Chapter 6

"There has been a complication at Agamar." Mercury reported. "An Imperial force arrived and had a brief battle against a Republic Fleet resupplying at the planet. The Imperial force was destroyed with the exception of one ship. After a clash with the crew of the Crimson Osprey, they accessed the same ruins. I believe they are also on the same trail."

"We had hoped the Empire would take longer to catch up." His controller said. "What of the Osprey?"

"It just dropped out of Hyperspace near Rhen Var." Mercury replied. "I'm just about to follow."

"Just ensure that you reach the target before the Empire does." The controller ordered.

Rhen Var was a frozen wasteland but it did have some notable features. Some ruins from its pre-ice age past still poked up through the ice and snow, and the Sith fortress that had been the site of the battle still stood. The Jedi had once had a presence, and many relics remained. There were rumors of old Rakatan ruins as well, buried deep beneath the ice.

"I found something on the scans." Ruby reported. "It looks like there's something under the fortress. It's not like other ice caves or buried ruins. I think it's what we're looking for."

"It makes sense." Blake said. "The Sith have always been attracted to the Rakata and their dark influence. What better place to build a fortress than right atop one of their structures?"

"We've got a problem." Ruby said. "The fortress is occupied, so I don't think we'll be taking the direct route."

"Who's there?" Weiss asked.

"The Republic, judging by the comms traffic at least." Ruby replied. "We need less enemies, not more."

"Is there an alternate route?" Yang asked.

Ruby tapped away at the console, cycling through scans and maps of the planet's surface. "It looks like the whole fortress sits on a glacier covering the Rakata structure." Ruby said. "There might be an ice cave or fissure that could get us under the ice. The fortress overlaps the ruins, but doesn't totally cover them. As long as we're in the ruins, we shouldn't have to worry about stability, but on the way in and out we need to be very careful about cave-ins."

"What about there?" Ren pointed to one of the scans. "It looks like that fissure in the ice leads to a void that includes the ruins."

"It might work." Ruby answered. "If the ice doesn't shift it should get us in."

"Isn't it going to be really cold?" Nora asked. "I didn't bring any winter clothes."

"The ship has some environment suits." Yang said. "They're not too comfortable but they should do the job. We could wear them without the gloves and helmets so they won't limit our dexterity or visibility as much."

"There's a problem with that." Blake said. "We only have four. That means two of us are either going to be cold, or have to stay here."

"I'll stay with the ship." Ren offered. "I can drop you off near the fissure then take off again. That way, it'll be harder for anyone to find us."

"I'll stay too." Nora said. "I don't like the cold."

"It's settled then." Yang said. "Let's suit up and get ready."

"The Crimson Osprey has turned up at Rhen Var." General Ironwood said. "It's just one more element that doesn't make sense."

"Seemingly random acts, taken together, can point to a reason." Master Ozpin advised. "Have you dispatched any reconnaissance teams to investigate?"

"One of my teams checked out Agamar." Ironwood said. "All we found in the ruins were a bunch of bodies and evidence of a fight. Someone was in there, but we still don't know why. All the inscriptions inside seem to be written in a language no one speaks. There were no artifacts of note and no sign that anything had been removed. As for the Osprey, I sent a special operative to investigate. With any luck, she should be able to get there before the Osprey departs."

"Perhaps the Order should get involved." Ozpin said. "There may be elements that only a Jedi can understand."

"With all due respect, I don't think there's anything a Jedi would know that my soldiers wouldn't." Ironwood said. "These guys are experts in what they do."

"A fresh perspective can make all the difference." Ozpin suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Ironwood grumbled. "Unfortunately, getting the Order involved in any official capacity will cause a serious delay. We can't afford that right now."

"What if it was unofficial?" Ozpin asked.

"Are you offering your help?" Ironwood countered.

"Not mine in particular." Ozpin replied. "My staff does include an expert scholar who may help with your language barrier. I'm sure he would be willing to assist."

