Journey to the Darkest Heart

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar walked down the ramp of the ship, wrapping the cloth around his face once. He felt the difference immediately, the change in the air, the coldness at the edge of his mind despite the heat of the world. The presence of those long since dead was overwhelming. He felt...powerful. The fact that most of those spirits here would consider him a false Sith, a failure to the so called "superior" teachings of their kind bothered him little. He would do what he wanted, how he wanted, and when he wanted. He had the knowledge, the power, and the understanding of how and when to use both. Whether the spirits liked it or not, Valad Yar was a true Sith, and he was going to prove it. To them, and to the rest of this bloody galaxy. All it would take is time.

Looking around at the complex of ruins and tombs spread out around them, Valad Yar pulled a small device from his belt, flipping it open. After several seconds of peeping a holographic display appeared above the device. It showed a full three hundred and sixty degree layout of the terrain around them, including the vast caverns deep beneath the surface of where they stood. The device was an old archaeologists tool he had kept and improved since that time in his life. He was certain the device would come in exceptional use now. Turning to [member="Orex Mauda"] and [member="Ronak"], he glanced up at them briefly before returning his eyes to the device.

"Where would you suggest we begin?"

 

[Mauda]

Surrounded by ancient rock, I surveyed the cavern we found ourselves in. The exit was just up ahead, while the opposite direction yielded a pitch black tunnel within which I could hear the Shyracks lurking. I spun back around and faced the others.

"A simple matter. Out of the many Temples and Tombs outside, only one contains the Sith Holocrons. It's large and it's obvious, but I'm sure it's interior is far less simple."

I powered past them and soon found myself outside the cave. I looked up into the orange sky only to see a pair of Security Aircraft make a pass over our general position.

"The corpse has been found and the colony is on alert. They're onto us now. We must hurry"

I ducked my head and made my way towards the grand structure we observed when airborne. It was indeed very large with an entrance relatively empty of decoration or adornment. A massive entrance sided by ancient pillars that dwarfed most other buildings. I headed straight towards it, feeding off the energy that flowed from within. They were inside, waiting.

[member="Valad Yar"]
[member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

Ronak eyed [member="Valad Yar"] 's three-dimensional projection tool curiosly. A tool this advanced he had never seen before, only far more crude projectors.

[member="Orex Mauda"] had chosen the cave for hiding their ship well. The cries of the Shyracks however made him twitch is ears nervously. Those flying beasts were pests, but in swarms they could be dangerous nonetheless. For safety, he kept his hand close to his blaster, while listening to [member="Orex Mauda"] 's directions. The largest temple in the structure should be simple to find. For searching the straightest path, he gazed at [member="Valad Yar"] 's projection.

As his ears detected another sound no less disturbing than the Shyrack's cries, he ducked under a rocky cliff. The sound of engines was audibe for thim before the scout vessels became visible. The thought that those were their pursuers crossed his mind already, before [member="Orex Mauda"] spoke out his thoughts. He was right - the clock was ticking from now on.

As he hurried alongside the two others toward the temple's entrance, he felt the presence of the dark entities lurking in these ancient structures. He focussed his concentration on keeping them out of his mind. For now he needed his senses in the present. The planet was known for its uninviting fauna and the tombs were said to have special guardian beasts. For those real threats he wished to be as prepared as for the ghosts of ancient Siths.

Sniffing the air, among the musky smell of rot and decay to be expected in an ancient tomb he detected another scent - the scent of a predator, a scent he had never smelt before, but which still stroke fear in him. "Something is here - some creature", he snarled in warning while baring his teeth involuntarily and pressing his ears flat to his head.

 

[Mauda]

We passed through the great entrance and into the ancient temple. Immediately we were greeted by a dense atmosphere of dusk and decay. This temple had been standing for more than 4000 years. The last time anybody had entered had been hundreds of years ago. Sensing the air I was made aware of the creatures that inhabited the darkest corridors of the structure. From what I felt, I could only assume Terentateks. Large creatures that fed off the blood of Force Sensitives. They were deadly and powerful and highly resistant to the Force. I intended to avoid them.

