Serran

Chapter 20: A Jedi and a Sith: Part 1

Serran and Atrus exited hyperspace and were now orbiting around the planet full of cities, Coruscant. It was strange to be back on this planet. Serran had made it his life's goal to leave Coruscant after he left the Jedi order but now he had willingly come back to it.

Atrus spun around in the pilot's chair. "Why are we here? We both have bounties placed on our heads." He asked bitterly.

Serran stepped forward and looked out the window to get a better look at the planet. It was dark but lit up by all of the buildings. "We're going to the shrine in the depths." He said, staring out the window.

Atrus tilted his head slightly. "The shrine... in the depths?"

Serran turned his head towards Atrus. "Do you have a problem with that?" He asked threateningly, gently placing a hand on his lightsaber clipped to his belt.

"No," Atrus responded carefully. The Shrine in the Depths was an ancient Sith shrine situated at a force vergence on the planet Coruscant, constructed before the rise of the modern Galactic Republic. The Jedi Order later constructed the Jedi Temple over the shrine, hoping to neutralize its dark energies, and occasionally nullified dark side artifacts inside of it. The Sith constructed the shrine on the planet Coruscant around four millennia ago on top of a sacred spire, a powerful light side vergence, hoping to corrupt it with the dark side of the force, which eventually succeeded. The enormous black edifice stood against the Coruscant sky as a symbol of Sith dominance until it was razed by the Jedi at the end of a great war.

Following the Sith Order's defeat, the Four Masters created the Jedi Temple over the shrine's foundations in a symbolic attempt to bury the legacy that the Sith had left behind on the galactic capital. The Jedi also hoped that the placement of their temple over the shrine, and the presence of so many light-side users within it would serve to neutralize and cap the dark power inherent in the shrine, and eventually return the vergence to the light side. The shrine itself was something of an oddity, as such places were known to exist only on planets that had been historically considered to be Sith worlds. But this one, it was on Coruscant, a planet known for its light side energies and for being the galactic capital. Why would someone decide to create a dark side force vergence on a light side world dominated by Jedi? Serran needed to know.

Atrus flew the ship into the planet's atmosphere. They had picked a spot that had a few to no ships orbiting it. Once they broke the atmosphere, Atrus slowed the ship. "Where to?" He asked.

Serran thought for a moment. He knew this place better than the rogue trooper did but how would he even get to the shrine in the depths? It was underneath the Jedi temple of all places. If he showed himself anywhere near the temple then hundreds of troopers would be going after him and he would have no escape. He looked out the window and spotted the ginormous hole that led to the lower levels of Coruscant. That was it. "We're going to level twenty."

"Excuse me, what?" Atrus asked, unsure if Serran was serious.

"You heard me correctly." He replied.

Atrus laughed. "You expect me to fly all the way down there where all the scum live?! And where the air is barely breathable?!" He screamed.

Serran looked him dead in the eye. "Is that a problem?" He said, saying each word with bitterness.

Atrus laughed again but this time as a way to show his fury and how much he hated this plan. "Yes, that is a damn problem! There is no way that I'm going down there just so you can do some weird force stuff!"

Serran sighed and reached out a hand. "You will take me to the shrine in the depths." He said loudly and clearly, drawing on the force to rewrite his companion's thoughts.