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[Fanfic] The Plight of Darkness

ForceFightWMe12

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ForceFightWMe12

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What's this? A new chapter coming four days early?? :xp: Yes, it is! This chapter's a bit longer...almost 2,000 words...I didn't think it was possible for one of my chapters to be this long...:xp: 890 posts!! W00t! Go me :D

 

Alright, anyway. Here's the new chapter, ahead of schedual (don't get used to it :xp: )

 

 

________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

---Chapter Fourteen---

 

 

“Hey guys…look at this.” Carth said, moving one of the high-beam lights on the submersible’s hull on what appeared to be a large crack in the Rift wall. The three had been searching for several hours now, trying to locate anything that could lead them to what secrets the waters of Manaan were hiding so jealously…this looked the most promising.

Revan swung another of the lights onto the crack, “It looks as if there’s some kind of cave behind it…Do you think we can fit through?”

“Give me all primary controls.” Carth said, “I’ll squeeze us in there.

The rent in the stone ran lengthwise, and appeared to the large enough for the sub to fit through. Hopefully.

“Easy does it…” Carth murmured to no one in particular, pressing slightly down on the throttle. He kept it open just enough for them to inch forward against the tide. However, fitting through didn’t turn out to be as easy as they had thought.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The terrible noise of metal against rock rent the waters, slicing straight through the ears of the three companions.

“Heheh, oops.” Carth said, straightening the sub again, bringing them off the rocks. The top and bottom of the transport slid just under the rock lip, leaving only centimeters to spare. However, in a moment, they were through.

The beams of light from their sub scanned across the rock surfaces, showing them what appeared to be…

“Runes.” Revan breathed.

Sure enough, three rows of carved runes ran across the rock at different intervals, leading upwards.

“Bring her up, Carth.” Revan said.

“But there’s nothing but rock up there--”

“Trust me on this one. Bring her up.”

“Alright, but if we end up like bugs on a speeder’s windshield, don’t blame me…”

The pilot slowly turned the nose of the submersible up at the ceiling of the cave. As they rose through the waters, they saw light spilling out from somewhere above.

Carth was right, the ceiling of the cave was solid rock, however, the walls weren’t. A single wall, to be precises.

“An air pocket.” Bastila murmured.

“My guess was that it never used to be an ‘air pocket’. Did you see the stairs carved into the side of the wall?” Revan asked as Carth eased them forward.

“I think that adds to the theory of the surface of Manaan not always being water.”

“Well, whatever’s up there,” Carth began, “We’re about to find out. Up we go.”

Even as he said the words, the sub shot upward, rocking back and forth as they surfaced. The pilot guided the ship up to the edge of the water, where he stopped and shut down the engines.

There was a hiss of escaping air, and Revan climbed out from his cockpit, walking carfully across the sub until he was able to leap to the rock floor. There were another two hisses, and Carth and Bastila joined him.

“This reminds me too much of our last visit to Manaan.” Revan murmured. The ‘cave’ they had stepped into appeared to have actually been a hallway, ancient light strips that hadn’t been activated in ages lined the walls, runes scrolling underneath them.

“I’ll say.” Carth said, “This place gives me the creeps.”

“It should,” Bastila said, barely audible, “It reeks of Dark Energy.”

Revan reached into a pack on his belt, and pulled out a small, pen-sized rod. He turned the top of it, and a beam of light shot out, illuminating a small patch of the wall. “Well, we’re not doing much just standing here. C’mon.” and with that, proceeded into the darkness of the hallway.

 

~*~*~

 

And of all the Jedi teachings…

 

Briana read the datapad before her. Having nothing more to do, she decided she would take a refresher course in the Jedi teachings.

 

…the most predominate and important of them all…

 

It had been hours, and not so much as a word from anyone. She supposed no news was good news. After all, if someone had been hurt, they would have returned to the Hawk immediately, right?

 

…is the teaching of self-restraint and suppression of emotions…

 

The Handmaiden hardly took in the information as she read the words. Her mind was with Elron, in the streets of Manaan.

 

…Chief among these emotions…

 

The feeling of his hands gently caressing her skin…a shiver went up her spine. She…she was going to want that again.

 

…are the feelings of anger…

 

The touch of his lips as they pressed against hers…she felt her cheeks redden at the thought.

 

…and of love.

 

~*~*~

 

Elron searched through all of Ahto, finding neither of the two things he was looking for. One item was more information on this…finding that Revan had discovered. The other, was Visas.

Visas! he frowned, Where could you have gone?

After a moment, he fell back against one of the walls of the courtyard, sliding down to the ground.

Great, Elron, nice job. he thought, pounding his head against the metal, Win over Briana, and make an enemy out of Visas. Just perfect.

