章 243: Labyrinthian
I don't own Star wars.
CLANK CLANK CLANK
"Okay!" declared Lidia, wiping sweat from her brow as she held the heavy handed tool in on hand and a 'flood light stake' in the other. "That should do it." she declared as I just rammed my own deep into the dusty ground. She stared at me. "…That will never not be impressive." She mumbled as I gave her my full attention.
"So these flood lights should keep those creatures away?" I asked as she hesitated in her reply. Nerri, also assisting in setting up the flood lights glanced curiously at Master Lidia herself. The creatures that attacked us last night vanished upon the rising of the sun, as a result we have laid out a light path and 'safe zone' from the ship now in the courtyard, to the labyrinth entrance. We will descend into it tomorrow as Oriana wants as much daylight as possible to maximize our search time, the lights were to be turned on in an emergency to let us get back to the ship…
Assuming of course the lights work on the creatures at all.
"She's not answering you." Nerri noted, her spear strapped across her back as she eyed the beautiful jedi who seemed to be somewhere between laughing, smiling, and groaning.
"…Because I'm not necessarily sure." She replied as I took a few paces from my last flood light and rammed in a another as she watched fascinatedly.
"That is still impressive." Nerri noted, "But back to the matter at hand. You're not sure?" she added sternly.
"I'm an archeologist Jedi, not a zoologist jedi." Replied Master Lidia. "There are millions of species in the galaxy and millions more are undocumented!" she pounded in another stake, "90% of the nocturnal species I've ever heard about and met dislike artificial and natural light so that's what we're going with." She declared.
"…That's more than we had before." I added before taking Nerri's last stake and ramming it into the ground. "…Let's get back to the ship for some food." Nerri frowned at me but followed behind with Lidia.
We returned to the ship and removed our rebreathers as Rattletrap and T260 loomed over some sort of circular device like a stopwatch, but larger. Sparks and buzzing echoed from them as I made my way to the kitchen, Lidia however inquired to their efforts.
"Almost done?" she asked as Rattletrap stopped soldering.
"Just about." He pulled away as T260 snapped the device shut. He then picked it up, showing off three toggles on the top. One big one in the center, and two smaller on either side of it. "…An TESTING." He said seriously, hitting the big middle toggle.
Bup-BWOP.
The device booted up, a large blue screen flickering to life before it flashed like a radar, sending a ripple from the center of the screen out towards the edges… mapping the ship. Considering it had two levels it was hard to read, but quick to understand.
"Excellent!" cheered Lidia, "Well done boys!"
"Bwooo!" T260 rattled on his treads at the praise. Rattletrap seemed to stand up straighter.
"THIS little cheat will get us right through the labyrinth!" she declared as I chewed on a less than satisfactory meat stick ration. "Well find that holocron in no time. And just imagine what else the sights! The histories!"
"The bodies." Oriana declared coldly as I eyed her. Lidia nodded.
"The bodies." She agreed. "I imagine the sith wouldn't have bothered to give proper burials." She noted, "…Far more like them to display corpses in a terrifying warning to their oncoming apprentices. Luckily." She smiled charmingly at Oriana who still looked rather sour. "I am no apprentice, and it seems to me that Kallus is quite fearless."
I shrugged at that, it was true. Oriana however looked like she was slapped across the face and struggled to keep it straight before shaking her head and raising her hands in defeat. "I still don't like the idea of just you two going down there… alone."
Lala smiled from the second floor, "Now Now Oriana, I don't think Kallus would get very far into the Jedi's pants…" Lidia coughed, trying not to laugh. "…She doesn't even wear pants it just one tight bodysuit…"
"That will be enough from the Zeltron peanut gallery please." Lidia declared, coughing slightly as she cleared her throat and smiling.
"That's not what I meant anyway. I don't like the idea of you two going in there. If you didn't know about the beasts, what do you know about the labyrinth?" Oriana replied as I put a hand on her shoulder. She shivered slightly.
"…Nothing… but with my nose, that gadget and the Jedi's magic we'll be fine."
"…You're an Imperial Kallus Kane you know damn well it's not 'magic'." Lidia replied. "But he's right." She replied, "With all of you guarding the entrance we won't have to worry about beasts, especially now that we have moved the ship closer…"
"Yes… for an acheologist you didn't really care that we blew up that building to land." Lala noted as Lidia shrugged.
