❥ - Rough, but protective. Obi-Dad throwing Braig to the floor or against a wall to shield him with his body, perhaps. 👀
This place is as fascinating as it is ancient. Beautiful, even in its decay. His footsteps echo off of the abandoned temple’s high ceilings and once-vibrant walls. The remains of tapestries still hang, faded and tattered, but if he squints he can almost make out the images on them. Some of them look almost familiar.
“Is that…” He leans closer and squints. “Is that Master Yoda?” He looks over his shoulder with a grin.
“It may very well be.” Obi-Wan says, stroking his beard. “This temple was in operation when he was young.”
“That long ago, huh?” Braig stands up and dusts himself off. He’s answered with a chuckle as his master continues down the hall. As always, Braig follows. He can’t help but look around as they go. It’s at once familiar and alien. He wonders if padawans like him had walked through here before. Not on missions, like he and Obi-Wan were, but just living in their home. What they had studied, what forms were like in their time… If that was Master Yoda in the tapestry, he’d have to ask. There must be millions of stories in this room alone.
Right now they were on a mission. A stealth mission, too, which unfortunately meant they’d had to leave the men behind. Braig was confident in his abilities, and his master’s, of course, but having an army at his back had been an incredible security blanket.
“It should be just ahead.” Obi-Wan’s voice snapped him back to attention.
“Right.” Braig nodded. He rested his hands on the hilts of his sabers. It was a casual gesture, practiced and habitual. Always best to be prepared. It was hard to sense danger here. It was hard to sense anything, actually. The Force was so strong, so… Present. Just like back on Coruscant, this Temple had been built over a Nexus. A natural Force wellspring. Like most things involving the Force, it was as beneficial as it was dangerous. It took a decent amount of focus to quiet it, shields raised to keep from being overwhelmed.
Not for the first time, he had to wonder why the terminal here was still in operation if the Temple had been abandoned. Oh well. That didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they got the information it held. Resource deposits, hidden strongholds, and who knows what else? All of it could prove invaluable to the Republic.
All of it could be dangerous in Separatist hands. That’s why he couldn’t be all that surprised when the Force SHRIEKED at him. It was matched by his master’s voice, only a touch more controlled.
“Braig, get down!” He would have listened if he had the chance. But Obi-Wan had said those words even as he leaped to tackle Braig to the floor. Braig hit the ground hard, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.
No, he was more focused on the red lightsaber that had embedded itself in the wall, and the familiar cackle from the balcony overhead.
Even as he steeled himself for a fight, Braig groaned inwardly.
Another tally for the ‘Surprise, It’s Ventress’ page.
