A New Temple on Teth

[Shryke]

PVP and Death/Capture Enabled

Shryke the Harch Jedi stood at the bridge outside the doors of the massive B'omarr monastery that lay nestled deep in the jungles of Teth. The B'omarr monk order was a burgeoning religion that was beginning to spread all over the galaxy but they had several monasteries located here on planet. The one where Shryke was standing on had been one of their earliest monasteries before the Order had abandoned it in order to move to a location with, greater square footage, better insulation, and less of a rat infestation. However, to Shryke, it seemed the perfect building.

When certain members Jedi Order had began floating the idea of establishing a new Jedi Temple somewhere in the galaxy, Teth had immediately sprang to Shryke's mind. He'd been here before during that fateful day when he'd lost a battle and his saber to that Kaleesh monstrosity. While that day had been a terrible one for him, his exploration of the jungle and subsequent healing by the local villagers gave him a certain familiarity with the land and the B'omarr order. While the enigmatic, self-harming monks were quite odd and of a belief system that did not line up entirely with that of the Jedi, Shryke considered them reasonable enough to talk to them about the Order possibly using this abandoned monastery to establish a new Temple here. Teth's remoteness would serve the Temple well as it would be safe from Exiles and other enemies who would not think to look in the far reaches of Wild Space for Jedi. It's jungle habitat and dangerous flora and fauna would be an excellent place for young Jedi to train their wilderness survival skills and become one with the Living Force that Shryke could feel pulsating all throughout the ecosystem. Furthermore, its location in Hutt Space would be able to give the Jedi a good glimpse into Hutt activities in this sector and be able to warn the Order if things were happening. All told, it was a good spot and Shryke was happy to provide it to the Order. Unfortunately, the Order requested that he be a part of the scouting team for the Temple and Shryke would have much rather been off hunting down Exiles. Still, everybody had to their part and, so, Shryke was here.

The monks seemed open to the idea of giving the abandoned temple over to the Jedi without a fuss but they did have a stipulation, as the monk before Shryke and the other Jedi that had accompanied him was stating.

"As I was telling the Harch here, this monastery may be abandoned but certain artifacts and texts have not been yet. This monastery has been plagued by tomb raiders, treasure hunters, and even some Cartel thugs. Our secrets about death and healing are supposed to be only known to us but that hasn't stopped people - including some Jedi Exiles - from seeking such forbidden knowledge. Of course, most are just here for our artifacts and pottery. I hear it fetches quite the high price on the black market. We can't evacuate our treasures fast enough and we've heard that a party of raiders seeks to attack this place again this evening. If you Jedi can help defend the secret archives over in that tower there, you can have this temple." the monk said, pointing to the tower on the other side of the bridge that contained all of the texts, vessels, and treasures of the B'omarr order.

"If you become overwhelmed, you could always retreat to the main chambers - the doors and walls are strong enough to be able to shield from most asaults. I should say though that my superiors will be most displeased if you retreat without defending our secrets." the B'omarr monk explained, gesticulating where everything was.

"You can count on us Jedi! We won't let you down - whoever is attacking this place will find that they've made a serious mistake!" Shryke vowed, hammily activating his lightsaber to emphasize his point. The monk took a step back at the sudden movement and put a finger to his temples. He really hoped that his advocating for the Jedi to his superiors wouldn't backfire on him.

 

[Staja Retturzac]

Focus.

That was the goal of a Jedi, wasn't it? Tuning out the nagging impressions of mortal life to come to understanding of the force and it's ways. The teachings rang hollow to her now, contrary to the heavy weight in her heart, the indignance she felt. What was the point of understanding something so uncaring, so casually wasteful of the lives of her friends?

She'd heard the news, later than most, probably, on the long hyperspace journey to Teth. The destruction on Ossus, victory on Ryloth. All the mixed emotions that came with those events. And then a footnote in the great scheme of things, a name among so many: Jutt, Keldar. Dead. Killed in action. Shot from behind by some exile on some backwater planet in the Inner Rim. He'd been trying to flee, and they shot him anyway.

