Ignio Flamma

[Audren Sykes]

Jorus Merrill's astrogation lesson - including a question and answer period - had gone on for another hour after Audren had arrived. It had been informative, to say the least, but by the end the Padawan was feeling antsy. He wasn't the only one either, most of the others present had the feel of being grateful that it was over. He'd personally understood very little of it, as he'd not been flying long. He'd listened though, and he still had the materials they'd been given, so no doubt it would come in useful when the time came.

After the lecture though, he felt the need to be moving. A spar might have been useful in that regard, as well as teaching him a few new tricks, but there was something that made him want to be outside. The jungle was calling again. He was fully aware that there were dangerous creatures out there and that jungles were simple terrain to get lost in. On Cholganna he wouldn't have had much of a problem, but the flora and fauna here were different. What meant one thing on his native planet could mean the exact opposite here, leading him to his death in the jungle's maze. He wasn't a fool, however. The Jedi stopped by his freighter on his way to the jungle, grabbing an empty pack and stuffing a couple things inside. Among other items, some water, a small medkit, and a military-grade GPS unit went in, and a blaster pistol was holstered to his left thigh. Additionally, the vessel was set to start broadcasting a homing beacon that could be picked up by the GPS unit. It would be on a specific frequency - one not commonly used - rather than across multiple bands, so it would be unlikely to attract much attention, and it would only start broadcasting after twelve hours.

Now loaded with the gear he thought would be necessary, Audren left the freighter and headed for the jungle. Either the guards didn't care that he wanted to go explore or they didn't see him; he wasn't stopped from crossing the hard line between jungle and landing zone. From here on it was on the Force and his own muscles.

Spoiler

OOC: Continued from the Convocation of Light. Please PM if desiring to join.

 

[Audren Sykes]

The jungle was thick, but just like the planet he'd been born on there were paths. They weren't straight or even cleared of vegetation, simply had less there. These paths were made by wandering wildlife and typically marked by scent, then worn down over time. There didn't seem to be many animals in the immediate area, but given the proximity to the landing field it wasn't really unexpected.

For a while the Padawan simply followed the path, letting his eyes decide the likely progression. Even after some time away from the jungles, he could still pick out the path and stick to it. Once the sounds of civilization faded, those of the wilderness came to the forefront. And with them, the various creatures. The calls of brightly-colored birds allowed him to trace them back to their roosts. Movement behind the birds attracted his attention too, and a bit of squinting brought a rodent-like creature into focus. It was clearly stalking the birds, but they were in turn watching it.

The path ended at a clearing. On the far side there were a few herbivores rummaging around, minding their own business. Audren's sharp eyes caught indicators at what might be a few other paths, yet he refrained from instantly heading down them. He'd come out here for a reason more than his own simple curiosity, though that had been a significant part of it. The Sephi accessed the Force, and an odd overlay slid into place. He still saw things as they actually were, but he also perceived the connections between them via the Force. Cables of power wound themselves tightly between the herbivores, some weaker and some stronger. The plants themselves were connected in minor ways. And he was connected to them through his connection to the Force. What's more though, there was a strong current from him to somewhere in the jungle. A straight line, looking for all the world like a cable drawn taut. He had no idea where it led, but if the Force had brought him out here for this...he was going to look into it.

 

[Audren Sykes]

As Audren moved, the cable he saw wasn't stationary. When he circled around a particularly dense group of trees, one end stayed with him while the other stretched into the distance. In its own way, that was a relief; it meant he hadn't just stumbled across a connection between two other objects that had nothing to do with him. It also meant that he didn't have to backtrack every time he avoided a complexity in the terrain. Such a thread could prove infinitely useful in the future, such as being able to make his way back to his ship without a beacon or maps. A directional needle that only Force Users could detect, and if the written rumors were right, one that very few would be able to accurately follow. A thread in emptiness was very different than a current in an ocean or a river, after all.

Speaking of rivers...

He'd come to a point where a powerfully-flowing river separated him from a clearing. That clearing contained yet another Massassi temple. Maybe that changed the name to something other than 'clearing', but for now the title worked. The Temple present seemed to be shorter than the Great Temple, but was also somewhat wider. And the thread connected to the Padawan was pointed right at it.

So connection found. Now the immediate problem was getting over the river. It wasn't overly large, just large enough that he wouldn't be able to jump across even with the aid of the Force. He could try cutting down a tree with his lightsaber and positioning it as a bridge, but it seemed wrong to cut down a living tree, especially that had been growing for so long. Though they were tall, none of the trees had branches long enough for him to climb over the river with; he'd have to get a running start and jump from the branch to the other side of the river. Not only would that prove to be an issue getting back, he also couldn't be sure the branches were sturdy enough to support that.

