Private Eliphas Dune and the Temple of Legume

[Lief]

He had happened upon the ruin quite by accident.​

​

As usual their benefactor had tacked on yet another stop on his crazy journey through the stars, and once more they touched down within the less populated regions of a world. Ossus was filled with wonders, a known port of call and oftentimes in history a pilgrimage of sorts for Jedi, there were mountains tall and forests vast and it was within the latter which he'd found it. Some sort of temple in its prime, it had been mostly reclaimed by the earth. Vines coiled up and around the massive stones which formed the bulk of its structure, wildflowers sprouted through the soil which had been brushed across its pavers, and the continual sound of birdcall and animals could be heard throughout the sheltered clearing.​

​

Whether the structure belonged to the Jedi or one of the original civilizations he could not say for sure. Though he had researched the planet in its entirety, the specific geographical locations were still very new to him. There hadn't been a tonne of warning as to this stop even being a thing, and with his many duties onboard The Atale it was surprising he'd been able to make time to study at all. Yet here he was, utilizing his limited time off to explore. The day Eliphas ignored his innate call to adventure would be the day he was no longer himself.​

​

As he approached what looked to be the entrance he noticed that the vines which had fallen over it were slightly disturbed. He reached for the blaster pistol holstered at his waist, wary of any larger beasty which may be calling the temple home, and followed the trampling signs of life into the entrance chamber. All thoughts of checking for danger vanished as soon as he stepped indoors, though; it was beautiful. A venerable treasure trove, a moment frozen in time, the temple had remained intact on the interior just as it had been left, with only more of those creeping vines to distinguish the passage of time. Bookshelves filled with datacrons and holobooks, sofas and chairs, a staircase following the natural curvature of one of the walls to the right. There was even signs of a meal never finished upon one of the tables, a plate complete with some sort of petrified pulse if he had to hazard a guess.​

​

It was both mesmerizing and eerie all at once. What had caused them to leave so suddenly? He checked his chronometer, all too aware of how little time he really had to make the most of this mystery, and then let out a sigh. One day he'd be on his own time, one day he could explore without haste.​

​

But today was not that day.​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

And there he was again. Ossus. It was a world which he had visited on numerous occasions in the past. The last time he was there was, by far, the least pleasant visit of them all. The memories of the defence of the Jedi temple against the seemingly infinite floods of Sith Eternal troops still lived vividly in his mind. The Concord had won the battle that day - but it still lost the planet further down the line. Fighting both Bryn and Sith at the same time was no easy task. But then, neither of those foes had the same presence in the galaxy now as they did back then.

Today, he was on Ossus for a different reason. Mathieu walked through the forest at a high pace. Making his way through intense shrubbery and dense tree formations. Dry leaves brushed against his boots, creating a soft scratching sound as he walked. Mathieu had been sent to investigate an old temple. The Sith had a bad habit of destroying Jedi temples. It had happened on Voss and from what he had understood, it had happened on Ossus too. But the Temple of Legume was rumoured to have survived. It was a lesser known temple that had seen few visitors over the last decades or perhaps even centuries - Mathieu didn't know for sure. Regardless, it was good to know that it was hard, even for beings as evil and brutal as the Sith, to completely wipe something out.

It was hard to sense much of value in the middle of the forest. It brimmed with life and activity. Of course, most of it came from beasts and critters, but it still created a web of activity that was hard for him to look past. Even then, it was clear that he was getting near the temple. Mathieu stopped for a moment, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead and taking in the peaceful chirping of the birds. Only then did he see the stone walls of the temple behind the leaves and branches. They were clad in beautiful but modest murals.

His brows furrowed as he moved closer. The normal pure peacefulness that could usually be felt around a Jedi temple were distorted. Corrupted, even. Concern spread across his mind as he wondered what it might be. Was he simply imagining things or was something seriously wrong? Regardless, the large Morellian would allow his hand to move back towards his bag - the explosives were there. In the worst case scenario became realised, he knew what would have to be done. But first: Hope.

After a quick sweep outside of the temple, Mathieu would enter with a hand close by his belt where his sabre hung. If he could see Eliphas inside, a careful approach would be taken - beginning with a somewhat friendly and quite awkward "Hey! What are you?"