"Deep within this temple are what we seek. But I can be sure that getting there will be an arduous task as the way is littered with vicious life. Notably, Terentateks. Avoiding them should be a priority as they are one of the deadliest, if not The deadliest creatures on this planet."

I continued to walk through the large corridor we found ourselves in. The walls were littered with holes, large enough for myself to fit through. Of course these could be examples of natural decay. But faint signs of blood surrounding the holes suggested otherwise. Lifeforms hid in those holes, preying on unsuspecting wanderers. Passing these holes I glanced inside one. My gaze was returned by slow moving clusters of red dots. Eyes.

"The holes. If I'm not mistaken, Sith Serpents. Odd creatures that will kill you as well as speak to you. Don't stop moving and keep a blade at the ready"

I gripped my hilt tighter but refrained from igniting it. They were aware we were here, but for whatever reason, had not attempted any assaults.

The impact of my boots on ancient stone began to echo louder, until the corridor opened into a selection paths. The left lead to stairs. Those stairs likely trailed off into the rest of the vast Temple. Directly infront of me was a massive door made of much the same as the entrance. Probing the components of the door, I instead found nothing but a small pathway to a lever within the room on the right. There was no locking mechanism or any such components I could manipulate. Opening the door required the lever.

I walked over to the entrance to the Lever Room and peered my head in. At first I saw nothing but darkness but as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I made out a figure. Large and dark-coloured.

Of course. A Terentatek stood sentry in the only room that granted passage to my goals. I quickly turned and returned to the pair.

"There's a lever in that room. The lever opens in this door" I waved my hand at the giant stone slab. "But the Sith aren't so easily navigated. If you hadn't already sensed, that Lever is presided over by a Terentatek. It needs to be killed"

[member="Ronak"]
[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Ronak]

[member="Orex Mauda"] suggested that the lurking creature he smelt and felt might be a Terentatek, yet for a Sith tomb a Tuk'ata was not unlikely either, as the Sith hounds guarded the tombs of Sith lords, and none of the two species was one he really would enjoy encountering. Both were resisteant to force usage and would have to be killed in order to survive the meeting. Still the curious part of him somewhat relished in the possibility.

Keeping his blaster pistol in hand and the other hand, Ronak took his steps carefully like the trained scout his was treading in dangerous and unknown territory where a trap might spring any time or a lurking beast might attack from unseen corners of its home territory. His heightened senses caught the slithering sounds of scales rrubbing on stone, the hisses like those of snakes. In the musky air his nose caught the scent of creatures - more than one - closer and fresher than the scent of the strong predator he had caught before. As he closed in on the holes smeared with blood it did not take a survivalist to realise that the creatures were lurking there. As [member="Orex Mauda"] announced the creatures Ronak's sharp eyes saw more in the darknes than just the red glimmer of eyes, he saw the outlines of their entire bodies slithering among each other and curling up in a stance ready to strike, if they wanted to. As he carefully took step after step, the Shistavanen kept his blaster trained at the closest creature's eye - the one part where every beast was most vulnerable no matter their force affiliation. "Move on!", he heard the voice in his head, as the snake he threatened eyed him coldly. "You may pass - for now."

Holding the gaze steadily and with an effort to shield his mind from unwanted invasion, Ronak took side step by side step to pass the holes. The sounds [member="Orex Mauda"] 's boots made a few steps ahead of him told of the change of environment, before it could be seen. A path opening to a set of stairs leading deeper into this tomb, a stone shielding a door way and passage to a small room with little echo were presented to them. While Orex turned to the room, Ronak took a look throught he door to the stairway. Gazing down the stairs revealed little but their turn around a corner some twenty stairs downward. Most definitely he had a bad feeling about the place. Was there a trap hidden on those stairs? Would they collapse, release stones making one lose his grip or trigger some force trap?

Before he could muse about this any longer, Orex' words caught his attention and drew him back to small room. The Shistavanen's natural ability to see in the dark as good as in day light allowed him to make out the Terentatek's shape immediately. Its dark scaly skin allowed it to blend in with its environment quite naturally and lurk waiting for its prey. As [member="Orex Mauda"] spoke, the beast turned its head in their direction obviously having noted their presence, yet it made no move to go after them, but took a threatening stance in front of the lever instead. Apparently, he was right and the beast was a guardian for the lever - one which only death could remove, as it was far too resistant to force manipulation.

