I followed K'Kruhk down the nearly pristine hallway, then down the spiraling staircase. It was a bit of one heck of a walk, as the hole they ran around went down a considerable distance, but there were no railings anywhere, just a gap in the middle that went all the way down to the bottom.

The thick layer of dust making the stairs just a bit more slippery didn't help.

When we reached the bottom of the massive OSHA violation, we stepped into a large arched hallway. Murals were carved into the walls, set in with what I was pretty sure were small cuts of kyber crystal, too small to be used in a lightsaber. It was awfully opulent, a strange feature for a Jedi Temple.

At the end of the long hall was a massive door. It was reinforced metal, a vault door clearly designed to securely protect whatever was inside. It was marked in a few places by what looked suspiciously like lightsaber strikes, but even the spots with looked like dozens of strikes got more than a few millimeters deep.

"Tried to break in, huh?" I asked, stepping forward and running my hand over the marks. "Would have had a very hard time with so much cortosis woven through this metal…"

Cortosis was a strange, fibrous material that was weak in its raw form but could be woven through weapons and armor. It absorbs energy at a stunning rate, meaning a cortosis weave could stop lightsabers and blaster bolts alike. A dense, high quality weave, or a pure enough block of the raw form, would cause a lightsaber to lose coherencey and shut off. I would have already been looking for ways to get it for my people, but unlike beskar, cortosis was worse than useless when it came to physical damage.

Of course, throw enough of it into a strong enough metal, and you could get around that issue.

"It wasn't us," Master K'Kruhk responded, shaking his head. "The damage was done when we arrived. We were drawn down here, and the vault opened for us on its own, as if it sensed our peaceful intentions."

"Will it-"

As if to purposely cut me off, as I asked, the vault door shuddered and slowly opened. Behind it was another layer of doors, followed by a third, each layer opening slowly. When the third layer opened, the interior of the vault was revealed.

And holy hell, was it a sight.

Stacks and stacks of books, armor, coins, art, and statues lay around a massive chamber. It was at least twenty meters wide, and while the center of the room was clear, the walls were stacked high with riches. Sitting at the very opposite end of the room, resting on a pile of what looked like coins, was some sort of throne, carved from white stone and inlaid with gems and metal.

"What the fuck," I said, almost stepping inside instinctively, stopping myself at the last moment. "What the hell is this?"

"This… Is the treasure vault of a powerful Jedi Lord," K'Kruhk explained, stepping into the chamber and motioning me to follow. "Those books over there describe a benevolent and prosperous reign of Jedi Lord Hafor Clarit. He passed shortly before the station of the Jedi Lord was abolished, and this treasure was lost."

As I stepped forward, a sensor descended from the wall, catching me off guard and running a scan over my body. Almost as fast as it appeared, it returned to where it had extended from.

"New entity located... Human, male... relationship to acknowledged user confirmed... Entry granted."

A voice echoed through the vault once the scan was complete. When it finished talking, I looked to K'Kruhk, who once again encouraged me to enter.

With a nod, I tentatively entered the room, now aware that some sort of security was in place. Still, it was impossible not to get distracted by the treasure around us, and soon I was trying to examine all of the room at once. The longer I looked, the more I realized just how priceless this vault was. Not because of the stacks of precious metals and gems I spotted, but because of the history it contained. Three bookshelves were filled with ancient Jedi tomes and scrolls, and I could see at least seven holocrons tucked into cases and shelves around the room. We were sitting on a treasure trove of Jedi knowledge.

"This is incredible," I finally said. "The knowledge here could help stabilize whatever sort of order comes next! Think of all the secrets and lost knowledge that might be here. Ancient Force techniques, new ways to train, lightsaber forms, the possibilities… I mean, you would have to watch out for anything leading to a hard on the 'right to rule' mentality, but even with that… this is huge…"

"Imagine-"

K'Kruhk's words were cut off when Julus attempted to enter the vault after us. The same little probe descended, though now I could see it was from a hatch in the wall. When it was done, it slipped away again.

