FORSAKEN II - Eternal Dawn

CHAPTER NINE

The Outcast came out of hyperspace to the sight of a lush dark green planet with a ring around it. Lah'mu's location being far from major hyperlanes made it a difficult destination. According to their instruments, the world was scarcely populated.

The starship flew into the planet's atmosphere under the rain, to a sixty-plus hectares farm located at the foot of a hill on the eastern—and even less settled—side of the planet. A crater exposed the remnants of what was once an underground homestead. Its roof had been blown off, exposing the inside to the elements. Scorch marks from a large fire could be seen around the buildings. Only the moisture vaporators, filtration systems, and power supply tanks outside the dwelling remained.

"What happened here?" said Theleema as the ship soared over the farm looking for a place to land.

"We're too late," Syrran said.

"I don't sense anyone around," Jarriss said. "The moisture vaporators are still running." His Force sight noticed the energy emitting from them.

"I'll go check them," Gorin said.

The Outcast touched down outside the ruins. When the team deboarded, Gorin pointed out the machines in the perimeter; they were still running—he headed towards them. Syrran went straight to the demolished structure along with Elynn. Theleema checked the crops. The rest of the group stayed behind, because Syrran didn't want them to disturb the tracks on the ground. The rain had washed away a lot of the information Syrran could discern from the soil and his Force-enhanced senses.

"This place was vandalized twice," said Syrran, checking a piece of the blasted roof. "It was burned and then it exploded."

"How do you know?" Jarriss said.

"The inside of the roof is covered with soot from being exposed to fire for a few hours." He showed him. "There are no pieces inside the building, so the roof didn't collapse. The placement and effect of the charge shows the perpetrator had training in demolitions."

"Why burn the building down and then wait to blow it up?" Addia said.

"My guess is it was done by two different parties." Syrran focused on the ground. "There are tracks of a child—two adults—one female; a family. A bipedal droid. These have to be the Ersos." He moved farther away from the house. "These are different... Imperial boots, coming from the west." Syrran pointed at the field in the distance. "Looks like seven men, standing in delta formation—one officer. The others wore armor. The depth and size of the footprints show they're taller and heavier than the average stormtrooper."

"Death troopers." Virra was familiar with the elite soldiers' physical requirements. "That means Imperial Intelligence was here. Although, death troopers are trained to hide their tracks."

"Unless they weren't worried about their presence being known," Syrran said. "They moved in an infantry patrol formation, spaced out to cover a greater area to avoid an ambush. They knew who they were coming for. They were facing a man standing here; Erso, I presume."

"Everything inside was destroyed." Elynn came out from the ruins. "There are no electronics for me to check."

"The Imperials burned down the house and then someone else blew it up," Addia said. "But why?"

"Probably to get rid of any potential clues to Erso's top-secret research," Virra said.

"I found the droid in question," said Ilum near a moisture evaporator. "Or at least what's left of it." The head of the SE-2 worker droid had been blown up by a blaster shot. "Is there anything you can salvage from his brain?"

"A few spare parts?" Elynn checked the damage to the head. "They melted this poor guy's memory bank."

"Brother Jar was right." Gorin walked over. "All the machines are working and were kept well serviced. Judging by their state, I'd say this place is just a few years old. The machines are running on external power supplies, which are almost depleted. Their charge only lasts three days, so whatever happened here took place recently."