 

[Lief]

Murals extended to the interior of the Temple, and though they did not depict any sort of specific scape or being they were writhe with emotion and colour all the same. He traced one of them with his gaze as he ventured further inside, sunlight spilling in through a gap in the atrium's roof the only light provided. It was strange to be in such a place, in fact he felt as though a veritable heartbeat was thumping through the place, so thick with life it was. But that was silly, because there was no way he could feel such things.​

​

It was obviously all within his head.​

​

The sight of muddy prints on some of the tiles returned his focus to the possible threats housed within. Gaze shifted this way and that as he tried to find the source, the prints themselves being rather large and taloned. He tried to think back to all he had read of this world, and wondered if perhaps the Temple had not become a den for Kirruk...​

​

Surely not. They were large reptiles, often used as mounts. They'd have smashed the place up.​

​

But if not Kirruk then what?​

​

Eliphas wished he'd spent a little more time researching.​

​

He was pulled from his thoughts rather abruptly by the sound of lighter footsteps, and swiveled on the spot with his blaster raised toward the target. No beast, no reptile, just a boy several years his senior. The question which was sent his way had Eliphas perk one brow in confusion. He had asked 'What', not 'Who'... What kind of person asked such a strange question?​

​

"Uh... Human?" came his incredulous response, accompanied by the slow lowering of his blaster. He didn't holster it yet, because who knew if he was in danger still or not. "I'm Eliphas Dune, of Empress Teta. Who are you?" Who, not what... Eliphas wasn't a savage, after all.​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Having a blaster pointed at you was hard to get used to. Even after so many battles and odd encounters throughout the years, Mathieu still didn't like being in the position he was in. Still, he managed to keep his composure as they were still at a comfortable distance and with his heavy armour under the outer robes, he felt somewhat more safe. With that, it was possible to focus on talking, rather than escalating the situation.

A human. Mathieu raised an amused brow, almost mirroring the stranger. The answer revealed more than just his species, it also revealed that he did not seem to associate much with any particular category of human. He could have been a historian, an adventurer or - importantly - a Sith. Any of those could still not be excluded completely but at least they weren't the first thing that came to mind. Reflecting on the tone, Mathieu made a mental note to work on a better question for the future, however. Perhaps this did not make for the best first impression.

"Eliphas Dune" he whispered the name under his breath to get a feel for it. "Well met" the words were accompanied with a friendly smile. With a fair degree of carefulness, Mathieu opened his palm and extended his arm whilst taking a few steps forth. Shaking hands was in order - but then, it was not quite as pleasant when the stranger still seemed to hold on so tightly to his blaster.

"Mathieu. Just Matt is fine too. We're a far way from Empress Teta. What brought you all the way out here?" The question was a bit of a gamble, seeing as he had no clear idea of where the planet - or system, or moon or whatever it was - was located. It was the bane of not paying enough attention during class all those years ago. But at least he was fairly convinced that it was somewhere in or near the Core.

 

[Lief]

Though he held the blaster with a certain level of confidence, Eliphas was uneasy with the idea of actually firing it. He'd shot it countless times in practice, but he'd never had cause to loose any rounds in a real situation like this. Thankfully it seemed as though he wouldn't be required to now either. The other man reached out a hand, seemingly intent on shaking it by way of greeting, and after a moment of trying to make sure that it wasn't some sort of ruse to lower his guard he extended out his own and shook.​

​

The other boy introduced himself as Mathieu, and claimed he could simply be called Matt. Being raised in a setting of formality made him waver toward the former all the same, and as he inclined his head in greeting he called upon it instead of the nickname. "Well met, Mathieu."​

​

His statement on how far they were from Teta certainly held some truth, and was a fact that Eliphas hadn't ignored during his now lengthy absence from home. One day he'd see his family again, one day this damned assignment would end, but until then he'd enjoy the adventure it brought, and the worlds he was able to unearth.​

​

"I'm a junior navigator for a Tetan vessel, Ossus is just one of many stops we've made since leaving home. As for why I'm here? Shore leave can be frightfully boring, so I like to use it as an excuse to explore." He glanced over the boy, then gestured at their surroundings. "Fascinating, isn't it? I almost missed it given how nature has reclaimed this place. What about you? What are you doing here?"​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Having spent so much time in what used to be the core of the Sith Empire, Mathieu had grown more hesitant of revealing that he was a Jedi. On many planets, it was far from popular and could - at times - be rather deadly. Ossus, however, was somewhat different. It had been under the control of the Concord for some time before falling into the hands of the Sith, meaning that fewer had been pushed towards pro-Imperial sentiments than on so many other planets. Eliphas also seemed harmless enough as he probably hailed from the core and did not appear to be armed with much more than a blaster pistol. Having spent some time as a Mercenary, Mathieu could see that the stranger appeared to be familiar with how to use a blaster but that was hardly unexpected in the tumultuous galaxy that they lived in. And so, Mathieu decided that it couldn't hurt all too much to talk to the self-declared human somewhat openly.

