Shadow's Cloak
Chapter 1
He stood there with his eyes closed he heard their padded metallic feet hit
the floor. He heard their servomotors whirring inside the metal casing of
their bodies. He heard their photoreceptors in their eyes find their
target lock on him. He heard them as they raised their weapons in attempt
to kill him. He heard this all and more. He heard it all because of the
Force.
A small feral smile reached up one side of his face. He would beat them
with no problem whatsoever. He'd beat them and he'd like it. He opened
his eyes, the fierce fiery intensity that showed how much he was going to
like this was as plain as a star destroyer in orbit above a planet.
He felt the first one come at him through the Force. The combat droid
raised its large mace and swung it at him with such force that it left a
gaping hole where he used to be. At the last second as the mace was coming
on down toward him he vaulted right over the ring of droids around him. He
landed with a roll that brought him up to his feet. He spun around and his
lightsaber sprang to his hand as if attached by invisible strings. The
familiar sound of snap-hiss filled the air as the blade ignited. The blade
cast a deep eerie crimson glow throughout the room. He held the deadly
weapon in front of his waist in a defensive position.
They immediately turned to face him with the mechanical speed and precision
that only droids are capable of. The targeting reticules of those droids
that held blasters immediately trained on him, which he felt through the
Force as soon as it happened. They opened fire upon him, red-hot killing
energy flying at him through the air. The Force guided his hands to show
him where to intercept these beams and send them right back at their
shooters.
Most of the bolts hit their mark, catching one of them in the eyes and
dropping the droid on impact. Another hit one in the neck taking it
cleanly off, while others just hitting them in the chest and knocking them
to the smoothe duracrete floor. That was easy enough, he thought, but it
didn't give him the same satisfaction as it would if the droids had been
human. If they ha been he would have heard the sickening meaty whumph of
flesh being taken off. A sound he greatly enjoyed.
He then waited for the droids with the close range weapons to come at him.
For their programming was only to attack if, no when, he took out the one
with blasters. They came at him running as fast as their servomotors would
allow. Their weapons gleamed in the light as they raised them. This was
the part he liked best, close combat.
The one with the vibroaxes, whom he called Slasher, reached him first. It
swung them in an x fashion that would have cut open any normal man's chest.
But he wasn't normal. He had the Force. He dodged each of the swings by
leaning to the left first and then ducking down. Once the last swing went
over his head he chose this time to act. He brought his blades around and
cut one of Slasher's legs off making him loose his balance. Slasher tried
one more cut, but the ax met the one of the lightsaber blades and the blade
cut through it with ease. He kicked Slasher in the chest making it fall to
the ground. He then got up and drove one of the energy blades right through
the chest.
The other two reached him at the same time. One of them, the one that had
attacked him first, had a chain ball mace with spikes that covered the
ball, the other where arms would have been had just shafts of cylindrical
metal. The thing that made these shafts special was that they were charged
with enough electrical charge to send someone into a convulsive death with
a single touch. A weapon he'd designed himself. He called these two Shock
and Mace.
Mace came at him first spinning the mace wildly in front of him. It swung
the mace in a downward motion that should have taken his head off but
instead met one of the blades and that mace was cut in half and separated
from the chain making it useless. As the droid finished swinging and
realizing that there was no mace left a blade suddenly cut through the
middle of his head and all the way down his torso and coming out at his
groin. The two pieces fell to the floor.
Shock then came at him driving the electrical shafts at him in a punching
motion. He dodged these attacks with great ease. Shock then sped up as
its programming had told it to do. He dropped to one knee and began to
roll backwards a few meters and rolled up to his feet and ran towards a
wall. Once he got close enough he jumped at the wall rolling in mid-air to
bring his feet to the wall. When his feet connected with the wall his
knees bent and his muscles coiled. He sprang off the wall with a Force
aided push. He went hurtling towards Shock. His blades came down to the
right of Shock's waist. Once he reached Shock he drove one of the blades
up the body of the droid in a diagonal direction cleaving the droid in two.
He landed with a roll and came to his feet.
