Long ago during the times of chaos, Master Fellok and Delskae travelled to Piraus-3 as part of an important mission, visiting ancient sites for an unknown purpose. One of those sites was the ocean world of Piraus-3, which is known to have ancient ruins under its waters.

The Jedi order is sending some Jedi to investigate the ruins and try to figure out the mysterious mission the two Jedi were on and, if necessary, complete it.

Having finished her Aquatic Survival Expert training in preparation for this mission, Denari signed up.

Padawan Aava signs up as well. Though she is somewhat hesitant at the thought of having to dive.

The Alula had just exited its final Hyperspace jump, arriving in the Piraus system not too far from the ocean world. Aava was a skilled pilot and the trip had been without incident as a result.

As the ship navigated into orbit, the space port lit up on the navigation panel - the planet wasn't that big, but it's space port used some modern protocols to help guide ships down, likely due to the somewhat regular storms on the planet. With no terrain to temper the winds, these could get pretty wild. Today was quiet as could be though, bright sun, warm temperatures and clear skies, so the guidance system was more of a luxury than anything else.

The Jedi had studied some maps and other information on the planet, and knew the location of the ruins, a shallow reef area near the equator. The spaceport though was about a hundred miles south of their final destination. Here, they would be able to get any final supplies they needed for the mission, and arrange transportation.

Padawan Denari had brought the Explorers Diving Suit, but likely it would be wise to get some additional supplies to help the Jedi operate under water. Maybe they could rent a submarine or arrange for some scuba gear - these wouldn't be nearly as advanced nor long lasting as the Diving Suit, but Denari would be able to give enough instruction to the other Jedi that they could at least spend a little time under water.

(( Err... Clarification request: Do we not get to pick equipment? I wanted to bring one of the First Aid kits. Or is the "equipment we are going to rent" taking up our equipment slot for this mission? ))

Denari had picked up on Aava’s hesitance, so during the trip, she made sure to kindly ask her about it. She was familiar with the feeling and perhas she was able to put Aava at ease a little or give her some tips. Even if she couldn’t it was good to know what to keep in mind during the mission.

Once at the spaceport, Denari proposed to look for transportation possibilities and to rent at least one additional Scuba set. Submarines were easily too bulky to maneuver through shallow reefs without damaging things.

Depending on her teammates preferences, she would arrange safe and suitable gear, as she had learned during training.

While doing that, she made sure to inquire for dangers, warnings and tips from the locals.

Kial was relatively confident. She knew manoeuvring underwater was similar to manoeuvring in zero G. She was aware there was a difference, but would rely on Denari for advice on the nuances. She knew she was by no means an expert.

As she was part of the UPT Military Caste Navy she knew how to swim. Unlike Army personnel, however, she didn't have any training in underwater combat.

"All right," She said to Denari and Aava, "we need to find two rebreathers and some transport."

Kial also inquired with the locals. Mainly about the area they were going to.

During their hyperspace travel, Aava made sure to check the contents of the Red First Aid Kit she was handed by Quartermaster Akhta.

While flying towards Piraus-3, Aava explains to the other two padawan that she does not have a lot of experience with diving. She grew up in the Jedi Order so she has the training, just not that much experience.

"I suggest that Denari finds us diving gear to rent, she has made her own diving suit, so she'll know what the best gear is. And I can look around for a small submarine," she perks up at the thought, "I'll feel a lot better underwater if I can sit in a pilot's chair while being there!"

Clearly, Aava agrees with the others about the gear and transport.

Having so many different races in the galactic community meant there were some downright bizar options available in terms of underwater gear. There was an outfit that was essentially a three foot diameter solid metal shell, and one that was more like a 20 foot knitted tube - probably neither of those what they needed.

However, when it came to humanoid designs, there were at least a thousand different designs available as well, some of them deceptively like what they would need, while capable of causing serious problems - nobody would be pleased if they accidentally bought an oxygen tank intended for V'tar, which would started putting out ever growing quantities of helium the longer they stayed under water to deal with their alien physiology.

Luckily, Denari was able to find some correct scuba equipment for the party, her aquatic survival knowledge proving critical to find what the party would need amongst the thousands of different options. The oxygen tanks would last about an hour on the extra suits, which should be sufficient. At her advise, the party was also able to find some decent looking wetsuits to wear during swimming.

Kial noted that the under water equipment seemed to be bulkier in terms of pressure resistance, but lacked any radiation shielding - it probably wasn't necessary under water. It couldn't be that different could it?

Aava meanwhile was able to find a small tri-bubble bongo which could transport them to the reef, and which would be able to go under water. They might not be able to use it for all of their exploration however...

Kial couldn't help but wonder at the variety of suits. If combined with the modern spaceport one would think a lot of people visited this world. She wondered why.

The difference between space suits and diving suits seemed logical to her.

She helped perform final checks on the bongo and then took the commanders seat in the back of the cockpit. Once the others were seated she spoke.

"Right let's get this show on the road."

Having checked and securely packed their gear, Denari let her fellow Padawan take the lead in getting to their destination.

Before getting in the tribubble bongo, Aava tries to understand the checks Denari just performed on the gear she was going to use later. She thought it wise to at least attempt to understand what was relevant for the correct functioning of the equipment that was going to keep her alive underwater.

When the three of them are getting in the bongo Aava frowns at Kial as she sits down.

"Ehm. Kial, maybe you could take the auxilliary console? Denari can sit in the passenger chair in the back. You have military training right? So you might be able to actually make the sensors do a little more work."

"Well, unless you want to try your hand at the sensors Denari? Practice is the best teacher, as they say."

Regardless of the final seating arrangements, Aava does her best to fulfil the role of whichever seat she ended up in — which she hopes is the pilot's seat because she a lot of experience piloting things around.

Promted by Aava’s interest, Denari explained as she went along. On each aspect she started with the basic functionality and elaborated briefly on the specifics of the gear at hand.

As far as technologies went, this was relatively straight forward. Once one knew what was what, even someone with limited understanding of mechanics and machines, like Denari, could make enough sense of it to use it wisely.

Denari politely declined the offer of taking the console.

“I’ll take the passenger chair for now. On unknown terrain I prefer to have qualified people operating consoles. On the way back, getting practice might be a wise idea though.”

With that, Denari moved towards the passenger seat. She was obviously not entirely accustomed to vehicles such as this bongo, but her excellent motor control prevented her from looking very clumsy.

During the trip, Denari did her best to observe what Padawan Valian and Padawan Aava were doing and how.

Kial blinked a few times at Aavas comment.

"Right, my apologies. I thought that Padawan Merelles underwater training would make her more suited as navigator and operator. But I will switch if that makes you more comfortable."

After she said that Kial moved to the proper seat.

"I take it you will be taking the pilot seat, Padawan Corentin?"

While she listened to the answer she took a moment to familiarise herself with the control panel. She then ran a quick diagnostic to see if they were ready to leave.

"That was the idea. But I'm happy to switch if you want to pilot," Aava replied happily.

If everyone is comfortably seated, she is ready to go!