Staja hadn't known the old human so well, it was true, but to her he'd been closer than most. A voice of confidence, real confidence, not the half-hearted hypotheticals she'd been fed or the hard-won gruff acceptance she'd gotten on Cholganna.

And just like that, as quickly as she had read the news from the screen, Kel was gone.

She'd smashed the datapad in a fit of apoplectic fury. Surprised at her own reaction, the Selonian had calmed somewhat, disposing of the shattered thing before she thought anyone would notice. Rage, despair – these were not the marks of the Jedi. Keldar would have disapproved, she knew. More still of the hatred she'd felt for the exiles – the monster that had cut him down – a feeling she was quicker to suppress.

She was with Shryke again, after all. If he knew what happened, he pushed through it, resilient as ever. She admired the Harch, envied him a bit, even. For him, she'd stay strong, and focused on the task at hand. For Keldar, she'd try to move on. But Staja would never forget, and she would never forgive the exiles for what they'd done.

Staja, consumed by her own thoughts as she was, managed to miss most of what the old monk said. It was only the mention of exiles that brought her back to reality, twitching whiskers and a rise in the fur on her tail enough to illustrate the sudden jolt of anger she felt before the Selonian composed herself once more.

As Shryke lit up his lighstaber, she drew her own, though she kept it off for the moment, feeling the CZBP-9 Light Blaster Pistol holstered opposite to it on her chest and making sure it was still snug in it's holster. She hated blasters, but she wasn't going to let the foe have any advantage over her like they'd had with Kel.

"Yes, let them come," she said, casting a side glance to Shryke, his readiness fueling her own shallow, vengeance-fueled courage. "It'll be the last mistake they ever make."

 

[Kane]

Kane looked around as Shryke spoke to the odd little monk. He hadn't had much chance to speak to the Harch but so far he liked his style. This would be a good place for the Jedi to take up residence, especially if they could broker an alliance with the B'omarr.

Staja seemed to be suppressing something, sje was focused on the moment but Kane could tell something kept trying to come up in the Selonian's mind. He imagined it may be caused by the death of the old Shadow...what was his name again? Jutt. Kane hadn't met the man but he had read the death report. He read all of them. He also recalled reading some mission files about Jutt from his war efforts. Kane was getting off track here. Staja would be a good ally to have. That Kane was sure of.

As the other Jedi made their declarations of confidence Kane checked his Vibro-claws, making sure they were buckled tight under his Jedi robes. "Yep. Raider, thrill seeker, treasure hunter, exile. Doesn't matter. They won't be leaving the place under their own power."

 

[Ekaj]

Ekaj stood silently as the others spook to the monks. These monks where a strange type. Even if had been wearing his robes he would of stood out among them. Now wearing his Armour with his lightsaber and blaster hidden by a green brown camouflaged poncho, the dart gun the only weapon he had visible slung over his back.


He would prefer not to have kill any one or anything. But both the thriving life on this planet and the taste the monks had given them made it unluckily that they would get through the day with out a fight. Still Ekaj could hope.

 

[Eivor Vivas]

All she needed to hear was the word: Treasure.

However, hearing there were Jedi there to weed out also was a plus, a slight annoyance that they seemed to be everywhere, but the idea of watching them be uncomfortable made the young Exile feel giddy inside. She inhaled the warm humid air, observing the B'omarr temple, from behind the tree line, her presence masked to avoid immediate detection. That wasn't to say her companions joining her were doing the same thing and would have been rather disappointed if they were arrogantly emitting with the dark side.

She knew one of the Exiles by name, Dennys. Meeting him at the Canto Bight Casino party was an experience one would be unable to forget. The night was filled with the most unusual music and dancing, but she had a blast. It was something she could have never done while she was a Jedi and it was moments like those that made her feel proud of her choice.

