Somehow, I managed to hold the collapsing ceiling long enough for Kem to set me down. Only then did I open my eyes, snapping out of the trance I'd driven myself into, and realized we were already far from the ruined chamber. I must've overdone it a bit, but my companion didn't say anything sarcastic—he simply drew his sword and stepped in front of me, shielding me from whatever came next.
Ah, right. I forgot to mention when I opened my eyes, I found myself staring directly at one of those "whatevers."
It was a three‑meter‑tall, muscle‑bound red humanoid with a flattened face and stubby horn‑like growths sprouting from its brow. In fact, those bony protrusions ran all the way down its shoulders, crowning a body that looked like a true Neanderthal—head pressed into the shoulders, arms long and thick. And despite the ugliness, something about their build felt… familiar. I didn't have time to figure out what, because the creature let out a roar and charged us.
There were three of them. I didn't see any weapons, but judging by their size, they didn't need any—they could probably break half the bones in my body with a single hit. Avoiding a fight was impossible; they were coming straight from the exit and clearly weren't planning to let their prey escape.
"Looks like we're in for a good brawl," I muttered.
Kem, unlike me, was absolutely delighted.
"Seems these beasts forgot who's the prey and who's the hunter," I added, playing it up for show as I pulled my lightsaber from my belt and raised the focuser in my other hand.
A moment later, I sent a surge of energy at the nearest creature. The artifact‑amplified blast hit it square in the chest, knocking it off its feet and sending it tumbling into the legs of its companions, twitching from muscle spasms. But the other two leapt over it with frightening agility, sprinting along the corridor walls, claws digging into the stone.
Trying not to lose sight of the first one—just in case it recovered—I fired another bolt of lightning. This time the creature dodged, dropping down at the last moment and landing right in front of me.
Everything spun. I lost orientation completely, not even catching the moment it struck me. It let out something like a chuckle and, with a hungry grin, advanced.
Pain flooded my body—especially my right side, which had slammed into the wall—but a second later my suit injected painkillers, and when the creature swung again, I was at least able to dodge. The blow left a deep crater in the stone.
With a furious roar, it attacked again. This time I was fully conscious and tried to slice its arm with my lightsaber—but of course nothing is ever that easy. The blade merely slowed its limb, not even scratching the skin.
From Kem's direction came a thunderous crash—his opponent was raining blows on him, but the dasheyd was holding on. Then the creature facing him let out a predatory growl and suddenly spoke:
"You fight well, warrior. But are you content being a slave to this cursed Sith? Kill him and come with us!"
The one attacking me growled in agreement, and in its eyes I saw nothing but madness.
I'm not a complete idiot, so I quickly identified their weakness—Force lightning could hurt them, but physical attacks barely did anything. The problem was landing a hit while under constant assault.
With each strike, I grew more exhausted, while the creature only became more enraged—its blows growing faster. A few grazed me, but I didn't let myself get hit cleanly again.
Finally, when it seemed completely blinded by rage, I found my moment. A tiny opening—barely a second long—but enough. I thrust the focuser toward its ugly face and unleashed a branching bolt of lightning.
For a heartbeat, time froze. I saw its right arm already mid‑swing, its head beginning to turn—clearly, I'd chosen the wrong target; I should've aimed for the torso. Too late.
The lightning grazed it, scorching its face and leaving charred marks—but not killing it.
The next instant, the world flipped again. This time I didn't hit a wall—I flew down the corridor, sliding across the floor until friction finally stopped me.
I wanted to howl in frustration—these things were faster than me even after I enhanced my reflexes and body with the Force! I always buff myself before a fight, but this time I'd gone all‑in, and I was still slower. And there was something else… something radiating from it. The Force.
Only now did I realize the creature was using the Force—unconsciously, but still. It probably couldn't do telekinesis, but it could definitely defend against my attacks. Maybe Exar had stashed these brutes here in stasis long ago, foreseeing all this… or maybe not. Judging by their hatred of Sith—and slavery—it was obvious they weren't under his control anymore, if they ever were.
A moment later, Kem appeared, fending off two creatures at once—and barely managing. The comm signal worked here, so I quickly sent a command to the ship. Gathering my strength, I stood up. The monsters were too focused on Kem, desperate to finish him off, completely forgetting about me. If they used the Force, it was purely the Dark Side—wild, uncontrolled, instinctive. No tactics. Just rage. Someone's failed experiment, kept around out of convenience.
In the next moment, I ended the fight. I waited for the opening—and this time aimed for the torso.
Kem deliberately maneuvered the creatures so he could see me while they couldn't. When the bolt flew, he dodged exactly on cue.
The monsters convulsed for several seconds, then began to recover—unlike the first attack, this one was weaker and split between two targets, so it wasn't lethal. But it bought us time. We sprinted out onto the platform in front of the pyramid just as the Aurora swooped overhead in a sharp arc.
From the dark corridor came enraged roars and pounding footsteps, but we were already leaping into the open cargo hatch as the ship lifted off. One of the creatures tried to jump after us, but its claws missed the hull by a couple of meters before it fell back into the foul swamp below.
Looked like we'd survived this adventure—but was it really that simple? Now we had to examine the holocron and think over the cursed Sith spirit's words.
Except… what was that strange feeling?
As if someone I knew was in danger.
Could it be… something to do with the holocron?