He shut down his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. He called his
shirt and cloak to him through the Force. He pulled his shirt over his
heavily tattooed body. The tattoos were black and red stripes the slightly
resembled lightning bolts in places. His tattoos were exactly similar to
that of Darth Maul's but his didn't cover his head and only went to elbow
length on his arm. Once he'd gotten his shirt on he pulled on his cloak and
looked at his chronometer. "Three minutes, not bad. But I can do better."
He punched the doorjamb on the wall and the door slid away to let him
through. He could do better because he had the Force, most of all the dark
side of the Force. He was a dark lord of the Sith. He was Darth Deamos.
Chapter 2
He walked out of the training room and into the dimly lit hallway. His boots clicked off the metal floor and the sound echoed for what seemed like forever. His black cloak swished lightly in his wake. The dim lights cast eerie shadows over the finely tuned features of his face. He had sharp check bones and a prominent jaw that ended in a slight point. His forehead sloped slightly as if it carried a heavy burden, but his most alarming of features was his eyes. His eyes were a startling blue and would look almost child-like if not for the look of darkness in them. His eyes seem to hold a darkness almost equivalent to a black hole and they looked so angry and full of pain and hatred. His eyes were also his favorite feature. His stare could usually paralyze his enemies on the spot from just a look. He walked for a little while longer until he reached what looked like a dead end in the hall way. He opened a secret panel in the wall that revealed a keypad with different colored buttons on it. He punched the buttons and the slid away to reveal another hallway. There was a very large difference in this hallway and the one he'd just come from. This one had crimson carpeting with gold stripes that lined the edge, high vaulted ceilings, and was brightly lit. The walls were painted crimson with a gold trimming that matched the carpet. Along the walls ever meter or two was a column set into the wall so that only one side was shown. These were also painted in the same way as the carpet and walls. Darth Deamos stuck out like a Tauntaun on Tatooine. He soon came to a door through which he entered. This room was exactly like the hallway outside except that the ceiling wasn't as high and there were transparisteel windows at the far end of the room. There was a desk situated in front of the windows. There was a bookshelf with little statues and other trinkets of the sorts on them that was on the right side of the room. On the other side were a few paintings from different worlds that went nicely with the room. Darth Deamos made his way to the farthest end of the shelf and pulled on a metal sphere. A panel opened up next to the bookshelf that revealed a keypad with buttons that had symbols on them. He punched in another code and the shelf slid to the side to reveal another room. He entered into the next room. This room was similarly painted and had the columns that the hallway had but the room was ovular. In the center of the room there was an inset into the floor and a ring of hover couches that circled a holoprojector that was mounted into the floor. Along the walls were transparisteele cases that were about his height and had shelves with lights that showed their contents perfectly. There were four of such cases spaced intermittently throughout the room, but what really caught the eye were the contents of the cases. The cases contained lightsabers. Each lightsaber was unique with distinct designs and different blade colors. A few of them were of Darth Deamos' own making but most of them were from Jedi that he'd killed in battle and then taken their lightsaber as a trophy. He sometimes used these different lightsabers when going on missions assigned by his master. He remembered each and every one of the battles that he'd won them in vividly and the names of their former owners. He made his way to the center of the room with holoprojector. Upon reaching it he pressed a button on it and a hologram appeared before him. He immediately bowed deeply and reverently. "Greetings Lord Deamos. How did the events on Heroon go?" the holo asked. "Things went well, my master. The Herooian government will soon fall and the rebels' leader will soon take power and we will have another puppet in which to control." "I see you added another lightsaber to your collection." "Yes, another foolish Jedi got in my way and I disposed of him quickly." "Good work my apprentice, very good work. Things are going into place very nicely. Soon we will rid ourselves of Skywalker and his annoying little Jedi and then we will have the galaxy. I also notice that your collection seems to not have been touched in sometime." "I have been busy as of lately." Even though he couldn't see his master's eyes he knew that they were boring into him looking to see if there was any sort of compliant behind his words. If he saw anything he didn't comment on it.
