“` The blaring of your computer terminal awakens you from your much needed rest. Rubbing your eyes, you shuffle your way over and hit silence. It’s your commander…
"Good morning! We need you to hurry to Yavin 4. Reports indicate a distress beacon activated before going black.
Satellites fail to show readings as if something is causing interference, so we are sending a team in to investigate.
Good luck!”
A shuttle arrived moments later you and your team boards to take you to Yavin IV.“`
Aura clicked in her harness as the shuttle took off. Looking around, she looked at her fellow travellees.
“Hello there, my name is Aura.”
Vez clicked on her harness amid a buzz of grumbled obscenities. The phrase ‘not enough caf in the Empire’ is intelligible
Luna Okami carefully inventoried her medical backpack before storing it away and buckling in.
“What’d you say Vez, you want a conversation on the way there?” teased Aura.
“Is the conversation about if I’ve accepted the light and turned my life around?
Sarai clicking her harness together before she looks up, the Anzati is her Old Republic Admiral uniform. Her violet eyes looks at everyone in turn, before she introduced herself “I am Sarai Andromeda, a former Admiral in the Old Republic and a retired Officer in the Imperial Navy, nice to be working with you all.” a small wolf rests her head on the Anzati’s leg, making herself known.
“Looking forward to working with you,” said Aura, unsure of who Sarai was yet but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt to start.“
Aura then turned to Vez with a smile. "Maybe, did you still pack your 10 kilos of space coke or did you keep that home this time?”
Vez smirked. “I just got my two week chip but the day is still young.” The Mirialan glanced over at Sarai’s wolf. “Is that thing housebroken?”
“So, Sarai, could you have your dog check for drugs? Is that a thing it does?”
There was a slight bounce in the field medic’s knee as he looked to the others present. “Avery Watson,” he greeted amicably with a charming smile, giving each person brief eye contact.
“Hello there,” she said as the Zeltron took out a bottle of Rancor Tequila and took a sip.
Revak rolled his eyes, “could we go one mission with everyone sober?”
“I’m a Zeltron. This is sober,” she retorted.
Luna brandished a syringe, “there are ways to sober a person up”
“Yeah, Vez. Be sober or you get the needle.”
“Keep that handy Luna, looks like we may need it.” Revak grinned at Vez.
“I hate you all,” Vez said, looking away and sulking. “The Anzat is my best friend now.”
Sarai smirks at Vez, and nods at Alika, as the wolf disappears and reappears holding the liquor in her mouth wagging her tail in a taunting manner
Avery blinked at the Zeltron.
“My professional medical advise would be to not to consume liquor before a mission,” he commented, taking the side of Luna.
Aura watched sadly as some of the tequila spilled to the floor of the shuttle.
“This is why we have ants…” she said as she used the Force to bring the bottle back to her hand.
Elyon looks at Sarai for some time. She recognize her uniform. And in that moment she feels that she is back in old days of Clone Wars
“My name is Elyon de Neverse. It is nice to meet you.” Elyon said and bows to Sarai.
Sarai inclines her head at Elyon, in response
“` The pilot turned back in her seat, "Exiting hyperspace now. ETA to Yavin, 5 minutes.”
The shuttle jolted its passengers as it left hyperspace. Though the windows the green world shown brightly against its planet’s deep red surface and the blackness of space. Its beauty could only be admired for a short time.
The shuttles scanners blacked out and the pilot struggled with the controls.“`
“A pleasure, Elyon,” Avery said.
“Thank you.” Elyon said and bows to Avery.
Aura put the lid back on her drink and put it away.
“This is also how we get ants. How is everything going up there? What’s wrong?”
Sarai unbuckles her harness and walks up to the pilot in the cockpit. “Want me to take over?” She asks as she feels the ship fighting the girl for control
The Pilot replied: "There seems to be some strong interference that knocked out our scanners. Controls are fighting me too. I can bring it down, but if you can fly, help with the controls would help a ton right now."
