Pzob's Open Terrain

Kaan moves quickly through the halls of the temple. He passes by countless side halls and openings, taking others seemingly at random. He turns so often that most would lose their sense of direction, but ever he leads them on. The only constant is that every passage he takes slants further down, deeper into the earth. It had been some time, but he could walk this winding way blindfolded. They had to move quickly...he could feel the temple awakening. He listened to the chatter behind him, and falls in step with them when the talk changes to specters. He turns to regard Malvus' apprentice. Luxeria, he'd called her. He half smiles, remembering his own last apprentice. Probably gone with all the rest...but this one, it would be a shame for her to fall before her time. He falls back to walk next to her.

IC: "If I may, Specters and Force spirits tend to strike the mind first, seeking to overwhelm your mental control. Possession is their forte. A lightsaber can temporarily disrupt their form, but fighting them by the Force is more advisable. Trust your instincts, keep your mind focused. And most importantly...oh, we're here."

Turning one last corner, the hall widens and then ends abruptly at a massive wall mural. A great battle is depicted in the carved stone. Thousands of Gamorreans stream from thick jungle and overgrowth, surrounding four figures who stand facing outward in a clearing. Bodies of other pigmen are piled about them in various states of dismemberment. One seems human, his lightsaber impaling one Gamorr while a wave of his hand sending seceral others flying. A second resembles a walking lizard. Axes glance off his scales as he disembowels two pigmen with his claws. The third is tall, a single eye set in the middle of his face, clearly an Abyssin. The last resembles Kaan himself, yet armored and mounted on a large draconian creature. Lightning flies into the horde from his fingertips, dozens writhing beneath the electricity. Whoever the artist was, their carving seems almost alive. Kaan places his hand on it, a smile on his face. "My brothers...so long gone, yet that battle seems as if yesterday..." His hand trails down, stopping near the base of a tree in the carving. He presses one of the knots in the tree's trunk, and with a rumble the wall to the right of the mural slides aside. He motions for the others to follow him inside. As he steps through the door into the room beyond, lights flicker to life, illuminating the chamber. Computer consoles, covered with dust, hum to life as power restores them. One side of the room is lined with what appear to be stasis chambers or something similar, and several tables cluttered with tools, vials, scraps of metal, wires, pouches of chemicals, and other assorted items are spaced throughout the room. At the far end of the chamber is a large metal door, a sparking control panel next to it. Kaan walks to the center of the room, spreading his arms wide in welcome.

IC: "You stand where few have...my sanctum...my laboratory...my home. I'd say make yourselves comfortable, but we won't be here long." he walks to one of the nearby consoles, and looks over the readouts "Good...looks like your associates have gotten some of the power restored...should be enough."

He taps a few keys on the console, then places his hand on a scanner next to the screen. After a moment, one of the chambers on the far side of the room begins humming, then opens with a hiss as steam pours out the sides. A suit of blackened armor is on a stand within it, similar to the armor that Kaan was depicted wearing in the carving outside. He walks over and stands before it, and waits over the next several minutes as mechanical arms move the armor into place on his body, the seal hissing as the armor is secured. It hums to life and wires pop from it, the armor now completely powered. Kaan stretches, getting the feel for wearing it again. It had been some time...he hadn't worn it since his little "incident" on Arkania, but the augments in it would be of use in reaching the nexus. He gathers several more items from a nearby footlocker, chief among them a second lightsaber and an oblong piece of obsidian stone, one end of which ends in an odd cluster that resembles a four-fingered claw. He holds it up, turning to Malvus.

IC: "This is what I needed. When we rebuilt the temple around the nexus, we sealed it. This key will open it. Each of my brothers had one, but I highly doubt they left theirs here. If I fall before we reach it, make sure this is not lost, otherwise you'll have difficultly penetrating the door in front of the nexus. Well...unless you can get a ship's turbolaser down there. Or a cargo hold's worth of thorium explosives. Either way, we have what we need."

He starts to leave, then pauses. He returns to the computer console and scrolls through several screens, coming to a stop and studying one. He enters a few commands, then walks to the opposite side of the room, stopping in front of a row of cylinders. Twisting the handle on one opens it, and he pulls the cover back. Inside appears to be what was a rack meant to hold several vials, but only one is left. He takes it out and studies it. It looks as if it was meant to be loaded into a syringe. He nods, muttering something under his breath, slips the vial into a pouch on his armor's belt, then walks for the door.

Kaan can feel the spirits of the temple awakening. They were aware of them now, he could sense it. He looked at the Sith warriors around Malvus, and knew that many of them would be worse than dead before the day was through. This was not sadness, or sentiment. Merely fact. He could sense their potential, and their uses were not those of a lord like Malvus, or Malvus' apprentice. Or Darkness willing, himself. The small conflict on Barab had been diverting, but it wasn't much of a test of his ability. He had a feeling that he would find his measure taken in the bowels of the temple this day. He draws the Force to him, letting his mind focus and push aside any stray thoughts and distractions. He regards Malvus as he falls in step with him. They were getting closer...he could feel the ripples in the Force arching up beneath them. He quickens his pace, hoping that the detour, albeit a necessary one, had not caused too long of a delay. He turns a corner, and stops...they were here. He looks down the hall before him, taking in every detail. Something was off...every bit of his instinct told him so. Then he sees it: one of the columns has two shadows. He waits for a moment, watching it. The shadow doesn't so much as twitch. Malvus' voice intrudes on his vigil as the other Sith steps next to him.



Kaan nods slowly, then lifts his foot, and carefully steps forward once more. The second his foot touches the stone floor, the shadow flies at him like a bolt of lightning in a storm, its shriek rending the stone beneath it as it coalesces into a humanoid shape. Kaan's hand flies up to meet it, catching it around it's "neck" as it lunges at the two of them, the maw on its eyeless face snapping at him. Lightning courses down his arm and into the specter. It shrieks again as it vanishes, its final cry echoing through the hall and fading away. Kaan turns to Malvus, the smell of burnt ozone in the air around them.

IC: "I believe you may be correct..."

He turns back to the hall, and steps forward again...and the shadows around them come to life, terrible cries filling the temple around them, Kaan's own warning shout of 'To arms!' lost among them...