Duel In the darkest depths dwell

[Travot Ravenna]

It had been two weeks since the massive uncovering of the Sith vaults had devastated the world. Sith starships had broken free of their earthly bounds, devastating cities as Sith sought to reclaim what they had buried long ago. Yet the intervention by the Silver Jedi Concord had managed to stop some of the lost loot from being recovered as Sith were slain by sabers or brought down low by levies of disciplined Concord Guard. That had left a number of treasure vaults unrecovered by the remnants of the Sith Empire. Jedi like himself now sought to uncover them and take their contents, whether they were Sith holocrons or experimental technologies, into their safe keeping. But the news of such treasure had brought not only the Jedi to the world, but others hoping to get their hands on such wondrous marvels.

Travot travelled down one of the rocky tunnels, stepping past near ancient mechanisms and fresh casualties. Most of the more shallow vaults had already been secured by the Sith or the Jedi simply because they had been easier to get to. But the deeper ones were harder to get to, more secure, and likely offered far more tantalizing secrets. He briefly halted at a fork in the tunnel, taking a deep breath of air in, noting the smells within it - stale air, oil, and charred flesh. Yet he caught the hint of more unusual smell emanating from the left tunnel - something almost sickening sweet. He frowned. What could that be? Smells almost like there's a garden down here. Well...there could be. I wouldn't put it past a Sith to engage in some gardening in order to get some sort of herbal-based poison...or something else. Sith alchemy always rubbed him the wrong way, despite his own Jensaarai origins. Yet he knew that whatever was the cause of the odd smell, he would have to at least secure it, if not destroy it outright.

Darth Marras

 

[Darth Marras]

The Jawas had simple rules when it came to salvage and scrounging for treasure. All ofwhich were pretty standard, of course. "Watch where you step", "Keep an eye out for strange markings or flashing lights", and of course the ever important "If you find something that's breathing, looks hungry, and it's bigger than you are...run."

Despite all the cautionary tales taught to him when he was young about Jawas who embraced the "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" mindset, Marras always found a curious allure to the unknown. Often dreaming of stumbling across an abandoned mine out in the dunes of Tatooine, and coming across buried treasure deep within it. So when he heard about the mass uncovering of Sith vaults, he knew he had to jump at the chance. (I'm a Sith myself, of course!) he recalled saying earlier, back when little pangs of worry jabbed at his mind before his ship touched down, (I may not have been trained right... but nobody has to know that!)

Still, every con artist worth their salt had two or three back up plans, all of which were flexible and could easily be swapped out for others depending on the situation. He had just started piecing together one for if he stumbled upon a "fellow Sith" when he found one of the tunnels. Ignoring the fresh bodies, but keeping a cautious eye on the ancient devices around as he made his way deeper in. It wasn't long before he came across a fork in the road. He started to head for the right path, when something in the air caught his attention. Something sweet.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Marras made his way down the left path. Keeping a firm grip on his lightsaber as he marched on.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Whatever lights had functioned in the tunnel in the past no longer worked - he walked in pitch blackness, occasionally stumbling on a piece of debris. The tunnel seemed to get more and more rough hewn and increasingly smaller too. He was beginning to wonder if he had wandered into an incomplete passageway when it suddenly opened up into what he thought was a natural cavern. A handful of glowlights studded the ceiling, fewer functional than not, but they cast just enough faint light that he could make out prefabricated metal tables laid methodically across the cavern floor. Some of them appeared to have potted plants and fungi which glowed with their own green and blue bioluminescence. Other tables had a variety of flasks, tubing, and chemical burners that made Travot guess that he had stumbled upon the laboratory of some Sith alchemist. But even among these, he could make glinting pieces of metal, though he was not sure if they were simple crude parts and hand tools or even fully functional devices and weapons. It would not surprise him if both present.

He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and hit the activation stud, bathing the immediate area around him a pale blue light. At its light, a variety of insects and small critters scampered away from him. Travot grimaced. Well, that's one good reason to improve the lighting....He approached the nearest table and picked up what appeared to be an old-fashioned blade. At first, he thought it was a simple pruning tool, but something felt...off about it. The sort of feeling that suggested to him that its past user hadn't used it just to work on plants. He abruptly let it clatter onto the table.

Then he felt it - an approaching presence in the Force. A sign of intelligent life, but who yet, he did not know. He abruptly flicked the switch on his blade off, and attempted to duck underneath one of the ables.