However, there was one other option coming to Ronak's mind. The shortbow he had been given by his Ewok friends before leaving his home was always well-kept among his things, wrapped in a blanket and sleeping back which were attached to his backpack. "If you can distract it long enough, I might a be able to turn the lever with the impact and momentum of an arrow or two. That way we do not have to get too close and in reach of the Terentatek. Could you do this?" His gaze turned questioningly from [member="Orex Mauda"] to [member="Valad Yar"] , as he stringed the bow the make it ready for the shot.

 

[Mauda]

I listened to Ronak's suggestion and didn't immediately have any objections. It was a simple plan that would serve us well, though it still had me sigh inaudably.

"You better be good with that bow"

I somewhat jested at [member="Ronak"] before turning to the doorway. I slowly walked over and peered in, only to have my gaze returned by the deadly creature. Reaching out with the force it was almost like putting two magnets together at equal poles. The animal simply blocked me. It wasn't a conscious effort on its behalf. It didn't even have to try, I simply couldn't get through. With a slow exhale I positioned myself in the middle of the room, maintaining eye contact with the beast.

"Ronak, whenever you're ready"

Adrenaline was slowly building but I had no fear. The Terentatek slowly abandoned his post at the switch and began lumbering towards me. I bent my knees and entered a slightly more agile position as the creature began to pick up the pace.

[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Ronak]

"You better be good with that bow", [member="Orex Mauda"] answered half in jest half dead serious. Their lives possibly depended on that shot and Ronak was perfectly aware of that fact.

The battle of force between [member="Orex Mauda"] and the Terentatek was tangible for him, while he prepared for his own part in this death match. This beast would not be manipulated by the force, much stronger users of the force had been unable to do that. Breathing through several times to gather his concentration before taking the arrow from the quiver and stretching the bow string to give it a first try without actually firing the weapon, he focussed his own force abilities on himself, his perception, his hand-eye coordination, his ability to aim at that target and intutively calculate the ballistic curve required for the arrow the strike the lever with enough force to move it.

"Ronak, whenever you're ready", Orex said expectingly. They had faced danger and death together before, now their cooperation would be put to another test - hopefully not their final one. Breathing out one last time, much calmer and focussed than before, Ronak gave a short nod to indicate for [member="Orex Mauda"] and [member="Valad Yar"] that they should make themselves ready to buy him the time for the shot. Again he drew the bowstring, this time not to relax it again, but to drive the arrow towards its target. The terentatek, his comrades their fight and moves were irrelevant now - only the bow and his target were important and his focus. As never before, he felt the connection between himself, the weapon and his target. Trusting his intuition guided by the force, he released the arrow which flew at full speed not even following a parabola at such close range, but flying rather straight.

As it connected with the lever, the arrow's tip got stuck in the lever, its momentum moving the lever which so long had been stuck in place - moving it, but not enough. Too long the lever had not been moved and stuck in its position, dust and sand grinding it to a hold, as the arrow's shaft splintered, before the mechanism could fully turn to open their door. But now there was no turning back. The other's were out there risking their lives, he had to live up to that trust. The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack. Without thinking, he drew the next arrow from the quiver and in a single fluid movement drew the string. Now, he took no time for aiming carefully - he did not need to. The connection with his target was already there.

As the second arrow found its aim, it split the remain's of the first arrow's shaft, its tip striking exactly where the first tip had struck, adding the final push the lever needed for last part of the way. The grinding sounds of gears moving, the shrieking sound of hinges which had not been oiled in centuries spoke most clearly of their success.

Only now could Ronak find the time to check how his comrades were faring in their fight against the terentatek. Although the whole episode had not taken longer than 25 or 30 seconds, half a minute felt like an eternity, if you fought a terentatek.

