Star Wars - The Gray Jedi - Chapter 13 - Entering the Main Mountain..

[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Bracca.
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The mountain's landing platform was completely empty after Cal had thrown the two stormtroopers down the mountain. He continued on alone, walking toward the open hangar. There were no ships there, just some computers on the walls for controlling the area.

He approached the door, attempting to open it with the Force, but it was heavier than lifting a person in the air, as he had done before. Cal moved his hand, feeling the door, and tried dragging it to the side. It made only a slight noise and sparked a little as he tried forcing it open, but it wasn't enough.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 chirped a few comments.

Cal simply closed his eyes and sighed. "It should be easier, but I still don't have full control of my current strength," he murmured, glancing at the small droid. "Could you open it?" he asked.

BD-1 jumped onto Cal's shoulder and then to the door's connector. Using its device plug, the droid unlocked the door, and moments later, it slid open with ease.

"That's much easier," Cal murmured, shrugging as he stepped inside.

He walked through a few dimly lit corridors without sensing anyone's presence. He advanced toward the exit, where he was met with a mountain cliff extending from the landing platform. A path led to the other side, while the mountain continued upward, and the wind blew stronger here. He moved forward, climbing a bit further along the cliffside until he reached another part that led him away from that mountain and toward another with a plain.

But as soon as he stepped onto this new area, he noticed a vast chasm. What caught his attention most, however, were the Imperial fighters passing overhead, heading further along their path in the sky. Instinctively, Cal pressed his back against the rocks, avoiding the pilots' line of sight. After all, he couldn't afford to be detected by their radars.

Once the fighters were far enough away, he finally stepped out of his small hiding spot to assess the situation. This part of the mountain connected directly to another, but that wasn't all. Cal spotted a large abandoned village on the plain, filled with stormtroopers patrolling the area and inspecting houses that appeared to have been deserted for a long time.

"Did the Zeffos really live here? That's strange... The houses are way too small," Cal murmured thoughtfully, recalling the giant creatures known as this civilization. "These small houses would fit an average human. Maybe servants and helpers lived here..." Cal concluded.

He studied the area, observing the routine of the troops for five minutes while BD-1 also analyzed, zooming in and out with its mechanical eye.

"BD-1, show me the map you have of the mountains," Cal requested.

BD-1 nodded, projecting a hologram in front of him and displaying the mountains, forming a complex range. The main mountain, not far away, was Cal's objective. The map also marked the enemies detected by the Mantis, and there were many of them, not counting the ones that the radars couldn't pick up.

"Great, you can turn off the map," Cal said.

BD-1 deactivated the hologram and returned to Cal's shoulder, who continued observing the scene ahead. There were at least forty stormtroopers in the area, and drawing attention would be unwise at the moment. He took his first step toward the location.

He moved carefully, taking a concealed path and slipping past the first enemies, the sound of the wind masking his movements as he entered the village. With the help of the Force, he could sense any patrols approaching, keeping himself hidden as he advanced through the houses, using the enemies' blind spots.

"There's nothing in these long-abandoned houses. Some stormtroopers still linger here, scavenging old things from the village," Cal remarked as he passed them unnoticed.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 attempted to inform him of something, while Cal nodded, hiding from a group of three stormtroopers passing by as he stayed in an alley.

"I'm trying to contact post OX-65, but something seems to be interfering with the landing platform, and I'm getting no response," murmured one of the stormtroopers, unaware of the small droid perched on Cal's shoulder.

Cal calmly moved through the village, slipping past all the stormtroopers as he advanced toward the next area. His goal was the largest mountain in the canyon.

Entering the cliffs again to avoid the village troops, he continued his journey, which became slightly more challenging. Besides evading new patrols, there were far more Imperial fighters flying close to the mountains, forcing Cal to stay hidden constantly.

He eventually reached an area where new Imperial installations had been set up, all operating to extract resources from the planet.

"Beep-beep!" BD-1 made a comment, pointing at the giant turbines ahead, which currently blocked Cal's path.

Cal observed the enormous turbines spinning with the mountain winds, generating energy for the Imperial facility's generators. They blocked the path, making crossing dangerous.

"Leave it to me," Cal murmured. He closed his eyes and focused, visualizing the turbines coming to a stop. Using the Force, he raised his hand and projected a kind of force field at the turbine—a unique ability of Cal Kestis—which caused the turbine to slow down until it began spinning in slow motion, just enough for him to pass.

Cal ran with BD-1 on his shoulder and jumped from the cliff onto the spinning turbine at the perfect moment. Using it as a springboard, he launched himself to the other side, kicking off the metal to propel himself further. When he landed safely, the turbines resumed their normal rotation.

