Dusty Tomes (Jack Anderson)

[Grace Darkson]

As she opened her eyes, Grace let out a massive yawn, trying her best to focus. They had captured the Mandalorian warlord, and she had passed out. Now she was sitting in his chair, looking at the library room.

The shelves in front of her were covered in dust and tomes, old books caked in the powdery coat of time. She stood, pain shooting through her hip. She'd need to get that looked at, but it didn't matter. As she approached the shelf, she picked up a small book from the shelves. Sorcery. Frowning at the ancient sith, she continued to browse, each step she took making her limp more profound. Finally, she found the other book she wanted. A record of the feats of some long-dead sith, written in both basic and Sith. Satisfied, she returned to the chair to read.

 

[Jack Anderson]

Jack and the 701st remained on Krayiss II to hunt down any remaining pockets of resistance, and the library ruin turned bolt hole made for a good starting point and temporary headquarters, however something had been bugging him the whole time he was here, from the moment they crashed through the roof up until he left the building to put down some stragglers. However now he was back and so was that feeling, he an a couple of the officers talked and the solution offered was to talk to the dark sider that was still here, this ruin was made by them and since she followed at least a similar ideology she might be able to help.

After wandering the halls searching for [member="Grace Darkson"] he founder her reading one of the many books and babying her wounded leg. "Excuse me Miss Darkson, can you help me with something?"

 

[Grace Darkson]

The helpful thing about having something written in both basic and Sith was that the words that Grace didn't catch in the dead language could be guessed at from the living one. It wasn't perfect, but using it to brush up on the language was certainly helpful. As she read, the text got less and less interesting. It was about some minor Sith Lord, who had written this piece about his own great works so that 'The sith of the future would look on his works and despair.' And here it was, maybe the only copy, forgotten in an ancient library while the low and level dust stretched across the room. Frowning, she set the old manuscript aside and opened the book.

The tome's pages held a bit more interest to her, as they detailed the workings of Sith Sorcery and how thew functioned. While her former colleagues would kill for the manuscripts of long dead sith telling of their lives, and the no doubt countless other historical documents here, she hungered for the scraps of power she could ply from these texts on old spells. Who knew, there may be more than scraps.

"Excuse me Miss Darkson, can you help me with something?"

The intruder's voice shattered her revelry, and she looked up with annoyance, the almost hostile glare that began to form on her features quickly fading into a welcoming smile as she recognised him. "Colonel. What can I do for you?"

[member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Well, I'm not sure how to put this, but this place, it's got my mind all karked up, and well."

Jack paused and swallowed nervously, he hadn't stopped to think what he was going to say or the fact that he didn't know what the problem actually was.

​"Well you here the stories about places like this and how they can get into your head, ever since we got here there's been this over whelming pressure in the back of my mind, it's casing issues with my concentration and I've had to set up outside so I can get any sleep. Me and a few others spoke and figured that you belonging to the same order as the group that built this place you might have some sort of clue why it's happening, how to stop it, or why the rest of my men aren't affected."

It was good to get that off of his chest but merely bringing it up wasn't going to solve anything he had to hope Grace had some answers that could help him.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace looked almost bored at first, listening to his story. She knew that these dark-side temples gave feelings of unease in the weak-willed, and that this place was no exception. She could hear the whispers of the ancient sith around her. They wanted to know who this newcomer was, this figure who had the power but no darkness. Afraid to challenge them about it, she had been ignoring them, and they seemed to be content to leave her to her knowledge. Maybe the newcomer wasn't her, but some other Force Sensitive. "So you're the only one hearing these... Feeling this pressure?" She smiled, a wolfish look on his face. He had to be. The Spirits were better at telling this sort of thing than she was.

"You, dear Colonel, have access to the deadliest weapon in the Galaxy." She stood, wincing. "That pressure, in your head? It's not just pressure. It's the voices of long dead Sith, asking you, challenging you for your right to be in here." Taking another step forward, her face tightened in a grimace of pain. "Unless you plan on answering, I would recommend staying out of the temple."

[member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

The deadliest weapon in the galaxy? A challenge? Voices of long dead sith? Now the first part was something something he could get behind but the other two, well he hoped that Grace had some more answers for him.

"A challenge you say? I've never been one to back down from one of them. So what would be my next step? This clearly isn't the kind of problem you can solve with a blaster, so what do I have to do?"

The whole situation seemed kinda funny to him like the exact opposite of what you see in the holos, usually some kid with no direction in life finds out about this and goes to some wise old master who warns them about all the dangers of power, now here he was, a man set up with a plan for his life learning about the force from the usual quote unquote bad guy. Although this place was full of ancient knowledge and the perfect place to start learning.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

A smile crossed her face as [member="Jack Anderson"] responded. "This challenge may prove too much. Many have tried and failed before you, powerful Jedi Lords of old among them." She raised on of her hands in a sweeping motion, indicating the room around her. "If you listen hard enough, you can listen to the poor souls being torn apart by the guardian spirits." She paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. Turning around, she went back to her chair.

