Chapter 44 - Church of the Force Part I

(Don't google the name of this chapter. Now you can't say I didn't tell you. Also, any shot there's an artist or a graphic designer that wants to draw/make a cover for this book? I'll shout you out in the chapter and in the synopsis. Add me on discord ARN3wman#7777 and put your tag in a comment on this paragraph if you're interested.)

It was eerily quiet in the capital city of Christophsis. Despite the fact that there was a war going on, no battle was taking place. This would not remain the case for long as the Republic reinforcements were arriving imminently.

Tyler, Kai, Blaze, and Burn Company were making their way through buildings and alleyways on their way to the monastery in hopes of finding information. Fortunately, they had not run into any patrols so their journey was a quiet one.

A few hours went by and the sounds of battle resumed. The battle in orbit was visible from the surface. General Whorm was currently in talks with General Kenobi to organize the apparent surrender.

By this time, the monastery came into view. Like much of the city, it was wrecked from the endless battle. The gates were torn off their hinges, several chunks were taken out of the walls, and the exterior of the temple was also severely damaged.

As they got closer, they noticed something was off.

Seven looked over towards Tyler. "General, the damages seem more recent than when the battle took place over here."

Tyler nodded. "It does look fresh… shit. Those are scorch marks from a lightsaber. We need to hurry."

They ran forwards and rushed into the monastery. Once they got through the gates, they saw the bodies of monks littered all over the grounds.

Tyler raised his fist. He pointed two fingers in the air and waved them in a circle. This was the signal to comb the area with weapons at the ready.

Tyler ignited his lightsaber and used it as a light. The power had been cut off in this area of the city so it was dark. He fanned off from the rest of the group to cover more ground. The clones remained in pairs while he and Kai went alone.

The front of the monastery had a large courtyard. There were shrines and various places for meditation. There was also a pond with a small waterfall.

Suddenly, something ġrȯȧnėd in despair. Tyler turned to the source of the sound but there was only a girthy tree. Since trees don't talk, there had to be someone behind it.

Tyler slowly approached the tree. As he rounded it, he saw the legs of a person. From what he could see, they were dressed in the robes of a monk. This made him relax so he lowered his saber and approached the person.

What he saw was mortifying. The man had the typical appearance of a monk. He was bald, had toned muscles, and was dressed quite humbly. However, his condition was a different story. Down his torso, there was a huge gash. It was cauterized so the cause was presumably a lightsaber slash.

Tyler rushed over to the monk. "What happened? Are you okay?" He also quickly looked at the man's status while sheathing his saber.

*Level 35*

*Christophsis Human*

Kalim just ġrȯȧnėd in pain. He looked as if he was just moments from death.

Without hesitation, Tyler gently lifted him with the force and laid him down, flat on the ground. He then grabbed the monks robes before ripping open the torso. Fortunately, the gash wasn't too deep. Otherwise, he'd be dead already.

Tyler knelt down and gently placed his right hand on the gash. He then closed his eyes and grabbed hold of the force. Once he was in a meditative state, he willed his life force to be transferred to the monk.

Slowly, Tyler took damage as the monk was healed. The wound gradually closed up and Kalim visibly relaxed.

Kalim relaxed his head and closed his eyes. "Thank you, master Jedi."

Tyler smiled. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

Kalim opened his eyes and stared blankly into the sky. He gazed upon what was visible of the battle taking place in orbit. Bright flashes of light streaked across the sky and countless explosions would follow.

He closed his eyes again and sighed. "I always hoped that this galaxy would not see war in my lifetime. I guess I was not so lucky."

Tyler frowned. "I can only agree with you. Every time someone dies, I can feel it through the force. It is not a good feeling."

Kalim nodded. "I guess the universe spared me by not giving me the gift of the force. I am Kalim. Who are you, master jedi?"

Tyler grasped the monk's hand. "I am Master Draco."

Kalim smiled. "Now that's a name I never expected to hear."

Tyler sighed. "Are there any other survivors?"

Kalim sighed in response. "That is something I do not know. If there are any, I know where to look. Help me up, will you?"

Tyler leaned down and lifted the monk to his feet. "Can you walk?"

Kalim shook his head. "I am not sure if I can. I believe there is a pole arm over there." He pointed at a weapon rack that was somehow untouched.

Tyler reached out and pulled one of the staffs to his hand with the force. He then handed it to the monk. "Lead the way, Kalim."

By the time they reached the entrance to the temple, the others had joined up with them.

The inside of the temple looked as if it was once magnificent. One each side of the central path, there was a large, slightly raised, wooden platform. On the platform, there were prayer mats placed in an orderly pattern. In the front of the room was a large altar. There were countless slots in it for small objects but they were all empty.

Kalim pointed at the altar. "Behind that altar is a hatch. Our bunker is down there."

They walked behind the altar. On the floor was a large rug.

Kalim gestured to it. "Please pull the rug over from the right side."