Darth Marras

 

[Darth Marras]

Jawa rule #238: "(Always have a flashlight!)", a rule that was often accompanied by the ever so specific "(Because if the power goes out, and you need to find a bathroom fast, you'll feel awfully sorry if you don't have one!)"

One of the Elder Jawas used to tell that story every chance he got back when Marras lived in the Sand Crawler. In fact he told it so often, Marras always wondered if the Elder had been in that exact situation. In fact he tried asking once, but the Elder shushed him on the spot and said "(Never ask questions without giving thought to the potential horror should the truth become known!)". The Elder may have had the voice of a chew toy on helium like most Jawas, but the seething anguish that coated his words, as well as the ferocity in his eyes when he removed his protective jewels did well in sending a chill down young Marras' spine.

In any case, the moment his path was blotted out by darkness, Marras reached into one of the compartments on his belt and pulled one out. It was small and simple. A tube three inches long with a single LED light amplified by a reflector panel. As one would expect, parts of the ground were uneven. Jagged and oblong shaped rocks of numerous sizes spread about haphazardly as they rose up from the ground. Marras carefully maneuvered around them, while keeping an eye out for anything odd or seemingly out of place as that usually meant booby traps.

As the tunnel he traversed became more narrow, and the floor more treacherous, Marras froze when he heard a familiar noise from somewhere up ahead. So familiar... and yet just distant enough that his ears couldn't identify it. Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he proceeded to move faster. As he came upon what seemed to be a room of some sort, he heard another familiar noise and even saw a bright blue light go out. Pausing outside the entrance of the room, he poked his head in from out of the corner, trying to see if he could spot any sort of danger. He didn't see anything suspicious, though. Just a lot of abandoned tables with crap on top.

He walked into the room with his flashlight in hand. Examining the various items on each table as he walked past them. Seeing nothing of value as he moved from table to table, Marras' mind went on auto pilot. Thinking back to those noises he heard. "(I know I've heard those before... what were they?!)"

Just then, the light of his flashlight began to flicker. It died not but a second later. Grumbling under his breath. Marras had forgotten to bring spare batteries again! Tucking away the flashlight, he retrieved his lightsaber. With a loud "KZZ-SHOOM!" the room was illuminated with bright red light. Marras froze in place. That's when the gears in his mind began to turn. The first noise he heard off in the distance... he was almost certain that it was the sound of a lightsaber activating.

Curious, he held his lightsaber in front of his face, and proceeded to deactivate it. With an audible "KRSS-ZRRVIP!", the room was once more dimly lit. His eyes went wide in alarm. That was the second noise he heard! Startled at this realization, Marras activated his mask's thermal visor system. Right away he saw many tiny red heat signatures belonging to hundreds of bugs. His brain started to throb. The force trying to tell him something. Eyes darting around the room frantically before spotting a rather large heat signature beneath one of the nearby tables.

Taking a deep breath, and calmly exhaling, Marras activated the voice changer on his mask. What normally would've been an ordinary monotone quickly became a voice belonging to a warrior fueled by rage and death.

"I see you!!" he growled in English, reactivating his lightsaber

 

[Travot Ravenna]

"I see you!!"

Well, it was worth a shot.

Travot slowly rose up from behind the table, noted the red light from Darth Marras 's saber, and promptly drew his own saber and activated its blue blade. The snap-hiss cast the room in conflicting shades of color except between them, which seemed to turn an almost purple hue. Lacking any sort of fancy technology, the jedi saw his opponent for the first time. Or at least he thought he saw his opponent, who appeared to be some sort of humanoid wearing a grostesque mask. But he had been wrong before, and that combined with the unusually loud and angry voice made him cautious.

Ever the cautious man, he pivoted into a classic Soresu stance, pointing his lead right foot towards Marras while moving his left foot off to the side, thus narrowing the cross section of his body presented towards the sith apprentice. He kept his saber in the classic vertical guard in his right hand while his left hand dangled behind him, ready to be used to counterbalance his movements or take another action. He stared down at the masked man.

"Is this your place? What brings you here?"

 

[Darth Marras]

Marras watched as Travot crawled out from under the table. From there, several realizations came to Marras like crashing tidal waves, and not a single one was good.