Sarai jumps into the co-pilot’s seat, and starts taking over the controls, with a slight snarl as the ship controls fight her as well for a few seconds
Avery undid his harness and ventured toward the cockpit. “Is there anything I can help with?”
Elyon follow him
Sarai glances at the medic, before she almost snarls at the young man. “Please, go sit and reconnect your harnesses, in case we crash! I’m barely able to keep this under control.”
Aura merely held on for dear life and muttered about how dangerous flying was..
The shuttle rocked as the two women fought to keep it stable. Entering the atmosphere, it gained a little more stability but too fast to deploy landing gear. With much effort, and the help of a few tree tops, the shuttle slowed and was able to settle gently on the forest floor. The pilot wiped her brow and looked back to check on her passengers. She looked over at Sarai and nodded. She lowered the loading ramp...
Avery didn’t take personal the snapping from the Anzat and merely nodded. “Sarai, is it? I appreciate your concern. But I’ve spent a few years working on ships if you would let me, I can attempt a rewire so we can maintain control and possibly get our scanners b–” The shuttle rocked which caused him to lose some of his balance, the entirety of his weight shifting into the wall. He found a latch to grip on to, not letting go. There was more rocking as the shuttle burst through the foliage and eventually was able to settle gently onto the forest floor.
There was an audible exhale of relief as he straightened back up. “Sorry about that,” he apologized to Sarai and the pilot. They both looked fine and he panned the room, his medic brain on high alert as he wanted to ensure everyone else was safe.
*Releasing the controls Sarai unbuttoned her uniform and underneath were violet and red battle robes, with a violet striped armory lightsaber on her left hip, with a DL-44 pistol on her right hip,and an A-280 sniper rifle on her back, a vibrosword underneath crossing to her cybernetic shoulder. Over everything on her back is a portable shield generator.
Sarai sighs and nods at Avery as she whistles at Alika who then bounds up to the Anzati woman, as she stands up*
“All good here. No need to worry. How about everyone else?”
Revak took a deep breath then unclipped his harness. He hated rough landings but was happy to finally be on the ground. He took a moment to look everyone over. Seeing everyone was still alive after what could have been a disaster, put him at ease. He glanced over at Aura.
“The Tequila survive?”
“Yup,” she said, patting her robes.
The Jedi got out of her harness and walked down to the planet’s surface below. The trees looked a lot taller from down here.
Luna unclipped herself and systematically went through the cabin uncomfortably looking directly into her fellow occupants eyes to check for concussion.
Aura took out her Inquisitorius scanner, turned it on, and looked to see if any communications channels showed up.
Nothing but white noise came across the scanner
Sarai, stepping out of the shuttle, briefly takes stock of the immediate surroundings and reaching through the force started to take stock of any threats that may be nearby
Aura reached out to the Force as well to see if she could sense anything of note.
Multiple lifeforms she felt scurrying about. Eastward she detected a slightly stronger pull from the Force
The Human stepped off of the shuttle, doing a cursory glance over the shuttle to make sure there wasn’t any damage. If there were any repairs to be done, he was at least prepared. Save for the streaks of green from the durasteel smacking into the foliage, there wasn’t anything to note. They should be able to leave without a hitch.
With everyone safe and the shuttle still in tact, he looked around at the trees, eyes squinting. He glanced at Aura who had the scanner, his brow slightly furrowed as he asked “Anything? And are we able to locate the location of the distress beacon?”
“I’m sensing something through the Force from the east and multiple other life forms in the immediate vicinity but that’s about it” Sarai replies not really listening to who the question was asked to
Avery felt a little uneasy from hearing the information, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “*Other*life forms?”
“It’s a jungle,” Vez grunted. The Mirialan dusted herself off before readying her blaster. “Do you have any idea how little ‘other life forms’ narrows it down?”
“So, who wants to be the bait?”
“I can be the bait.” Elyon said when she walked out of the shuttle.
