Indiana Jones and the Sith Stone
Posted by: Darth Danno 01.09.08 12:01am

While Indy was researching, Darth Sidious was far from idle. He had procured a ship that would transport Dr. Jones and his party from world to world, he had acquired the necessary supplies they would need for their journey, all he needed was a pilot. At long last, during the second week, the bounty hunter Jango had recommended made contact with the Sith Lord, and they met on Coruscant the following week.

"What did Jango tell you?" Sidious queried.

"Very little," the bounty hunter replied. "Just that it would involve a lot of travel and the pay is good."

Sidious smiled. "The pay will be quite substantial for you if the mission is a success. I was quite impressed at how well Jango handled his assignment, and for you to be recommended so highly by him carries quite a bit of weight. Of course, I will make inquiries of my own, but that is simply as a formality due to the sensitive nature of this assignment."

Never even batting an eye, the bounty hunter asked, "what exactly is the assignment?"

"I will tell you this much, I am looking for an ancient artifact that is very powerful, I have...conscripted someone who excels in this field to locate the item and bring it here to me. Unfortunately, the person is from quite a backward planet, and has no knowledge or ability whatsoever to pilot the sort of spacecraft we use to get from place to place. That is where you come in."

"So you want me to act as a glorified airtaxi service?"

Sidious remembered that Jango had said exactly the same thing when the position was offered to him. "For the most part, yes. You will also act as personal bodyguard to make sure he is able to complete his task unmolested. I have acquired a ship, and have loaded it with all the necessary provisions that you all will need."

"So there's more than just the two of us going on this little venture?"

Sidious nodded, "besides the two of you, there will be two droids. I have other agents at my disposal that will monitor your progress and come to your aid if you are overwhelmed, but that will be at their discretion, and with someone of your apparent skill and talent, I doubt their resources will be required. But please know, that even if you don't see anyone, they will be there making sure my interests are met, and I do not tolerate treachery or procrastination."

"How long do you anticipate this job to take?"

Sidious replied flatly, "it will take as long as it takes. You will only need to visit certain predetermined worlds, and if you need to go elsewhere, you will contact me first, understand?"

"I haven't said I've taken the job yet."

Sidious openly smiled. "Oh, but you will! I can feel the sense of intrigue growing inside you. That, and the substantial sum you are likely to earn. I will expect constant reports, and also cannot accept failure. If your charge manages to elude you, pray he takes your life as well, for I am sure he will be far more merciful than I, or one of my agents, would be. Everything we have discussed here, and will possibly discuss in the future is proprietary and will not be shared with anyone, human, alien, droid, or other. You never met me, nor even have the slightest knowledge of my existence. You will return here in one week, all will be in readiness for your departure, and I should have replies to my queries regarding yourself and your ability to complete said task by then."

The bounty hunter simply crossed their arms over their chest. "First we talk money, then we talk details."

Sidious grinned slightly and nodded, "Of course, my friend. Of course..."

Indy spent his last week studying these strange objects called lightsabers. From what hew was able to gather, this crystal he was going to be looking for wasn't very big. As far as size went, it even paled in comparison to the Sankara stones he had taken from that Kali-worshipping cult a few years ago back on Earth. A lightsaber consisted of a compact handle, a power cell, and a crystal lens through which one to three crystals would focus their energy. You also needed an activation switch, lever, or plate, and a blade emitter to complete the job. Looking at the Sith and Jedi history, it seemed that lightsaber designs varied as much as those who carried them. Exar Kun wielded a double bladed lightsaber, while Wookie Jedi Tyvokka carved his lightsaber handle out of wood.

Crystals could be any number of colors: red, blue, green, purple, orange, and gold. The types of crystals one could use varied also. There was the rubat, damind, eralam, sapith, nextor, opila, jenruax, phond, luxum, firkrann, bondar, sigil, and upari crystals. Each with their own unique set of properties, some worked well deflecting blaster bolts, others improved your attack ability.

While doing his research, many questions presented themselves. If Malek had a weapon of this magnitude, why didn't he use it to defeat Revan? Was this crystal real, or was this the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, something many people sought to find, but no one ever did, because it didn't actually exist. Something also kept nagging at him, something he was missing, but couldn't put his finger on. Day after day, he tried to grasp it, but it continued to elude him.

As his final week for research drew to a close, he began to question if the information he had garnered over the past weeks would be enough. He would be searching for an object that could fit in the palm of your hand, and doing as such in areas he had never been to, or even heard of, was like trying to find the proverbial needle in a sea of haystacks. Everything seemed to be stacking against him, as if he were purposely being set up to fail. All he had was his Smith & Wesson, his whip, and his wits. Hopefully it would be enough, he finally had to come to the conclusion that it would have to be, for now.

His door chimed, snapping him out of his doldrums. TC-10 entered the room and addressed him.

"Hello, sir. I hope I'm not intruding, or disrupting your concentration."

"Nah," Indy replied, "As a matter of fact, you're a welcome relief."

The droid nodded slightly at the compliment "Thank you sir! After all, I am here to serve. Please be sure to inform my master of that, I'm not sure what he'll do, but it should please him...hopefully."

Indy smirked. "And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."

"I wasn't aware I had one, sir. I have no recollection of any new programming being added recently, but perhaps my mind was wiped of that incident. Though I cannot imagine why I would get new programming and not be made aware of..."

Indy cut him off. "What can I do for you?"

TC stopped his monologue. "Oh, yes. My master requests your presence at this time, and I am also to tell you that your departure is set for tomorrow."

Indy sighed and shrugged. "Oh well, I knew this was coming sooner or later. Let's get this party started," and went to grab his jacket and hat.

The droid tilted its head at him. "Party? I wasn't aware the master was throwing a party? Not like I would be invited, of course. But at least I thought he would use me to serve refreshments, after all, I had done that in the past and never received any complaints. What kind of party is it? Is it formal or casual? When exactly is this party to occu..."

Indy crossed up to him and put his hand over the droid's communication module. "Let's just go, shall we?"

TC said nothing, just simply nodded, turned, and headed out of the room with Indy following closely behind.

Darth Danno