Private A Lamp Unto My Feet

[Alicio Organa]

"I..." Alicio held his tongue, thinking quietly to himself. He didn't want to lie to Galahad. If he didn't like what he read, was there any way he wouldn't pass it off to Amani, to be studied at the temple? What would stop him from submitting it to the Senate?

"I want to learn," he said, honestly. "But... I can't promise it would be safe with me. So... Perhaps only the barest materials."

Alicio paused, wanting to say more, but halted by the taste of danger in the air. "Hey... Somethings-" He glanced around a moment, unsure of it's source, before he saw the falling flashlight, and scattered Galahad. Alicio took a warding step back, lightsaber flashing over the area, as the Count tried to understand what exactly had thrown the Io to the ground.

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

While Alicio tried to understand what was going on, Lance of course immediately started shooting. Blaster fire lit up the darkness, revealing the vague silhouette of a black mass towering over Galahad. The thing had appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, and moved like a shadow, fleeing the light.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Lance exclaimed.

“Some sort of shadow creature,” Galahad mumbled. He was still on the ground, fumbling around blindly. “I believe… it has either the ability to teleport, or can become immaterial at will…”

“Chit, it got your eyes!” Lance grabbed Galahad and dragged him back toward Alicio, positioning himself protectively on his brother’s other side.

Galahad’s eyes were indeed damaged, silver blood streaming like tears down his cheeks. But despite having been blinded, he seemed calm and collected. “I suspect your blaster will prove ineffective against this threat,” he said. “Especially if it is spiritual in nature.”

“What, like a ghost?”

“I am thinking more along the lines of a Force Entity, but that is a possibility as well. Of course, it could also be an alien life form we have not yet encountered before...”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio took up a defensive position to the other side of Galahad, as Lancelot protected his other side. He casted out his senses, as he had done many times before, and tasted the flowery ashes of the Dark Side on his tongue. He held his lightsaber high, trying to produce as much light around them as he could, and frowning at how little his black-cored weapon actually produced.

"Alright," the Count barked, grey eyes piercing the darkness. "If it's a Force entity, that means the Force can affect it. Which doesn't help much, because I can't really use the Force to attack."

Alicio thought a moment. "It didn't like the light. How much can we make?"

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

“Why not?” Lance snapped back. “Can’t you do a push or a pull with the Force, at least? Crush this thing in your grip, squeeze the life out of it!”

“Lance,” Galahad pleaded. He had managed to grab hold of his flashlight again, though he couldn’t even tell if it was on. “We all must do what we can. Use the light against it.”

Seeing his brother like this seemed to have an effect on Lance, who flicked the switch on Galahad’s flashlight, turning on the beam again. Then he begrudgingly drew his energy sword. “This had better work,” he muttered.

The combined glow produced by the trio succeeded in repelling the shadowy creature. Its presence remained detectable in the Force, hovering in the shadows just beyond the light.

“Now what?” Lance asked. “It’s not dead, just hiding now.”

“We could try to evade it,” Galahad suggested. “Or draw it into a trap and slay it, somehow.”

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Telekinesis is not one of my strong suits," the Count snapped back, holding his lightsaber aloft. to cast it's limited light into the cave system around them. Spying into the future, tasting the world through the Force, he could do. But crushing a spirit monster? Not quite in his wheelhouse.

With the three men formed up, the shade was banished back, retreating from the light. Alicio narrowed his eyes into dark, looking beyond the present moment, and into the future. "Okay. I say we trap it."

Alicio pondered the conundrum, keeping his weapon raised high. "We could... pretend to accidentally make a shadow towards us. The creature attempts to ambush us, we cut off the shadow, and surround it?" He risked a glance to the two brothers. "Any better ideas? I'm not exactly a tactician."

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

“Better than nothing,” Lance said. “But how are you going to see where to go, Galahad?”

“You could lend me your sight for a little while,” Galahad said. “The angle would be wrong, but I could calculate the distance, using your eyes as a reference point…”

Lance clasped the nape of his brother’s neck with one hand and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. His eyelids fluttered as the connection was established, then he pulled away.

