Play Testers Wanted Pt. 15

"Click!"

I stopped instantly and felt the pressure against my bare foot.

"Fuck me sideways!" I cursed as I pondered how to deactivate the trap I had partially triggered. I could blink up to thirty meters ahead or behind but there was no guarantee that the traps did not extend in either direction. I had to disarm this. I could not risk the short teleport. Hello multitool. It took time to run the full range of its capabilities. Scan feature looked promising. I touched the button and a thin red beam shot from the business end of the stick. I had to perform three scans since my foot was in the way. The device was simple. I had to trick it into thinking my foot was still there even after I removed it. I activated the manipulator and let the tool do the work. I got a greenlight from the multitool. Wincing I slowly lifted my foot.

"Damn that was intense!" I cursed.

'Remove device? Y/N'

"Hell yeah! Wait. Why would it offer that unless?" I thought aloud. I activated the extraction tool, and it took a steady hand. The multitool showed any hint of tremor in the hand holding it. I unlocked the four restraints and gently lifted it. Once it was in my inventory I could move on. Was I in the middle of a minefield or were there other types of traps or both? The multitool was in cool down state. It was up to me to move slowly and keep an eye out for anything unusual. The thrill level ratcheted up as I moved forward. I remained low to the ground and watched for anything that stood out.

I barely registered the gossamer thin thread just before it broke. I backflipped out of the way as two spinning blades thrust out of opposite sides of the tunnel. I scarcely missed being decapitated or worse. Luckily, I landed and did not trigger another trap. I had lost ground and it was time to make some headway. This was another test of patience. I looked to the ceiling as a way of bypassing at least some of the traps and catch up on what I had lost. I clutched the multitool in my teeth, leapt straight up, and clinging to the ceiling I continued. All my senses were reaching out, especially any hint of danger through the Force.

'Whoa! Something is wrong!' I thought as I felt a chill run through me. I picked up a loose stone from the tunnel's floor and hurled it forward using telekinesis. I nearly lost my grip when two more circular blades made an appearance. This time however they were fired from the floor and the ceiling. Instead of slamming into the rocky roof the upward moving blade vanished from sight, so did the descending blade. I repeated the rock trick watching carefully and it took three more rocks to catch what was going on. The trap designer outdid themselves on this one. There were two sets of sheaths for the blades opposite of each other. When the trap is triggered the bottom blade is fired into the empty slot in the roof and vice versa. The mechanism switches and the next time it is triggered the trap launches the slots that carry a blade. Ingenious!

I found the upper sensor and disarmed then removed it. I triggered the lower sensor and now both blades were housed in the ceiling. This created an error loop since the bottom mechanism was now empty. I dropped down carefully and repeated the process. I now had two sensitive sensors in my possession. This really felt like it was building up to something big to me. I remained on the floor of the tunnel. It was clear to me that all the surfaces of this passageway could and probably did hold sensors or triggers of some kind. It was slow going but I was making progress and that is all that mattered.

The tunnel began to slowly change. Gone was the narrow rectangular slot, now the tunnel was becoming a rounded tube. I halted when the rough rocky floor smoothed to a tiled corridor. This screamed death trap and while the floor was smooth the walls and ceiling remained rough and there were regular protrusions covering them. I opened my inventory and removed a bag of Republic credits. The coins hopefully had enough weight to trigger any pressure plate hidden amongst those tiles.

"Ting! Whir-whir! Plunk!" The first coin landed true. I would explore the middle tiles first and if need be the outer ones. "Ting! Whir-whir! Plunk!" Patience. Twenty coins later and I felt a surge of Dark Side energy but nothing obvious happened. I grabbed the coins back using telekinesis. A second and even more potent cloud of energy filled the area but again there was no visible effect.

"Fuck!" I cursed. Something was going on, but I could not see what it was. The Song of Revelation is what is required.

'Remember Ghost, while you are gifted at stealth you are not alone,' Nightwind stated. 'This melody will reveal that which is hidden. Whether it is invisible foes or other less tangible threats, this will divulge that which is obfuscated.'

