The chamber trembled as the ancient voice faded into a crackle of malignant energy.
The Sith figure stood tall in the center of the shrine, cloaked in heavy robes that seemed to ripple with shadow. His presence was not just physical — it pressed against the Mandalorians' minds, probing for fear, doubt, weakness.
Joron's helmet adjusted its filtering as the ambient Force energy spiked. "Sithspawn," he muttered. "I thought they were extinct."
"They're not," Sira growled, her blaster raised. "We deal with this — now."
The Battle for the Shrine
The Sith acolyte moved with supernatural speed, hands igniting a pair of crimson-bladed sabers with an angry hiss. He darted forward, cloaked in a blur of Force-enhanced motion.
Blaster bolts screamed across the chamber, but most deflected off a shimmering barrier of Force energy. The acolyte struck, slicing through cover as if it were paper, his blades hissing against beskar but not breaching it.
Sira ducked under a wide arc and returned fire, aiming for joints and exposed gaps in the robes. Joron flanked him from the right, while Talyen triggered a series of plasma mines, forcing the Sith to leap back.
"Split and circle!" Joron barked.
The Mandalorians executed the maneuver with precision, forcing the acolyte to retreat to the altar. His breathing was ragged but calm — too calm. He wasn't fighting to win. He was stalling.
The Shrine's True Purpose
Talyen's scanners buzzed with frantic alerts. "There's a resonance spike! The crystal — it's feeding on the fight!"
Indeed, the massive dark crystal at the chamber's center was pulsing brighter now, absorbing the ambient violence and emotion. Sith runes flared across the chamber walls, and the air became thick, heavy — almost liquid with pressure.
Sira turned her gaze from the Sith to the artifact. "He's not guarding it. He's using it."
The acolyte smiled, his face hidden beneath the hood. "You came for power. Here it is."
With a final gesture, he plunged one of his sabers into the altar. The crystal flared violently — a psychic scream echoed in the minds of every Mandalorian.
Talyen dropped to a knee, gripping her helmet. "It's—inside my head—!"
Sira fought off the mental onslaught with sheer will, biting down on her tongue to anchor herself in the moment. She dashed forward and fired point-blank into the acolyte's chest — the blast broke his barrier just enough. The second shot dropped him.
The dark presence did not fade.
Extraction
The shrine trembled, loose debris falling from the ceiling. Joron barked into the squad channel, "Secure the crystal! Blow the altar if we can't move it!"
Talyen, still reeling, managed to launch a containment field — the energy matrix snapped around the crystal with a high-pitched whine. The resonating hum dulled, no longer feeding on their presence.
The Sith acolyte's body twitched, then dissolved into a mist of black particles, absorbed into the runes.
Joron cursed. "Great. He's probably not dead — just dispersed."
Sira turned to the team. "Mission's over. We've got what we came for. Get that crystal on the shuttle. Move!"
Return to the Base
The extraction was tense and quiet. Even back aboard the transport, the weight of the moon clung to them like a shadow. The crystal was now sealed within a triple-layer containment unit in the cargo hold.
As the ship lifted from the canyon, the shrine imploded in a controlled collapse — detonations rigged by Joron to bury the ruin and prevent future exploitation.
Back on the Mandalorian moon base, the entire camp gathered to witness the landing.
Their people watched with silent reverence as the strike team returned, battered but unbroken.
A Reckoning Begins
In the command center, Sira met with Orar, the planetary governor and war leader.
"We found more than we expected," she said, tossing a data chip onto the table. "A Sith acolyte, ancient technology, and this." She motioned toward the crystal, now resting behind a force field.
Orar nodded slowly. "And what did it cost?"
"A little of our peace," she answered.
He turned to her. "Then we'll build something stronger in its place."
Outside, engineers had already begun plans to adapt a new research wing — one that would incorporate the Sith crystal into a secure energy grid, under Talyen's watchful eye.
But as Sira stared at the starlit void beyond the base's viewport, she could still feel something.
The Sith hadn't just left ruins behind. They had left echoes — and one of them had taken notice.