Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 2

Chapter 21: Myrkr.

When the Fire One appeared in the atmosphere of Myrkr, Ly'ra understood right away that she made a mistake. Something on this planet was making her blood run cold. She couldn't say what at first, but her instinct was yelling at her to turn back.

"My scans are completely scrambled, Bango, did you touch anything?"

"Nothing! I don't understand what's going on..."

"It's due to the vegetation."

When Leïa gave her the list with all the planets to check, Myrkr seemed to be the best option. The trees of this planet were full of metal, giving the perfect cover-up as they were scrambling the electromagnetic waves. The two ships flew above the forest carefully, getting closer of an old smugglers's base, that might be able to shelter the Resistance. Ly'ra landed the Fire One on what looked like a beach, opened the glass roof of her cockpit to look around. There was a lake surrounded by green hills behind them and, facing the mercenaries, a large complex stone, high with several feet. On most of the walls, vegetation was growing, giving a strange look to the towers. 

Followed by Dante and Bango, the young woman jumped out of her ship, her blaster ready in her hand. Something was hostile and, even if this place seemed perfect for the new Resistance base, her instinct, as well as the Jedi's behind her, were announcing something different.

The Sun was going down slowly and the shadows projected were giving a ghostly look at the walls in front of them.

"We should go. I don't feel it, but I don't feel this place like, at all..."

The pilot couldn't say she disagreed with Bango, who was shaking so violently that she could hear his teeth chattered. She knew she should agree and leave for Crait, the next planet on their list, but a move inside the abandoned castle intrigued her.

"Did you see that?"

Bango started shaking even stronger now.

"Come on, let's go please guys..."

This time, Ly'ra didn't listen to him and slowly get closer to the entrance.

"I'll be right back. Stay here..."

Dante shook his head but obeyed, his blaster still firmly held into his left hand, even if he was holding himself back from changing his weapon for his Lightsaber instead. He nevertheless kept his eyes on Ly'ra who was stepping inside the complex stone.

"That's not a good idea..."

The inside of the old base was just as run-down as the outside, moss was growing everywhere, lichen was appearing in all the holes of the walls and the only sound that could be heard was coming from the drops of water that were falling from the destroyed roof. According to the archives Leïa showed her, it was an old smuggler base, but oddly enough, the first idea Ly'ra had when she stepped inside was that it looked like a temple. A sacred place. But the Jedis never stepped a foot here, nor the Siths because of an animal species that was sensible to the Force: the Ysalamiris. These animals presence was creating areas where the Force was totally absent.

Ly'ra frowned and stopped suddenly, as an idea just popped in her mind. If no Jedi nor their Dark Side counterparts turned this place into a temple, then who did? 

Then, a cold laugh sounded, echoing against the stone walls. The young woman wielded her blaster in front of her, just when a dark shadow appeared on the other side of the large room.

"Who are you?"

The question escaped the pilot's lips before she could hold it back. She knew who was hidden under that hood, the same person that was haunting her nightmares and Poe's for months, the same that betwitched her on Dathomir. And as if she had read into her mind, the woman answered.