The tribubble bongo took a little while to get them to their destination, but it was a comfortable ride - the planet was trying to grow its tourism industry, and comfortable transportation was part of that plan. It was a good thing to have a trained driver though, the underwater currents could be tricky, but with Aava at the helm, they reached their destination without incident.

The water here was shallow, by ocean standards anyway, and crystal clear, allowing sunlight to shine through quite deep, and the Jedi to see the first signs of ancient ruins, which grew denser the further they went

By now, the bongo might make a better base of operations than it did transportation - between the various stone constructs and the corals that had built up around the area, the vessel was simply too big to do much more exploring than getting a outside overview.

The three Padawans also felt some sort of disturbance in the Force, though it was hard to make heads or tails of it. It was less like a specific source and more as if there was an echo in the water. Perhaps it would become clearer once they got closer.

Force or no, this place was beautiful, and interesting from an archeological viewpoint as well, which made it somewhat odd that there hadn't been a flyer or advertisement to visit the place, considering the planets tourism aspirations.

The reason for that soon became clear though as Kial's sensor modifications gave a warning: the jellyfish that lived in this area were very poisonous and should not be touched - not really a challenge a Jedi had to be too concerned about, but probably not the safest thing when it came to tourists.

Denari was impressed by the beauty of the place, but was made weary because of the disturbance. The jellyfish did not bother her too much, the wetsuits and diving suit were body-covering and jellyfish tended not to attack unless touched or agitated.

Eager to get moving and explore, she asked her fellow Padawan if anyone had a preference for the scuba gear or the diving suit, before helping them put on the equipment -if necessary-, and give them a final instruction on use and tracking oxygen.

After a final round for questions, she advised to keep calm and leave the jellyfish and other animals alone, and prepared to leave the bongo.

"I have no specific preference for one suit or another."

Kial spoke with her regular neutral expression. After she seemed to have thought for a moment she seemed to hesitate a moment. Something which was very out of character for her.

"Do we have to change into the suits? Or can we wear them over our robes?"

She seemed genuinely worried about it. Her gloved hands fidgeted a little.

"Robes sort of fit in the diving suit, footware exluded, but my personal experience is that it is highly uncomfortable." Denari responded apologetically.

"If it makes you comfortable to change in private, we can change and leave the bongo first," she glanced at Aava to check if she had objections, "and I'll come check your gear when you let me know you are ready."

She didn't ask for an explanation - verbally or non-verbally-, even though that would not have been unlike her, but whether that was out of respect or disinterest was hard to tell.

Aava parks the bongo safely on a large rock surface on the ocean floor.

"I have no problems with you two being present while I change," Aava remarks as she starts to change. "Though you are free to look away," she adds with a smile as she works on her outer robes.

After putting on the wetsuit, she double-checks her oxygen tanks and rebreather as best she could based on Denari's instructions. After putting on her belt with comms and ligthsaber, but before putting on diving goggles, she works her long hair into a tail — though instead of braiding it, she keeps together by four hair ties segmenting her tail into segments of equal length.

After Denari checks her gear as well, she waits for Kial and Denari to change, looking away to offer them some modesty. After they are both done she makes her way outside.

Outside, she takes a moment to orient herself and attempts to feel out the direction of the echo in the force.

(( I'm asusming that this bongo has some way of getting out of the bubble without opening the whole thing and flooding it. If this is not the case, Aava will wait inside until everyone is changed. Follow-up post below indicates a desire to have no airlock present. Slightly adjusted my post ))

Kial looked at Denari.

Then she looked at the wall of water a handful of centimetres away from her face, held back only by a forcefield. Considering the lack of anything like an airlock.

Then looked back at Denari.

A sigh.

A determined look in her eyes.

"No..., that won't be necessary."

Having said that, Kial started removing her gloves.

The first thing that one would notice was that her pinky and ring finger on her right hand were prosthetic. The metal shined in the light of the console. The next thing was the purplish skin tone consistent with burns on the rest of her right hand.

As she removed more clothes, the full extent of the burn scarring became apparent. It covered her entire body, stopping at her neck and left shoulder. There was a circular pattern to the scarring. One that suggested electromagnetic fields that were consistent with plasma burns, known to be particularly painful.

A flexible metal-like plate covered her side. Something only done when a large chunk of flesh was missing.

As if that wasn't enough, Kials body was also covered in scars of cuts and blaster fire. Some might say it was a miracle she was alive, let alone undergoing missions.

She quickly put on the suit to cover back up and helped check the suits of the others.

As Kial started to get undressed, Denari turned to getting undressed and geared up as well. She didn’t mind changing in the presence of others at all, but for this time, she tried to face away from Kial to give her some privacy. This revealed an intricate pattern of Opaali on her back, that glowed like embers, and shared resemblance with dancing flames.

As she didn’t have time to look away before Kial removed her gloves, and because the space did not offer a lot of options for getting into the diving suit without facing the others occasionally, she did take notice Kial’s scarring and prosthetics.

After an initial widening of her eyes, she did however not seem to give it a lot of attention, letting Kial go about her business as she did herself.

Once outside she also took a moment to orient herself, and started scanning for the flow of local currents, collections of jellyfish and other potential threats and opportunities to find efficient paths between the ruins and their bongo.

(( I am assuming “the suit” in the previous post means either a wetsuit - or a wetsuit or the divers suit, with no specific preference for either. But if the divers suit was meant, I’ll change my post ))

Once the three Jedi were changed into their wetsuits, awkwardness notwithstanding, they let the bongo flood and moved out into the water - the bongo could pump the water out again once they raised the force field once more.

There was a section of coral reef which could be explored, lots of fish there so there might be some more dangerous creatures there too, but it was a good spot to find hidden things, and the reef did grow there for a reason so there was probably something that had seeded the growth hidden there.

Alternatively, they could swim directly to the big ruins they had seen which offered various entrances. As anything so obvious was likely to have been explored before, they'd at least need to go inside to find anything of relevance, and it looked like it might be dark in there.

Finally, there was a more open area with sea weeds, which might be hiding more ruins and offer an alternative entrance, though they'd have to keep an eye out as it seemed like a spot where they might encounter the jellyfish Kial's sensors had picked up on.

Whatever direction they went, it was probably wise to stick together in case anyone ran into trouble.

“Shall we first inspect the large ruins to see what kind of place this used to be?” Denari asked over the comms. “Perhaps that gives us a clue about the reason our predecessors were interested in this place and what we are looking for. The lights of the diving suit will provide enough light for you to see in there, if we stay close together.”

"Seems like as good a plan as any." Kial replied, being her normal, stoic self again.

"Oh, and we should avoid that weed area. The sensors said the jellyfish here are very poisonous to the touch. And we would probably encounter those over there."

"Ok, then we start with the large ruins.", Aava replies through the comms.

After that, she follows padawan Denari in silence, preferring to take in the undersea environment.

Swimming quietly towards the ruins, the heroes realized how beautiful the sea here was - between the clear water, the sun twinkling above and the quiet except for their own breathing, it was almost tranquil. The echo reverberating in the force was a continued presence though, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

The large ruin looked like it may have at one point been a palace or temple of some sort, the balconies and walkways were too open to be a military site and its design did not seem to encourage commerce. The heroes were able to swim into the ruin through a pillared walkway which had a large door with a stair leading into a large dark hall. Some lewd shapes had been carved into the doorway, an earlier visitor who decided this was an appropriate place to leave their mark.

