As we stepped back into the cockpit, PROXY was already finalizing the landing sequence, his mechanical fingers gliding over the ship's controls with practiced efficiency. The droid's photoreceptors flickered as he acknowledged our presence, but he didn't say anything—he knew we were here to do our job. Without a word, Sabine and I moved into position; I slid into the pilot's seat while she settled into the co-pilot's chair beside me, her fingers instinctively reaching for the auxiliary controls.
I exhaled, adjusting my grip on the yoke. "PROXY, talk to me. Any Imperial activity on the planet?" I asked, my eyes scanning the approaching surface of Dantooine through the viewport.
The droid's servos whirred as he activated the ship's scanners, sweeping the area for potential threats. The display screen flickered to life, showing a real-time readout of enemy presence within a five-kilometer radius.
"Unfortunately, yes, Master," PROXY responded, his voice carrying that ever-present hint of politeness despite the potentially bad news. "There appears to be a small Imperial outpost near the ruins of an old settlement. However, it is lightly staffed, and their sensor range is limited. Evasion should not be an issue."
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Well, that's a relief," I muttered, adjusting the trajectory as we pierced through the upper layers of the atmosphere.
The ship rumbled slightly from the atmospheric entry, heat licking at the hull as we descended. Sabine reached for the stabilizers, flipping a series of switches to smooth the approach.
"Engaging landing protocols." She announced, her voice steady, focused.
I smirked slightly. "You almost sound like a professional pilot."
She shot me a sidelong glance, smirking. "I'll take that as a compliment."
I chuckled softly before refocusing on the landing sequence. As we dropped lower, the terrain of Dantooine came into view—vast grassy plains stretching out beneath us, with the occasional ruin peeking through the overgrowth. It was a stark contrast to the urban sprawl of Garel or the desolation of Malachor.
"Alright, I've got a clearing about a klick away from the outpost," I said, adjusting our descent path. "It's out of their sensor range, and we'll have enough cover from the tree line."
Sabine nodded. "I'll keep an eye on their comms, just in case they pick up anything unusual."
PROXY chimed in. "I will monitor their patrol routes as well, Master. If necessary, I can generate a false signal to divert their attention."
I nodded in approval. "Good thinking, PROXY."
The Rogue Shadow finally broke through the last of the clouds, skimming just above the rolling fields before slowing to a hover. The repulsorlifts whined as I brought the ship down gently onto the soft earth, dust and grass whipping up from the displaced air. With a final flick of a switch, I powered down the engines, the familiar hum dying out as the ship settled into place.
A quiet stillness filled the cockpit.
"We're here," I murmured, unbuckling my harness.
Sabine leaned back slightly, stretching before glancing over at me. "So, what's the plan?"
I exhaled, already running through our approach in my mind. "We find what we came for, and we don't stay longer than we have to."
She smirked. "Sounds simple enough."
I stood up, feeling the familiar weight of my lightsaber at my side. "Let's hope it stays that way. Now wait while I go to change my clothes."
The soft creaking of the ramp extending broke the silence that had settled in after landing. As Sabine and I descended from the ship, a shiver ran down my spine, a dark presence I knew all too well.
"You weren't planning to leave me behind, were you?"
Maul's voice echoed from the top of the ramp. His imposing figure was cut against the dim light of the ship's interior, his dark robes billowing slightly in the breeze. He descended with leisurely steps, studying his surroundings with his piercing yellow eyes.
Sabine instinctively brought a hand to her blaster. "Why did you bring it?" she mumbled through her teeth, not taking her eyes off him.
"Because we need it." I replied calmly, my voice remaining the same, as I had managed to turn the scrambler off, though I could turn it back on when I needed it.
The zabrak smiled sideways as he noticed the tension in the air. "Oh, what a warm welcome. Don't worry, young Wren, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now," Sabine pursed her lips, clearly displeased, but said nothing. "Curious armor Galen." She said to which I responded with silence, ignoring it, though she didn't seem to mind.
Maul walked a few steps further, taking a deep breath as his eyes scanned the ancient ruins scattered across the landscape. "Dantooine... it's been so long since I've set foot on this ground."
"Have you been here before?" I asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
He tilted his head, as if trying to decide how much information to share. "This planet has witnessed many things...Jedi, wars, losses." His eyes glittered with something that could be interpreted as nostalgia, but in him it only translated into obsession. "And now... of our destiny."