As he pondered the situation, a splash came from the river itself. Then a wet-sounding snort. The Sephi turned in surprise to see an animal breaching the surface and staying in place. This one had eyes dotting it's snout. Stretching out with the Force, the Jedi sensed a predatory nature, as well as several others in the near vicinity. Luckily, he only needed one at this point in time. He took two running steps forward, then changed how he used the Force. First a leap to relative safety on the back of the animal. He didn't stop there though, using the one foot solidly planted and his momentum to continue to the other side of the river. Behind him, the creature snapped at his boot but missed by centimeters, just barely too slow to snag the assailant. Didn't matter to the Padawan now, he was one step closer to where he wanted to be.

 

[Audren Sykes]

As he closed with the Temple, he started to see designs carved into the surface. Leaves. Groups of them, maybe five or ten in a group, repeated in patterns all over the outer stone of the place. Where it wasn't cracked away with age or impact marks, that was. And he'd seen these leaves on a shrub back near the Temple with the Convocation, yet not so many of them near this one. It was an odd juxtaposition. Much of the outside was sealed at the ground level, but once he rounded one of the massive stone braces an opening was seen. Massive, just like the rest of the place, but shaped like an inverted T. Completely accessible, which was a relief. He'd have hated to try to climb or leap up to further levels just to get in.

Much to his surprise, the interior was fairly lit. Not perfectly or evenly lit, but better than he'd expected. Some of that came from the multiple slits on either wall, possibly intended as windows. Some, however, came from the blue crystalline cone, the middle one of three. The landing holding the three cones was down a set of stone stairs. Meanwhile, there were chambers hewn from the stone walls on multiple levels, each reached by similar stone steps running along the walls. Each level had what appeared to be a wide balcony accessing all the chambers: a stone floor wide enough for three large humanoids to walk side by side and a stone wall serving as guard rail.

All of this could be seen from the Temple entrance. The Padawan couldn't see inside the chambers of course, couldn't see what size they were, but it was clear that the entire place was designed around the single gigantic crystal. Maybe it had carried some spiritual weight for the Massassi that built it. He could examine it later. Something seemed off, made him hesitant to take another step in any direction. It took him a moment, but he realized that what he'd taken for dripping water was actually clicking, and there wasn't a pattern to it. It was organic. He extended his senses out, something he should have done the moment he stepped inside, only to sense that each alcove he could sense had life forms within. In the nearest of them, he had the impression of something crouching, preparing for a leaping attack. The feeling was spreading, and it seemed focused.

The focus was him.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Clicking turned into skittering, proving the Padawan's hunch that it hadn't been water. Insectoid forms rounded the corner of various chambers, then stopped. Multifaceted eyes watched him, weighed him. Bright green eyes, startlingly brilliant against the pale green chitin put the serrated legs and mandibles into stark relief. These insects - and they were insects despite being almost as big as Audren himself - were clearly carnivores capable of stripping the flesh off a humanoid in minutes. For whatever reason though, they didn't move.

At least not until he did. The instant he shifted, extending one foot for better balance, the insectoids sprang. For his part, the Sephi ducked and used cables of Force power to push the creatures up. They flew over him, missing each other by centimeters. That was only the first wave though. The second was slower, giving him enough time to sweep out his lightsaber and ignite it, cleaving the first of the attackers in two. A pungent smell abruptly filled the area as the halves fell to the floor. Nothing dangerous as far as he could tell, but he didn't really have a lot of time to stop and analyze it. Other chitinous creatures were swarming in, and they and his crimson blade soon became all he knew.

Unknown to the Jedi, that smell was the release of pheromones, one of the primary ways these creatures communicated. It indicated imminent danger to the tribe and was unique to the defenders. Once the pheromones were carried to the hive queen, she ordered the warriors and hunters into play, pulling the gatherers and defenders back. Gatherers were placed around the hive for repairs while defenders were placed around the queen herself. The hunters had darker chitin and were faster, adept at surprise attacks in small numbers. The warriors had heavier chitin, almost armor-like, and their claws and mandibles were even sharper than those of the defenders. Fortunately for him, their weapons were not designed to pierce but to slash. Holes began appearing in the clothing from when he was too slow; in some cases finely-wrought metal links were made visible, other times flesh. Sometimes blood. But body parts were swiftly piling up.

 

[Audren Sykes]

With almost two dozen of the warriors dead, the rest started backing off. The Padawan let them, he had no desire to kill if he didn't have to. With cuts and bruises all over, he took a moment to simply rest. It was dangerous, but necessary. If he hadn't had armored robes, the damage would have been far, far worse. Come to think of it, if the mandibles or spikes had been venomous he would have been very much worse off. The medkit he'd brought held some bacta, but only a bit of it, so he opted to bandage the areas that needed it most and save the bacta for if it was needed.

