Taves was shaken out of meditation by the alert to exit hyperdirve. He walked over to the controls and left his master to his peace. He could only imagine that he needed it after the long time he had spent wandering the Galaxy. Taves watched as the bright tube which surrounded the ship dissapeared. There, before them stood Dantooine. There, perhaps stood a shelter with the Rebel Alliance.

Taves' outlook on their situation started to change. For the first time since they had left Ryloth he had a feeling that things would work out. Taves was about to land the ship onto the platforms, when suddenly he felt a strange ripple in the Force coming from somewhere else on the planets surface.

He decided that despite the fact that his master was meditating he should probably inform him. If anything his master had felt it already. He walked over and knelt down beside his master. "Master, I have felt something. It was a strange presence in the Force coming from the planet's surface. It was not dark, just strange. It was as if someone was trying to shield their presence, but somehow I still felt it for some reason."

"I sensed it also.... We must be cautious......"

It was not long before the ship was finally landed safely. The planet surface was a welcome to them. As they walked down the ramp, the Jedi became suspicious at how quiet everything seemed. He could not see a soul.

"Be careful..... Something is out of place here......"

They secured the ship before they began to make their way out into the fields. The destination on the schedule firstly was the Crystal Caves, the Jedi knew of an old friend who had resided there at one point, though he could not sense her. He only hoped that she had not fallen into enemy hands.

"That presence you felt, before we landed..... What do you sense now?" He said as he looked to Taves.

Taves stood by his master for a second. He soaked in what the Force revealed to him. "It's strange, I can still feel the Force signature. It's fading, but not like in death. Whatever or whoever I felt before must know we're here, because they don't want anyone to know they're still here. If I were to guess I would say that it is coming from the same direction as the caves, but it's too faint to pinpoint. Are you sure you can feel it master? I don't want to go toward this thing if it is merely a matter of my feelings not being clear. It could lead to a trap."

Taves could also tell that something was out of place. Even without the Force his natural intuition was tugging at him. He had become too cautious of a person to venture into the unknown like this. Even though the Force was with him it was not wise to throw him and his master headlong into this situation without some sort of second thought.

"Just because I do not sense what you do, does not mean we are necessarily being lured into a trap.... It could merely mean that these steps we are going to take will concern your life, but not my own..... So for the sake of your own journey, we should proceed..... The caves here are famous for it's collection of crystals, but also monsters..... We must be cautious...... If you see any locals, we are merely traveling merchants...... Although..... There does not seem to be many people around..... Come, let's get going....."

They began to head their way to the Crystal caves, still aware that the area seemed to be almost dead of life, apart from a few animals here and there.....

Continuing on this page

Crystal Caverns