As the light of their suit illuminated the area various fish darted off back into the darkness. They could see carvings of creatures on two rows of columns lining each side of the hall, partially ruined mosaic patterns inlaid into the floor. This must have been a great and important hall once upon a time, but now it was little more than an echo of history.

Exploring deeper, they found a raised platform at the end of the hall, where perhaps once a throne had stood, though now it was merely an empty platform. They could feel the echo's of the force were stronger here though, so perhaps there was more to it than that...

Also of interest was a spiral staircase left of the platform leading up into a tower they had seen from the outside, and a similar staircase on the opposite side leading downward.

Denari slowly swam towards the staircase first. She peered up and down for information and to check for potential dangers, eyes piercing the darkness best they could.

She then swam back to the platform to inspect it closer.

"There's something about this place I cannot quite place." She said over the comms. "Do you two sense it too?"

She proceeded to carefully circle the platform, letting her instincts guide her attention for a while.

(( Denari has Force Vision ))

"I do sense something, and it feels stronger near the platform. I'll go and inspect the platform and the carvings here some more."

She then did as she said, and starts to investigate the platform itself, and the carvings — both the original ones and the newer, lewder ones — to see if there is anything to be gleaned from them.

"Affirmative. There is something here."

Kial swam closer to the raised platform, but kept out of Aavas way.

She tried to focused on the echo. Concentrating, in attempt to get a better idea of what it was or where it might be exactly.

Peering up and down the staircases normally wouldn't have revealed much, but with her Force Vision, Denari was able to see a lot more easily. The staircase up seemed to lead up the tower they had seen from the outside. It was an alternative entrance they might have used, or possibly an exit should they need to escape the ruin.

The staircase down seemed to lead deeper into the ruins, but also looked somewhat dangerous - Denari wasn't quite convinced it was stable and disturbing it might risk part of the ceiling coming down. If they were careful though, it might be a way to get to the lower levels easily.

Aava carefully inspected the carvings in the stone - the limestone seemed like it was relatively easy to work but that hadn't stopped the original sculptors from putting in an effort. If there was any religious or ceremonial significance to the creatures depicted, Aava couldn't make it out. Perhaps that was simply a lack of knowledge of the religions in the sector, or maybe they were just decorative.

Taking a break from the original carvings a moment to inspect the less original ones, she soon figured out what had happened there - other explorers, possibly tourists going off the beaten path or amateur archeologists like themselves, had entered the obvious rune and left their mark. She even managed to locate an empty alcohol cylinder amongst a bit of rubble. These kinds of people really shouldn't be visiting historic sites like this.

Kial meanwhile tried to focus on the echo in the force, moving herself methodically around the area and trying to get a sense if it grew stronger or weaker. After a little while, she was joined by Denari, who likewise let her instincts guide her exploration.

It was probably no coincidence then that just as Aava was looking at one of the smaller murals on the side of the platform depicting a frog-like creature wearing a crown, the other two Jedi found themselves there as well, looking at the same thing.

Inspecting it closely, it appeared this particular mural was not made of the same stone as the rest of the platform - similar, but not identical. And it looked like it might be pressed into the platform. Unfortunately it wasn't immediately clear what would actually happen if it were to be pressed though... or if it would even be safe to do so.

“Well, this is surely no coincidence.” Denari stated somewhat surprised.

“The stairs don’t seem of particular interest if we want to figure out what the ancient mission objective was: up leads to one of the towers we saw, which might be a good escape route though, and down lead deeper into the ruins, but if we’re not careful, the ceiling might collapse on us if we go.”

“The Force echos leading us to this mural don’t really feel malign to me however...”

Kial looked around to identify all possible exits, noting the closest ones. She also noted the one Denari mentioned.

"The Force led us here. The question is for what purpose?"

Kial asked of no one in particular. She wondered what would happen for each of the possibilities should they choose them. She came up with several scenarios, but the frog-like mural remained an unknown. And then there was the Force to consider...

Then she remembered something once told to her by a good friend: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'.

"It seems this mural can be pressed. I'm prepared to do that. If the two of you get close to the exits. Then should it cause this place to come down you can get out quickly."

Kial sounded determined.

"I want to trust in the Force. But I don't think we are as attuned to the Force as a master would be. I don't think we have enough experience with the Force to tell if this feeling is a friendly warning, or an invitation."

"I'm also curious to see what happens. If it still works I want to investigate the mechanism that is at work... It's good craftsmanship if it still works after all this time, and underwater as well."

She looks at the exits for a moment, and squints.

"But I am not going to let you risk yourself while we are at a safe distance. I'll stay here with you."

Aava prepared herself to quikly swim away or pull Kial out of harm's way.

Kial blinked at Aava for a moment.

"Why would you risk both of us? You should maintain your distance so, if something happens to me, you and Padawan Merelle can continue the mission. Risking the mission by the both of us staying here is pointless."

She sounded a bit confused.

"We shouldn't take more risks then necessary. I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. Now get going."

Kial now waited for Aava and Denari to swim away. She would push the mural once they were a safe distance.

"No," Aava replied, "Risking you to continue the mission is irresponsible."

"You are more important than the mission. And you thinking otherwise does not make it any different. I don't doubt that you will be able to handle yourself, though I won't let you take a risk we can so easily mitigate with me being here. Trust in your team."

Kial was about to argue then stopped herself.

"You're worried about traps."

She stated more than asked.

"I'm more worried about whatever mechanism this activates causing the ceiling to come crashing down."

She gestured at the temple.

"This place seems old. And salt water will corrode nearly everything. Any traps are likely to have worn to the point of no longer functioning. Similarly, the stone here has probably become brittle. Which makes the structural integrity questionable at best."

She paused as she looked at Aava.

"I've thought this through. But if you insist on staying here, be my guest. The Unifying Force says to keep all future possibilities in mind, after all."

She waited a moment before pressing the mural. Giving Aava the chance to change her mind if she wanted to. Should Aava do so Kial would, of course, wait for her to reach a safe distance.

"And if chunks of ceiling come crashing down, we'll nudge them aside together."

She is clearly not moving away.

(( If necessary, Aava will try to use her Telekinesis to nudge chinks of stone aside, so that no chunks hit any of the Jedi. I think this would normally require "Slow and Steady", but seeing how we are underwater things both fall slower, and weight comparatively less -- for what physics are worth to the Force. ))

“There is no ethically unambiguous way to determine who gets to take the risk, unless we all voluntarily bear a part.” Denari broke in, not moving from her spot either.

“If we don’t want to take unnecessary risks, we should take time to find a way to do the pressing from a distance. Between mechanics, improvisation and the Force, it should be doable. It takes more time, but that way we can all observe from near the exit. Your air needs to be replenished eventually either way. If it doesn’t work, we can reevaluate what is necessary.

Or we can thrust in each others skills and reflexes. Rubble falls quite slowly in water.”

Kial audibly sighed.

"You both need to learn troop expendability and mission priority, but fine. Now let's stop arguing and get going."