Audren hooked his lightsaber hilt back to his belt, having left it out just in case the insects returned. Instead he pulled out the blaster pistol, opting to give himself some range and reaction time. With a single stim injection, he headed down the steps to the base level. He didn't want to go digging through each chamber, especially since most of them seemed to have been claimed by the insects. He had no interest in eradicating the nest, just in finding whatever had linked him to this place.

At the bottom of the steps, two hunters hurled at him from opposite shadows. The Sephi shot one, concentric circles of a stun bolt arcing out to meet the insect mid-flight. With no idea if the stun bolt worked, he ducked into a forward roll, came up on one knee, and fired again. This time he got to see the effect: sparks coruscated from gaps between the chitin and the eyes grew brighter for a moment before the creature collapsed senseless. There were plenty of shadows down here but only two chambers, both of which were cleared rather quickly. Both carried the stench of the dark side within, probably used for priests or whatever the inhabitants had used.

The three cones were rather large. Two held cuneiform symbols that Audren couldn't begin to read, while the third and center was blue and seemed lit from within, though there also seemed to be some sort of liquid. As he peered within it, he began to see faces. Some were Massassi, recognized only because the research he'd done before landing. Others were human, completely unknown to him and heavily wounded. Then a few hunters he'd seen, and some fellow outriders. People he'd known.

 

[Audren Sykes]

When the Sephi came back to himself, the room's lighting had changed. He wasn't familiar with the day cycle on the moon, so he estimated he could have been standing there anywhere between half an hour and an hour. He'd been stock still, insensate to the world at large, and yet the insects hadn't even started to close on him. He could feel them watching to be sure, but not a one had set foot on this level that he could see. Curious, but ultimately inconsequential.

A bit of casting around allowed Audren to re-establish the thread; somehow he'd lost it while looking into the crystal. Whatever he was being led to was not on this level, so he continued on to the stairs opposite the entrance and started up them. Three steps in, another three hunters came hurtling out of the darkness above. Their claws were raised, mandibles spread as they flew at him. A distant part of his mind noted that they approached from slightly different angles - as much as the curving structure could allow - and disparate timing. Clearly there was some modicum of intelligence at play.

The Padawan didn't bother just shooting or slicing. Both would have only minor effect in any case, and would likely result in his being knocked back to the landing in a best case scenario. Instead, he accessed the Force and leaped up and forward. He didn't go completely over the bugs, just enough that one of his feet could land on the center one. He used it as a springboard, pushing off of it and further up. The forces involved pushed the insect down to impact the stone steps with chitin-cracking force. At the same time, Audren fired at the one on the left. That one was knocked unconscious and impacted the wall hard. The one on the right simply missed, flying off the stairs to the landing itself. Just a few rolls, but by the time it recovered the Sephi was well out of reach. Rather than rush back up to confront him, the creature slunk back into the shadows. Its nature was not for head on confrontations, it struck from the shadows.

Unfortunately, whatever he was looking for wasn't on this level either. He continued up the stairs.

 

[Audren Sykes]

The next level was, thankfully, free of ambushes. Not of surprises however. The stone surfaces were accented by...he couldn't characterize it. It looked almost like chitin, but wasn't the smooth plating or jagged claws he'd seen on the insects themselves. Instead, it was made up of whorls radiating out from a center, forming odd patterns. The Force indicated that it wasn't alive, so it was likely a byproduct of the nest. An experimental poke showed that it was hard but relatively flexible. It wasn't nearly as strong as the stone making up the Temple, so the Sephi had to wonder why it was there, what purpose it served.

Given the relative space available here, a blaster wouldn't be much good. If the bugs rushed him down the walkway he could stop them with the gun, but if they sprang from the chambers he was just meters from, it would be blade work. The gun went back into the holster and the lightsaber hilt was brought back out, though he refrained from igniting it just yet. His off hand dug around in the backpack for a second, coming out with a glowrod. The first chamber held nothing of value, but there was an abrupt change in the wall plating. Rather than the semi-smooth walls, these ones were covered in jagged edges. There had to be some sort of pattern to them, but he couldn't spot it.

The Force thread was leading him several chambers down, so he refrained from entering the one he was examining. He wasn't foolish enough to simply try passing by the next few rooms without scanning them however. He found insects in two of them; one room had a couple bugs stationed just inside the entrance and the other had a single hunter ready to spring out. The guards - that was the best description he could think of for them - didn't move to attack him, simply kept him in sight as he edged past. The hunter, on the other hand, was crouching to spring until the beam of light swept over it, that caused it to scuttle back further into the room. Audren kept the glowrod trained on the creature as he passed by that particular opening.

