Star Wars The Old Republic: The Jedi Crusader

CHAPTER 7 - ONDERON - TERROR

"Onderon. Been a while." Mara said to herself as she looked at the data Rat King had forwarded her. Ruled by King Weiss, Onderon was flourishing under his rule. The only problem was that there was no successor. He and his wife had failed to conceive, and they weren't getting any younger. Reports showed that there had been an increase in the number of wildlife disturbances close to Iziz, which was almost unheard of. Still, Bestia's signal had come from an old castle deep in the forest of Onderon. It was remote and an almost perfect staging ground for whatever malevolence she had planned.

"Did you get the data from the Rat?" Nico asked as he entered the living quarters of the ship.

"Yeah. Take a look." Mara's expression was still glum after the events of Denova. Nico kept his words to himself as he read the data. Mara went to the cockpit to take the reins of the ship as they closed in on the planet. Grimm hovered silently in the air. Pulling the ship out of hyperspace, Mara navigated the planet's forest surface to find a suitable LZ not too far from Iziz or Bestia. They landed in a small opening that could see both structures but was also well hidden from any patrols that would seemingly pass through the sky at any given time. Unbeknownst to them though, their ship had been marked by the planet's security, and they knew who was on board.

Mara and Nico stepped out into the hazy sun, their eyes taking a moment to readjust to the light. Seeing a pack of Nexu nearby, Mara used a Jedi mind trick to submit the beasts. She mounted one and gestured Nico over. Nico looked at her, astounded and confused, but intrigued too.  He mounted the other and followed Mara to the castle. They bounded through the dark, green forest and past all the incredible wildlife that the planet was famous for. There was so much life here, it was no wonder Bestia had chosen this location.

They eventually arrived at the castle. It was old and in a terrible state. But both Mara and Grimm could sense a sinister presence lurking inside. They entered cautiously to find that the torches of the ground floor were lit. There were scattered bodies of lost people, hikers and wild animals all over the place. A symbol of what was to come. There was a horrible smell lurking in the air, and soon enough, Mara began to fall ill as she began to cough – though she did her best to hide her illness.

They ascended up a ruinous flight of stairs to the next floor, where the bodies were even greater, and a green mist began to permeate the structure. Mara and Grimm readied themselves as the dark presence grew stronger. They eventually navigated to an open area where Bestia was waiting for them, her arms were glowing as she finished extracting blood from a dead animal before her and putting it in to a container. She turned her attention to the intruders as she calmly placed the container on to a stand, where it began to swirl and turn the dark red blood in to a green mist.

Bestia giggled to herself as she threw the glass container at the intruders, and though she missed, the green mist began to spew everywhere, lacing the castle in a green fog as Mara began to feel even worse. "Your midichlorians betray you Mara... soon enough, every force user in the galaxy will be extinct but us... Order will finally be implemented in this galaxy." Bestia laughed to herself as she began to levitate away from her attackers who were now pursuing her at a much faster pace. Bestia destroyed the stairs to the next level as she floated up them.

"May want to hurry Mara. Time is of the essence... Hahaha!" Bestia's voice rang out through the crumbling walls of the castle as Mara began to cough violently and stumble to her knees, coughing blood on to her white and red armour as she did so. The green mist began to fill the floor as Nico looked for a way out. He could just grapple up to the exit, but that was no good if Mara couldn't make it. He noticed a series of old oracles on the ceiling, held up by rusted bars. He selectively shot the bars as they fell, but remained held up above the ground, forming a path of sorts that allowed them to escape to the next level.