Galahad’s movements were still a little rough and unsure, but he could see what was happening around him. <<It is strange, seeing myself as you see me,>> he mused to Lance in private.

<<Yeah, now you can see how goofy you look.>>

Turning away, Galahad pointed his flashlight out of the circle, where the beam was swallowed up by the darkness. A shadow formed behind him, creeping along, eager to finish off its prey.

At the last second, Galahad whirled around, pointing his flashlight at the creature. It hissed and turned to flee. But Lance thrust out his energy sword, closing one end of the circle around the creature. The Shadow howled and lunged toward Alicio, slashing at him with inky claws.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Enacting their plan, Alicio had to fight the instinct to look cautiously at the predator as it crept up on Galahad. He kept it in the corner of his vision, his senses on high alert, until it was time to spring the trap.

Which they all did in unison, swinging around and boxing in the creature with light sources on all sides. It hissed, curling in on itself and twisting around, looking for an escape. It decided to attempt to go through Alicio, claws first.

But the Count was ready for it.

Introspect flourished forward in a defensive Soresu maneuver, a tight slash warding off the claws at worst, and severing them at the palms at best. Then, guided by an intimate knowledge of what was to come, he riposted, stabbing into center mass of the creature with his blade of light, attempting to scatter this last remnant of Darkness.

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

Lance’s eyes bore witness for his brother and himself as Alicio dispatched the shadow creature. It died with a whimper rather than a roar, burnt away by the blade.

“Is it dead?” Lance asked, wanting to be sure.

Galahad pointed his flashlight at the spot where the shadow had last been. There was an oily smear on the ground that bubbled and steamed when exposed to the light, emitting a foul odor of rot.

Lance grimaced, his nose rankling. “I guess that answers my question.” Turning to Galahad, he whipped out a medkit and began tending to his brother’s wounded eyes.

Galahad tried to push him away. “You don’t have to do that. They are still capable of self-repair.”

“Yeah, in a few hours. You being blind right now is not good for anyone, and using my receptors can only take you so far.”

“You should save our supplies for something more serious.”

Lance snickered. “Hang on, Alicio. This will only take a few minutes.”

The bickering between the Io brothers eventually died down, with Galahad submitting to the treatment. Lance’s medkit featured a bizarre mixture of both biological medicine and mechanical parts, drawing into question just how much of the Neutralizers was organic or droidlike in nature. The procedure to repair Galahad’s photoreceptors involved replacing his damaged eyeballs with new ones. While unpleasant to watch, it was indeed over in less than five minutes.

“There.” Lance lightly slapped the side of his brother’s head for good measure. “Only iris color available was blue, sorry. But hey, at least it’ll be easier to tell us apart now.”

Galahad blinked, testing his new eyes. “They are sufficient,” he muttered. Turning to Alicio, he added, “We may continue now.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio grimaced as his blade punctured the shadow creature, the beast disapparating into a dark black smudge. Even when destroying a clearly-malevolent creature, he felt just a tad uncomfortable with dealing the killing blow. Something he tried to hide from his two companions as he turned towards them, finally given the chance to inspect Galahad's wound.

As Lance and Gal began bickering, Alicio found a small smile.

“Hang on, Alicio. This will only take a few minutes.”

"Of course," he returned, turning his head down to examine the nasty film on the ground. He studied for a few breaths, before burning it away with the light of it's lightsaber, until not but a black impression remained on the stones

Once they had finished, Alicio took in Galahad's new eyes, seeming to nod affirmatively at the change in color. "Alright. Onward."

Alicio led the way, lightsaber still blazing, as they reached the final area. Beyond a heavy-duty ray shield, blazing a furious red, there was a massive cavern. Beyond this forcefield, instead of a floor, there was just yawning, eternal darkness. Save for a small island in the center of the cave, a large drop below the entryway. Here sat an ancient mummy, skin pulled tight over the jutting skeleton of an Arcona.

In it's lap, a blocky, simple datapad.

Alicio studied the scene, so in awe of the sheer scale of it all, he missed the ancient Sith writings above the entrance.

