The Beginning

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

24 BBY Outer Rim Territories, Sertar System, Planet Florrum.

Jedi Knight Bultar Swan stepped off the ramp of the ship she'd been assigned for the duration of her mission, and onto the dusty desert planet Florrum.

She had high hopes that this mission would be interesting, after all it wasn't every day the Jedi were asked to identify a structure that was several thousand years old.

The Jedi temple had received a call from the curator of a museum that specialized in Old Republic Artefacts about an archaeological dig on Florrum that they'd been excavating up for several weeks and they were of the belief that it was an old Republic outpost that housed Jedi relics.

As per the long standing law put in place nearly four hundred years ago, anytime a Jedi relic was discovered on a dig it was mandatory that the Jedi council be allowed to send an observer to identify any force traps that may have been put in place and recover the relics to be taken back to the temple.

Bultar sighed as she walked over to the biggest tent in the camp, it was hotter than any planet she'd ever been on and she dearly regretted wearing her thick brown combat robes today.

Running a hand through her shoulder length black hair and deciding to just ignore the heat, she poked her head into the tent.

An enthusiastic voice called from behind her. "Ah, Master Jedi! The tent is empty, everybody is down in the digsite."

Bultar startled and turned to look at an excited looking Mirialan woman in her early twenties wearing a dark patterned hood. "Down in the site? They aren't in the structure already are they?" She asked worriedly.

It was common knowledge among the Jedi order that their predecessors during the Sith wars were incredibly paranoid about their bases and weren't shy in the slightest about putting lethal traps for anyone who happened to be lurking around unwanted.

If anyone died because of a force trap then it was on her head, it was quite literally the biggest part of her job here and if she, as a new knight, allowed people to die on a mission? It wouldn't look good on her at all.

"No, no. They're just studying the entrance is all, it really was quite hard to get in." The Mirialan woman assured her with a smile. "We had to cut through nearly six inches of durasteel bulkhead!"

"Oh, good." The young Jedi sighed in relief. "Can you take me down to them?"

The green woman's purple eyes met the Jedi's brown and twinkled. "Of course Master Jedi, follow me."

The young archaeologist led her into the middle of the camp and down a makeshift elevator into a hole nearly forty feet deep and a hundred in diameter. At the far end of the hole was a large structure that had quite obviously been cut open with a plasma torch, evident by the door large enough for three people shoulder to shoulder to walk through, leaning against the leftmost wall.

"It's strange how deep buildings get buried, isn't it?" The Mirialan woman who's name she'd discovered was Kaslin asked aloud as they stood near the mouth of the man made cave of metal and steel.

"It's a tad strange, I'll admit. Someday years past everything we're standing on was the surface." A balding human man in his late 60's cheerily replied as he stepped from the structure.

He stopped in front of the two and extended his hand. "I'm glad Kaslin managed to find you before you searched the whole camp, it's far more interesting down here, I assure you." He chuckled

Bultar smiled at the man and gave his hand a firm shake. "She's very lucky, she found me right as I was checking the main tent." She agreed fondly.

He released the handshake and shook his head in amusement. "She probably just sensed ya, this one's always been able to tell where we are and we can't figure out how."

"Haven't I told you before, Pednan? My species has always had a connection with the force, mine is just stronger than most." Kaslin informed him. "That means I know exactly when you're sneaking off to take a nap, you can't hide from me very long" She teased.

"Now that's just unfair," Pednan mock complained. "Next thing you know I'll have to sleep in the fresher just to escape you." He shook his head.

The two friends chuckled as Bultar watched on with a small amused smile.

"Ah. Anyway Miss Jedi, are you ready to get started?" Pednan asked in anticipation. "We've been waiting for you for nearly a week and we're itching to start exploring the structure."

Bultar nodded in response. "Of course, shall we?" She gestured towards the structure.

"Ladies first." He replied with a grin.

She chuckled and walked through the opening with the other two quickly following suit…

[LINE BREAK]

It took nearly seven hours for them to clear the structure all the way to what seemed to be a central bunker. They'd had to cut through two more bulkheads and safely make their way down an insanely deep elevator shaft.

Bultar was officially done with this day, she'd had to fight off countless force suggestions to turn around on not only herself but on the entire excavation team. Not only that but the dark ominous aura of the ancient and dilapidated structure had caused one of the archaeologists to have a panic attack.

