Fighting Back (Sequel to Savior)

Chapter 7

Fay led Yoda through the caverns of Ruusan, the air getting harder to breathe as they descended into the earth. The only light they had was the light emitted from their lightsabers. The farther they went, the more evidence of what had happened their many centuries ago. Armor, bones, and lightsabers alike were scattered on the floor of the cave, remnants of the Army of Light.

"A massacre." Yoda had commented mournfully as they continued through the caves. These Jedi may have been before his time, but they were still Jedi, they were still his family

Fay didn't answer but continued to lead Yoda through the desolate caves. Eventually they reached an anomaly in the cave system: a giant sphere-shaped room with a silver, iridescent cocoon floating in the middle of the room. Dark Side energy rolled off it in waves; Yoda was almost suffocated by the amount of pure darkness it radiated combined with the already thin air. Below the floating cocoon was T'ra Saa sitting cross-legged in front of the cocoon, meditating.

"You've arrived." Saa spoke, her voice as deep and smooth as he remembered it being. The woman rose from her spot and turned to the two Jedi. She, due to her species being able to change their appearance at will, chose to be human-like with skin that had a green tint to it, and sported no nose. Instead of hair, she had brown tendrils, like that of roots of a tree. She wore deep brown robes, with trimmings and patterns of gold decorating them.

"T'ra, how goes the disassembly?" Fay asks, walking over to the other woman.

T'ra sighed, glancing at the cocoon behind her, "Not very well, I'm afraid. I cannot figure out the best way to extract the souls without destroying them completely."

"Extract? Reside in the cocoon, souls do?" Yoda asked, his brows furrowing.

The two women glanced at him, then turned back to each other, "You didn't tell him?" T'ra questioned.

Fay shook her head, "I thought it'd be best for both of us to explain it to him."

The Neti sighed, and nodded, "Yes, I suppose so. What do you know of the legend of Lord Hoth and his Army of Light?"

Yoda answered, reciting the age-old legend he was told, and in turn told centuries of Jedi, "Taken one hundred of his best men, Lord Hoth did, to combat the Sith Lord Skere Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. Destroyed, both armies were, in the ensuing battle."

"You're right about Lord Hoth taking one hundred of his best men to battle Skere Kaan and his ow, but you're wrong about how they were destroyed." Fay corrected him.

Yoda tilted his head, curious as to what the women knew of the legendary battle.

"Lord Hoth of the Army of Light, believed the Brotherhood of Darkness was planning a trap, so he took only one hundred into the caves of this very valley. Skere Kaan, out of pure desperation and arrogance, resorted to creating a thought bomb." T'ra explained. Sensing Yoda's confusion, T'ra continued, "A thought bomb is an ancient Sith ritual. It requires the power and sacrifice of many Sith Lords to even make it. When detonated, the thought bomb, in all of its volatility and darkness, steals the souls of any Force-sensitive in the area, absorbing and trapping the souls in perpetual torment and hell. The orb you see in front of you is a manifestation of the prison the souls are still being kept in."

"Foolishly, Kaan believed he could control the bomb. Because of his arrogance, Kaan and the Brotherhood of Darkness, along with Hoth and his one hundred Jedi. For centuries, their souls remain trapped in a never-ending hell, unless we find a way to stop it." Fay said, "The Force led you here because you have a part to play in this."

Yoda hummed lowly, "See, I do. Free these souls, we must. Where will they go once freed, they are?"

"To the Netherworld of the Force, a sort of afterlife for those who have passed on," Fay answered, and seeing Yoda was about to object and inquire what exactly that was, she waved him off, saying, "We will explain the philosophies and workings of the Force at a later date, my old, but very naive apprentice. For now, we must figure out a way free these souls."