Without any further delay she pressed the mural.

The mural shifted slowly into the platform, and a faint echo of sliding stones was followed by the squeaking of rusty gears, the sounds only slightly deformed by the water that carried it. When the sound stopped nothing seemed to have changed. Was the mechanism broken after all the time it had spent under water?

Then, there was a sudden rumble and slowly the floor of the main hall in front of the platform began to open, a large circular section sliding down and then splitting into three curved sections, each turning aside into the wall, revealing a whole new chamber underneath!

The circular chamber some five meters below them was made of smooth gray stone and machines and work stations of various types lined the walls. Some of them lit up with colourful lights when the chamber was revealed.

Aava was impressed that the mechanism not only still worked, but seemed to activate the still functional electronic components successfully as well - whomever had built this had made it to last, and under sea water too. Denari in turn took note that the opening of the room had gone without any significant water flows - the chamber below must have already been flooded when it was opened. Kial, who was more familiar with odd computer systems was pretty certain the machines lining the walls were ancient antiques - one of them even had a tape reel mounted on it that was slowly spinning up.

All of them took note of the center of the circular chamber though. Here, the smooth floor was interrupted, leaving a clear view of the natural rock below, an outcropping piercing into the room up to about three meters above the floor, a fence looping around to keep people from walking into the formation.

The rock outcropping was lined with smaller and larger crystals in all the colours of the rainbow (and perhaps a few more) and was a clear centerpiece, forming a strange contrast of natural environment with the almost sterile room around it.

At the top of the rock outcropping was an empty area, a large piece clearly having been removed, and not in a subtle manner either: some of the stone had, long ago, been melted through.

As the perilous situations passed without incident, Denari moved to swim down to the newly revealed chamber.

As usual she peered around to spot anomalies and potentially dangerous creatures, before signaling the others she saw no obvious threats.

Having little clue about computer systems, Denari focussed on the outcropping, trying to identify the properties and significance of the rock and the crystals, and perhaps locate loose pieces at the bottom.

The top also deserved attention, of course, as it was not her first encounter with old molten stone in related events...

Kial breathed a sigh of relief.

"That went better then I expected."

She stayed at their top position for a moment. Looking at the area she tried to spot some more details. Especially anything that looked like recording equipment.

Seeing Denari swim in she remembered the last unfamiliar computer system she encountered.

"Padawan Merelle, be careful." After a short pause she added. "Please."

"Could whomever built this have been researching the crystals on that rock formation?" She wondered out loud.

"But why would they put it underneath a temple?"

Upon Padawan Valian’s request, Denari confirmed and started to swim slower.

When the heroes swam down into the newly revealed chamber, they could feel the energies they had been sensing more clearly - it was definitely radiating from the rock formation and crystals.

Seeing them up close, the heroes released that these crystals seemed familiar - they resembled the ones used in light sabers, though these were clearly unprocessed.

Denari found that there were indeed some loose pieces of rock and crystal at the bottom of the formation, though she'd have to reach down into the hole in the floor to grab them. It looked like the crystals had fallen off the formation after growing bigger than the formation could support.

The top part looked like it had melted very long ago, and the resemblance to the molten stone below the Jedi Temple was definitely noticeable - perhaps they both had the same origin? It was certainly possible.

Kial meanwhile noted that the old computer systems here were mostly harmless - they did not seem to be connected to any actuators and she did not see any transmitters either. However, even if they had been, the systems were likely not to be very dangerous for the simple reason that they were running on minimal power.

Whatever energy source powered the setup, it was not able to provide the full needs of the system, so each computer was running in some type of power saving mode, allowing for diagnostics but not much else.

Kial stared at the crystals as it took her a moment to recognise them. As she kept staring a realisation dawned on her.

"It can't be..." She muttered.

She swam closer, then looked at the temple above her. Looking back at the computer equipment. Then back at the rock formation. The temple, the equipment and back to the rock formation.

She then let herself float in place for a moment. Silent.

Then, over the comms, came a sound so uncharacteristic of the Chiss woman one might fear for her health. The ever stoic, always composed soldier. The stern young jedi that never smiled. Whom some believed was physically unable to smile.

Yet this person was making a sound that could only be described as shear, unadulterated...

Glee.

The other two jedi could hear Kial Valian laugh. Dared anyone say it? Giggle. Like a new recruit straight out of military academy.

Denari was down at the base of the rock formation again, pondering whether or not it was acceptable and safe to reach for one of the fallen crystals.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound she hadn’t heard in a while. When she realized what -or actually who- the source was, she was properly flabbergasted and lost for words.

A while later, but before the giggling had died down, she did manage to utter a few, and her uncertain voice sounded over the comms.

“Care to share the joke?”

It took a moment before Kial caught her breath.

"I'm sorry." She replied, the mirth still evident in her voice.

"I just realised where we are. And the implications of everything here."

Her voice had calmed a little, but there was still a happy undertone in it.

"This is an ancient Jedi Temple. Or at the very least it was built by a group of people with a strong connection to the Force."

She held a short pause.

"Not just that, but it's highly likely our arrival was expected. Probably the arrival of Master Fellok and Master Delskae as well. Why else would anyone build this place to last this long? And under these conditions? The only reason could be that they knew someone would be here so far into the future to use it all."

The excitement was clearly audible in Kials voice.

"This has to be the will of the Force."

Kial looked at her oxygen supply, wondering if they had time to meditate here for a while.

Denari still wondered why the discovery would cause such audible glee from the stoic Padawan; discovering precious, unexpected, things happened sometimes when exploring... It could even be considered the whole point of it...

She let it be however. It seemed the Padawan could use the practice in expressing emotions.

“Since our predecessors were investigating something powerful referred to as Atavi, this source might in a way be related to that. There are loose pieces of crystals and rock down here. Before we leave we might want to collect a few for the Masters to investigate...

“Could you make out what the machines are for, Padawan Valian? And Aava, do you think we can use the mechanism to hide this place again before we leave?”

(( Apologies for my unannounced absence. The first week everything was slipping my mind, and just this weekend I was dealing with a health issue. I'm back now! ))

Aava had been silent during the revelation and the first impression it left, and does not seem inclined to say much on the matter.

"I can have a look. It still opens, so it might still close. No guarantee though." she replies as she swims down into the room to have a closer look at the rock formation.

"I agree with Denari. We should find out what these machines are for, if at the least to discover any information that we can understand. I also think that we should each take a crystal, one we select ourselves."

She starts to inspect the mechanism to see if it can be made to go in reverse to close the hidden room again. She makes sure to not get in the way of the other two padawan also investigating the room.

"It is remarkable that everything still works," she states after a while. "Though I do not think that specifically our arrival was expected. I do have a theory as to why anyone builds a place that lasts this long. But that is not a matter to talk about when on rationed oxygen."

(( Aava has Mechanic. ))

"No, not our arrival specifically. But they probably knew someone would be here. In this case: us."

Kial replied to Aava.

She then swam towards the computers and tried to access them. She was careful to avoid damaging the system.

Denari also swam around, looking for anything else of interest, but mainly kept any eye on the other two, should she be able to be of assistance.