Eivor glanced at Dennys, he was dressed like a guerrilla solider ready to twist necks and spray down bad guys with his rifles. Though she swore she thought she saw him carrying a box. The redhead's presence slowly grew in the shadows of the Force, shuddering to her beckoning as she prepared to strike.

"Dibs on the shiniest gem inside." she gave a wry grin.

 

[Rallick Nom]

Ral would never have placed Teth on the top of any list of places he wanted to visit. But then neither would he have placed Nar Shaddaa on any such list, and visit the planet he had. Multiple times. All because of the simple fact that he was a hunter, and where his prey went he followed. At first he had simply been tracking down exiles, trying to find a prominent group to align himself with. The easiest way had seemed to be to stir up enough trouble, catch someone's eye, and let them come to him. But now that he had caught the whiff of combat, he found himself seeking out Jedi simply for the thrill of the fight. He felt more alive with his life on the line than he ever had in his life.

So going round hunting Jedi had become more or less his job description. After Telos, he had received word that his talents might be required on Teth, and so he had made his way to the planet. Armed with his usual weapons and armor, along with the second blade he had claimed on Nar Shaadda, he had a new toy hidden away beneath the sleeve of his left hand. He had been sent to pick a fight, and so he had come prepared for one.

As one of his companions, the redhead, spoke up about calling dibs on the shiniest one, Ral let out a chuckle. How far had the Jedi fallen that this had become a game for the exiles. "You wanna pick one as well? I'll happily take the leftovers." He looked at Dennys as he opened himself up to the Force and started preparing to use it to attack his leftover.

 

[Dennys Waszylla]

Dennys was pleased that he fit into his old combat uniform, his fanny packs traded for survival packs that were firmly strapped to his outfit to not allow them to be messed with by pesky Force users. It was camouflaged, specifically in the colors of the temple that they were in, and he had cardboard box in the style of the kind used by the monks to pack their goods and artifacts at his side. He knew Eivor, yet hadn't met Rallick yet. Still, they were his team, and he would NOT allow his team to go into this without giving it his all. He knew the young lady was more powerful than him, thus she didn't have any reason to follow his orders, but he hoped that they were all there for the same thing anyway. His Guardian Hold-out blaster was in his hand, tightly gripped so it couldn't be pulled away, and his rarely-used lightsaber was in his survival pack in easy reach but hidden from the sight of the Jedi.

"Hmm, it's a good thing there aren't any security cameras." His voice was a bit more gravelly than usual, perhaps because he was channeling the power of a pure BADASS alongside the Force at the moment. For now he was using it as was his specialty, to conceal his presence in the Force and camouflage himself from those trying to sense him as much as possible. "You two can have anything you want. All I'm here to do is kick some ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of bubble gum. I think. Yeah, fresh out." He had to take a moment to think about it, but his head snapped back to the mission quickly. He'd given the two his personal commlink frequency, meaning they could communicate with each other no matter where they went. He had also given it to anyone else that had joined their side, all to keep coordinated. He gesture to a climbing kit he had 'borrowed' from the town they had landed in. "I'll climb up to the roof and give you guys an eye in the sky. Keep in contact and trust in each other. I know that might sound weird but we need to show these Jedi that we're here to stay, that they can't deny us our right to live how we want." He gestured to his camera as he talked, making for the perfect observation tool, before giving them each a smile to raise their morale. He believed in them, and if they believed in him they'd have a clear advantage.

 

[Shryke]

"Well, I certainly hope so. I am leaving, now. The Temple is yours to defend now. I'd wish you luck but neither of our religions believe in such nonsense." the B'omarr monk said, nodding at the Jedi before being true to his word and leaving for another, far safer temple. Shryke, seeing that the boy Ekaj looked a little hesitant at the prospect of taking a life, sent him to go scout the surrounding jungle for possible escape routes and fall-back points. Shryke had met the boy before - he was a good kid but he didn't want to put anyone in danger that wasn't comfortable with it. Besides, scouting would be useful and it wouldn't hurt the boy's ego as much. He then turned to his remaining Jedi companions, Shryke and Kane.