I sat crossed legged with the bag on my knee. I sang the Song of Revelation and once it filled the area, I began to toss the coins. This time there was a rhythm to it. I matched the tempo and multiple coins hung in the air and landed simultaneously. The surge rose stronger than ever and the danger was revealed. Shooting from behind those stony protuberances were high powered infrared lasers. They formed a moving net that swept thirty feet of the tube with lethal efficiency. The song revealed nothing beyond the lasers but that did not mean anything. The song had a range and perhaps the far end of the tube was its range.

"I know that tripping the tiles activates it but does anything else?" I thought aloud. "Let's see if lightning does anything." I sent a bolt of Force lightning down the tunnel, nothing. Interesting. I used Force frost and the lasers and cold mixed to cover the tiles in a thin layer of water. When I sent Ebony Flames down it, the dark illuminated the laser beams. The heat that rolled out was potent enough for me to throw up a Force bubble to protect myself. Two lines of thought crossed my mind. I could try and use a Force shield to protect myself from the deadly beams. Or I could use lightning teleportation and jump to just beyond the tube and risk a second trap on the far side. My gut instinct was to use the quick and dirty method.

"Eh fuck it!" I cursed as I got to my feet, crouched for luck, and hurled my body via Force lightning to just beyond the tube. Nothing. The tunnel did not hold a second trap and the lasers remained dormant. Since I had been collecting portions of traps, I thought I would try and disarm this one and see if any goodies presented themselves. From this vantage point I could see the gleaming faceted gems or crystals hidden behind the rocky bumps in the surface of the wall and ceiling. Like the double blade trap this device relied on a circuit or series of connected parts. Once I removed one of the crystals the entire array went dark. I was able to collect a total of three before my window informed me, I had all I required. "Yep, something big and nasty is waiting for me."

I carefully made my way further down the cylindrical passage making a mental list of what I had collected and various configurations. That damn near cost me my life. I was so caught up in my thoughts I nearly missed the pressure plate. My foot hovered just above it when I fell backwards away from it. I cursed and hummed the Song of Revelation long enough to see the plate clearly and the six devices hidden inside the walls of the tunnel. There were two on either side and two on the ceiling. They were offset so that if someone tried running one of the sets would hopefully catch them midstride. What they fired was unknown, but I suspected it was something different than what I had seen so far.

I had barely gathered that little information when the two clear discs slammed into place and lit up. The one further down the tunnel was static, while the one just behind me was slowly changing. A soft hiss filled the chamber and at first, I thought something was being pumped into the isolated portion of the tube, but I was wrong. The atmosphere was being removed slowly. I examined the panel behind me and found the numerical portion of the display, it was counting down. The rest of the panel was touch sensitive. There were four diamond shaped quadrants. The diamonds were a series of runic characters. I glanced at the unchanging design and it hit me. I had to match the one near me to that of the one down the tunnel and time was running out.

I silently cursed since oxygen was precious. My fingers danced across the surface of the panel and it was a simple touch and replace puzzle. One by one I locked down the diamonds by moving the symbols that represented each elemental group, earth, air, fire, and water. I had a mere ten seconds left when I locked in the last runes, but the timer was still running. I glanced at the far design and saw my mistake. Not only did the runes have to be grouped properly but the blocks of runes had to be in their proper position on the panel.

"Two seconds," I muttered my voice weak from the lack of air. The oxygen rushed in and I grinned. A small cube appeared at my feet. I picked it up and the gatekeeper of the mini-holocron informed me he had but one technique to teach a rare Force discipline called Wind Sword. I sat and let the long dead master teach me the basics and I added it to my arsenal of deadly weapons against my foes. In essence the Wind Sword allowed the user to utilize the Force to harness the atmosphere and create an invisible razor-sharp blade of focused air to wield instead of a lightsaber or fling at foes from a distance. I liked it a lot and looked forward to using it. A window popped into view and offered me a chance to earn a second reward if I was willing to attempt the more difficult level of this puzzle.

'Game Saved. Attempt medium level of puzzle?' Y/N?

Hell yeah! I put the mini-holocron away and prepared myself. A similar set up appeared but there more runes and less time. I slipped into the Flow and time seemed to slow as I used both hands this time to attack the puzzle. I had a mere three seconds left even using the Flow to improve my focus and reaction time. As promised a second mini-holocron appeared and I knelt to greet the gatekeeper. I cried out when I recognized the figure before me.