Perhaps she could help Aava by describing things in places too dark for Aava’s eyes to observe.

Aava inspected the mechanism, finding that the same machinery that had opened up the room would likely still work to close it. The mechanism was solidly designed, though it could definitely use some maintenance.

There was a problem though, and it was the same one Kial was facing while she attempted to access the computers. Though surprisingly cooperative in giving her access, the computers were in power saving mode. And it did not seem able to get out of it.

Soon, the heroes figured out the problem: the entire setup was powered from a single power supply, which seemed incapable of providing sufficient energy to run the system properly - there had been just enough left to open the room, but there wasn't enough power to close it again, nor to get the computer system out of power saving mode.

Denari was able to track the power lines along the walls and in the dark spots behind the machinery to one of the devices further back in the room - an ancient atomic battery, Aava knew. Its capacitor had been drained by the opening of the room, and the isotopes inside had decayed so much that it could take months to charge them up again.

It seemed that unless they somehow managed to solve the power problem, they would be unable to either access the computer or close the room back up again.

“Uuhm, so, if it needs energy, can we perhaps use... that-”, waving to the rock formation with the energy crystals, “ somehow? Though if the top is the missing link and was deliberately removed, and we don’t know why, I don’t know if we should or what precautions we could take...”

Padawan Denari was obviously out of her depth here. She looked to the other two, hoping they had enough expertise to come up with something.

"I'm no expert, but I don't think a rock can generate power." Kial was by no means an expert in lightsaber construction. But she believed the power cell and the lightsaber crystal were two separate components.

She looked at Aava, who knew more about engineering then her.

"Can you see if we would have enough power to close the room if we disconnect power from these computers?" She asked. "If so I can probably pull the data storage devices out of these things and take them with us. That way we can leave without having to worry anyone finding this room."

"I'll have a look. But it might be smart for someone to go get the bongo and park it as close by as possible. I might be able to rig up this system the the bongo's power source."

She looks pensive for a moment.

"And if not, I think we should only close the room, and go back to get a generator and some additional gear. Pulling out the data storage parts might damage them."

As the others did their thing, Aava inspects the power supply.

(( Aava has Mechanic; and Ship Mechanic if it helps any. ))

Being a ship mechanic, Aava was able to determine that the bongo's power source probably wasn't powerful enough to power everything. However, she'd be able to use it to charge the capacitor for the doors in about ten minutes, or she could power the computer systems enough for Kial to get access to the data, though not both at the same time.

Kial meanwhile struggled a bit with the computer system, but eventually was able to find out where these archaic machines stored their data: there were giant reels of tape inside some of the machines which contained the data. Those were easy enough to disconnect - it was what they were designed for - but it might be more prudent to try and access them locally. To say the machinery necessary to read these tapes was no longer current would be an understatement, and it'd be a hassle to get a system set up that could read the data. Even so, Kial was sure that if she decided to take the tapes, she'd be able to set something up to access the data later.

Denari meanwhile noticed something else: a pair of colorful fish had made their way into the chamber. That was probably to be expected, this was an ocean, fish came with the environment. But these did not seem to be wandering about randomly looking for food as normal fish might do. Instead, they seemed to be a tad more purposeful making their way towards the rock formation.

"The data storage was built to be removable. I should be able to remove it without to much trouble. I'd rather make sure the data is safe then leave it unguarded for the time it takes us to go and get a generator. Even if the room is closed."

Kial said. She swam towards Aava and looked at the nuclear battery.

"That wouldn't be a thermoelectric generator, would it?" She asked, looking towards Aava. "If it is, I might have an idea to solve our power problem. Or I can start getting those tape reels out of the computers. Your pick."

“Pardon the interruption,” Denari’s voice sounded over the comms, “but something is happening that might require our attention.”

“That’s not normal behaviour for fish.” She pointed out, in case it wasn’t immediately obvious.

"Unfortunately not. It's an atomic battery, an ancient one."

"I think we should take the data carriers with us, and charge up the battery to close the room again. We can come back with a portable generator and investigate further tomorrow."

Aava looks toward Denari, "Um. Should we shoo them away?" Aava was clearly not very well-versed in handling animals.

Unless interrupted by something even stranger, Aava starts ti work on the battery to allow them to connect the Bongo's power source once it is parked nearby.

Though technically a (nuclear) thermoelectric generator could be considered an type of atomic battery, Kial did not have enough technical expertise to know this and thus took Aavas more technically experienced word for it.

"Very well, I'll start removing the data storage."

Kial turned to look at the fish. She looked at their size and estimated possible dangers.

"Unless they start getting in the way or start moving aggressively I think we can ignore them. But feel free to keep an eye on them."

She swam back to the computers an started carefully removing the tape reels.

Preferring to be out of the way of the other two as they did their thing on the things, Denari stayed where she was and curiously observed the fish.

As the two fish did not seem to pose an immediate danger, Kial carefully got to work to remove the tape reels, finding a latch to unlock the mechanism that allowed her to raise an entire block of tapes and slide them off the central axis one by one, finding a total of five tapes, three larger ones and two smaller ones, as well as a smaller and bigger empty spool that tape could be rolled onto while being read. Carrying all of that on her own, she'd need to use both hands.

Aava meanwhile found that the capacitor had been carefully designed with the purpose of being rechargable and setting it up to receive power was easy enough for someone of her engineering skills. Someone would probably have to pilot the bongo into the building though, as the jumper cables weren't long enough to reach all the way into the main hall and down into the chamber from the outside - it was probably wise to leave that to someone with skill.

The two fish meanwhile stopped at the rock formation and slowly pivoted around in near perfect synchronicity, turning counter clockwise to scan the entire room, one of them pausing to look straight at Denari.

If the weird behavior hadn't been obvious, she could feel something wasn't right with these fish on a deeper level. It was difficult to place, but it felt like someone was watching her - and though the feeling definitely emanated from them, it wasn't the fish.

Denari blinked as she processed what was happening. She couldn’t make out the flavour of intent with which they regarded her, so she decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.

“Hello” she said to acknowledge whatever was watching her. “I wasn’t aware someone was still guarding this place. Are we disturbing you?”

Even if the vibrations of her sounds did not carry to the receiver, she guessed the intent of her apologetic question probably would.

As she held the tape reels, Kial heard Denari speak.

She turned and looked at her fellow padawan.

"Who are you talking to?"

Aava, finished with preparing the battery, swims over to Kial to help carry some of the reels.

If she hears Denari talk to the fish, she keeps silent and swims upward so she can look out of the lowered room they were in. She reasons that that way she can see if any more strange fish are coming towards the room.

Denari did not respond to her fellow Padawan immediately. She waited a few moments for some kind of response instead.

The fish seemed either unable to speak or unable to understand spoken language, because they did not respond, one looking blankly at Denari instead, the other finishing its pirouette, pausing a moment to notice Aava and then Kial.

Aava found that no other fish had entered the upper chamber, but then just as suddenly as they had decided to come in, the fish shot off, swimming past Aava and into the upper chamber towards the exit, as if someone had just told them to run.