Seven and Diablo knelt down and pulled the rug as the monk instructed. As they lifted it, there was an interesting mechanism attached to it. There were steel cables attached to a metal bar on the underside of the rug. They ran through a track. Underneath the rug was a notch in the flooring and two grooves that the cables went through. It was designed this way in order to be able to conceal the hatch from the inside.

Diablo lifted the hatch open from the notch. Within was a tight, spiral staircase. The lighting was very gentle. It was just enough to see where one is going.

The monk began making his way down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway made of stone bricks. Each side had small enclaves in the walls that had lightsaber shaped lamps.

At the end of the hall was a wooden door. Once Kalim reached it, he used the staff to push in a brick on the wall. Rather than the door opening, the entire wall slid to the side. It was massive at about 10 feet thick.

Behind the wall was a dark room. A voice suddenly called out. "There is no death."

Kalim replied. "There is the force."

The lights kicked on revealing about 30 monks cowering in fear. One monk stood out from the crowd. He wore dark brown robes, had light brown hair and a full beard that was well maintained.

The man rushed towards Kalim. "Brother Kalim! I thought there were no other survivors."

Kalim nodded. "I am not sure if there are any others, Brother San Tekka."

San Tekka then looked towards Tyler. "Greetings, master jedi. I am Lor San Tekka. Who might you be?"

Tyler wore a warm smile. "I am Master Draco. Would you be able to tell me what happened here?"

San Tekka sighed. "First, I must tell you about us. Please, take a seat."

Tyler walked over to a table and sat down in a chair. San Tekka did the same. Tyler then pulled a thermos and two cups out of his inventory. He poured out two steaming hot cups of tea and slid one to the monk.

San Tekka smiled. "Thank you. Now, let me get to it. We are a sect known as the Church of the Force. We are a group of individuals that believe in the ways of the Jedi Order but are not gifted with the force. We scour the galaxy, searching for relics that are important to the force. They are then brought to monasteries such as this one to be prepared. We complete the sacred ritual and then start our journey to return the relics to the places that they belong."

Tyler raised his brow. "What kind of relics are we talking about?"

San Tekka nodded. "A good question, indeed. We occasionally come across an estranged holocron or lightsaber. However, we usually handle kyber crystals."

Tyler tilted his head. "Is that what the altar upstairs is for?"

San Tekka nodded again. "Quite the detective, aren't you? We place the kyber crystals into the slots on the altar and then pray to the force. That is how we prepare for our journey."

Tyler sighed. "So where are the kyber crystals?"

San Tekka frowned. "We were carrying out the ritual earlier today. Unfortunately, we were interrupted. The gates were forced open and a group of people wearing dark robes stormed the monastery. They indiscriminately cut down our monks with their crimson lightsabers. I had thought that the only survivors were those taking part in the ritual since they were close to the bunker."

Tyler shook his head. "But what happened to the crystals? "

San Tekka nodded. "They must have taken them. I am not sure what use they have for them. The crystal is supposed to choose it's wielder, not the other way around."

Tyler shook his head. "The Sith are not chosen by their crystals. They pour their negative emotions into it to force the connection. The crystal turns red through that process which is known as bleeding."

San Tekka was confused. "How do you know such a thing?"

Tyler pulled Darth Revan's lightsaber out of his inventory and ignited it. The crimson blade let off a harsh light that lit up their faces.

San Tekka shuddered. "Where did you get such a thing?"

Tyler shook his head. "That, I can not tell you. However, I learned about the subject through that encounter."

San Tekka nodded. "I see. Nonetheless, their purpose can not be a good one. If they took the crystals, they probably also found the map that leads to the cave."

Tyler froze. "What cave?"

San Tekka sighed. "The cave that we return the crystals to. They naturally form there so we take any crystals that are delivered here and put them there."

Tyler grinned. "The council must hear of this."

San Tekka shook his head. "There is no time. You must stop them."

*Hidden Quest Triggered: Stop the Sith*

*Rank: Legendary*

*Description: Sith operatives have raided a monastery operated by the Church of the Force. Discover their plot and stop them at all costs before reporting to the Jedi Council.*

*Reward: +12000 Church of the Force Reputation, +6000 Jedi Order Reputation, +5 Levels*

Tyler nodded and pulled up a holographic map of Christophsis. "You are correct. Could you please tell me the location of the cave? We must hurry if we are to stop them."

San Tekka pointed at a spot on the map. "Christophsis is here. About 20 miles to the east, there is a place called the Crystal Forest. Deep inside this forest lies the cave. I wish you luck, master jedi."

Tyler shot up from his seat and quickly bowed. "Thank you, Lor San Tekka." He then turned to his group. "Let's move out. Blaze, call a transport and tell them it's an emergency. Make sure it's empty."

Blaze nodded. "Yes, sir."

Several minutes later, they were boarding a gunship. Tyler called out. "Pilot, take us 20 miles east of here."