"I'd wager they're ignoring your men for one of two reasons." She continued to speak, her voice echoing slightly in the small chamber's walls. She sat somewhat heavily, the pain in her hip forcing her to rely on the chair more. "One: They simply don't care about them because they're not sensitive to the Force." Here she focused her eyes on the colonel, studying his reaction. "Or, more likely, Two: They're waiting for a response from their commander. After all, a leader holds the fate of his men in his hands, does he not?"

"The challenge is a test of worth; It looks for the traits that the Sith of old valued: Strength and Power, at any cost. The question is simply how much you would give up for your own gains. So, Colonel Jack Anderson, how much would you give up for access to unlimited power?"

 

[Jack Anderson]

"I'd give up anything, anything but my unit, after all what's the point of power if you can't use it to protect what you care about. Call it a weakness if you want, but at least it's one I have on my own terms." Jack narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

Jake was stubborn like that once he set onto something he would keep going until he succeeded or it killed him, and it was quite clear from her words that Jack was going to have to make a choice at some point and he sure as hell wasn't letting the 701st down. He refused to betray their trust and even if he was thinking in the terms put before him they were his base of power and to gave that up would be failure under their terms.

"So what is my next step? Should I sit and listen or is this some kind of endurance test, stay here and see if the pressure stops or I go mad first?"

If these long dead lords were going to make this about endurance, either mental or physical, Jack would not give up until he was physically unable to do so.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

So his troops were his weakness. One he wasn't willing to surrender. She wondered if them discussing this was being listened to by the Sith of old. If they were, that could end poorly. They may use the soldiers in some trial for the colonel. She wasn't sure she'd call that a necessary causality. Although if that was the only way to push him to his limit, than perhaps it would be required for him to unlock his potential.

"Simply trying to endure is a very good way to drive yourself insane." Her words came with a bite, as if she found the idea ridiculous. Sometimes she forgot most people didn't study these things as much as she did. "Close your eyes, and focus on the voices." She set the book she had been reading down. There would be time for reading later. Right now, she had a chance to create an asset to the Dominion.

Well, strengthen one, at least.

"Try and figure out what they're saying."

[member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

So he had to listen to them and see what they were saying, not the hardest test. Jack sat down on the floor and tried focus and clear his mind, only to have pressure intensify, he continued to focus on the pressure rather than what was going on around him it started to lessen and disappear entirely. A few moments passed, then minutes, just as Jack thought that nothing was going to happen he heard something.

K͏ųr̢i̴s bųt͢i̴ ́j'̶us͜?̕

Jack immediately focused in on it.

Ķa̛m bu͏t҉i ̡j'͘u҉s d̕arỳ st҉a͢i͠?

There it was again, he continued to try and focus again.

Z͘H̡O̴L̶ ̵A͜I̕ ̛TU'̶I̢E̡A̸ ͞TULS͟ D̨AB̡AR!̢

The volume that he hear it shocked him back into reality, Jack saw Grace, studying him, for lack of a better term.

He spoke up, "I heard them, I couldn't understand them, but I heard them."

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace watched [member="Jack Anderson"] as he closed his eyes, feeling him start to reach out to the Force. Good, she was right about his gift. He would hopefully not be devoured by them. As he started to focus on something, she began to lean forward, propping her forearms on her thighs as she studied his reactions. He was trying to figure out the the voices, it seemed. As they spoke, she heard whispers too indistinct to make out. Finally, he was jarred awake. A frown crossed her face. What had broken his concentration?

"Did they say something close to; Kuris buti sis?" The old Sith was more halting than she would have liked, but it was a rare thing for her to hear the language spoken aloud. After all, long dead languages were not often spoken, even in the collegiate circles. She studied his face looking for some reaction.

Hopefully, she wasn't completely wrong.

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Yes, YES! There was another one 'Cam butty jus dairy stay' and there was a third one but it was too loud and I didn't catch it. Jack stopped and took a deep breath. "What does it mean?"

Jack noticed that his head hurt something fierce, like he had a missive hangover and that his nose was starting to bleed as well.

​"That was pretty intense, now I see why you said an endurance test would be a bad idea."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of cloth and pinched nose in order to stop the bleeding, and thinking to himself when listening to the voices was going to do to him if just one little spinet did this to him. Jack got up off the floor and tipped his head back so the blood would stop quicker.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Leaning back,Grace raised a hand to her chin, her first few fingers curling around it as she thought. "Kam buti j'us dary stai." She corrected as his nose started to drip fresh blood. The spirits were questioning. They were lax, letting them in without a fight, without a test. Granted, she doubted that the soldiers had even tried reading the books here. Most wouldn't care about old manuscripts in a long forgotten library. Still, there was every chance they still would.

"They're asking who you are. What you're doing here." Her response was short, almost like she was only thinking of it in passing. Shaking her head, she twisted one of her hands before her, muttering, "Tym buti niekas. Jri koshűjontű ra nuriga." The words seemed to roll off her tongue, smoother than before. Something was helping her through them.

