A very long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Part I
Darkness Awakens
BY Sean M. Curran
It is a time of peace. The Republic continues to rule with kindness and justice all over the galaxies in its realm. The Jedi Knights are among the most respected people in the universe, not only because of their endless devotion to prolonging peace, but because of the great power they hold. Those with talent in the Force are encouraged to become Jedi Knights, even though there is no need to do so. All dream of becoming one of these guardians.
The peace has not existed forever, though. Long, long before the current time, an army of dark warriors known as the Sith ruled the galaxy through terror and destruction. The Republic had been formed at the height of the Sith's power, and the warriors largely pushed their way into ruling it. A small band of rebellious warriors who believed that the Dark Side of the Force was not the true nature of it managed to start a war with the Sith, and overcome them. The grateful Republic knighted the warriors, and swore to give them any resources they needed to further the building of their own army. In turn, the Jedi Knights, as they called themselves, swore to protect the Republic vigilantly.
The growing force of Jedi Knights formed a praxeum on the Fourth Moon of Yavin, where a Sith facility already existed. There they found thousands of documents which detailed the extensive research the Sith had taken into the Dark Side. As well, they discovered that the Sith had had a native race of sentients worshipping them and basing their whole religion on what they had been told to believe. The documents were hidden for some years, but the curiosity of the new Jedi trainees prompted their masters to form a secret counsel to decide what to do with the information.
The counsel unanimously decided to destroy all documents that had any direct correlation to learning about the Dark Side. They all knew the information was too dangerous. As for the Massassi natives and their temples, the counsel decided, in respect of their beliefs of the Force, not to destroy them. They instead forbade all the knights from ever venturing into the jungle to study anything the Massassi had built.
As time passed, the Sith became either taboo conversation or they were simply forgotten. The secret Jedi counsel remained, though, making sure that should the Dark Side rise up again, to stop it before it became out of their control. Even so, the counsel knew that the beast they never wanted to wake would not sleep forever....
Chapter One
Kylos Mondra looked around his room. He had lived in it for 16 years now, and felt almost sorry to have to say goodbye to it. The color of the walls, his desk and drawers, his data pads in the corner--he had grown accustomed to all of it.
He pulled the last shirt he would need out of his drawer, walked over to his bag, and zipped it up. Funny, he thought as he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and started to walk down the hallway, I've waited so long for this day and now that it's here..
"Here he comes," a loud voice said from the room he was about to enter, "our boy, all grown up." Kylos half-drooped his head in embarrassment, and looked at his family, who had gathered out to see him. "Hi, dad," he answered back. The tall man who was his father nearly overshadowed his son as he walked closer. "I'm sorry, son, but I'm just so proud of you. Can you give your old man a hug?"
Kylos hugged his dad and moved over to his mother, who was shorter than he was. "I love you, son." She told him as she moved forward to embrace him. "Just be careful."
"I will, mom." He answered. He then stooped down to get face-to-face with his younger brother, who was looking down partway. "Hey, you know I'm only gonna be gone for a little while before I come back to see you, right?" he tried to reassure him. The little boy still looked down. Kylos took a finger, and lifted his head up from the chin.
"Don't worry. I promise you that I'll come back. Okay?" he told his brother.
"Promise?" was the reply.
"Promise." Kylos answered, giving his brother a hug.
A small blatt sounded just outside their door, and he stood up. "Well, that's my ride." He said to everyone, looking them all over before heading for the door. Once outside, he walked a few yards to the transport's door, and turned to face them.
"We love you!" they all said in disconjunction.
He waved as he went into the transport. "I love you too!" he yelled to them. As the transport glided away down the road, his parents both looked affectionately at it leaving.
"I suppose he had too much talent for us not to let him do this, you think?" the father said.
"Yeah..." the mother answered. "I just can't believe it though--our son is going to be a Jedi Knight."
Outside of a huge multi-building complex that scores of ships were taking off from and hundreds of people were walking in and out of, the transport gently stopped next to a pathway. As two of the transport's doors opened up to let the passengers out, a computer voice said, "Destination reached--Selonia Intergalactic Spaceport."
Kylos stood outside the door he had come onto the transport through, and took in a deep breath of the air. He knew it would be a while before he came back to his home planet. There was nothing like Correlia's air he knew. He thought a couple more seconds on this before a couple of hands pushed him out of the doorway.
"Come on, you scrawny little toad, I've got places to go! Things to see! Girlfriends to make!" a voice said behind him as he stumbled onto the walkway.
Kylos turned to face the voice. "Rushing into things only helps you fail faster, Dutton." He said firmly. His friend walked out with a bag in one hand and the other hand over his stomach. "What are you, getting sentimental and philosophical on me? You're making me sick." Dutton answered. They walked side by side as they approached the complex.
"I'm not getting nearly as sentimental as my parents, did, though." Kylos said. "They practically held a ceremony for me." At that, Dutton laughed. "Yeah, I saw from the transport window. Not exactly what happened over at my house, but I can't exactly say I'm envious of you, either."
Kylos turned to him. "What did happen over at your house?"
Dutton thought for a second as he approached the front of the entrance and pushed open the door. "Let's just say that the Jedi counselor they sent over to my house had to tell my parents that he just advised Jedi prospects and didn't actually take them to the praxeum."