I ignored his dramatics and turned to PROXY, who had descended behind us. "Any sign of the Star Map?"
The droid nodded. "I've detected energy anomalies about three kilometers to the east. They don't match any recorded Imperial or Republican technology."
"That's as close to a clue as we're going to get." I said, adjusting my saber belt.
Sabine sighed and shot me a tired look. "This better be worth it to us."
Maul stepped forward with a predatory grin. "Oh, it will be."
---
The group advanced across the plains of Dantooine, following the anomaly's signal. The breeze caressed the tall grass, and the afternoon sun tinged the landscape with golden hues. Galen led the way with his gaze fixed on the tracker, Maul walked a few paces behind with his characteristic stealth, and Sabine, while maintaining her composure, moved with a tension evident in her posture.
Galen noticed it immediately. Her shoulders were stiff, her hands clenched her belt tighter than necessary, and her eyes avoided looking at the zabrak.
"Sabine?" he asked without looking away.
She took a second to respond. "Yes?"
"What's wrong?"
Sabine exhaled heavily, as if she had been holding back a sigh for a good while.
"Nothing. It's just... I didn't expect to be working alongside someone like him."
Galen arched an eyebrow. "You mean Maul?"
She nodded. "I know who he is," she said as she turned to Maul. "You usurped the throne of Mandalore and caused a Civil War that divided my people and caused us to be conquered by the Empire." She said resentfully.
As she mentioned it, I understood what she was referring to, the Civil War and the Siege of Mandalore, were recent history I had seen during my time under Vader's wing.
Maul paused for a moment, turning his head slightly toward Sabine. His expression was indecipherable, but I could notice something in his gaze, a tinge of mockery mixed with something almost... melancholy.
"Ah... Mandalore," he murmured. "A proud, warlike people... and doomed to repeat their history over and over again."
I felt the tension in Sabine even before she spoke. Her voice came out firm, but laden with resentment. "Don't talk as if you understand what it means to be Mandalorian."
Maul let out a slight chuckle. "I understand more than you think, young Wren. Mandalore was mine once, and it was mine because I won it fairly, under your traditions," he said as Sabine glared at him hatefully, "besides, your warriors served me, though some did so reluctantly. What happened next... well, it was the result of the weakness of your people."
I watched as Sabine clenched her fists. His shoulders were tense, and for a moment I thought she was going to punch him.
"Weakness? You tore us apart! You started a conflict that left us vulnerable to the Empire. Had you not taken the throne, we might have had a chance to resist."
Maul turned fully to her, with an almost amused smile. "Resist? Your people have always been strong, but their true weakness is division. You did not need me to destroy each other. Mandalore was a powder keg about to explode, before I even set foot on the planet, which I did more as a push towards the inevitable."
I saw Sabine step forward, anger reflected in her face. I couldn't let this escalate.
"Enough!" I cut in a firm voice, making sure they both heard me. My eyes moved from Sabine to Maul, making it clear that I wasn't going to tolerate any more provocation. "We are not here to discuss the past or to open old wounds. We're on a mission, and we need to focus."
Sabine exhaled sharply, averting her gaze, though the anger was still there, latent. Maul, on the other hand, just smiled with that expression of his that irritated me so much. He was enjoying this. He knew perfectly well what he was doing and how much his words affected Sabine.
I ran a hand through my helmet, trying to contain my frustration. "Let's move on. The anomaly is close."
I set off without waiting for a response, though I kept an eye out for any movement behind me. Sabine took a second to move, as if she needed to convince herself that continuing to walk alongside Maul was worth it. Finally, she moved forward, though keeping her distance from the zabrak.
For his part, Maul walked calmly, appearing unbothered. To him, this was just another episode in his never-ending history with the Mandalorians.
I sighed. Keeping the peace between them was not going to be easy, but at least, for now, they would tolerate each other, whether they wanted to or not.
We advanced through the endless fields of Dantooine, the wind rocking the tall grass around us. The air was fresh, infused with the scent of greenery and the feeling of a world forgotten by war, though the Imperial presence that awaited us at our destination belied it.
I could feel it before I saw it.
In the distance, on a slight hill, the ruins of the ancient Jedi enclave stood, half hidden by the nature that had reclaimed the place over the centuries. I recognized the structure from the archives I had studied under Vader's tutelage. That enclave had been a teaching center for the Jedi in Old Republic times, a bastion of knowledge and training, now reduced to rubble and empty corridors.