Marras knew way before he even chartered a course for this planet that he would no doubt come in contact with someone other than himself. Sith being the primary suspect as the vaults belonged to them. Heck, he even anticipated the possibility of running into a Jedi. Whatever he was sure to face, Marras knew that he needed a darn good cover story for why he was out there, and what he was doing. First realization: He had none. He started to make one earlier, but became more focused on where he was walking at the time.

Then the lightsaber came out, the cause of the blue light he saw earlier. That's when the second realization came in, causing his heart to sink: Ignoring his frightening mask, as well as the color of his lightsaber, Marras may have had a slight chance of using the color of his robes to say that he was a Jedi as well since they were brown and not black. That flew out the window the moment he pulled his lightsaber out.

"(Maybe... maybe he's like me?)" the con artist foolishly hoped, thinking that his opponent was pretending to be a Jedi just as Marras was pretending to be a Sith

Third realization: He was not at all like Marras, who now held his lightsaber like one would a steel bat and with arms made of gelatin. Travot showed that he wasn't even in the same ballpark as Marras the moment he entered some sort of combat stance. In short: Travrot was trained, Marras was not.

"Is this your place? What brings you here?"

And thus the fourth and final realization came in, causing his face to sweat, and his stomach to do flip flops: Marras had no plan, no training, no alternative skills to aid him, and therefore didn't have a hope in hell of getting out of this situation alive. This place was his tomb, he came here to die. And try as he might, he couldn't think of a single thing to say to the contrary. He may have fallen dead silent on the outside, but on the inside he was screaming.

Marras knew long ago that one day karma would come back to pay him a visit. It was the moment when he burned his master's face off with his flame thrower. It felt so good at the time... but now Marras' flying farming animals had come home to roost.

"(If only I hadn't killed Darth Dy Soont, I'd be able to fight this guy or something!!)" he thought, wanting to run, but his wobbly legs wouldn't let him

But that's when it clicked. "(Master Dy Soont...)" he thought as a sly grin crept onto his face

He had an idea.

His arms and legs stood firm once more. His gut ceased its sickening movements. After all that, Marras let loose a soft sigh of relief as he held his lightsaber low and to his left, just like that image he saw on the holonet of an ancient swordsman, trying to make it seem like he had a stance of his own.

"No." he told Travot, attempting to keep a calm and steady tone, "Not mine... my late master's."

"(No, wait... better switch it up...)" he quickly thought, then said aloud, "Rather... my master told me of this place before he died. Said his master told him of this place, and that should anything happen, that he was to retrieve what lay hidden here. A job I have now been given."

Nodding his head, motioning to Travot, he said, "What of you? Weren't the bodies out front not warning enough, Jedi?"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot eyed Darth Marras intently as the Sith spoke - if anything, whoever was behind that mask was getting more and more interesting. Never one for delving into much social subtleties, Travot wasn't entirely sure what to make of the man's words. He could tell that something wasn't entirely honest, but what that exactly was, he did not know. But he was intrigued. This sith apparently knew something about the chamber, and that alone was worth continuing the conversation a bit more rather than simply calling down reinforcements or trying to outright defeat the unusual force user.

"Unfortunately, I've seen too many bodies in the last decades between your kind and the Bryn'adul for their mere appearance to have much impact on me..."

A sad truth...and a sobering one at that....A wan smile creased the susevfian's face.

"But we don't need to add another one to this chamber today, do we? Tell me what is here that you're looking for," started the jedi, "surely your master must have given you some clue as to what it is. Depending what it is, we may not have to fight - but you'd best be honest with me..."

 

[Darth Marras]

"(Why is he still talking to me?!)" Marras thought with a tiny twinge of panic, "(Does... does he know?? Is he testing me?!)"

Despite the little twinges of fear, Marras stood firm. He listened to Travot's words... some of which he didn't fully understand, thanks to Marras' subpar grasp of the English language. He knew what "bodies" meant, but couldn't make heads or tails as to what a "decade" was. "(What in the name of scrap rats is a) "Brink of doll"?! ( Is that a place?? A people??)" he thought to himself, squinting as the gears in his head started to grind to a halt

Still, Marras slowly nodded to what Travot said. If his opponent suspected weakness, it would only give him the upper hand should he decided to pick a fight, and Marras couldn't have that.

Thankfully, it sounded like the Jedi wasn't keen on bloodshed. He asked Marras what he was looking for, and if he had any sort of idea what sort of treasure was in this place, if any. He also warned Marras to be honest, which was just fine with him. After all, the best lies were sewn together with threads of truth.