What did the Miraluka care anyway? It wasn’t as if Elron had shown her…much special treatment, or attention. Except, perhaps, on the Ravager. The things he had said, the way he protected her…the way he felt…

Ah, but what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t just let Nhilus devour her! Nor could he have killed her, a wound and defensless opponent, when they had first met (or, better to say, fought) on the Ebon Hawk.

 

~*~*~

 

“Urgh!” Bastila murmured, picking bits of cobweb from her hair, “How did these get down here anyway?”

“I dunno, doesn’t seem to me as if something could get this far down under the surface without some kind of fins…” Carth said, his voice echoing back and forth down the stone hallway.

“Guys, look.”

The Jedi and pilot drew level with Revan, who was pointing straight ahead. There was…a light.

“What is that?” Bastila whispered. She didn’t like the looks of it, but Revan’s resolve was set in stone.

“There’s only one way to find out,” he said, and proceeded further into the darkness.

After several moments of walking through total silence, the threesome had reached the ‘light’. And what they saw amazed them.

“By the Force…” Revan said, stepping into the vast room, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of…waterfalls?

The room was gigantic, easily the size of half the Jedi Enclave at Dantooine. The strangest thing was that the room was lit with sunlight.

“But, how--” Carth began, when Revan pointed upwards.

There was a great monolith in the center of the room, and it reached up to the ceiling…hundreds of feet above them, where there appeared to be a circular hole cut into the stone, which allowed in light. Along with the light, however, came tons and tons of water, falling all that way around the monolith, into a pit at the great tower’s base. The pit itself seemed to have a second hole in it which allowed the water to drain out as fast as it came in.

The walls formed a circular base to the room, three other empty doorways carved into them at points that would be marked North, East, and West on a compass.

“What should we do now?” Bastila asked, having to nearly shout to make herself heard, “It would take us forever to search each of those pathways.”

“We’ll split up.” Revan answered.

“Are you crazy?!” Carth asked increduosly, “Who knows what’s down there! What if something happens?”

“You two have comms. with you, don’t you?” Revan asked.

“Well sure, but will they work through these walls?”

“We’ll have to hope. Now c’mon.” the Jedi removed his cloak, and dropped it on the ground at the mouth of the entrance. “Just so that we remember which way is out.” he explained, before the three wished the Force be with each other, and departed, each down a separate path.

 

~*~*~

 

“…and plus five is twenty.” Atton said, slapping a +/-5 pazzak card down on the table.

“Damn it!” his opponent, a wheezened, old ‘champ’, cursed, slamming his hand down before pushing his credits across the table to Atton.

“Pure pazzak!” the Scoundrel murmured, before collecting the credits and depositing them in his pocket. “How ‘bout another game?”

“No, that’s it for me, I’m all out.” his opponent said, before standing and leaving the cantina.

“Well, that purse buys us the next couple of drinks.” Mira said, taking the old man’s seat and sliding a glass of juma across to Atton.

“Heh, that purse buys us the next couple month’s worth of drinks.” he bragged, taking a swig.

“Yeah, yeah.” she said, reaching in a pocket of her pants and pulling out a deck of her own, “Let’s just see how good you are, flyboy. Five hundred credits says I beat you.” she challenged.

“We couldn’t have picked a better place to look for info,” Atton murmured, “Because five hundred says you can’t.”

 

~*~*~

 

Frustration bubbled up in Elron as the Exile stood once again. He had to get moving. He entered the West Courtyard of Ahto, moving past the courthouses to the hotel further up the road, when he noticed a Selkath and an un-armored Mandalorian speaking in one of the allies.

Wait a minute… the Exile thought as he passed, This doesn’t seem right…

He walked casually by the alley, then stopped at the other side, pressed himself up against the wall, and used the Force to enhance his hearing.

“Your men are in place, yes?”

That was the Selkath.

“Of course, why wouldn’t they be, Duulas? Look, we’re professionals, and there’s no way we’re going to let a prey like Revan slip through our fingers.”

“They had better be, Mandalorian. If Revan and his companions escape and this whole thing is traced back to me, then it will be your head, you understand? You aren’t the only one working for me in this city as well as under the sea.”

“I’ve got it covered. You just relax and let us do your dirty work for you.” the Mandalorian said disdainfully.

Elron’s eyes sharpened. What? Revan? Men?

This isn’t good… Elron thought, running further down the boardwalk, Not good at all.

He grabbed the comm. from his belt as he slid into a side alley, then activated it after checking to see no one was around.

“Revan? Revan! This is the Exile, come in Revan! It’s urgent!!”

Nothing but fuzz. They were out of reach.

“Oh no…” he thought, running to find the others, “No!”

 

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