Vez opens her mouth to speak but then realizes she’s within punching distance of Luna and thinks better of it.
“We can go charging in head first if you all want, but we should all be in agreement.”
Avery glanced at Elyon and frowned. Though he didn’t like the idea of being bait, he wasn’t going to let her go alone. “I’ll go as well.”
“I think I’m good with Team Not Bait,” Vez said
“I was just joking earlier. We should stick together as a group. Last time the empire invaded a forest, teddy bears ate them for dinner,” offered Aura as she patted her robes for her flask, took a quick swig, and put it securely back.
“So, we all ready to go east?
Sarai nods to Aura, as she continues to monitor the surroundings with the Force
“`The team decided to take it slow as they approached the collection of lifeforms. The sun was beginning to set, which would give them the darkness they needed to get close enough to see the beings while remaining undetected. Slowly they crept. Careful to not step on anything that would make noise. Pushing away the brush they knelt behind a tree. Just beyond, in a small clearing, they saw the light from a campfire. Long shadows stretched across the ground led to four humanoids heavily clad in body armour. Across their backs each one had slung an A280 blaster rifle. On each of their boots a long knife was lashed. Off to the side three other beings, adorned in only simple garments, sat huddled on a log. They spoke quietly to themselves as the armed ones laughed and joked loudly.
As the group observed, they began to plan what they would do next”`
Aura looked around, taking in every detail she could through both the Force and simple observation, keying in on the 3 unarmed people and thinking of the best way to ambush the guards. A surprise attack for sure. They still needed to protect the unarmed though.
Aura motioned to some of the group to move closer to the hostages and to others to fan out around the armed guards.
Elyon followed Aura closer to the hostages.
“If we create a barrier around them, they have a better chance if the guards are furious shooters,” the young healer whispered, waiting for approval.
Sarai stayed back as the others moved forward, finding a great hiding place just a few steps behind, as she then pulled her sniper rifle out and took aim, but waiting for a signal, Alika slinked into a guarding position nearby Sarai, ready to defend her master if she needs to.
Sensing something was wrong the armed men turned, guns drawn and aimed into the darkness. They whispered to themselves. One moved in front of the three beings sitting on the log. The three others took a step towards the edge of the camp. One of them raised the blaster to his shoulder and took aim...
Vez swore under her breath, kick her heels together, and launched into the air, letting her Mitrinomon boot thrusters carry her in a high arc over the camp. She held one vambrace out in front of her and let loose with the flamethrower, hoping the light and head would keep the thugs’ attention without making her too easy to get a bead on
Aura signaled to Sarai and Elyon to go ahead, and then used the Force to tug the blaster tip downward enough to hopefully make it a harmless shot into the forest floor.
Elyon noticed this and decided to use a different tactic. She unbuckled her lightsaber from her belt and gripped the hilt tightly. Then she signaled her attack to Sarai, set off, and headed for the man who was closer to her. She activated her saber and her sapphire blade came to life. With one quick flick, she split the man’s blaster into two, then aimed the tip of the blade at his neck.
Sarai inhaled and exhaled, and as she exhaled she prepared to fire her sniper rifle at the head of the one who raised his blaster, she immediately got frustrated with the others as they got in the way of her shot, forcing her to drop her blaster and stand up. As she did so she used that frustration and sent two tendrils of Force lightning at the other two men instead with her right hand. With her left she activated her amethyst lightsaber in a defensive manner.
“`The four armed men, blinded by the flames, covered their faces with a free arm while beginning to shoot wildly with the other. One of the men, whom Aura targeted fought to keep his blaster horizontal but had dropped it from the force of the Zeltron’s telekinetic power. Another man had his blaster sliced cleanly in two by Elyon. Without hesitation, he threw down the useless weapon and drew a large hunting knife from his boot. The darkness then turned a bright blue as streaks of lightning shot out from Sarai’s fingertips. The two men who fell victim to the assault screamed in agony as the electricity made contact with their bodies. They jerked uncontrollably until collapsing. Their bodies lay smoking and lifeless.