Kylos laughed as they walked forward toward the main terminal dividing the ship flights from one another. Voices and noise came from every which way, whether from speakers or from the people around them. Kylos pulled out a data pad from his pocket and looked at the corresponding signs to see which transport was theirs. Dutton looked off at a corner where several creatures were picketing against droid pilots. He read out loud one of the signs.
"'I want a pilot who won't malfunction.' Huh..some people are just afraid of progress, I guess." He looked at Kylos, who was still busy with what he was doing. "What do you think about those idiots over there?"
Kylos passed the question off. "Do you want to know because you're interested in my opinion or because you want to argue with someone without getting into trouble?"
Dutton sneered and answered, "The first one, gutter trash. Quit getting smart with me."
Kylos looked up at a sign and at the data pad, and pointed to a hallway. "That way." He said to Dutton. As they started to walk down the hallway, Kylos told him, "I think those people are against droid pilots because, as you said, they are afraid of progress, but I think it's a little different than just that."
Dutton raised his eyebrows as they turned a corner, bumping into a few people, and Kylos continued. "The droid pilots were brought here in the first place because there were problems with the living pilots--eyesight difficulties, muscular problems, mental instability, and so forth. Those problems are hard to correct with actual people, but with a droid those problems are either easily corrected or non-existent."
His friend interrupted as a few people brushed past them. "Yeah, Kylos, that's all well and good, but what exactly is your point?" The other friend frowned and said as they continued walking, "My point--which I was about to say before I was interrupted, Dutton--is that with any solution to a problem like this, there are always new problems introduced into the whole thing. Certainly, we all know about the problems sentients have while piloting, but we know very little about the problems droids have while piloting. What could possibly happen when a droid is at the wheel, and it malfunctions? Does it just change the ship's speed a little bit, or does it go berserk and not respond to any command that is given to it? Does it do something little that no one will notice, or does it bring an end to all the passengers on board?"
Dutton shrugged. "This is the gate." He said to Kylos. They both looked over at the crowd of sentients all waiting for the next transport to come in. A few seemed to be talking to one another, but the rest stayed pretty silent. Dutton looked around half-quizzically. "Geez, it's like they don't even know where they're going."
"But, they do."
Both Kylos and Dutton turned around to see a man dressed in an olive- colored robe walk toward them. The man had a slight smile on his face as he greeted them. "Sorry if I surprised you there. My name is Philip D'Manes." He extended a hand, and they both took it after the other.
"Kylos Mondra."
"Dutton Maech."
Philip pointed his arm toward a row of seats, and they all sat down together. "I should probably let you know that I'm not a trainee here," he told them, "but you should feel free to consider me as one for the time period of our trip."
"Just out of curiosity," Dutton asked, sounding somewhat demeaning, "what exactly are you, then?"
Philip smiled weakly and pulled open his robe to reveal a lightsaber hanging from a clip on his belt. "Does that answer your question?" he asked. Dutton nodded, somewhat astonished. Kylos leaned forward. "So, then," he said, "you're a Jedi Knight who's going to tell us what we should expect at the praxeum on the way over?"
Philip nodded. "I'll tell you right now, if you like." To this, Kylos nodded in agreement. The Jedi leaned forward a little a quieted his voice. "I should warn you, though, everyone sitting silent over there right now knows what to expect."
Kylos's face drooped slightly.
Aboard the transport, Philip had just finished his speech to Kylos and Dutton. He sat on an aisle seat and looked over at the two of them. "Little different than what the counselor told you, huh?" he asked them.
Dutton looked over at him. "Okay, lemme see here. I've already tried levitating things with my mind back at home, and the largest, heaviest thing I could do was my powerball helmet. Are you telling me that one of the first ability tests we have to pass is lifting up an entire boulder?" he asked, panicking at the end.
Philip nodded, and Dutton silently swore. "Yeah, that comes after the first week or so. The tests become harder and harder as we progress." He told Dutton. He looked at Kylos. "Anything you're concerned about, Kylos?"
Kylos thought for a moment. "Yeah," he answered after a minute. "You were talking about lightsaber training back there, and...I don't know. I feel like if I had a lightsaber, I'd cut off one of my appendages or something."
Philip looked at him for a second, and suddenly began to speak to him very softly.
"Using a lightsaber is easy, once you get the hang of it."
Kylos suddenly perked up. "But, I mean, I guess once I got the hang of it, using a lightsaber would be easy."
Philip smirked. "All the exercises are easy once you get the hang of them."
Kylos continued talking in a sort of pleasant daze. "Yeah, all the exercises would be easy once I got the hang of them."
Dutton leaned forward and looked at Kylos. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked him, puzzled.
Philip looked briefly at Dutton and spoke again. "I'm just talking, Dutton. Nothing special."
Kylos echoed, "I'm just talking, Dutton. Nothing special."
Dutton looked at Philip and suddenly realized what was going on. "Hey," he said to Philip, "how are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Doing what?" Kylos said to Dutton. Philip suddenly sat back and relaxed, and Kylos seemed to wake up from a daze. He looked at Dutton, who was wide-eyed with amazement. "Why are you staring at me, Dutton?" he asked. Dutton responded by slowly acknowledging Kylos and saying, "We have got to learn how to do that."
