Ask Plot Quelling the Rumours: A Complex Complex

Juniper

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It was easy to see from the second they broke through the atmosphere. The plates had fractured something fierce. The reports had made some passing reference to minor seismic activity on Quell. It didn't seem all that minor looking at it. When they'd landed, it was hard to take in the sheer size of the crack in the ground. It spread to the horizon and went into the dark, endless depths below. Nara half expected there to be a river of magma at the bottom, right at the planet's core, like something out of a bad holofilm. There was, however, something far more interesting at the bottom.

They'd landed on one side of the fault, right where the reports had come from. Once, there'd been a small Jedi outpost on the planet. Now that the plate had cracked, it'd revealed... something very strange. Right at the bottom of that crack, there was some kind of structure half-built into the planetary rock. The activity had exposed the cavern that'd been lost for countless generations, revealing something much larger than just a simple outpost. Was it an old Temple? A base? Or was it meant to hold knowledge, or artefacts, of the old iteration of the Order? Whatever it was, it needed to be investigated, which is why the Jedi Council has assembled a team.

Jedi Master Hannibal Grayza was nominally in charge of the group, of course. Nara was there too, along with Kori Tallis. It seemed like every time the Jedi Council heard about some lost ruin, they ended up sending Nara and Kori. It was turning into their expertise... so long as there weren't any more Guardians hidden inside. Accompanying them were K'Narr Foo, a Neti Jedi Knight that Nara had never really met before, along with Fiach Dubh, the Galaxy's most dutiful and hard working Padawan.

Nara had gone first, setting up a mechanical pulley connected to the ship. It'd attach itself to their belts and help them automatically rappel down the side, towards the bottom. Even then, it would take them a while. They were delving deep into the planet. To prove her confidence in her own little set-up, she'd volunteered to head down first, enduring several minutes of descent into the broken ground, with nothing but her own breathing in her ears and her droid's flashlight to cut through the darkness.

Once she'd made it to the bottom, she unclipped herself and said a silent prayer to... well, the Force, in thanks for not splatting on the ground. Then she went for her communicator.

"See, I told you guys, totally fine. I'm at the bottom and..." she began, stopping before she looked up. Her droid's flashlight was illuminating something. She reached for her saber and raised it up, igniting it and bathing the place in a deep, sapphire-blue. There, half-built into the very ground itself, was the unmistakeable sight of a structure. An actual building, angular and strange, designed generations ago. Nara stepped a little closer, her saber-light reaching up to show a half-open, ancient doorway. It looked like it was metal, once. Now it was rust, stone and memory.

".... and I think we found it. Seriously, get down here, it's huge. Whatever this place was, it was important." With that, Nara stepped a little closer to the giant doorway, peering into the dark gloom. How many years had this been hidden away down here? What had it been for? What was still in there? She was filled with curiosity, apprehension... and more than a little fear.


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Fiach Dubh

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Fiach knew little of their destination – other than what was shared in the brief. They were in the Outer Rim Territories and the planet Quell could be differentiated from others she’d visited due to the world's surface being cerulean in colou and was covered entirely by white clouds. She also understood the surface was a ship’s graveyard due to a major galactic conflict many eons ago.

But they weren’t here sightseeing, or to pick up salvage, but to undertake a geological appraisal and see where they could help.

The moment they broke the clouds, the size and scale of the problem they were up against was apparent. What had promised a minor mission that required some measurement was clearly undervalued.

What was even more interesting – and Fiach admittedly felt slightly awkward at the concept of finding something more fascinating than a planet’s potential destruction – was what they saw at the bottom of the fissure. It was clearly a structure. Her first thought was that it was a ship that had fallen into the abyss. But closer inspection suggested it was a building. But who built it and what its purpose was, were currently a mystery. And one they would no doubt be required to solve.

As the most junior member of the group, Fiach allowed others to take the lead and offered help and support when asked or if she felt she should volunteer.

Like the others, she peered down the fissure as Nara descended and breathed a small sigh of relied when she reported everything was fine. The relaxation was short-lived as the flash of a saber activating lit up the darkness below. But the subsequent report put her at ease again and she wondered if they’d all have the chance to go down, or if some might need to remain here…just in case.
 