There were just two men left…”`
Sarai shook her head at her own power, she meant to incapacitate the men, not kill. Nevertheless she sprang at one of the other men still standing and slashed at him with her lightsaber
The man stumbled backwards as he grabbed his chest. He felt the burning from the blade, but luckily it hadn't gone deep enough to hit his skin. He his knife tightly and lunged at Sarai
Sarai swiftly deactivated her blade, as she used her right arm gracefully, but brutally, to intercept the knife, using the force to amplify her strike.
Aura activated her saber and pointed it threateningly at the remaining guy.
“Stand down. These people or whatever mission you are on are not worth your life. Tell us what you know and you can go,” Aura offered the dude.
One of the three plainly dressed jumps up to get Aura's attention... "Whatever you want, you can take it. We don't have much but you can take whatever you want. Just please don't hurt us."
“What? We are here to rescue you from them,” she said confused.
The plainly dressed one, who turned out to be a Zeltron female, began her barrage of the group. "Rescue us? What is wrong with you people?! We on an archeological expedition. Those men you started attacking, we hired them for protection and to help move equipment. That one is my brother. The only one's we needed rescue from are a bunch of crazies jumping out of the bushes!" She continued to stomp up and down in excited fury.
“Alright, everyone. Stand down,” she said to her group.
“Look, we were just replying to your distress beacon. Uh, apologies. But if you aren’t in trouble, then do you know who is?” she asked her fellow Zeltron, trying to calm her down.
The Zeltron continued to scream, "we never activated our distress beacon! Even if we had to, that temple behind us would probably block the transmission just like it scrambled everything else around it anyway. What distress call are you chasing? Other than the team that we replaced, nobody else has been here. There is too much energy radiating from the temple that most crews are scared to go near it."
Vez emerged from the undergrowth, brushing dirty from her pants and pulling a twig from her hair. “Wait, did that tactic actually work?”
Aura passed her fellow Zeltron a flask of Rancor Tequila.
“Yeah, sorry. We had bad intel. For those still alive, least we can do is help any wounds. Maybe we can team up for the temple. Whoever messed with us might be behind whatever is happening there.”
“`The Zeltron looked at Aura with disgust. "I think we’ve had enough of you and your group. the new Republic will hear about this. We could have used your help but I think you’ve done enough.” The Zeltron threw her hand up in the direction of the temple. “Temple is that way.”
She turned and walked towards her grieving brother, holding tightly to the body of his best friend. She placed a hand on his shoulder and knelt down beside him.“`
Vez was somber and, for once, speechless. She hadn’t hurt anybody herself but she was the one to start the attack. She skulked off in the direction of the temple, bracing herself for the lecture from Aura. So much for my career as a Jedi, she thought.
Elyon deactivated her lightsaber and bowed her head. And after their opportunity to help was resolutely rejected, she did not want to worsen the situation with her disapproval. So she left where she stood and stood behind Aura.
The group made their way through the forest until they got to a strange dome energy barrier encapsulating a clearing. At it's center, the temple. Rippling with blue and white streaks, the barrier was being emitted from the top of the temple. A stone path led straight to it. Along the path, large stone statues of Rakatan warriors pained as if alive and frozen in various stances.
Elyon shuddered at the sight of them. She didn’t feel well at the thought that the sculptor had carved these statues. The positions were really unpleasant and should have served as a warning.
There was the crunch of wood being broken as Nikora Rhan joined them, looking up at the statues and frowning. “Ignoring the light show from the temple, does anyone else think those statues look a bit too much like real people?”
Elyon nodded silently in agreement.
Revak tapped the barrier. It felt cold. His fingers tingled as he pressed harder.
“Well, the generator’s probably going to be on the inside,” Rhan said spending a few moments to examine it as well. “I’ve probably got enough explosives on me to make something of a dent in it, but it could easily damage whatever’s inside.”