"My team's still on Agamar." Ironwood said. "If he's interested he can go ahead and investigate."

"I'll run it by him." Ozpin promised. "Until then, you should keep searching. You never to what truths the Force may guide you."

Ren brought the Crimson Osprey into a hover just above the ice. He did not want to touch down, unsure of the ice's stability. He lowered the ramp, allowing Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang to jump off. Ren angled the ship upward and shot off into the sky. He would park in orbit and wait for the ground team to finish their exploration.

"It's still way too cold." Yang said. She pulled her shirt up to cover her mouth and nose, hoping it would help a little. It was more of a psychological boost.

"It's not so bad." Weiss said. "It was colder when I did my cold-weather training on Hoth."

Ruby was shivering. "It should be better when we get underground." Blake suggested. Her cloak provided some extra protection. "At least we won't have to deal with the wind."

It was difficult to see because of the glare and the wind-blown snow, but the fissure was impossible to miss. It was at least ten meters wide and stretched for as far as the eye could see. It looked bottomless. Yang bent and stretched her legs. "See you at the bottom." She said. Without another word, she leapt into the gaping chasm. The others quickly followed.

Yang landed in a crouch, loose snow blowing around her, kicked up by her landing. In quick succession, the other three joined her. Blake was right; it was slightly less cold down here. Light filtered down through the fissure, reflecting and scattering off the ice and snow. The whole cave seemed to glow. Ice surrounded the quartet as they made their way deeper into the cave. Signs of recent cave-ins were cause for concern, but the path ahead was clear.

The cave ended abruptly at a wall that appeared to be made of bricks. They had arrived at the ruins. There were no openings, so they would have to go through. "Stand back." Yang warned. She focused and thrust both her hands forward. A wave of Force energy slammed into the wall and it crumbled, opening a large gap into the ruins. Unfortunately, the damage was not confined to the wall. A deep rumbling shook the cave and large ice stalactites began crashing down.

"Move!" Blake shouted. "Into the ruins!" The group rushed inside as the roof of the cave came slamming down, completely blocking the way back.

"That was too close." Ruby said.

"More importantly, how do we get back?" Weiss asked.

"We'll worry about that later." Blake said. "Right now, let's find the map."

Like the other Rakata structures, the dark side was strong within the Rhen Var ruins. There was more conflict with the light than on Agamar, but the light side was weaker than on Remnant. It may have been the recent influence of Sith occupation. Whatever the cause, the result was a deeply unsettling feeling that affected them all. It was also dark in a more literal sense. Without Nora to light the way with her ability, the group used their lightsabers to provide some illumination.

Soon the group arrived at the central chamber of the ruins. A stone pedestal like the one in the ruins on Agamar sat in the center. Blake approached the pedestal, examining it in the eerie yellow glow of her lightsabers. She adjusted her position slightly and carefully placed her hand atop the pedestal. It lit up brightly, filling the entire chamber with light. Above them, the roof appeared to be glass with ice visible through it. It was too strong to be glass however, holding up the entire glacier as it was. After a few moments, the map appeared. Again, it was an incomplete depiction of the galaxy with a bright point marked on it. Yang recorded it with her datapad.

"Someone's coming." Weiss warned. "I can feel it, but it's strange."

"They couldn't have followed us in through the ice." Yang said. "They must have come from the fortress."

"We don't need an incident with the Republic." Ruby said.

"It's only one person." Weiss said. "I think we can handle it without alerting the rest of the garrison."

Now the group could hear footsteps echoing through corridors leading to the chamber. Blake withdrew her hand from the pedestal and the map disappeared, but parts of the room remained luminous. Apparently, activating the map had activated the lighting system. As the footsteps grew louder, the vague outline of a humanoid figure appeared. A green glow accompanied the figure as it approached. It was a…girl?

A short, ginger-haired, pale-skinned girl walked into the chamber. She wore a tan dress and appeared to be unarmed. She looked about Ruby's age. "Salutations." The girl said. She stood still with a bizarre smile on her face, staring at the group. "Why are you here?"