But the Imperials were not interested in the enclave itself.
"Stop," I whispered, holding up a hand for Sabine and Maul to stop. From our position, we could clearly see several stormtroopers stationed near a hillside access not far from the enclave.
"Not too many," Sabine commented quietly as she counted them.
"But enough to be a problem if we raise the alarm," I replied.
"Then let's take them out before they have a chance to do so," Maul said with a predatory grin before disappearing into the grass.
I let out a sigh. It wasn't worth trying to stop him.
Sabine and I moved stealthily in another direction, using the vegetation as cover. From a distance, we heard the muffled scream of a stormtrooper, followed by the sound of a lightsaber activating. Maul's distraction worked.
I took advantage of the confusion and advanced, igniting my saber with a distinctive buzz. In one swift motion, I deflected a shot and launched a Force wave that sent two soldiers to the ground.
"We're under attack!" shouted an Imperial lieutenant before attempting to draw his blaster, but Sabine shot him before he could give the command.
The rest of the stormtroopers scattered, trying to take cover behind the smaller ruins and some scattered rocks. Sabine rolled into a better position and opened fire with her Westar-35 blasters, taking down two more with accurate shots.
Maul appeared out of the shadows, taking out a soldier with a quick strike before deflecting a shot and throwing the last one off with a Force thrust.
The only one left standing was the lieutenant, staggering as he reached for his communicator. With a wave of my hand, I wrenched him from his grip and crushed him with the Force.
Sabine aimed her blasters at the officer, but I held up a hand to stop her.
"He can still be useful."
The man was breathing heavily as he watched me with a mixture of terror and determination. I knelt down in front of him and, without breaking eye contact, let the Force flow through me.
"Tell me what they are protecting here," I commanded in a firm voice.
The lieutenant struggled against my influence at first, but his will began to crumble.
"It's not the enclave..." he stammered. "The records indicate that... that there's something older... some ruins, they appear to be like some kind of shrine near the enclave... We don't know what's inside, but high command ordered us to secure the area."
I exchanged a glance with Sabine.
"What else do you know?" I pressed, intensifying my hold on her mind.
"Engravings were found at the entrance... but we haven't gained access yet."
"Where exactly are the ruins?"
"West of the enclave... a hidden entrance in the hills..."
I blurted out, and an instant later, Sabine hit him over the head with the butt of her blaster, knocking him unconscious.
"Was that necessary?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Absolutely," she replied, holstering her weapons.
I nodded, turning my gaze back to the hills to the west of the enclave.
"Let's not waste any more time."
Without further words, we headed toward the crypt, ready to discover the secrets that lay within.
---
The ruins of the crypt loomed before us, an ancient stone structure blackened by time, almost devoured by the surrounding nature. The entrance was imposing, with a huge metal gate embedded in the rock, covered with inscriptions that seemed to have been carved millennia ago. The Imperials had failed to open it, and now we understood why.
"It is a door sealed with the Force," I murmured, sliding my fingers over the markings on the surface. "It can only be opened with our power."
Maul grinned mischievously. "Then let us waste no time."
We stood on either side of the gate, holding out our hands as we let the Force flow through us. Immediately, I felt an ancient energy responding to the contact, a residual presence from the times when Jedi still walked Dantooine. The door shook, and a hidden mechanism in its structure began to activate.
The engravings on the surface lit up with a faint blue glow, and a deep sound echoed in the air as the gate slowly slid upward, revealing the darkness within.
Sabine turned on the flashlight on her helmet and stepped forward. "Well, now we know why the Imperials couldn't get in."
Moving deeper into the crypt, the air became cold, thick with the scent of ancient stone and dust accumulated over the centuries. The hallway was adorned with weathered inscriptions and eroded statues, humanoid figures wrapped in robes, holding what appeared to be holocrons or ancient texts in their stone hands.
The structure expanded into a large circular room with an altar in the center. In the walls, two huge side doors led to secondary rooms. But before we could explore them, a mechanical sound put us on alert.
From the shadows, a metallic figure emerged. Its design was slender and angular, with long spider-like legs and a cone-shaped head. It possessed a single optic that glowed with a yellow radiance as it emitted a torrent of words in an incomprehensible tongue.
"What the hell is it saying?" asked Sabine, instinctively lowering a hand to her blaster.
The droid continued to speak, changing languages with each sentence. Some words sounded similar to what she had heard in the Sith archives, others sounded like extinct dialects of the Old Republic. Finally, after several attempts, his metallic voice steadied into a language we understood.