Actually, that made sense to Denari, who had been getting this strange feeling from the fish - it seemed like someone might be using some sort of, well, possession on them, looking through their eyes, possibly even controlling their actions. It might even explain the unnatural movement.

The fleeing fish were fast, but the Jedi would likely be able to give chase - doing so while carrying the reels might be more difficult though. This left the heroes with some choices: if they gave chase, they might have to leave the reels behind for the moment, as they weren't exactly streamlined. Alternatively, they could split up, but then whomever gave chase might have to face whatever the creatures were swimming to alone. Perhaps there were other options too. Whatever it was, they best decide quickly!

“I had the feeling someone or something was watching us through the fish. I’ve heard animals can be controlled though the Force, so it makes sense.” Denari explained to her the others.

“Shall we give chase, or leave them be as long as they do the same?”

It took a moment for Kial to understand what Denari was saying.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Kials voice had worry in it.

"Controlling other living beings through the Force sounds like one of its darker aspects. I'd rather not let anyone who'd do that into this temple."

She thought for a moment. She looked to Aava.

"Can you get these tape reels to the Bongo and then close this place up, Padawan Corentin? Then Padawan Merelle and I can chase those fish and hopefully stop whomever is controlling them."

Kial reasoned Aava would probably be most suited to pilot the bongo into the temple, while her own skill in Zero-G Mobility and Denaris skill in Aquatic Survival Expert would be most useful should they engage in combat after chasing the fish.

If Aava and Denari agreed, Kial would hand of the tape reels she was holding and start chasing the fish.

“Master Dhahlee can do it too, apparently.” Denari interjected after Kial assumed it was linked to the Dark side. “But it requires a strong and carefully built up bond between Jedi and animal for it too work.”

“If I think about it that way, whatever is behind it, is not someone we could face. If it has a vested interest in this place and this stuff, it will appear again. Best to stick together, not appear hostile, and do what we planned to do.”

Leaving the tape reels with Aava, Kial followed after the fish, making sure to keep enough distance so she could see where they were going but without getting separated from the group.

Swimming out of the ruin, she soon noticed that there was a ship on the surface, its outline clearly visible above.

The two fish fled in the opposite direction, but as they did, there were three splashes next to the vessel above as man-sized droids had been dropped into the water.

The droids were sleek and clearly designed to operate under water, with no visible markings to identify them. Each had a blaster strapped on one of their arms. Between that and the red dots for eyes, they gave off a distinctly unfriendly appearance.

After landing in the water, they made their way straight towards the Jedi. At this distance, Denari would know, blasters were not effective under water. They'd have to get closer before they were able to shoot.

As soon as she saw the blasters on the droids, Kial turned around. Swimming towards the Bongo.

"Get to the Bongo." Kial called over the comms. "If we can get to that ship on the surface we can get them to call off the droids. We'll also be able to fight better if it comes to that."

She was reasonably confident they could take the droids underwater in a fight but knew their position wasn't the most advantageous. She also wasn't confident their diving suits would hold up to combat very well.

Denari paid specific attention to the direction the fish escaped in, since help could possibly be found in that direction.

“Ok, I’ll fetch Padawan Aava.” Denari responded to Kial as she somersoulted to swim back to the chamber. “Blasters have a severely reduced range underwater, so we can use that to get to the bongo with the tapes. If wordt comes to worst, I want the data to reach the order at the very least.”

She took half of the tapes from Aava and picked a route to the bongo that was as short as possible, while allowing them to escape to a more advantageous position if the droids were faster than she expected.

Aava hands half of the tapes to Denari and follows her fellow padawan. She keeps an eye on the droids as she does, to make sure that she knows what is going on while swimming towards the bongo.

The padawans carefully swam to avoid the droids, making their way around to get to the Bongo as quickly as possible. The droids were relentless though, heading towards them at speed... or were they?

As the Jedi reached the bongo, Kial first and Denari and Aava shortly after, the droids seemed to swim by them, ignoring the Jedi once they were out of their way.

Instead, the droids made their way inside the temple. Phew!

Once they had gone inside though, the droids didn't stay very long. Instead, they turned around and came back out, this time heading towards the Bongo. It was a very strange behavior, but entirely droid-like. If they had been ordered to head down to the temple and deal with the Jedi, then no doubt they were sequentially doing exactly that.

With their first objective completed, they now seemed focused on the second...

Kial took her lightsaber of her belt. She hadn't entered the bongo yet.

She flipped her lightsaber in her right hand before activating it. The blade now pointing backwards from her, so it wouldn't block her vision but still could be handled easily.

She pushed off the bongo with her feet. Heading straight for the droids. She presented an obvious target. She focused on defence. A distraction so her allies could flank the droids and attack. Using her lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts.

As she closed the distance she would attack the middle droid.

Denari dropped her share of the tapes in the bongo, somewhat gently, took out her light saber and turned to their attackers in a smooth motion

Making use of Kial’s distraction, she aimed to flank the left droid as she pushed off.

Being used to moving in the water, Denari thrusted her instincts and training to keep her from most harm and focussed on disabling the weapons or mobility of the left droid.

(( Since the rules explicitly note that "It is not possible to specifically "target" a single person in a group that works together—they win or lose as a group." I'm, assuming that Kial is not bound to only attack QA-102 during the combat, since stopping while there are other droids left would be silly ^_^ ))

As she is not an experienced swimmer, Aava is not exactly overjoyed that they are suddenly fighting with underwater droids. She feels that the Jedi are somewhat vulnerable, a single good shot to their gear would quickly take them out, while droids do not need to breath.

So, she flanks the only droid not immediately engaged by her fellow padawan to prevent Kial from being shot at from two sides. She is intent on cutting through the blaster of her foe.

The moment she disarms her opponent she makes a fighting retreat to Kial. There she hopes to switch targets and disarm Kial's main target quickly as well. Her goal is to move around and disarm all three droids to protect the Jedi, and leave the effective destruction of droids in the hands of Kial.

The droids opened fire just as the three Padawans activated their lightsabers, both sides engaging one another.

Kial pushed ahead defensively, trying to draw the attention of the droids to the center, which seemed to be effective, though it meant she had to deflect a decent amount of blaster fire. It was hard to keep up, but she was well trained and it paid off here.

Denari safely stored away the tapes in the bongo and flanked the droids- she was well within her element, and thus easily able to maneuvre around the left side. Keeping out of the line of blaster fire heading towards Kial, she was able to get close, her blade slicing through the left droid's blaster.

The droid seemed to respond rather oddly, continuing to "fire" except that with the blaster destroyed, it now wasn't producing any bolts, it was just aiming towards the Jedi without even bothering to make 'pew pew' sounds, leaving it effectively useless.

Aava moved around the right side, being somewhat slower in the water, she wasn't able to make the full distance around, instead staying somewhat closer to Kial.

The droids were unable to penetrate the formidable defenses of the Jedi though, and once they got close enough, Aava was able to use Kial's cover to disarm the right droid, quickly spinning around to fight Kial's droid from behind.

It wasn't necessary though, as Kial was handily able to cut through the power source of the middle droid once the other two had stopped firing on her to leave her time to attack between deflections.