It had occurred to her that it may not be an Old Republic ruin at all, in fact she had her suspicions that it may be a Sith Empire one. All identifying marks had long since faded away but there were ruins that had been discovered, mostly destroyed thanks to the obvious signs of orbital bombardment in nearly all cases but they were still there.

The problem was she couldn't recall anyone mentioning a dark aura around the structures, it was incredibly nerve racking. A feeling of...something in the darkness but everytime she looked or searched for a presence in the force she was just met with more darkness. An oily and enveloping darkness that hid all from the senses.

As the bulkhead to the next room fell to the ground Jedi Knight Bultar Swan gasped aloud and nearly fell to her knees.

The Darkness was so strong here that she knew this is where it originated, it felt as if all light had been stolen and would never be seen again.

She started trembling in fear as the Darkness roiled and churned as it was disturbed for the first time in millenia before it settled until everything was dead still, as if the force were holding its breath.

A shaking hand touched her shoulder and she nearly shrieked as she turned so fast she nearly got whiplash. She saw that poor Kaslin was so pale that her green skin was nearly the same color as Bultar's was.

"Relax, it's just old Pednan." He gave her a shaky grin." Nothin' to be afraid of dear, just a dusty old tomb."

Bultar took a deep breath and steadied herself, as she instinctively began drawing on the light side of the force she stepped into the large chamber. The Darkness surrounded her and attempted to squash out her light but she stood strong and recited the Jedi code for strength as she walked towards a pod like object in the middle of the room.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

A shaky footstep forward into the room cause her to gasp again as a red light appeared on two of the podlike objects.

She closed her eyes and settled her nerves with another breath.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

She stepped within a few feet of the pod and was able to make out that it was transparent and the inside was blocked by a fogged up window.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

She was right in front of it now and reached a shaking hand to the tube, it was freezing to the touch. She jumped as the pod made a whooshing noise for a moment before settling down.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

The force was dead silent, it wasn't guiding her at all like it usually did. It was as if it was waiting for something.

She put her hand back on the glass as her curiosity grew stronger than her fear once the whooshing stopped and wiped away the condensation…

She froze when she saw what was inside.

It was a man, a human man in dark near black robes with barely noticeable armor underneath.

The hood of the robes was down and she could barely make out that he had shoulder length jet black hair. Anything else was impossible to make out with the shadows of the room obscuring his features.

There is no death, there is the force.

Sulfurous yellow eyes snapped open and locked onto the wide brown one's of the Jedi.

They remained staring at one another for several seconds, one in shock and one in recognition and growing rage.

The force screamed a warning at Bultar and she instinctively leapt backwards away from the danger, the two archaeologists were not so lucky and were sent flying along with the glass of the tube by a force push powered by the unrelenting rage of the man in the pod.

As the man climbed out of the pod Bultar thumbed the switch on her green lightsaber and took a defensive stance.

The man stepped onto the ground with a dull thud and grabbed an object from his robes. A lightsaber she realized as the blood red blade lit up his aristocratic features in a cruel red light.

"Sith!" She cried out in shock, for with his sickly yellow eyes glaring at her with hatred and his crimson blade he could be nothing else.

"Jedi!" He spat back with barely contained fury coating his words. The Darkness that had been stilled before was alive with a vengeance now, the shadows themselves were moving and molding themselves to him, making it seem that he and the darkness were one and the same.

Bultar had only moments to ready herself before the sith warrior leapt at her with an overhead swing of monstrous strength, she barely managed to deflect it before he was on her again with a wide sweep at her ribs.

She ducked under it, put her palm inches from his chest and used the force to shove him away.

He flew back and almost hit the opposite wall before he stabilized himself with both hands manipulating the force behind him to bring him to a stop.

This bought her precious seconds to sprint over to the archaeologists who were groaning in a pile by the door, she slid onto her knees and rapidly checked them over. She was barely able to make out that Pednan was unconscious from a heavily bleeding head wound and that Kaslin was unhurt other than some minor cuts and bruises.

Her inspection was prematurally finished as she was grabbed harshly and thrown into the opposite wall by a strong gauntleted hand, She struck her head hard against the wall dazing her and denting the wall.

The sith stalked towards her, boots making a heavy thud on the metal floor with every menacing step closer.

"Did you think I would just let myself be thrown into a wall by a Jedi Knight?" He mocked as he made a strangling motion with his left hand.

Bultar was dragged into the air by an invisible hand and choked brutally, she desperately clawed at her throat in a vain attempt to remove the hand choking the life from her smaller frame.