"I was sent here to corroborate reports that the Temple had been untouched by the Sith during their occupation." Mathieu looked around. At first glance, it appeared to be intact. At least as intact as an ancient and abandoned temple could reasonably be expected to be. But he still had a tingling sense of unease about the place. Something was wrong, distorted. Whether there was corruption there or not, he couldn't tell. But whatever it was, it made it hard to feel truly at peace.

"It might have some visitors but it looks tranquil enough" he said, taking a few steps forth to face the path that lead deeper into the construct. Thus, he moved past some of the beast's footsteps whilst momentarily exposing his back to the navigator. "But something just feels off" Mathieu turned to look back at Eliphas whilst trying to think of how to explain it. "It's as if there's this ominous buzz that you just can't get rid off".

He took a couple more idle steps. The temple would have to be explored in order to truly understand what it was that he sensed.

 

[Lief]

Though the words were never really uttered, Eliphas soon picked up on the puzzle pieces Mathieu was putting down. As with Starlin Rand on Alderaan, and later the stowaway Marus Saretti , he had found himself slap back in the path of a Jedi... Or at the very least something akin to a Jedi. It wasn't exactly unknown that Ossus was one of many homeworlds of that particular Order, that their presence here predated the Sith in more recent years. For as little research as the boy had done into this world prior to landing, even he had discovered that much.​

​

Who else would care if such a Temple had been corrupted?​

​

Just why it was that the strands of fate continually pulled him toward such individuals, he felt certain he'd never know. He could have turned and walked away, after all in recent weeks he'd certainly done his duty toward the Order most revered by his ship's Captain. He didn't though, instead he glanced around as Mathieu explained the niggling sensation he was getting that something was off, and therein began to nod his head.​

​

"There's definitely signs of something having made this place home," he remarked, not bothering to voice his own sense of unease. As a mere human, as he'd put it, it likely wasn't more than mere intuition, that small slither of a bygone age when human was more closer to untamed animal than anything dignified. The prickling of hairs on the back of one's neck, the sinking feeling in one's stomach.​

​

That was all natural, wasn't it?​

​

"We could always take a look," he offered, finally holstering the blaster. There was no way he'd ever take on a Jedi this way, if he even wanted to. And he didn't. Eliphas held no ill will to the Jedi Order, if anything he admired them. They were mysterious and mystical and fascinating, and in so far as he could tell they tended toward doing good in the Galaxy.​

​

What wasn't to like?​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Although it was not immediately clear to Mathieu what Eliphas referred to, it was easy enough to figure out when he retraced where the navigator had just looked. Footsteps belonging to some kind of beast. It was a good observation and the prints seemed recent enough to still be of relevance.

Mathieu's shoulder dropped a little as he allowed himself to somewhat lower his guard. The blaster was holstered, making it hard to make any other interpretation than the two of them having reached some level of trust. He nodded "We could" There was a sense of hesitation in his voice but silence ensued regardless whilst he pondered on his concerns.

Ultimately, it was always safer to be open and honest. After all, who would be better to assess the risks than Eliphas himself? "I imagine that whatever beasts resides here should be more or less tranquil. The light side can have a pacifying effect on many - even if it doesn't override their basic instincts and nature." Mathieu paused for a moment as his forehead furrowed "But if the temple has been tainted it might have made whatever lives in here more aggressive."

The question could be detected if the navigator read between the lines. It was even more clear to the large Morellian who thought back to the officers who staffed Chaussidier's bridge. They were utterly competent at their jobs and could analyse data, communicate, strategize and carry out complicated orders at a level which Mathieu could only dream of reaching himself - but they were also a far throw from able combatants. "Are you sure you want to come along?"

