ᴀ ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɴᴏ ɴᴀᴍᴇ
THE ACOLYTE
SITH APPRENTICE
OBJECTIVE // UNKNOWN ◇ LOCATION // FREGO
THE MASTER AND THE PADAWAN
PART I
Teren Ka'vetha had been through enough cities like it that he stopped looking up after the first few minutes.
Iona Tashi had not.
She walked beside him beneath one of the enormous stone arches supporting the upper transit line, occasionally correcting course when her attention wandered toward a passing speeder or one of the towers disappearing into the haze overhead. More than once she drifted a few steps behind, realised it, and hurried to catch up again. Her travel bag hung from one shoulder. The lightsaber at her belt was mostly hidden beneath the brown outer layer of her robes, though not well enough to stop the occasional glance from someone who recognised it.
"The brief said they were already excavating when they called us," she said, pushing a loose strand of hair behind one ear.
"They were."
"So somebody approved digging into a potential Jedi temple before anyone established that it was actually a Jedi temple."
Teren looked across at her, thumb brushing absently over his beard. "That's a generous reading of what happened."
Iona smiled. "I thought so."
The pedestrian traffic thickened where the concourse narrowed ahead. Shops occupied the permanent units built into the archway, while less permanent vendors had claimed whatever space remained between them. A droid pushed a cart of steaming pots through the crowd. Porters argued over luggage. A group of offworld labourers stood around a departure board trying to make sense of the local script while commuters flowed around them with the practised irritation of people who already knew where they were going.
Teren moved a little closer to Iona as they entered the crush. His hand dropped briefly to his belt, fingers finding the familiar weight of his lightsaber before falling away again.
"The original survey wasn't looking for a Jedi site," he said. "They were assessing the plateau for a commercial excavation. Some exposed stonework suggested there was something much larger beneath it, so they expanded the dig."
"And found the temple."
"Possibly."
She glanced at him. "You've been saying that since we left."
"Because nobody has confirmed what it is."
"They found Jedi relics."
"They found objects they believe are Jedi."
"They sent us pictures."
"Pictures of old objects."
"With Jedi markings."
"Markings somebody has interpreted as Jedi."
Iona breathed out through her nose and tucked the same loose hair behind her ear again. "You could make discovering an actual Jedi temple sound inconclusive, Master Teren."
"I'd like to think that's why they sent me," Teren said as he stepped around a pair of Duros children.
She looked forward again, still faintly amused.
Teren had read the Letharis survey twice since receiving it. The initial excavation had been straightforward enough. Foundations beneath several metres of compacted sediment, followed by walls, corridors and what appeared to be a central structure. The deeper the crews went, the more convincing the identification became. Several objects recovered from the upper levels bore forms and motifs associated with old Jedi construction. A partial inscription had been tentatively translated. One chamber appeared deliberately aligned toward a local astronomical feature whose significance remained uncertain.
It was the lower excavation that had stopped them.
Something had been found beneath one side of the complex after machinery broke through a sealed section of masonry. The foreman's report became noticeably less precise after that. The construction and materials were different from the ruins above, with symbols nobody recognised. Two workers reported headaches after entering. A third refused to go back underground.
The company suspended work before anyone could damage whatever had been uncovered, or lose personnel to something nobody understood.
Iona had read the same file.
"So if it's not part of the temple?" she asked.
"We determine that."
"And if it is?"
"We work out what it was used for."
"And if it's dangerous?"
Teren gave her a brief sideways look. "Then we'll be very pleased they stopped digging."
That kept her quiet for a few paces. She dropped behind again when a shop window caught her attention, then lengthened her stride to catch up without comment.
Around them, the crowd thinned and gathered again with the rhythm of arriving transports. Beneath the far side of the archway, several people had settled against the wall where the stone kept off the worst of the afternoon heat. Most looked as though they had been there for hours. A woman slept against a travel case. An elderly Ithorian held out a battered container whenever someone passed close enough, peering up. Two men in patched work clothes shared food from the same paper wrapping. Another figure sat among them beneath a hood with his elbows resting loosely across his knees cupping a warm caf. Several feline creatures rested atop stacked containers nearby.
Teren and Iona passed with the rest of the foot traffic.
"The Council really needs sites like Letharis that badly?" Iona asked.
Teren stroked his beard again before answering. "Needs is probably the right word."
"That sounds encouraging." Her voice was flat.
"The Order has spent too long concentrated around places everyone already knows. If we're going to operate farther out again, we need somewhere to work from. Temples, enclaves, waystations if that's all a world can support. Places people can actually reach."
"Which is why we're leaving Frego to investigate ruins halfway across the sector."
"Among other reasons."
Iona considered that. "You think Letharis could actually be used?"
"I haven't seen it."
"You've seen the survey."
"I've seen someone else's survey."
Iona smirked. "That must be very difficult for you."
"It has been," Teren said with a sniff.
She laughed, drawing a brief look from a passing Bothan.
Their departure platform occupied the next level up. They took the broad stairs rather than wait for the crowded lift. Iona fell behind halfway up when she stopped to let an elderly couple come down together, then jogged the last few steps to rejoin Teren at the top.
He glanced at her.
She raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You were going to say something."
"I was going to keep walking."
She gave him a look and adjusted the strap of her bag.
The smell of the market faded as they entered the transit level, replaced by hot machinery and recycled air. Ticket kiosks and cargo scanners lined the concourse. Beyond the security barrier, a medium transport rested against its boarding gantry with its engines already cycling at low power.
Iona checked the departure display. "That's ours."
"It is."
"You could pretend I helped."
"You did. I'll remember next time."
She pushed her hair back again and joined the short queue forming near the gate.
Teren remained half a pace behind, looking through the transparent barrier toward the transport. It was an ordinary civilian vessel, old enough for several replacement panels to show along the hull. Their reservations had been made through the Order, though there was nothing unusual about the route to Letharis. Two stops, mostly freight and local passengers.
His fingers touched the lightsaber at his belt once more. Not a conscious check, exactly. He had been doing it for years whenever he stood still too long.
Iona noticed this time.
"It's still there."
Teren looked at her.
"Your lightsaber."
"I know."
"You do realise you check. A lot."
Teren furrowed his brow. "I don't."
"You just did."
He folded his hands in front of him. "Problem solved."
Iona's mouth twitched.
A family ahead of them handed over their travel permits while somebody farther back complained quietly about the delay. Cargo droids crossed between boarding lanes carrying sealed containers toward the lower hold, and the line moved forward a few places.
"How long are we staying?" Iona asked.
"However long it takes."
"I packed for four days."
"Good. So did I."
"That sounded suspiciously reassuring, Master Teren."
"It was meant to."
Their turn came soon after.
Iona passed through first and waited on the other side while Teren presented their travel clearance. Once the attendant returned it, he joined her at the entrance of the boarding corridor.
She had already started toward the ship before realising he was still a few steps behind. For once, she stopped and waited rather than hurrying back.
"Master Teren?"
"Hm?"
"If it really is a temple..."
He joined her.
Iona glanced through the open end of the gantry toward Frego's skyline, where the upper transit rails vanished between the towers.
"Do you think anyone's been there since the Jedi left?"
Teren followed her gaze for a moment, then turned toward the waiting transport.
"I suppose we'll find out. Come on, Iona."
They boarded.