The roar from beneath the Enclave tore through the collapsing chamber, rattling the ancient walls. Dust swept across the floor in choking waves. Cracks spidered up the pillars and along the ceiling.
Obi-Wan reacted instantly.
"Kaelen—move! Now!"
HK-47's vocoder whirred.
"Urgent Encouragement: Flee, Master! While I appreciate a good death trap, today seems premature."
The floor buckled. A massive stone slab fell where Kaelen had been standing seconds before. He rolled aside, coughing as a fresh plume of dust erupted around him.
Obi-Wan caught his arm. "This entire sub-level is collapsing. We need to get out before we're buried alive!"
Kaelen nodded, igniting his saber to cut through falling debris as they sprinted toward the stairwell. HK-47 followed close behind, firing targeted shots to knock loose fragments off their path.
"Commentary: Normally, I would enjoy watching organics panic. But given your status, Master, I will refrain… temporarily."
"Less commentary, more running!" Obi-Wan snapped.
They reached the narrow stairway just as another quake thundered through the chamber. The steps shook violently. Ancient stones cracked and tumbled downward.
Kaelen leapt ahead, using the Force to lighten his steps. Obi-Wan climbed swiftly behind him, steady and controlled. HK-47 clambered upward with uncomfortable ease, magnetic servos gripping the stone like climbing claws.
Behind them, the chamber floor split completely—and something massive shifted below, sending a tremor up the stairwell that nearly knocked them back down.
"Faster!" Obi-Wan urged.
Kaelen reached the top of the stairway first, bursting into the ruined entry hall of the Enclave. Sunlight poured through the cracked dome in golden sheets.
But the tremors hadn't stopped.
Obi-Wan emerged seconds later, HK following—
—and the stairwell behind them caved inward with a terrible grinding roar.
Kaelen turned, chest heaving. "Whatever was down there… it wasn't meant to rise."
Obi-Wan extinguished his saber. "Nor was it meant to be discovered." He paused, looking back at the collapsed passage. "We should inform the Council. Carefully."
HK's photoreceptors glowed softly.
"Observation: Reporting this incident may lead to disassembly, interrogation, or reassignment of this unit. I find all outcomes objectionable."
Obi-Wan gave him a sharp look. "Get used to disappointment."
Unfinished Guidance
They stepped out into the open Dantooine air. The plains stretched endlessly—green, golden, peaceful.
But Kaelen's heartbeat refused to slow.
Revan's holocron was lost beneath the collapse. The ancient creature was dead. The hidden chamber destroyed.
Yet… something was still pulling at him.
A tug in the Force, soft but insistent.
Not backward—forward.
"Master," Kaelen murmured, "the Force is guiding me to something else."
Obi-Wan exhaled slowly. "I feared you'd say that. Any idea what it is?"
Kaelen shook his head. "Only that it's close."
HK chimed in.
"Assistance: I can provide scans within fifty meters. Though my sensors were calibrated for eliminating organics, not finding lost artifacts."
Obi-Wan muttered. "I'm beginning to understand why your 'creator' sealed you away."
HK's tone brightened disturbingly.
"Proud Declaration: My creator valued efficiency. As do I."
Kaelen focused on the Force again, letting its whisper guide his steps.
He moved past fallen columns, across grass that swayed gently in the wind, toward a cracked meditation chamber near the Enclave's southern ridge.
A faint shimmer pulsed beneath a collapsed roof beam.
Kaelen's breath caught. "There."
Obi-Wan stepped beside him. "I don't see anything."
Kaelen extended his hand.
The Force answered.
Stone shifted, lifting slowly. Dust spiraled upward like mist.
And beneath the rubble lay a small object—hexagonal, golden-bronze, engraved with delicate geometric patterns. It glowed faintly, though its light flickered like a held breath.
Obi-Wan inhaled sharply. "Another holocron."
HK leaned in, voice suddenly low.
"Quiet Admiration: The craftsmanship is unmistakable. This is no ordinary Jedi artifact."
Kaelen knelt before it.
The holocron pulsed.
Once.Twice.Then dimmed completely, as though rejecting him.
Obi-Wan frowned. "It isn't activating. Perhaps it's damaged?"
Kaelen shook his head slowly. "No. It's… waiting. It's aware. But it isn't opening."
He reached again—but the holocron flared briefly and pushed his hand away with a gentle but undeniable Force field.
Obi-Wan stepped closer. "It's sentient?"
Kaelen nodded, heart pounding. "And locked. It needs something. Something specific."
HK's photoreceptors dimmed, almost contemplative.
"Speculation: Many ancient artifacts of this design responded to biometric markers… sometimes genetic lineage."
Kaelen felt a chill.
"Blood," he whispered. "It wants a descendant."
Obi-Wan froze. "Of who?"
Kaelen didn't answer.He didn't need to.
The holocron warmed when he moved closer.Dimmed when Obi-Wan took a step.
It recognized him.
It belonged to Bastila.
And it would not open until it confirmed her blood.
Obi-Wan's eyes softened with understanding—and fear. "Kaelen… this isn't just a message. This is a legacy."
Kaelen swallowed. "And I'm the key."
HK crouched beside him.
"Helpful Offer: I can retrieve a blood sample with minimal mess."
"Not now!" Obi-Wan and Kaelen snapped simultaneously.
HK straightened, sounding disappointed.
"Mournful Click: Very well."
Kaelen lifted the holocron gently. This time, it allowed him.Its surface warmed like a heartbeat beneath his fingers.
Obi-Wan noticed movement behind them and tensed—but Kaelen closed his eyes.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked.
Kaelen whispered, "The Force is showing me something."
A flash.Golden towers.Storm clouds.A vault surrounded by metallic vines.
Then nothing.
Kaelen gasped. "Master… the holocron knows where to go. It wants to be taken somewhere."
Obi-Wan's brows pressed together. "And you're certain about this?"
Kaelen met his gaze. "Yes."
The wind shifted suddenly. Cold. Wrong.
HK's sensors clicked rapidly.
"Warning: Motion detected. Multiple lifeforms… approaching."
Obi-Wan turned sharply. "Kath hounds?"
HK shook his head.
"Correction: No. These are… humanoid. Weapons detected. Energy signatures inconsistent with Republic or civilian technology."
Kaelen ignited his saber. "Who are they?"
HK's tone darkened.
"Answer: Unknown. But their formation suggests hunters. And Master… they are coming for you."
The holocron pulsed once—like a heartbeat echoing from a distant war.