Up, Down and Sideways

[Dax Perl]

Behind the next door lay a more stone, spiraling down in a staircase, into the lower levels of the compound. Dax had very little information on what was down there. His knowledge of the place was that it consisted of dungeons for those the Hutt disliked or those who displeased him, various pens filled with underfed, starving, and occasionally rabid beasts., and even some bunkers for those who elected to sleep there...which no one did, unless they were with someone else.

Dax took careful steps down the flight of stares, looking for any sign of a tripwire or trap that could be sprung. He found none. As he stepped onto the last step, and then the floor the halls branched to the left, the right and straight ahead. This might take longer than he'd anticipated.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Slowly they descended. Sorel felt another pang of concern at this point. If they were unopposed, the journey would be straightforward. But if they had to fight their way out, a staircase like this would not be easy to navigate. It was true that any enemies could not overwhelm them with sheer numbers at once, but they could easily block the escape – or drop grenades in the confined space. She suspected that losing some of their own would not stop them resorting to such tactics.

Finally they reached the bottom and were presented with three options. Sorel simply waited. Dax was in charge and hopefully knew which corridor led to the armoury. So she checked behind them once more and then prepared to follow him wherever he led.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax sighed quietly to himself. Of course the place would be like a catacomb. Nothing was ever easy. "Give me a second. And uh...make sure we don't die." Dax had never attempted a Force Shadow while being attacked, but he sure as heck wasn't about to try.

Dax stood still and took a deep breath. As he let it out he allowed a flood of emotion to course through him in a flash. And he felt himself leave his body. His Shadow, undetectable but except for the strongest of Force Users flashed from room to room, searching for the armory.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel took Dax’s request seriously. She had no idea what he was planning, but she knew he was relying on her to protect them, so it was likely he would be unable to contribute to their safety. As she stood there, she felt the Force around her and once Dax had taken a deep breath, she was acutely aware he was using an ability.

So she remained vigilant, one had on the hilt of her saber – and she used Force Sight to check all around them for anyone moving towards them. Where the walls were thin, she could effectively see through them, as she built up a three-hundred and sixty degree mental map of their surroundings.

The good news is that whilst Dax did whatever he was doing, Sorel did not see anyone in their vicinity.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax was growing tired of the bare and empty room he kept encountering. They were all the same. Stone and dust, maybe the occasional cot or bunk...even a couple of incomplete skeletons. Yet no weapons.

There was one room left. Of course it'd be the last one. But as he approached inconspicuous room Dax could feel a dark presence. If he had a physical form at that moment he would have grimaced. That had to be it...but...why would there be a Force presence?

Dax took a sharp intake of breath as he returned to his body. He shook a couple of limbs, the staticy feeling of sleeping limbs leaving. "Alright I think I found it." At the most a couple of minutes had passed since he'd left his partner here defending his body. He was glad that nothing had happened to either or them in the short time.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel remained patient – it was one of her latter virtues. The headstrong young woman was far more pragmatic now and understood the value of not rushing things that didn’t need to be rushed.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes ticked by before she was aware that whatever Dax had been doing, he had now stopped. His sharp intake of breath was the most visible indicator. She smiled and nodded at his words. “Glad you found it, but why do I get the feeling there is a ‘but’ coming?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Cause its a big but." He said, turning to face the Silver Jedi. The humor in what he had just said did not escape him. But now was not the time to laugh. "I could sense a presence in the vault. One shrouded in Darkness. I'm not sure if its a Sith artifact or what but we should be cautious."

Dax had encountered a Sith Holocron before. In fact, that had been how he'd learned of the technique he'd just exercised. But he and [member="Enduri Jaii "]had gotten lucky. Another Holocron may have ripped them asunder, had the Gatekeeper decided that they were not worth of their knowledge.