"I don't know what lies beneath." Marras admitted, then said, "My master was unable to tell me... we were attacked."

Deactivating his lightsaber, Marras began to slowly pace back and forth. He brought his mind back to the day he killed Darth Dy Soont, seeking inspiration for his "retelling of history".

"Bounty hunters found us, seeking to kill my master." he said, remembering how he hid and waited until there were only two hunters left before stepping in, "We fought with all our might... but they came prepared. I ambushed the remaining two... but I was too late. My master was already dying. That's when he told me of this place."

Marras let out a deep sigh when he remembered the horrified look on Dy Soont's face before it was melted clean off. He smiled at the memory. It was payback for what happened to the Jawas Marras grew up with.

"He may have been cruel... but he was all I had." Marras fibbed, "As he died in my arms, he told me to come to this place and retrieve what was lost. I'm sure he would've said what was within... but it was a miracle he lived for as long as he did."

Turning to Travot, he said while beckoning to the tables around them, "If I were to guess... it may be something to do with rituals, given that dagger over there."

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot listened to Darth Marras with rapt attention. If anything, his experience with Sith had taught him that they were a more varied lot than most in the galaxy gave them credit for. Certainly there were some who were megalomaniac and cruel, but he had seen others driven to that side by circumstances far out of their control, and with a certain wistfulness try to move to something more neutral and even light-sided. They were even force-users who tried to be truly "neutral" in their use of the Force, and they had seemed pretty rational. Was this being someone that could be turned, no, nudged to a less destructive path? Could he morally not take the opportunity to entertain such a possibility?

The jedi blinked in surprise as the other's lightsaber deactivated. On one hand, Travot didn't exactly trust the other being. But on the other hand, he didn't want to possibly offend someone he could maybe "help", if it could be called that. He opted for a middle course, not deactivating his own saber, but rather pointing it towards the ground. It wouldn't be hard to simply tilt it back upwards and into action, but at the same time should demonstrate that he didn't immediately have any hostile intent.

"Let me ask you a question, no...let me ask you two questions. If you didn't have this inheritance, so to speak of, what would you be doing instead? What will you do when you leave this place?"

 

[Darth Marras]

"(Oh, we got a caring type!)" thought Marras with malicious glee, "(THAT's why he's still talking!)"

"Those are difficult questions, Jedi." said Marras, holstering his saber, "Mainly since I'm a man of the moment. I don't deal in "what if's"...I see no point in them. But I'll humor you nonetheless."

Walking over to one of the tables, Marras sat atop it after brushing away most of the garbage on top. Truth be told, he meant what he said about living in the moment. Still, he'd be lying if he said he never entertained the thought of what his life would be if things had played out different. Though, he knew what Travot was actually asking, Marras, the conman that he was, decided to go deeper with it. As usual: truth layered with lies. Hell, he even deactivated the voice change settings, as well as the thermal imaging since that was starting to bug him with all the orange and reds.

"Without this inheritance? There is little else out there for me, I'm afraid." Marras said, adding a wistful tone to his normal, slight monotone voice, "My master sought to train me as an assassin. To hunt down those deemed enemies of his cause... but there's no point honoring the wishes of a dead man... save for this venture since it was the only task he gave that was close to being "honorable", as you'd say."

Nostalgia began creeping in, though, coating his words with a little more truth than he intended.

"I can't change what I am, now... but..."

Images of the past robbed him of his sight. Images of a young Marras working diligently working on a damaged droid. It was difficult, but not impossible. A breakthrough was near. A Jawa elder next to him, the one who had found him. Patting him on the shoulder, praising him for his improving skills. The memory made him smile.

"Sorry..." he said, shaking his head, "If I weren't here doing what I am now... I'd be out looking for a job. Many would pay handsomely to have someone like me on their side. And I'm no stranger to mercenary work. But once I'm out of here-"

"(Hey, tall friend!)"

Images of the past, once buried deep, but now clawing back to the surface.

A starry night on Tatooine, with a teenage Marras on look out. Sitting atop the sand crawler, keeping his eye peeled for Tuscan Raiders. A voice called out. He looked over, and saw a Jawa approaching him. A laser carbine on her back, a bottle of liquor in each hand, and a beautiful red bow pinned to the side of her hood.