Kane was once a fellow Crusader. Shryke could be misremembering but he was pretty sure they'd once been on a Crusader mission before. Regardless, he hadn't had much of a chance to meet the old human's acquaintence, really only knowing him in passing but from what Shryke did know of the man, it seemed he'd be a good fit for the nature of this mission. Defending a temple from unknown enemies, possibly Exiles, required dedicated, hardened warriors and Kane seemed he fit the bill.

Staja, on the other hand, he knew better. She was a promising Jedi with a lot of potential but she was plagued with self-doubt and was always a bit too eager to please. Shryke liked the Selonian and was glad to be on a mission with her but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit worried about her on this mission. He didn't doubt the girl's combat ability - she'd survived Exiles on Telos and had been getting better with each sparring session - but he knew that Keldar's death had hit her hard. Shryke had liked the Jedi well enough but he'd been getting used to losing friends, sad to say. He'd keep on eye on Staja today, he resolved.

"Alright, my good Jedi! Let us talk strategy and figure out which positions we shall take!" Shryke bellowed.

 

[Kane]

Kane was excited to get to see some of the B'Omarr artifacts, he had always been fascinated by various religions and this would provide great insight to him.

He thought he could feel a presence nearby. He couldn't tell if it was Exiles or not, but he was concerned. "Perhaps the first steo we should take is to fortify a position. I don't much care for being exposed like this."

Kane pulled his saber from his belt, ready to activate it at a moments notice once things went down.

 

[Staja Retturzac]

"If they are coming for the archives, that is where we should be."

Staja could also feel a certain disturbance, though she dismissed it as her own overactive nerves and emotional distress. Certainly it would be some time before the raiders would arrive, right?

She pulled her robes closer around herself, effectively concealing her holstered blaster.

"Maybe we can ambush them."

 

[Eivor Vivas]

Eivor was feeling pretty good about this. Probably better than she was feeling when she went to Ryloth. She questioned if she would ever go with a psychopath warlord again, with the exception if she was really the psychopath warlord, but after that trip, she decided to steer clear of some of the more eccentric dark Masters that were roaming the galaxy. The girl let her thoughts drift for a while longer before pulling herself back. They remained in the cover of the forest, and she glanced at Ral who offered to take any leftover treasure and then her other companion spoke, informing of his plan.

"Hopefully the Jedi there will have some bubble gum for you when you kick their asses." she said quietly and wrapped an arm around Ral's waist, "I hope you like games," she glanced at Ral and then back at Dennys, "We'll distract them until you can get onto the roof."

Eivor was a trickster at heart, if her games brought comfort regardless of their outcome, as long as there was a beneficial opportunity for herself. "Ok, its called Get Help, you think you can do that?" she asked him with a wry grin, "Its pretty fun to see their faces afterward." Eivor tucked herself under Ral's right, bury ing her head into him, giving the impression she was gravely injured.

When Ral was ready, she would move weakly with him, while recalling the pain of injury as she projected despair and exhaustion to their Jedi targets.

 

[Rallick Nom]

Ral was a little confused by what the red-head meant by get help, but he understood soon enough, and couldn't help but grin at the stupidity of it and the very high probability of it actually working. The Jedi, after all, were normally a trusting bunch. "Alright, let's do this. Let's go get help."

He began walking, Eivor moving with him, and Ral let go of the Force, not wanting to give himself away as an exile by shouting out in the Force. You went explosive when the time called for it, but sometimes being sneaky could be just as efficient. And Ral was totally on board with taking the path that worked best in any given situation. If Eivor wanted to go sneaky then he was fine with that.

As they would get close to the Jedi position on the bridge, Eivor half walking half getting dragged along in a very convincing impression of an injured person, Ral shouted out to them. "Get help! Please, my sister is hurt!" They must be ten meters from the Jedi now, and Ral didn't stop his act. "Please, there are these men behind us, they brought the walls down on us. Help her, please." The trap was set, now for Dennys to spring it.