"…Yes lets not mention that to master Knox if he asks?" she replied with a shrug, "…Anyway. Let's eat. Let's rest up…" she set a timer on a nearby clock. "And we'll go down there at first light."
"Oh! Right one more thing!" Rattletrap added before taking the device back, "I've also done this!" T2 beep booped briefly, sounding confused before Rattletrap seemingly attached the device to the top of the droid's head.
"BWOO?!"
"When you weren't looking." Rattletrap replied as T2 furiously spun his head, but the device stayed stationary. "This way when you get down there you won't need to hold on it."
"BWWO!!" the droid replied angrily as Lidia once again tried not to laugh. "BOWP?!"
"I'm sorry! It's not… it's not THAT bad it's fashionable!... it's just for one planet!"
"BWOOOOOOOW!!!" the droid replied, chasing after her as she playfully skipped away from him as he extended his shocking prod, it fizzled in popped angrily after her.
"It will be helpful!" she declared, force jumping to the second floor as the angry little droid tried to vent said anger on Oriana as she squeaked from his little shock prod and jumped against me…
I, however, am the ONLY one allowed to prod Oriana. Without thinking I grabbed his little extended shocker and hefted him easily from the floor as he went wild in terror. "DON'T DO THAT." I said fiercely, baring my fangs as the droid squealed for help.
I still didn't understand him, but that noise was universal.
"KALLUS!" shouted Lidia, as I snarled up at her. "…Put him down." Lidia said. Staring at me as I lowered the droid to the floor and he sped off, hiding oddly behind Rattletrap.
…I was snarling… why was I snarling?
"Kal. Enough…" Oriana rested a hand on my shoulder. "…Go calm down."
I took a breath and went into the kitchen. I took another breath, and got a drink… it was quiet for a little while before eventually Lidia joined me. "…I would appreciate if you didn't break my droid." She said patiently as I took another cleansing breath.
"…I don't know what came over me." I replied as Lidia nodded slowly.
"…You have a lot of anger in you Kallus." She said as she sat across from me, "…Sit." She replied, gesturing to the chair. I growled quietly. "For an unknown amount of time you and I are going to be in a closed, dark space… with a droid you almost…" she paused, "…I'm going to say 'disarmed'. Please." She repeated as I sighed, and sat down.
"…I don't need a speech." I replied, "…I lost my temper… when people try to hurt those I care about. ESPECIALLY Oriana I go berserk."
"But T2 is also your friend."
"BOOOooo…" the droid replied as she grumbled.
"N-NOT NOW T2." She replied firmly, "I'm making a point… friendly associate." She corrected as I snorted. "He was just fooling around."
"…You want me to apologize to the droid?"
"If that would ease the tension. Yes." She said diplomatically. I stared at her, sighed and got up from the table. She smiled at me as I went to the entrance of the kitchen.
"T2." I said as the droid hesitated then slowly rolled towards me, before coming to a stop. "…I'm sorry I almost ripped your… arm off." I said, not sure what to call it myself.
T2's head twisted to Lidia, I'm not entirely sure what face she made, but her wobbled irately. "Bwoo." He then turned and rolled away as she translated for him.
"He accepts your apology." And seeing as the droid didn't snark back, I'm going to assume she was telling the truth. "…Get some rest Kallus." She said, getting up, "…Perhaps try meditation?" she said kindly. "…To a Jedi, anger leads to hate." She said sagely, "…I would hate to hate you Kallus." She patted my shoulder and walked out as I sighed…
Eventually, I went up to my room, sat on my bed, my back straight against the wall I crossed my legs as I did my best at 'meditating'… as I've never done it before all that happened was that I fell asleep…
"…Kal?" Lala shook me as I jerked awake. "Lidia's waiting… you good?"
"Mmngh…" I replied, stretching my limbs… apparently I stayed in that position all through my 'meditation'. I got off the bed and followed her out.
"Did you sleep like that the whole time?"
"…Apparently." I replied as she laughed.
"Whatever works for you Kal, baby." I leapt over the railing to the floor below, shaking my arms and legs to get the stiffness out of my muscles. Lidia watching me as I grabbed my claws from the armory table, strapping them on followed by the rebreather. She put hers on as well as T2 wobbled nervously as I checked my claws… the right one was sticking… it must still have beast goo on them.
