Indiana Jones and the Sith Stone
Posted by: Darth Danno 02.20.08 12:01am

Indy, Zam, and the two droids made their way across the plain to the location of the grove. Now Indy was expecting this to be a grove of trees, or bushes, or something of the like. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. The area consisted of stones, all in close proximity to one another. It somewhat resembled Stonehenge, except none of the rocks were anywhere near that large. Some of the stones, the smaller ones, about ten of them, were embedded into the grass. No telling how much of them were buried beneath the ground. This configuration made up the center of the grove.

"How are we supposed to know where to look?" TC-10 queried after sizing up the area.

"I have no idea," Indy replied. "I doubt there's a proverbial "X" marks the spot." Zam gave him an odd look, reminding Indy he wasn't back home anymore. "Sorry, an old saying from back home. I guess we'll just have to start digging and hope we get lucky."

TC-10 shook her head, "I do apologize Sir Indy, but C-3PX and myself are not equipped to grasp the excavation tools like the ones you brought with you. I would very much like to assist, but..."

Indy waved his hand, hoping the droid would get the hint not to continue. "I get it, I get it." Then he turned to Zam, "looks like it's just you and..."

"Sorry Professor," Zam interrupted. "Somebody has to stay on guard...for Kath hounds and the like, got to keep you safe, you know."

Indy nodded slowly. "Riiiiiiight." He knew what was really going on here. This bounty hunter didn't mind getting her hands dirty, as long as it involved murder, sabotage, espionage, and the like. No way she'd be caught doing manual labor, at least not without a gun to her head.

"Are you sure this is exactly how the grove was set up back in Revan's time?" Indy asked TC.

"From the information I went over prior to our departure, and looking at the surrounding area now, I can see no major differences between the grove then, and now. However, miniscule changes are quite possible, and quite probable considering..."

"As before, I get it, I get it." Indy was anxious to get underway, for no other reason than getting some peace and quiet. He realized he also was going to have to do this dig solo, so he took off his leather jacket and hat, and set them down on a nearby rock.

Indy figured this Malek wouldn't bury whatever it was that was hidden here too deeply. He couldn't and wouldn't take the chance that someone may spy him digging, then come in and dig up whatever had been placed here right after Malek had left. Also, from what info he had garnered about Malek, this Sith Lord didn't seem like the type to engage in manual labor any more than he had to either. He and Zam had something in common.

Hours went by as Indy dug up varied areas in the grove. Not finding anything, he knew he was going to have to start prying up the rocks that were imbedded in the center of it. He tossed his shirt on top of his jacket and hat.

The sun beat down on him as he went about his arduous task. Fortunately, the stones in the center weren't that large, so with a little leverage, he was able to pry them up easily. After he had one up, he would dig down about three to four feet, and if nothing were unearthed, he would move onto another stone and repeat the same procedure. No stone was left unturned as he continued his search. As he dug away, he wondered if this was nothing more than a wild goose chase. There was no assurance that Malek had actually hidden something here, nor did he have a definitive idea as to the size of the item he was seeking. Any one of the holes he had previously dug could be mere millimeters from the prize, and he'd have no clue he'd missed it. If this turned out to be another dead end, Zam was going to have to come to terms with the fact their next stop would be the Jedi...

"CLINK!"

He definitely hit something, and not just a rock. That was a metallic sound. He tossed the shovel aside and dropped to his knees, moving away the loose dirt and soil with his hands. Indy uncovered a thin, black cylinder, about the length of his forearm. He dusted the years of grit from its surface, and noticed the tube had all sorts of strange markings running lengthwise on it. Five individual parts of the cylinder ran widthwise, and those he could turn with his hands, he surmised that if he were able to match the correct markings up in the right order, it would open the cylinder.

"Find something?" Zam said from behind him.

Indy turned to look up at her. "Yeah, some kind of tube. It's got all kinds of strange symbols on it, and it'll take me some time to translate ‘em"

Zam held out her hand. "Let me see it."

Not having any other choice, he handed her the cylinder. She examined the markings as he got back to his feet.

"I can't make them out either," she replied as she handed the tube back to him. "Are you sure this is what we're looking for?"

Indy walked over to where he had laid his clothes, and started putting them back on again. "Well, I have no intention of doing any more digging, at least here in this grove. We can go and examine the Jedi enclave if you'd like, to cover all of our..."

