A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. . . .
STAR WARS
Episode I
SHROUD OF THE DARK SIDE
It is a period of unrest in the Galactic Republic. A dark presence has spread across the galaxy.
Many Republic Ships have dissappeared in the far reaches of the Outer Rim. The Jedi, the guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy, fear this as a sign of the return of the Sith, an ancient, evil order once thought to be extinct.
Hoping to uncover who's behind these disappearences, the Jedi sent one of their own Masters, to investigate the matter. However, after weeks of nothing but silence, the Jedi fear the worst has happened and send Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to find out what has happened to the missing Jedi Master...
As we pan down through space, a Jedi Fighter comes into view. We cut to inside the Jedi Fighter as we see a hooded figure, Obi-Wan, piloting it. Obi-Wan then presses a button to bring up communications. A hologram of Jedi Master, Yoda, then appears.
Obi-Wan: "Master Yoda, I'm approaching Master Qui-Gon's last known position."
Yoda: "Careful you must be."
Obi-Wan: "I'm sure it will turn out to just be a band of pirates."
Yoda: "Uncertain I am. Strong with the Dark Side this place is."
Obi-Wan: "I'm still surprised you were able to convince the Council to assign me to this mission."
Yoda: "Grown have you, my apprentice. Strong you are with the Force. Trust you I do. Not long will it be before a Master you are."
Obi-Wan: "Yes. Then I can spend every day for the rest of my life sitting in a chair, discussing politics, and the goings on with the Republic."
Yoda chuckles.
Yoda: "At least comfy those chairs are."
Obi-Wan smiles and laughs at Master Yoda's humor.
Obi-Wan: "Understood, Master. I'll report back as soon as I've found something."
Obi-Wan then closes communications, and continues to search for any sign of Master Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan: "These are Master Qui-Gon's coordinates, but I don't see anything."
Obi-Wan tries widening the area of his scanners, but sill doesn't pick up anything. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan continues to search.
Obi-Wan: "I'm still not picking up any...wait. I've got something."
A cruiser matching Master Qui-Gon's description then comes into view, floating in the vacuum of space. The engines appear to be disabled, but the Life Support seems to still be functioning.
Obi-Wan: "That's Master Qui-Gon's ship alright. Looks like it was attacked. Maybe I can find something on board to tell me who did this, and hopefully, Master Qui-Gon as well."
Obi-Wan lands inside Master Qui-Gon's cruiser. Obi-Wan exits his fighter, and looks around the dark, deserted ship.
Obi-Wan: "I've got a bad feeling about this."
Obi-Wan ignites his Lightsaber to illuminate the the darkness. Obi-Wan proceeds to search the ship for clues. Obi-Wan wanders around the ship with nothing but the blue tint of his Lightsaber guiding the way. Obi-Wan is startled when his Lightsaber reveals a dead crew member propped up against a wall, with his blaster still in his hand. Obi-Wan kneels down to inspect the crew member. Obi-Wan shuts the dead crew member's eyes.
Obi-Wan: "May you find peace in the Force."
Obi-Wan then notices the strange wounds on the crew member's body. It seems as though he was stabbed with something that immediately coterized the wound.
Obi-Wan: "It can't be."
A mysterious figure appears behind Obi-Wan, and slowly approaches him. Obi-Wan continues to inspect the dead crew member, while the figure continues to approach him. Obi-Wan senses a presence through the Force, and immediatley turns around and points his Lightsaber at the figure, who is revealed to be Master Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan: "Master Qui-Gon?"
Master Qui-Gon: "Good to see you too, Obi-Wan."
(NOTE: In my version Qui-Gon isn't Obi-Wan's master, rather just another Master on the Council. Yoda is Obi-Wan's master as stated in Empire Strikes Back, he was the master who instructed Obi-Wan.)
Obi-Wan lowers his Lightsaber, turns it off, and holsters it.
Obi-Wan: "You're alive?"
Master Qui-Gon: "Barely. It's a good thing the Council realized I was in trouble. I'm not sure how much longer I could've held out."
Obi-Wan: "What happened here?"
Master Qui-Gon: "We were ambushed upon arrival. A Scimitar class vessel came out of no where and disabled our engines. Next thing we knew, someone had boarded the ship, and began killing all the crew. I tried to contact the Council, but who ever was attacking us was jamming our communications as well."