"Wait, I know this language, it's some kind of Mandalorian dialect, but a very old one, called Taungese." Sabine said.
"You can speak it?" I asked her.
"More or less, let me try." It was there that Sabine began to speak in a language incomprehensible to me, but which the droid seemed to understand. For it stopped switching between languages.
"< However, you are not of any species that was enslaved by the builders, you look like the last visitors here, they were similar to you, they were here a little almost 2 full revolutions of this system's outermost planet around the Sun. Leaving that aside, congratulations, you have crossed the first threshold, but the entrance to the main chamber is still closed>>". Soon after Sabine translated for us, apparently the droid could understand us all, but we could not understand him, except for Sabine.
"What main chamber? And what are you?" I asked, stepping forward.
"< The air in the crypt grew even heavier after the droid's words were translated by Sabine. She and I exchanged glances, as Maul watched with his arms crossed, his expression inscrutable.
"The Star Forge?" I repeated under my breath. That name was not unfamiliar to me. I had heard rumors in Imperial records of an ancient superweapon from the time of the Old Republic, a station with nearly unlimited production capabilities, though it had supposedly been destroyed in the Jedi Civil War thousands of years ago, so I had never found evidence of its existence.
"< Maul took a step forward, his gaze alight with impatience. "If you are a servant of the Builders, then you must acknowledge our authority. Open the door."
The droid tilted his conical head slightly, as if analyzing Maul. "< "So what must we do to gain access?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation on more productive terms.
"< Sabine frowned and looked around. "Great. Because it can never be as easy as opening a door."
"< I nodded and turned my attention to the Overseer. "What can we expect inside?"
The Overseer tilted its conical head slightly, its single optical eye glowing brightly.
"<>"
Once Sabine translated the droid's words, Maul let out a low, throaty laugh. "How convenient."
I didn't bother to answer him. Instead, I turned to Sabine. "We can work this out. It's probably nothing more than a test of basic knowledge."
"Basic for whom? For a civilization that existed over twenty thousand years ago?" replied Sabine with a raised eyebrow.
I ignored her comment and approached the door on the left. I reached out a hand and felt a slight pulse in the Force. With a dull sound, the door slid upward, revealing a chamber dimly lit by bluish crystals embedded in the walls. In the center of the room was an ancient terminal with a still-functional display.
The rest of the group followed me inside, while the Overseer stood at the entrance.
I approached the terminal and saw the options displayed on the screen:
Planetary Type conducive to life.
Oceanic Planet
Desert planet
Volcanic planet
Jungle planet
Icy planet
Barren planet
Sabine folded her arms and looked at the list. "Well... some are more obvious than others."
I nodded. "Jungle planet and ocean planet seem like safe bets. Both have access to water and stable ecosystems."
Maul watched the screen without showing interest, but I noticed how his eyes took in the choices.
"And the third one should be..." I muttered.
"Definitely not volcanic or barren," Sabine added. "Icy is an option, but..."
"Some icy planets can sustain life underground, but they're not ideal," I reasoned. "On the other hand, a desert planet can sustain life if there are subway water sources. Tatooine, Jakku... even Ryloth."
Sabine nodded. "Yes, but it depends on the exact conditions. Still, if the question is about the fittest, jungle, ocean and desert seem the best choice."
I timed our response and pressed the confirmation pad. There was a moment of silence... and then the screen lit up with a symbol in aurebesh.
Correct answer.
Sabine let out a sigh of relief. "Good. One down."
We headed back to the central chamber and crossed to the opposite door. There, the terminal glowed with a reddish hue, and the second question appeared on the screen:
Identify the primary death-giving seed world types.
The choices were the same as before.
"Not much doubt here," I said, pointing to the screen. "Volcanic, barren, and icy."
Sabine frowned. "Are you sure? Some icy worlds can support life beneath the surface."
"Yes, but that's an exception. Most are inhospitable," I replied.
Maul snorted. "Stop hesitating and take your pick."
I entered the answers and confirmed. Again, the screen lit up.
Correct answer.
A mechanical sound rumbled through the crypt. When we emerged into the central chamber, the Overseer watched us with his single glowing optical eye.
"You have passed the test," he announced. "The entrance to the main chamber has been unlocked."
With a thunderous bang, the large door at the end of the chamber began to slowly open, revealing the darkness within.