Surely [member="Sorel Crieff"] would want to confiscate the Holocron. Keep it from those who could abuse it's knowledge. Dax agreed with that idea. But he wanted to be the one to take it, if it was even there. He didn't trust the hierarchy of the Silver Jedi, or any Force group. It'd be safer in the hands of someone who owed no loyalty to a warring faction.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel supressed a smile. Another time and another place, she would not have let the line slip – but here and now? There were more pressing things to concern her.

“A presence.” Sorel let the words hang. It was no more than a confirmation that she’d heard him. There was no emotion or judgement attached.

“Then a presence we’ll have to deal with, won’t we?” She knew, just as Dax did, that the manifestation could be almost anything. A Holocron, a person, an item ingrained with the dark side. None were positive – only the degree of risk was up for debate. But even if they were not here to fre slaves and destroy weapons, they could not walk away from it. Sorel certainly could not do so.

She would need to identify it and then act appropriately. Destruction was an option, containment a preferable but riskier step. And if it were a person? Well, time would tell.

“I’ll follow your lead,” she said and then prepared for the worst.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Its empty all the way to the vault." Dax said, the soft sound of his boots hitting the floor seemingly amplified in the empty halls. The catacombs felt bigger than they were, each turn making it feel as if the sub-level of the compound stretched beyond the visible walls.

As the pair approached the vault, the dark presence amplified, the large durasteel door offering now refuge from the sickening sensation. "This is it." Dax said as he placed his slugthrower back in its holster, instead drawing out his saber. "Ready when you are."

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel matched Dax stride for stride, her own boots muted by comparison to his – but she was a deal lighter and her whole training regime was based upon being nimble on her feet.

Even the term, ‘the vault’ sounded ominous but the optimist in her figured it was because something valuable was stored there, not because some Sith was imprisoned. And the distance they travelled made her all the more impressed by Dax’s search of the catacombs – given how quick he was in whatever use of the Force he utilised to find the location. When they got out of here, she decided she would ask him what he did – and how he did it. But for now, they had a task to perform. Or two to be more precise.

Aware that the door would present a challenge, even to a couple of sabers – and potentially draw attention to their activity, Sorel clipped her saber back on her belt and shook her head. “My turn to perform a party trick.”

She closed her eyes and placed a hand on the doors locking mechanism. As she pooled the Force within her, she guided it to her hand. Surrounding her fingers there appeared a soft violet glow and then sparks emanated from her hands and entered the lock. Within a second it groaned and the door lock clicked open.

“After you,” she said.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Well that's a neat trick." Dax said, as the large metal door clicked open, the lock disengaging. Dax wrapped his hand around the cool metal handle and took a deep breath. It was time to face whatever was on the other side of this door. With a bit of effort the Knight pulled the door open, the uncared for hinges squeaking as the heavy durasteel slab swung away slowly.

"What the phrik?" Dax muttered as he peered into the vault. Weapons lined the walls, large crates of energy cells stood in the middle, a couple larger pieces of weaponry placed atop it. Vibrosword, neatly stowed away on a rack stood nearby a box of grenades. A typical armory.

"Where's the...the...whatever the phrik it was." Sith or Holocron, nothing that would emanate darkness stood in the room of deadly tools. It was as if the presence had disappeared altogether as the door had opened.

Dax stepped into the room, turning on his heels, his gaze examining each and every surface. "You felt it too right?" he asked [member="Sorel Crieff"].

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. It was a handy ability to have, and worked with most electronic devices, including droids. Over time she’d learned to control the power she exerted to either temporarily stun a device or quite literally blow it up.

Sorel checked out the armoury as Dax opened the door. She was sure he had come to the same conclusion she had – that it was precisely what they would expect to find. Except the Force had indicated they would find something more. Something Force imbued – either an object or a holocron. Or, as she had latterly considered, a person.

But the items on display were run of the mill. They needed destroying of course, but they were nothing special, at least to the naked eye.

“Maybe one of the weapons was subject to Sith alchemy?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Yeah but we'd still feel that..." Dax said as he began to examine various weapons. He picked up one of the vibroswords on the wall and gave it a swing. It seemed just like any other vibrosword...just another innocuous piece of metal.