Kylos looked at him, and then back to Philip. "What is he talking about?"
Philip waved his hand slightly. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Kylos."
At that moment the intercom suddenly switched on, and one of the attendants spoke. "We are now preparing for takeoff, and in a moment we'll hear from our pilot, so please put your safety harnesses on now."
Everyone did so in a disjointed manner, and as Kylos and Dutton sat back to relax, a mechanical-sounding pilot's voice sounded over the intercom.
"Greetings, all passengers. I am Pilot model X-38-112, and I will pilot the ship toward your destination, Yavin 4. I understand that, because I am a droid pilot, some of you may be slightly apprehensive. Fear not, however, for I have been programmed with all the latest emergency techniques that would be mandatory should an emergency situation come up."
Dutton turned to face his friend. "Well, so far, so good, wouldn't you say?" he said smugly. The pilot continued.
"To allay any other fears you might have about this flight, I will let you know that the transport ship you are currently in, as well as the pilot you are listening to, has just gone under an extensive inspection and tune-up prior to now. You should feel confident that, in all probability, nothing will goo wrong."
Both the boys' eyes suddenly widened.
Chapter Two
The sun shone bright, and clouds streaked across the blue sky. Birds chirped and squawked peacefully in the distance. Master Vodo-Siosk Baas looked around and breathed in the wonderful air. His students were all around him; sitting together having something to eat on a woolen blanket, discussing their lessons together under the shade of the many trees surrounding the temples, or practicing their skills in some manner. He was pleased at the order which had come to the Jedi.
But then, he felt it. In the pit of his stomach, something terribly wrong. He started to cringe; he looked up and saw that no one else mimicked his action--they must not feel it. He gritted his teeth--how couldn't they? The feeling was almost completely overcoming him. And then, there was a laugh. A familiar laugh, off in the distance. Vodo looked up again.
Now, the students reacted. They all seemed to hear this laugh. It shouldn't have seemed strange, but there was a dark tone to it. It wasn't mockery, though, that wasn't the right sense coming from it. There seemed to be a feeling projected from it of more---hatred.
Then, the source of the laughter appeared. An ethereal being who was completely black began laughing harder and harder and louder and louder. The students were all dumbstruck with fear. At that moment, the being split apart and shot into the sky. Gray clouds began to form from what was once his medium and the sky went dark. Lightning tore across the clouds viciously, and thunder rumbled loudly enough to shake the ground. A cold wind began to pick up and howl, and Vodo felt an icy chill run down his back.
He watched, horrified, as the lightning began striking everywhere. The whole forest seemed to immediately be engulfed in fire. The fire spread across the terrain, and to the praxeum. The buildings began to go up in flames. He heard numerous screams erupting, getting closer and closer to him. He looked over at the source of the screaming and saw the wind taking up his students into the clouds, where they disappeared from viewing. Some students were not taken, but lightning tore through them and turned their bodies to ashes.
He watched as a few of the students simply ran off, not knowing where exactly they were going but letting fear take control of them. It was then that he heard the laugh again, this time directly above him. He looked up at the swirling maw of clouds for a moment and then he saw the lightning come tearing at him...
Vodo shot up in his bed, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. My heart is going too fast, he thought, clutching his chest. He concentrated on the pain and closed his eyes. There is no fear, only serenity...there is no pain, only warmth...there is no danger, there is only peace.
He opened his eyes and felt that his heart had gone back to its normal rate, and his apprehension had passed. He took a deep breath, and got out of bed. As he walked over to put on his robe, he flicked his finger slightly. The previously disheveled bedgarments straightened themselves out and tucked into the corners of the bed itself.
Again I have this dream, he thought as he tied the robe together. It was longer this time. What does it mean? He walked over to the window of his small room and pulled it open. A tray of plants and roots of many varieties suddenly were within his reach, and he grabbed one of the roots from its pot. Closing the window, he walked over to one of the machines on his counter. He flipped a couple of switches, and placed the root inside a gurgling machine. Steam rose from it as he closed the lid, and then he heard a knock on his door.
As he walked towards the door, he thought to himself. It was early morning, so few people were knocking on one anothers' doors. It was either one of the Jedi Masters reporting an urgent matter to him, or, as he opened the door--
"Good morning, Master Vodo."
--An overzealous student.
"Come in," Vodo said to the student half-heartedly. The student walked in politely, and as Vodo closed the door, he said to him, "Sit. Would you like some redroot tea?" The student shook his head as he pulled out a seat for himself at the table. As the master walked over to his brewing machine, the student asked him, "Are you wondering why I am here, Master?"
Vodo laughed slightly as he pulled a glass for himself out of the cupboard. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes."
The student smiled, and as Master Vodo poured some of the tea into his glass, the student pulled a cloth-wrapped object from beneath his robes and placed it on the table. Vodo turned around to see him unwrapping it eagerly. He sat down, and looked between the object and his student. "What is that, Ex-"
The student pulled off the cloth all the way, and Vodo took a glance at it.