 

[Dennys Waszylla]

As his companions jumped into action, so did Dennys. This was the kind of thing he was built for, not just as a veteran of war but as a lifetime tourist and thrill seeker. He was in perfect physical shape and had done this kind of thing hundreds of times by this point in his life. Aiming the grapple line he shot it with a sound of rushing air from the canister, something that would be near impossible to hear from the other side of the temple through the walls and trees, and smiled as he saw the grappling hook catch on the roof. A few pulls to check the security of the line later and he was climbing up the line as quickly as any trained climber could. Plus he knew that he looked damn good in the sneaking suit he was wearing.

By the time his companions had made their way into the temple area to try to pull off their surprise, Dennys would be able to make it halfway up the temple to get to it's ceiling. The stone was weathered and cracked in places, making it easy to climb up and get a hold of as needed. He had also released his control over the Force to keep others from sensing him, as his sneaking would need to be the most important part of the operation. These Jedi would never know what hit them, as his path up the side of the temple was not in sight of the bridge and he was making almost no noise as he climbed. There also wasn't any modern surveillance, so no cameras or other alarms to be triggered by his unorthodox ascent. This would be the almost perfect assault.

 

[Shryke]

Shryke peered down at the two below calling up loudly for help, almost snorting with laughter. If Shryke hadn't been to Teth before and hadn't been healed by the locals and spent time in their villages the last time he was here, he almost certainly would have believed the two's ploy. But nobody on this planet ever came to the B'omarr for help. It wasn't hard to see why - the monks just plain creeped people out. They had a disdain for physical bodies and their idea of "enlightenment" was to remove themselves from their physical shells as much as possible. With such a new and strange religion having recently popped up on Teth, rumors of them kidnapping children to take their brains and put them in jars abounded among the simple, tight knit communities of the locals. Shryke himself didn't believe such rumors and he certainly didn't believe the story that the two below were giving. Plus, they were claiming that they had escaped from someplace with walls? There wasn't a walled village around for miles - hell there weren't really any villages around for miles. The Jedi had chosen this spot as a potential temple because it was isolated. These two were lying or Shryke was a rancor's uncle. He knew raiders when he saw them. They must be assuming that he, Kane, and Staja were mere mercenaries hired to protect the treasures, that they could be easily tricked into letting them in. They would show them how wrong that assumption was and how nobody should ever mess with Jedi.

"They're lying. Trust me." Shryke quickly whispered to his companions before getting up close to the edge of the bridge and calling down to the two below.

"Welcome friends! We can surely shelter you here!" he bellowed. As he said the word "shelter" though, he suddenly sprang into action. His six hands all grasped his saber and with the power of multiple limbs, he was quickly able to carve a two meter chunk of the bridge off. With a war cry, the Harch sent a concentrated Force Push towards the stone chunk's center. Gravity was already sending the chunk downwards towards the Exiles but Shryke's Push sent it closer and broke it apart so that now the two Exiles would have to contend with numerous fragments of stone hurtling towards them.

 

[Kane]

Kane saw the two people approach. He thought their claim strange due to how isolated this place was. He also hadn't heard anything. Somewhere this isolated would have allowed the sound of walls coming down to travel for miles. It was a thin ruse and when Shryke spoke up Kane's suspicions may as well have been confirmed. He didn't know the Harch well yet but he was a Crusader like Kane had been in his younger days and that solidified his word to the old Jedi.

As Shryke launched his impressive attack Kane used the Force to sand several small bricks hurtling from the cut section of bridge, making sure to point the hot molten edges of the stone towards the would-be attackers.

Without waiting to see if they hit their mark, Kane activated his saber with a hiss and a flash of yellow light before taking up a position back to back with Shryke in an old Crusader defensive maneuver. If this was a trap as they suspected Kane figured there would be someone coming from the other side as well and did not want the Harch to be caught off guard. As they were outdoors and had room kane thumbed the lengthbadjuster on his saber, extending it to just over one meter to give better coverage.