Dropping the rocket launcher and satchel bag of grenades behind her, she moved up to the barrier as well, reaching out with the Force to telekinetically push against it, probing for possible weaknesses.
Elyon looked away from the statues, and thought for a moment.
“I think there could be a control panel somewhere. Those who built this temple must have had a backup if everyone left the temple and there was no one to pull down the shield in case of a problem or their return,” Elyon said, walking around the barrier.
Elyon made her way completely around the perimeter of the temple. There was no control panel to be found.
The barrier bent deeply against Rhan's Force push.
Aura reached out to the Force to see if she could pull a switch from inside the barrier.
Aura could feel up to the barrier, but once she tried to penetrate it, even with the Force, it resister her attempts. It gave her a cold shiver.
“Alright, how about a joint effort?” Rhan offered, watching both Elyon and Aura’s experiments. “Two of us press against it with the Force from other sides, try to strain it and create an opening or weakness. If we get one, two more go through.”
“I agree. Count me in,” Elyon said, looking at Aura.
Aura and Elyon agreed to push against the barrier to try and see if the pressure would be enough to make it break. The two women walked up to it, took a bladed stance and placed a hand on it. The cool tingle danced across their palms. On a three count they pulled the Force into the hands and pushed. Expecting much greater resistance, Aura pushed hard on the barrier, which gave very little resistance and fell to the ground. Elyon, caught herself and simply took a step through it. Revak, having seeing how easily the barrier was breached, walked right through unharmed. He looked up at the temple then back to the barrier. He glanced over at Rhan and nodded.
“Wow, that was very interesting.” Elyon exhaled in surprise, having never experienced this before.
“Guess it’s intended only to let Force users through,” Rhan commented, picking up her gear and using the same trick to join them. “So it’s not so much to keep everyone out, but only to let the right people in. That’s an interesting trick.”
With most of the group through the barrier, they looked down the stone path lined with statues stretching out in front of them.
“Do you think there will be here any traps and pitfalls?” Elyon asked thoughtfully.
“Well, they set up a forcefield. They’d not go to all that trouble and leave it as the only line of defence,” Rhan answered. She had been moving at the head of the group, keeping her eyes on the path itself, looking for anything that might indicate a trigger mechanism. “Just watch out for anything that looks out of place. Or that could be hiding some kind of weapons system.” Her eyes momentarily flitted back to the statues as she spoke.
“I do not trust the statues. There is something wrong with them. I don’t know, maybe it’s just because of those attitudes, but I really don’t feel good about them.” The young Jedi said, watching the statues with an inquisitive look.
Aura felt uneasy and kept an open connection to the Force, probbing to see if anything felt amiss.
“Well, let’s see who is up top then,” she said as she started to climb the stairs.
Rhan gave a quick look behind her and then shrugged. “So why do you think they allowed only Force users inside, anyhow? If it’s a tomb and they wanted us in, that implies a few things. Either their society held them in high regard or, well, I’m trying not to suggest anything that doesn’t end with the word "trap”.“
“`Now with in the barrier, Aura’s ability to channel the Force was once again restored. The stone statues were just that. Stone. they posed no threat to the group. Their lifelike appearance was the result of a skilled artist capturing every detail from the guards that once stood watch over the temple eons ago. There they could forever keep watch.
While she could detect nothing from the statues, she could however sense a strong presence coming from the temple.”`
“I am not sure but I sense a strong presence coming from the temple itself,” offered Aura.
The Jedi stopped for a moment and touched one of the stone statue lining the walk upwards. She reached out to the Force to see if any images from the past would give them clues.
She saw a grand army of Rakatan warriors standing in formation at the foot of the temple. She saw them bow when a being, adorned in ornate robes walked out to greet them. The feeling that rippled from the stone was pride, admiration and a feeling of comradery.
Not seeing this, Rhan stopped and looked at Aura. “As in a living presence?”