Nykoria Tallis

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That was the largest Jedi team that Nykoria Tallis had ever been a part of. And surprisingly, the Zeltron had crossed paths once or twice with the majority of the crew. Only the tree-like Neti was a complete stranger. However, Kori didn't know too much more about the others, apart from their names and ranks. The only exception was Knight Nara Allam. Together, they had faced the old automatons and the Sith at a derelict temple on Ontotho. The human had taken a beating that few people could recover from. Yet Nara did recover, and even continued her mission. A testament to her strength and reliability.

The human Jedi proved it again when she volunteered to rappel first. Since Nara was the one setting up the equipment and safeties, and was probably anxious—someone apart from Kori definitely was—the Zeltron decided to cheer her up with a joke. Of course, the Zeltron's hermit way of life over the last few years led to the joke being "slightly" inappropriate: "Can I ask for a favor? If you fall, try to yell as long and loud as you can. That way we'd at least know the length of the flight."

Once Nara reached the bottom and beckoned the rest on the comms, the Zeltron sighed: "Well, the Force favors the foolish!" It was only fair, since she had done that to Nara. Clipping herself to the mechanism, she proceeded to follow in Knight Allam's footsteps and rappel down. Taking her time, pressing her feet against the rock any few meters, and—most importantly—NEVER looking down.

Unlike Nara, Nykoria didn't have a droid with a flashlight. However, she did have a glowrod clipped to her belt. She would've ignited her lightsaber, but was afraid to accidentally cut off the rope. But the glowrod had a different problem. To turn it on, Kori had to look down. Seeing how she got stopped in her tracks, the Zeltron didn't like what she saw.

"Don't worry, Nara has checked it," Kori mumbled to herself when she was certain that nobody else would hear her. "You aren't going to end up a pretty purple stain. Not today at least." Literally forcing her legs to push off the cliff, the Zeltron continued her path downwards. If Nara had done it, so could she.

Eventually, the Zeltron's feet would land on solid ground with a sigh of relief. Unclipping the climbing rope from her belt, she gave an "all clear" to anyone still at the top: "Well, I'm down too, and even alive. Don't go all at once though, I'd hate to see raining Jedi." The poor jokes helped the Zeltron cope with stress. As a bonus, if anyone found them even remotely funny, Kori would experience that too.

Seeing an unmistakable blue saber glow in the distance, the Zeltron walked over towards her fellow Knight: "The last time we walked into a dark hall like this... Let's agree not to open the doors we might regret?" Kori tilted her head with a faint smirk, reminding Nara what mechanic horror they had found on Ontotho in a similar pitch-black derelict.

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KNarr Foo

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K'Narr Foo heard about a journey to a Planet named Quell, he remembered that there was a battle in the space above the planet during The Clone Wars so he thought that it maybe a good to look on the planet to see if there wasn't any relics from The Clone Wars that he could take back with him to add to his collection of relics from his past.

Once K'Narr got on the ship he didn't seem to recognize anyone, he heard there was going to be a Jedi Master on the trip and that seemed to be the case with Jedi Master Hannibal Grayza but he had never met him in person so he didn't know what he looked like, along with the journey was two fellow Jedi Knights, a Zeltron by the name Nykoria Tallis and a Human by the name of Nara Allam.
And they were accompanied by another Human this time a Padawan called Fiach Dubh, he had never met these people before but he trusted his fellow Jedis so he sat in silence on the trip over meditating while he waited before they arrived at Quell.

Once they had arrived on Quell he saw everyone begin to attach to a mechanical pulley apart from Fiach who he assumed just wanted the Knights to go first so he decided to attach himself to it and followed Nykoria when she jumped down and was surprised by the building that was underground "I don't remember them, setting up outposts on this Planet during The Clone Wars" K'Narr said quite surprised before he saw Nykoria grabbing her Glowrod turning it on and he thought it was probably a good idea that he turned on his as well as he grabbed it from his belt as well then turn on his lightsaber.

"So how old do you think this is because in my time as a Jedi I've never heard of an outpost being here and this looks pretty old" K'Narr said placing his hand on his chin quizzically.

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Hannibal Grayza

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Hannibal always seemed to be on the move these days. Some time after his adventure helping to slay a Tarentatek on Kashyyyk he'd been gathering information for a little side job with Max, in the middle of which he received a call from the Jedi Council. A team was being put together to explore a recently revealed something or other on Quell, and the Council seemed rather eager for the young Master to be a part of it. Something about someone nearly dying the last few times Jedi were sent out without significant backup was mentioned, so he couldn't really say no in good faith. Besides, Nara would be there, and last he'd heard she'd joined the 'severely injured' club.