 

[Lief]

His newfound companion seemed dubious of the fact that whatever had made the Temple home could possibly be nefarious in nature, and yet even so he himself had been contemplating the slightly more darkened aura the location held. Not that Eliphas could sense that, he didn't know how to sense Force related matter. All he knew was that something was off. And something was there with them, though perhaps far deeper than they were.​

​

"Is it tainted?" he asked curiously, though he knew that Matt could easily lie to him to make him feel better or to exaggerate the dangers therein, if he wanted to. Again, Eliphas had no clue. "I think it's worth checking out; I'm sure. If nothing else I get to explore more of the Temple, so that's a win-win isn't it?"​

​

For Eli it was. And if it helped Matt make his surveys of the place to report back to the higher ups? Then surely that would be good too!​

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He pulled the blaster from its holster again, though this time it was simply just to have it on hand. He did not aim it at anything or anyone in particular... Which was definitely for the better because boy did he not have the faintest desire to loose a single shot.​

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"Uh... This way then, I guess. That's where the tracks go, at least." He headed off toward a doorway to the left, where the pawprints led.​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Is it tainted? "Possibly" Mathieu didn't know. Whenever he tried to reach out through the force and sense if there was indeed a dark presence there or not, he wouldn't get much in return. There was this underlying feeling that something was off but the root cause of it was unknown to him. Still, he did not usually get this weary in a Jedi temple "Something isn't right" he concluded and smirked "Who knows? Maybe it's the feng shui"

It was encouraging that Eliphas appeared to be rather adventurous and focused on the positives. To Mathieu, it wounded convincing. It was indeed a win-win. Perhaps it would be less of a win-win if they got bit but that could be prevented. Hopefully. He nodded with a somewhat enthusiastic "Yeah"

Mathieu observed his newfound ally drawing his blaster once more. This time to ward against potential beasts. The previous time to ward against Mathieu himself. It was possible that Eliphas was simply used to more rowdy elements where being armed and being able to shoot first was the best way to ensure safety. But then, it was also possible that, maybe Eliphas too, could sense that something wasn't right.

Focusing on the present, the Jedi nodded once more before joining the navigator towards the doorway to the left. A small chamber of just a few square metres could be found beyond. It was filled with old pottery, some of it smashed. "All the lids are off" he noted and concluded "Probably looters" as he slowly moved through the room.

A staircase with stone steps could be found on the other end, leading down deeper into the old structure. The walls weren't filled with elaborate decorations but were instead rather plain. Perhaps they had once been painted but those colours would have been lost to time by now. With the duo getting deeper down, the natural light stemming from various cracks in the roof and generous windows would start to become more scarce. It was still possible to see without much difficulty for the time being, however. With his thoughts wandering back to his previous observation, Mathieu asked "What kind of ship do you serve on?"

 

[Lief]

Feng Shui... Good one. Eliphas shook his head, a smile unable to keep from tugging at the corners of his lips.​

​

Matt seemed to confirm his own concerns about the place, though he remained rather hesitant to say anything for a definite. Was he covering his back in case he was wrong, or was he really just unsure? Was there more going on than even the Force could perceive? He supposed he didn't have the foggiest, after all he wasn't some trained Jedi. He was just a lowly cabin boy.​

​

Thankfully he seemed onboard with exploring. Awesome! It was always nice not to have to spend every waking hour of shore leave alone, to meet others in these strange new worlds they visited. He supposed he could have asked another crewmember to join him on his adventures, but he already spent so much time with them all that it was rather suffocating at times. And Yara didn't exactly have any free time, there weren't enough members of the medical staff for such luxuries.​

​

He allowed the Jedi to lead the way, more than happy to take up the rear and watch for anything out of the ordinary. The blaster was held with a careful grasp, some might argue a timidity. Shooting some wild animal would thankfully not be the same as shooting a fellow man, at least. And all the evidence thusfar had led to the notion that whatever they were sharing the temple with was wild. The tracks were certainly belonging to no sentient he knew of.​

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Not that Eliphas knew every sentient race in existence.​

​

The chamber beyond was not so highly decorated as the entrance room had been. It also wasn't quite so undisturbed. Looters had seemingly gotten into this section, which begged the question of why the main had been overlooked. He didn't get much time to ponder it before a question was posed his way, and the pair made their descent down a set of stairs into increasing darkness.​

​

"We belong to the Tetan Navigators Guild," he explained, his words somewhat dampened by the thicker walls now surrounding them in order to hold back the earth which pushed in on the basement. "Our vessel was commissioned by a benefactor hoping to reach Gala... But he's proven fickle. Apparently there was more on his itinerary than he'd initially let on."​

​

A longer journey than any of them had signed up for. Oh joyous joys.​

​

The stairs ended at a smaller chamber than the one above, with a series of doors. One of them had not been closed properly, and the footsteps led toward it. Inside came a sound that could only really be described as snuffling, which led him to wonder if they hadn't stumbled upon some sort of boarish beasty.​

​

Mathieu Brion​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

They lived in a vast galaxy. The Tetan Navigators Guild was not something Mathieu had heard of before he met Eliphas. Still, it sounded respectable enough for a tame "Nice! Sounds good." The behaviour of the benefactor sounded problematic. Mathieu offered his newfound mate a sympathetic smile "Had a few employers like that. Used to do mercenary work before I found out that I was force sensitive." He shared that last piece of information, figuring that the context would probably make it a bit easier to understand. A mischievous grin grew on his lips "Ever considered just dumping that benefactor of yours?" Obviously, it wasn't all too realistic, but he was quite familiar with the temptation.