He started to smile at the memory...

"(Leave him alone!!")

A series of sounds echoed in his ears, jostling him back to the present. First, a lightsaber -his master's- deflecting the shot from a laser carbine. The dying scream of a Jawa came right after.

Marras shuddered, but was back in reality.

"Once I'm out of this place..." he said, adding one final truth before switching back to the lies, "I'm going to visit my home... then I'm going to take whatever it was my master wanted from here, and find the deepest, darkest hole there is and chuck it down there."

He reactivated his voice changer. It was time to get some answers of his own. He hated the thought of working with anyone... but there was no telling what sort of danger lurked further down. So Marras decided to ask the Jedi before him where he stood on matters, "Now I have a few questions for you... what do you gain in asking me such things? You trying to understand me? Trying to bring light to a soul stained by blood and shadows? There's no saving one touched by the dark side of the force..."

"(Or blood money for that matter...)" he thought to himself, "(I'm immune to that high and mighty crap...)"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot listened to Darth Marras talk some more, and at the mention of inheritance, he switched off his lightsaber and attached it to his belt. Irony if I ever heard of it. Travot's own "inheritance" from his first master was that very saber. He himself had had very little when Master Wurth passed - that saber itself and a rusty bucket of a ship one jump away disintegrating had been it. The mainstream Jedi Order had taken him in after that - a kindness that Travot doubted was available to the Sith - at least not a kindness without a cost. He sensed that the other man had mixed emotions coursing through him - the complexities of life usually did that - the bad intertwined with the good, the pain with the pleasure. Yet something didn't feel quite right about it. Something felt distorted, though whether that was intentional or just the unconscious, twisted thought processes of Marras himself, he did not know - not yet, at least.

The jedi began to help clear things around the area as Marras talked, taking a mental inventory of their surroundings. A man who preferred exploring old ruins and new worlds to fighting, he had managed to develop a bit of a skill in understanding surroundings by their contents. This was the perfect situation for it - and what he was seeing didn't add up to what the Marras was saying. He could not sense anything of ritualistic power nearby. Perhaps there were notes about it here or some clue to the ritual being performed elsewhere? Still, he would try to keep an open mind for the moment - though he found himself distracted by the constant changing of the man's voice - was that a clue to something?

"Probably naive idealism," admitted the susevfian, "but I'd like to say that I see a chance of it with you. But just a chance. I've seen a handful of sith and fallen jedi redeem themselves, become something that could benefit the galaxy as a whole. But I've also seen that played as a ruse, not sure if you've ever kept up with the news of the galactic powers that be, but there was a sith master named Darth Arcanix who allegedly defected and became a jedi master named Taeli Raaf....but it turned out that she had remained a Sith the entire team - nearly destroyed the Galactic Alliance previous to the current incarnated one. And she is out there.

If I am to prevent that mistake from happening again, I need to know you. Know that you will not be a threat to others once you leave here. And that is not something easy to do in these conditions on a short time table. So with that in mind, why don't you take off your mask for me? It's a lot easier to trust someone when you can see your face. After all, you don't see me wearing something like that, do you?"

 

[Darth Marras]

Marras hated to admit it, but he was enjoying this little back and forth. He thought it cute that the Jedi felt there was a chance of some sort of sparkly future, one full of sunshine and rainbows flowing from victory trumpets. A world where Sith weren't jerks like Darth Dy Soont, and Jedi reclaimed that pretentious sense of honor and righteousness, and they all worked together to make a happy galaxy full of fwiendship. A steaming hot pile of bantha crap straight out of a fantasy novel collecting dust in the discount bins in a thrift shop on some backwater planet.

His ears perked at the mention of this Darth Arcanix/Taeli Raaf, though. Marras didn't know the person, but he mentally jotted that name down. Anybody that treacherous was worth keeping note of, especially when it came to the business world. As greedy as Marras was, even he thought twice about betraying people, his dead master not withstanding.

And then Travot used that story as a segue to Marras needing to prove himself to the Jedi. Show that he wasn't a threat. A request that absolutely annoyed the crap out of Marras. More so when the Jedi asked that Marras remove his mask. As easy as it was to pick Marras out of a crowd with that mask of his, it was still the one thing keeping his true appearance a secret. Take that away, and the proper authorities would have an easier time tracking him. Heck, even the improper authorities would be able to track him easier, which in turn increased the chance of him getting his big toes cut off if he managed to cheese off the wrong mafia boss or crime lord.