Plus, Indy would be super jealous. So there was that.

He'd opted for his armor this time around, along with his heavy blaster and a pair of old purified Imperial era lightsabers with simple silver hilts that hung on clips on the left side of his belt. He also had the usual array of Jedi utility items, joined with a combat fusioncutter sitting just behind his holstered blaster. He'd opted to keep his hood down and helmet off, clipped to a mag on his belt somewhere. He'd rather have it and not need it of course, but he didn't need to wear it during casual exploration time.


Although the Jedi Master was technically in charge, both in terms of rank seniority and the Council literally saying so, Hannibal favoured an experience over lecturing method. He was perfectly content for the Knights to lead the general direction of the expedition until Hannibal felt the need to order otherwise. Thus, if Nara wanted to set things up and take the lead going down, she was welcome to.

Hannibal chose to head down before Fiach, seeing as she was going for being helpful, but not before removing his glowrod from his belt and switching it on. Much like the journey to the planet the descent was uneventful. He trusted Nara not to mess up setting up a drop, and also none of the other three had fallen to their death. He reached the bottom with a solid 'thunk' and detached the line, raising his light and joining the others.

And then promptly grimaced at the non-zero number of ignited lightsabers.
"How dramatic. Coloured light is bad for exploration, y'know. Messes up contrast." he admonished light-heartedly while slipping back into his characteristic grin, stepping up somewhere behind Nara to shine proper glowrod light on the ancient building and get a good look for himself. Yep, definitely old and half built into the surrounding stone.

Potential for mysterious guardians or traps notwithstanding, Hannibal was looking forward to seeing the rest of the group do their thing. He mostly worked alone or in a small group for his kind of work. He'd be mostly just be acting as another part of the team, barring a serious situation. He felt that was probably best.


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Fiach Dubh

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Fiach was slightly overwhelmed by the volume of people she was a part of – but knew that the more challenging the mission, the more Jedi tended to attend. For that reason, she knew she would have to get used to the size of group.

And given she was given no instruction to remain behind, she joined the rest in descending the chasm to see what they must now consider their mission. She was aware that some seemed to abseil freely, whilst others seemed more reticent. In training, she’d been told that it was often seen as an activity that was enjoyed most by those who did not know of its risks. Consequently, most non-climbers liked it whereas most seasoned climbers did not. Even in training, they were in tightly controlled conditions. Her first abseil under normal conditions convinced her there was a lot more to it than she’d been taught. In the field, you had a single system with no backup and it was easy to get it wrong. So Fiach was cautious in a pragmatic way and descended when she’d performed all of her checks and found her way to the others without incident.

Detaching herself from the rope, she stepped away and surveyed the scene. There was, in truth, little to see at present and so she exhaled, relaxed and awaited the Jedi’s instructions to proceed. Fortunately, she survived perfectly fine without small-talk, so was more than happy to stand to the side and wait and listen until given guidance on what she should do next. But once more, given her lack of seniority, she expected to follow the others, which gave her the opportunity to ascertain their leadership styles and pick up tips for the day when she became a Knight – or even a Master.

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Juniper

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Whilst waiting for the others to join her, Nara took advantage of the quiet to inject another stim. Her side was giving her a little trouble since the... unfortunateness on Ontotho. They'd said she was healing up nicely, but she still felt it when she walked. If I see that little runt again I'll wring his tiny, furry neck, she thought rolling her eyes.

The others made their way down as Nara looked at the structure in front of them, trying to make out details in the blue bloom. Her fingertips ran over some detail in the etching but it was so worn away that she couldn't make out more than the most basic patterns. Kori was the first to arrive, making a funny comment. Nara snickered and looked over her shoulder. "This place looks like it's been hidden for centuries. Everything's probably dead. Or... well, really hungry," she thought aloud, shivering a little. Don't be stupid, Nara, nothing living lasts that long. Only temples and guardians and...

Luckily, she was distracted by the others. K'Narr shared his knowledge of the older outposts as Nara knelt down, looking closely at the sides. Then Master Hannibal joined them, with the usual pithy comment. "Contrast is for screens, Master," she said casually, moving her saber more to the wall. "Ah, see! I knew it! Look!" She pointed to a deep etching in the stone. "Now, that's got to be an old symbol for the Order, right? It's off from ours but it could be thousands of years old. We know it's probably pre-dating the Empire, Clone Wars, the High Republic..." Nara theorised as she stood up. The whole team was there and ready.