"I require nothing more of you right now. I shall contact you when I need you next." "I serve and obey you my master." Darth Deamos bowed again and the holo flickered out. Darth Deamos turned around and started walking towards the door when he stopped. What his master had said about his collection was true. He had been neglecting it for some while. He turned around and went back to the shelves and looked at each individual lightsaber. He got to the end of the first case and looked at the lightsaber that was on the middle shelf. The Jedi that had owned this one had put a fairly difficult fight. Her name was Larken Treyhold. She had given him a particularly nasty scar on his right leg. If he would have wanted to get rid of the scar he could but chose to keep it as a reminder that he wasn't all-powerful like his master. He opened the case and pulled out the lightsaber. He pushed the activation stud and instead of making the usual deep hum a lightsaber makes this one was higher pitched. Also unique about it was the crystal it kept inside of the pommel, which was a very rare one and there was only about fifty found in the entire galaxy. The crystal itself changed colors and apparently this affected the blade also for it too changed colors. He released the stud and put the lightsaber back and closed the case. Deamos moved on passing another case until he got to a smaller case in between the second and third cases. This case was smaller and was shaped more like a podium than a shelf and had a sloping top that faced the looker. It was only about the width of his waist and held only one shelf. The shelf itself held a lightsaber to one side and a mount for another, which was empty. The lightsaber that was contained was the one belonging to the first Jedi he'd ever slain. This battle he remembered most of all. It had been his fiercest battle so far. The empty mount was saved for the lightsaber of special interest to him. It was saved for Luke Skywalker's. His master was right. Soon that annoying Skywalker would be dead and his Jedi with him. Then he and his master will rise and control the entire galaxy, and it would once again fear the word Sith, soon, very soon.
Chapter 3
"Why do we have to watch these stupid bugs carry a stupid little leaf, Master Skywalker, its boring?" "To teach you patience Raynar." "But I thought we learned that yesterday!" "Yeah, uncle Luke why?" quipped his niece, Jaina Solo. "Good question Jaina. Why would I try teaching you something you already learned?" He asked more to the whole class than just Jaina and Raynar. "Maybe there's more that we have to learn yet." Said another one of his students. "That's a good point, a very good point, but look a little deeper." His class was silent for a few moments when his nephew, Jacen Solo, piped up. "Is it because there's something else that you're teaching us here besides patience, Uncle Luke?" "Correct you are Jacen." His nephew just beamed with pride at getting his uncle's question right and his twin sister smiled at him too, also looking proud. The two were inseparable it seemed that wherever one went the other was sure to follow. Although, that was natural of course since Jacen and Jaina were twins, Jaina being just a few standard seconds older than Jacen. Their little brother Anakin Solo was back at the temple with other students. All three were very strong in the Force, especially Anakin. Which was why there were on Yavin 4. That's why all of them were here. All of the people on the planet were either training to become jedi or they already were. Those that were jedi had just opted to stay and help Luke train the others.
Yavin 4 was a moon that orbited the gas giant Yavin, which was also the system's name. The whole moon was completely covered in jungle. It was virtually untouched except for the old temple ruins that were found sporadically here and there. In fact this was the planet that the Rebel Alliance had used as home base when the first Death Star had been destroyed. He remembered it all so well. The old Masassi temple that used currently was used as the main operations building and hangar for the rebels. It all seemed like just yesterday. "Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke." Jaina pulled him out of his reverie. "What are we supposed to be learning then?" "I want you all to use your senses and tell me what you feel." His students went quiet again. Luke looked up at the sky and saw the red mass of Yavin 4 filling it. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He felt the small caress of the warm humid breeze across his skin. He heard the squawking of birds near by and the rustle of the Masassi tree's leaves. He felt through the force that someone was on the trail headed for him and his class. He decided to try and wrap up the lesson. "So what did you find?"
"I felt the wind, master Skywalker," offered one. He got various other answers but none of which he was looking for. "No, what did you feel." "Oh," came the collective reply of the group. "So that's what this lesson was about. Getting us to learn to be aware of our surroundings and learn from them." Jacen stated more than asked. The answer that Jacen had given was exactly the lesson he was trying to teach them and it shocked Luke that he'd figured it out. So he tried not to show it. Well, that's Jacen for you, always being intuitive and looking at the big picture.
Luke regained his mental composure and began to address the class. "What Jacen says is exactly right. A jedi needs to be focused and attuned to one's surroundings so you can be ready for anything that might come your way. You need to have patience in order to be attuned to your surroundings."