"After all, you don't see me wearing something like plibbidy bee, plibbidy BOO!" Marras parroted with a mocking tone, and then became real snotty with the Jedi, "You're not the one pimping yourself out to crime lords and angry drug dealers who want people dead, are you, chuckles?!"

Shaking his head at the sheer audacity, Marras added, "Honestly, you think I'm stupid, or something? How do I know that you won't sick your Jedi friends on me after I leave if I show you my real face?! "

He adjusted the position of his mask as he spoke, "This mask is my last line of safety! If people want me dead, but all they know about my appearance is my mask... all I have to do is run far away, hide in a crowd, take it off and POOF! Like I never even existed!"

Gritting his teeth, Marras knew that what he said wouldn't shut someone like Travot up. People like this particular Jedi were very persistent.

"What guarantee do I have that my life won't be at risk should I reveal my true face to you?" said Marras, while adding, "I, who holstered my lightsaber first and even turned my back to you while yours was still out?"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot regarded Darth Marras and his outburst with a mixture of curiosity and pity. So he's not as emotionally stable I thought he first might be...That was a little bit depressing, but again, not wholly unexpected either. And yet another reason why he'd opted to ask the question in the first place - as a test. And it was test that the sith had failed in Travot's eyes.

Another step closer to combat...

"Yes," admitted Travot, his hand slowly resting on the grip of his own saber, "You did holster your saber first. You also had drawn yours first, when you burst into this chamber, remember? When you warned me that the bodies outside were a warning? I can think of how you've been treated, and how you've been taught to treat others. But perhaps unlike those you've met in the past, I am at least your equal in combat. I had my fair share of blood of the years during the wars - Sith and Bryn'adul alike. I took no pleasure in those injuries or deaths that I had to inflict, but I was hoping you'd turn out different - smarter, perhaps?

You are right, I absolutely could call down friends of mine here. Not just Jedi, but friendly troops and law enforcement as well. The Concord has warships in orbit. One call, and even if you escaped this compound and got to your ship - you still wouldn't be safe. I'm willing to bet that the Concord Navy would not have much difficulty in intercepting and destroying whatever you flew in on. And since you told me already that you came from Tatooine, and that you were intending on going back to Tatooine, I'm sure we could begin indexing all inbound and outbound flights out of the system to make that match to an exact vessel. Tatooine to Wayland isn't exactly a common flight. How many ships do you think have made that flight in the last week? Unless that was another lie, was it? Lying wouldn't exactly help our negotiations here now, would they?

Last chance. Take your mask off, or give me a very, very good reason to start trusting that you won't be a threat once you leave...."

As he finished speaking, Travot pointed his right towards the sith and angled his left foot behind it. It Darth Marras was observant enough, he would realize that Travot would be ready to assume that original defensive Soresu stance earlier in milli-seconds - he just had but to draw and activate his saber to complete it.

 

[Darth Marras]

Marras growled in anger, and for a number of reasons.

The first of course being that Travot had back up on standby. A lot of back up. And while he didn't know what the heck a "navy" was, he knew what a "warship" was, and that was not good at all. From what little he was able to piece together, it sounded like there was more than one, and they were at Travot's beck and call. "(So I have to play nice... I hate playing nice!!)" thought Marras in anger

On top of that, his attempt to disarm Travot and squash his demands had failed, and he only had himself to blame. Travot pointing out his own incompetence was an added salt in the wound.

He would've been worried at Travot entering a combat stance once more, if it weren't for two things:

1. The stance that Travot used could've been an intricate ballroom dance position for all Marras cared. He didn't know any combat stances himself, so that part of the threat was lost on him. Still, seeing the Jedi ready his saber sent a chill down Marras' spine all the same.

2. Marras was infuriated above all else at the situation.

But by all means, Marras would comply. He wasn't going to be polite about it, though.

He pulled his hood down, exposing his short, dark brown hair. Reaching behind his head, he tugged at the strap that held his mask in place and pulled it over his head. His mask was finally off, which forced Marras to look away out of discomfort. His plain face and hazel eyes were fully on display in the dimly lit room, and he hated every second of it.

Anger powering him, he forced himself to look directly at Travot.