"Hello friend." Ruby said. "We were just exploring." The group felt relieved. Surely a young girl like this was not a threat.

"Who are you?" Yang asked. "What's a little girl like you doing in a place like this?"

The girl ignored Yang and walked up to Ruby, getting uncomfortably close. She leaned in closer and Ruby leaned away. "You called me friend." The girl said. "Am I really your friend?"

Weiss, Blake and Yang tried to subtly dissuade Ruby from answering in the affirmative. "Sure, why not?" Ruby said uneasily.

"Sensational!" The girl shouted with glee. "I've always wanted a friend!"

"So…friend, who are you and why are you here?" Yang asked.

"I'm Penny." The girl said. "I'm here because you're here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake asked.

Before Penny could reply, footsteps echoing through the ruins drew the group's attention. Five figures approached from the darkness, three lightsabers lighting their way. They were all red. "Looks like them Empire can read the maps." Weiss sighed.

The Imperials emerged from the darkness and into the doorway of the chamber. One of the Imperials was the officer from Agamar, and another was the Sith he had called Neo. Two female Sith joined them, along with a man. The man, a Faunus dressed all in black, had a vibrosword hanging from his belt. One of the new Sith wore red, and it was easy to feel her tremendous power. She was surely a master. "Well, well, well." The officer said. "Look what we have here. Our pals from Agamar."

"That's Adam." Blake gasped in horror at the sight of the Faunus man.

"Oh, you've met." The officer said. "That saves me the trouble of introducing him."

"I don't like our odds." Ruby said. She, Weiss, Blake and Yang began backing away.

"How did you get here?" Yang asked.

"We simply exterminated the Republic forces manning the fortress." The Sith in red said. "They were very weak, no challenge at all. Their pleas for mercy were quite the treat though."

Penny stepped forward, anger and determination on her face. "Penny, no!" Ruby shouted. "They'll kill you!"

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a salute. Penny's back opened up and a series of blades flew out, floating in a circle behind and above her.

"What are you?" The green-haired Sith asked.

Penny's blades scythed through the air, slicing around in front of the Imperial contingent. They backed up further into the hallway to avoid the razor-sharp blades. "She's controlling them with the force." Blake said. The blades retreated to Penny and formed into a tight circle in front of her. They began spinning around rapidly and a ball of energy formed in the center. After gathering strength, the energy discharged into a beam the cut into the roof above the Imperials' heads. They retreated back into the hallway as the roof began to cave in, followed by tons of the ice and snow from above. As the energy faded, the blades moved into an arc behind Penny's back, becoming almost like wings.

"Penny, thank you." Ruby said in disbelief. "You saved us."

"Anything for a friend!" Penny smiled.

"You also seem to have trapped us." Weiss pointed out. "How are we supposed to get out of here now?"

"I can fix that." Penny said. "Stand back." She warned as she stood in the center of the chamber. The others moved to the edges. Penny's blades formed a rapidly spinning horizontal circle and energy formed in the center. It discharged in a beam straight upward. The beam cut through the roof before melting through the ice and snow above. A column of bright sunlight streamed in. "Is that better?"

"That's perfect." Ruby said in shock. That little girl was tremendously powerful.

"I guess we'll be going then." Yang said.

"Wait!" Penny demanded. She looked serious. "I need to talk to you first. You are the crew of the Crimson Osprey, correct?"

"How did you know that?" Weiss asked.

"I was sent by General Ironwood of the Republic Armed Forces." Penny replied. "You were on Agamar during a space battle, and he finds your actions suspicious. He wants me to find out what you were up to."

"We can't tell the Republic." Blake said. "It would be a disaster for the galaxy if they found out."

"My mission is to find the answer." Penny said. "You will tell me."

"I'll tell you, but you can't tell the Republic." Ruby offered. Penny tilted her head in confusion. "We're friends, right?" Penny nodded eagerly. "Friends keep each other's secrets, right?"