"Master Skywalker." Luke looked over his shoulder and saw Kam Solusar. Kam was one of his first students that he'd trained and had opted to stay and help Luke train others. "Yes, Kam?" "There's someone here to see you."
"Alright Kam thank you for coming to get me. Alright class that's it for today." He got up and so did the students and they began to walk back.
When they arrived back at the temple he saw a star ship he recognized and three figures standing around it. "Mom, Dad!" The twins yelled and went running towards their parents. "Hey you two," Han replied and embraced the teens tightly. "Wow, Jacen you're taller, and Jaina you're more beautiful than ever, " He said with the usual lopsided grin. This prompted a blush from both of them. Han let them go and Leia then hugged them just as tightly. Chewbacca grunted something and Jaina replied, "Oh we'd never forget you Chewie." The two each grabbed the towering Wookie's waist, which they barely reached, and squeezed. "How you doing Luke?" Leia asked. "I'm doing well. What are you three doing here?" "Not three," Han said sarcastically rolling his eyes. Luke had forgotten about Leia's Noghori bodyguards who usually hung out in the rear or in the shadows somewhere, but always kept Leia in sight. Then Luke saw them hiding around in the shadows of the Millennium Falcon. "Hello Olmahk, Basbakhan." Olmahk and Basbakhan just nodded their leathery gray heads to acknowledge Luke. They were short and didn't look very imposing except for their faces, which were reptilian in appearance and look quite menacing but their looks betrayed them. For their bodies were pure muscle and they had needle sharp fingernails and teeth. Their speed and strength were amazing despite their size. Luke knew firsthand how fierce of fighters they were. Even though Leia had had the Noghori as bodyguards for a few years now it still got a little on Han and Leia's nerves, but they appreciated them greatly.
"Can't I take a break from time to time to see my family?" Leia asked defensively. "Of course you can Leia, but won't the New Republic need its Chief of State."
"Oh I think the government can last a few days without me. Besides the Senate is in recess and if there is any emergency then can contact me." "Well, I'm just glad you're all here. It's great getting to see you all. Why don't we go inside and get something to eat I'm sure you all are hungry. By the way where's threepio." Right after that Luke heard a crash from inside the Flacon and heard a voice proclaim, "Oh my!" "What's he messed up now?" Han exasperated. "Threepio you all right in there?" "Oh yes Master Han I am quite all right, but a stack of the droid motivators has fallen," came the droid's reply. "Motivators?" "Yeah, Lando wanted me to drop them off for him at GemDiver Station since we were coming out this way."
"But what does Lando want with droid motivators?" "Well, you know Lando. All I can guess is that he wants it for the station, but other than that it's beyond me." "Hey, how bout you guys go in and I'll help Threepio pick up the motivators?" "Alright, but don't take too long I've got some stuff I want to talk to you about." "Okay, I'll see you inside." Han, Leia, and the others made their way into the temple and Luke went up the boarding ramp into the Falcon. Luke stuck his inside just in case that Threepio was carry move motivators. As soon as he was sure that it was clear Luke walked in. "Threepio, where are you?" Luke walked around the Falcon and then found him. There stood C-3PO bending over trying to pick up some metal crates and wasn't succeeding very well. "Here Threepio, let me help you with that," Luke said bending over to pick up the crate. "Oh, thank you so very much, Master Luke." Luke could tell that the droid was relieved even though he couldn't really express emotion, he could tell nonetheless. The whole time that they were stacking the crates the Luke wondered wondering what so important that Han and Leia had to talk to him about that they couldn't have just told him over a comm. Well whatever it is, it must be important.
***
Luke and threepio walked into the great hall where the others were gathered. Luke reached the table and noticed that the twin's best friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca were there too. Lowbacca also happened to be Chewie's nephew. Tenel Ka was the princess of the Hapes Royal family and would inherit the throne, but she had chosen to become a jedi instead. Luke sat down and the table and everybody gave their greetings. "So, Han Leia, what did you guys want to talk to me about?"
