This planet was called Mugul, located in an untouched corner of the Mid Rim. If the stolen files hadn't included precise coordinates, Amir never would've been able to find it.
Across the yellow-green land stretched rolling mountain ranges. Only small lakes remained here and there, and even those were slowly dying under the relentless drought.
The Traveler descended in stealth mode, landing quietly at the foot of a mountain.
This peak was larger than the others. Its yellow-green cliff face was bare, lacking the sparse vegetation seen elsewhere. Amir could tell heavy laser emplacements were hidden all across the rock.
This was the mountain that housed the experimental base. The entire mass had been modified—no doubt a hardened fortress.
Fortunately, they didn't need to hit it head-on.
Under Pax's guidance, Amir set the ship down in a concealed spot.
They all disembarked together.
Pax said, "The kids here… there aren't many still alive. They're spread across different labs. Once we're inside, we may need to split up."
Amir already knew. The whole facility had fewer than ten test subjects left. Anything important, Gideon would take onto a ship. The rest would be dumped back into the base—either squeezed for whatever value remained, or thrown away as scrap.
The base's primary function was to cultivate new clones and run the tedious, complex, large-scale testing process.
Everyone had learned the situation on the way here. The mood turned heavy. Even Mando, who'd been lurking quietly in the background, began wiping down his weapons again and again, a sharp killing intent building in him.
"Take this." Amir handed No. 32 a lightsaber—the blue one he and Sian had picked up. No. 32's marksmanship was, frankly, painful to witness. On the other hand, he was very familiar with a lightsaber, so he'd asked for one.
Amir had the spinning double-bladed lightsaber he'd taken before, but he didn't give it to No. 32. A lightsaber resonated with its wielder's intent, and the negative emotions embedded in a red blade could influence the one who used it. Amir never wanted to touch it again. Fortunately, No. 32 didn't like that saber either, so it could stay hanging where it was forever.
"How many groups are we splitting into?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Not sure yet," Pax said. "Once we get inside and tap their network, we can check today's logs. What they're working on changes daily. The kids won't necessarily be in the same place, and they won't necessarily move the same number each time."
Led by Pax, they headed into a secluded cave at the base of the mountain. After nearly five minutes of walking, the tunnel widened and showed signs of deliberate excavation.
Once Pax reached that area, he searched around. "Last time, I found an abandoned sewer outlet. It should lead straight inside."
Amir let out a breath. Good—abandoned. If it wasn't, he would've carved a hole with his lightsaber and crawled in anyway.
The cavern was wider than expected, but a strange stench lingered everywhere. Amir instinctively pulled out a filter and was about to put it into his mouth.
Seeing that, Pax said, "The air here's harmless. It just reeks. Don't worry."
Amir put the filter away, but unease still prickled at him. He sensed the Force around them growing cold, dense dark side currents flowing nearby. He was about to ask Obi-Wan when Pax spoke again:
"Found it. The abandoned sewer entrance is right here."
At that moment, BD-4, using its searchlight, beeped twice from farther off. Amir turned his head and asked, "Why'd you run so far?"
"Bweep—bzzzt—bweep!!" BD-4 sounded urgent, calling insistently.
Amir walked over, puzzled. "Why does it get worse the closer I get?"
Don't tell me this is the real sewer, Amir thought. He twitched his nose and reached BD-4—only for BD-4 to keep scurrying forward. It didn't go more than two steps before stopping.
There was a battered old canister there, still emitting a bluish glow. That was what had drawn BD-4.
"This looks like a medpod, but… not quite."
"It's a growth vat," Pax said—he'd come over without Amir noticing. "For incubating embryos, accelerating clone growth, storing tissue—lots of uses."
"Bweep-bweep-bweep!" BD-4 kept beeping anxiously.
Amir leaned forward—and saw a deep pit. A faint sound of running liquid drifted up from below.
The moment he stuck his head over the edge, a wave of rot-stench hit him. But what he saw in the next instant stopped his mind cold.
The pit was filled with shattered bodies.
Arms, legs, torsos—even heads—rotting like garbage in a pool of blood-red waste fluid. A huge pipe continuously poured more foul liquid into it, and right then a twisted, broken corpse dropped out of the pipe and splashed into the pool.
A corpse-disposal pit.
All the useless "rejects" from the experiments were dumped here.
Thrown in without any processing—left to rot slowly.
A fury Amir could barely contain surged up inside him. This wasn't the dark side stirring. This was his own anger, raw and undeniable. He had come here intending to rescue the children, but in this moment he felt a visceral disgust. He wanted to destroy this place—this filth taken to its absolute extreme—down to its foundations.
Pax pressed a hand on Amir's shoulder and yanked him back. He stayed silent, meaning he'd known about this already.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Amir asked, forcing his rage down.
"Our strength isn't enough to wipe this place out," Pax said. His voice was cold enough to cut. He carried endless fury too, but he'd hidden this on purpose—he didn't want to destabilize his teammates and push them into reckless actions. "But we will end all of this at the root. That's exactly what we're doing!"
"So calm down, Amir. Save the kids first. They've suffered more than enough."
Listening to Pax, Amir's emotions gradually settled. Pax was right. The Resistance was still too weak. Amir wasn't strong enough yet either.
But Amir still didn't want to stop there.
"Give me a moment. I need to go back to the ship," Amir said.
Pax hesitated, met Amir's eyes, and knew he couldn't stop him. He nodded. "No rush. Ahsoka will wait for us. We've got time."
When Pax returned alone, Obi-Wan asked, "Where's Amir?"
"He said he left something on the ship. He went back to grab it," Pax replied.
"I'll go in first and check the route," Obi-Wan said. "The air here stinks."
With that, Obi-Wan entered the conduit. No. 32 followed him in.
Pax and the Mandalorian stayed at the entrance to stand guard and wait.
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STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST
🌌⚔️ STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST ⚔️🌌
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📢 THE FORCE CALLS AGAIN! 📢
Star Wars: Relics of the Past has 100+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 🌠🛰️
Ancient secrets, forgotten relics, Jedi echoes, and buried truths wait in the shadows of the galaxy.
✨ Some things were lost for a reason.⚔️ Some powers should never be awakened.🌌 And some stories begin long after history tried to erase them.
Follow the trail of ancient relics before the rest of the galaxy catches up.
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