As they neared the end of the staircase, Mathieu grew quiet - there was something nearby. They could hear its grunts and snuffles which meant that it might also be able to hear them, had they continued talking all the way down. Without igniting it, Mathieu drew his lightsabre - the sounds that came from the chamber were far from peaceful. In fact, they seemed a bit agitated.

Once they were in the small chamber at the bottom of the staircase, Mathieu looked to the open door and then to Eliphas. If combat was upon them, this would probably be roughly when it would commence. It made sense for Mathieu to move first, seeing as he was the one in heavy armour with a melee weapon. Slowly and quietly, he stepped closer to the doorway until he saw what - or who - was inside. His palm shot out towards the Navigator before he mouthed the word "Gamorrean"

With its back turned against them, they could see the massive alien trying to pry a vault door open. The metallic construct appeared to be much newer than the rest of the temple but it was clear that it had been untouched for at least a few years. While relatively plain in its design, it did have a panel with inscriptions commonly used by Sith. Mathieu recoiled a little - not from the stench of the Gamorrean they had found but from the unpleasant chill that coursed through him when seeing the inscriptions and standing so near the vault.

"Hey!" he said, catching the attention of the new figure. The Gamorrean quickly turned and grabbed the huge battle axe that previously stood leaning against the wall next to the vault door. When standing at her full height, she towered over both humans "<You put the fright in me>" she exclaimed, her voice rough and aggressive. To Mathieu, however, it only came out as grunts and sniffles. Realising what might be wrong, he quickly checked his universal translator and noticed that it seemed to have encountered and error. "I can't understand a word she's saying" he whispered.

Apparently not approving of being kept out of the loop, the alien raised a trunk-like arm to point at the Jedi "<Hey, I'm standing right here. What are you up to? It doesn't matter. I found this vault first, whatever is inside belongs to Latergh, me.>" Obviously not needing to use the blaster that hung by her belt, the large Gamorrean pointed her battleaxe at the two men "<You should leave.>"

 

[Lief]

Eliphas chuckled to the comment of dumping the benefactor, though he knew he shouldn't have. A smile lingered upon his lips for a short while after too, even after he shook his head. "Sadly a contract is a contract," he explained, understanding full well that the man had of course been joking. Besides, he was just a lowly cadet. Wasn't as though he could influence such, even if he had wanted to. "At least I'm getting paid to do it," he offered with a shrug. "And the more stops he makes us do, the more he's forced to pay us. So it isn't all bad."​

​

Still, he hadn't seen his home in what felt like an eternity at this point. It was supposed to be a quick one. A way for him to dip his toes into the scene without having to fully commit yet. See if he liked it. Instead he'd been thrown into the deep end. Typical, wasn't it? Just typical.​

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"If he wasn't like this though, I wouldn't have seen so many interesting places either." Some of the experiences he'd had since leaving Empress Teta had been less than agreeable, sure, but it kept away the stagnation. He'd always felt like he was destined more than the beauty of their home. More than the same old routine day in, day out.​

​

When his companion fell silent, so too did Eliphas. He watched as the Jedi - Eliphas had since deduced that he had to be a Jedi, right? - crept forward. Even had a lightsaber in his hand. Definitely a Jedi. One word was mouthed, plainly enough that he could understand what the other was getting at. Gamorrean... Cool!​

​

From his vantage the boy couldn't quite see as much as Matt, so he had no clue about the vault. He crept a little closer, blaster in his grasp but not yet raised. Surely a fellow sentient could be reasoned with, after all. Jedi spoke, Gamorrean replied. Eliphas wasn't the best with languages, but he wasn't terrible either. He'd been groomed for leadership, even if it wasn't to take over governance of House Dune. It took him a few delayed seconds to sort of figure out what was being said.​