"Well, someone approached us and asked us to give you a message for you." Han replied "Why didn't they just send me the message themselves?" "They said that they didn't know how to get a hold of you and so they asked us to deliver it to you." Leia supplied. "Here," Han reached into his pocket and took out a data card and data pad and slid it across the table. "That's the message." Luke picked up the card, put it into the data pad, and activated the message. An image of a man's face with sharp features and warm eyes filled the small screen. He didn't recognize the face but his question as to who it was was soon answered. "Master Skywalker, I am Shane Kooltos. I am the CEO and president of CoreTech Technologies. I was wondering if you could meet with me at my office on Courscant at your soonest convenience. I will explain everything when you arrive. Thank you for your time." The image faded and the screen went dark. "He sure sounds sure that I'll show up," Luke said. "That's what I said when I saw it, but we looked up the name, face, and vocal records on the guy and he checks out. He is who he says he is," Han said. "But why would he want to contact me?" "Maybe he needs help spending some of his millions," Jacen mused. Jaina just groaned at Jacen's bad attempt at making a joke. "Perhaps this is so," Tenel Ka spoke up in her usual serious tone. "Nah, he could just hire somebody to do that job. Why would he need a jedi anyways?" "That's exactly what I was thinking Han, but perhaps I should go just to see what he wants." Lowbacca growled something and Em-TeeDee, Lowie's miniature translator droid, spoke up, "Master Lowbacca would like to express his concern that what if this was just some elaborate trap meant to capture you." "Although I appreciate your concern Lowie, I don't think anybody would try to capture me one Courscant." "I agree with you Luke, but what if this some sort of trap or something set up by the Remnant." "He should still go though, but if it makes you happy dear I'll go with him. Make sure he doesn't give the big corporate boss any trouble " Han teased her. "I agree Han. I should go and a travel buddy would be nice. Just in case something does go awry." "Well then its settled," Han said while rising. "You'd better go and get packed quick Luke, cause I need to get those motivators over to Lando." "Dad can I please go with you," Jacen asked. "I'm not going to be gone long Jacen. Just stay here at the academy, alright." "Okay," he said dejectedly. "Hey kid, perk up I'll be back before you know it." Han took one arm around his shoulders and tousled his hair. "Hey kids, wanna come help me and Chewie come prep the Falcon while Luke packs." All four of the teens shouted and ran ahead of the two towards the great hall lift chute. Han and Chewie lumbered after them. "Kinda makes you wish you had kids of your own doesn't it," Leia said as she walked up to Luke and put her arm in his. "Yea, sometimes it does. Sometimes it does."
Chapter 2
He walked out of the training room and into the dimly lit hallway. His boots clicked off the metal floor and the sound echoed for what seemed like forever. His black cloak swished lightly in his wake. The dim lights cast eerie shadows over the finely tuned features of his face. He had sharp check bones and a prominent jaw that ended in a slight point. His forehead sloped slightly as if it carried a heavy burden, but his most alarming of features was his eyes. His eyes were a startling blue and would look almost child-like if not for the look of darkness in them. His eyes seem to hold a darkness almost equivalent to a black hole and they looked so angry and full of pain and hatred. His eyes were also his favorite feature. His stare could usually paralyze his enemies on the spot from just a look. He walked for a little while longer until he reached what looked like a dead end in the hall way. He opened a secret panel in the wall that revealed a keypad with different colored buttons on it. He punched the buttons and the slid away to reveal another hallway. There was a very large difference in this hallway and the one he'd just come from. This one had crimson carpeting with gold stripes that lined the edge, high vaulted ceilings, and was brightly lit. The walls were painted crimson with a gold trimming that matched the carpet. Along the walls ever meter or two was a column set into the wall so that only one side was shown. These were also painted in the same way as the carpet and walls. Darth Deamos stuck out like a Tauntaun on Tatooine. He soon came to a door through which he entered. This room was exactly like the hallway outside except that the ceiling wasn't as high and there were transparisteel windows at the far end of the room. There was a desk situated in front of the windows. There was a bookshelf with little statues and other trinkets of the sorts on them that was on the right side of the room. On the other side were a few paintings from different worlds that went nicely with the room. Darth Deamos made his way to the farthest end of the shelf and pulled on a metal sphere. A panel opened up next to the bookshelf that revealed a keypad with buttons that had symbols on them. He punched in another code and the shelf slid to the side to reveal another room. He entered into the next room. This room was similarly painted and had the columns that the hallway had but the room was ovular. In the center of the room there was an inset into the floor and a ring of hover couches