Nara walked around the wall, the darkness cut through by several glowrods, sabers and flashlights. It gave the place an eerie strangeness; multi-coloured discord in the middle of muted, dark silence. Nara could only hear the press of her boots on the ground and the shuffling footsteps of the others behind her. The wall curved round, revealing a vast doorway. In the past, there must have been gigantic stone doors there, judging by the craggy rocks on the side. However, now the way in was wide open, deep and dark and seemingly endless. The entrance-way seemed to swallow up the light. She felt a little scared, staring down into there. So she did what she thought she had to.

"HEEEELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nara yelled out down the hallway. Her voice echoed down into the darkness, a chorus of sharp "HELLO"s that grew quieter and quieter. "Seems like it runs pretty deep," Nara said with a shrug as she stepped forwards, her boot crunched on something. She looked down at what it was and....

"Oh. Oh ick..." she complained. She'd managed to stand on a skeleton. Picked bare of anything but a few ragged scraps that might once have been a robe. There was another just inside, bones grey and... mottled. Nara blinked and then looked back at the others.

"Who's going first then?"
 

Nykoria Tallis

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The Zeltron smirked at Nara's reply to her joke: "If anything around here ever was hungry, it must've starved to death by now." It was a mostly self-comforting remark; after all, who knew what kind of creatures the galaxy had to offer? Despite Nara's obvious uneasiness, Nykoria decided to stick by her side for the time being.

Master Grayza was apparently in the competition for "One-liner Jedi of the Year" as well. So Kori couldn't but slip in her own remark: "Coloured light also kind of messes up the looks." It did make the Zeltron look less purple, after all. And when Nara found an etching, it served to reinforce Kori's point even further: "You only see it as a symbol of the Jedi Order because it's covered in blue light now. I can totally see the Sith using lightsaber as their symbol as well. You'd see it too if your saber were red." Of course, it was another joke, and the Zeltron didn't even try to make it sound serious. The Sith would've gone for something more intricate.

As the Jedi approached the entrance to the giant hallway, Kori's joking mood was slowly blown away by the darkness. She reached for a saber hilt on the back of her belt and ignited the azure blade. The free hand disabled the now-useless glowrod; the Zeltron felt more confident with her weapon in hand. "It's Ontotho all over again," the Knight mumbled, referring to the nigh-pitch-black darkness surrounding them.

Nara's sudden complaint made Kori jump, as she directed the saber towards the source of the disturbance. The blue glow of her blade caught out the remains lying on the floor. Yes, definitely Ontotho. An upset grimace came across Kori's purple face like a wave. She did hear Nara's question, but she didn't intend to go unprepared. Instead, she approached the bones that Nara had so disrespectfully stepped on. Kneeling down, the Zeltron reached towards the old bones with her free hand. After a moment of hesitation, she touched them... and gasped.

"Padawan, get to the Vault! I'll hold them off!" Multiple screeches of ignited lightsabers. "No, don't step on... AAARGHH!" A crimson flash and a piercing pain in my abdomen. The sound of a body slowly falling somewhere in the distance. The stones on the floor are cold. Wait... Is it my own body that has fallen? My Padawan yells in pain and terror nearby, but I can hardly hear him. In fact, I can hardly hear anything...

Kori found herself half-lying on the floor next to the fallen Jedi of old; lightsaber extinguished. "I think.... I think we should watch our step here."

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KNarr Foo

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K'Narr watched everyone observe the new or he assumed it was an old building because he never heard about this during The Clone Wars, all he knew is that the Jedi would probably be ecstatic finding out about this building and the secrets it would hold.
K'Narr heard the comment from Nykoria about if there was anything down here they would starve "Unless they were, a Neti like me Young One all we would need is water and a good source of Sunlight" K'Narr said with a slight smirk with his wooden mouth.

But then the smile dropped when he heard about the Sith "I mean, it is entirely possible because during The Clone Wars, there was a battle in the atmosphere of this planet with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which had Sith in their ranks so maybe they had a base on this Planet and that would explain their fascination with it" K'Narr said scratching his chin, before he heard Nara yell down the Hallway "Well I guess the element of surprise is gone now that you have done that" K'Narr sighed, before he himself stepped forward with the glowrod in hand while keeping his hand on the hilt of the lightsaber in case something happened.