And then a grenade clattered to the ground. "Cover!" Dax shouted diving behind a series of large crates.

(Sorry, shorter post)

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. He was right. Unless the alchemy was so advanced as to hide its presence from Jedi, the previous sensation was a mystery. Although the theory was a possibility. As was something escaping when they opened the door. Or being invisible and hiding its presence. Or escaping via a different route. Or…

She was deep in thought when she heard him shout. She didn’t hear the grenade hit the floor, or see it. So she threw herself to the ground as Dax did and waited. Given she did not comprehend the threat; her instincts did not concoct a defence. She merely followed Dax in diving behind the boxes and waited.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The seconds ticked away. One. Two. Three. Four...why hadn't the grenade gone off? Seven. Eight. Dax peered over the top of the boxes at the grey sphere on the floor. "Oh you've gotta be phriking kidding me..."

The man moved from out behind the boxes and walked over to the small sphere, picking it up. "Musta rolled off the bin" he said, tossing it in the air and catching it again. Dax returned the metallic ball of death to the small plastic container with the other grenades.

Then the vault door slammed shut, the lock clicking shut. "Son of a bosh'tet!"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel was unsure why they were ducking but as soon as Dax stood up, she peered around and then followed suit. Then she realised he was referring to a grenade – as he returned it to a box of its fellows.

She was about to ask how it fell, when the door slammed behind them. Spinning she saw that the locking mechanism was only on the outside – and her parlour trick would not work from this side. Then she checked the room. Her first concern was if it were airtight – because that would limit how long they had to solve the riddle of how to escape.

“Do we have a plan?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Several vents in the ceiling allowed air to filter in and out of the vault. At least they'd have oxygen. Unless whoever locked them in decided to shut off the ventilation...

"Well I didn't exactly plan on getting locked in here so no." Dax moved to peer into one of the vents, craning his neck back to look straight up into the shaft. "Too small for one of us to fit into...and I don't suggest trying to explode our way out." he said looking around.

This was not good. For many reasons. Of course there was the acute danger that they could suffocate if the air was shut off. But if someone was able to do that at all, that meant someone had been expecting them. And the only two people whi had known this was ever going to happen were locked in the room together. Mischief was afoot.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled at Dax’s response. She didn’t precisely expect him to have a plan mapped out for escape, but given he’d reconnoitred the palace and had visited the room in some out of body experience, she figured he would be better placed to come up with any options to get them out of their current predicament.

“There aren’t many obvious possibilities,” she echoed. “I could place a Force Shield over us and we could try to blast the door open. But it looks tougher than anything the grenades could throw at it. Which leaves sabers, unless you have a better plan.”

But Sorel could not shake the thought that someone – or something – was one step ahead of them. But who or what evaded her for the present.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Can't exactly blow the hinges off either..." he muttered. "Lightsaber is it..." Dax's voice trailed away as he noticed movement from above.

A purple gas began to pour into the room from the vents above. "Oh this just gets better and better..." Dax muttered, "Nytinite, knock out gas." Dax wrapped his shemagh tightly around his mouth and nose. It wouldn't protect him from the gas, but it'd buy time.

His saber roared to like again, the deep hum become a shrill screech as he plunged the saber into the vault doors.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel, nodded at his plan and sighed when he noted the gas above. She had the protection of her bracelet, but Dax did not.

So Sorel tried something she’d never done before – but she knew it would take all of her concentration and would leave Dax alone to look to cut through the door.

Sorel threw up a Force Bubble. Unlike the regular barrier she would erect, this one needed to be airtight – and extend beyond the closed door – to allow space for Dax to work. And it needed to be held in place for an unknown period of time. So she closed her eyes and emptied her mind of thoughts and emotions, effectively entering a meditative state. This allowed her to deeply connect with the Force as she maintained the bubble above them.

[member="Dax Fyre"]