The pilot nodded. "Yes, sir."

-GE-

The tree cover was too thick to land so the gunship hovered over a spot that was a few miles into the forest. They didn't go any further to avoid missing the cave. The clones grappled down while the two Jedi cushioned their landing with the force. Once they were down, the gunship returned to base. Tyler told the pilot to have General Kenobi pass this message to Yoda when he can. "Draco is making progress." Yoda should know what it means.

Tyler pulled an armored box out of his inventory. He pressed a buŧŧon on it and then pressed a buŧŧon on his wrist comm to link it to his HUD.

He then pressed another buŧŧon on his wrist comm and the box whirred to life. Several slots slid open and hundreds of tiny drones flew out in all directions.

Tyler smiled at his invention. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Blaze tilted his head. "What does it do?"

Tyler smirked. "It is a reconnaissance device. It allows me to investigate a large area without having to lift a finger."

Kai giggled. "Master, you had to press all those buŧŧons though."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

This was one of the devices that he designed after he became a master engineer. He called it the Lazy Draco. Similar to how a lazy susan allows food to be spun around a table without the user having to leave their seat, this device allowed Tyler to scout out an extremely large area without having to move his feet.

Tyler plopped down on the ground and leaned against a tree. "Take a seat, boys. Catch your breath so we can be ready for anything." Everyone quickly relaxed. Not even a mouse would be able to approach them with all the drones.

Looking around, it was clear why this was called the crystal forest. All of the plant life was covered in a layer of some crystal like material. It made everything sparkle and glow from the light of the sun. Fortunately, there was no grass so they wouldn't make a lot of noise when walking. This is probably due to the thick tree cover.

About a half hour passed before a light started blinking on Tyler's wrist. He shot up. "Bingo. Let's move out."

Blaze got up. "Aren't you going to take the box?"

Tyler shook his head before pressing a buŧŧon on his comm. Eight legs emerged from the box and it stood up before walking over to Tyler. "It will follow us while the drones come back."

They began walking towards the cave. While they were en route, they strategized. The cave was well defended. Out front were two tanks and a squad of droids. The Sith were nowhere to be found so they were presumably inside. Unfortunately, they were not able to get any visuals of the inside.

The entrance of the cave was located on the face of a small cliff. The rock was a dark gray and not too hard. There was only one entrance so they needed to take out the droids.

Fortunately, the brush around the cave entrance was quite thick. The tanks must have been airdropped because they would not have fit through the forest. Tyler and Kai would each take care of a tank while the clones took care of the droids.

Tyler snuck up behind one of the tanks and quietly climbed up it. Once he was right behind the top hatch, he raised his hand and counted down. Three… two… one… he then closed his fist and jumped into the tank while the other two groups took action. He silently dispatched the droids using the force and Kai did the same. The clones used EMP grenades to take out the squad of droids.

Within seconds, there was nothing preventing them from entering the cave.

Tyler turned to the group. "Be ready for anything. We don't know what is inside."

They silently made their way into the cave. Rather than turn on their lights, the clones used night vision to see. Tyler and Kai just used the force.

Several minutes went by and there were no enemies. However, the sound of machinery was steadily getting louder. As they got closer, they were able to make out the sound that results from drilling and processing ores.

They were approaching a clearing so Tyler raised his fist. The group halted. He then pointed to Seven and then waved two fingers forward before waving them in a circle. Seven slowly creeped forward while taking out a scanner.

He got down on his stomach and crawled forward until he got a view of the clearing. He panned over it for about 30 seconds and then returned to the group.

Seven whispered. "There is a large scale mining operation going on in there. I only saw droids and machines. They don't look armed. No sign of the Sith bastards."

Tyler nodded and whispered back. "As expected. Is there a safe path?"

Seven nodded. "There is. It leads right to a large tent in the center of the camp."

Tyler smiled. "That is our destination then. Weapons free and move out."

Blaze waved his hands. "Sir, shouldn't we be a bit more covert about this?"

Tyler shook his head. "The droids in there are not armed and there will be no reinforcements coming. You guys focus on destroying the machinery and us Jedi will handle the rest."

Blaze nodded. "Understood, sir."

Tyler smirked. "Let's get going then."

Tyler started sprinting forward and jumped high through the air. As he was told none of the droids were armed. They were all models that are designed for labor rather than combat.

He landed in front of the tent and whistled. "Yoohoo, anyone home?"

Kai quickly landed next to him. "Are you trying to piss them off?"

Tyler shrugged. "Their mood is irrelevant. They are going to try and kill us anyways. Maybe if we piss them off enough, they'll tell us their plan."

Kai rolled his eyes. "That is ridiculous. Villains only do monologues in stories."

Suddenly, six people dressed in black robes encircled them. Each one had a black helmet with a visor and a breathing device. They all had lightsaber hilts that were bȧrėly visible under their robes.