The four teens stood in front of the steps leading up to the ruins of the Jedi Library. It was a massive structure and prior to the supernovas that had left Ossus a desiccated husk of a world, it had contained the combined knowledge of thousands of Jedi Knights and millennia of Republic and pre-Republic history.
When Luke Skywalker was trying to rebuild the Jedi Order this was one of the places where he had found some of the information he needed to do so. In the decades since then, the Jedi had worked tirelessly to gather as much information from the Library as possible, finally leaving it empty, barren and alone. Merely another set of crumbling ruins at the foot of the
Noelani glanced to her right, seeing Ben's blue eyes focused intently on the wide double doors which hung off of their hinges, his jawline firming slightly; as if he was debating on whether or not they should actually go in there.
At least that was what Noelani was wondering as she turned her attention back towards the ancient building.
Poll coughed slightly, the sound echoing back to them louder. The sense of history, of the ghosts of the past, rested heavily on their shoulders.
Giving her shoulders a slight shake, she took a step forward, putting her foot onto the first of the steps, and gently lifting herself upwards.
Then she took another step.
From behind her, she could hear her friends climbing up the steps quickly and she continued her upward climb until she reached the double doors. She slipped through the doors and into another world.
Shafts of bright blue-white sunlight filtered in through the windows set high into the walls. Motes of dust hung in the still air, sparkling slightly – small diamonds spread around them. Noelani took another step into the massive room, her footsteps echoing back loudly at her.
She glanced up and noticed an image stretched across the ceiling, a motif of stylized Jedi Knights wearing robes and welding lightsabers – very old style sabers with external powerpacks on their belts.
"Wizard."
Startled, she dropped her gaze from the ceiling and spun around to find her friends staring at the image, the awe she felt expressed on their faces.
She took another few steps into the room, walking into one of the shafts of lights, watching as the dust motes swirled around her.
Finally, she turned back towards Ben. "This is a pretty room and all, but I thought you promised me something a bit darker."
Poll burst out laughing, and Noelani looked at him, a frown creasing her forehead slightly. Confused she looked towards Kor, and noticed the wry amusement on the Bothan girl's face. Then she turned towards Ben and noticed that his cheeks had taken on a slightly red tint.
"What?"
Ben shook his head quickly, and turned to glare at Poll for a moment. He returned his gaze back towards her and said, "Don't worry about it."
Poll's laughter seemed to slow down, but the amusement stayed in his eyes. "Don't worry, 'Lani. I'm sure Ben will get you somewhere nice and dark just as soon as he's able to."
Suddenly the Force whirled through the hall and Poll slammed into the floor face first. Noelani jumped back, her yelp echoing in the cavernous room.
Ben with an innocent smile on his face walked further into the library, his passage being marked by the swirl of the dust motes.
"So," Ben called out over his shoulder. "Are we going to explore the towers or try to find our way into the subbasements?"
Noelani turned away from the other two, chasing after Ben. "Let's go to the basements. All the fun stuff will be down there probably."
Ben turned towards a set of stairs, and disappeared into the darkness. Noelani glanced once more at her other two friends, and grinned at them. "Come on you slowpokes; let's see what we can find."
Then she darted down the stairway after Ben, her feet clapping loudly on the smooth marble. Darkness closes around her and she slowed down as she reached into her pack to pull out her handlight.
Finally getting it free, she pressed the activator, and played the beam of light across the walls, noticing that they were covered in a mural of Jedi.
"Wow," she said breathlessly.
Though they had faded with the passage of four millennia, they still held color and were easily identifiable. She walked down the steps slower now, the light flashing over the mural, as she went backwards in time. The Jedi were of all sorts of species, Ithorians, humans, Bothans, and a host of others, some she did not even recognize. The deeper she went, the more ornate the outfits, the larger the lightsaber powerpacks which started attached to the belts but by the time she had traveled around a hundred steps had moved to massive backpacks.
Then she reached the end of the stairs. The air was colder down here, with a bite to it that seemed strange and alien to Noelani. She allowed her light to play out around her, discovering that it was another large room, one with a hallway to the right and the left, and on the far side of the room, another set of stairs leading further down. In the middle of the room were the remains of an ancient fountain, smashed marble blocks, and a statue of a stylized Jedi holding a lightsaber above its head.
Standing there, looking at the broken remains of the fountain was Ben. His back ramrod straight, hands at his side as he waited for them to get down the stairs. She could hear laughter behind her, and turned as Poll and Kor stepped off the stairs, their own handlights flashing over the walls before finally settling on Ben and Noelani.
Noelani turned back towards Ben, watching as he approached the group. The shadows seemed to cling to his face, giving him a dangerous air. She frowned for a second as she considered that he seemed at home here in the dark rooms – like some aspect of himself was more comfortable here than in the bright, airy and cheerful hallways of the Jedi Academy.
A cold shiver raced down her spine and she realized that she was actually a bit afraid of Ben. She laughed to herself, chalking the feeling up to nerves. Another shiver gripped her body as she looked around, the darkness and the sense of just being underground brought up the memories of her capture and torture at the hands of that Yuuzhan Vong warrior and the nightmares she had suffered since.
"Welcome," he began with an eerie tone to his voice. "To the Chamber of Antiquities."
Poll's voice was thoughtful, as he asked, "I thought that that was in sublevel 2?"
Ben laughed. "Yeah, but it just seemed creepier to say it here."
Noelani shook her head at their antics, dispelling her concerns and fears of Ben. "Come on you two, the really interesting stuff should be either in sublevel 2 or 3 – and we still got to find out where the caverns and catacombs connect up to the sublevels."
Ben smiled at her and Noelani could feel her heart hammer a bit harder. "Noelani's right. Let's get going."
As a group, they crossed the room, and began going down the next set of stairs. Three beams of light play over the walls – but while the previous stairwell was ornately decorated, this one held no decorations, just blank stone walls.
She ran her fingers along them, feeling the cool, rough texture.
"I wonder why these weren't decorated."
Ben answered. "Probably because they didn't want people to come down this far. It's the Chamber of Antiquities – probably some pretty important stuff was held here. Stuff not for the average Jedi."
Noelani considered that for a moment, and then nodded her head, before asking another question. "Do we know what's on sublevel 3? Or what's supposed to be in the catacombs?"
Ben glanced at her over his shoulder, and then towards Poll. "You're right Poll, she does talk a lot."
Kor and Poll barked a laugh, and Noelani fumed, glaring at Ben and then turning to Poll, giving him a harsh shove.
She turned back to find Ben once more looking over his shoulder at her, amusement on his face.
Noelani could feel her face turning red from his attention. She crossed her arms over her chest, dropped her chin to her chest and tried her best to ignore the three of them.
She felt a small, almost imperceptible nudge in the Force, and lifted her chin to look at Ben. He gave her a lop-sided grin and a quick wink before turning back to face the darkness.
Chapter 8
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