2 ABY – 06 Echo – 30 Primeday (Ktil). Following an uneventful first day of repairs (working on the hyperdrive with C4-BL3), Cheebs decides to go explore the area Kantarra found across the crater from their ship. He was very curious why one side of the Jedi holocron (which he’d been attempting to open, to no avail) kept glowing – whichever side was pointing roughly in the direction of the door Kantarra had told them about. Telling C4-BL3 he would be in touch via commlink if necessary, he leaves the ship in the dark and picked his way across the wet crater floor. Beyond a featureless rectangular hall cut from the rock wall of the crater he finds a more elaborate chamber with abstract statues which seem to be holding up the ceiling with beams of energy. At the far end of this chamber he sees the door in question. Noting scorch marks on a channel leading to the base of the stone door, he ignites Lorik’s lightsaber and touches it to the channel – presto!
Beyond, Cheebs finds a symmetrical room layout: rooms to either side contain crystals which seem to speak directly to his mind when touched (in a language beyond his understanding). To the right, a blue crystal and calm, comforting voices; to the left, a red crystal with angry shouting. And straight ahead an even larger, more elaborate ritual space than the hall containing the first door. This room holds a huge cube like a giant (Jedi) holocron, which seems of different and more recent construction than the rest of this structure – a later addition. Although Cheebs notes immediately a similar scorched channel running down the middle of the room to what presumably is a second door, he also spots a small panel that has been pried off a corner of the giant cube blocking the middle of the room. In this small access panel are a pair of buttons. Guessing that the cube needs to be moved or removed before he can access the door, he plays with the buttons until he “succeeds” in getting the entire cube to turn, float up off the floor … and start to spin. The cube accelerates in its spinning; Cheebs guesses he now has little time to explore what’s beyond the door. Again applying the ignited saber to the channel, he pops the door open and rushes to explore the rougher-hewn tunnels beyond.
To his amazement, he finds a chamber containing not just a pedestal with a 12-sided holocron, but also … a human female! She introduces herself as “Kiarra,” an archaeologist, and seems casual, apparently unconcerned that she had been trapped in this chamber for the last three days. She too carries a lightsaber and says that she found her way in through a kind of “emergency exit” that she then couldn’t return through. Noting the rising pitch of the huge cube and its vibrating thrum growing louder, she asks Cheebs’ help in dislodging the strange 12-sided holocron. Cheebs has been having increasingly vivid visions when meditating on the cubic Jedi holocron. He tries the same strategy on this new holocron and sees 2 of its lower faces illuminated in his mind’s eye. Placing his hands on those faces, he easily lifts it free. The two waste no time in running back toward the main exit through the route that Cheebs has opened up.
They run past the giant whirling cube just as it shatters. Thrown clear, they collect themselves. Kiarra explains that the temple was a holy place to an ancient religion called the “Dai Bendu,” who worshipped the Force in balance between light and dark. She also posits that the temple sits on a “vergence,” a sort of ley line of Force power, and is oriented along it. The chambers may have been used to create or open holocrons … and they notice that at the base of the first door there is an indentation that looks like it will fit the 12-sided holocron. Kiarra posits that she had no success with it because she is “biased” toward the light side, but Cheebs’ nascent Force powers are still in balance. She encourages him to try opening it … and so he does, sitting and meditating on the dodecahedron he’s placed in the indentation. Success! And with it a blast of visions and Dai Bendu knowledge, washing over him in an instant. After this energizing rush, he tosses his new “light side” acquaintance her coveted holocron and invites her back to his ship.