"New entity located... Human, male... association to acknowledged user confirmed... Entry authorized."

Julus raised a hand as he stepped in further, making room for Maula to enter as well. She apologized to K'Kruhk for interrupting while she was being scanned.

"New guest located... Balosar, female... association with existing user noted... Entry authorized."

"...Imagine how dangerous it would be in the wrong hands," K'Kruhk pointed out, pausing first to confirm no one else would interrupt him.

"How exactly could there be any wrong hands for this knowledge?" I asked with a frown.

"Darth Sidious-"

"Would destroy it out of principle," I said, shaking my head. "I mean, he might try to corrupt some of the Force techniques for his own use, but he doesn't really need more weird Force stuff. He certainly wouldn't be able to use them right off the bat, he is too dark and twisted to use light-side-powered techniques. Just like you would struggle to use Force Lightning without-"

"Danger of Sith... Unacceptable." The same security voice said, cutting off the rest of my rant. "Vault must be defended."

The older Jedi Master looked at me with raised eyebrows despite the interruption, trying to puzzle through what I just said, or more specifically, how exactly I knew that. Thankfully, Malua stepped forward to clear things up.

"Among his talent in leadership, Deacon is also known for his knowledge in unexpected areas," She explained. "Quite a few times, he has surprised us with information he should not have. Both Knight Amescoll and Master Yoda have confirmed this."

Now he gave me another look, this time more appraisingly, as if trying to figure out how much of her words had been the truth. I simply shrugged.

"It comes in handy," I said, turning to look around the vault contents. "Anyway, if the threat of Sith is unacceptable, then we could move the contents of the vault. This place is one unlucky scan from being discovered anyway."

"Removal of Vault contents is prohibited," The same voice said.

"Cool... Why should we care?" I asked with a frown. "The vault has done its purpose and it protected its treasure for what, a thousand years? More? Now it's time to move the stuff somewhere safer."

"The items stored in the Vault are property of this sector Jedi Lord," The voice emphasized. "You are not authorized to withdraw its contents."

Rather than respond, the master bent down and picked up a single coin. He held it out to me, placing it in my palm when I reached out to accept.

"Try and remove it from the vault," He instructed, gesturing to the door.

Trusting that he was smart enough not to get me killed, I slowly walked towards the door. The second I was within two feet of the exit, A red barrier snapped to life with a violent grinding noise before settling into a loud humming.

I jumped back, managing to stay on my feet despite the shock, and I even held back from cursing up a storm. I did turn around and threw the coin back at K'Kruhk, who caught it despite the extra force I put behind it.

"Okay… so there is some security in place," I admitted once I recovered. "We have some tools and a slicer droid. I'm sure we can take this down pretty quick, probably."

Before I could continue, the red barrier once again appeared, blocking the doors. Even more worrying was that the doors on the other side began to close.

"Contents of the vault must remain in the vault," the voice said. "Apologies, but I cannot let you leave."

I cursed loudly, preparing to start throwing lighting to try and disable the door and barrier before it could seal us in. Nal and Calima would notice we were missing eventually, but I would rather not be stuck in the meantime. Before I could do that, however, Malua stepped forward, looking upward as if trying to figure out where she should talk to.

"You're not just a normal security program, are you?" she asked, still looking around. "I apologize for my friend's words, but surely we could discuss this without threats?"

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, finally, the doors on the other side of the barrier stopped, slowly opening again. The barrier remained in place, but the message was clear. Whatever was in control of the vault was listening, but it didn't trust us.

"What gave me away?" The voice said, the harsh electronic cut to it diminished greatly.

"Your words changed when you were scanning us," Malua explained. "A simple program wouldn't have been able to do that. Plus, I could hear your emotion through your words."

"...Well done, no one has noticed that before," The voice confirmed. "Be that as it may, it does not change anything. The contents of the vault cannot be removed."