"Happy now?" he asked with his unfiltered voice

"(You know what?! Screw it!)" thought Marras, deciding he was going to go ahead and throw a couple curse words at the Jedi as well

"You... teriyaki pencil circus!" he said with an extra lilt of anger for effect

"(Yeah!)" thought Marras with glee, thinking he had said something extremely filthy, "(Chew on that, Jedi!)"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot met that anger-fueled gaze with a calm impassiveness, at least outwardly. Inwardly, he was mostly confused and surprised. In truth, Travot hadn't expected Darth Marras to comply at all. If he expected the mask to come off, he had half-expected it to be flung at him as impromptu weapon. But that hadn't happened, leading Travot to guess that the sith was aware of the weakness of his position, which in turn made Travot more sure that he could press Marras further on more demands, if he wanted to. I'm pretty sure I was just insulted, wasn't I? The tone was there, even if the words weren't. Travot did not know what a pencil was, but he had heard of a circus. Being called a circus typically wasn't a good thing. But at least there wasn't any physical violence behind the words.

Travot nodded in acceptance, "I know this must have been tough for you. But the fact that I don't recognize your actual face is probably a good one. I'm going to step aside for a bit, let you do your thing. I'm going to take a look around the rest of the chamber. Let me know if you find anything, and I'll let you know the same."

With that, Travot turned to go a couple dozen meters to inspect what appeared to be a collection random objects on one of the metal tables.

 

[Darth Marras]

"Let me do..." Marras repeated what Travot said, causing his left eye to twitch, and his hands to shake with ever growing anger

Marras had been silent, listening to Travot as he spoke. Seeing the Jedi stare at him and not the least bit insulted left Marras absolutely livid. But when Travot had said he was going to step aside and let Marras do his thing... something snapped. So angry that he wasn't even frowning. Not even glaring. So enraged was Marras, that he wasn't staring at Travot so much as he was staring right through the Jedi.

"Let mE DO MY OWN...?!" Marras whispered, eyes locked onto Travot once more

His arms dropped, hovering next to his hips. Right hand tightly clenched onto his mask, causing his fingertips and knuckles to go white. Marras had many pet peeves, some of which were more infuriating than others. Being used unwillingly was high on the list. The fact that he was pushed into taking his mask off, which he DIDN'T want to do, only to then be told "Do what you want to"... well, to say that Marras' mind did a light speed warp to a galaxy of rage he hadn't been in since his best friend was murdered was putting it a tad light.

He was so angry, his tone of voice dropped any hint of emotion. On top of that, the Sith brought up his left arm, a makeshift prosthetic that once belonged to a clone wars era battle droid. The forearm of which suddenly made a soft whirring sound. A rectangular slot that opened, and a flamethrower nozzle came out. Normally he wouldn't have done this... but seeing Travot turn his back to him without a care was more or less a taunt at this point.

"Here's... what I want... (You walking, butt faced frog that a sarlacc coughed up...)" said Marras, swept up by his rage, "(You better listen close, because I'm only going to say this once...) You-"

Deep in the inner recesses of Marras' mind, a fail-safe had triggered. Cold hard logic that extinguished the hottest flames of his rage, reminding him of who Marras was versus who he was about to "argue" with. In a flash, the flamethrower nozzle slid back in, causing the slot to seal once more.

"You..." he said as he slid his mask back on, and though his tone sounded upbeat compared to how it sounded moments ago, his words ever so slightly dripped with venom, "You are absolutely right... things got a little heated, so it would be best for me to go... cool off."

Marras turned to the entrance. Intending to head back to that fork he came upon earlier, he started to leave Travot to his own devices. But then he stopped before the entrance.

"(You piss me off like that again, though... when you're not watching your back...)" Marras mumbled, anger still hot and lingering, "(Then I might just show you how my master died...)"

Chuckling softly to himself, Marras activated his mask's thermal imaging. As soon as he did, he saw some sort of hubcap sized arachnid dangling from a web thread, blocking Marras' path out of the room. Bringing up his left arm again, the slot opened once more. Only this time a concentrated laser cannon popped out. Following the impulse signals his mind sent to his arm stump, the laser cannon fired a single shot of concentrated energy with a loud "KERPISHH!". The moment it connected with the arachnid, it caused the creature's head and some of its legs to explode leaving it in a puddle of orangey blood and mangled parts on the floor. Only then did Marras proceed out of the room.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot was beginning to question if he had really done the right thing in trying to get along with Darth Marras . As with many experienced Jedi, he had developed a fine prescience for danger. Having a weapon drawn while his back was faced immediately drew that gut feeling out, but even as Travot considered his responses to the abrupt flood of emotions that seemed to surround the unusual man, another one appeared as the sith blasted a spider that swung around.