"I suppose so." Penny said.

"If I trust you with my secret, you can't tell anyone." Ruby said. "Not the Republic, not anyone." Penny looked to be having difficulty with the dilemma. "Penny, what other missions do you have, aside from finding the answer?"

"It is my mission to protect the Republic and its people, at all costs." Penny said.

"Penny, if you tell the Republic what I tell you, it will put those people at risk." Ruby said. "What we're dealing with, it's too dangerous for the Republic or the Empire to get it. We need to get it first so we can destroy it."

Penny looked pained. "I…I must protect the Republic." Penny said. "Even if it means disobeying other orders. I will keep your secret."

"Do you promise?" Ruby asked.

"I promise." Penny replied.

"The Infinite Empire left something behind." Ruby said. "We don't know what it is, but we know it's powerful enough to devastate the galaxy. We're looking for maps so we can find it and destroy it."

"If there is a map on Agamar, General Ironwood will find it." Penny warned. "It seems the Empire have found it as well. You will need help if you are to protect the galaxy." Penny's blades folded and flew inside her back. "I will join you to help. I cannot let my friends face danger alone."

"Okay, as long as you don't tell the Republic or help them follow us." Ruby said.

"I will not." Penny said. "I have a promise to keep, friend."

"Now that it's settled, let's get out of here." Yang said. "I'll call the Osprey and have them lower a line for us."

"State your name and business." The Republic guard ordered.

"I am Master Bartholomew Oobleck." The Jedi said. He had wild green hair and wore round glasses. He was twitchy, not at all displaying the usual calm of a Jedi Master. "I have come to translate the inscriptions in the ruins."

"Go ahead in, we've been expecting you." The guard said. "Hopefully you'll have more luck than we did."

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Oobleck said. "The proper application of knowledge is all that is necessary."

"So, Blake, you know that Faunus with the Empire?" Yang asked. The Crimson Osprey was in Hyperspace, heading for its next destination, Sriluur.

"Unfortunately." Blake sighed. "He was…my…mentor." She admitted. "Before the Empire discovered that I was Force sensitive, he trained me. We would occasionally sabotage Imperial targets, but he got so violent. He could massacre Imperials whenever he got the chance, and not just soldiers. He would even kill Faunus who opposed him. I couldn't be a part of that, so I ran away. That's when the Empire picked me up. I never thought he would join them, but I guess I'm not that surprised. He was always so ruthless. They must have made him one hell of an offer."

"I guess he's the one translating for them." Yang said.

"I'm so ashamed that a Faunus would help them." Blake said.

"What could they have offered that would turn him?" Ruby asked.

"I think I know." Weiss said. "I only heard rumors, but apparently the Empire was looking for a Faunus to help them keep the other Faunus under control. They would make him king of the Faunus, but he would still be an Imperial pawn."

"That would do it." Blake said. She looked terribly depressed. "He sold out his species for personal power. I can't say I'm that surprised."

"We shouldn't worry about it now." Yang said. "There's nothing we can do about it."

"We've got to stop him." Blake said. "Even if we stop the Empire from getting what we're after, we can't let Adam become king. His rule would be just as brutal as the Empire's. He's a monster."

"It's fascinating, absolutely fascinating!" Oobleck exclaimed. "A map, left by the Rakata, powered by the Force, which leads to a device of extreme power!"

"That's great, but where does it lead?" Ironwood asked.

"It's incomplete, but there's another map on Rhen Var." Oobleck replied. "It may be like the Star Forge, with a map in many parts. In this case, each map leads to the next."

"Rhen Var?" Ironwood said. "That's where the Crimson Osprey went. I guess we know why. Worryingly, my scout there went dark. She was supposed to report in hours ago, but I haven't heard a thing."

"We should go there as soon as possible!" Oobleck said. "I must examine the ruins there. The treasure trove of knowledge is massive!"