"Where's Rattletrap?" I asked, "…I'd like him to check over my claw." I checked it over, it didn't smell and it didn't look out of place.
"…In his room." Nerri replied patiently. "…He's been in there for awhile.." she added as I sighed.
"…We'll never get him out of there in good time. I'll make do." SNIKT SNIKT testing the claw again before flexing my fingers.
Rattletrap used his room for his 'droid'. The very real looking one… he only ever slept in ducts and other tight spaces. The entire room was dedicated to his 'X-E' as his attempts at fixing her… sometimes he got bitey if disturbed before he was done.
We got outside as T2 bwoo'd and bwoop'd nervously as Lidia stared ahead at the entrance to the labyrinth of Min-Nos. "That droid he's always working on. What's the story behind that?" she asked as we headed towards it.
"…I honestly don't know." I replied, "It's a long, complicated family story from the Firemane side of the family." I hesitated at the entrance with her, the glowing stick she dropped down there was in fact still glowing… "In summary." I tried to remember the whole tale and tried to summarize it. "She was an advance sith assassin droid programed with the personality of an ancient sith assassin, that was damaged and developed her own personality that due to some holocron nonsense and some damaged systems she was overwritten by the sith assassin again…"
Lidia stared at me, even T2 seemed confused. "…That's fascinating and insane." She said, "…Also I'll need a far more accurate explanation."
"I told you the story was from the Firemane side of the family, I don't really know it… but he keeps trying to fix her… but the 'her' from before was overwritten by the sith like a virus…" I frowned, "I don't know enough about machines to comment."
"…It sounds like a very sad tale." Lidia replied, "…Well… let's talk about it later. First we must descend" she gestured to the hole. "…After you." She said with a playful smile as I glared at her.
"…After you." I replied as she scoffed.
"Kallus Kane! Where is your gentlemanly spirit?! Why should I, the lady, go first into the dark scary hole!"
"BWOO!" T2 added indignantly.
"T2 agrees with me." She replied with a wink.
"…I'm not the one with the ever-burning torch." I said frankly, gesturing to her green lightsaber.
"Ugh. FINE. Make sense!" she said dramatically, drawing her lightsaber from her belt as it erupted in green light, she held it at the ready and descended into the opening as I followed. The saber lighting the way easily… "As my bodyguard you still should've gone first." She said, her pretty smile easily lit by her green saber."
"Then I'll take the lightsaber." I replied as she scoffed with a slight chuckle.
"Fat chance." She stopped at the base of the stairs, as I joined her on the bottom and T2 wobbled nervously, but his eye soon joined the lightsaber in lighting our path. She then reached for the device on T2's head, and with a gentle click, it lit up. "Okay… Rattletrap says to tap this button to change levels" she pointed to the left button, "and this button to zoom out so…" she tapped the right button, again… and again. "…Oh…"
"…Oh?"
"…It's a LOT bigger than I thought… we should start walking." She added with a nervous grin.
"Remember when I helped you find that day spa for Jedi?" I asked, following her into the dark, dangerous sith labyrinth. "This better not be a day spa for sith."
"Well it's had plenty of death, suffering and torture. So that kind of IS a 'day spa' for sith." She smiled jokingly.
"I remember you being less jokey." I replied as she laughed, her melodious voice echoing into the labyrinth.
"Well, I figure I know the real you now Kal, there are no more secrets between us. I think that makes us friends."
"Bwoo…"
"Shush T2, I do have friends! They just don't like you."
"Ha." I laughed, then caught myself. "Ahem…" looking over the device… It really WAS huge. So many twists, turns, sharp and curved, it was making me dizzy. "…I trust where we're going is the center of this place?"
"That is the idea." She nodded as we came to hour first fork in the road… or rather pitchfork… there were five paths before us. "…Um… let me check the map here…" she looked T2 as I glanced down each, giving them a cursory sniff.
…I hesitated at the 2nd to the right path. And sniffed again. "…It's smells like death that way."
"…Death?" asked Lidia skeptically, "What do you mean by that?"
"Millenia has passed right?" I asked calmly, "So I don't expect bones or blood, rotting corpses… but when you're me you can sort of… feel it." I stared down the dark hallway and almost expected something to be staring back.