"Exar Kun!" I stated and the once Jedi now Dark Lord of the Sith bowed.

"My reputation precedes me, good!" He replied and he held up his lightsaber. Anyone at first glance would assume from the length of the weapon that it was in fact a single bladed lightsaber, but it had two beam emitters. It took extreme skill to wield such a weapon. The prize was a tutorial of how he, Exar Kun, fought and won using his personalized weapon. It was built around the ideal of deception. The blades could be shortened or lengthened with a mere thought. The intensity of the blades could also be weakened or strengthened at will. I watched him duel holographic foes and immersed myself into what he called the Ghost Blade Technique. His final words haunted me. "Do not pass this on."

Sith hoarded techniques and power. Was it any wonder a master duelist like Kun would leave me with that warning? I would hoard it. The Ghost Blade would be my hidden weapon when things turned dire. I rose and a window greeted me.

"No fucking way!" I cursed seeing that there was a third and final reward. How the hell could I possibly beat it when I used the Flow last time and barely had any time left? "No guts no glory!" This time the puzzle would not start until I hit the first rune. I stood and stared at the blank surface. I pushed as deep into the Flow as I dared. Any further I risked becoming trapped in the eternal eddies and perishing as an individual and becoming one with the Force before my time. My hand moved of its own accord. I had moved beyond conscious thought and instinct alone guided my movements. My eyes blinked and the reading on the timer was zero. "Damn, I tried though."

A flashing alert caught my attention. The holographic window read 'Results being reviewed'. I stood recovering from pushing myself so hard. I meditated while the Devs or whoever looked at the recording. It must have been damn close to put it under review. I dove into the Ghost Blade technique and imagined myself with the Darksaber performing the moves. I created muscle memory using this technique and soon it felt as natural as Form eight.

"Ding!" A single clear tone brought me out of my lucid state. I looked at the display and smiled. "After a ruling of five to four we agree to grant you the superior level bonus for this test." The third and last mini-holocron appeared. "Study well, no one else has received this skill and we will be observing how well you use it."

Odd, they said how well and not simply how I chose to implement it. Interesting. I eagerly greeted the gatekeeper and again Exar Kun appeared.

"While I hid upon the fourth moon of Yavin Prime I pushed my dueling skills to the next level. Therefore, my apprentice I will reveal to you the one technique I was never able to utilize since the cowardly Jedi and their allies chose to bomb the moon instead of facing me in honorable combat. The advanced form of Jar'Kai is yours and yours alone."

Jar'Kai was the skill of utilizing two lightsabers in combat. Ahsoka Tano was a highly gifted duelist that honed this skill to a razor sharpness. What had Kun discovered that she had not? I watched as a life size image of Exar Kun manifested. He drew out two matching lightsabers, his dual bladed versions. He activated both to begin with but only a single blade from either weapon. He launched into a particularly vicious battle with two Jedi weapon masters. When it appeared, he might be overcome by his enemies, he activated the other two blades and intensified his onslaught. He named this skill after himself, Jar'Kun. It took the most disciplined of students to even attempt this ability. It could be as lethal to the foe as it was the practitioner. I vowed to master Jar'Kun and make him proud. I watched and reviewed the holograms until my eyes burned from the lack of blinking.

I placed the mini-holocrons in the secure portion of my inventory. So, that even if I were killed by another PC, they could not get ahold of them. I stood and the last barrier was removed. It was time to face the boss and claim the third obelisk. I cautiously moved through the last of the tube portion of the passage. A blast door opened, and I entered a white immaculate hexagonal chamber. The obelisk stood in the middle. I read the runes carefully and cringed.

"Fuck!" I cursed. "I had to pick one of the other portals to trap hoping my enemy entered by that one. If not, I would battle it without the benefit of injuring or killing it with the devices I had so carefully collected. I once more slipped into a deep meditation. One of the doors shimmered briefly and that is the only hint I was given. I went to task. I set the pressure plate directly in front of that door. I tied the explosive to it angling it so that the blast was focused on that door. The last objects I collected were poisoned spikes. Those I hid in three ceiling tiles and strike when the sensors were triggered. I held the three crystals I had earned and found no immediate use for them. I placed them in a pocket of the robes I was wearing. My gut screamed they would somehow come in handy and to keep them close.