Obi-Wan: "How did you survive?"
Master Qui-Gon: "I managed to take shelter in another area of the ship. From there I waited, hoping the Council would take notice of my absence and send help."
Obi-Wan: "Did you see the one who did all this?"
Master Qui-Gon: "No, but I could sense his presence. Feel his hate. Who ever it was, was strong in the Dark Side of the Force."
Obi-Wan: "Do you think it was a Sith?"
Qui-Gon remains silent.
Obi-Wan: "Master?"
Qui-Gon continues to remain silent, but what seems like silence is replaced with Qui-Gon gasping for air.
Obi-Wan: "What's wrong?"
Qui-Gon is then lifted off the ground, and pulled towards an unkown source. Obi-Wan watches Qui-Gon fly through the air, who is then impaled by a Red Lightsaber. Obi-Wan watches on in horror at the situation. Qui-Gon's body drops to the floor, and the Sith, Darth Maul, is revealed to Obi-Wan.
Darth Maul: "I think he was talking about me."
Darth Maul walks towards Obi-Wan with his Red Lightsaber still ignited. Obi-Wan then ignites his Lightsaber, and prepares to face Darth Maul.
Darth Maul: "I was wondering when you Jedi would find out about our return."
Obi-Wan: "Our? So it's not just you."
Darth Maul: "Have you Jedi forgotten already? There's always two of us!"
Darth Maul charges at Obi Wan, who does the same in return. Darth Maul is more agressive in his fighting style, and tries to land multiple strikes with his Lightsaber. However, Obi-Wan is able to keep up with Maul, and block most of his attacks. The two struggle with each other for a bit before Maul begins to press harder into his attack, forcing Obi-Wan back. Obi-Wan then Force Pushes Maul away from him. Maul flips into the air, and lands safely on his feet.
Darth Maul: "I like your style."
Obi-Wan: "You'll find out I'm full of surprises."
Maul chuckles.
Darth Maul: "Nothing is a secret to me, Jedi. Not even your feelings. Oh, yes. You may try to conceal it, but I can sense it. You're afraid."
Obi-Wan tightens the grip on his Lightsaber.
Darth Maul: "Deny it all you want, but I can see the truth."
Obi-Wan: "Oh, really? What truth do you see?"
Darth Maul: "I foresee the Jedi Order burning to the ground, and from their fallen ashes the Sith will rise up to conquer the galaxy!"
Obi-Wan: "You Sith, always dreaming of ultimate power."
Darth Maul: "Today, that dream becomes a reality. Starting with you!"
Maul then takes out a device, and detonates multiple charges placed around the ship. Explosions engulf the entire ship, as Obi-Wan takes cover. The ship begins to split in half, as Maul closes the Blast Doors on his half of the ship to prevent him from being sucked out into space. Obi-Wan manages to hold on to the floor grates of the ship, and begins to crawl back to his ship, fighting against the pressure of space along the way. Obi-Wan manages to reach his Jedi Starfighter. However, his Fighter begins to slide along the floor, while Obi-Wan tries to power up his ship. Obi-Wan's fighter falls out of the cruiser's hanger, and into the vacuum of space. However, Obi-Wan manages to power up his ship, just in time and begins to fly away. Obi-Wan attempts to contact the Council, but something appears to be jamming his communications.
Obi-Wan: "Master Yoda! Please respond! This is an emergency! Master!? Blast, something's jamming me."
Blasts then begin to hit Obi-Wan's ship. Obi-Wan turns his head to see a Scimitar class ship approaching him. We see the Scimitar is being piloted by no other than Darth Maul. Obi-Wan senses Maul's presence through the Force, and tries his best to avoid the blasts. Obi-Wan tries to shake Maul off in the debris of the destroyed cruiser. However, Maul is able to keep up with Obi-Wan at every turn. Maul fires more blasts at Obi-Wan's Fighter, which hits the engines and causes Obi-Wan to lose control. Obi-Wan's ship is caught in the gravity of a nearby planet, and is forced to crash on said planet. Obi-Wan awakes from the crash to find himself still inside the cockpit. Obi-Wan then presses a button to release the hatch of his ship. Obi Wan exits his fighter and inspects his crashed fighter.
