Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage

The following morning, Ahsoka and I finally managed to get in contact with Knight Amescoll. He was waiting on Alpha Base, meaning we had to co-opt the communications between the Rebels on the station and the stronghold. The comms officer on our side was happy to help, as apparently, my crew had been working hard to keep up positive connections with our allies and neighbors, but Alpha Base took a bit more convincing. Thankfully, someone in the know overheard our issue and stepped in to set things straight. Luckily, the conversation was relatively short as well.

"I'm currently waiting for a meeting with Mon Mothma," The holoprojection of Knight Amescoll explained. "I most likely will not be able to return home for a few more days after that. Something tells me they will ask me to stick around, most likely to give them more time to convince us to reconsider. "

"Try not to run roughshod over them too much," I said with a smirk. "Most of them have an idyllic memory of what the Senate and old days were like... mostly 'cause their people were benefiting the most from the rot."

"I offer no promises."

After pleasantries and a bit more conversation about the situation, mostly just generally outlining our plan, Ahsoka popped the question.

"Would anyone object if we took some of the more simple artifacts?" She asked, after having gone over the significant bits. "We would most likely have to sell some of it permanently to get on his good side. No telling if we will see it again. Even if we do, it would be much lower on our priority list than things like Holocrons."

"I understand. As long you document the artifacts and only choose simple trinkets, I see nothing wrong with it. You are right to put Holocrons so far above them," He agreed. "Does this mean you will be heading back home?"

"We should really name that planet," I said, shaking my head before focusing. "Yes, it's our first step in the plan. We will be returning with the Talos Chariot, a larger ship than the Starcaller."

Even if I wanted to use the Starcaller, the smuggling ship was already off station, serving as another supplies ship until we could buy another freighter. The quartermaster was already looking for one and would probably make a purchase in the next few days.

"And the ocean dwellers?"

"The Chariot is a warship. Between its weapons and the equipment on it, we should be more than prepared to handle them," I assured them. "If not, we will pull back and come up with a new plan, but honestly, with the Chariot, I'm not worried.

"Very well, I trust you know what you are talking about."

"We are also bringing more supplies and comforts for your group." Ahsoka added.

"That is good news. Thank you," He said with a smile. "While a Jedi should strive for the endurance to withstand many issues, I believe they have endured enough."

"It's no issue, simply keeping up our end of the bargain," I responded. "I should also point out that these artifacts will be bringing in sizable chunks of money, and I plan to invest a significant portion of that money back into the settlement. It may only be a small group now, but I would like to prepare for more. If we manage to track down more Force-sensitives or Jedi, having a place to send them would be a huge boon."

"We would gladly accept more people, even beyond Jedi," Amescoll assured us with a nod. "We are part of the Skyforged, and isolating ourselves was one of the major failings of the old order."

"I'm glad you said that because I would like to start putting down roots on the planet," I admitted. "Separate from the island to protect the ruins, of course. A whole hidden, untapped world could represent a massive advantage to our group. We are already starting to fill the station, and as mind-boggling as that is, having more space would be incredible."

"... Perhaps we should move from the island as well," Amescoll said, looking introspective. "It was obviously not an option while we were stranded, but now... between the ocean dwellers and the lack of infrastructure..."

"I will leave that up to you," I responded. "When you arrive back at the planet, feel free to use the new ship to do a full scan looking for a better place to live."

"Someplace with enough room for significant expansion," The older Knight added with a nod. "I am determined to squash and isolationism before it starts.

We talked a bit more about how long it would take for him to return to the planet and what else we would be bringing before we finally disconnected. Once we did, it was time for us to get going. The quicker we found some artifacts, the quicker the next steps of the mission could start. As I passed on the message to my crew that we were good to go, Ahsoka pulled me aside.

"Deacon, I… I just want you to know how much I appreciate you pushing the Skyforged to go on this mission," She said. "I know you take your responsibility to your team seriously and… Well, thank you."

"I do take it seriously, but don't forget that you're on that team, too," I pointed out. "And now, all of the people on the temple planet are too. This is just another step in making sure you all get access to what you need to thrive. Tatnia was skeptical of our first mission, but now that everyone is on our team? She is all for it."

