Even with the Force and the Dark Side as his ally.... Tyr would have had to have been inhuman to have not reacted emotionally with some shock at the declaration that the Jedi Master in front of him was his grandfather.
Dozens of thoughts went through his head faster than he could keep track of them. Among those fleeting mental processes, he tried and failed to remember his father mentioning his own father... or his mother's father. Also, Tyr noted it was fairly rare for Jedi to have children to begin with... let alone two generations of Jedi ancestry.
He did his best to hide his instinctive reaction by belting out a quick laugh. It was ridiculous. It had to be. "Fabricating lies is hardly a new interrogation technique, though it's surprising to see from a pair of Jedi Masters. You must be really desperate."
The Cathar Master Jedi gave a slight bow. "I will leave you two to talk. You have much to discuss, I am sure."
Tyr shouted at him as the door shut. "I have no interest in discussing fairytales!"
The white bearded elder Jedi managed a smile, albeit a rather humorless one. "I've also been chided for my ill timed use of wit. I hope you don't mind if I have a seat."
The Sith shook his head and gave the man a nasty scowl. "It's been ten seconds, and already I'm sick of your manufactured family resemblance spiel."
Master Solumni ignored the chiding remark and continued to to pull a chair over and sit across from his grandson. When no further comments came forth, he reached into his robe and withdrew Tyr's lightsaber.
"You're a brave man, bringing a Sith his lightsaber during an interrogation." The look of hate on his face would not subside. He had not been this full of anger since his capture. He had gotten to a point of relaxation even, as it was clear the Jedi were going to treat him well as long as he played by their rules, even while withholding the information they'd been trying so hard to retrieve from him. This was foul play, and he did not appreciate it one bit.
"I brought what I believe could easily be seen as my lightsaber, young man. I built it. It was a gift to your father. As he chose not to expose you deeply to way of the Jedi, your claim on his weapon is weak."
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Nal Talla spent the night in meditation. It wasn't quite as good as sleeping, but it was restful enough for her body to recuperate from the long hike across the hills and plains of the Dantooinian country side.
They stopped short of the cave entrance by a kilometer or so, according to their positioning devices. There was no sense in tempting the kinrath spiders into coming out of their nests in the middle of the night. They knew that with daybreak and a quick meal would come the time to venture into the darkness and the lair of the giant arachnids.
When the orangish yellow early morning sun peaked over the horizon, Nal opened her eyes and began to prepare their breakfast. It wasn't much. Dried grains cooked in hot water to make a kind of mushy goo, but with some added sweetner it was good and nourishing as well.
Val opened his eyes from his own meditation as Nal brought a bowl over to him. He thanked her as he took it and she sat down next to the big blue Chiss Jedi. "Are you ready for this?" he asked her after he had swallowed a few spoonfuls of the hot cereal.
"I doubt very much dat I could be any more ready den I already am," she replied with confidence. When her companion had first informed her of the mission she had been a bit hesitant, but as the time had passed and she had time to meditate and get her mind right, she knew she could do this.
"Good," Val replied. It was good to see the young Nautolan spring back so quickly. He'd felt confident that with time, she would come around. Not every Jedi did after so close a brush with the dark side of the Force. He knew of two such that had become permanent fixtures back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, taking care of the important, albeit much less exciting tasks there. In fact, they were happy to do so rather than risk falling to the Dark Side again.
It worked out all around. The last thing the Jedi needed was scared Jedi running around, swelling the ranks of the Sith.
Once they were finished and had their breakfast things cleaned up they tucked their packs underneath some nearby bushes. Locals rarely came near the caves and the last thing they needed in the confines of a dark cavern was a pack hindering their movement.
They climbed in and around the rock formations with only the faint illumination from a small glow rod. They didn't need to attract the attention of the kinrath even more than they would already. Finally after almost an hour, they came across their first set of crystals.
The crystals were glowing a brilliant blue and stood out in sharp contrast to the blackness around them. Nal carefully pulled a small tool out and worked one or two loose that appeared as if they would work well as a lightsaber focusing crystal.
Val hissed quietly just as she was tucking her tool away, and she sensed it almost immediately. Something was near. A being, yes, but it wasn't sentient as far as her senses could tell. Within moments it came around the corner.
Sure enough, the four-legged insectoid came skittering toward them. Normally Nal's first instinct was to attack, trying to catch her opponent off guard. This time she snapped on her lightsaber and waited. A Jedi was supposed to use their weapon for defense... never to attack.
She filled her mind with peace and tranquility as the beast crashed down on them.
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