A weapon in a prosthetic. Should have seen that coming. He had even heard theories that a body increasingly replaced with cybernetics was one more drawn to the Dark Side of the Force. He could easily believe that poor-fitting or shoddy components could increase the user's frustration, leading to more anger, and thus deeper to the Dark Side. Marras arm didn't appear to exactly be the finest bit of cybernetics that he'd seen, yet it seemed functional enough judging by the blasted spider. Travot raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.

"I can't just let you walk out like that..."

But something didn't feel right. He still felt danger, but not from Marras nor the blasted remains of the arachnid.

"...but something doesn't feel right to me. We've attracted the attention of something else living. Something that seems to dislike us equally...your master didn't happen to mention any guardians of this place, did he?"

 

[Darth Marras]

Marras had enough.

"Oh, holy scrap rats!" he shouted, whipping around to face the Jedi, "Can't you shut up for just five-"

A loud, yet distant moan from something very clearly not humanoid came from the tunnel behind Marras. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His body went on autopilot. Using the force, he launched himself over toward Travot. Landing atop one of the tables, he flipped forward and ducked behind the Jedi. Kneeling down, he hid behind Travot's legs.

"My master said nothing about guardians." he told the Jedi, while truthfully adding, "H-He never said anything about this place!"

He fought against every reflex he had. "(Lying time is over!)" thought Marras as he tried to rationalize telling the full truth

"I heard about the vaults, and thought I'd strike it rich!" Marras whispered, "I found this place by chance, but now I wish I hadn't! Between you and whatever the heck that was, I'm wishing I never came to this stupid planet!!"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

What was it Master Wurth used to say?

An evil man will love material objects and use people, but a jedi should use material objects and love people?

It had sounded profound to him as a young padawan, but the older he got, the more it just seemed like a basic, self-evident truism. And if he were to apply that advice to the immediate present, the route forward was pretty clear, even if uncomfortable. He made eye contact with Darth Marras , feeling both some sympathy for the man feeling like he was getting over his head as well as some annoyance for being lied to. He had expected the latter given the man's apparent affiliation, but it still stung a bit.

"We've got to take care of whatever is coming our way first. After that, we'll talk about what's going on here...assuming that we both survive it. I don't quite trust you, and I doubt that you really trust me. But I'd be willing to bet that whatever is coming our way isn't the sort of thing to rationalize or reason with. We'll have to talk with our weapons."

With that, Travot drew his saber. It's snap-hiss cast its ethereal blue light among the dark cavern walls. He slowed down his breathing, forcing himself to better concentrate as he entered a defensive Soresu stance once again, but this time mindful to keep the sith directly to his side in order to better prevent himself from possibly being backstabbed.

 

[Darth Marras]

As scared as he was, he found it amusing when Travot said he didn't trust Marras.

"Aw, you want me to take my mask off again?" Marras quipped as he stepped out from behind Travot, but also taking one step back. After all, no sense being the first to fight when there was a chance he could escape

Fetching his lightsaber, the Sith grumbled to himself. Turning it on, finding some form of comfort with its red glow, if only for a moment. That sense of comfort quickly turned to dread when he heard the sound of frustrated growls alongside something big scraping and breaking through the jagged, uneven rocks on the path to the room they were in. It wasn't long before something very mean and very ugly poked its head into the room. It locked onto the two lightsaber wielders right away, roaring at them in a fit of primal rage.

As large as it was, it was a wonder how it managed to squeeze through the tunnel, let alone the hole to the room. Using its large claws, it clawed and scraped its way in before landing on all fours with a heavy thud. After that it stood up and growled at Marras and Travot. Drool dripping from its gnarled, razor sharp fangs.

In what could only be described as the "Granddaddy of all last ditch efforts", Marras pointed the thumb of his prosthetic over to Travot, while telling the ferocious creature in Jawaese, "(He did it!)"

Hunkering down, the snarling Nydak unleashed another roar, spraying droplets of drool as it did so. Then it started to crawl after both of the men, cautious as it trudged after them.