K'Narr jumped back when the Zeltron fell on the floor catching him off guard "What happened, did you step on a trap or something" K'Narr said offering his rooty hand to Nykoria to help her up and in doing so spotted what caught here off guard and made her fall, it was a skeleton of a Fallen Jedi or Sith it was hard to make out with how old the body was "Seems he was caught by something that might be nearby, maybe a beast or a trap" K'Narr to the nearby Jedi.

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Hannibal Grayza

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The young Jedi raised an eyebrow slightly at Nara's rebuttal but didn't feel the need to say anything further. If she wanted to see everything in shades of blue that was her prerogative. He was more distracted by other goings-on and comments, managing to suppress a sigh. "There's no sunlight underground, fortunately for us," he commented airily, looking down the hallway now lit in a multitude of colours.

His gaze was wrenched automatically toward Nykoria as she made contact with the corpse, an echo of the impressions she saw radiating through the Living Force as she relived the skeleton's final moments. Hannibal's face set into his usual smirk as she came out of it, leaning over slightly to look at her before speaking. "Did your master not teach you to avoid reading corpses? Or did you just decide to ignore that lesson?" he asked sardonically, waiting a few moments for her to recover before following up.

"What did you see?" he asked, turning his eyes once again down the dark hallway. He was getting a vague impression of danger, though whether it was old or new was uncertain. He was sure his instincts would kick in when they were needed, but he was inherently mistrustful of ancient ruins attributed to Force users. Force users guarded their knowledge jealously and seemed to feel the need to prevent others from finding it.

Perhaps at least there wouldn't be any guardians here. That would be nice. He stepped forward into the doorway just before the hall and held out a free hand, expanding his senses through the dark and empty space. He didn't feel much beyond the ancient echoes of the living and the dead, though there was something nagging at him nonetheless. With his free hand he unclipped his helmet from his belt and placed it over his head, locking it into place and activating the low-light vision. He took a step back and casually tossed his glowrod just behind the second corpse. It rolled for a short while, before stopping on something with a soft click and the sound of moving stone.

The next instant there was a flash of light as a bolt of electric energy emerged from the ceiling and struck the glowrod, reducing it to slag on the stone floor. Typical.
"Whoever is first, don't walk there. I suppose I'll go first, providing no one else has the inclination," he offered, turning to look at the others.


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Fiach Dubh

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Fiach was noted for her patience. Some found her very polite, given she was invariably given to respect authority. Others found her rude, as she had a propensity to say whatever was on her mind – at any given time. It was a trait she was looking to curb, but without sacrificing the inquisitive nature that led her to ask so many questions.

It was, in part, her respect for her elders that held her back when it came to missions. But it was also due to her reticence to take the lead – a trait she knew she had to overcome if she were to progress to become a Knight and most definitely overturn if she had aspirations of becoming a Master.

So, like an athlete that worked her way through a field of runners, Fiach removed herself from the back of the pack and took up a position much closer to the front. And she overcame her usual reticence to talk to strangers by reflecting on the fact they were all members of the Order and here not for a social occasion, but to perform a mission – albeit it had changed from the initial brief.

She raised her eyebrows at the prospect of everything being dead. “In my, albeit limited experience,” she added to the conversation, “there is a lot that can cause mischief and mayhem that can’t be classified as alive. Spirits, manifestations of the Force. And we can't rule out someone may have found this place a short time before we did?”

The skeletons did not bother her. Death was inevitable in Fiach’s eyes – only the date was undetermined. So, she had a pragmatic view of dying and unless their remains warned of an imminent danger, she tended to treat them as just another potential clue.

When the Knight gasped and then fell, Fiach was unsure if this was part of her particular gift, or a reaction to the skeletons, so took a deep breath and connected as deeply as she could with the Force, in order to maximise her senses for what might present itself. All this talk of beasts, traps and Sith could easily make you paranoid. Thankfully, Fiach didn’t really do emotions, and so focused entirely on whatever facts presented themselves.

The bolt of electrical energy certainly qualified as such, and Fiach was both thankful she was not in line to go first – and uncomfortable that this thought had occurred to her. Shaking her head involuntarily, she made a mental note to volunteer to go first before the mission concluded.

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Juniper

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"It'll be fine. It's not Ontotho," Nara replied. She hadn't meant to speak the words aloud, though. It was more to herself, rather than Kori or anyone else. It can't be that bad. Surely it will be fine. The Temple had been hidden there for countless years before the ground tore open, it's not as if there were assassins lying in wait for generations.