"Well, that's one part down. Let's keep going," he said, satisfied as he felt himself growing stronger in the Force.

They continued along the path, facing more and more obstacles, both mechanical and natural. As they climbed the mountain, Cal noticed the area was swarming with stormtroopers and Imperial fighters patrolling the vicinity. There were far more than before, as this seemed to be the main area of their operation. The Empire was actively building structures on the mountain, adding generators and mechanical components.

He remained extremely cautious, ensuring he didn’t draw the attention of all the enemies at once.

“Cal!” a voice suddenly crackled through his radio, startling him.

“Cere? Be careful! We might be intercepted by the Empire,” Cal warned.

“I know. But you need to be aware of something,” Cere replied before continuing. “A storm is coming. You shouldn’t stay exposed.”

Cal looked up at the horizon. At first, he saw nothing, but soon he noticed dark clouds beginning to engulf the mountain ahead.

“Understood. Thanks,” he responded, though he didn’t seem overly concerned. After all, he had already reached the main mountain, and the sky was growing increasingly ominous.

He entered a larger Imperial facility, bigger than any he had encountered so far, while scanning the area. “This was built recently,” he thought. “That means they’re focusing their efforts on excavating this mountain more than anywhere else...” Cal knew this was where the Zeffo temple he sought was located.

Cal carefully moved into a corridor, spotting at least eight stormtroopers stationed at the other end, talking casually, bored with their work on this planet.

“We can’t get past them without being seen, but if we act quickly, we can handle this,” Cal murmured, deciding to fight since he had no other choice.

"BD-1, can you cut the power to this room?" he asked the droid.

“BEEP!” BD-1 chirped in agreement and jumped to a wall connector. Using its access tool, it began plugging in and turning it. Suddenly, all the lights in the corridor went out simultaneously.

“What was that?” one of the stormtroopers muttered, startled, as he looked around for answers.

“Not again! The generator must have gone out. Send someone to check,” another stormtrooper ordered.

The soldiers nodded, and one of them began to radio in. But before he could finish the call, a glowing blade sliced through the darkness, severing the stormtrooper’s head.

“What the…” another trooper stammered, stepping back in alarm. He tried to shout, but he couldn’t finish before Cal drove his lightsaber into his chest, killing him instantly. Using the Force, Cal slowed the movements of three nearby stormtroopers, leaving them frozen in place.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth stormtroopers quickly raised their weapons, but Cal deflected their blaster shots, sending the bolts back to the first two, hitting them squarely and killing them. He then advanced on the eighth soldier, pulling him toward himself with the Force and impaling him with his lightsaber.

Finally, he dealt with the remaining three who were still trapped in the Force’s slow-motion effect, finishing all eight enemies.

"We’re done here. Let’s move on," said Cal.

BD-1 swiftly restored the power, climbed onto Cal’s shoulder, and activated its flashlight. Together, they proceeded down the dark corridor toward the mountain’s core.

Meanwhile, in one of the early Imperial facilities, situated in a large excavation site carved into the mountain, a room overlooking the dig site was filled with large glass panes. The Second Sister stood there, watching the work of the excavators. There was little else for her to do on this world since she had received no further news about the mysterious Jedi she had encountered on Bracca.

Everything seemed ordinary as she stood still, gazing down at the workers below. Suddenly, a guard stationed nearby raised his arm in acknowledgment as a small hologram of another stormtrooper appeared.

"There’s a problem in the first facilities..." the hologram murmured, concerned.

"I see," another stormtrooper responded, receiving the report according to the Imperial system.

"Is there an issue?" asked the cold, mechanical voice of the Second Sister, her dark-helmeted gaze fixed on the stormtrooper. He swallowed hard before addressing the Imperial Inquisitor.

"We’re experiencing power issues in the initial entry facilities... The power was cut," the soldier replied.

"Power issues? That’s all?" she inquired, her tone skeptical as she began to sense something through the Force.

"No. We’ve also lost contact with the team stationed as guards in that area. None of them are responding. The personnel inside, monitoring the systems in the main control rooms, also can’t determine what’s happening," the soldier explained cautiously, aware of the authority and danger posed by the woman above him.

The Second Sister instinctively lifted her gaze, attempting to sense more through the Force, but only silence greeted her efforts.

"Send a team to investigate. We have enough power reserves; this shouldn’t have affected us. Something unusual is happening," she commanded firmly.

"It will be done," responded a soldier with a red pauldron, marking him as a leader. He quickly relayed the orders to his subordinates.