Episode II: Part 3

Alkalai dust clouded around Deuce's boots when he stepped off the repulsorlift sled to the cavern floor. He pulled a glow rod off his belt and thumbed the activator switch, shining the beam around him at the marble statues, ancient fresco tiles and a tall door covered in a sheet of beaten bronze. To his right, one of the figures resolved itself into the shape of Ghost, still dressed in what he wore on the luxury liner, only now covered in a dry, yellow dust.

The sergeant swung the beam around again. "How's the door?"

"Bronze, old, and very solid, not a tomb door though."

"Looks like a tomb."

Ghost shook his head and explored the edges of the large door. Slowly, he drew his fingers along the grooves, clearing away some of the layers of dust and grime. "Tomb doors aren't meant to be opened easily or repeatedly. This is counterbalanced so it can be opened easily by just one person despite its size."

"Palace of some kind? Maybe a shrine to some cave creature?"

"Could be, that would explain all the carvings and why it was buried."

Deuce grunted and peered closer at the carvings on either side of the door. "Doesn't look like trandoshans, but they're reptilian all trussed up in some kind of armor. It reminds me of gladiators or pit fighters."

"The inscription that's carved beneath it might explain."

"Looks like a language."

"Probably a dead one."

"I'm starting to like dead things, they don't shoot at me. There a way in?"

Ghost traced his fingers over the center of the carving of a shield on the wall to the right side of the door and then pressed the raised sculpture of a bantha skull that sat in the center. With a soft click the skull receded flush into the wall. "Think so."

The bronze door shuddered and separated from the doorframe with a light cloud of dust falling around the two troopers. Quietly it slid open, moving easily as if it weighed nothing. Inside, oversized crystals, mounted at regular intervals high up on the wall, came to life spreading a bluish-purple glow along the hallway that stretched away from the door.

"Cheery. I'll tell our keepers we've got something for them."

The sergeant walked over to the repulsorlift and keyed the comlink. Behind him Ghost knelt at the doorway near a small set of deep scratches on the floor and walls just inside the structure itself. The scratches were regular, a set of five even marks. He reached forward and touched them, comparing the span and size to his own hand which was dwarfed by comparison.

"I believe they may not like what it is."

Jammer woke with a start. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his eyes, his thoughts awash in a fog. Dimly he remembered being hauled roughly up a ridgeline before a storm of blaster fire broke through the air. Everything else was a blur. Rubbing his eyes again he glanced down at himself.

"I don't remember putting any asteroid miner coveralls on. I know I don't own any."

Pushing aside the thin blanket he slid his feet to the floor. Awareness immediately returned the instant a white hot stab of pain flared in his right leg where he had been shot. He grabbed for the edge of the bunk to steady himself before reaching down to find a bacta patch over the blaster wound.

"Frak! Ok, I remember now."

Choking back a string of curses in at least two languages he shifted his weight to his left leg so he could look around for some sort of crutch to lean on.

"Good to see you're awake. I'd hate it if you slept through it all."

Resisting the natural urge to spin smartly, Jammer instead shuffled sideways around the bunk for a better look at the speaker. Next to the door, the woman from the passenger liner, Mera he thought her name was, leaned against the doorframe. Only this time she was not in an expensive red dress but rather careworn pants, boots, gray shirt and a vest. Something more suited to a smuggler or a pirate. The trooper made a sour face in an attempt to smile.

"Where's your blaster? Figured one shot was enough?"

Mera smiled. Jammer wondered if snakes smiled like that. The lady pirate walked in and eased the scout trooper down on the bunk again. Given the amount of throbbing from his leg, he did not resist too much.

"My you are the cute one when you're angry." She fussed over him slightly which left Jammer even more uncomfortable. He really, genuinely wanted to dislike this woman but the pampering was starting to make it a little difficult. "I expected your friends to cause trouble but not quite so much. I had to make a point with them."