Lightning
Vodo's right arm seized all of a sudden, and he grabbed it forcefully. "Master! Are you all right?!" the student yelled, very concerned. The master focused the calming technique he had used on his heart earlier on his arm, and the seizure stopped quickly. He gave his student a reassuring nod, and looked at the object again as his student relaxed.
It was a half-meter long, rusted brown, and covered with strange symbols. Vodo looked at his student with obvious concern. "Where did you find this?" he asked him.
At that, the student suddenly looked apprehensive and said, "I found it..on the ground." The master looked at him sternly before his student continued, "..In the jungle." The master looked disapprovingly at his student. "You know that the jungle is forbidden--"
"I was only on the outskirts of the jungle, Master!" the student contended.
Vodo held up a hand to silence him and continued speaking. "Regardless, all of the jungle is forbidden. You knew this, and yet you allowed your curiosity to get the best of you." The student looked down slightly, but perked up again. "Suppose it is a historical relic of the planet. Couldn't the Republic use it in their museum?" he said hopefully to his master.
His master began to wrap the object back up as he shook his head. He waved the object at his student slightly as he continued to speak. "Anything that we find in the jungle belongs to the Massassi. That is the end of it." As his student's head began to droop, his master continued speaking to him. "Why did you even bring this to me? How did you think it would be beneficial to either of us?"
His student looked up at him, somewhat excited but not as much as before. "When I held it in my hand, some of the natives came over to me. I thought that they were going to kill me, so I ran, but they surrounded me from all sides. When they were all gathered around me, they began to bow before me. They started to say something in their language, and when I wanted to leave, they let me."
Vodo raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Is that so?" he asked of the student.
The student nodded. "Master, I've been told over the year that I've been here that the Massassi were dangerous, and that if we ever came near them, then we would risk our own doom. But it seems to me that the Massassi respect us. With that object," he said, pointing to what was in his master's hand, "I think that they would treat us like gods. Perhaps they would offer us their own work and resources. We could do a lot more with their assistance than we could on our own. After all, we've only seen a small part of this moon, perhaps they would be able to show us things that we could only imagine. Wouldn't that be beneficial to all of the Jedi, Master?"
Vodo thought on this for a moment, turning away from his student and hiding his own emotions. He didn't want his student even to have any idea what was going through his mind.
"Master?" the student asked.
Vodo took a second before answering. "I want you to go about your daily exercises and self-training as you usually do every day...but do not go anywhere near the Massassi natives, or the jungle. Do not even mention what you have told me to anyone else, and do not ask me to give you back this object."
The student's surprise and disappointment were obvious even though Vodo did not see his student's face. "But Master, what about all that I've told--"
Vodo held up a dismissing hand. "I will take it under discussion with the rest of the Jedi Masters. You may leave."
Vodo didn't turn around, but felt mild anger coming from his student as he got up from his seat, left the room, and shut the door behind him. Once he was sure the student was out of earshot, he proceeded over to his console on the other side of the room. He sat down, and punched in a sequence of codes into the system. There was a small humming noise as he waited for a response.
A few seconds passed, and Master Ve'mahn Roth appeared on the screen.
"Ahh, Master Vodo, good morning. What brings you to calling me? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Master Roth said, with a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice.
Vodo smiled weakly, and answered. "If you cannot tell already, I am greatly troubled."
Roth was slightly taken aback. "By what?" he asked, concerned.
"One of my students has brought me a piece of an ancient Sith relic." Vodo answered. "He expressed interest in pursuing after what secrets both the Massassi natives and the jungle held."
Master Roth was obviously upset by this. "You scolded the student for going into the jungle, I would assume?"
"Yes, of course." Vodo answered. "I'm more concerned with the fact that he seems to show a fascination in the forbidden territory rather than the fact that he disobeyed a rule."
Master Roth nodded, still somewhat upset. "Have you taken steps to make sure that he does not share what he has learned with anyone else? I would be most disagreeable to having to call an assembly if more students learn of this."
Vodo answered, "Yes, I have," but thought to himself that Roth seemed to be missing the point. " But I was curious as to what to do with the object he gave me."
Master Roth thought for a moment. "Keep it hidden for now. If it is possible, I would like to return this object to from whence it came rather than destroy it. I don't want the Massassi natives to become any more upset with us than they already are. As for your student, keep an eye on him at all times. I realize from experience that you do not wish to have any unnecessary intervention from other Masters on your students."
Vodo nodded, and was about to sign off when Roth continued speaking.
"However, if I find that your student is managing to cross into the jungle without your notice, know that I myself will intervene on your and the rest of the Jedi's behalf."
Master Vodo was stung by the remark, but countered it. "Rest assured, Master Roth, that Exar Kun will not find out any more about the Sith than he already has."
Chapter Three
Outside the praxeum, a little later that day, Master Sara Varese walked around, observing the students as they looked at things around them and pondered on their meaning. She saw them engage in a mild debate and smiled.
I was once like that, she thought. She had been a master for some three years now, not nearly as long as the others, so she had few students she was allowed to teach. She mostly observed the students and their masters' techniques, in order that she herself could learn from them and use them with her own students eventually.