Obi-Wan: "Another happy landing."
Obi-Wan sees that his ship is beyond all repair, so he decides to set off in the hopes of finding a town. Obi-Wan looks at his surroundings. He sees nothing but sand for as far as the eye can see. Obi-Wan puts his hood on and sets off to find a town. Obi-Wan walks in the scorching desert for what feels like an eternity. Hours go by and still all that is visible is the endless sea of sand. Obi-Wan, exhausted and dehydrated from his journey, seeks shelter in a nearby valley hoping to cool off in the shade. Obi-Wan finds a shaded area, and collapses to the ground. Obi-Wan sits to catch his breath, and takes a minute to observe his surroundings. Again all Obi-Wan sees is sand in either direction. At this moment we see a mysterious figure in robes watching Obi-Wan from atop the valley. Obi-Wan senses a disturbance in the force, and immediately stands up. Obi-Wan's eyes dart in all directions, looking for the source of the disturbance. The sounds of falling rocks is all Obi-Wan can hear as he continues to search around. Suddenly, a Tusken Raider appears from out of no where, pushing his weapon up and down over his head. Obi-Wan takes out his Lightsaber, but before he can ignite it the Tusken hits the Lightsaber away from Obi-Wan. The Tusken then charges at Obi-Wan, attempting to strike him with his weapon. Obi-Wan is a able to catch the Tusken's weapon and flip him over. Before Obi-Wan can do any further damage, another Tusken strikes Obi-Wan in the back causing him to cry out in pain. The Tusken Obi-Wan was beating then pushes Obi-Wan off of him. Obi-Wan lands on the ground as multiple Tuskens begin to hit him with their weapons. The Tuskens wale on Obi-Wan over and over again. However, the Tuskens stop beating Obi-Wan as a familiar sound scares them off.(This is the same sound Obi-Wan would use to scare off Tuskens years later.) Obi-Wan watches the Tuskens run away, then turns his head towards the source of the strange sound. Obi-Wan begins to slip in and out of consciousness as he sees a figure approach him. Obi-Wan is confused as to who the approaching figure is. However, Obi-Wan suddenly loses consciousness before the figure reaches him.
We then transition to space as we see Maul's Scimitar ship fly by. We see Maul is contacting his Master for a report on the situation. Maul kneels down on one knee as his Master, Darth Sidious, emerges as a hologram.
Darth Maul: "What is thy bidding, my Master?"
Darth Sidious: "What is the status of your mission?"
Darth Maul: "The Jedi have been dealt with, my Lord. One fell before my blade, the other crashed on a nearby planet."
Darth Sidious: "And you are certain this Jedi that crashed is dead?"
Darth Maul: "Of course. Nothing could've survived th-
Maul is suddenly cut off as he begins gasping for air. Maul then realizes this is his Master's doing.
Darth Sidious: "We can not have the Jedi knowing of our return. Ensure this Jedi did not survive."
Sidious releases his hold on Maul, who collapses to the floor. Maul tries desperately to catch his breath.
Darth Maul: "Yes, my Master."
We then catch up with Obi-Wan, who begins to regain consciousness. Obi-Wan gets up to find himself in a room. Obi-Wan looks around the room, wondering where he could be. Suddenly the door to the room slides open, and a figure walks in. We pan up from the figures feet as the figure continues to walk. (This shot is meant to be a recreation of Vader's first scene in Return of the Jedi.) The figure is revealed to be Anakin Skywalker. (NOTE: My version of Anakin is not a little kid. He's a young adult much like Luke in A New Hope.)
Anakin: "Good to see you're finally awake."
Obi-Wan: "Who are you?"
Anakin: "My name's Anakin Skywalker. I'm the one who rescued you."
Obi-Wan: "What?"
Anakin: "How much do you remember?"
Obi-Wan: "Crashing. Wandering around the blistering desert. A strange sound. Then nothing."
Anakin: "Well you had a pretty nasty run in with a group of Tusken Raiders. You were unconscious when I found you, so I brought you here to recover."
Obi-Wan: "Thank you, Anakin. Your kindness is appreciated."
Obi-Wan holds out his hand.