Zam interrupted him, "you can examine the artifact back on the ship. Perhaps TC-10 may be of assistance, if you can get her to stop rambling. There's no need to stop at the academy. Grab your things and let's be off. I want to know our next location by nightfall." With that, she turned and walked away, back to where the droids were waiting.

Indy smiled. He was dying to meet these pirates that had Zam so scared, she didn't want to go within one hundred yards of them. Then again, she had a better grasp of the different people that made up this galaxy; maybe her fears were well founded. Oh well, no sense worrying about that now. His immediate concern was to get these markings on this canister translated, and he didn't have much time.

Master Tenuto watched the ongoing excavation with a sense of wonder and concern. He wasn't sure what was going on, but believed in his heart that this bounty hunter and the droids were up to no good. He still had no grasp on who the human stranger was, but after watching him dig up the grove with such skill, he realized this guy was some sort of treasure hunter.

"What to do next?" He asked himself. Should he send the Padawans back to Coruscant and secretly hitch a ride with this foursome? Or should he plant a tracer on their ship and follow them to see where they go. Maybe he should contact the Council and seek their advice? But this group could be long gone by the time he made it back to their ship resting at the landing pad of the enclave. Whatever his decision, something had to be done, and done now. These four had found whatever it was they were looking for, and were heading back to their ship. Also, what was in that tube they unearthed? Somebody had to be paying this bounty hunters fee, but who? Too many questions, and no clear way to get the answers.

The chirp of his comlink interrupted the Jedi Master's thoughts. He detached it from his belt and clicked the "talk" button, "yes?"

"Master Tenuto!" It was the Bothan's voice, and it was filled with panic.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

"Master Tenuto! We're under attack!!!"

* * *

Bordiss Mak was a Klatoonian, and a murderer without a conscience to boot. His motto was "Kill...because you can." Sure the money he was paid for the hits was nice, and helped him get by, but what he really enjoyed was seeing the fear in a being's eyes when they realized they were going to die, when they had accepted the fact that there was nothing that could be said or done to alter their present course, all that remained was the exact moment when it would happen...and how. He could make it quick, or drag it on for hours and hours. He was proficient in numerous killing methods, and was handy with quite a few forms of weaponry. Fear was something he could almost smell, it seemed to permeate from ones pores, and it was intoxicating to him.

Currently, he was under the employ of Jabba the Hutt. The gangster gave him numerous opportunities to practice, and perfect his craft, and he was paid well for his talents. This night, he had drawn guard duty due to losing a game of Pazaak with some of his fellow scum and villainy. He didn't mind though, he used the time to get to know the ins and outs of the palace better. One never knew when it might come in handy, and he always considered having the upper hand as a good thing. Tonight had been another night of partying and carousing, currently most, if not all, were sleeping off the evening's inebriants and intoxicants. The only sounds he heard as he patrolled the halls and corridors were loud snores, some belches, and the occasional passing of gas. Not many guards patrolled at night, Jabba made sure his confines were locked up tight nightly, and he felt that only those who had a death wish would even think about attacking the Hutt on his home turf.

Besides himself, there were four Gamorreans, a Weequay, a Rodian, and a Feeorin on patrol. He had little or no contact with any of them previously, and he didn't plan on altering that tonight. He was going to stick to his designated section, and if they stuck to theirs, everything should be just fine.

Sunrise was still hours away, and he realized the only fight he was to be involved in this night was the fight to stay awake. This definitely wasn't something he wanted to do nightly. It was soooooo boring! He had asked, but no one could tell him when the last time was that anything major went down while on the night watch, other than the occasional squabble over cheating at cards, or possible pilfering of private property. He yawned, stretched, and tried to come up with some activity to help him stay awake.

Then he heard something, at first, he thought it was a far off snore, but after further consideration, believed it wasn't a snore, but more like a squeal that was cut short. Maybe someone startled one of the Gamorreans, or perhaps the pig looked in a mirror and realized what a bloated and utterly useless sack of fat their kind was. He knew if it ever came down to him versus one of those bovine bags of Bantha poodoo, they wouldn't stand a chance. He was quicker, stronger, and a heck of a lot smarter than they could ever even hope to be. But for now, he thought it pertinent to investigate the sound, and where it came from. The answer to the latter was somewhere below, deep within the bowels of the old monastery. He drew his blaster from his hip holster, and hugging the wall, cautiously descended the nearest set of stairs into the waiting darkness...

Darth Danno