Or something like that. She knew perfectly well why she was somewhat disadvantaged compared to some of the other masters who had been in her position for an even shorter time than she had. The counsel of Jedi Masters was simply predominantly male, and they liked it that way. Sara had no question in her own abilities, but she was sure the others did. There were a few who weren't as stubborn-minded as some of the older Masters, like Vodo-Siosk Baas and Ch'unther Weyl'ev, but she knew there would be little chance for her to really prove herself in front of them.
She smiled. The new students coming today will be my chance, she thought. Typically, the students were pre-assigned to various places and masters, but there would be a free-reign today. An extremely rare occurrence was the free reign, where students and masters alike would take their pick according to how the Force guided them. Certainly, the free reign was much more effective than the standard systematic approach was, but it usually took hours, and for some reason the older masters thought this to be a waste of time.
Sara knew, though, were she to choose excellent students and teach them well, the masters would have new respect for her. Perhaps she would be placed on the counsel. Whatever happened, she was excited. She continued walking aimlessly along the pathways.
"Oh, no, look out!!!!"
Sara turned quickly to see a rock headed straight for her head. In the split second she had to decide a course of action, she had two options: duck, and let the rock fly into whatever else was behind her, or..
She whipped her hand up and the rock stopped moving and floated in the air a mere inch before her palm. She looked down at it as she concentrated. It was about the size of her own head, and her eyebrows raised at the sight. She looked around for its source.
A second after her eyes went around the now very quiet area, she spotted two guilty-looking boys with piles of equipment next to each one of them.They seemed to be itching as she looked at them. Sara continued to focus concentration on the rock as she walked toward the two students. Once she had reached them, she let the rock fall to the ground. The loud noise seemed to make them reflex.
"Please tell me," she said sternly to them, "what exactly just happened?" Sara watched as the boys looked back and forth at one another for a moment before one of them responded.
"We were, uh, playing catch with our minds, and, uh, I must have concentrated too hard and Creece here not enough, and I think that's why the rock came at you." He smiled weakly. Sara looked down slightly, and pulled her head back up. "So then," she asked, "why is it that you felt you needed to use a large, heavy rock to play catch with?"
There was an embarrassed pause, and Creece spoke up. "We were trying to make the activity more difficult as we went along.." he pointed to the piles of equipment beside them. "..We started out with little things, like pebbles and ball bearings, and-"
"And you worked your way up to the thing that flew at my head, is that correct?" Sara interrupted, now more amused than stern.
They both nodded.
Sara shook her head downward, but then looked up at both of them with part of a smile on her face. "From now on, remember this: levitating and slowly moving things with your mind is perfectly acceptable and proper, but," she said, bending over, picking up a helmet and standing again, "when it comes to playing catch, leave that as a task for the body." She flung the helmet at the boy opposite Creece, and he clumsily caught it. As she walked away, she heard the two boys walking off somewhere else and she thought to herself again.
Naive, she thought as she walked, but pliable. A pair of young men like that, properly trained and good enough friends, could easily keep each other in check.
She walked into the main temple area, where preparations were still being made for the new group's imminent arrival. The huge sundial built into the wall cast a great shadow across the floor, and Sara looked at the time.
Still a few more hours, she thought. But it wouldn't be too long. Destiny never kept people waiting. The trainees of hers would soon be here, and she was ready to receive them.
A large bump startled Philip D'Manes out of his sleep, and he shifted in his seat as he quickly regained consciousness. He looked around at the many other passengers in the transport along with him who hadn't even been fazed and he smiled.
I'm defintely a Jedi, he thought to himself. Ready at a moment's notice.
There had been a time when he was like them, a time when he wasn't woken up by mere hyperspace turbulence; he could vividly remember the day he traveled to the praxeum. Kylos was much like how he was, constantly pondering and wondering about things.
In fact, Kylos looked more like a prospect than anyone else Philip had seen. His mind was focused sharply. Many of the others, like Dutton, seemed to be along for the ride and the glory. Dutton wasn't the worst of them by any means, but he failed to realize just what the implications of being a Jedi Knight were.
Philip cycled through the Jedi Code of Honor quickly. Courage, wisdom, peace, and charity. These are all of the Force, and they are what a Jedi must adhere to at all times. Remain steadfast and vigilant, for you are the guardians of all galaxies.
He couldn't remember how many times his master had drilled that into his head. It had stuck with him, though, and he had become a special emissary for the Jedi Masters' counsel. Were it not going to be a free reign once they arrived at the main temple, they wouldn't have sent him. He had been given the assignment of finding the likeliest candidate for a Jedi Knight, and the likeliest master to place him with.
One, Master Roth, had hinted to him that he felt that the Force was directing him to receive the potential Knight. Philip, of course, knew better and knew that his own master had told him of the various deceit and malice that had, over the years, seeped into the Jedi counsel and just who was allowing his desires to take precedence over the Force's.
Vodo truly is a great master, he thought to himself. He hoped that all of the power-hungry masters wouldn't overshadow Vodo when they placed their knowledge into the Holocubes. Some of what they had placed into the cubes were bald-faced lies, and occasionally the truthful information was altered to place various masters in a more favorable light.
Fortunately, the masters were not so corrupt that they strayed from the Jedi teachings that had been established since the Jedi had come into power. If that were the case, Philip would feel compelled to expose what he had learned and leave the Jedi altogether.
