Plumbing the Depths [Open]

[Shae'an Vai Li]

There was a certain element of truth to Shae's disguise as an anthropologist, an honesty that had carried her more places than even the most well-developed lie. A true, earnest fascination with the legacy of the past and the secrets held in the depths of history and ruin. Sure there was an ulterior motive there, for even a scrap of information could reveal some trace of Sith sorcery and provide another step on her path, another sliver of sustenance for the presence that tugged at the edges of her mind.

But after so many years spent wandering and seeking and collecting she found a distinct joy in plumbing the depths of some old ruin and stumbling upon a few broken words in kittât or a fragment of a phrase revealing some aspect of a spell or incantation. Even seemingly mundane artifacts might prove useful as a link to some other mystery, or simply adding to her repository of knowledge. The latest trove had been largely useless, pot shards and the like, worth a fortune perhaps for a proper collector but decidedly mundane. But among the pottery and basic sundries had been an old broken data slate, with the last display burned to the screen.

It was a set of coordinates that, once deciphered, had pointed to the planet Voss. With the presence mostly quiet and having no other leads, she had departed for the capital planet of the Silver Jedi Order.

Voss was a yet untapped planet for her, a potential goldmine as it were, but fraught with peril as well. One did not simply waltz in to the main stronghold of your ancestral enemies and except a fond greeting, after all.

She had prepared well, reinforcing the Spell of Concealment on her amulet and carefully stowing away every possible relic or sign that she was Sith, excepting the amulet itself, and of course the crystal which she wore under her clothes. Her background as a xeno-archeologist was fairly well established, but she went extra rugged in appearance this time.

It appeared to have worked so far. Landing at Voss-ka had been fairly easy and it hadn't been hard to convince the customs officials that cataloguing some ruins was all she was interested in. In a way it was true, and with her purse a bit lighter she was able to leave the city without using the force at all.

The old temple she was headed to was well off the beaten path, deep in Gormak territory. The old species-wide war had been resolved ages ago, but the cultural still felt different as she passed through various villages and towns on her way. A few days into the trip the presence returned, suddenly and greedily, as it just now noticing where she was.

It was another day to the ruin itself, and the exterior at least was fairly unimpressive. It wasn't outwardly identifiable as Sith or Jedi, though whether that was a testament to the confusion of the Great Galactic War or simply the burden of time, she couldn't tell. But she could feel the pulse of the dark side in the crystal pressed against her, and drawing a glowrod, she entered into the darkness of the ruins.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Shae'an Vai Li"]

A force ripple appeared. Small enough that nothing would become of Jedi trying to sense her. But large enough that she stepped from the rippling force tear and nodded. The woman she could feel with amulet or no. Elodrai of a certain caliber were able to feel the energies of to her no matter how they deemed to conceal them.

A quick incantation brought basic information to the bard/force scholar. And she was curious.

"You come to a place of great danger for you M'lady. Allow me to play a tune Shae, to aid you on your travels!"

She rosined up her violin and as she began to play flame burst from the strings, dancing among her hands and fingers. Another level of protection was added to Shae's concealment. An extra illusion that hid her amulet and made her appear even more ordinary. The tune kinda went like this.

https://youtu.be/dQiNVk_u0po

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor had sensed something while compiling datatapes of Jedi Lore for the Archives he was going to oversee construction of. He had wrapped up the History of the Clone Wars, and the Dark Times era. He had gone all over the Galaxy to various places of Jedi Knowledge to get what he had learned, and so this time he felt that he needed to explore the Planet's history. Not much could have been said as knowledge pertaining to the Ancient Past, mostly regarding that of the Old Republic were lost in the 400-year long tragedy known as the Gulag plague. So much history was lost that it had become a task for him to rebuild the Jedi Archives.

He decided to explore the Ancient past that was Voss. He decided to leave the Temple in search of an old Temple. He took a speeder bike and traveled far across the rugged terrain of the planet. He must have traveled for at least an hour before reaching what looked to be an old ruin. He had stepped off and unhooked one of his saber's as he looked around. He saw ancient writing that was not like that of Basic, but not only that he saw ruins of statues that were once remained standing.

He decided to press further into the Ancient Ruin. He activated the saber, and with a snap-hiss, the green blade came to life. It illuminated his surroundings as he walked into the dark depths studying the Ancient architecture. What he had really hoped to find was perhaps an Ancient Tome of some sort, or something at least worthy of the Archives. As he continued he sensed something was not right. What was it he did not know. But He pressed onward remaining on his guard in his search for knowledge.

[member="Saeryn the Bard"]
[member="Shae'an Vai Li"]

 

[Shae'an Vai Li]

Several hours of wandering hadn't amounted to much thus far. The ruins were dusty and unpleasant enough that Shae had been forced to done a respirator, and the animalistic side of her wanted to howl in rage at being clamped up inside it, unable to breathe freely. But such a thing was not done by polite folk, and certainly not an educated young woman picking through a ruined temple.