that circled a holoprojector that was mounted into the floor. Along the walls were transparisteele cases that were about his height and had shelves with lights that showed their contents perfectly. There were four of such cases spaced intermittently throughout the room, but what really caught the eye were the contents of the cases. The cases contained lightsabers. Each lightsaber was unique with distinct designs and different blade colors. A few of them were of Darth Deamos' own making but most of them were from Jedi that he'd killed in battle and then taken their lightsaber as a trophy. He sometimes used these different lightsabers when going on missions assigned by his master. He remembered each and every one of the battles that he'd won them in vividly and the names of their former owners. He made his way to the center of the room with holoprojector. Upon reaching it he pressed a button on it and a hologram appeared before him. He immediately bowed deeply and reverently. "Greetings Lord Deamos. How did the events on Heroon go?" the holo asked. "Things went well, my master. The Herooian government will soon fall and the rebels' leader will soon take power and we will have another puppet in which to control." "I see you added another lightsaber to your collection." "Yes, another foolish Jedi got in my way and I disposed of him quickly." "Good work my apprentice, very good work. Things are going into place very nicely. Soon we will rid ourselves of Skywalker and his annoying little Jedi and then we will have the galaxy. I also notice that your collection seems to not have been touched in sometime." "I have been busy as of lately." Even though he couldn't see his master's eyes he knew that they were boring into him looking to see if there was any sort of compliant behind his words. If he saw anything he didn't comment on it.
"I require nothing more of you right now. I shall contact you when I need you next." "I serve and obey you my master." Darth Deamos bowed again and the holo flickered out. Darth Deamos turned around and started walking towards the door when he stopped. What his master had said about his collection was true. He had been neglecting it for some while. He turned around and went back to the shelves and looked at each individual lightsaber. He got to the end of the first case and looked at the lightsaber that was on the middle shelf. The Jedi that had owned this one had put a fairly difficult fight. Her name was Larken Treyhold. She had given him a particularly nasty scar on his right leg. If he would have wanted to get rid of the scar he could but chose to keep it as a reminder that he wasn't all-powerful like his master. He opened the case and pulled out the lightsaber. He pushed the activation stud and instead of making the usual deep hum a lightsaber makes this one was higher pitched. Also unique about it was the crystal it kept inside of the pommel, which was a very rare one and there was only about fifty found in the entire galaxy. The crystal itself changed colors and apparently this affected the blade also for it too changed colors. He released the stud and put the lightsaber back and closed the case. Deamos moved on passing another case until he got to a smaller case in between the second and third cases. This case was smaller and was shaped more like a podium than a shelf and had a sloping top that faced the looker. It was only about the width of his waist and held only one shelf. The shelf itself held a lightsaber to one side and a mount for another, which was empty. The lightsaber that was contained was the one belonging to the first Jedi he'd ever slain. This battle he remembered most of all. It had been his fiercest battle so far. The empty mount was saved for the lightsaber of special interest to him. It was saved for Luke Skywalker's. His master was right. Soon that annoying Skywalker would be dead and his Jedi with him. Then he and his master will rise and control the entire galaxy, and it would once again fear the word Sith, soon, very soon.
Chapter 3
"Why do we have to watch these stupid bugs carry a stupid little leaf, Master Skywalker, its boring?" "To teach you patience Raynar." "But I thought we learned that yesterday!" "Yeah, uncle Luke why?" quipped his niece, Jaina Solo. "Good question Jaina. Why would I try teaching you something you already learned?" He asked more to the whole class than just Jaina and Raynar. "Maybe there's more that we have to learn yet." Said another one of his students. "That's a good point, a very good point, but look a little deeper." His class was silent for a few moments when his nephew, Jacen Solo, piped up. "Is it because there's something else that you're teaching us here besides patience, Uncle Luke?" "Correct you are Jacen." His nephew just beamed with pride at getting his uncle's question right and his twin sister smiled at him too, also looking proud. The two were inseparable it seemed that wherever one went the other was sure to follow. Although, that was natural of course since Jacen and Jaina were twins, Jaina being just a few standard seconds older than Jacen. Their little brother Anakin Solo was back at the temple with other students. All three were very strong in the Force, especially Anakin. Which was why there were on Yavin 4. That's why all of them were here. All of the people on the planet were either training to become jedi or they already were. Those that were jedi had just opted to stay and help Luke train the others.
