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Beneath Imperial City, Coruscant
With so few people actually able to live on the 14th level of Coruscant, Darius Starchaser couldn't figure out why the smell of body odor was so dominant. It didn't help matters that the passageway he was in looked like it hadn't been used for 50 years, and smelled of mold, dust, and rodents, "Nice place," Daruis commented to his partner, Toman Lochfield, who was just finishing a sneezing fit.
"Yeah," Toman sniffed. "They should feature it in a travel brochure." He flashed his glowlamp around the tunnel, frowning at the point where the path split into three different passages. "You sure Durron said we take the one to the right?"
"Yep," replied Daruis, already walking towards it. "That doesn't necessarily mean we'll find anything down that way."
"No kidding," Toman caught up to him. "The Force showed him the way," he said sarcastically.
Darius snorted, as he cautiously started down the right pathway. "In a great vision, of Jedi records and artifacts, even a strange statue of a young girl... just what I was looking for," he said, mimicking Kyp. "I'll believe it when I see it." They'd run into Kyp on Erdict, where they were uncovering artifacts dating almost back to pre Old Republic. Impressed by their work, Kyp had offered them the job of locating Jedi artifacts for him, even ones he had seen in a vision.
This path was worse than the first when it came to dust and cobwebs. Darius had to rely heavily on his glowlamp. The fungus that grew on the upper levels was no where to be found in the catacombs on the fourteenth. The darkness was so thick here it felt heavy on his shoulders, it almost seemed to smother the beam coming from his glowlamp. He could barely see a meter ahead of him.
"Well, all I can say is, I better get paid whether we find it or not," Toman declared. Another sneezing fit hit him, and he rubbed his nose on his sleeve. "It better be worth this."
Darius nodded, stepping further down the passage. He held his glowlamp before him, illuminating low hanging hawkbats and rodents scurrying across the floor. Just a meter away, he thought he could make out a door. He quickened his step, grabbing Toman's sleeve. "I think I found it."
"Wonderful," Toman said, releasing his arm from Darius and giving him a dirty look. "Think there'd be any traps laid out?" he asked, cautiously approaching the door.
"Traps?" Darius asked, slightly amused. "What do you think this is? The death chamber of an ancient King with mystical powers?" Darius began wiping the dust off the door in search of an opening. "Perhaps we should offer a prayer to the Force to protect us from the great evil we are about to unleash..." his sarcasm was cut off by a none-too-gentle punch to the arm.
"I was just being cautious." Toman glared at him.
Darius' probing fingers found the release, and he pushed it in. Impatiently, he pushed it a few more times. Not surprisingly, nothing happened. "It's locked."
"I can fix that," Toman unhooked his blaster. "Step away."
Darius walked away from the door, and stood folding his arms next to his partner. Toman shot the lock; it sparked and made a mechanical groan. "Thanks," Darius said, coughing in the residual smoke.
"Welcome," Toman said, holstering his blaster with a flourish. "Shall we go in?"
Darius extended his arm. "Ladies first."
"Cowards last." Toman sneered at him, stepping through the doorway.
Darius followed cautiously behind him, his hand hovering over his blaster. Toman’s talk of traps wasn’t making him nervous... he was just being careful. That was it: careful. Stepping behind Toman, he shone his glowlamp around the room, letting out a low whistle. "Looks like old Palpy didn’t know how to take care of his toys."
"Or he didn’t know how to play nice," Toman agreed, eyeing the chamber. There were a few statues like the ones in the Jedi museum, only these ones had not been restored, and Palpatine seemed to have had a lot of "fun" with them. One was decapitated, with his head laying grinning beside his legs. Another was scratched beyond recognition. Melted, cracked and smashed data-cards littered the floor, accompanied with shredded pieces of flimsy. There were even a few charred and twisted lightsaber handles and (several tattered and frayed) robes. The only thing intact was a large old fashioned book, laying open on a dust covered table.
Darius rubbed his forehead, as he made his way over to the metal table. "Looks like Durron forget to mention the place was in shambles."
"Or this isn't the right place," Toman said, inspecting the statues. "None of these are female."
"Hm," Darius flipped through the pages in the book, most of them were burned, or scrawled on with strange black symbols. The few passages not covered with strange hieroglyphics or burnt, were written in a strange script, with Basic translations beneath them. "I think this could be of use to Durron." He commented to Toman, lifting the into his hands. "And some of these datacards don't look too badly damaged."
Toman studied him for a moment. "What are you saying?"
A sly grin formed on Darius's lips. "That what Kyp doesn't know, won't hurt him."
"Correction," Toman caught Darius's grin. "What he doesn't know, won't hurt us."
Darius nodded, stooping down to gather the most intact datacards. A sudden rush of rodents ran by, squeaking out of the room Toman knelt down to help him, when the ground suddenly started shaking. "Ground Quake!" Darius yelled, struggling to his feet, keeping a tight hold on his treasures. He didn't want to be in there with all the statues, which were rocking, nearly falling to the floor and onto him.
Toman jumped up after him, just making it out the door when the shaking subsided. Afraid of aftershocks, the pair continued running.
The statues fell with a clatter, the datacards dancing in the shaking. A section of wall fell in the chamber they had been in, revealing a young girl trapped in a block of gray carbonite.
Copyright 2002 by Luney.
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