The image of a human male flashed in Aura's mind
“I don’t think they are alive anymore. I saw an army of rakatans bowing to someone who appeared to be in charge. To a human male. Like this was I don’t know, maybe worshipping him,” said Aura standing back up and letting go of the statue.
“Anyone know any historical rakatan figures where you worshipped a human?”
“Could it be Revan?” Luna replied absently, still pondering the dilemma. Feeling the collective stares of the group she clarified, “Darth Revan is a key figure in Mandalorian history.”
Sarai had been following everyone quietly after the battle, but she perked up at the mention of Revan. “Revan was the only human to have prolonged contact with the Rakatan, on both side of the Force, once as a Sith and once as a Jedi. It would make the most sense. Sarai reached out with the Force to sense if anything of Revan’s was in the temple
Sarai could sense a strong presence but any feeling of Revan was absent. The presence began to feel, as the group looked over the temple for clues, that same presence begin to grow stronger as if it was heading towards them
Sarai whistled loudly to gain everyone’s attention, and once she did she whispered, “We have the attention of something or someone with the force, and that presence is heading this way.”
“If it is a Darth clinging onto the material world coming to greet us, this is about to get ugly,” Rhan said. “If anyone wants to pull out, now’s the time to do it.”
“`The essence materialized in the shape of a cloaked human male. His long flowing robe clearly defined over his shoulders, dissolved into the air the closer they ran to the floor. His head was covered with a long hood which covered his face. He lifted his head to reveal well defined facial features. When he spoke, his voice was course but his inflection signified excitement.
"Hello travelers. I take it you’re here because you’ve found my beacon. I am Master Esbern. I was interned in this temple long ago and have since sought worthy beings to release me from this prison. Would you be so kind as to help?”“`
“Imprisoned implies someone put you here,” Luna mused in response, “might we learn by whom and why you were so restricted.”
I was once a very powerful Jedi Master. I came to this world as a retreat. A retirement from the fighting and wars that have plagued the Mandalorians and the Jedi. I made friends with the local Rakata. Together we lived in harmony. They provided me food and shelter. I showed them the secrets of the Force. A young Rakata named Geru He-Sbala has the ability to use this gift. He became my Padawan, but then he became too powerful. The darkness had crept inside of him and he turned on me and his village. He trapped me in here, while those loyal to him forever stand guard below. If you destroy the statues, I'll finally be free."
So they were right that there was something strange about those statues. Elyon thought, looking down at the line of statues.
“What ability in the Force can cause this?” The young Jedi asked and pointed down.
"I can teach you if my powers are no longer bound to this temple. It was the last gift I gave to Padawan Geru. You can preserve anything or anyone forever."
“Revan had something similar happen to him by the hands of the Sith Emperor.” Sarai muttered to no one in particular, as she reached out with the Force, to sense if what they heard was the truth
“`"Revan was very strong in the Force. I followed his campaign very closely. The lad had ambition. He sought the greater truths. Sadly I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person.”
As the Force Ghost spoke, Sarai felt an unease as if there was something not completely true about the story the being told.“`
Aura looked at the Force apparition skeptically.
“So you were imprisoned by these people. And you want us to free you,” she summarized. “Anything else you’d like to tell us about your time with the Rakata?” she asked, knowing what she had seen in her Force vision from the past.
"They warshipped me as a God. Though Jedi are taught not to embrace such things, the admiration was grand. Euphoric even. I quickly grew fond of them despite their reputation of being warlike and slavers."
“Admiration, huh? Why did they worship you? Doesn’t sound very jedi-like to let them treat you like a god. Did everyone worship you?” asked Aura.
Ryan shifted uneasily. He knew little of the Rakata, of Lehon, of their cannibalistic rites as they descended into the madness of the Dark Side. But he knew enough to be chilled as more and more things pointed to that fallen civilization. Anything imprisoned by them could be a victim of their depredations, a light they wanted to snuff or hide away or it could be something even more depraved and dangerous than the murderous priests and slavers of long ago. Ryan felt a bit of fear rise in his heart, the fear an insect would encounter upon finding a human being stepping into its home. A powerful thing he did not understand and could not understand lay before him. Whether it was there to crush him and others to nothing or passing through was the unknown quantity. He nodded at Aura’s question.