Here and there were signs of former habitation and use, but nothing of particular interest. It was soon clear that the place had been looted before, though it was probably thousands of years ago. If there was going to be anything worthwhile, it would be deeper in.

The constricting passageway she was following suddenly opened up to a grand gallery, with a number of crumbling pillars still barely holding up the cavernous roof. A half dozen side passages lined the sides, and at the back of the room there was a large circular door. A quick investigation proved it was seized shut, with no clear mechanism to open it. Further searching of the side passages revealed each led to a small chamber, perhaps once a living quarters, all covered in layers of dust and empty besides the carved stone furniture.

A dead end, assuming one had come here only with conventional power. Closing her eyes, she reached out with the force and saw the door glow before her, twisting and churning with some sort of power. All at once it surged, taking on a more solid form, as if in reaction to...

She swore, dampened her force, and spun. Of course she didn't see anyone yet, but she had been careless, not bothering to check and see if any other presence was around. Someone was coming, someone who resonated with the light. It wasn't terribly surprising, this being Voss after all, and perhaps she could use it to her advantage. Let someone else do the heavy lifting.

Then there was music, and it was as shocking as it was unexpected. But the biggest surprise by far was that it was incredibly familiar. Last time a Jedi's aura had vanished entirely, but Shae could definitely still see the one here coming. Had whatever power was following her with its strange song done something else this time?

A green glow flowed out of the entrance passage first, and then the wielder followed. He seemed to dressed in rags, with a bizarre mask on his face and giving every impression that his purpose in life was malice and violence. But the light side flowed off him clear as day. A Jedi Knight.

Shae spun as if startled, and let out a strangled cry. Then she relaxed, since after all any scholar would know they had nothing to fear from a Jedi, and called out a friendly greeting.

"You startled me, master Jedi. Uhm, by any chance were you sent to find me?"

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Enzo Carpathia]

[SIZE=11pt]The wind whistled past Enzo as he rode his speeder ever closer to their final destination. He was as old as many of these ruins, but yet none of it seemed very familiar to him. Still his knowledge of ancient Sith and Jedi lore was vast, which he assumed, was why they had sent him out along with the rest of the Dominion’s archeological team. They had secured passage through diplomatic means and were now equipped enough to begin excavations. It wasn’t long before they finally arrived at the ruins and Enzo pulled his bike to a stop. Great adobe bricks sat in a hillside and the dark entrance sat in the center of the structure. Great vines hung all over the placeand shrubs had sprouted between the cracks. Enzo approached carefully and noticed that there appeared to already be speeders at the sight. He sighed silently and wondered if the Silver’s had sent another archaeologist. Whatever the case was Enzo wanted to get started. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Well Master Sair? Shall we enter?” Enzo asked in his baritone voice while offering the Jedi a genuine smile.[/SIZE]

[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Shae'an Vai Li"]
[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Xiarr Sair]

It made sense that the Dominion would take an interest to Voss. From the enslavement of the Gormak at the hands of the Sith to the destruction it suffered at the hands at the Galactic and Eternal Empire, it's archeological value was sure to great. Why they had picked Xiarr to be part of an archeological team was also a great mystery. Xiarr had studied Galactic History immensely, but he was no archeologist, but the man he was working with seemed to know how to do such a task. The man had an unsettling aura around him, but it likely was Xiarr being his paranoid old self.

Xiarr sped across the land with the man, racing to their destination by speeder. As he made his way to the site, an all but familiar presence became more and more noticeable. Xiarr brushed it off as his senses deceiving him, but he knew that it was more than a mere illusion. He knew the presence all too well, but he couldn't put his finger on who or what it was.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Xiarr noticed that there were two speeders already parked haphazardly outside of the great structure. The presence also got even stronger, yet he still couldn't figure out what was really putting him off edge. "Right, let us commence."

[member="Enzo Carpathia"] [member="Shae'an Vai Li"] [member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Shae'an Vai Li"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Enzo Carpathia"]

Dark Jedi, Exiles, Neutrals and Vermin Sith. These were the multiple faces a multi sided coin to her. Her job was to balance, but there could be no balance without conflict. She had chosen the Sith. Now the Sith was joined with kind closer to her own.

"Hmm, but who to pick."

She flipped a coin watching as it flipped end over end and then fell, They would see her in the shadows perhaps, if they looked hard enough. And now it fell to heads.

"The Sith Plunderer it is!"

Nimble, slender fingers set upon the bow to string. A tune began to ring out again, this time warping the currents of the force in a different direction The Jedi would feel a fear type of feeling come over them. In fact all but her intended, the Sith would feel it as well. As she played she began to sing a haunting melody.

Flames began to wreath her hands, working from the strings across the bow and all over the woodwork instrument.