With an uncharacteristic deference to Master Hannibal's wisdom, Nara lowered her saber towards the ground and went for a slightly more sensible source of light: her droid. She knelt down, letting him clamber up her coat and onto her shoulder. The light beamed ahead of them, shining down that hallway.

Nara took in Fiach's warnings and question. Very sensible thoughts indeed. She hadn't thought about spirits and such... though if it was a Jedi Temple, like they believed, manifestations may be awaiting them. "All we know is that the ruins weren't exposed until... around a couple of weeks ago. That was when the reports came in. I suppose that others could have very well come here before us but... what would they be looking for? The only reason we're here is because there's reference to something here in the Archives."

The bolt of energy made her jump, seeing the glowrod crack and melt before her eyes. "I suggest we step very carefully, then." With her droid on her shoulder, Nara eked forwards carefully. Pushing herself closer to the wall to avoid the spot where the glowrod had been. Her soft, gentle footsteps echoed quietly around her as she moved forwards, gingerly testing each stone before she put her weight on it. The flashlight on her droid shone brightly down the hallway, but still there was nothing interesting yet.

She kept walking, too nervous to check if the others were following. Be brave, you'll be fine, no huge guardians, no Sith in wait, it's just an old Temple. As she moved further and further down, she noticed something ahead. Feathering out of the darkness, coming into the light. An archway that opened into a much larger room. Something twinkled in the light in the distance. Grinning, Nara looked over her shoulder to check on the others.

"Hey! There's something here! Something big!" she called back... not noticing the curiously straight length of stone in front of her. Her boot was already pressing down into it when she heard that telltale *click* and her face fell. Her gaze fell on the obviously laid-out trap in front of her as she heard the crunch of some ancient mechanism around her.

"Oh shi-"

Stone slid from the walls as Nara turned. There was a swish of something heavy and little time to react. Nara raised her free hand. She breathed deep. She drew on what she could and....

A loud crunch filled the hallway as stone met pure Force. Nara twitched as she held the Force barrier up against a large, spear-esque length of sharpened stone. A very stern, ancient statue of an armoured Jedi glared down at her. It didn't seem to be alive, but obviously rigged. She felt suddenly very cold.

The voice came deep in her mind, buried in the back of her brain. Clear. Loud.

YOU WILL ONLY FIND DEATH HERE, JEDI.


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Nykoria Tallis

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Kori accepted the Neti's wooden hand that'd help her up, replying: "Thanks... And nope, not a trap. Just touched something that hurts." Technically, it was true. Memories and echoes in the Force could be painful, at least emotionally. They could also be dangerous and distracting in the heat of battle or similar circumstances. A part of Nykoria already regretted following her first instinct. Master Grayza's snarky remark only added insult to injury. "My master didn't have that gift," the Zeltron replied with a rather unusual steel and confidence in her voice. "But he'd probably say that it's better to read a corpse than to become one."

Peace, Nykoria. As rude as the remark might seem, Master Grayza probably had the best intentions in mind. Her voice a bit softer and more thoughtful, the Zeltron continued: "I saw... a couple of Jedi. A Master and a Padawan. The place was attacked... Probably by the Sith. The Padawan got sent to some place called the Vault. Then he must've triggered a trap while the Master was struck down."

Nykoria followed in Nara's footsteps at a rather safe distance, lighting her way with a glowrod instead of the saber. The last thing she needed was to cut herself if she'd have to jump out of some deadly trap. It turned out that the ordeal of living through the last moments of those Jedi helped at least a little bit. The glowrod that Master Grayza had thrown was literally annihilated. Probably the forewarning had spared someone else the same fate... Or at least would spare someone a few "life-and-death" moments. At least until Nara got excited over some find and triggered a trap.

"Kriff," she grumbled through her teeth, reaching out with her hand and with the Force to try and slow the contraption that rapidly headed towards Nara. But it looked like the fellow Knight had it covered already. As always. What the Zeltron couldn't explain was the soundless voice. Judging by Nara's reaction, she had heard it too. "Is that where we supposed to recite that there's no death, there is the Force to pass some test?" she mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else. What she had heard didn't sound like a defense that the modern-day Jedi would set up. The Knights of old must have been different... or they weren't dealing with a Jedi at all. Either way, the answers (or more questions) lied ahead.