Philip looked over at Kylos, who was still asleep.
As long as there are Jedi like him, Philip thought, there is still hope for the next generation of Jedi.
Chapter Four
Deep in the corridors of one of the less used of the Jedi temples, a group of nine were gathered around a large table. They were engaged in debate, but that wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. What was unusual about their meeting was their topic--secrets.
It was something the group had specialized in for decades, and something that only the nine had any idea was a regular practice at the Yavin praxeum. Certainly, any one of the other praxeums had secrets they kept from the rest of the surrounding worlds, as well as the Republic, but on Yavin it was different. To try to find out all that the nine had hidden would be like trying to find a certain piece of mud somewhere in a bottomless pile of mud.
There were those among the nine that held some level of integrity, but all had helped make the job of a Jedi Master but slightly different than a crooked politician's.
"Excuse me, what did you just say?"
Naxos Grade leaned over the table toward Vodo-Siosk Baas. "I said," he told Master Vodo, adding some scorn to his voice, "perhaps it would be wise to keep an eye on this student of yours."
Master Vodo's eyes narrowed. "First of all, you know perfectly well that 'this student of mine' is named Exar Kun. Second, you make it sound as though he's purposefully doing this. His curiosity is merely getting the best of him."
"That makes him all the more dangerous, then, doesn't it?" Xanthem Xela, an elderly Sullustan, called from one of the ends of the table. He leaned forward. "Curiosity was the undoing of the ancient civilization of Najortha, when the people tried to siphon fire out of their volcano. Certainly, they got what they were trying to find, but their ashes are the only thing that they can show for their efforts."
There was a quiet laugh that went around the table before Ve'mahn Roth stood and spoke. "Well, Master Vodo, I think that Master Xela makes an excellent point--Exar Kun's curiosity is dangerous. That is precisely why this meeting has been called. When I spoke to you over the communicator, I didn't want to have to poke my nose into your business without good reason-- "
That has got to be one of the biggest lies I've heard in a long while, Vodo thought.
"--But I felt too strongly about how important this whole matter is for me to keep silent about it. I don't have much doubt at all that your student will keep his secret to himself, but I think it's an unneccessary risk to assume that he will stay out of an area he's been forbidden to go into if he already disobeyed that rule." At that, he sat down and waited for a response.
Vodo shook his head in dismay and was about to speak when Ch'unther Weyl'ev stood up and vouched for him. "I think this talk is seriously arrogant." He said firmly. "The only one here who personally knows Exar Kun is his own master. Can we speak with any certainty as to what the actions of someone we don't even know might be?" With that, Master Weyl'ev sat down and was almost immediately countered by Yalc Revlis, who was a couple of seats to the left of Weyl'ev.
"But even Master Vodo has said that he does not know Exar Kun well enough to predict his actions! Is that not true, Master Vodo?" the creature finshed, pointing towards him for an answer.
Vodo stood. "What I said, Master Revlis, was that Exar Kun has done much self-training and has closed himself off, for the most part, to me and everyone else regarding who he is. He hides his emotions and thoughts well." Master Vodo paused. "So, then, I suppose that that is true, in a certain sense, that I do not know him well enough to predict exactly what he will do."
Master Roth started to speak. "Thank you, then-"
"I can tell you, though," Master Vodo started to say, cutting Roth off, "that Exar Kun does not handle pressure well. That is precisely the reason why I've allowed him to teach himself. I feel that if we were to keep even a hidden surveillance on him, much less an active, visible one, it would drive him further toward the jungle, rather than away from it."
"How so?" Master Grade asked rather nonchalantly.
Master Vodo glared at him and spoke. "If we keep pressure on him, he will feel compelled to disobey us not because of his curiosity, but because of his loathe toward us. He will become so enraged and feel so trapped that he will want to hurt us in any way he can just to make us stop. He works like a spring--" he said, looking directly at Master Grade, "the more you push against him, the more forcefully he will recoil."
On these last words, there were some muffled whispers among the masters, and nothing more for almost a minute.
Finally, Ve'mahn Roth stood along with Vodo and spoke.
"Master Vodo, what you are saying is indeed sensible, but I believe that you are overestimating this Exar Kun. You speak as though he were able to destroy all of us were his will riled up enough--I simply do not see that happening, Master Vodo. And besides-"
"He has an extremely high Force potential, Master Roth. I do not think I am overestimating him." Master Vodo forcefully interrupted.
Master Roth held up his hands in defense. "Please allow me to finish, Master Vodo. You have had your time to speak already." There was a brief pause, but Master Vodo sat down. Master Roth continued. "And besides, Master Vodo," he said, once again entering into his previous mode of speaking, "I believe that you are thinking only of one student. Our goal, as a group of masters, is to serve the greater good. What will best serve the Jedi as a whole. I don't think that it's wrong to sacrifice one man's comfort for the benefit of everyone else."
A murky feeling suddenly swelled in Master Vodo's stomach. He rubbed the source of the sensation and suddenly saw a brief flash of his earlier vision. He closed his eyes and drowned out the background noise as he focused his calming technique on the apprehension.