"Well, either way, thank you." She said, giving me a long look before quickly turning away. "I have some more prep to do. I will see you on the Chariot?"

"Yeah…"

I watched her walk away, shaking my head clear and focusing on preparing for the mission. Luckily, I didn't have much to do other than make sure my armor was on board. Together, the crew, along with a few labor droids, loaded up all of the supplies and equipment for the once-stranded Jedi and their descendants. Once that was all set, it was time to go. Miru was a bit upset that she was once again being left behind, but she understood that it was better for everyone that she did.

At around noon, the Talos Chariot left Omega Station, jumping to lightspeed and vanishing into hyperspace. It felt good to be with the rest of the team again, especially aboard the Chariot. Even better, I could now keep busy during the trips through hyperspace by enchanting stuff for our new recruits. I wanted to focus on getting dexterity buffs for the pilots, as that would put them far above any other pilots they may come up against.

Arriving back at the planet was exciting, and the rest of the crew were eager to see it for themselves. Calima did a wide arc around the island to let the scanners do their work, picking up the signal of three ocean dwellers wandering around the ruins. When we were done, we carefully hovered over the landing pad, letting labor droids unload the supplies and equipment for the Force-sensitives.

Included in the delivery was a single repair droid, whose only task was to inspect and repair the landing pad for actual use. Once it was declared safe, the emergency escape ship could be stationed on the platform, meaning escape from the planet was only seconds away.

When we were done unloading, Ahsoka and I explained exactly what was going on and what our mission was. Two of the Padawans agreed to join us, promising to lead us directly to several exciting artifacts that would certainly impress the Hutt.

With our two helpers in tow, we returned to the ship, Calima taking off and descending immediately, bringing us nice and low over one of the dwellers. Using one of the ventral turrets, we spotted and targeted the large abomination. After confirming it wasn't near anything worth worrying about, Vaz absolutely obliterated it with a short barrage of laser fire.

We spent an hour hunting down the other two, hovering over them and waiting for them to move someplace mostly empty, before erasing them from existence. When our scans turned up clean, Calima guided the ship to the edge of the island that actually met the water, where the Padawans insisted the ocean dwellers emerge from.

Calima oriented the Chariot to have as many of our weapons pointed at the water line as possible. Between that and the ship's complete B2s, ready to distract them away if the turrets missed, we deployed the Arrow and speeder bikes, including the modified cargo MRV. Then, we split into two teams, with Tatnia, Nal, Julus, and a Padawan in the Arrow, while Ahsoka, Vaz, the second Padawan, and I rode the speeder bikes.

The Padawan guided us, after a quick refresher on speeder bikes piloting, along the edge of the massive mountain encircling a significant portion of the island, eventually landing in a small courtyard.

"When we first arrived, we had no idea we were in danger, so we kind of spread out," He explained as we cut through the vines that choked the streets and pathways through the lost Jedi city. "I discovered this place while looking for a place to live, or at least sleep."

Eventually, he guided us to a mostly intact structure, the interior of which was slightly cooler than the exterior. As my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I could slowly make out the details of the room. The walls were studded with rotting panels of wood, with technology peaking out occasionally. Most of the rotted and decaying tech was built into the building directly, most likely to be as subtle as possible. I could only imagine that what we were seeing was the tip of the iceberg.

Along the far wall of the room, half covered in roots and a slab of newly crumbled stone was some sort of display cabinet. Looking around, I could see the crumbled remains of others, but a quick look showed they were mostly empty, or long as destroyed. However, in the relatively undisturbed case, there were a half dozen palm-sized coins. Some of them were tarnished, and all of them had a thick patina, but I could just make out the Jedi symbol on each of them.

"These look good," I said, handing them to Ahsoka, who nodded in agreement. "They look nice, nice weight, all metal. Collectors eat this sort of thing up."

She nodded and, for a moment, studied the large coins. Then she slowly reached out, pushing a few to the side, revealing a surprisingly clean coin at the bottom. It still gleamed like extra red copper, the pits and stains of corrosion only touching its edges. She looked up at me, and I nodded, prompting the Togruta to pull the coin away and tuck it into her utility belt.