Obi-Wan: "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Anakin shakes Obi-Wan's hand, and nods to Obi-Wan.
Anakin: "Oh. I almost forgot, when I found you this was near your body."
Anakin then reaches into a chest and takes Obi-Wan's Lightsaber out of it. Anakin hands the Lightsaber over to Obi-Wan.
Anakin: "So what's a Jedi doing so far out here in the Outer Rim?"
Obi-Wan: "I'm afraid I can't say. My mission is classified."
Anakin: "Did your mission involve crashing? Come on. You've already told me part of the story. Might as well finish it."
Obi-Wan: "I'm sorry, but I can't. Look. Thanks for your hospitality, but I really must get going."
Obi-Wan is about to leave, but suddenly collapses in pain. Anakin helps Obi-Wan up, and guides him to a seat.
Anakin: "You still wanna leave? Feel free, but you won't last long out there. Not like this."
Anakin notices one of the stitches for Obi-Wan's wound has broken. Anakin then grabs supplies from a table.
Anakin: "One of your wounds opened. Do you mind?"
Obi-Wan nods his head. Anakin then begins to stitch the wound closed. Obi-Wan is surprised by the kindess in this boy's heart. As Anakin continues to stitch up the wound, Obi-Wan's reluctantness is eventually broken.
Obi-Wan: "I was investigating the dissappearance of another Jedi. He was trying to uncover who was behind the dissappearance of a number of Republic Ships.
Anakin: "I heard about that. I always thought it was just pirates."
Obi-Wan: "I'm afraid it's far worse than pirates. I found out that the person behind these attacks was a Sith."
Anakin: "A Sith?"
Obi-Wan: "Yes. Long ago in the old days of the Republic, the Sith were the sworn rivals of the Jedi. We thought they died off years ago, but now it seems they've returned."
Anakin: "And this Sith made you crash here?"
Obi-Wan nods.
Obi-Wan: "Where exactly is here?"
Anakin chuckles.
Anakin: "Well if all the sand didn't already give it away, you're on Tatooine."
Obi-Wan: "Tatooine? You mean that backwater planet dominated by gangsters?"
Anakin: "That's the one."
Anakin finishes stitching up Obi-Wan.
Anakin: "There. That should hold now."
Obi-Wan: "Thank you."
Anakin: "No problem, but if I were you I'd get some rest."
Obi-Wan: "I can't rest. I need to get back to Coruscant. The other Jedi need to know about the Sith."
Anakin: "Tell you what. If you rest, I'll fly you into Mos Eisley tommorrow. You can get a transport to Coruscant there."
Obi-Wan: "You're a pilot?"
Anakin: "Yeah. I'm a navigator on a spice freighter."
Obi-Wan: "Is there any chance you could take me to Coruscant?"
Anakin takes a moment to think on Obi-Wan's request. Anakin would love to leave this planet. Leave his old, boring life behind, and set off on this adventure with Obi-Wan. However, Anakin can't let his excitement get in the way of his duties.
Anakin: "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have too many responsibilties here, and I can't just leave my family behind."
Obi-Wan nods.
Obi-Wan: "I understand."
Anakin proceeds to leave the room, but stops at the door.
Anakin: "Get some rest."
Obi-Wan nods to Anakin. Anakin then leaves the room as the door slides closed behind him. We then transition back to Obi-Wan's crashed fighter. As we pan towards the sky, Maul's Scimitar ship comes into view. Maul lands near the crashed Jedi Fighter. Maul exits his ship, and makes his way towards the crashed Fighter. Maul inspects the Fighter and notices Obi-Wan is not there. Maul then sees tracks in the sand that Obi-Wan left behind. Maul begins to follow the tracks and sets off to find Obi-Wan. We then transition back to Obi-Wan, who is in the middle of a nightmare. Obi-Wan sees Maul killing Qui-Gon again, a planet explode, his fellow Jedi being slaughtered, and a face engulfed in flames that he can't make out. Anakin wakes Obi-Wan from his nightmare.
Anakin: "Bad dream?"
Obi-Wan: "Yes, but...it felt so real."
Anakin: "Dreams can feel like that some time."
Obi-Wan: "Right."
Obi-Wan gets up.
Anakin: "How are you feeling?"