​

"I uh, think you scared her?" his brows furrowed. "That or she finds you really attractive..." Nah, couldn't be that. Context, Eliphas. Context. He shook his head, blinked, and listened again as she uttered more words. "Something about standing... She wants to know who you are?" No, that wasn't right. Gah, so much more difficult to do this in real time. He had picked up on one thing though. "Latergh..." He glanced over at the woman. "Is that your name, Latergh?" That battle axe was looking awfully sharp...​

​

"She wants us to leave. I think... No, no I'm pretty sure I'm right on this one. She says it's hers."​

​

Eliphas had a bad feeling about this.​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Eliphas seemed like a 'glass-half-full' kind of guy. At least judging by his views on the rather obnoxious patron and the consequences that their obnoxiousness brought. It was something which would probably do them good as they had to interact with the Gamorrean - apparently without any functioning translator devices.

Mathieu let out a short "Sorry" upon hearing that he might have scared her whilst also supressing a chuckle on Eliphas' other theory on what she said. But then - if he was right, 'sorry' wasn't the best response. He added a quick whisper like "I think" for good measure.

Deciding not to interrupt any of them, the Jedi then stayed silent, listening carefully to the Navigator's live translation of what the alien said. It was clear that he wasn't fluent in whatever language the Gamorrean spoke but it was far better than nothing. At first, she seemed pleasant enough, enquiring about who they were and presenting herself as Latergh. But then she told them to leave and that she had claimed the vault. Mathieu looked to her with concerned eyes upon hearing it and took a quick step back as she pointed the battleaxe at them.

"I am Mathieu Brion. I'm a Jedi" he said, putting his free hand by his chest as he introduced himself. He paused allowing Eliphas to introduce himself too. Whether he did or not, Latergh would shrug in response "<I don't care what your names are. I came here first. That's what matters.>"

The Jedi looked to his companion with a puzzled expression. The translator was still malfunctioning which meant that it was still all sniffles and grunts that he heard. What he did see was a shrug. Pushing on, he spoke once more "That vault - I think it might be corrupted. There are markings of the Sith on it. I want to cleanse it so that noone gets hurt."

That apparently agitated the massive Gamorrean as she took a step forth "<No! This is mine. I don't care about your religious wars. Whatever is inside belongs to me. If there's something in there that's looking to hurt me, that's my business.>" she said as she threw a glance at the battleaxe "<And probably the business of my axe too>"

This time, instead of backing away, Mathieu stood his ground. Without letting his eyes leave her, he spoke to his ally "What do you think?" He was asking for input but in truth, he was hoping that Eliphas could talk the alien down. Right now, his attention needed to be on how to handle the massive Gamorrean if she decided that throwing them out was preferable to convincing them to leave. Besides - not being capable of understanding a word that was being said, conducting any real talks was hard.

 

[Lief]

Eliphas stood somewhat on the sidelines, eyes shifting between boy and Gamorrean, as he tried to keep up with his clumsy translations. His brows furrowed a little in the process, free hand - that is, the one not presently grasping a blaster pistol - fidgeted some, the thumb flexing over fingers and palm to ease his rising anxiety.​

​

"She doesn't seem to care about the risks," he paraphrased, "I think she's expecting a physical threat, though. Said her axe will deal with it?" Something like that anyway. A good enough approximation he hoped.​

​

The boy shook his head. Matt looked to him for some sort of help, and at first his mind drew blanks. Then he stopped trying to mediate and stepped forward himself, looking directly at the battle axe wielding woman.​

​

"Corruption," he reiterated the Jedi's word back to the woman, "You can't hit it with an axe, Miss. Whatever lies inside might leave you cursed for all eternity. Is that really worth it?" He paused. Pondered. Then reached into his pocket and pulled out the credit chits he had on hand. It wasn't a mountain of wealth, but also not a small penny either.​

​

"Here, you can have these. You can even stand back and watch as my friend here deals with the vault. So you know we aren't trying to swindle you. We just want to make sure the Temple is safe... We don't want anyone getting hurt, that's all. And if this is left to its own devices, it will hurt a lot of people."​

​

He didn't know if that last part was true. It didn't matter though, he hoped it would touch on some of her... humanity? Did that phrase work with so distinctly non-human aliens? Either way.​

​

Eliphas had seen some of the corrupting nature of the Force first hand alongside Starlin Rand on Alderaan. What a scary experience that had been, caught up in a witches web of illusions. It had been his first real taste of what was out there, and he didn't really want their Gamorrean friend to have to find out the hard way too.​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

An interested eyebrow rose as Mathieu peered over to his companion. Maybe he was on to something. Latergh obviously thought that the danger inside the vault could be found in the physical realm but the true danger was - just as Eliphas pointed out - that of the corrupting effects of the - possibly - dark artefacts that could be found inside.

