Dust in the Wind

[Zef Halo]

Belkadan...

The very little left of the Infinite Empire's presence...

The thick rain forest obscured Dagon's view, every next large leaf he pushed away from his face could lead to all sorts of surprises. Not with the Force though. It gave him limitless sight and awareness of his surroundings. With every step he took, the padawan could feel the ground becoming harder. When his feet started feeling like they were striking cement rather than mud, he knelt to touch the ground. It was indeed a floor of some sort. Or perhaps a roof ? The broker he had acquired the information about the location of these ruins was right. At least partially. There was something here, alright but was it what the Jedi was looking for ?

Time to find out.

Gathering the Force he hurled his hands downwards sending an invisible and strong wave that struck the hard ground and it gave in. A sound of screeching metal and a millennia old smell greeted him. Whatever was within this structure, Dagon did not know. He only hoped it would contain what he was seeking. Only pure logic led him to the conclusion that he might find it here. Whether the Force was helping him or not, the padawan had no idea but he knew that he had to try. So much knowledge lost had to be reclaimed.

 

[Zef Halo]

Surprisingly, the interior of whatever this structure was remained more intact than it was supposed to. Perhaps this rain forest was rarely visited for any reason at all in the last couple of centuries. From what Dagon knew about ships, he could momentarily reject this being a ship. Yet, he remained uncertain. If this indeed belonged to the Rakata than he would have no idea whether it was a ship or not. The Jedi had no knowledge about the starships of the Infinite Empire. Halting for a bit, the padawan tapped deeply into the Force to sense his surroundings. Nothing from the natural life forms that existed in decay could be detected. Yet, Dagon remained alert.

Cages.

The steel was rusty and possibly would turn to dust if Dagon only touched it but this definitely had the form of a cage. A large cubical shaped cage. The padawan's flashlight went further forward seeing more and more cages. A chill ran through his back as his flashlight paused on a taint on the wall. Very slowly the Jedi approached it. A barely visible symbol, half faded but easily recognizable. The outlandish symbol of the mysterious Rakata. The information broker was correct. This belonged to the Rakata. The cages made sense now.

Slave Pens.

 

[Zef Halo]

Despite the fact that this had not been used well over twenty thousand years, it still made the Jedi Padawan feel uneasy. Now, every step he took seemed to echo unnaturally. His mind began playing tricks on him by imagining the people's fates here. Servants with no will. Bound to ruthless masters to do their bidding, no purpose of their own to follow. The hideous pictures in his mind led him towards a door that had fallen off revealing what seemed to be a hall. Tables were tossed around along with their chairs, spherical holes in the walls were common. Had there been a revolt ? What had happened here ? The uneasiness within grew more and more as he walked through the hall towards a door that was still standing.

Then it struck.

His complete view changed, dragged into one of his own visions again. An alien figure entering the door, turning his face towards where Dagon stood, it revealed the face of a trandoshan. Immediately after the scenery once again changed with the appearance of a fight. Blood splattered everywhere as slaves fought their Rakata masters. Savagery that the Jedi had never seen before, he witnessed in this vision of the past. Abruptly, he was thrown back into reality. His knees on the ground while the Jedi tried to catch his breath. Dagon went directly for his lightsaber, activating it as he entered a battle stance. The shock of the short vision drew him to act on instincts. He slowly came back to his senses, deactivating the lightsaber and looking straight at the door.

That was the way.

 

[Zef Halo]

Slowly, Dagon proceeded towards the standing door at the end of the battle torn hall. His heart beat fast, the vision he had received had great impact on his composure, as always. The Jedi was in complete tunnel vision, his sight and senses only focused on the door ahead of him. The same door he had seen that Trandoshan enter in his visions. It sprung so many questions that he could not answer. Only one thing was certain - the Trandoshan had nothing to do with the vision of the Rakata and their slaves. Could he be right then ? Could it be here ? Something told him that through that door he would find out.

Again.

As if time stopped and he saw himself entering the door only to trigger an explosion resulting in his death. Dagon returned from his 'journey into the future' and stopped abruptly before even touching the door. Who had done this and why ? Was it actually true ? Dagon did not want to find out but now he was more than ever certain that was he was looking for would be here. Why, otherwise, would someone booby trap era-long abandoned slave pens ? The Jedi caressed his chin thinking of a way to enter the door without possibly bringing the whole roof on his head. There had to be a way in. Without the outcome being his death.