 

[Mauda]

I glanced past the Terentatek to watch as the second Arrow hit its target with impressive accuracy. The level fell into place and the room filled with the noise of ancient gears and mechanisms slowly turning to open the door. But that noise attracted unwanted attention as I sensed the movement of the Snakes we had seen in the walls. They're voices shouting in ancient sith as they all piled out of the walls and joined together to form a single, undulating mass of a creature. Valad stood beside me, preparing for the Terentatek. I knew Ronak would need aid so I placed my hand on his shoulder and pointed to the doorway.

"Help him, this shouldn't be too difficult."

As Valad broke from my side and ran to help Ronak, I returned my gaze to the Terentatek. It was infuriated by its failure, almost foaming at the mouth. With a final roar, it leaned forward and ran towards me. I didn't intend to directly engage it, simply waited for it to make a move. A couple steps from me and it swung its giant claws for my head. During this movement I dashed forward and ducked under its arm, ending up behind it as it slowed its momentum. Before it could spin around, I leapt up to its back, igniting both my sabres and digging them into its back.

Its hid was strong. The blades went through but not quite enough. The beast shrieked and began to wildly flail its arms and shake itself. I hung onto my sabres, thinking about my next move. Before I could execute anything, The Terentatek swung its arm up its back, grabbed my legs and threw me with tremendous force. I slammed into the wall by the lever, my vision flashed and I felt my senses leave me briefly. I struggled to stay awake and slowly brought myself to my feet, swaying as I did so.

This wasn't going to be easy.

[member="Ronak"]
[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Ronak]

As the lever finally moved into place, all hell broke lose. And that at the time when Ronak had thought that things could barely become worse. While the terentatek roared in an obviously infuriated way and flung itself in [member="Orex Mauda"] 's direction, Ronak could hear with his currently enhanced senses the slithering movements of the many bodies of the Sith snakes and sense their stirring in the force. They were whispering mainly in a language he did not understand, but one part he did understand: "Prove your worth."

If they would fail this fight, there would be no way of fleeing. The snakes would get them for being unworthy. [member="Valad Yar"] prepared to take his stand with the light saber, while Ronak knew perfectly well that now was not the best time to try and get acquainted with the training sabre. The wolfman was no sabre fighter, no expert of the force, but he was a scout and experienced hunter. Taking down beasts was his expertise. The terentatek's hide was extremely resistent, trying to shoot there would be useless. But like any other beast and humanoid, its eyes were its most vulnerable part followed by its mouth. In addition, it moved on its hind legs- Binding those would make it less agile and increase their chances to strike a vulnerable spot. "Distract it, I try and use my rope to get its legs entangled", Ronak growled in whisper into [member="Valad Yar"] 's ear, as he removed the syntherope from his belt.

One of the ancient pillars proved to be an excellent place for fixing the one end of the rope. A loud bang made him turn around and see [member="Orex Mauda"] get flung against a wall. From the looks he was dazed and injured and needed help immediately. [member="Valad Yar"] would realise the same and distract the monster's attention from its current opponent by drawing it to himself. This was Ronak's chance of darting behind the beast, the rope in his hands, and spinning less than a metre between himself and the frenzied terentatek which now turned against [member="Valad Yar"]. Darting behind the Sith, Ronak shouted "Jump backward!", while he spanned the rope. His hope was the the other was quick to react to not be entangled with the terentatek which would be quite deadly.

Circling the beast another time, he increased his entangled web around the creature's legs until the terentatek finally became aware of this annoying presence at his third round. Trying to jump forward while Ronak jumped back, this was exactly the movement necessary to make the ropes tighten around the terentatek's legs and midair the scope of movement left ot it ended, bringing it down to the floor on its belly, while knocking its snout hard on the ground. Cracking sounds speaking of breaking bones Now, it was truly enraged, as its own blood dripped from broken jaw which still looked dangerous though. A roar filled the whole cave area and would be audible in quite spme distance. Hopefully, this would not attract the attention of pursuers and other beasts lurking in these caves.

While trying to stay out of the beast's range which was limited by the rope around its legs, Ronak tried to get an overview of the situation and see whether Orex had recovers from the first assault and how [member="Valad Yar"] would act now that the creature bound but more dangerous than before due to its murderous frenzy.