Yavin 4 was a moon that orbited the gas giant Yavin, which was also the system's name. The whole moon was completely covered in jungle. It was virtually untouched except for the old temple ruins that were found sporadically here and there. In fact this was the planet that the Rebel Alliance had used as home base when the first Death Star had been destroyed. He remembered it all so well. The old Masassi temple that used currently was used as the main operations building and hangar for the rebels. It all seemed like just yesterday. "Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke." Jaina pulled him out of his reverie. "What are we supposed to be learning then?" "I want you all to use your senses and tell me what you feel." His students went quiet again. Luke looked up at the sky and saw the red mass of Yavin 4 filling it. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He felt the small caress of the warm humid breeze across his skin. He heard the squawking of birds near by and the rustle of the Masassi tree's leaves. He felt through the force that someone was on the trail headed for him and his class. He decided to try and wrap up the lesson. "So what did you find?"
"I felt the wind, master Skywalker," offered one. He got various other answers but none of which he was looking for. "No, what did you feel." "Oh," came the collective reply of the group. "So that's what this lesson was about. Getting us to learn to be aware of our surroundings and learn from them." Jacen stated more than asked. The answer that Jacen had given was exactly the lesson he was trying to teach them and it shocked Luke that he'd figured it out. So he tried not to show it. Well, that's Jacen for you, always being intuitive and looking at the big picture.
Luke regained his mental composure and began to address the class. "What Jacen says is exactly right. A jedi needs to be focused and attuned to one's surroundings so you can be ready for anything that might come your way. You need to have patience in order to be attuned to your surroundings."
"Master Skywalker." Luke looked over his shoulder and saw Kam Solusar. Kam was one of his first students that he'd trained and had opted to stay and help Luke train others. "Yes, Kam?" "There's someone here to see you."
"Alright Kam thank you for coming to get me. Alright class that's it for today." He got up and so did the students and they began to walk back.
When they arrived back at the temple he saw a star ship he recognized and three figures standing around it. "Mom, Dad!" The twins yelled and went running towards their parents. "Hey you two," Han replied and embraced the teens tightly. "Wow, Jacen you're taller, and Jaina you're more beautiful than ever, " He said with the usual lopsided grin. This prompted a blush from both of them. Han let them go and Leia then hugged them just as tightly. Chewbacca grunted something and Jaina replied, "Oh we'd never forget you Chewie." The two each grabbed the towering Wookie's waist, which they barely reached, and squeezed. "How you doing Luke?" Leia asked. "I'm doing well. What are you three doing here?" "Not three," Han said sarcastically rolling his eyes. Luke had forgotten about Leia's Noghori bodyguards who usually hung out in the rear or in the shadows somewhere, but always kept Leia in sight. Then Luke saw them hiding around in the shadows of the Millennium Falcon. "Hello Olmahk, Basbakhan." Olmahk and Basbakhan just nodded their leathery gray heads to acknowledge Luke. They were short and didn't look very imposing except for their faces, which were reptilian in appearance and look quite menacing but their looks betrayed them. For their bodies were pure muscle and they had needle sharp fingernails and teeth. Their speed and strength were amazing despite their size. Luke knew firsthand how fierce of fighters they were. Even though Leia had had the Noghori as bodyguards for a few years now it still got a little on Han and Leia's nerves, but they appreciated them greatly.
"Can't I take a break from time to time to see my family?" Leia asked defensively. "Of course you can Leia, but won't the New Republic need its Chief of State."
"Oh I think the government can last a few days without me. Besides the Senate is in recess and if there is any emergency then can contact me." "Well, I'm just glad you're all here. It's great getting to see you all. Why don't we go inside and get something to eat I'm sure you all are hungry. By the way where's threepio." Right after that Luke heard a crash from inside the Flacon and heard a voice proclaim, "Oh my!" "What's he messed up now?" Han exasperated. "Threepio you all right in there?" "Oh yes Master Han I am quite all right, but a stack of the droid motivators has fallen," came the droid's reply. "Motivators?" "Yeah, Lando wanted me to drop them off for him at GemDiver Station since we were coming out this way."