"And you said you weren't force sensitive." She noted teasingly. "…There doesn't seem to be anything that way but traps." She said, looking at the map. "…Straight ahead eventually leads to a dead end. The far left and the far right seem to be the ways to go, but this Labyrinth is… massive." She breathed. "Sith really like labyrinths. Did you know that Korriban has half a dozen above ground alone? I feel that they perhaps consider Labyrinths to pyramids…"
"What's a pyramid?" I asked as she stared at the map.
"Giant tombs, or monuments made of carved stone. I saw a good number of them on this desert planet Abydos…" she stopped herself, then turned her pretty face to me. "…You don't really care about this do you?"
I actually thought about it. Then I remembered something that I had forgotten… I imagined Lidia in trooper armor… and I suddenly felt the urge to… share.
"…My Squad leader. Boss." I said slowly. "It's what we called him… he used to say these, facts… trivia. Interesting things that I never would've asked him about but still found myself listening too intently…" she slowly frowned. "…I miss it." I said as her frown softened, and she looked rather touched, or sympathetic. "So… I don't care. But I don't want you to stop." I said frankly as she smiled and pointed to the far left path with her lightsaber.
"That way." She declared, "As I was saying…" she added as I followed her. "The people of Abydos built these pyramids for their rulers. Of course over time they got smaller and smaller from the increasing lack of resources as they weren't a spacefaring species… However once Spader the III came into power he wanted this big, giant pyramid! It took him his entire lifetime before it was finished… in fact the legend goes it was barely a week when he finished that they put him inside it!"
And on and on she went… and on and on we went… time started to blend together, I started to count the minutes between when she'd switch lightsaber hands, her arm tired of holding it aloft. We came to what felt like our 20th fork in the path she sighed softly.
"Curse it." she mumbled, rolling her shoulder. "Ugh…" she glanced around at the trio of tunnels.
"Bwooo…" T2 moaned as Lidia nodded.
"YES T2… I am aware." She breathed. I glanced down the tunnels myself as she watched me. "Do you smell death?" she asked as I sighed. I'm going to be hearing that for awhile, I just know it."
"No." I said softly… but I hesitated on the left path. "…Rest your arm I'll be right back."
"Kallus there is no light without my saber and T2 doesn't want to go anywhere with you alone."
"BWOO?!"
"He scares you and you know it." she said frankly to the droid.
"I'll just take a few steps." I declared… I know what you smell like so I'd be able to find you." She laughed slightly as her green saber got smaller and smaller.
"…We're going to have a discussion about you smelling me!" she declared, her voice echoing… I rested my hand on the smooth wall, carved perfectly with no marks of chisel… perhaps done with a lightsaber, or some other such tool. Occasionally, I'd feel grooves… slash marks, signs of battle…
I walked 10 minutes down the path, it had no forks, or sudden sharp turns. Just an empty void as my eyes adjusted to the darkness… I could at least make out the walls now.
Clutter…
I kicked something… I knelt down frowning as I felt rags turn to dust on my fingers, bones so brittle they almost felt like sand… I frowned, as I saw the bones of a twilek, judging from the skull… and female, judging from the size and shape... I know my bones. She was missing half of her upper torso… no. Nevermind… I found it…
As well as something else. Her fingers were still wrapped around it as I easily pulled it away… it was cold metal hilt, sleak, smooth… with the exception of a trigger-like device in the middle. I made sure it couldn't stab me… then I activated it.
A hum and a red hue erupted from both ends. It was a staff lightsaber... "…Neat." I declared softly, gazing ahead into the darkness raising the staff higher. Keep going? Go back?... at least we had another light source… I turned around, and began walking back…
"Really?" Lidia declared indignantly when I returned, the staff aloof. "You found a lightsaber? She examined it, "May I?" I turned it off as she handed me hers… then before my eyes it… opened, into several parts, pieces, and crystals. Floating perfectly before her as she examined it, and quickly reassembled it effortlessly. "It's just your standard sith apprentice saber, the output is a little stronger than necessary but its still pretty standard… where did you find it?"
"Off a corpse." We switched again, "Killed by a lightsaber judging from what I could tell. It was an old body and falling apart. At least it wasn't traps. What about the map." Lidia rubbed her eyes and glanced at it again. T2's head spinning nervously.