What seemed like a minute later, Vodo opened his eyes and looked around to see if anyone was staring at him.
No, no, they were all looking at Roth still. As far as Vodo knew, no one had given him any notice. He looked up at Roth, whose words were becoming clear.
"I believe that we have given this enough time for discussion. We should come to a decision as to what to do now. Any objections?"
Vodo didn't move, but felt like saying something when no one made any objections to Roth's proposal. Vodo looked at Roth, who smiled. "Well, then, we'll start. All those in favor of a surveillance, whose nature is yet to be determined, upon Exar Kun, please raise your furthermost right appendage."
Master Vodo felt hands and tentacles and wings going up all around him. Even Master Weyl'ev had his hand up.
"All opposed?"
Vodo was the only one who even moved for what seemed like an endless three seconds.
Roth smiled and moved his chair under the table; the other Jedi Masters followed suit. "Well then, everyone," Roth said, with a smile on his face, "let's get prepared for the students' arrival. We all know how the free reigns go; we'll get this over with as soon as we can."
As the others got up from the table and left, Master Vodo sagged forward and rested his head in his hands. He heard someone come up from behind, and sensed who it was almost immediately.
"I don't want to hear any false sympathies, Weyl'ev. If you had really wanted to help me, you would have gone with your convictions and raised your hand when I did mine." Vodo said, trying not to show just how badly he felt.
There was a pause behind Vodo, and he heard a response.
"I'm sorry, Vodo, but I just felt that voting with the rest would have served the whole of the Jedi better. We both know how dangerous whatever is in that jungle is; we can't afford to let one person get any slack." Weyl'ev finished.
Vodo scoffed silently. Have they really gotten to you that much?
Weyl'ev's head drooped slightly. I went with my convictions, Vodo. I tried to serve the greater good.
Vodo laughed slightly in desperation.
"So did I, Weyl'ev."
Deep in the jungles of Yavin, a cloaked figure streaked across the terrain and trees. He breathed only when it was absolutely neccessary, and let the Force do most of the work. As hard as he could, though, it seemed he couldn't keep calm. He chanted to himself either out loud or in thought, There is no anger, there is only calm; there is no anger, there is only calm.
He ran faster, but he couldn't do it.
All along he had been told that there was only power in peace, but it seemed as though he couldn't summon any of it.
How could he not see the advantage in what I brought him? He thought. If it helps the Jedi, what could possibly be wrong with it? How could he not see?!
His anger began to flow again, and he cycled through the chant. There is no anger, there is only calm. There is no anger, there is only calm. There is no-
At that moment, he tripped on a vine. His anger turned to disbelief as he flew through the air and crashed into a group of bushes. He managed to push away the pain, but the disbleief turned to anger again as he turned back to face the vine. His speed threw around his robe, and the hood covered his entire face at the moment he wanted to look at what had tripped him.
He felt his anger start to surge from within him, and he tore the robe from around him and threw it as far away from him as he could. Exar Kun looked at the vine which had stopped him in his tracks. He stared at it, and couldn't understand why he wanted to destroy it so badly. He felt a plethora of images consume him--his father abandoning him, his abusive teacher on his homeworld, Master Vodo scolding him, Jedi students ridiculing him, Ve'mahn Roth...his lip curled...Ve'mahn Roth taking the glory away from those who deserve it--and his anger could contain itself no longer.
It totally took him over--he didn't even realize his actions as his hand grabbed his lightsaber off of its clip, gripped it tightly, and brought a yellow-orange blade to life. He screamed in rage.
Everything went into a blur, but he felt himself charge forward and slice the vine across the ground into a hundred pieces. But he didn't- couldn't-stop there. He looked around and manifested the images of his mind into the forest around him.
He ran after his father, who ran screaming for help. Exar quickly caught up to him, swung the lightsaber, and cut his father in half.
There was a collective laugh that rang out behind him; he whipped around with unending rage and charged them. They were all cowards, just like his father; they ran everywhere. Each one he sliced through, but he couldn't count how many of them there were. They had made him their living joke, and he laughed scornfully at their torn corpses.
Someone to the left--
He turned, feeling the rage course through his veins, fueling him, strengthening him, becoming him.
The teacher was no coward--he charged full speed at Exar, screaming with what seemed an almost equal rage as his former student. But the teacher was a brute; he had no finesse. Exar let him go by like a bullfighter would his adversary.
Exar felt into a leap, and flew like a blur toward the enemy. The teacher made a move for Exar's saber, but Exar caught his hand before it had halfway made its course, and crushed it like a clump of dirt. The teacher screamed in pain; Exar let the sweet noise resonate before he turned off his blade.
Exar then shoved the retractor end of the weapon into his teacher's open mouth, and let realization come into the teacher's face.
And with a hideous grin on his face, pressed the activation button on his lightsaber.
The man's body went limp, and Exar Kun let the even limper hand he used to support the body go. He stared at the body for a moment, and spat on it.
Someone to the right--
He saw Master Vodo.
He resisted the urge at first, but then screamed at him.
"You fool!!!" he roared.
The lightsaber blade swung, and his master's head was unaffected for a moment before it toppled off onto the ground, the body following with it-- a clean cut.
