Star Wars - The Gray Jedi - Chapter 15 - Leaving the Tomb.

[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Zeffo.
...

...

Cal was inside the chamber at that moment, and as he crossed the door earlier, he was greeted by a vast hall. The walls were adorned with Zeffo inscriptions.

"The Force is strong here..." Cal murmured, carefully examining the place.

BD-1 remained silent as they continued.

As he advanced, the hall revealed a series of ancient mechanisms, like trials set up for him—something Cal had anticipated. The first trials involved moving platforms with giant spheres attached to tracks and portals that appeared to be locked by energy.

"A puzzle... Of course, there’s a puzzle," Cal muttered, surveying the area. He realized he needed to move the giant spheres from their platforms to specific locations and began working, already aware of the points where the spheres needed to be placed.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 commented.

"Got it. We need to move these spheres to unlock the main path," Cal said, starting to use the Force.

He approached the first sphere, studying it with interest. BD-1 seemed confused as Cal hesitated before moving it, pausing to inspect it for a moment.

"Beep?" BD-1 inquired.

"I was thinking... maybe I should train my current strength a bit more, pushing it further than before..." Cal murmured. He knew these spheres were incredibly heavy, and few had the skill to lift them. It seemed like a good opportunity for training.

He raised his hand toward the sphere, feeling its weight as he closed his eyes and concentrated. The sphere began to wobble slightly.

"Beep..." BD-1 watched intently.

The sphere started trembling more as Cal exerted himself, his brow furrowing while he kept his eyes shut, focusing on the Force. Slowly, it began to lift from the platform, despite the magnetic force holding it in place.

BD-1 chirped excitedly, but Cal remained deeply focused. Memories invaded his mind—rigorous training sessions and visions of Darth Vader and Master Jaro Tapal flashed vividly. Red and blue energy seemed to manifest again within him.

"The dark side is more powerful," a dark voice whispered.

"Trust only in the Force," his master's voice countered.

The sphere began to rise, but as Cal unleashed more power, he lost partial control. The energy spiraled out, and the ground beneath him began to crack as lightning flashed uncontrollably in the air around him.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 squealed in alarm, trying to get Cal’s attention before he destroyed the entire area. The droid sensed the imminent danger as more fissures appeared in the floor.

Finally, Cal opened his eyes, halting everything he was doing. The heavy sphere crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, further cracking the floor. However, the chaotic manifestations of the Force he had unleashed began to subside.

"I think I overdid it... There’s so much power inside me, but I still lack control," he said, panting, as he braced himself with his hands on his knees. BD-1 observed him with concern.

"It’s time to finish this," he said, straightening up and using the Force again, this time with greater care. Instead of lifting the sphere, he started pushing it along the track, activating the mechanisms of the puzzle left behind by the Zeffo.

It didn’t take long for Cal to complete the first puzzle, advancing to the next chamber while BD-1 perched on his shoulder.

He encountered more chambers filled with puzzles. Some required connecting light beams between crystals, a mechanism Cal quickly solved with ease. Others were laden with deadly traps. He navigated them cautiously, relying on the map he had memorized, as the Empire had not yet reached that area. The Zeffo technology was peculiar, using a unique form of the Force to create combinations that Cal needed to decipher.

After traversing five more chambers, he finally arrived at a massive central tower, where a kind of whirlwind spun within its interior.

"Beep-beep?" BD-1 emitted a cautious sound.

"Come on, this is easier than you think," Cal smiled as he began interacting with the mechanism, deactivating the whirlwind inside the tower. The process revealed a platform that descended, connecting to another area.

With little effort, they entered the new area. Cal grabbed a sphere resting there and placed it into the final slot of the mechanism. As soon as the sphere settled, its weight activated the system, and the elevator began descending to the next chamber.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a humanoid figure made of a shining golden material.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 seemed nervous, its lights flashing.

"The Zeffo also had their own guardians. These self-defense mechanisms shouldn’t be that surprising," Cal remarked, igniting his lightsaber as he advanced.

The guardian instantly raised its head, identifying Cal as a threat. From the center of its chest, a glow intensified before it launched a beam of energy in his direction. Cal quickly dodged, using the Force to run along the wall out of the beam’s reach as the area was destroyed. He leaped toward the guardian.

Before it could attack again, Cal was already striking. With precise movements, he severed the guardian’s legs, causing it to collapse to the ground with a resounding crash. Wasting no time, Cal targeted the core in the guardian’s chest, destroying it completely as its energy dissipated.