The runes indicated that once I was ready to touch the obelisk to begin the trial. I let out a few cleansing breaths, took out the Sith sword, and touched the obelisk. I grinned when the door I had rigged opened. The lumbering shape stepped into the room and the explosives went off at ground zero. The thing did not even stagger or take a single misstep. I cursed a blue streak as I got my first good look at it. The thing was over two meters in height and my first impression was of a bald ogre. The thing had no body hair and was clad in only a loincloth. Its musculature was layers of muscle and sinew. It possessed two clawed fingers and an opposable claw that looked like it could cut through starship armor. It strode into the room and the second layer of traps went off. The sensors locked on and fired eighteen poisoned bolts which failed to penetrate the things epidermis.

"Fuck me sideways!" I cursed and lashed out with Wind Sword and flung the razor-sharp burst of air at the creature. Surely this would bisect him and leave him bleeding on the floor. Nope! The technique broke up before making contact. This thing was not resistant to the Force like some races where mind tricks failed to work. Oh no, this fucker ignored the physical aspects of the Force with ease.

"Foolish Sith," it spoke in a deep male voice. "I am Khalish Da Khan, and I eat little Sith like you for amusement."

"What the hell are you?" I asked as I hefted the sword and readied for close quarter combat.

"My people are known as the Dashade. We are the enemies of the Force!" It roared as it moved surprisingly fast. He did not project an anti-Force aura, which I was grateful for, but was personally highly resistant to the Force itself. I felt his left claw land while my sword was engaged blocking his right one. I hissed in pain and sidestepped the brute and slashed his right arm. The blade bit deep enough to draw a thin line of blood. At this rate this was going to be a knock down drag out. "Pitiful Sith!" He attempted to get me in a bear hug, but I ducked and earned a knee to the face. He was a gifted combatant and dirty fighter. I shifted tactics. It would be futile to engage him in a formalized style therefore I resorted to street fighting skills.

"Come on motherfucker! I got your number now!" I cursed and sheathed the Sith weapon and went to hand to hand. While the Force did not work actively it still functioned to heighten my speed, strength, and reaction time. The Dashade roared and its eyes lit up as we closed the distance. While I could not easily penetrate his armored hide, I decided to go for his internal organs and muscles. I channeled the Force into a palm strike and sent kinetic energy directly into his body to see what impact that might have. The blow landed mid chest where his lungs should have been. The brute staggered back and spat out bright blue blood.

"Ha! A challenge at last!" He growled as he hacked up a second mouthful of blood. "Good! Die well Sith!" His attitude had changed from Sith scum to simply Sith.

He was not greatly slowed by the attack but in those immortal words, if it bleeds, we can kill it. I was able to bat away some of his claw attacks but not all. I was bleeding freely from half a dozen lacerations while I continued to batter his insides. I was finally rewarded with a slow but steady trickle of the bright blue fluid from his maw.

"It is at times like this that I wished I knew the five fingered death punch." I remarked and the Dashade laughed.

"I doubt such a thing would avail you," Khalish growled as his breathing became labored. "I have never faced a foe like you."

"You are a worthy adversary," I replied, and Khan's eyes became bright and we circled each other. We were both sluggish from the wounds we had received. I feinted and when he slashed with his dominant claw. I tried to go for his exposed ribs but damn it if he did not spin and slash my left arm. Luckily for me Left caught the brunt of it and turned it away. I committed to my attack and felt one of his ribs break and the Dashade roared. I was too weak to backflip out of the way as he entered a blind rage. I suffered several shallow wounds before the damage took its toll. Khan fell to his knees with a thunderous sound. He was gasping for breath and with another cry he coughed up more blood and looked up and nodded.

"I give you a good death." I said. I charged up my fist and struck his forehead. The sound of his skull shattering was drowned as with the Dashade's death cry. With a gurgling rasp he dropped face first to the floor. I looked down at my dead foe. "Sleep well old soldier." I collected stones and built a cairn around his body. He deserved an honorable burial. I was too weak to use the Force until I meditated and restored myself. I sat crossed legged at his feet and closed my eyes. I replayed the fight in my head to learn from my mistakes and honor the Dashade.