The corner seam between the two Temple directionals was blocked off by more of the wall plating. Too, the inside of the lined with shadows even his glowrod couldn't penetrate without getting closer. The Padawan was wary of closing on that one, something felt off about it. Instead, he hung the lightsaber hilt and glowrod on his belt and took a few running steps. Just before hitting the 'railing' he threw his weight forward and pushed off the stone rail with his arms, turning what could have been a graceful and ultimately deadly dive into a Force-assisted flip that allowed him to bypass the organic wall. His feet landed on the railing, giving him a split second to see that there was no walkway. There should have been, and there certainly was to the side, but not directly in front of the chamber. He had to use his momentum - which he hadn't planned on doing - to leap directly into the room. Unlike the others he'd seen, this one was covered in dust and clearly untended. The plating on the wall was faded with age. Clearly the bugs hadn't used this room since the walkway had collapsed.

And, of course, it was the wrong room. The thread of Force power connecting him to whatever it was now pointed to the left, through the wall. His target was in the room cloaked in shadow. Lucky him.

 

[Audren Sykes]

The Sephi had limited choices when it came to getting back to the other room. With the flooring in front of the room gone, he could try jumping to the railing and moving that way; he could hit the railing and use it to propel himself backwards as he fell, hoping to reach the floor below - recessed in comparison with this floor - safely; by dropping to the edge and swinging he might be able to make it to the level below; he could try to bounce off the side of the doorway and hope it could get him to the still-intact flooring on this level; or he could burn through the stone wall with his lightsaber, literally carving himself a doorway. If only he'd brought a cable launcher, this would have been much simpler.

Ultimately, he decided that using the door frame would provide the least risk. And he was successful, landing firmly on the intact floor. Whatever had caused the other section to fail and drop apparently hadn't weakened the rest of it, which was fortunate for him. Now he could go around, down one staircase and up another, then further around and hit the other set of staircases. Or he could walk on the railing like a balance beam and cut off quite a bit of journey. With the railing being as wide as his feet were long, it was a fairly safe walk. Of course, that was until a hunter leapt out of the shadows while he was at the corner seam. It was perhaps one of the most foolish attacks the hunter could have done. All the Padawan had to do was hop forward off the railing and onto the floor and watch the hunter go flying to the level with the cones.

It was a messy landing for the insect.

The shadows across the door weren't born of the Force, they were a physical thing. Some organic byproduct so dark Audren couldn't see through it. But he could certainly sense the insects behind it. It was almost like they could see him even though he couldn't see them, and they were waiting for him to try.

 

[Audren Sykes]

The insects weren't sentient enough to make dares. Even knowing that, it still felt like their waiting was one. So, being Audren, he walked right in.

Whatever cast the place into shadow felt like a light gauze, but its light absorption was absolute. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face, though he could feel the wind from its passing. Most curious. Despite the ability to block light from without however, it held no such power against light from within. When the Sephi ignited his lightsaber, the crimson light permeated the room. The first half was crowded with insects, the second almost completely empty. Though there were warriors and hunters among those crowding the front half, none moved to attack. Perhaps they had finally learned to respect the blade of light.

Or maybe they were protecting something. The back half of the room contained only a single insectoid, this one larger and blacker than the others. The one all directions emanated from. The queen. And many of the insects in the front half were concentrated in a thick line between him and her. It was clear that they would die before allowing him past. Not just the warriors and hunters, but the workers and tenders too.

The thread of Force power that had led him here, however, didn't lead to the queen. It led beyond her. And there could be an altogether comical way to end the standoff without further bloodshed. The Padawan edged to his right, towards a wall. In response, the wall of insects turned with him, keeping itself between him and the matriarch. He kept going, and they kept responding. The queen herself, however, didn't move but to turn her head and watch him. Maybe she wasn't capable, but that wasn't his concern. Once he was at the back wall, he turned and plunged his lightsaber into the stone. Somehow, he knew that whatever was buried here was small, and that he wouldn't damage it by carving around it.

As it turned out, the wall was a false one. The circular cut in the stone allowed a piece to fall out, very nearly falling on his toes. Inside was a cloth bag, preserved from the mold and damp of the planet by the false wall that hid it. Carefully, the Jedi stuffed the bag into the pack he wore, then returned to the opening the same way he'd come in. Once again the bugs moved with him but didn't attack.

As soon as he was out of the room he was moving for the exit. Enough blood had been shed here, some of it his own, and he had no desire to tempt fate by by exploring further. Once outside, he noticed a log stretching across a branch in the river and took it as quickly as possible, finding himself not five minute's walk from the Temple he'd started out from. With a bit of annoyance - that pathway would have been simpler to start with - he headed for his vessel and started powering up. He couldn't resist looking inside the bag though, finding only two gems. One appeared to have some sort of fire inside, visible from any angle, though it didn't cast any true light. The other was almost completely colorless and glass-like. So much effort, so much death, for these two little stones. They had best be worth it.