@Corbeau, @Mr. Teatime, @Hank Beast, @Charndley
 

KNarr Foo

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K'Narr was glad that the Zeltron was okay, it must have been a shock to her system to experience something like that K'Narr would hate to have an ability like that especially with what he experienced during the Clone Wars, shaking his head to get the thoughts out of his head "That was probably a long time ago when the sith attacked this complex then because those bodies look like they haven't see light in a couple centuries at the latest" K'Narr said to Nykoria when she mentioned the sith.

K'Narr followed behind everyone with the glowrod outstretched and then as soon as he heard the mechanism he went to spring into action but had seemed to be beaten by the same person who activated the mechanism "That was some quick thinking there young one" K'Narr said with a smile "So clearly this is an old temple with quite a few tricks up it's sleeve, it seems we have to find this thing called The Vault, I'm sure it could hold quite alot of old Jedi knowledge" K'Narr thought out loud.

@Corbeau, @Mr. Teatime, @Charndley, @Catbert
OOC: Sorry about the late reply, I was on holiday and I didn't have access to a computer in that time.
 

Hannibal Grayza

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Kori's brief little shift in mood didn't get past Hannibal, nor her tone, but he didn't comment. Worth watching, but not exactly uncommon. Nara herself had been, and still was, something of a firecracker herself. Speaking of whom, Hannibal followed behind Nara as she moved through the gate and into the hallway, his eyes sweeping across the old walls. He only turned back when Nara announced a sighting of something big up ahead- and the distinct click of a pressure plate.

Nara moved quickly to defend herself from the fast-moving trap and Hannibal's intuition lead him to a similarly rapid response. His lightsaber flew into his left hand, silver blade snap-hissing into existence as he stepped forward and buzzing downwards in a sharp cut through the stone spear just a moment after Nara had caught it. He'd turned to face the threat - a statue, apparently - and had also heard the echoing voice. It only served to steel him. He would wait a moment to make sure the statue wasn't a continuing threat and was merely a moving trap before retracting his lightsaber and turning to Nara.


"Good reaction. Not hurt?" he asked her, double checking. He hadn't exactly spent time chucking things at her for reaction training for nothing, it seemed like. She'd caught that spear real quick. So she got praise. That's how it always worked, and Hans did like to reinforce good behavior like not dying to a statue.


@Charndley @Corbeau @Catbert @Hank Beast
 

Fiach Dubh

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The young Padawan listened to Nykoria’s explanation of what she’d sensed and wondered – as no dount everyone else did – where and what the Vault was. But before she could voice her thoughts, Fiach heard the trap being sprung and was relieved that Nara was up to the challenge – even if she did activate the stone defence in the first place.

So, no harm done and a few more clues as to this place’s history were revealed. And, given the lull, Fiach was now able to ask the question that had been on her lips only a few moment’s ago. “Has anyone heard of this Vault or, is it common for Jedi outposts to have one? I mean, is this a vault with a small ‘v’ – just somewhere to keep things, or the Vault with a capital ‘V’ that is somewhere special and worthy of the definitive article?”

@Mr. Teatime @Charndley @Catbert @Hank Beast
 

Juniper

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Nara breathed, tensing as she held the ancient stone spear back with the Force. "I'm.... fine.... thanks..." she replied to Hannibal, grunting quietly as she used the Force to shift the spear aside. Carefully, she pushed until the spear was tilting to her side, before letting it drop. It still shot hard into the stone beneath them, sending a forceful thud through the ground. Enough to send dust spinning up into the air.

"There must be something. The Council wouldn't send all of us and a master along if they thought it was just a few documents or drives or anything." Normally, Nara would have guessed that something like this would've been picked over centuries ago. Or been razed to the ground by the Empire, back a hundred-and-odd years ago. "The traps are still primed, so unless people got in another way... chances are that something is still here. And we know so little about the Order of the past. Apparently, anyway. I wasn't sure so I asked Izel before we left." History wasn't her strong suit.

Nara continued on the path, being a good bit more careful now. Edging over the stone, being extra-careful to avoid any other pressure plates. Or trip-wires. Or live grenades. Well, you could never be too sure, right? It wasn't much further until they were heading into the larger room, the place opening up....

"Oh. Oh wow."


Going to try my first Storyteller post to describe the room. Fingers crossed!