The doors to the main chamber slid upward with a metallic creak, releasing a heavy, stale air that smelled of ancient stone and forgotten time. Beyond the entrance, darkness reigned, barely broken by faint bluish glows from crystals embedded in the walls, similar to those of the previous trials.
Instinctively, I ignited my lightsaber, its crimson glow casting jagged shadows on the eroded walls of the crypt. Sabine did the same with her wrist flashlight, illuminating the path as we took our first steps into the room. Maul, on the other hand, moved forward without a care in the world, as if the darkness itself was familiar to him.
The interior of the main chamber was vast, with cyclopean columns rising up until they were lost in the gloom of the ceiling. Along the walls, worn inscriptions told stories of long ago, of the Builders and their slaves, of the greatness of the Star Forge. But at the far end, rested what we had come for.
The Star Map. It was a free-standing structure supported by three legs.
"At last," I murmured, cautiously moving forward.
"Wait," Sabine said, grabbing my arm. "Something's not right."
I looked around and understood what she meant. It was too easy. The Builders wouldn't have left an artifact of such importance without some kind of protection.
Maul stepped forward and smirked. "You're afraid of a trap?"
Before he could respond, the Overseer, who had lingered in the doorway, spoke in his monotone.
"The knowledge of the Star Forge is not for just anyone. Only those worthy can claim it. This is the ultimate test."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the chamber vibrated with a thunderous crackle. From the side walls, hidden compartments opened with a mechanical creak, and from them emerged four metallic figures. They were war droids, far older than any model he knew, but still functional. Their skeletal limbs glowed with a faint blue glow, and each carried an energy weapon integrated into its arm.
"Of course," Sabine mumbled, pulling out her blasters.
One of the droids raised its weapon and opened fire. I ducked just in time to dodge the blast, as Maul nimbly leaped and lunged at them with his flaming saber.
The war droids attacked without hesitation, moving with calculated precision. Their ancient blasters, though weather-worn, fired with a relentless cadence, forcing us to take cover behind the crypt's columns.
Sabine rolled to the side, firing accurately at the joints of one of the droids, trying to destabilize it. The impacts of her blasters barely left any marks on its metal exoskeleton.
"They're tough!" he exclaimed as he moved to another position.
Maul, for his part, showed no signs of caution. With a ferocious grin, he launched himself full-tilt at two of them, swinging his lightsaber with lethal speed. Its red blade cut diagonally across the torso of one of the automatons, cleaving it in two with a crackle of energy. Without missing a beat, it spun on itself and impaled the second one in the core, rendering it inert on the spot.
I stepped out of my cover and extended a hand toward the nearest droid. The Force swirled around me as I closed my fist, crushing its limbs with a crunch of twisted metal. The automaton convulsed and fell to its knees before I decapitated it with a quick slash of my saber.
Sabine, taking advantage of the distraction, fired at the last droid. This time she aimed for its energy core, and with a withering explosion, the machine was reduced to a smoldering heap of scrap.
Silence returned to the crypt, interrupted only by the echo of the last shots dissipating off the ancient walls.
The Overseer, who had watched the entire combat undeterred, spoke in his neutral tone.
"You have proven yourselves worthy."
Without further ado, the floating sphere on the pedestal reacted. The metallic rings around it began to spin in different directions, aligning in complex patterns. The light inside it intensified, projecting a flickering hologram of the galaxy onto the room.
The Star Map had been activated.
We approached cautiously, watching as the lines of ancient routes and unknown coordinates unfolded before us, a sort of route forming, however, this was incomplete, which must mean that to complete it I would have to go to the other worlds "she" had told me about. The map had some points shining more brightly than the others. When I analyzed it, I realized that they were the locations of other Star Maps and appeared to be on the worlds Kreia had told me about.
Sabine crossed her arms and stared at the holographic image. "Impressive, it must be one of the first maps made about the Galaxy."
Meanwhile, Maul watched the map with interest, his expression unreadable.
I nodded, giving the map one last glance, as I turned and headed in the direction of the entrance, Sabine and Maul following close behind quickly. We had no time to waste.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Special thanks to Kal Odinson, Orion Chung, Tigerdude163, Julio Posas and momo. Thanks for the support.
If you want a dedication too or wanna read some chapters ahead, you can have it supporting me here: patreon.com/StoryMasterKick
I hope you all have enjoyed the chapter. Remember to leave me your stones if you liked it.