only managing to utter the word “help”.
A feeling Waza had not experienced in quite a while, compassion for strangers, rolled through Waza as he looking at the woman. No Medical help would be coming today that could save her life. Waza walked to the woman, kneeling down by her head he whispered “ssshhh the pain will be over soon, I’m here to help you.” Reaching out to her head he brushed her hair to one side touching her face with compassion showing her one last moment that someone cared. Waza struck with the force snapping her spinal column killing her instantly ending her pain.
Opening up his senses again trying to locate Rinn in the temple the feeling of fear and desperation was gone, now only hunger and anger permeated the area.
A feeling of hate and power tried to pull at Waza. Knowing this was the Dark side pulling at his senses; Waza was able to push it aside since his desire for power was not the same as it was when he walked away from the Light. Becoming a Grey Ronin walking the line between light and dark. Moving back into the corridor following the path of the Silooth he expected to fight again before this was over. Footfalls echoes from the hall way, both his and insect. Like some strange symphony of sounds fading into the dark. Moving deeper into the building shafts of light beam through the broken ceiling highlighting small patches but making the shadows darker. Symbols and text carved into the walls around murals depicting various figures and battles of times past. Walking through twists and turns almost maze like Waza moved and searched for Rinn. After several minutes Waza came to the end of the corridor. Pulling his flashlight from his pack Waza looked and the markings on a 8 foot door blocking the hall. A powerful dark side presence pulled his attention to the runes. Waza shook his head. He thought to himself ‘Man you’re about 15 years to late for the tempting power routine. I’ve got other priorities now.’ Waza took off his pack and found a sub space homing beacon. Programming the frequency for a small beam transmission he set it for Gui to follow later. Gathering up his pack Waza continued through dark halls looking for Rinn.
The young Jedi continued to let the ship float in the air, but the wait seemed too long, so she landed a short distance from the temple.
However, she left the engines primed and headed for the drop team as she sensed pain and death through the Force. She was unable to tell what had happened because the place was shrouded in the dark shadow of the Dark Side.
“Master Sol, I think we have a problem.“ Elyon said as she walked in behind them. She only knew the other team members by sight.
“Darkness covers this place and we have two team members there.” She added looking into her old friend’s face.
“I guess this is not the artifact we’re looking for” Wenet thought to herself when she saw Master Sol’s expression. He hadn’t answered her question or said anything about the item Waza had picked up in the scavengers’ camp. And before she could ask again, Waza had leaped off the ramp and made his way into the temple.
Not much later their ride landed a short distance from the temple, where the remainder of the team disembarked. While Elyon spoke to Master Sol, Wenet walked ahead, closer to the temple. Scanning the area, she reached in her pack and pulled out the map she had found earlier. After unfolding it, Wenet began to compare it, and eventually she was convinced that the map was indeed of this temple.
Examining the map closer she pointed out from where Waza had entered, which wasn’t an official entrance but an opening created by someone or something else. “Hmmm” she furrowed her brow and began to trace the corridors that Waza could have taken. “This is interesting” she suddenly muttered when she found something on the map that seemed to indicate a ventilation shaft. It was narrow, no Silooth would fit in there, but she could “a shortcut” she chuckled.
Putting the map away she turned back to Master Sol, Elyon and Wedge who were still talking. The young Kushiban was getting impatient, her curiosity grew and wanted to go into that temple. “I might have found a safe way in, I'm… eh.. im just gonna check it out” she said and dashed off towards the Temple before anyone could stop her from doing anything impulsive. When she reached the wall she looked up. With all the cracks in the stone blocks and vines growing up against it there were plenty of hand or footholds. “This is going to be easy” she said and without further hesitation she began to climb up.
Wedge sees Wenet break off and make their way to the temple. He clips his blaster to the back of his belt and walks over to join in the climb
“I guess we’ll push on.”
Walking through dim halls, hearing whispers from the force Dark sith languages, languages he recognized but did not know, Twi'leki, Shyriiwook, Nikto, and spattered in some basic words he was able to catch. Like the dark power of the force was fishing for someone to ensnare. Walking for what seemed like hours, left turns, right turns, up and down stairs. Waza realized his senses were being dampened and he could no longer search for Rin.
Waza’s comm link beeped. “Waza, this is Gui. We have Rin she was outside the temple, if you can find the relic in there we can call this a success.” “10-4” Waza replied. As he clicked off the comm link Waza found himself in front of the door he was sure he had left behind hours ago. As he stood there looking at it Wenet came down the hall and stopped at the door next to him. “Well my friend looks like it’s you and me again. Let’s head in there. Remember anything you see or hear is the dark side of the force trying to use you to fulfill its will.” Waza used his telekinesis powers to push the enormous door open. A wave of darkside power washed over the two. “I think everything in this room is darkside powered.” Wenet said. “Yeah that seems likely, let’s grab what we can and not spend too much time and fall to the influence of whatever is in these artifacts.” Waza said.
Both opened their packs and began snatching items. Gloves, scepters, crowns, robes, clasps for robes. Moving like shadows across the room the duo grab everything they can fit into a backpack. “Let’s head out now I think we got it all.” Waza said. Grabbing the large scepter that would not fit Wenet and Waza sling their packs and start for the doorway. As they near the door Waza sees Wedge approaching down the hall. Feeling the power emanating from the scepter Waza unslings his pack and asks Wedge if he could carry the pack so he could concentrate his will power to resist the scepter.
Feeling the pull of the dark side Waza delves deep into his knowledge of the force and pushes back against the dark power. With the training he has had over the decades with the light and the dark Waza locks into a battle of wills against the dark spirit. ‘Strike them down they are taking the relics that belong to you’ the voice hisses. Waza scoffs at the spirit ‘I told you before you have no power over me. My desires and need for power are behind me.’ Waza feels the force scream building and braces for the attack. Bolstering his roots in the light side Waza projects his will against the scepter, measuring his response taking care to not destroy the spirit, knowing this is most likely what the Clan is looking for.
A powerful force explosion rips through the air throwing Wenet and Wedge forward. Ripping stones from the wall and ceiling above blowing them outward. Toppling part of the walls around Waza the battle of wills continued.
Wedge and Wenet recognizing the battle between Waza and the scepter move quickly away to secure the other items with Gui and the rest of the strike force.
“Gui, Waza appears to be in a force battle inside what’s left of the temple. It looked intense.” Wenet said as they approached the ship. “We came to secure these items and separate them so the spirit could not draw power from them.”
‘I am over a thousand years old you think you can withstand my power!!!’ Waza laughs at the spirit. ‘You’re dead and weak you don’t have the strength to move on from whatever tragedy you lived in. I’m full of life and know my power. Someone wants you for some reason that’s why I won’t destroy you now. Just know I can and will increase my personal power you are stuck at this level for all eternity.’ With one more push the Spirit tried again to overpower Waza. Repelling the attack Waza pushed with more power and the spirit receded to the scepter and Waza proceeded out of the temple and walked up the ramp of the ship. As Waza walked past Gui he held out the scepter “I hope I didn’t break it for you, we had a small discussion on who was in charge.”