And with that, the droids had been turned harmless, either disabled or stuck in a loop where they did nothing useful.

The ship on the surface that the droids had come from was not showing an immediate reaction, though it was unclear whether they were aware of the outcome of the battle or not, giving the Jedi a moment to come up with a plan as to what to do. With no droids attacking them, the pressure was a bit less, though there was no telling what, if anything, the ship might do next.

Glad the fight was over, Denari headed back to the bongo. She had wanted to explore the area a little further, but, given the circumstances, securing what they had found so far seemed more important to her. Unfortunately.

“Shall we investigate who is in that boat, or should we get away from here while we can?”

"It makes no sense to suddenly send droids after us. I think we should go and have a look at the boat. Maybe they are trying to protect the temple in some way..."

While Kial weighed in on the discussion, Aava went around and pulled the power supplies of the two droids that still had intext power sources. She did not want to leave semi-active droids behind. While she would like to not leave these droids behind at all, safely disabling them would have to do for now.

(( Mechanic does not cover droid engineering, but this seems simple enough of a task that it'd be doable. ))

"They probably don't know who they're dealing with. And there's the odd behaviour of those fish..."

Kial wondered out loud.

"I'm all for investigating that boat, but I expect a fight if we do. And I doubt it will be an easy fight at that. Then again if we want to protect the temple, it might be our only option."

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"Or they could be locals trying to protect a cultural site. It has been vandalized before. There really is only one way to find out. I say we introduce ourselves to whomever is up there."

Denari agreed with Kial’s proposed approach.

"That sounds like a plan," Aava agrees. Interrupting her task of safely disabling the droids if necessary, she climbs aboard the Bongo.

Kial boards the Bongo. As the compartment seals itself and drains the water, she quickly checks the sensors to make sure where the boat is located.

Once the water was drained she took off the heavier parts of the diving suit and the parts that limited her movement, for as far as was possible in the time and limited space available.

The three Jedi headed back inside the Bongo after Aava pulled the power supplies out of the droids to make sure they were properly disabled, before finding her way back into the pilot seat of the vessel.

The bongo gracefully broke the surface of the water some distance from the ship which was floating quietly. Getting closer, they could tell the ship was old but decently well maintained, showing clearly where old parts had been replaced to keep it in working order. The deck of the ship contained three empty pods on which droids could be stored, no doubt that was where they had been before being launched.

On the deck of the ship stood an old Mon Calamari man, wearing strange gray robes and a leather belt, his skin pale with age. He was yelling something at the bongo and it didn't seem too friendly, but the noise of breaching the surface drowned out the words.

Notably, however, the figure held a lightsaber!

After the canopy opened, Kial stood up to look at the man. She had expected more then one old man. Regardless the lightsaber was enough to make her cautious. As such she let her hand float above her own lightsaber.

"I am Padawan Kial Valian of the Jedi Order on Unity. We have no hostile intentions, but we will defend ourselves. As we did against your droids."

She called out to the man, hoping to diffuse the situation. Though she had no way of knowing the man's skill, his apparent age made her speak in a respectful tone.

"We were not aware anyone was guarding the temple here. Might I ask who you are, sir?"

As Kial spoke, Denari studied the man and his reaction with interest.

She had nothing to add to Kial’s words.

"Good for nothing droids! Damned tourists! You are trespassing on an ancient holy site! This area is closed! Not for tourists! Shoo!"

The Mon Calamari man called out at the Jedi. From both his appearance and his demeanor he was clearly a few generations older than the Padawans before him.

As Kial tried to explain why they were here, he looked them over in more detail. Seeing that they were holding lightsabers, the man seemed to reconsider the situation for a moment and calmed down a little bit.

"I am Maester Certreso d'Dac of the Aquatic Sodality, and Guardian of the Palace"

"It is an honour to meet you Maester d'Dac." Kial replied with a small bow. Gesturing to the other two padawans she continued.

"These are my fellow padawans, Denari Merelle and Aava Nysomani Corentin. I would like to offer my apologies for trespassing on this holy site."

She bowed again at her apology.

"If you could put away your lightsaber, we can discuss our purpose here. I'm sure you will understand that we mean no harm to the site, once you hear us out."

As Kial introduced her, Denari got up and bowed. The movements might have seemed a bit awkward, still wearing the diver’s suit and all, but respectful none the less.

The man gave a look of suspicion to Kial, scanning over Denari and Aava next, but seeing the others making bows of respect, he finally deactivated his weapon, hanging it on the belt of his gray robes.

"Alright then... you may come aboard and we will talk."

With that, he turned around and moved towards the back of his ship, where a seating area was available. Clearing some junk away he made room for everyone to join together.

Once the Jedi boarded, it became clear this vessel had been quite the place back in its days, but its haydays had been long ago. The same could be said of Measter d'Dac, to be honest. He was clearly old.

"So why are you whippersnappers invading the palace?"

Having taken off the top part of the diver’s suit so that her head and face were more visible, Denari boarded the ship.

When prompted, Denari started explaining; “A while ago, we explored tunnels underneath the current Jedi temple on unity, and found references to an ancient mission. During the Times of Chaos two Jedi crashed there when they were heading here. I can go in more detail if you like, but the result is that we could not figure out what the mission was exactly, so Masters sent us here to investigate.

“It appears they were looking for something they referred to as Atavi. Does that mean anything to you, Maester?”

Having little to add, Aava remains silent.

Kial listened carefully. Observing Maester d'Dac closely. Like a student observing a teacher, though she made sure she wasn't staring or being rude.

"The Atavi...? No no, you are pronouncing that all wrong. It is At-a'vi - at least that is how my Maester taught me."

He took a moment to think before continuing.

"The At-a'vi were a legendary fellowship, the first people to explore the magic that underlies the universe. They studied this magic and its many uses, but in a new way, beyond the bounds of the existing religions. Or so the legend goes anyway.

It is said that in their explorations, they traveled the galaxy, visiting places that held strong magic, collecting their learning and bringing together natural treasures of magic."

He looked at the Jedi

"One of those treasures once graced this world. And the palace you... visited still wards what remains of it.

Long ago, it was watched over by an ancient order, called the Leviathans. They were the guardians of the palace and the temples linked to it. And the treasure within. But they have long since disappeared, along with the civilization that built the palace.

When they disappeared, my order took over their duty of protection."

He paused looking them over then at himself and his ship.

"Order is perhaps too big of a word. Now, there is just me..."

He seemed saddened by that and his tale went quiet.

Kial remained silent for a while.

"Maester," she started cautiously, "if you are the last member of your order, would you perhaps be willing to come with us when we return to Unity?"

"I'm certain the council would welcome you. And it would give you an opportunity to pass on your knowledge, as well as the history and traditions of your order."

She paused for a moment.

"I understand you have a duty to protect the palace. But no one lives forever. One day you will no longer be able to protect it regardless. And from what you say this 'treasure' is no longer here."

Kial hesitated for a moment.

"When we were down there we found a hidden room, filled with ancient computers surrounding a rock with some crystals on it. Before we confronted your droids, we managed to get the tape reels that served as data storage for those computers."

"We'll return them, of course. If you want us too." She hastily added.