"Middle, and right go on and on…" she said, "And it's starting to hurt my eyes trying to figure out a way to the center." She glanced at me, "…Perhaps instead Kallus we should trust your instincts… you did find something after all." she added as I let the saber activate again but only on one side, holding it aloof.
I glanced at the path I came from. "…Alright then." And I turned around once more… following my instincts with her close behind. We eventually came back to the body as she hesitated at it, I waited for her, but she wordlessly walked on with me…
It was sudden, but avoidable…
My foot stepped on something and like lightning the floor fell away. My claws reached out as I felt Lidia grab the back of my armor. "BWOOOW!!" my claws raked into the wall as I held myself up, and heard… machinery.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The pit clicked, and clanked, the walls in segments clashed together like alternating teeth. With my strength and Lidia's effort we pulled me back from the brink but about 5 yards of floor had fallen away… smashed to pulp by some trap.
"…Well the good news is I can jump that…" replied Lidia breathlessly, "…Are you alright? Shocked?"
"…Surprised." I noted, glancing across the gap. "…We could turn around." I said as T2 wobbled, back and forth like he was nodding and agreeing with me, but Lidia leaned over the map, frowning, then gestured to me to join her as I looked over the map.
"…See this… big blank area?" she gestured to it. It was just up ahead. "I thought it might be a map glitch but maybe it's actually the center of the labyrinth. And we're headed right towards it."
"…So we're jumping."
"I'm jumping." She replied with a smile, "I don't think you can make that." I glanced at the wall, slipping the lightsaber into the belt and popping my claws before raking them across the wall. "What are you doing?" there was some resistance…
"Make the jump. I'll throw T2 after you." I said as T2
"BWWWOOOW!?" he went rigid, staring at me with his light as Lidia smiled, took a few steps back, and as if a gust of wind carried her she leapt over the gnashing gap, landing deftly on her feet as T2 tried to run but I gabbed him, hefting him from the floor. "BWOWO!! BWOOO!!!"
"Stop struggling." I ordered, planting my feet apart, "Ready?!"
"SURE!" Lidia declared, "Don't worry T2! I'll catch you!... I also have you on backup!"
"BWO?! BWOOOOW!!!"
"Watch you language!" she replied as I spun, once, twice… then I released him.
"BWOOOOOOOWWW!!!" he spun in the air as I hurled him across the gap, it was an easy task… however he suddenly stopped. "Bwooooooo~…" he moaned as Lidia lowered him with the force to the ground.
"…You didn't think I'd REALLY let him do that if I didn't know you were going to be safe, did you?" she asked kindly, before glancing at me as I ran my hands on the wall. "…Kallus?" I suddenly turned, a good distance away. "Kallus?" then I ran forward. "Kal!?"
She shrieked in surprise as I lept across the gap, she was right, I wouldn't have made it but I clawed the wall with my claws, then hurled myself off of it the rest of the way, rolling on the ground and landing on all fours like a cat as she stared at me.
"DO! NOT! DO! THAT!" she smacked me with her hand, terrified. "…I was going to carry you! Force lift!" she replied, smacking me with her free hand.
"…But I made the jump." I gestured to the gnashing trap as she took a breath, and sighed.
"Force Kallus Kane. You are a mad man…" she laughed breathlessly. "…And strong." She added, feeling my arm, then slapping my bicep. "…You THREW T2 across that gap."
"Hmmn…" I mumbled quietly… raising my knew torchlight to hide the fact that I think I was blushing…
"…Out of curiosity Kallus." She asked, as we walked on. T2 keeping a good distance away from me but still close to Lidia. "…What do I smell like?"
"The nicest thing in these tunnels." I replied honestly. "…I don't have an exact scent."
"…I bet it's Tatooine rose. It's my preferred shampoo." She noted as I blinked at her, "The few Jedi I feel I'm close to tell me that all of the Jewels of Tatooine use it, but I like the smell."
"…Okay?"
"…You missed someone giving you trivia and facts you didn't ask for." she smiled, "…I'm just filling in the blanks. We have plenty of time to talk on our way to the center."
"Bwoo." T2 mumbled as I held the saber aloft, walking ahead of her as she kept talking… I didn't mind so much. She does kind of smell like Tatooine Rose…
End
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