"But what does Lando want with droid motivators?" "Well, you know Lando. All I can guess is that he wants it for the station, but other than that it's beyond me." "Hey, how bout you guys go in and I'll help Threepio pick up the motivators?" "Alright, but don't take too long I've got some stuff I want to talk to you about." "Okay, I'll see you inside." Han, Leia, and the others made their way into the temple and Luke went up the boarding ramp into the Falcon. Luke stuck his inside just in case that Threepio was carry move motivators. As soon as he was sure that it was clear Luke walked in. "Threepio, where are you?" Luke walked around the Falcon and then found him. There stood C-3PO bending over trying to pick up some metal crates and wasn't succeeding very well. "Here Threepio, let me help you with that," Luke said bending over to pick up the crate. "Oh, thank you so very much, Master Luke." Luke could tell that the droid was relieved even though he couldn't really express emotion, he could tell nonetheless. The whole time that they were stacking the crates the Luke wondered wondering what so important that Han and Leia had to talk to him about that they couldn't have just told him over a comm. Well whatever it is, it must be important.
***
Luke and threepio walked into the great hall where the others were gathered. Luke reached the table and noticed that the twin's best friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca were there too. Lowbacca also happened to be Chewie's nephew. Tenel Ka was the princess of the Hapes Royal family and would inherit the throne, but she had chosen to become a jedi instead. Luke sat down and the table and everybody gave their greetings. "So, Han Leia, what did you guys want to talk to me about?"
"Well, someone approached us and asked us to give you a message for you." Han replied "Why didn't they just send me the message themselves?" "They said that they didn't know how to get a hold of you and so they asked us to deliver it to you." Leia supplied. "Here," Han reached into his pocket and took out a data card and data pad and slid it across the table. "That's the message." Luke picked up the card, put it into the data pad, and activated the message. An image of a man's face with sharp features and warm eyes filled the small screen. He didn't recognize the face but his question as to who it was was soon answered. "Master Skywalker, I am Shane Kooltos. I am the CEO and president of CoreTech Technologies. I was wondering if you could meet with me at my office on Courscant at your soonest convenience. I will explain everything when you arrive. Thank you for your time." The image faded and the screen went dark. "He sure sounds sure that I'll show up," Luke said. "That's what I said when I saw it, but we looked up the name, face, and vocal records on the guy and he checks out. He is who he says he is," Han said. "But why would he want to contact me?" "Maybe he needs help spending some of his millions," Jacen mused. Jaina just groaned at Jacen's bad attempt at making a joke. "Perhaps this is so," Tenel Ka spoke up in her usual serious tone. "Nah, he could just hire somebody to do that job. Why would he need a jedi anyways?" "That's exactly what I was thinking Han, but perhaps I should go just to see what he wants." Lowbacca growled something and Em-TeeDee, Lowie's miniature translator droid, spoke up, "Master Lowbacca would like to express his concern that what if this was just some elaborate trap meant to capture you." "Although I appreciate your concern Lowie, I don't think anybody would try to capture me one Courscant." "I agree with you Luke, but what if this some sort of trap or something set up by the Remnant." "He should still go though, but if it makes you happy dear I'll go with him. Make sure he doesn't give the big corporate boss any trouble " Han teased her. "I agree Han. I should go and a travel buddy would be nice. Just in case something does go awry." "Well then its settled," Han said while rising. "You'd better go and get packed quick Luke, cause I need to get those motivators over to Lando." "Dad can I please go with you," Jacen asked. "I'm not going to be gone long Jacen. Just stay here at the academy, alright." "Okay," he said dejectedly. "Hey kid, perk up I'll be back before you know it." Han took one arm around his shoulders and tousled his hair. "Hey kids, wanna come help me and Chewie come prep the Falcon while Luke packs." All four of the teens shouted and ran ahead of the two towards the great hall lift chute. Han and Chewie lumbered after them. "Kinda makes you wish you had kids of your own doesn't it," Leia said as she walked up to Luke and put her arm in his. "Yea, sometimes it does. Sometimes it does."