"Of course you're a Knight, a Master wouldn't have been nearly so slow to react." He sneered as his yellow eyes flashed with disgust. "You must have just passed your trials too, you're so terribly weak!"

Bultar's consciousness started to fade as she turned blue from lack of oxygen, soon black started creeping into her vision.

Is this the end for me? Bultar Swan Jedi Knight for a year, dead at the age of twenty?

Tears of terror and fear streamed down her face as she realized she would die here…

"Get away from her!" A voice shouted a moment before she heard a heavy impact on the ground.

Bultar fell to the ground and greedily gasped for air as she looked to where the sith was moments before, he was sprawled on the ground now with Kaslin on top of him attempting to stab the startled sith with a large piece of glass.

"Run! Get to your ship Bultar!" The Mirialan woman shouted back at her with strain in her voice as the sith recovered and pushed her wrist to the side.

Not needing to be told twice Bultar called upon the light side of the force and leapt over to Pednan, she picked him up easily with her force empowered strength and sprinted out of the dark structure without looking back.

It took her only a few minutes to get back to the ship in her panic filled flight from the structure, once she'd strapped Pednan's unconscious form in she started the ship and rocketed into the atmosphere.

After she was clear of the planet's gravity well she jumped to hyperspace en route to the nearest Republic planet.

"The council's not going to like this at all." She murmured in a daze as she moved Pednan to the medical room and began treating his wounds.

[LINE BREAK]

Kaslin was roughly thrown across the room and impacted into one of the pods, getting even more cut up in the process as it shattered into razor sharp shards of glass.

"You let her escape!" The Sith bellowed in fury. "Now she'll report where we are!" He seethed as he stalked over to her and roughly grabbed her by the throat, raising her high into the air and choking the life out of her.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you and be done with it for your insolence!" He challenged the choking woman with a cruel smirk on his face.

"Because we don't have any idea when the kriff we are or what's going on." A gruff voice responded from behind the man choking her. "Drop the girl Deimos, she can be useful." The same voice demanded.

All of a sudden she was dropped onto the floor, she fell hard on her arm and cried out in pain even as she gasped for air.

"Malikus she let the Jedi escape!" The now named Deimos responded heatedly.

The man named Malikus stepped out of the shadows revealing a heavily cloaked human with the hood of his cloak raised hiding his face, glowing yellow eyes narrowed at Deimos from under the hood.

"No, you let her escape because you let your anger consume you!" Malikus snapped back. "And because you were blinded by your rage this girl here got a few hits in and distracted you."

Deimos fell silent and glared at the wall as his mistake was spelled out to him.

"Good, You're learning to accept your mistakes." Malikus commented with satisfaction, he turned his calculating gaze towards her and she shivered in fear. "Now what are we to do with you?" He mused.

"W-who are you?" Kaslin stuttered in terror.

"Who are we?" The cloaked man chuckled. "Why my dear, we're Sith lords and we've just woken up from a very long nap."

"Tell me, what's the date?" He questioned suddenly.

Startled at the seemingly innocuous question she rattled back the date. "Its 976 A.R.R."

The two Sith Lords looked at each other for a moment before Deimos turned back to Kaslin with an intrigued look overtaking the anger on his face. "What is A.R.R?"

"It stands for After Ruusan Reformation, the great restructuring of the Republic." She replied slowly as she saw a complete lack of comprehension on Deimos's face.

The robed one stepped forward. "Girl, when was the Battle of Coruscant. The one where Darth Lord Qel-Droma led his armada in an attempt to destroy the Republic?"

Kaslin's mouth dropped as she racked her brain. "Ah, that was during The Great Sith War nearly three thousand years ago!" She exclaimed in shock, surely these Sith Lords weren't that old, were they?

The robed man Malikus started laughing a deep belly laugh. "Happy three thousandth birthday Deimos!" He congratulated his fellow Sith Lord gleefully.

The shock of the pain and the lingering terror combined with her coming off of an adrenaline high caused Kaslin to feint.

The last thing she heard was a faint voice mumbling."Come Deimos, grab the girl. We have much work to do my friend."

And thus were two veterans of the Great Sith War of three millennia ago released back into the world after a long rest.

AN: This is a project I've begun out of curiosity, any feedback is welcome. Is it worth continuing? I'm new to posting on Fanfiction though I have been reading for several years.