Latergh appeared to be rather interested too - she allowed her battleaxe to drop a little. While her guard was not down, she seemed considerably less tense and prone to lashing out at them. He interest in what the Navigator had to say increased further as he brought out the credits from his pocket. She slowly extended her free arm while eyeing both Eliphas and Mathieu carefully, weary of it being a trick. Once her meaty hand had grabbed for the credits that Eliphas held out, she carefully looked at them as if it would be a valid inspection, all while listening to the Navigator's continued argument. Mathieu too, listened to his ally's thoughts - concerned about the offer to let her stay. For in truth, he wasn't quite sure how to get the vault open when brute force obviously did not appear to work.

Holding the credits tightly in her large fist, Latergh's attention turned to Mathieu "<What about you?>"

Mathieu responded with a confused expression, not having the slightest idea of what she just said or asked.

The massive Gamorrean let out an annoyed grunt - there she was, understanding their basic while one of them did not appear to have any interest in her language whatsoever. Instead of waiting for the competent one to translate, she simply waved her fist about before pointing to where Mathieu's belt where most of his pockets could be found.

Getting the gist of it, he let out an "Oh" before reaching into his pocket and producing the credit chits he had on him.

Once more, Latergh tried to inspect the credits before shifting her battleaxe. With a loud thud, she shoved the end of the long pommel down onto the floor, indicating that she wasn't going to have a swing at them. At least for the time being. "<Fine. But I'm staying.>"

Mathieu moved aside, allowing the massive Gamorrean to walk out into the connecting chamber, thus leaving room for the two explorers to open the vault door. He looked carefully to his ally "I take it she agreed?"

"<Yes>" she grumbled, still unhappy that the Jedi couldn't comprehend what she said. She made it as clear when she muttered a bitter "<Uneducated human>"

 

[Lief]

Eliphas watched the pairs attempt at communication with thinly veiled amusement, and intrigue.​

​

This time he didn't translate, for Latergh did a pretty good job of further explaining herself. She seemed rather frustrated, as though talking with a human who could not talk back was below her. Strange given that she was the only one not speaking Basic, but at the same time understandable. One could not rely on just one tongue to navigate the entirety of the Galaxy, after all. Not least because there were countless corners still yet uncharted or fully incorporated into the larger scene.​

​

At least the Jedi had been hoping to bridge that gap with technology. A shame that neither of them knew how to fix the faulty translator.​

​

With her credits acquired the Gamorrean was quick to return to the previous chamber, and Eliphas hoped it set some of his companions concerns to rest. That put a door between them should things go awry, left the woman in less of a vulnerable position than they'd find themselves in.​

​

Which just further emphasized the fact that Eliphas really had no business involving himself in this process either. What was he going to do, give any corrupted relic directions to the nearest sun? He swallowed down those doubts though, it didn't feel right to leave Matt to do all of this alone.​

​

"What now?" he asked, when she was out of earshot. Brute force had not worked to unseal the vault, but maybe being a Jedi Matt would have something up his sleeve.​

​

Otherwise they'd be in for a long night...​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

Mathieu entered the chamber where the door was with a few slow and careful steps. His mind echoed the question Eliphas had asked: What now? They had managed to convince the Gamorrean to leave - he only hoped that that wasn't the easy part. Last time he had encountered a Sith vault, he had just planted a bunch of explosives right outside their storage chamber and blown it up - presumably, the artefacts inside had been destroyed too. Regardless, they would have been buried underneath a massive amount of rubble in an uncomfortably narrow path. However, that was a rather crude method which could potentially deal more harm than it did good. It was hard to know when it came to Sith artefacts.

Taking his backpack off, Mathieu carefully dumped the bag in a corner and opened the top lid, revealing a large amount of explosives "Well, there's our last resort" he said, pointing a casual finger to it before turning away from it to face the vault door.

A black metallic wheel with a single knob could be found on the centre left side of the door - it was the mechanism which Latergh had been trying to interact with when she wasn't simply trying to tear the vault's outer frame off. Mathieu took a step forth and carefully tried to spin it. When pushed counter-clockwise, it wouldn't budge at all. When pushed in a clockwise direction, it would first move easily but progressively got harder and harder to move until he finally couldn't make it budge. It had rotated roughly 240 degrees when he finally let go and the wheel reverted to its original position.