"Or, if you come with us, we can find out what they contain together. Who knows, the data they contain may be what your order has been guarding all along."

"One of us could stay behind to guard the palace, as you travel with the others to Unity?", Aava adds. "That would allow you to speak with our masters, and maybe find a way to continue your order's traditions and teachings."

Denari silently waited for a response from the Mon Calamari Maester.

She could easily keep an eye on the place for a few weeks, with her training and gear. Defending it agains hostiles would however be more of a challenge, but the need to address that depended on the Maester’s response.

Maester Certreso hesitated a moment, pondering the suggestion. He looked out over the ocean, towards horizon.

"Once, long ago, the warding of the Palace was transferred from the Leviathans to us, as they faced their end. Perhaps it is time to once again transfer the duty..."

He turned around to face the Jedi once more

"I will come with you..." he agreed "But there is one thing which you are wrong about." he noted

"The treasure... it is not gone. The At-a'vi took a sample, but they did not take the treasure itself. The crystals growing from the rock you saw, they are the emanation of the treasure, manifesting in physical form.

Each crystal contains a sample of the energy of the site, self-contained and ever growing."

He smiled

"You are good kids, I am sorry I failed to sense that earlier. I will place my trust in you and the Jedi and come with you to Unity."

The Maester placed his saber on the table and unscrewed the opening, revealing a glowing crystal inside

"It is our tradition that those who guard the site meditate and take a crystal that calls to them from the many.

I would ask that each of you visit the chamber one more time, seek out one crystal that calls to you, and take it with you.

I understand you will not be moving onto the planet to serve as its permanent guardians... but if your order takes over the duty, then you as the instigators of this new beginning deserve to have part of it.

Meanwhile, I will gather the records I have on the At-a'vi so your order may study more of it."

“Thank you, Maester d’Dac. It is an honour that you are willing to share your knowledge and traditions with us.”

She paused a while to let the other’s share their thoughts.

Before they’d prepare to return to the water, Denari would volunteer to keep an eye on the palace while the Maester and the Masters worked out a permanent solution.

Aava has little to add, so she remains silent.

She isn't exactly sure how meditating while wearing diving gear would work, as that might be distracting; though she suspects that should not be hindering her.

(( I suspect Kial may have lost track so I'll continue ))

The Mon Calamari Maester nodded. "Let it be so then."

He escorted the heroes down, opening the hidden room once more and guiding them in meditation by the crystal. Meditating in diving gear wasn't the most practical means to do so, but the Jedi were trained in meditation and with Maester d'Dac there, the area soon become quite soothing.

Each Jedi was able to find a crystal from among the treasure to suit them.

Once they had selected their crystals, the Jedi made the final arrangements. Denari would remain behind to guard the location, her expertise in Aquatic Survival making her the best suited.

The others left with Maester d'Dac and returned to unity, where they explained the situation to the Jedi Council. The council in turn sent out one of the knights to Piraus-3 to relieve Padawan Denari, and transport for her back to the Jedi Temple.

Once all of them had been debriefed, Master Crular called them all together in one of the temple chambers.

"A most interesting outcome to this endeavor." Master Crular concluded. "Of course Maester d'Dac is most welcome in our order. I suspect in fact, that his order and ours share some common roots, in fact. The Times of Chaos separated the Jedi as well, after all."

He paused a moment

"It also raises some interesting questions about the Atavi or At-a'vi. Who were they exactly, and what did they learn. Was there a deeper reason behind the search by Master Fellok and Delskae - it seems like one would not confront far trips in the times of chaos like for mere curiosity. And what other 'natural treasures' are out there, and can we preserve them for posterity?

I am sure the tapes you recovered will be able to show us more, so we will be studying them in great detail. And Maester d'Dac will be able to help us with that, no doubt."

He looked at the Jedi a moment to see if they had anything to say or ask.

Denari used her extended time on Piraus-3 to hone her aquatic survival skills, familiarize herself with her new crystal, and explore the surroundings of the temple some further.

After the debrief on Unity, she asked the Master how the studies of the materials found so far were going, and if there was anything she could do to help. Denari still planned to improve her linguistics skills at some point in the future, perhaps it was possible to make a start with that while helping out.

(( Denari still needs another mission before she has enough training points for a new skill/force power/combat style, so the request is mainly because she is simply curious and would love to help ))

"Master, I would like to ask for your advice." Kial said to Master Crular.

"I do not believe it was coincidence or chance we found the palace or Maester d'Dac. I believe we were guided there, that this was supposed to happen."

Kial paused and took a deep breath.

"I felt like I was guided towards something good, but when we took a crystal I was guided to this."

As she said that she showed Master Crular the red crystal she had taken.

"I'm aware of the meaning of the colour and thus cannot help but wonder if I'm being guided towards something in opposition to the jedi..."

Master Crular was most encouraging of Denari's desire to help, and made sure to leave time for her to focus on studying the materials and learn about the languages and other details involved.

(( More details will be coming soon, and I've made note Denari is at the forefront of the work - it is fine for you to help out even if you don't have the skill just yet, that's actually an excellent excuse as to how you learned it when you acquire the skill later :) ))

"The philosophy of the Unifying Force teaches us just that:" Master Crular noted when Kial inquired about Maester d'Dac "There is a destiny that we are all part of." he nodded, not seeming shocked by the red crystal.

"Do you believe you are being guided towards a destiny in opposition to the Jedi?" he inquired, almost as if holding up a mirror

Kial was quiet for a while.

"I'm... not sure." Kial finally said. "I feel like it may happen at some point, but at the same time I feel like it won't."

She went quiet again, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I think I'll keep an open mind towards the future and see where the Force guides me."

Her voice became more confident.

"Master, when I joined the jedi, I told the council I wanted to save lives. And that I believed I could do that better as a jedi. I still believe that and it is still my goal to save as many as possible."

"I believe my views are in line with the Unifying Force philosophy. I would like to declare the Unifying Force as my philosophy."

(( Apologies for the delay, don't let me hold you up! ))

Upon returning to the Jedi temple, Aava calmly participates in the debriefing, adding details about the ancient power system on Piraus, and her observations of the ruins where she feels that details are necessary.

After the debriefing she quickly goes to the little workshop in the temple's outhouse. There she very carefully and diligently tries to disassemble her lightsaber, with the intent to assemble it again with the blue piraus crystal.

Unfortunately she only succeeds in taking apart the lightsaber. After several hours of attempting to put it back together, she gives up. This is clearly beyond her skill...

She works up her courage an hour later, and goes to tell master Crular that she sort-of took apart her lightsaber.

"It is good that you have found your path, Padawan. Trust in the Force - it will guide you when you need it." The Jedi master smiled warmly at Kial. "As we trust in you"

Master Crular made it seem as if the worries Kial held were normal, and as if he could see beyond them to a bright future.

"Well that looks like a problem..." the Jedi Master noted, looking at Aava's partially reassembled, but broken lightsaber.

"Installing a new crystal can be tricky depending on the design of your blade. Let's see what can be done!"

Kial simply bowed to Master Crular as a response. Leaving for her post-mission routine, she noted she had plenty to meditate about.