Star Wars: Scars

Part 3 - 10

Rousing slightly from a doze, Creed heard the hyperspace alarm going off. He sat up drowsily and leaned forward to pull the ship out of hyperspace. Rubbing one arm across his face, he blinked awake and began to guide the ship down towards the planet. It had been nearly a week since he'd left Dathomir and he was ready to get this mission over and done with. They'd given him three months, but all he had to do was take his newly gained training and steal whatever holocron the Jedi wanted. Then he could return it and be done. 

The crescent of the planet came into view as Creed pushed the nose of the ship down towards it. He rubbed his head, still slightly exhausted. He still got nightmares, and sleep was slightly evasive at times. He missed having Chaos there, but he knew the kid was better off without him. 

Pushing the thoughts away, Creed forced himself into a more alert state as he lowered the ship onto the planet's surface. It looked pretty abandoned from where he was, and he imagined civilization would be a long ways away. That gave him more than enough time to catch a quick nap before he went onward with his mission.

Settling the ship down, Creed shut everything down except the shields and activated the alarm system before curling up in the pilot's chair. He rested his head back, closing his eyes and banishing all terrifying thoughts from his mind for a short while as he drifted asleep.

He awoke and found the light outside had all but faded, leaving darkness outside the viewport. It was a slight disadvantage, but one Creed was willing to work with. 

Rubbing his eyes and any remnant of sleep from his mind, he got up slowly, stretching. He relaxed after a moment and turned off the alarms and shielding before picking up his equipment, getting ready. He adjusted everything to a comfortable position, checking all of his weapons before he headed to the ramp.

Leaving the ship behind, he trekked silently through the dark forest towards the coordinates they'd given him to plug into his HUD. It guided him through the forest as he approached the sith temple hidden deep in the belly of the darkness.

Eventually, he came upon a small clearing with a tall rotted temple sitting in the center, looking like some evil hand reaching menacingly to the sky. Creed did a quick scan of the perimeter for traps, defenses, or any kind of danger. He saw nothing, so he approached cautiously, locating an entrance and slipping inside.

The temple appeared to have been made of slabs of stone, with little technology. Even so, Creed was wary of any kind of ancient defense that might have been put in place. He stepped carefully, inspecting each hall before entering it.

As he reached the interior of the first hall he paused, hearing a quiet noise. Looking around, he saw nothing, and now heat signatures. He took a cautious step forward and peered closer at the wall before noticing hundreds of tiny holes bored in perfectly spaced sets along the way. He frowned, recognizing a dart chamber. 

I haven't activated it, though. Either it no longer works, or I simply haven't set off the trigger, he thought, looking down. He knew he needed to get out and tread very lightly, but he had a gut feeling that he needed to get out soon. Running his hand down the wall he felt a place where the holes stopped and it was simply smooth stone down to the floor. He quickly scanned the wall and found that the darts were loaded, and primed, but not set and that they stopped at a certain point. He couldn't locate a trigger, though. 

Cautiously, he took a step forward, gingerly stepping as he proceeded forward, keeping a close eye out. He turned his audio up slightly to catch faint sounds, just in case. Even so, he heard nothing as he proceeded to the end of the hall. As he saw the next hall entrance coming up he let out a bit of a breath that he'd gotten out without setting it off and made a mental note not to return down that hall again.