"I've already admitted my failings upholding the tenants of the Jedi. Let me ask you, if you had an entire civilization bow to you, would you not allow them to erect a pink statue in your honor? Especially after turning your back to the Council for their inaction against Mandalore? I think you would, as I can sense a darkness inside of you. Hadn't you chased the power of the Force? Tried to unleash its secrets on your enemies? You judge, yet you are no better than I."
Revak chuckled at the quip
Aura stared back at the apparition, her eyes narrowing for a moment, and then calmed herself.
“I may have done some bad things in my past, but I never gave up on the Jedi path once I got the opportunity to follow it. Being a Jedi isn’t about being perfect. It’s about trying to be better than you were before and trying to make the galaxy a better place.”
She paused for a moment.
“You had a whole Jedi order at your disposal and you gave it up,” she responded coldly. “how could you? You could have made it better. No. You ran away to be a god and be bowed to. You aren’t a Jedi anymore…”
She paused once more.
“So cut the bullshit since you clearly are trying to change the subject. Why did they imprison you?”
Ryan smiled brightly at Aura’s comment. He was thankful it was hard to see behind his Clone Armor helmet but it was a smile of genuine joy and respect at Aura’s words.
"Their inaction and political asperations drifted from the Jedi they once were. The Republic was too bogged down by their own selves, they stopped serving the galaxy and it's people. I was imprisoned by my Padawan. He turned the Rakata against me. Forced me into this temple. Trapped my soul here forever."
Aura crossed her arms.
“Stop blaming others. What did YOU do?”
“And how did the darkness consume your padawan anyway? Did he pluck some from the darkness tree? Are you not the one who trained him?”
"The Rakata are born and bred to be warriors. They seek power. The darkness that consumed him came from his desire to be lord of all. He cut down many of his fellow Rakata in the battle ring. I had lost him the moment I began to train him. Looking back, thats when I should have stopped the training. I admit, I was lost too. I wasn't like Master Vrook. I took his drive to learn the ways of the Force, as nothing more than an eager young student."
Aura’s arms unfolded.
“Fine. Don’t tell us what you did to get imprisoned. We don’t have to let you out.”
The Jedi sat down on the steps nearby and opened one of her ration bars, ignoring the Force apparition.
Ryan shrugged and followed Aura’s lead, lifting his helmet just enough to have a ration bar.
“`"Oh no need to throw a hissy fit, missy. this temple, was… is my home. Inside is a holocron. He bested me in combat and melded my soul to the holocron. By activating the holocron you can free my essence.”
He raised both arms into the air, spoke a few words foreign to the group, and the blue force barrier that was encasing the temple turned crimson.“`
Aura looked up at the new barrier and reached out to the Force to see she could sense anything malicious coming from it or the Force apparition.
“Hey, why do you want freedom?” she asked the ex-Jedi, probing further.
Ryan looked deeply concerned “I don’t like when things change colors unexpectedly. Never works out.” Ryan then reached out to sense danger or any incoming threat.
“`His essence began to shift into the same reddish tone the barrier above them all had turned.
"For centuries I have been trapped here. Forced to relive the past day after day with the hope that someone would be strong enough to come free me from my prison. If I am to be trapped here, so will you be.”“`
“That’s totally not suspicious. Responding to a question with a threat,” commented Aura.
“It’s a Dark Jedi thing to do, and he did lie about meeting Revan, I’d bet he was a Revanchist, but left before the conversion to the dark side was complete at final battle of Malachor.” Sarai notified the group while watching the Force Ghost carefully both with the Force and her centuries old eyes “I would rather help him, as we might find something else within the temple that can help us in the future.”