Obi-Wan: "Better than before."
Anakin: "Good to hear. So before we head out, I was thinking you'd want some food."
Obi-Wan thinks over Anakin's request.
Anakin: "Come on. My brother's wife's a great cook."
Obi-Wan chuckles.
Obi-Wan: "Alright."
Anakin smiles, and the two make their way towards the kitchen. They arrive just as Beru finishes setting plates on the table.
Anakin: "Hey, Beru."
Beru: "Hey, Anakin."
Anakin: "This is our gracious guest."
Obi-Wan: "Hello. I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Beru: "Nice to meet you, Obi-Wan. I'm Beru, Anakin's sister in law."
Obi-Wan: "Pleasure to meet you."
At this moment Anakin's brother Owen enters the kitchen.
Owen: "There you are Anakin. I need your help with the vaporators."
Anakin: "What's wrong with them now?"
Owen: "I can't figure it out. You know I can't speak a word of that damn Bocce."
Anakin: "I'll look at it after I get back."
Owen: "Where are you going?"
Anakin: "I'm bringing our Jedi friend into town. I'm gonna see if I can get him a transport back to Coruscant."
Owen looks to Obi-Wan with a sense of hostility.
Owen: "Right. The Jedi."
Obi-Wan: "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Owen: "Owen."
Everyone then sits down at the table, and begins to eat their food and drink their blue milk.
Obi-Wan: "Your brother's quite the life saver."
Owen: "Yeah. He has a knack for getting involved in matters that don't concern him."
Anakin: "I told you that whole business with the Hutts wasn't my fault."
Owen: "Sure it wasn't. Anyways, what brings a Jedi so far away from the joys and luxury of the Republic?"
Obi-Wan: "I was investigating the dissappearance of a number of Republic Ships in this sector."
Owen: "And what'd you find?"
Obi-Wan: "Trouble."
Owen: "Trouble? So that's how you ended up here."
Obi-Wan nods.
Owen: "Are you sure this trouble didn't follow you?"
Obi-Wan: "I'm sorry?"
Owen: "Well from the way it seems, you must be in BIG trouble if you ended up stranded here. And if this trouble is still after you, then we've brought it into our house."
Beru: "Owen! Can we please just drop this and eat?"
Owen: "Sorry, Beru. I'm just concerned if we're in any danger."
Obi-Wan: "Well I don't plan on being here much longer, anyways. You won't need to worry about me after today. "
Owen nods to Obi-Wan, and everyone continues to eat.
Obi-Wan: "By the way, Anakin? I'm very curious as to how you were able to scare off those Tuskens."
Anakin: "Oh. You mean the krayt dragon cry?"
Obi-Wan: "Krayt Dragon?"
Anakin: "Yeah. They're these big, man eating reptiles. A lot of people hunt them for the pearls in their bodies. I just imitated their hunting cry."
Anakin then performs the Kryat Dragon hunting cry. Obi-Wan then tries to perform the hunting cry himself, but fails at it. Anakin begins to laugh.
Anakin: "You'll get the hang of it."
Obi-Wan begins to laugh with Anakin. We then transition to the valley Obi-Wan was at earlier. Darth Maul has continued to follow Obi-Wan's tracks through the night. Darth Maul arrives at the valley, and inspects the area.
Darth Maul: "The tracks end here."
Maul looks around the valley for any sign of Obi-Wan. However, Maul is then set upon from all sides by a number of Tusken Raiders. The Tuskens beign to close in on Maul, who shows no signs of fear towards them. One Tusken charges at Maul, but Maul slashes the charging Tusken with his Lightsaber as he gets closer. The Tusken falls to his feet, as the other Tuskens cautiously watch Maul's movements. Maul then raises his head towards the Tuskens, and smiles at them. All of the Tuskens charge at Darth Maul, who manages to cut all of them down with ease. One Tusken tries in vain to escape, but Maul begins to Force Choke the fleeing Tusken. Maul walks over to the Tusken, and inspects him.
Darth Maul: "Primitive creatures."
Maul tightens his grip as the Tusken begins to stop moving. The lifeless Tusken then drops to the ground.
(And this is where I'll decide to end the First Chapter. If you like this Fanfiction, and want to see more just let me know.)