OUBLIETTE OF ETERNITY
FORGET WHAT IS FALSE OR BE FORGOTTEN
​

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

Lance checked the spot where the shadow creature had been one last time and was surprised to find nothing but a crusty shade on the stones. “Damn,” he said. “It’s like when you microwave cheese for too long…”

The trio continued onward, encountering a massive chamber blocked off by a ray shield. Galahad’s gaze was immediately drawn to the datapad lying in the lap of a mummy on an island at the center of the caverns. He began searching for a means to disable the ray shield.

Meanwhile, Lance squinted up at the inscription on the walls. “‘Omelette of Eternity’... No, wait. ‘Oubliette of Eternity’...”

“You seem to have food on the brain,” Galahad remarked, wiping dust from an ancient dataport. He inserted a finger into the interface socket, eyelids fluttering as he connected with the outdated system.

“I mean, I could go for an omelette with cheese right about now.” Lance shrugged. “Weren’t oubliettes used to keep prisoners in stasis? Sort of like freezing them in carbonite, but less dangerous.” He turned to Alicio. “And what’s the deal with the rest of it? ‘Forget what is false or be forgotten’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It could be a riddle,” Galahad muttered distractedly. “Or a warning…” His expression contorted in a wince and he jerked his hand away from the socket as if it had shocked him.

"Are you seriously trying to power the shields down manually?" Lance asked. "Do you realize how old that thing is? Gross.” He raised his gun. “I could just shoot the generators…”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Despite the serious situation, Alicio chuckled a little at Lance's butchering of the language. He wasn't the most versed in ancient Sith himself, but even he could read the text better than calling the prison a delicious breakfast.

"I believe an oubliette was originally a name for a prison cell with it's only entrance in the ceiling," Alicio said, wracking his brain for the correct information. "Although it has since come to mean a place you put a captive you don't intend on freeing, yes."

Alicio turned his mind on the energies of the Force as Galahad attempted to open the field. The perplexing taste confused him. "I... It's strange. If that person in there were Sith, this place would likely still be stinking with the Dark Side. But it isn't. I don't taste anything. Maybe this is a Jedi?"

Galahad failed to interface with the ancient device, and Lance suggested a more strong-arm approach. Alicio pursed his lips. "I'd rather we disturbed as little as possible. Who's to say what other defenses this place has besides ancient shades and blaster turrets?"

With his opinion voiced, Alicio stepped back from the ray shield, content to let the brothers decide how exactly to proceed. His eye caught the inscription again, and his eyes narrowed in thought.

It could be a Jedi. But given present company, and the subtle flow of the Force around them, it was likely something else.

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

Stopping his brother from shooting the generators with a sharp shake of his head and a technopathic message, Galahad made a second attempt at manually disabling the shields, this time without connecting himself directly to the system. His fingers moved rapidly across an old touchpad, typing up strings of code.

“If it is a Jedi, what would he be doing here on Dromund Fels, this deep in the tomb of a Sith?” he asked. He harbored his own doubts and theories, but wouldn’t share them until he had more information—info that could likely only be gleaned after they reached the island and obtained the mysterious datapad in the mummy’s lap.

“Purifying it, maybe?” Lance suggested. “That would explain why it doesn’t ‘stink’ of the Dark Side.”

“But then why did he die here?”

“The shields could’ve imprisoned him, and he couldn’t get out.” Lance tapped his chin. “Or maybe he forgot to forget what is false, and was forgotten.”

“I’m worried that this place is a trap,” Galahad said. Even as he spoke, the ray shields powered down. The way was clear. The question was, should they move past this point?

Lance paid the notion of it possibly being a trap little heed. He activated his repulsors and promptly flew across the chasm, landing on the little island at the center of the caverns. Galahad watched him, searching for any signs of peril. Finding none, he turned to Alicio and asked, “Do you need a ride across?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

“I’m worried that this place is a trap.”

As if by magic, or propelled by a hidden irony, the ray shield powered down, blinking into empty space, opening the oubliette. Alicio gazed out over the island, then glanced down below. Curiously, Alicio kicked a rock over the side, listening for the echo of it hitting the ground.

