Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy A Fan Novelization

Chapter Twenty - Rest Peacefully

Jaden fell through the crevice, landing on her feet.

"If my info's correct, this small passage should lead right outside..." Jaden stopped, seeing the giant boulder blocking the cave's entrance.

"Seriously?" She wondered how long it'd been since the Chandrilans had actually checked this area. She sighed. Time to get to work. Jaden took a stance, feet planted firmly, legs spread, knees slightly bent and concentrated. She pictured that the boulder in front of her weighed nothing more than a small pebble from the training grounds, her hands came up and in one swift motion pushed them forward as if she were shoving someone down. The rock propelled forward with more force and momentum than she'd meant. A sudden cry echoed as the boulder flew over the platform outside the cave, colliding with someone standing in front of it. Jaden realized that Tavion had put sentries further out than expected.

"Whoops," Jaden mumbled, shrugged, then tentatively stepped out onto the stone shelf jutting out from the cliff. Maybe Tavion does intend to come herself.

She looked around her for the first time in wonder of the vast, deep canyons that surrounded her. Known as the Crystal Canyons, a great gallery of natural formations cut into the planet's surface with a trench going miles deep served as the ancient burial site of Jedi Knights for millenia. Just earlier that day, Luke had received word from officials in the area that some cultists had been spotted breaking into one of the tombs believed to belong to someone known as the Barsen'thor, a Warden of the Jedi Order from over three thousand years ago. The perfect spot for Tavion to get an extra boost of Force energy.

"If they are indeed attempting to steal Force power from that tomb, Tavion might be there." Luke had told her. "Be careful and call for assistance if you find her."

"No problem Master, I'm not exactly looking forward to our next encounter," she'd replied.

Besides, she wasn't sure whether or not she'd strike that witch down in anger or not for everything she did to her and Rosh. She needed more time to get her emotions in check for that to happen, especially if she ever saw Rosh again.

There was no clear path through the Crystal Canyons. Bridges, ledges and balconies jutted out from the stone walls of the trench, making it very hard to find a straight way through it all. And to make matters worse, many of the bridges were cracked, broken or crumbling, as Jaden experienced firsthand in a harrowing moment of panic, but made it to safety at the last second. Large double doors cut into the sides of the canyon led into either more mazes of passageways or tombs, which added to Jaden's growing confusion. And many of these doors seemed either locked, stuck shut from all the years of unuse or sealed by some powerful force.

She made her way by leaping from ledge to ledge, bridge to bridge, occasionally running into an armed sentry, usually mercenaries. This further backed her theory that Tavion was coming or was here already and had extra security placed around the canyons. Either way, it helped her to know she was going in the right direction because after finding the boulder in the passage, she wasn't entirely sure she could trust the Chandrilans directions. She also saw why they were called the Crystal Canyons. Throughout them, built into the architecture of the place as either light fixtures on either sides of doors or balconies, or set into stone along the bridges were large, pale purple, blue and white crystals. They cast a pale, cold light on her path as she traversed the strange landscape.

She jumped to the top of another ledge and perched there like a bird of prey, listening as two mercs below her talked and made their rounds on the bridge they'd been placed on.

"I can hardly see in this thing! It's like being a stormtrooper all over again!" One said about the helmet he was wearing. The other seemed perfectly fine in his.