The datacore was buried in the ship's nerve center—wrapped in a hardened black chassis, sealed with Republic cipherlocks, and coated in crystallized frost that hissed as it thawed.
Kora bypassed the first two encryption layers automatically.
The third one—manual only.
Toren stared at the input field.
Tarn stepped forward.
He keyed in a phrase.
"Kamino: Phase Zero."
The lock clicked open.
And the past played.
Grainy recordings filled the air.
Jedi—tired, desperate—giving last orders.
Troopers standing too still.
Orders spoken in soft tones. Numbers. Directives.
And then came a different file—classified under a different code:
Project Echo DustStatus: Field testing phase incompleteDeveloped by: GAR Section 8 / Jedi Science CorpsPurpose: "Selective Force Awakening in non-sensitive subjects through bio-sympathetic induction"
Toren's breath caught.
Mira stiffened.
Wess just whispered, "They were trying to make Jedi?"
Kora's tone was flat.
"This tech was deemed unstable. The last log suggests it was destroyed in a purge. This ship was its courier. It never arrived."
Tarn rubbed his temple.
"I remember… whispers. They said the Force could be… bottled."
Mira's voice was sharp. "Can it?"
Toren didn't answer.
He was staring at the glowing core of the file.
And the system blinking softly behind his eyes.
Blueprint Acquired: Echo Dust Protocol (Suppressed)
Access: [LOCKED]Warning: High-risk classification.Ethics Override Required.