Before very long, Aria had bundled into a shuttle to accompany Voldon to Coruscant (Chwuq and Taral faithfully in tow, of course….she wasn’t going to make the mistake of leaving them behind again. Their keener senses would hopefully stop any Xiis catching them off guard again once they hit the ground). She wasn't sure if Voldon’s reassurance that he was sure Yerbol was present on the capital world was a comfort to her or not. Since he had spoken to her when she had been in the medbay, Aria had been unable to contact Yerbol directly again. Their bond was more accessible, and as they touched down on Coruscant she found that it was a lot less difficult to find and connect to. He really could be here.
She backed up Voldon’s insistence on he and Aria venturing further in without the assistance of a military squad. It would tip the Xiis off to their approach much too easily. Besides, they could handle this...or, that’s what she kept telling herself. She hoped when it came down to it, she would have the resolve to REALLY do whatever it took in order to get Yerbol back. Junoco accompanied them momentarily, in order to hack into a locked-down computer terminal and transfer a map of the undercity (which was surprisingly well hidden, though easily accessible for someone of the smuggler’s skill set) to both of their datapads. His help had been well worth the removal of the petty crimes from his record, Aria thought, after Junoco escorted them down to the former territory of the Justicar gang, which he insisted provided the best route down into the area below the planet’s “ground level”, and then bid them farewell (but not without urging that “his help was only a holocall away, should they ever need it again”).
Aria noted the streets had begun to look not too dissimilar to those on Nar Shaddaa...at least that meant they were on the right track. The Tuk’ata slunk off to scout ahead, Aria turning towards Voldon to voice the thoughts she had been turning over in her mind on the trip over there. The Champion sighed heavily, her teeth scraping her bottom lip. She wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to like what she had to say:
“We’re going to have to kill them. The Xiis.” before he could interrupt, she held up a hand to quiet him and continued. “And this isn’t just because this is personal now, it’s not because of Yerbol or because I’m not thinking clearly, so please don’t try to give me that as an argument, Master Naylon. This is about what Renso told us...showed us, about the Xiis. What I’VE seen. The only way I can see us being able to stop them is if we kill them. They’re not like us, they don’t HAVE a moral compass or a sense of right and wrong, they can’t be reasoned with. All they want to do is kill and destroy, everything in their path. And I know violence shouldn’t be the first solution we go to, but I just….don’t see any other way for this to work out. If we DON’T kill them they’re just going to get stronger.” she turned to face the approaching tomb beasts as they trotted back, tails held tentatively aloft although the spiny crests that ran along their backs and shoulders rattled loudly to betray their unease. Dropping to one knee, Aria scratched both under their chins gently, in the place they both liked, murmuring.
“Can you smell him? Feel him, too? Is he here?”
Two pairs of crimson eyes stared back at her, white teeth (after MANY rounds of brushing over the months they had spent on Taris!) glinting back at her for a moment as the Tuk’ata chuffed softly back at her. Noses twitched as they trotted a few paces ahead and snuffled about the ground and the various corpses, looking for a trail. Aria straightened, turning back to Voldon now that he had some time to digest the point she had put forward. “Of course, if...if you still think there’s a better way to go about it, you’re far more experienced than I am.” a wry smile painted her features, stretched thin from worry. “But that’s just what I think, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t get any satisfaction out of it.” She knew she should know better, but she couldn’t help it.
“Uff! Uff!” Aria’s head jerked sideways to find Taral staring back at them, jerking his head towards an access port. Scraping sounds could be heard from inside, had Chwuq gone in already, or was something else already in there? Her hand closed around a lightsaber hilt, nodding towards Voldon as both Force users cautiously approached.
“UFF!” Taral grunted again, tail swishing once before it settled parallel with the ground again, ears and muzzle twitching to point towards the opening.
This way. Smells go this way.
She wasn’t even sure how she had started learning to understand what they said when they didn’t have the words in Basic, perhaps they were repressed memories from when she had been younger...Roan had tried to teach her, once. Or perhaps the defeated Sith Lord was somehow still imparting his knowledge of the Tuk’ata’s body language and vocalizations to her. Could he be watching over them right now?
Yerbol HAD said he was underground…Out loud, she responded to Taral:
“Alright, if you’re sure. Where’s Chwuq?” A soft bark behind her sounded familiar, the second hound looping back to join her mate when she realised he had stopped. Still gripping her saber, Aria used Taral’s shoulder as a stepping platform to help her up and into the access port, shuffling forward an inch or so before she tried to turn around to check on the others behind her.
“Hrrrmph!” a loud exhale, followed by an uneasy growl, and Taral nudged her thigh with his nose. He was small enough to fit, barely, as the open space drastically decreased only a few feet into the opening. If Aria moved mere inches further in, her own head would brush the ceiling.
“Bit of a tight squeeze…” she squinted ahead into the gloom, hoping it would be like the sewer ruins, “Should open up further down though, and let us stand up again.” It had to, right? If the Xiis were down here, and holding Yerbol captive.
Voldon managed to cram himself in as well, with Chwuq close behind him, and with careful trepidation they inched further in.
Thankfully, it did open out a lot more. At least enough that she and Voldon could stop and sit mostly upright (the Battlemaster was considerably taller than she was, and had to duck down a little to avoid hitting his head). The musty smell of damp earth wafted through their surroundings, the occasional “drip” of a droplet falling from the ceiling or the scuffle of movement somewhere further below permeating the silence.
“It FEELS like we’re in the right place.” Aria whispered to the Battlemaster. “He said it was underground, and it smelled earthy. I could smell what he was smelling, just barely.” she patted the Tuk’ata’s flanks. “Besides, their noses are better than ours and if they think they can smell something...they’re usually right.”
Bol, can you hear me? Or...or sense us? Nothing. We’re coming. Me, Voldon and the dogs. They found a tunnel, we’re coming to get you.
Please, let this be the right one… she was pleading, hoping for some kind of sign that they were on the right track before they went any further down...
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