The Force flowed through Kane, ready to speed and strengthen his movements. "And so it begins." He said, ready for whatever came next.

 

[Staja Retturzac]

Staja wasn't sure what to make of the newcomers. Certainly the timing was convenient, and the story somewhat sketchy, but that didn't necessarily prove anything. Luckily for her, Shryke made up his mind about them, sending rock and debris down at them with a slice of his blade and a strong force push. She trusted the Harch's judgement, with her life if need be.

Drawing her blaster pistol in a rapid motion, saber still clutched tightly in her other hand, the Selonian fired three bolts in quick succession behind Shryke's boulder. One aimed for the man's left leg and two for the supposedly injured woman at his side, both aiming for center of mass.

Stooped over as her targets were, feigning helplessness, she wondered for a split second if they would be capable of dodging her attacks. Certainly no mere raider or helpless villager could, not with Shryke's boulder coming at them.

Igniting her lightsaber's green blade, she silently prepared herself need she have to defend against any retaliating strikes from the humans below.

 

[Eivor Vivas]

All they needed was a distraction for Dennys and to get close enough to the bridge for their onslaught. However, Eivor would admit her surprise seeing neither of the Jedi offered really to help them. Though with how she was treated within the Order, she decided surprise wouldn't be the correct term, in fact, it well described the Jedi perfectly: callous.

The six armed (or at least Eivor thought he was six-armed) Jedi had made his decision, cutting out the stone of the excessively long bridge and blasting it at the Exile couple. However, due to the length of the bridge, and the Jedi being positioned near the archive end and Ral and Eivor being closer to the Main Chambers, they would have plenty of time to move out of the way of the incoming stone. Eivor pushed herself away from Ral, splitting away from one another in order to handle the Jedi on either side of the bridge. In this movement, Ral and Eivor would clear the stone and any of the blaster bolts fired by the giant weasel Jedi.

The Force was at the dark woman's beckoning as the energies were emitted from her palms, sending a push into the Jedi group to throw them off the bridge. Even if they were successful in evading the attack, the push would still rock the bridge, weakening its infrastructure. Eivor was not inexperienced with battle, she knew the Jedi would try to take advantage of any reach they could get on the Exiles, however, the Force coiled to the girl as quickly as before, ready to strike or defend.

 

[Rallick Nom]

Ral shared Eivor's opinion of the actions of the Jedi. Even if they suspected them to be Exiles, they had no way to know for sure. And to attack innocent civilians on a simple hunch, now that wasn't very Jedi like of them. The Order really was a broken, hollow shell of what it once used to be. If these were what passed for Jedi nowadays then all the Exiles who had left the Order all those years ago had been more than justified in their actions.

Ral smiled as the many armed Jedi showed up at the edge of the bridge and shouted before pulling out his blade and attempting to cut through the rocks. Still standing at the edge as he was, Ral swiftly pulled his blaster as he and Eivor separated and fired away three shots aimed at the Jedi's head. Occupied as he was with slashing away at the bridge, the Jedi would be too busy to spot or avoid the bolts. If the shots hit then the Jedi would have no ammunition to launch towards them, but even if they did manage to launch the bricks and pieces of bridge at them the distance between them would work in the favor of the Exiles. He was able to easily step out of the way of the projectiles, igniting his own blade and slashing away at some of the smaller ones rather than try to dodge them.

As Eivor's attack would hit the Jedi, and if it managed to push them off the bridge, Ral would use the opportunity to fire off three more shots at the older looking Jedi who had tried to launch the bricks at them. Aimed for his chest, and following his descent as he fell, Ral aimed to catch him as he was helpless as he fell.