Elyon listened quietly and was still alert through the Force. She tried to keep her mind calm, but the change in the situation of being a prisoner now, took away her calm.
“You said you were a powerful Jedi Master. The Jedi not searching for oportunity to get power over others. Our lifelong mission is to keep the peace and protect those who cannot protect themselves.” The young Jedi spoke with respect in her voice, because she believed what she said.
“And the Jedi should never prioritize themselves over others. You place your freedom over ours. This is not a Jedi way.” This time, there was regret in her voice that he had lost his way.
“If you’re still a Jedi, you’ll let us go and no conditions. Because that’s the Jedi way.”
“`"To hell with the Jedi!”
The red being screamed and drew power from the temple. Bolts of lightning exploded out of his as the ground shook at the groups feet, nearly knocking them down the great staircase. He reached out with the Force, squeezed the group with a powerful grip and raised them all into the air…“`
Sarai’s mind went blank with rage, as she snarled and instinctively lashed out at the Force Ghost with both her own lightning and with telekinesis trying to utilize his own lightning against him, as she fought to free herself from his grip.
Rhan was already acting as the Force Ghost screamed its obscenities. A momentary whisper through the Force had her throwing up mental barriers as it attacked and started to move. Although by no means fast enough to escape its telekinetic assault, it was enough for her to summon images that would most insult it. She summoned illusions, trying to crowd them into the ghost’s mind, creating a telepathic mirage of robed Jedi Knights emerging from about the statues to confront the traitor.
The lightning struck the Ghost hard staggering him and the mental onslaught distracted him enough for his telekinetic grip to dissipate. As the group regained their balance, the Ghost unleashed a violent telekinetic wave
Rhan landed hard, barely regaining her balance before the shockwave sent her reeling. Issuing a series of words unbecoming of most Force users, she raised one hand while sailing through the air and sent her own stream of lightning into the ghost.
Aura pushed back with a telekinetic wave of her own, hoping to at least equal his attack and prevent the group from sweeping away.
As soon as she hit the ground, Sarai increased the power going into her lightning changing the color darker as she let loose completely of her Sith Sorcerer abilities. Her mind going razor focused on her task at hand as she started to see, interpret and plan the tactics that they would need to use to nullify, if not kill the Force Ghost
“`Aura’s telekinetic counter was enough to halt the Ghost’s progress. Sarai’s continued barrage of Force lightning met it’s target and ripped through the apparition like lightning streaking across the sky. He screamed once more, then let out a large explosion. The spirit and all his energy became one with the universe.
The barrier surrounding the temple quickly dissolved freeing the group. Then came a rumble. The temple shook and started to break into pieces. The group ran until they had made it back to solid ground as the temple left itself in a pile of rubble. A smile came over them as they caught their breath. The distress beacon they had came to investigate had been nothing more than an angry Force spirit seeking freedom. With everyone safe, it was time to head home.
A the shuttle touched back down in the clearing, the group turned back and reflected on their mission. It was the first time many of them had worked with each other, but as they had come together this time, It wouldn’t be the last.”`
Aura sighed as she looked over the rumble. She looked over at Andromeda and said, “you know, I don’t really like lightning but it worked pretty well back there.”
“I learned that it works about one hundred years ago, I usually won’t use it unless absolutely necessary. Last time I had to was because I crashed a capital ship on a planet and into a temple. It was nice working with you on this job, though hopefully many more will follow.” Sarai nods at Aura as she replies
“You like Rancor Tequila? I know a place we can go after all this is over with,” she replied.
“Sounds like a solid idea,” Rhan agreed with a shrug. “The results of this speak for themselves. It’s not everyday we get the chance to rip an insane ghost apart or level a haunted temple.”
She started to march back toward the shuttle and then turned to look back at the temple. Destroyed as it was, there was no telling what might be buried there, or if the ghost might find some way to revive itself. Then, deciding it was a problem best left for another day, Rhan turned her back on the distant sight of the ruin and headed for the vessel’s access ramp.