​

"Four explorers in the deep​

Four explorers soul's to keep.​

Four Explorers lead like sheep​

Four explorers in the deep​

​

The night crawl down thick with mire​

The night crawls down, the fear is dire​

Where the Jedi step in forgotten holes​

Surely be a trap to claim their souls​

​

Who will rise and who will fall?​

Only the Dark Side knows at all."​

At the conclusion of her song the area began to dim even more, the force currents activating ancient and natural defences. The Jedi would not so easily give up their prized secrets, even if they had fallen to the Darkness. Perhaps less even. Whatever they faced, it would be the worst parts of themselves.

The Jedi would face an even greater challenge. The loss of their vision...


Were they worthy? What would they find? Would Sith and Jedi join hand?

 

[Jakkor Kess]

He had entered the depths of the ruins carefully. Lightsaber in hand he treads very carefully upon the grown that he had walked on. He had no idea what lies in the ruins. He moved quietly, there was hardly any light next to his lightsaber, and so he did not know whether he would perhaps be lost within the depths in his search for knowledge. He was on a very important mission to gather lore in hopes of establishing a new Jedi Archives. He just needed to find something here that would be valuable to future students whether he would be up to him.

He then felt something in the Force, a presence he had not felt in years. He stopped and looked back for a moment uttering a single word in surprise. "Xiarr." He could recognize the Force Signature of the man. The man had been the first to greet him upon his return to the Galaxy. He was a Jedi Padawan like Jakkor who had went into hiding, but unlike Jakkor went into hiding from the then new menace of the One Sith. They had went onto a few adventures before Jakkor parted ways and went on his own. What the man was doing here, he did not know, nor did he care.

Then the second thing that happened as he walked, was that his vision all of a sudden became clouded. He had a difficult time using the Force to sense, and so he had decided to press on anyway, regardless of the slight disruption in the Force, he had then came across a woman, who seemed surprised by him. She looked harmless as if she was merely a scholar. Jakkor looked to her lowering his saber and spoke calmly. "Not exactly miss. I am on a hunt for something of value that could be added to a new Jedi Archives that I plan to build in the temple. Why are you here?"

[member="Saeryn the Bard"]
[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Shae'an Vai Li"]
[member="Enzo Carpathia"]

 

[Shae'an Vai Li]

The nice thing about dealing with Jedi is most of them were so wonderfully trusting. Either that, or this Jedi was a particularly adept liar, but for now she intended to assume he spoke the truth, which meant her disguise was holding up, and that she still had plenty of time to accomplish her mission. Whatever it was. Who knew what the presence wanted sometimes, all she knew was that it would lead to a deeper understanding of the force and the dark.

"Oh good, I was worried that someone back at the outpost might have sent someone after me, and it would have been a lot of trouble for nothing. My name is Shae, master Jedi, I'm a exon-archeologist from the Royal University of Naboo, specializing in non-traditional force sects. I was just doing a survey of the ruins here, but it seems like it will be a short one. The door ahead is sealed fast, and there's no mechanism to open it I can find."

That was a lie, of course. It had been clear even with the brief chance she'd had that the key to opening the door was to use the force. How exactly she couldn't say, but hopefully the Jedi would notice it and open the way for both of them. After all they were both scholars of a sort, practically kindred spirits.

"A shame, it would have been fascinating to explore a ruin like this alongside you, I've never worked with a Jedi before but I'm sure you must know a great deal about the Voss and their traditions.

You could go a long way in life on flattery alone. Shae's only misgiving now was that she couldn't reach out to use the force at all, not unless she wanted to give herself away. Whatever lay deeper within the temple she would be blind to, relying only on her physical senses. And the loquaciousness of this Jedi knight.

[member="Jakkor Kess"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Enzo Carpathia"]

 

[Sigrid Forsberg]

Like with similar sites across Voss, the ruins would be patrolled by a mix of Rangers and local security forces. All keeping a watchful eye over visitors exploring these grounds ensuring they didn't walk off with any artifacts that may yet remain uncovered. Such items were usually destined for local museums and labs unless they possessed peculiar or dangerous properties that required more secure holding within the SJO Voss Archives or the Monolith.

This was the assignment Sigrid found herself on for the week, utterly bored. Playing lookout for tomb raiders wasn't exactly what the Valkyri had in mind when she had first volunteered for the Rangers months ago. By now she thought she would find herself embroiled in all these great wars she had been told about, that stretched across the stars. All in due time, she had been promised. That time couldn't come soon enough.

The restless woman almost wished something would happen amongst the particular bunch of visitors assembled today, though it was highly unlikely. Thus far she had only logged some random vagabond, an archeologist, and a few friendly space wizards. Nothing that warranted any special attention. So long as they all remained quiet and orderly within the domain of the Silver Jedi.

Enemy Status: Normal

((OOC: For reference, Sigrid and the other Rangers in the area are clad in Ranger Katarn armor with Ysalamir inserts on the back.))

[member="Shae'an Vai Li"] [member="Jakkor Kess"] [member="Saeryn the Bard"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Enzo Carpathia"]

 

[RC 212]

She had worked her magic enough

Slinking into the shadows she disappeared. There was a whoosh and then she was gone...

[Exit]