"Got a feeling?" I asked, watching her face as she looked out and around as if she was hearing something in the distance.

"Yeah…"

"Hold on to it," I said. "Tell me if you feel anything else."

She nodded absently, her brow furrowed as she tried to work her way through it.

We carefully packed the coins and a few dozen other artifacts up inside the MRV storage crate before the Padawan led us to a new place. For the next three hours, we slowly filled the MRV, as well as a few bags, with everything from statues and normal coins to an entire mural depicting Jedi art, though that was in several pieces. When we were all full, we returned to the ship, carefully offloading what we found. We were about halfway through when one of the droid gunners scared the hell out of us by melting a pair of ocean dwellers trying to make it back on shore.

This wasn't the first time they had pasted one, but it was teh first time we were close to the ship, unloading stuff. After making sure the danger was passed, I commed Tatnia to confirm the threat was neutralized so she and her team could continue exploring without worrying.

By the time the sun was setting, we had filled a not-insignificant portion of the Chariots cargo hold with ancient Jedi artifacts of various sizes and shapes. Tatnia's team even managed to find an ancient lightsaber, something that was ancient even before the events of the first KOTOR games. It spoke volumes to the age of the ruins we were exploring.

And it was also incredibly good news for getting Grakkus' attention.

As the others continued to offload their finds, I spotted Ahsoka looking over her shoulder, back out to the line of ruins that ran along the slowly sloping beach. It was clear that something was tugging at her, so I got Tatnia's attention.

"I'm going off with Ahsoka," I explained. "She is clearly feeling something."

"Right, I'm sure she is feeling something," She said with scoff, rolling her eyes. "If you want some alone time with her, you don't need to lie, Boss."

I opened my mouth to respond but quickly shut it when I realized there was literally nothing I could say that would counter her statement. At least not anything she would believe. Instead, I simply shrugged, turned around, and made my way over to Ahsoka.

"Hey," I called out to her, waving to catch her attention before gesturing to the speeder bikes. "C'mon, let's go find what's pulling on you."

She nodded, making her way over and hopping onto one of the CPH speeder bikes while I climbed onto the MRV, doing my best to keep up with her.

For a while, we flew around the ruins, making a few lazy loops before the Force-sensitive seemed to hone in on what was calling out to her. She slowed her speeder down, bringing it to a landing on the roof of a partially collapsed structure. As she was already climbing down the collapsed edge of the roof, I landed beside her, silently following after her.

We made our way deeper into the building, its features unrecognizable due to the wear and tear of being exposed to the elements, even partially. Eventually, after lifting a few chunks of stone and even cutting a few with her lightsaber, we found ourselves in a small room no bigger than two meters wide in both directions.

Ahsoka turned around in place, studying the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. When her search turned up nothing, she looked back at me.

"Any ideas?"

I conjured a strong Magelight and took a closer look at the wall opposite the door, running my fingers along it, slowly feeling for any aberrations through the moss and built up dirt. After a few seconds of feeling around, the metal of my gloves caught on a lip. I pulled out my small utility knife and scrapped away the layer of grime, moss, and dust, revealing a small circular indent.

"Well.. there you go."

She nodded and stepped forward, pulling out the large coin that had first attracted her attention and gently slotting it into the circle. For a moment, nothing happened, long enough that I began to wonder if whatever was supposed to happen was broken. Then, suddenly, a straight, vertical seam opened in the stone, the hiss of a breaking seal catching me off guard. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed Ahsoka, yanking her back with one hand and casting Greater Ward with the other.

Through the glimmering shield, we watched as a stone facade continued to spread apart, revealing a hidden compartment. When it was clear that nothing was going to shoot or attack us, I dropped the ward and let Ahsoka go.

She gave me an appreciative look before stepping closer to inspect what had been revealed. Looking over her shoulder, I could see a full, complete set of armor with golden plates and Jedi robes. I could see belts and pouches, even a holster clip for a pair of lightsabers. Ahsoka reached out and ran her hand over the obvious chest plate.

"Thank you," She whispered, talking to whatever spirit or Force trail had led her here.

And for a moment, I could feel whatever it was respond, before the sensation passed.