"Troopers are like that, happens every time we're abducted ... oh and shot too. We really hate that part."

Mera shook her head. "Oh, you'll heal and this'll be all over soon enough. I and most of my crew don't mean any harm. Not permanent harm anyway, and we'll patch up anything temporary."

Deciding to try and play on this attention a little, Jammer sighed to give the appearance of resigning to his fate. "So why do this?"

"It's a job, really. We recover antiques."

"Oh, grave robbers."

"Now that's just harsh. Really, it's nothing so dramatic. You wouldn't say that about someone calling salvage rights on a derelict ship would you?"

"No, no I wouldn't."

"Ok then."

"I'd call them scavengers."

Mera rolled her eyes. "Oh, I give up." Standing, she patted Jammer on the shoulder. "Look, I have to go make sure no one's run off and done something stupid, like irritating your Sergeant again. You stay here and get some rest cutie. There's some reading material on some data chips in the drawer over there. And think about this, you and your troopers have another choice ahead. You don't have to return to service. Three strapping soldiers like you? I'd make room on my crew for you."

"You're crew looked pretty full."

"Accident's happen when digging around old ruins. You never know."

Jammer's expression soured a bit more. Before he could reply, she held up a hand.

"I'm not saying anything more than just think about it. After all, no one says you have to re-up when your enlistment is over right? Besides, I bet I can promise better pay. Or at least better incentives." With another predatory smile and an appraising glance, she left, letting the door shut behind her.

The trooper sighed, he would have run for the door but at best that would have been a quick hobble. Not quick enough to reach the door that he assumed was locked. Carefully he stood and located a pair of crutches at one end of the bunk then shuffled over to tap the 'open door' button. The keypad buzzed in response.

"Locked. No real surprise there."

Giving up on the door for now he surveyed his small room. The bunk stood on one side next to a small dresser inset into the metal bulkhead. On the other side was a table with a small console. Curious he limped over and pulled up the only chair to the console and tapped the screen.

"Well, well. She left it connected to the network. I wonder what's here."

The clone's fingers flew over the keys, navigating through the network for any scrap of information. Within minutes, he exhausted the unprotected nodes that he was able to find. Jammer sat back with a heavy sigh.

"That was useful."

Irritated, he stabbed at a locked folder on the console with the most recent stardate. When the security dialog appeared he tried a guess at the password without success. A few more attempts with Mera's name, what few of the pirate's names he had heard, even the name of the passenger liner he and his fellow troopers had been captured on. Nothing worked until he typed in his Imperial security code for lack of any better ideas.

The console chimed as the file unlocked. Jammer sat stunned in amazement while the contents scrolled before his eyes. The file contained the digitized pages of an ancient manuscript filled with diagrams, drawings and even some star charts.

"Data chip, I need a data chip." Stumbling from the chair, he searched the desk then worked around the room. "C'mon, I'll even take a busted one. Aha!" Remembering Mera's comments about 'reading material' he snatched open a drawer and picked up one of the ebook data chips that were no larger than the end of an adult human thumb.

"Once I delete the ebook that'll free up plenty of room for this scanned book."

Plugging the memory stick into the port on the side of the console, he wiped the chip clean then issued a copy command. While the console worked at downloading a copy of the book, Jammer reviewed the unfamiliar ancient text that was on the holodisplay.

"I'll need a protocol droid for this. Last thing I want to do is read what looks to be 'welcome' only to find out that means 'shoot me now'."

Suddenly his eyes locked on a passage several pages into the book. Most of the words were meaningless save for the words 'Sith' and 'Jedi Monastery'. They in turn were at the bottom of a page that was dominated by a very detailed sketch of a monolithic stone building that bore a startling resemblance to the one that had been uncovered by the groundquake during the riot. Jammer's eyes drifted back to the words 'Sith' then 'Jedi Monastery' feeling a cold chill run along his spine.

"We are so in a very bad place. I gotta find the others."