Chapter Text
Obi-wan Kenobi gasped, lungs struggling at the press of the Darkness that flowed out of the open door of the Sith temple they were investigating. He had been expecting it, but the strength of it had still taken him by surprise.
A white and orange bucket turned his way. Wooley. Obi-wan latched onto the familiar Force signature in an attempt to ground himself.
Constancy, like all the clones, but Wooley was distinctly playful and mischievous, with the characteristic overtones of a younger sibling that enjoys their position.
“Are you alright, sir?”
Obi-wan smiled, forcing his lungs to regain their normal rhythm. “Quite all right, thank you my dear.”
Wooley, nodded, and returned his attention to the temple in front of them, clearly aware of the danger even though he couldn’t feel it as not a single clone was Force-sensitive, just as Boil and Waxer returned from scouting.
“There aren’t any other entrances, sir,” Boil said, gesturing to the thick purple jungle surrounding the grey stone building that seemed to grow out of thick shadows. “We worked our way all the way around, and it’s just solid walls the whole way. There’s always the possibility of a secret entrance, but we couldn’t spot one from the outside.”
“The one thing we could find was giant plants that I could have sworn were trying to eat us,” Waxer muttered. He was picking pieces of plant material out from the crevices between the armor plates on his hands.
Boil tipped his head in a way Obi-wan knew meant exasperation and swatted at his vod as Wooley muffled a snort. Obi-wan smothered a smile as he nodded.
Though, knowing the types of planets he generally ended up on, it was entirely possible that the plant was trying to eat Waxer. It would be just his luck.
“Very good.” Something inside him cringed away from the thoughts of entering the dark depths past the open stone doors. What light made it past the heavy foliage seemed to stop abruptly at the threshold. “Only way through is in then, I suppose.”
Wooley shifted beside him as Waxer and Boil exchanged glances.
“Sorry sir. Are you certain this is necessary?” Wooley glanced at the temple and shuddered. “It just seems an unneeded risk for a High General.” He paused, fingers tapping against his blaster. “Or any Jedi at all.”
“And a waste of time besides,” Waxer added, orange helmet on a swivel to watch the deep purple jungle and any possible dangers within it around them as the heat and moisture pressed down.
Obi-wan knew what they meant. He had a bit of a bad track record when it came to seemingly small side missions. And Sith temples were always a risk, especially with only three troopers and extraction still several hours away if anything went wrong.
He stroked his beard, considering. “The Council ordered me to investigate the source of the Darkness on this planet that I felt when we landed,” he reminded them. And himself. “And we couldn’t afford to pull away any more men, with the fighting being so split up.”
He felt more than saw all three men grimace, body language clear even with the full armour and helmets. Cody had thrown what for him was an epic fit when he realized he couldn’t afford to send even a full squad with Obi-wan, given how spread out the fighting was and how their landing craft had been split up upon entry to atmosphere. The fighting hadn’t been overwhelming, so Obi-wan had been able to leave as per orders, but it was steady enough that he couldn’t send anyone else. Even without his orders, Obi-wan had been distracted by the pull of the Darkness as soon as he had landed. Attempting to fight in that condition would have been manageable, but since he trusted his men to handle the pockets of fighting, he had taken a few men and investigated immediately.
Obi-wan attempted a small smile. “Besides, the sooner we finish here, the sooner we can get back to your brothers.” With that statement, he straightened his robes, ensuring his lightsaber was in reach, though not in his hand. He didn’t want to accidentally trigger some sort of guardian protocol by walking in with a weapon in his hand.
The jedi could still feel the disapproval and caution radiating from all three of his troops as he strode up the stairs towards the open door. It had taken much of the hike here to convince his men that he had to go in first, regardless of protocol. He was a Jedi, much more prepared for going against whatever Sith trick they would find in the temple. Besides, confronting the Darkness was his duty, not theirs. He wouldn’t drag them into anymore danger than absolutely necessary.
Obi-wan shivered as the last of the sunlight fell away, leaving him in the deep shadow of the small stone temple as soon as he crossed the threshold. It was almost artificially cool in the building, despite the heat and moisture of the jungle outside. The Darkness was definitely stronger in here, almost as strong as the initial spike he had felt when entering atmosphere.
He had staggered on his feet in the transport ship and would have fallen without Cody beside him propping him up. He had called the Council before they had even landed and had been ordered to investigate as soon as possible. Anything that Dark that was able to pinpoint someone off planet needed to be investigated, especially as none of the men had felt anything, which meant that it was targeting Force-sensitives specifically.
Obi-wan’s eyes caught on a faintly glowing object sitting in an alcove off to one side. He approached cautiously, mindful of where he stepped, seeing that the small pyramid on the pedestal was glowing faintly purple, almost the same colour as some of the plants outside.
He frowned. Purple was an odd colour for a Sith artifact. He tilted his head, careful not to get too close. It seemed as though there was writing on the surface of the pyramid. The Jedi stepped closer, leaning forwards to try and make out the writing. He knew quite a few languages, maybe he could recognize it to try and determine whether or not it was dangerous.
It was almost a familiar script, but not quite enough that he could read it. Obi-wan shook his head, trying to remember where he’d seen the language before, when his legs gave out. As he fell to the stone floor, legs folding underneath him, the purple glow of the pyramid seemed to swallow his vision until it was all he could see.