Tales of The Jedi: Shadow of The Past

[Hrtofdrkns]

(for naughty padawan)

3,000 years before the Galactic Empire, the Republic was at peace. The Jedi Order protected the galaxy and the Republic, their commitment to the light strong. And sometimes to protect that light the Jedi had to step between two sides of a war, as Master Gavin had been called to do on the outer rim. As the human male prepared to jump his ship to hyperspace he received a distress call.

"Looks like we'll have to delay our return to the temple, I've just gotten a distress call from a group of archeologists." He said over the intercom to his close friend Master Mulholley, and his padawan Jionne "Jiji" Tilari.

[naughtypadawan]

Jiji looked up at Master Mulholley, feeling a little nervous. She was always a bit on edge on missions that had unexpected components, ever since her first Master, Tordel Shen, had been killed on one.

Mulholley sent a ripple of reassurance to the young girl through the Force. He was sure they could handle any trouble that the average archaeologist could get into. "All right, Gavin," he said. "Better take us in."

[Hrtofdrkns]

"They wouldn't say what it was about, but seemed about to panic." Gavin said as he pulled the ship towards the coordinates he had been sent.

"Take a look at that." He said as they came in close to a desert planet. The surface was pockmarked with craters suggesting orbital bombardment. "This area was the site of heavy fighting during the Sith Wars a thousand years ago. I hope they haven't dug up something dangerous."

[naughtypadawan]

"Master Mulholley?" Jiji asked anxiously.

Mulholley reached out and patted her shoulder. "We're going to be all right, kid," he said gently. Then to Gavin he added, "Not a pretty sight."

[Hrtofdrkns]

Gavin flew them in, past vast swathes of ruined land. Eventually they came to a canyon with a small starport built into it. He carefully guided the ship down.

"Finally." An older human male said as they got out. He was surrounded by guards, wearing the uniform of the Czerka Corporation. "I'm Dr. Habsalon, head of this dig. We need you to capture the specimen alive if possible."

[naughtypadawan]

Mulholley's eyebrows drew together. "Specimen?" he asked. "What kind of specimen are you talking about?" In his experience, archaeologists were interested in long-dead things that lay in the ground. But then, who knew with the Czerka Corporation?

[Hrtofdrkns]

"Hold it." Gavin said. "Czerka wouldn't be trying to get back into the dark side relics trade with an unlicensed dig would they? Because I doubt you got permission from the Jedi Order for this."

Dr. Habsalon shook his head. "Don't lecture me. This is system is outside of Republic jurisdiction. Now are you going to help or not?"

He pointed to the entrance to the complex. "A week ago my team broke through into a room that wasn't on our initial scans. Inside we found a living specimen encased in a red energy field. Upon being touched the field shut off, releasing the specimen. We believe it to be a Sith."

[naughtypadawan]

Jiji's dark eyes went huge.

"You unleashed a Sith?" Mulholley asked, appalled. He was tempted to point out to Habsalon that this was exactly why only Jedi Knights were allowed to delve into Sith relics, but the man doubtless knew as much. Czerka's employees, whatever their skill level, were frequently blinded by greed.

Speaking softly, so the comm wouldn't send his words over to Habsalom, he said, "Gavin, the Council may not be willing to make a decision fast enough to deal with this situation. I think we should capture this creature first, and if it is a Sith, we can contact the Council about it afterward."

[Hrtofdrkns]

"Agreed." Gavin replied, rezching over to rub Jiji's shoulder reassuringly. "We cannot let it escape, and we certainly can't let Czerka have it. That would likely be even worse than just having a Sith on the loose. Jiji, stay close to me."

"That thing killed ten of my workers." Habsalon said. "One of my guards says he was able to wound it about an hour ago during it's last attack. It went back into the base."

Gavin nodded. "Very well. Get your crew off of this planet, we'll take it from here."

"We'll see." Habsalon retorted. "First things first, get that thing in chains."

****

The old Sith base had held up surprisingly well, probably a result of the arid climate. Paintings on the wall could be seen in the light from Gavin's glowstick, depicting dark-robed figures with red-bladed lightsabers cutting down what appeared to be Republic soldiers, as well as brown-robed figures. But all around the three Jedi was clear evidence of battle, with rubble, bones, and even a few mostly intact skeletons.

"Looks like the Sith fought to the last." Gavin thought out loud. He paused and shined his light on a pile of bloody rags. "Those are fresh, looks like it's really hurt."

[naughtypadawan]

Mulholley nodded, although he didn't relax one bit. "In the state it's in, it'll probably have left a trail that's easy to follow," he said. He scanned the corridor in the light of Gavin's glowstick, and soon found a bloody handprint, smaller than his own hand, but with distinct talon prints that gave him pause. It was low to the ground, on the wall, near a smudge that might have been a knee print.

"Looks like it crawled . . ." he said, following the direction of the tracks. A few meters down the passage, there was a red pool on the floor, as if the creature had fallen and bled. Then, to Mulholley's surprise, there were more hand prints, and finally staggering footprints leading off into the darkness.

"This thing is little, but it's tough," Mulholley said. Looking back at Jiji's wide eyes, he smiled and tapped her on the nose. "So are you, Miss," he reminded her. The girl broke into a relieved-looking smile.