"Guess that's supposed to go a bit more smoothly" he speculated out loud as his eyes continued to wander. On the centre right side of the door, in a corresponding position to the black wheel, a short cross-shaped beam stuck out from the door. Upon interacting with it, it wouldn't allow itself to be pushed nor pulled. It was possible that another wheel could fit onto the cross-shaped beam but that was not something Mathieu thought of at the moment.

Continuing his investigation, the Jedi brushed his hand across the panel with the Sith inscriptions. He had the idea of brushing off the dust that had gathered over the years but quickly found out that Latergh's efforts had already done that for them. Continuing by seeing if he could pry the panel off, Mathieu let out a jestfull "You don't happen to understand whatever language this is too, do you?" as he finished the sentence, the panel suddenly came loose with a few snaps. Five wires could be found inside, three of them going from top to bottom. The final two appeared to have been cut "Maybe we could fix those." he said, lacking better ideas.

 

[Lief]

When the bag of explosives was opened up, Eliphas regarded it with raised brows of surprise. A Jedi carrying charges like that? For a moment he wondered if he was being taken for a fool, if the man before him was even a Jedi at all. Some sort of trigger happy terrorist...​

​

No. That wouldn't make sense any which way he looked at it. Why would he blow up an abandoned temple? So Jedi then. A Jedi with a big bag of explosives.​

​

At least it was referred to as their last resort. That was something of a comfort.​

​

Holstering his blaster once more, Eliphas stepped up to the panel in question to see if he could decode the words found there. He shook his head solemnly. "That's some sort of archaic script," he stated, then shrugged as a thought came to his mind. "Probably Sith, given the nature of the vault. I don't speak Ancient Sith, it isn't exactly taught in the Academies of Empress Teta."​

​

Specialized individuals knew, of course. Mostly anthropologists and archaeologists of which Eliphas Dune was neither. That didn't help them then. Nor did he have the idea to look for a second turning wheel for the broken side of the vault.​

​

His eyes did drift to the wires though.​

​

"If they follow the same path as the others, it could be a fairly simple fix," he replied, though was wary to actually reach out and touch the wires for himself. What if they were live? "You say you're a Jedi... Can you move them with the Force, maybe?" Not that he had any clue of how precise one could make use of the Force. All he'd seen was crazy illusions, in truth, at the hands the Witch of Alderaan. And felt the boons inflicted upon him by Starlin Rand - those had lingered for an uncomfortable time.​

​

Mathieu Brion ​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Temple of Legume​

Location: Ossus
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, various items
Tags: Lief

---​

He looked to the Navigator with a surprised expression "Say?" Usually, people took his word for it but then, some spacers might have had a tendency to encounter a lot of scams. Mathieu wasn't quite sure what to think - was it that easy to trick people into giving you their money if you claimed to be one? If so, maybe it was something he should get in on - for he certainly wasn't living in abundance. Regardless, he continued with a smile "I would've shown you my membership badge but I'm afraid I left it at the ship."

The suggestion was sound. Mathieu did as Eliphas asked and took a couple of moments to centre himself and focus on the wires that hung loosely in front of him. Soon, they would slowly start to wiggle and move until they found their place. A low ticking sound could be heard from inside the door. The ticks sounded at an increasing rate until the sound became more of a constant. "I wonder what that did." he said, looking around to see if anything looked different. But from what he could see, it exactly the same.

Reaching out, Mathieu took hold of the knob on the wheel and started to spin it once more. This time, it went smoothly the entire way until he had spun it 360 degrees. A deep metallic sound could be heard as a lock mechanism was removed. He looked to the Navigator enthusiastically before pulling. Unfortunately, it seemed like something was still preventing the vault door from opening. What could also be noticed was that the wheel which he pulled at seemed a little loose - most things probably would be after being worked over by Latergh. Pulling at the knob a little further, a familiar cross-shaped pole could soon be seen underneath. And so, another piece of the puzzle fell in place "There used to be another wheel" Mathieu spoke happily before grabbing the exposed pole. Taking a tight hold of it, he started to turn it - it was a more challenging task than expected but after the power was restored, it would at least be doable.

Once it had been spun 360 degrees, it too produced a deep metallic sound as the second lock mechanism was removed. "That has to be it, right?" Mathieu carried a smile as he spoke, glad that they might have figured it out. Moving over to pick up his backpack, he asked "You want to do the honours?"