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I couldn't help but cast a look at K'Kruhk, who had more than twenty years with this vault, and yet looked as shocked as I felt that the vault was not just a simple program. Still, even if I was caught off guard, I was nothing if not adaptable.

"I understand that your mandate states that the contents cannot leave," I said, stepping forward and finally choosing to look where the sensor had emerged to scan us from above the door. "But I am also guessing you have a mandate to not let the contents fall to harm."

"...That is correct," It confirmed.

"Well, which one is a higher priority?"

"... why?"

"Well, your systems are more than a thousand years old, and the temple above you, which I'm guessing was meant to protect you, is a shadow of its former glory," I explained. "How much of your system still functions? I'm willing to bet you had more security options than just a barrier, but they don't work anymore, do they?"

The voice stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking up again.

"I cannot violate my programming. The contents of this vault cannot be taken."

I cursed under my breath. If the droid's priorities were set up in that order, there wasn't much I could do to trick it into letting us take the contents, even if we were just trying to help.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but you are the vault, correct?" Malua asked, looking at the same spot I was.

"That is correct."

"And as long as the contents remain with you, then they have not been removed from the vault."

"That is correct as well."

"Then, if we brought you with us, then you could fulfill both of your mandates," she pointed out. "The contents of the vault would not be removed, and you are preventing the contents from being damaged."

That idea caused all of us to pause, puzzling through the loophole that she had just created. After a good thirty seconds of considering, the vault spoke again.

"I am anchored into the bedrock and weigh several hundred tons," It responded. "You cannot move me."

"No, but you are a droid mind, correct?" I asked. "If you show us where your droid brain is, we could download you into a new mobile chassis."

Again, silence settled over the space as we waited for the droid to respond.

"You would keep the contents together, not sell them?"

"We will build you a secure building to store them all," I said, an idea coming to life in my head as I talked. "You would be the curator of the building, with your contents securely on display, so that people could see and appreciate them. That's why you let these Jedi in, isn't it? A vault is meant to store and display. "

"...I... The vault systems are failing, and its contents will soon be destroyed by time," The droid mind agreed, speaking as if it were attempting to convince itself. "They will remain in my domain. I will not be separated from the contents. Jedi can be trusted..."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, mentally preparing to use my magic in case the droid mind reacted negatively to this plan. After a long, tense moment, it finally spoke again.

"Very well. Please ensure that the contents are safe and protected. I am the vault, and I will follow the contents, protect and tend to them."

"Fantastic, I am so glad we could reach an agreement! Your contents deserve the proper care," I agreed, nodding to Nal, who rushed from the vault, comms already in his hands. "My associate is going to get the help required to download you and begin transferring you and tour contents onto our ship. When you wake up, you will be in a much better position to protect your contents."

We talked with the droid brain for a few more minutes, soothing its fears and discussing what sort of facilities we would create for his contents. Eventually, Nal returned and agreed to watch over the process, as did one of the Jedi Masters. The rest of us returned to the surface, where Master K'Kruhk announced that they would be leaving with us, gathering with their kin on a plant safe from the Empire.

Over the next hour, I ended up answering a bunch more questions about Nirn and the Skyforged Vanguard. It went well, not only because I could assure people that what they were heading to was better than this, but I also got a chance to see who was reacting poorly. Even among Jedi, people got used to being in charge or a certain way of doing things. Between the previous day's discussion and this, I got a good sense of who might end up being troublemakers in the future.

I didn't expect anything too drastic, especially because I could clue those in charge to watch out for them, but it was still nice to know.

Once it was clear that everyone would be leaving, we quickly started packing the temple up. In total, twenty-five people would be making the trip back with us, which meant it was going to be a little tight. We had enough bedding, thankfully, to keep people comfortable, but it was going to be a close thing. Thankfully, I made sure the ship was running light before we left, otherwise we would be in an even worse position.