 

[Dennys Waszylla]

And just like all the other times Dennys had been rope climbing, this instance was completely uninterrupted by anything that would have caused him to fall or otherwise impeded his climb. His momentum allowed him to finish climbing the rest of the way easily, where he quickly wound up the line to the grappling gun that he had used and put securely on his back in case he had to use it for later. Keeping low, he started to make his way across the roof which was quite easy to navigate. There was also a lip around the edge of the roof that would give him the perfect place to observe while in cover. He heard the sound of combat beginning as he got fairly close, knowing that his comrades would need him shortly.

He arrived behind cover overlooking the bridge just as Rallick fired his three shots at the older looking Jedi who had tried to launch bricks at the two of them. He took out his blaster yet mainly stayed behind cover at the moment, observing the battlefield while keeping to the shadows as best he could. As he had done his homework and had come dressed in a suit and camouflage the color of the temple, he would be very hard to spot randomly without binoculars or similar optics. The attention of the Jedi were also focused on the fight below, making his position even more secret. He would observe the fight for now, waiting for his opportunity to strike. He trusted in his companions and would back them up in any way they needed. He was even willing to lay down his life for them. That wasn't something he learned in the Jedi, who had only ever taught him how to kill his own kind.

 

[Shryke]

While Rallick was right in surmising that Shryke was occupied in slashing the bridge, the Exile was less than correct in the assertion that the Harch Jedi Knight wouldn't see the bolts coming. After all, slashing a bit of bridge was easy enough to do and didn't require that much focus and therefore, most of his six eyes were looking down towards the Exiles so he could see where to aim his hunk of bridge. Seeing the shots coming plus the distance from the ground to the bridge plus the fact that Shryke was near the edge of the bridge not actually on the edge itself meant it was a simple matter for the Harch to shift his body lower and to the right while still cutting. He was still able to get off his makeshift projectile while the bolts sailed harmlessly either over him or to the left.

Going to the ground did him another favor as Eivor was sending a Force Push towards the Jedi. While the distance involved dissipated the Force blast somewhat and Shryke being low to the ground meant he could easily keep his feet planted, he was still impressed to feel the bridge shake and rumble a bit. It didn't collapse, thank the Force, but a Force Push of that magnitude was impressive by any standards, let alone in combat. While the Harch Jedi Knight had been sure that the two people they'd seen so far had been raiders, he hadn't realized until now that these people weren't just common thugs but actual Exiles. Ordinarily - this would be cause for joy. Shryke was a Crusader at heart, after all, and nothing quite gave him the thrill as seeing an Exile, meeting them in combat, and ending their miserable existence to keep the galaxy that much more peaceful. Even losses against the Exiles often made him a better fighter and gave him something to work on. However, this was different - Staja was here. While he wasn't her master, he held a certain degree of responsibility towards the young Selonian and, while a capable fighter and a hardworking Jedi, he was still worried that Keldar's recent death might tempt her into doing something foolhardy. He didn't doubt her abilities - she'd already once proved her courage against Exile - but he just didn't want anything to happen to the lass. That might provoke him into doing something foolhardy. He wasn't worried about Kane - the man was old enough to have survived enough war and Exiles to know how to handle the traitorous former Jedi.

"To the Archives!" Shryke bellowed with his saber drawn to block any possible incoming projectiles as he backpedaled through the doorless arch that served as the Archive's entrance. Shryke found himself wondering why the monks could not at least put up a stupid door to their hallowed treasure archives. If they were really so worried about pilferers coming into their former monasteries, one would think that they'd invest in the most basic of security measures. The first thing he'd do once the Jedi got ownership of this place would be to put in a damn door, Shryke swore to himself. Once he was inside, he'd set his training remote down on an empty crate. Gazing around quickly inside, Shryke saw that the Archives consisted of three floors. The floor he was currently on had mostly been raided - just empty boxes and bookshelves lined the walls of this floor but there were still a few pieces of minor treasure that hadn't yet been snatched. The second and third floor upstairs would doubtless prove more fruitful to any would be treasure seekers. A spiral staircase stood in the middle of the archives to help reach those upper floors but for now, Shryke just stayed near the doorway, hurrying his comrades inside so that they might plan their next move.