"Let’s move on," Cal said calmly, proceeding through the area without hesitation.

A massive wall rose before him. He could sense this was a test of strength. Closing his eyes, he felt the energy manifesting around him. As soon as he took the first step, the environment abruptly changed. Everything became dark and simultaneously white, as if he were outside time and space.

The wall began to move, cracking and hurling massive rocks toward Cal. He simply raised his hand, focusing on the Force, and blocked each one with ease. The rocks crumbled into dust before they could strike him.

When the trial ended, the environment returned to normal. He was now in another room, standing before a large, sealed door. With a single push of the Force, Cal shattered the door and finally entered the chamber he had been seeking.

At the center of the chamber, BD-1 jumped off his shoulder and landed on the ground, activating a special protocol. The small droid began projecting a hologram of Master Cordova once more. The holographic figure examined the inscriptions around him as he spoke:

"The Zeffo traveled to Kashyyyk... the planet where the Wookiees reside. There, you will find the next step in understanding their secrets."

When the projection ended, BD-1 returned to Cal’s shoulder.

"We have what we need. Let’s get out of here," Cal said, unsurprised, as he had anticipated this information.

BD-1 emitted an excited sound as Cal began moving quickly to exit the tomb.

Cal advanced carefully through the area, navigating toward the elevator in the tower that would take him back up after passing through a few more chambers. However, as he was about to exit an open area, having bypassed all the traps without triggering them, he sensed something powerful moving toward him.

A rock the size of his body was hurled in his direction. Cal stopped it mid-air with the Force, raising his hand and gently lowering it to the ground. Then he turned to see the Second Sister emerging from the shadows, clearly having followed him through the entire tomb.

"I felt your presence... I just didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly," Cal said calmly, observing her.

She, on the other hand, didn’t seem to appreciate his confidence. "You’re like a rat, Jedi... or whatever you are," the Second Sister spat with disdain. "But I’m glad you’re here. After all, now I can kill you once and for all..." Her voice carried a cold fury as she ignited her red lightsaber.

Despite her words, she had no intention of killing him—Lord Vader wanted him captured—but she wasn’t about to reveal that.

"I don’t think it will be that easy. But, unfortunately, it’s not time for us to fight yet," Cal replied, diverting his gaze to the rock he had blocked earlier. He used the Force to hurl it onto a nearby platform, activating the mechanism of a trap in the room.

The next moment, the room's system activated. Several golden droids began emerging from the walls, jumping to the ground in readiness. A total of eight droids surrounded the Second Sister, leaving Cal out of their focus.

"I’ll be waiting for you on the other side," Cal commented with an ironic smile as he retreated toward a side exit. He seemed to be reversing the roles, toying with his pursuer in the same way Inquisitors often toyed with their victims.

As he moved away, Cal could hear the explosions and the sound of a lightsaber spinning through the air. The Second Sister was facing a complicated situation, one even she hadn’t anticipated.

At that moment, Cal’s radio crackled, and Cere’s voice came through. "Cal, can you hear me? Cal!" Cere called out urgently.

"Yes, Cere, I’m listening," Cal replied as he walked through the rooms.

"That’s good. Communication has finally returned. Listen, Cal, the storm has passed, but all the Imperials are looking for us. They already know we’re here," Cere warned.

"Alright. I’m on my way back," Cal said calmly.

"Great. Did you find anything?" Cere asked, her voice tinged with hope.

"Yes. We need to head to Kashyyyk. Master Cordova left a clue there. It will be our next destination," Cal answered.

"Understood. We’ll be waiting for you. But I don’t think it’ll be easy to descend the mountain. We’ll try to pick you up at the landing platform, but it’s going to be extremely dangerous, and Greez isn’t too happy about it," Cere commented with concern.

"It’s fine. I have a plan to distract them, anyway. For now, I need to go, Cere. After all, it’s just an apprentice chasing me at the moment," Cal said calmly before cutting off the radio.

"Cal!" Cere tried to call him one last time upon hearing this, but he had already ended the communication before she could say anything else.

Cal entered a larger room and turned around in the middle of it. There, he found the Second Sister, now without her helmet, clearly exhausted from her battle with the droids. She had sustained some damage but still stood firm, holding her activated lightsaber as she glared at him with frustration.

"Well, since we’re here... I have no choice but to fight you," Cal said indifferently. His voice carried neither fear nor hesitation, and his eyes remained fixed on her.

"What... What are you?" the Second Sister asked, both intrigued and irritated, trying to understand the strength and confidence of someone who should have been just a Padawan before her.