Mandalorian Lost

Chapter 18

The sky on Mustafar was always dark. In the more tucked away corners of the planet away from the lava mines and flames, you can catch a faint glimmer of the stars in the sky. But other than that, the sky was a blackish-blue blanket stretched above with no end and no beginning. It was bleak, at its best.

But as I look up into that all too familiar Mustafarian sky now, I see twinkling stars beginning to peek through the darkness. It feels more like dusk than the dead of night, which was always the planet's default look. The sky's getting lighter, dull plants are beginning to sprout, and the overall hum of the planet through the force is less weighing than it used to be. The planet really is healing itself.

Oddly enough, that healing presence is beginning to seep into my aching muscles and bones. Not in a literal sense, of course, but I feel more level headed as I approach Vader's old castle. It once stood tall and proud, shrouded in darkness and all manner of death. I still feel that lingering presence in it, but it's weaker now. Vader is gone. The head of the snake has been cut off and now the body is beginning to fade into nothing but a relic of an old era.

I don't even feel a presence from my former master, Lira.

That doesn't exactly put me at ease, though. Lira, as the Fourth Sister, was one of the most skilled Inquisitors in the ranks. Her combat skills with a lightsaber were unmatched by the other Inquisitors, and her missions never came back unsuccessful. She trained others with a ruthlessness that almost rivaled Vader's own cruelty. When word came back of her death at the hands of the rebels, some of us were a little relieved to have escaped her wrath once and for all. It wouldn't surprise me if she'd learned to mask her force presence like I never could.

As we approach the entrance to the infamous fortress, I glance over at my companion. Mando is walking normally now, all his exhaustion from our cliffside nightmare behind him. We'd thought about camping for a while at the top of the cliff, but neither one of us felt right about setting up camp at the base of a Sith Lord's abandoned castle.

So, we took turns passing out on the ashy ground for about an hour and then started walking.

"This is it," I mutter, craning my neck to get a glimpse of the tower's full outline. Mando does the same beside me as he rests one hand on his holstered blaster. "I'm not sure what to expect, if I'm honest. We could be walking into an abandoned fortress, or we could be walking into a trap." I figure I better warn him before we go marching into the Sith Lord's old sanctuary.

"We're looking for a transmission source, right?" He asks as his helmeted gaze scans the entryway. I nod, humming in response.

"We have to destroy it. It couldn't have gotten past the Outer Rim signals yet, so we better shut it down before it does." I plant my hands on my hips and take a few steps forward toward the dark cavernous entrance. "It's probably already gotten to Nevarro."

"We're wanted by the Guild anyway. Can't do much more damage."

I pause, turning over my shoulder to shoot him a rueful grin. "If an Inquisitor is after me, then there's a lot more damage to be done."

He doesn't respond as we cross into the castle's interior. Immediately, we're hit with a shivering cold breeze that billows up in my cloak and sends tiny bumps up my arms. Remnants of Vader. I close my eyes, racking my brain for every memory I have in this place. I imagine my childhood self running through these halls and hiding in every nook and crevice I could find. Finally, one memory comes in handy.

"I think the communications room is this way," I say, pointing down a dark corridor to our left. It's completely black in the tunnel, with darkness eating up every ounce of light in its path. I step into it and hold my hand in front of me, but I can't even see that. If only I still had a lightsaber. I hear more than see Mando appear beside me and we both begin to walk. If there's any forks in the tunnels from here, we might be screwed. I decide not to tell him that. A stray rock in the path rolls under my boot and I kick it out of the way.