The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Ninety-Six: Separated

KANAN JARRUS

For a few seconds, Kanan felt as though he was floating, weightless, in midair. But then, a chunk of the ground – or now ceiling – came dangerously close to hitting his head, and reality came rushing back to him.

As the ground drew closer, he managed to pull himself onto his side to break the fall. He hit the ground with a painful thud and rolled to a stop, putting his hands above his head to shield it from the last few pieces of falling debris.

He rose to his feet a few moments later with a grimace, shaking his head to dispel some of the dizziness from the impact. But his eyes widened a moment later as he took in the sight before him.

The whole place was lit by sunlight streaming down from small circular skylights cut into the rock high above them, which gave the ceiling the appearance of a night sky. Far below them, ancient pillars made of the same charcoal rock Ezra – damn him and his insufferable curiosity – had touched stretched up toward the ceiling. Many of them were broken in places or had even toppled over completely, but some of them still had to be three times Kanan's height.

But they were dwarfed by the giant step pyramid that dominated the space before them, overlapping sections carved in striking geometric designs. At its summit was an enormous pyramidion of dull maroon crystal that glimmered faintly in the light of a larger break in the ceiling above it.

"What is that?" Ezra whispered, taking a few steps forward to join Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's posture was loose but geared as though she were readying herself for battle as she turned to him and said, "A Sith temple."

Ezra seemed to shocked to move, so Kanan stepped forward and put a hand on the boy's shoulder, deciding it was his time to take the lead. Motioning for Ahsoka to follow, he began making his way down the slope, a mix of slate and black sand.

But while he was largely focused on his surroundings and the task at hand, his thoughts wandered. He glanced over at Ahsoka, watching how easily she moved despite the tricky footing and made every determined step forward count. For a moment, he saw another face itself fit over hers – Janira Elt's, he thought –, and wondered at how similar their personalities were.

Kanan knew Ahsoka could sense all the questions on his mind. She had been meditating for the majority of the journey there, most often when Ezra had been sleeping. He hadn't dared ask her about the Elt – or rather Bonteri – twins when he was awake for fear of having to tell him everything.

And as clever as the kid was, Kanan didn't need him getting involved in matters he barely even understood himself.

Suddenly, his comlink began to ring. Kanan opened a channel and brought the comm to his face, but Ezra, upon having heard Chopper's message, spoke first. "Oh, we might fall through the surface?" he echoed, his tone heavy with irony. "Thanks for the warning, Chop."

"Any fix on that ship yet?" Kanan asked into his comm. The answer was luckily an affirmative with a direction to head in. "He's picked up the trail – this way."

Then, he began walking, Ahsoka and Ezra just behind him. Kanan was struck by how abnormally quiet it was; he had a sudden feeling the three of them were the only living things there, that their footfalls were the only noise for miles around. He knew that had to be impossible, between the mysterious ship they were tracking and the signs of life that had been here, but it was still a very unsettling idea.

"I bet whatever we're looking for is inside that Temple," Ezra piped up, breaking the long silence that had become almost suffocating.

"Seems likely." Once again Kanan felt the crushing sense of loneliness bearing down upon him, and, hoping to reassure himself, he added, "Just remember: if there's a ship, we're not alone down here."