He was still listening as Lance flew over the expanse, and Galahad offered him a ride. Alicio tore his eyes away from the infinite blackness, and looked at where Lancelot had landed. It seemed safe. Still...

"I think it would be wise for me to stay here," he muttered quietly. "If there is a trap, I'd rather not step into it without flight capabilities of my own." Part of him was also still concerned about betrayal, now that they had found the innermost room of the temple. Who was to say that House Io wouldn't simply trap him on the island, now that they had apparently surmounted all the challenges.

"You're free to stay as well, unless you'd like to help Lancelot look." The Count canted his head to the side, glancing a moment into the future.

Just in case.

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

“I will stay,” Galahad answered, crossing his arms over his chest. “It is fortuitous that House Io has two of her sons here today. If one should fall, the other may survive to tell the tale.” He also thought that Alicio might use the pretext of safety as a chance to betray them, departing the tomb and leaving the Io brothers trapped in its depths.

“I have a working theory for the purpose of that prison we passed earlier,” Galahad murmured. He watched Lance pick up the datapad, blow dust from its ancient screen, and begin fiddling with it, half expecting the mummy to rise from the dead and try to seize back its treasure. “Based on my accumulated data, I believe the complex was used to imprison a cult—and I mean cult in the classical definition of the term, a new and particular belief system with only a handful of followers. Their philosophy was most likely an offshoot of Sith teachings, but the Sith rejected them as heretical and brought them here, perhaps hoping to corrupt them with the Darkness that was once present. Yet the taint was purified…”

“I’ve got it working!” Lance called out to them from across the chasm. His excitement was palpable. “It’s loading now…”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

He nodded to Galahad, happy to concede that the peace-loving brother stay here. He didn't want to trap the Io's here, but he understood the temptation. Trapping two enemies of the Alliance in an ancient Sith prison would seem like an admirable outcome. But Alicio liked Gal, and had even started to warm up to Lance's brash, mildly-infuriating attitude.

Started being the operating word.

He watched on in cautious curiosity as Lancelot poked around the island, listening as Galahad laid out his working hypothesis. The Count could only nod, his own deductive skills coming to a similar conclusion. "They were brought here to fall again," he noted, staring at the corpse, now free of it's datapad. "But it seems after their jailors left, they brought the Dark to Light instead, before they... passed. Explains why the Crusade never found it."

Alicio understood why the path was laid out before him. Why he had found House Io at the same time. "An ancient Light Sith," he chanced, staring at the desiccated Arcona.

As it was powered on, the datapad flickered with ancient lights, revealing that it only had one, massive audio file.

Twenty-seven days, thirteen hours, thirty-seven minutes, and six seconds.

Once the file was investigated, a lightly-accented female voice began speaking in Basic.

//Custos, that cur, finally gave me a recording device today. Said he wanted to hear me slowly lose my mind.// The voice seemed resigned, yet strong through the grainy quality of the ancient speakers. //It has always been a dream of mine to create a holocron. A repository of all my knowledge, that I could pass on to my fellow Sith. All the lessons I have learned in my travels.// She chuckled. //This will have to do.//

//When he comes for it, I'm throwing this thing over the edge. Maybe my followers will find it one day. Perhaps they'll pity me, though I hope they do not.// The voice sighed. //This is the last memoire of Darth Plyama. Peace is a lie. There is compassion. Through compassion, we gain strength. Through strength, we gain victory. Through victory, our chains are broken. The Force shall set us free.//

A sudden cracking sound interrupted Darth Plyama, as the island dropped a foot into the yawning darkness, and boulders began to dislodge from the ceiling. Some ancient, delayed booby trap, triggered by the weight of Lance hitting the prison floor.

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

Feeling the ground rumble beneath him, Lance activated his repulsors. But he didn’t get far before the rocks began falling from the cave ceiling. One huge boulder crashed into him and sent the Neutralizer spiraling back to earth.

“Lance!” Galahad exclaimed in alarm. He rushed to assist his brother, rocketing through the stone onslaught. For a few terrifying moments, he couldn’t see Lance among the pile of fallen rocks.