Four hours into packing, I got a message from Nal. The Slicer droid had cracked the security and downloaded the vault droids brain into a spare core from Miru's old workspace. He confirmed that they were in the process of loading everything in the vault up into crates and hauling it up the stairs. It was going to take time, even with the help of labor droids and the Force. Nal confirmed they were starting with Jedi texts and holocrons first, then Jedi artifacts, followed finally by material wealth.

About an hour after that, as the hold of the Talos Chariot was starting to fill, Calima reported some concerning news. According to the information our scanners were picking up, something had caused the local government to go on alert. Their cities were partially locked down, with their local security Force looking for something.

"Any signs of them searching the wild areas of the planet?" I asked into my comms as I hefted a bag of seeds. "Are they looking for us?"

"At the moment… no one is looking outside of the city limits," She explained. "And we have no idea what they are looking for. It could be us, or it could be unrelated."

I cursed and confirmed I had received her message. I instructed her to warm up the ship, run through the preflight checklist, and get the droids stationed in the gunner positions. We needed to be ready to go as soon as possible, before whatever miracle was keeping us safe for now ran out.

The loading picked up rapidly, and our previous pace was eclipsed completely. Done was the careful transfer from the vault into the Chariot. Instead, we had more than half of the younger Jedi running up and down the stairs carrying handfuls of everything they wanted, stuffing them into boxes that remained in the ship. Thankfully, by then, everything fragile had already been carefully stored in several sealed containers.

Finally, after another four hours, we were packed and ready. Everyone was loaded onto the ship, with my crew, the Jedi Masters, and a few of the younger generation by the bridge in the lounge. Master K'Kruhk stood behind me on the bridge itself while Calima ran on a final scan of the surrounding area.

"We are still in the clear, sir," she said, sounding confused but hopeful. "We have a short jump already calculated and ready to go… If you want to leave… now's the time."

"... Alright. Lift us off and burn atmo," I ordered with a nod. "Drain the guns and push it to the limit, I want to be halfway gone before they even know we are here."

"Aye, Boss," She said simply, before tapping the internal com system and warning everyone to secure themselves as best as possible. When she was done with that, she lifted us off and pointed the ship straight up. "Hold on tight!"

Suddenly she shifted the engines, and we were off, you could feel the rumble of the ship, the engines working past their limits to move us as fast as possible. While all we could see was the sky, I could see on Calima's console as our altitude skyrocketed.

"Multiple ships have noticed us," The sensor droid called out. "They are moving towards intercept positions."

"They are too... far away," Calima assured us, peeking at the scans even as she controlled the ship. "The closest one might get... a few shots, but not enough to take us down."

As we continued to fly upwards, the sky began to go dark as there was less and less atmosphere between us and space. Finally, we pushed past the atmosphere, and the ship's speed increased.

"The... closest ship is pull back," Calima said, sounding genuinely confused. "The rest are too… They aren't coming after us."

"Slow us down," I ordered. "No reason to burn out the engines if they aren't chasing us."

Calima nodded and slowed us down marginally. We were still moving fast, however, and were soon free of the planet's gravity. Calima jumped us out immediately, our cockpit filled with streaks of light as we escaped into hyperspace.

"Why did they stop?" I asked once everything had calmed down.

"Sir, communication intercepts stated they were not looking for our ship, but an escaping smuggler in a smaller ship," The comm droid stated. "When their scans came back negative as that ship, and they couldn't reach us, they gave up."

"I… So we were freaking out for nothing?" I asked, looking over at Calima, who was scanning through the same data as the droid.

"It appears… so, Boss," Calima said.

I snorted, shaking my head at the situation. The Jedi master behind me seemed to find it much funnier, chuckling softly to himself.

"Alright, well, I'll take the win, even if it makes us look dumb," I said, still shaking my head. "C'mon, K'Kruhk, let's go get you people set up and tell them we are in the clear."