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The Storyteller

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The hallway that they'd travelled through opened up into a vast hall, circular in shape. The rough-hewn, lightly curved walls extended into the darkness beyond. The room was so huge that even glowrods and droid-light couldn't penetrate all the way through it. Scraps of fabric and silk hung from long-empty spots on the wall, swaying lightly in the newly-arrived breeze.

Dominating the hall, standing right in front of them all as they entered, was an enormous statue. Once, it might have seemed grand. Luxurious, even. Alas, the centuries took their toll, even in the hidden isolation. Some form of mold covered the stone. Chips and cracks littered the work, with the detail slowly being eroded away or crumbling with age. Some small strips of burnished metal still remained, as if it'd once been clad or surrounded by some grander, brighter material. Even with the wearing, though, it was still fairly clear what the statue was meant to be.

Two Jedi. Sabers held in a Shii-Cho position. Stern looks on their faces as they stared at the new arrivals, bringing judgement from millenia ago.

Round the bottom of the statue, the stone was more marked. Scored, one could say. Slashes and strokes of darkened, almost-burned marks that criss-crossed everything. Some that'd been so deep that they'd lasted through all that time, just as if they'd been made the week before. A mound of bones blanketed the floor in front of the statue.

Around it, there were other signs of what once was. Broken fountains that hadn't seen water in lifetimes. Stone benches where Jedi of old sat, discussed and debated. Even signs of ancient computer systems, so old that they'd float away into dust with the slightest breeze. If any of the party focused deeply in the Force, or could call upon the power of Psychometry, they would be able to sense the bustle of a busy temple. The chatter, the friendships, the sense of peace.... then the worry, the sickness, the doubt. Falling into fear as the inevitable came for them all.

Hide it... they are coming... the Vault!

Towards the back of the hall, two openings beckoned, a small distance apart from one another. Left and right. Both seemed to still be clear, with little indication of what would lie beyond.

@Catbert @Mr. Teatime @Hank Beast @Corbeau
 

Nykoria Tallis

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With the trap handled, it was back to ground zero: follow in Nara's footsteps, keep your guard up, and be prepared for any sort of a trap. Luckily, the human Jedi didn't trigger any more of them. Why would the Jedi of old place so many traps? That definitely wasn't the case for the newer temple. Perhaps the Jedi of old had more enemies? That was the most logical conclusion. And unlike Nara, Kori had forgotten to consult Izel on the matter before going on the mission. Then she would've... Nara's awe caught Kori's attention, just as the hall itself.

So large that the glowrod couldn't shine out the opposite wall. Pretty much like the Temple on Onththo. Even the defenses reminded Nykoria of that one adventure where she had first met Nara. But this time, the decorations had a sense of beauty. And the sense of the place! For a moment, Kori forgot that she was at a dark derelict. The images, sounds, and emotions came to her without asking, as usual. And with the Jedi around, she didn't feel the need to ward them off. The only indication of Kori's daydream was that she was oblivious to any comments.

It was only when the spectrum shifted to the darker tones when Kori pulled herself back to "here and now" from "there and then". Not until hearing the glimpse of the Vault again. Fiach's question about it being a vault or the Vault came to the Zeltron's mind again. And honestly... did it matter? Even if it was a vault back then, it would be the Vault for the people of today. Not to mention that it was being brought up so many times.

The Zeltron ended up standing between the two pathways, clearly inclined to go down the left one. She turned to the Jedi accompanying her: "To split up or not to split up... That is the question. The last time I called for split-up, we ended up in a pinch." Somehow, the Zeltron also had a feeling that she had missed something in the room. Perhaps the other Jedi were more observant.

@Corbeau, @Mr. Teatime, @Hank Beast, @Charndley
 

Hannibal Grayza

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Hannibal stepped forward into the hall ahead, looking around the chamber. Faint and ancient whispers ran across his skin, emotions left by the dead and gone. Overlapped images, faceless shadows, and points of light, echoes of the end. The Jedi Master walked forward toward the statue and the pile of bones around it and looked at it for several seconds, examining the bones more so than the statue. His hands folded briefly in front of him by his waist, fingers interlocking.

"May you find peace in death," he said softly to the collection of ancient dead, then turned away from the statue. The ancient stone held no interest to him on its own, though he was sure Indy would love it if she was here. He walked instead over to the two pathways and Kori, taking a brief look down each hall.

"Don't split the party, rule of go left," he suggested, waving vaguely toward the leftmost hall. "We have no known time limit, do we? So splitting up seems unwise. S'just my opinion, natch."


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