“Over here!” Lance called out weakly. He was pinned beneath the boulder, his lower half crushed under its weight.

With more rocks still tumbling down around them, Galahad tried to push the massive stone off of Lance. But even with his Neutralizer strength, it was too heavy to move.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

As the rocks began falling, Alicio's eyes lit up with surprise. A particularly large boulder struck Lancelot, pinning him to the island.

The Count could only watch on helplessly as Galahad spanned the distance, attempting to help his brother. He stared at the pair of Neutralizers, unable to assist as they struggled to lift the stone. There was nothing he could do.

Or... maybe there was.

Alicio held out his hand towards the boulder trapping Lance, feeling the weight of the Force drag at his limbs, as he attempted to move the boulder. He took a deep breath in, centering himself. Someone was in trouble. He could help.

His compassion turned the drag of the Force into strength, as ripples of invisible energy radiated off of the nobleman, his face a snarl of concern. Clawed hands outstretched, Alicio dug into that deep well of caring, pushing with all his might.

WIth Galahad's enhanced strength, the boulder would seem to grow lighter for a second, before rolling to the side and off the edge.

"Come on!"

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

Galahad didn’t have time to gawk at the miracle that had just occurred. He seized the now freed Lance around the waist and took to the air.

The pair landed in a heap at Alicio’s feet. Galahad peeled himself off of his brother. His clothing and hair had turned gray with dust, and a nasty cut somewhere near his hairline was leaking silver blood, but he seemed to be otherwise unharmed.

Lance’s injuries were much more severe. His body was covered in abrasions and lacerations. Broken legs lay limp and twisted below his waist, making him look disconcertingly like a marionette whose strings had abruptly been cut.

“I’ve decided I’m not going to keep leading this expedition anymore,” he muttered with a tired smile. “One of you wimps is going to have to do it.”

“Rest now,” Galahad said. “You’re too damaged to walk. I’ll carry you out.”

“But… the loot…” Lance started to protest, his gaze flicking toward Alicio. Nestled in arms clutched tightly to his chest was the ancient datapad.

“It’s all right. I’ll take care of everything. Just power down.”

Though Lance tried to fight it, self-preservation systems kicked in and he went limp. Galahad quickly removed the datapad from his slackened grip, then turned to face the Count.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” His tone was less questioning and more a statement of fact. “You pushed the stone over the edge.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio watched on in mild concern as Galahad deposited Lance on the ground, wincing at the obvious injuries. Even if the Neutralizer wasn't strictly organic, or alive, per the conventional use of the term, and even if they had their differences, the Count felt a wave of sympathy wash over him.

Which he kept to himself. For whatever reason, he doubted Lancelot would appreciate it.

The more violent brother finally passed out, letting Gal take the datapad, and question Alicio. The nobleman found a tight smile, glancing out over the now-crushed oubliette, Darth Plyama's body crushed under debris, before responding.

"It was both of us," the Count fired back, folding his hands behind him. "I wouldn't have been able to move it on my own. But... Yes. I did help."

Alicio nodded once to Galahad, happy to move on. "Now, let's get out of here. Before something else goes horribly wrong."

- Galahad Io -

 

[Dev Ossian]

“I would not have been able to retrieve my brother without your help,” Galahad said. “You have my thanks.”

Stooping, he lifted Lance’s body up and slung him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Steadying him with one hand, Galahad held the datapad in his other.

“If we encounter further enemies on our way back, will you be able to handle them on your own?” he asked, following Alicio’s lead. “I will assist you in any way I can, but—”

A rumbling overhead cut him off. Galahad felt dust trickle down upon his head, falling from a crack in the cave ceiling. He could not be sure of the cause, but his mind flashed back to when Lance had used his sonic weapon to kill the beast earlier. It had weakened the walls of the tomb—perhaps the triggering of the trap had accelerated that weakness...

As the rumbling grew louder, the Neutralizer quickened his pace. They needed to get out of there now, lest they find themselves buried here along with the dead Sith.

Alicio Organa​