"Experiencing something that can tear the most powerful Jedi to shreds as your first go into the Force may not be the most comfortable, but it will, nonetheless be effective." She smiled, the warm look lasting for less than a moment before a blaster shot rang out through the temple. She started up, drawing her saber.

[member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

So they wanted to know why he was here, and who he was, not that unreasonable but he didn't really know how to answer that, especially because they were asking in an entirely different language and Jack did speak it, let alone actually communicate with the voices. Of course that wasn't going to be a problem as somewhere in the ruins a blaster shot rang out, then another, and another, Grace pulled out her saber and readied it Jack quickly followed suit with his DC-17m.

"Shall we?" Jack said as he moved towards door

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace simply listened, waiting. She gave a small nod to [member="Jack Anderson"], letting him go first. Her eyes flickered closed for a moment, feeling for what had happened.

Sis buti re stuyi. Dary nenx vim arsatkasi, yunoks Tsis.

She shuttered, the voice echoing inside her skull. He had to do this. He needed to. Or they may kill his troops. Still, she wondered if he could do it alone. As she moved to leave the room, she muttered, "Buti Nu leisti kia tarnas jis?"

Sis buti re stuyi. Dary nenx vim arsatkasi.

Sighing, she moved to follow. She would advise him as best she could. But it seemed her help would be in short supply.

 

[Jack Anderson]

Grace began to act strange, rather than take point like he'd expected, being able to deflect bolts and the like being a great advantage, that, and before leaving the room she stopped to mutter to herself, or maybe to respond to the voices.

Speaking of which Jack stopped to listen, not with his ears, but with his mind, "Stuyi. Stuyi. Stuyi. Stuyi."

Strangely the voices were more clear this time. 'Thanks for all the help', he thought to himself before switching over to stun, it would be bad form to kill his potential teacher if he didn't need to, not that he wouldn't do it if he needed to. His life came first, followed by those of his men, everyone else was after that.

"Hey, Grace you mind taking point? Being able to deflect bolts is far more useful in front rather than back there."

That, and if the she was working with, or under the influence of, the voices he could better keep an eye on her if she was in the front.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Dary nenx vim arsatkasi. The phrase reverberated in her skull, pounding on the inside of her mind like a hammer. She shook, each step to follow [member="Jack Anderson"] more difficult than the last. Dary nenx vim arsatkasi. She know she couldn't help him, but, at least, she wanted to see. Dary nenx vim arsatkasi. Her saber dropped from her grip, and her hands shot to grasp her skull.

Pekitmi?

The voice in her head was quiet, almost as if it was shocked. Zeji. The spirit replied, and she could see again. The pressure was gone, and Jack was asking her to take point. "I can't. I'm not allowed to intervene. This is your test."

Almost as she spoke, a pair of troops turned the corner, rifles raised. Around their heads, Grace could see what looked like crimson halos, connected to what looked like ropes. As the first bolts flew at Jack, she wondered if he could see the halos.

 

[Jack Anderson]

Part of his test, wait what? Did that mean that the ruins weren't under attack, or was Grace just going crazy. Of course Jack didn't have time to think as a pair of bolts flew his way, flicking back to lethal he was about shoot when he say that it was his his own men.

"Jacobs, Mathew, stand down it's just me."

The only response that prompted was another pair of bolts right by his face, so it was treason. Jack had little remorse for traitors and sent blue bolts streaking towards them.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace watched, unmoved, as the bolts from the possessed soldiers whizzed past her head. Instinctively, she called the saber to her hand, the crimson blade flickering on.

Zeji.

The word shook her head, and it took most of her effort to remain standing. As she started to reply, [member="Jack Anderson"]'s rifle barked twice, and a pair of blaster bolts streaked across the room. As she watched, the bloody halos each wore faded, and looks of shock crossed the first man's face moments before it was burned away. The second's face looked to his commander with a look of understanding as the bolt slammed into his chest. The force of the blast knocked him backwards into the nearby wall, a black hole burning through his chest.

"Colonel..." the soldier whispered, his voice fading.

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Traitor."

That was all Jack had to say to the man before putting him down, a clean shot between the eyes the make sure the kill was clean, he didn't want to give him another chance to shoot, now he needed some answers from Grace, it was quite clear she was in in this in some way.

Jack spun and pointed his blaster at her, "Alright, put the saber down or I shoot. Now I don't know much about how this temple works but I know that you are involved somehow. I also know that you are going to start talking now, or you aren't going to talk anymore."

Jack activated his comm, "Pull out of the temple, now, drop what you are doing and leave."

He could feel his temper rising through out the entire engagement, reaching it's zenith at this point, he was so mad that everything started to become clear, he could see the minor movements in Grace's sabre before they were happening and the voices were coming back <Stuyi Test Stuyi Test Stuyi Test> but this time he could hear something distinctly basic, or at least so he though, it was to low to make out but it was clearly there, around him rocks started flying off the ground, although Jack was too focused to notice.

[member="Grace Darkson"]