At that, the image of his master disappeared, and with it appeared a small shrub cut into two pieces. Exar stared at it, and found himself breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Bending over, he relaxed for a moment. He pressed the button on his lightsaber to retract the blade, stood up, and looked around.
He had just cleared out a square mile of the jungle.
His eyes widened as far as they could possibly go, perhaps because they could not believe what they were seeing. Exar Kun felt himself shaking.
Crack
He whipped around and faced the direction the noise had come from. A lone Massassi native stood before him, holding a spear at his side. Exar relaxed and held out his hands to show he meant the native no harm. "Friend," he said, trying to sound pleasant instead of frightened.
The native stared at him, his expression unchanged.
Exar thought quickly back to his exercises. What is it I want to do? He thought forcefully, and it came to him. He stretched out his feelings to try to enter the native's mind--get a feel for what the man was thinking. He had been told at various times that finding a specific thought was impossible, and reading emotions of someone you did not know extremely difficult. He thought back briefly as he concentrated to the note he had left in his quarters, an excuse that would be suspicious, but solid enough to--
Why is he just standing there?
Exar Kun looked up at the native's face in astonishment. He hadn't thought that last thing--he was certain about that much. But how did he just manage to pull off the impossible? How did he read that man's thought?
Exar closed his eyes, concentrated, and relaxed. Hello, he thought. This had been one of his most difficult exercises--thought projection. But if he had managed to pull it off once...
Hello....hello..hello.
Exar looked up, wondering just what the man's recation would be.
The native seemed to be trying to flick an insect off of his arm.
Exar Kun felt anger course through him.
WHY DOESN'T HE JUST ANSWER ME?!!!
The native almost flew backwards, absolutely terrified. He ran off, screaming "Kai ye'ahh! Kai ye'ahh!" as he disappeared into the foliage.
Exar Kun's eyes again widened. How could this be?
He thought for a moment back to his training. All along he had been told how to receive the power of the Force--everything in the Jedi code. Peace, wisdom, charity. Anything else would produce barren fruit, as someone had put it.
But what if the Jedi Masters were wrong? What if there were more than those ways to channel the Force? Exar Kun had just spent most of his time in anger and in fear--the cleared forest and the terrified native were a result of merely allowing those emotions to be released. Was there power in them?
His mind turned dark. What if the masters had known of this all along and had kept the knowledge to themselves simply to keep the students down and--no, no. That couldn't be. The masters were blind, that was all. He knew, and they didn't.
They couldn't--Exar suddenly thought. Master Vodo wouldn't allow himself to see because he did not want to appear a fool before himself or anyone else. Exar smiled smugly. Very well, he thought. Only I will know. He turned around.
And, with mouth gaping, found himself surounded by hundreds of the natives.
Chapter Five
Kylos Mondra felt the tingling burn that only electricity could produce surge through him for a half-second, and he went from being asleep to being airborne in the same amount of time.
"Owww!!" he yelled a moment before falling back into his seat. He gritted his teeth and sulked for a minute while he straightened himself out and his senses all began coming back on-line. Is it too much trouble for one of the attendants to nudge my shoulder? He thought angrily. As he massaged where the lingering pain was strongest, he looked around and saw everyone mirroring his action.
"Stupid seat-shock thing!" Dutton yelled next to him, punching part of the seat. "I was in the middle of the best dream I've ever had.."
Kylos looked at him, and his gears suddenly switched to common sense. "Well, we've probably arrived at the Academy, Dutton."
"Shut up." The reply came, and Dutton turned to stretch his neck muscles.
"Think fast, boys."
The boys instinctively turned to feel their bags collide into their faces. They sent over a couple of scowls back to Phillip, the one who had apparently thrown the bags and who stood cross-armed against one of the empty seats.
"We're here." He told them. "And if I were you, I would start thinking happy thoughts and looking at least halfway pleasant--anger is looked down on at the Academy."
"What for?" Dutton said, getting up from his seat with bag in hand. "Isn't anger the inevitable response to having to lift up boulders against your will?"
As Dutton brushed by, Phillip answered, "Being a smart-ass is looked down on at the Academy, too." Kylos laughed slightly as he picked up his bag, and started to move out of his aisle.
Creatures of all kinds did the same, and they all went into crouched single-file moving towards the exits of the transport.
Phillip disappeared from the boys' sight, but Dutton and Kylos managed to stay within earshot of one another. One of the attendant's voices came over the speaker system.
"Thank you for choosing Bikler Starways for your transport needs. We hope that we can provide service to you again in the future.."
As Dutton reached the threshold of the exit, he stopped in what looked to Kylos like complete shock. "No," he said, dazed. "I don't think I'll be leaving this planet, thank you very much."
Kylos's eyebrows raised as he stood next to Dutton. "What are you-" he started to say before looking at the same sight.
"...And we welcome you to the fourth moon of Yavin."
Kylos looked upon an endless landscape of greenery and a palette of hues decorating the sky. The only things he could point out specifically were the various pyramids and structures and the occasional birds that would fly by. Foliage blanketed almost everything that was outside of the Jedi structures. It was one of the most incredible sights Kylos had ever seen.
"Hey, could you hurry it up a little bit?" a gruff voice sounded behind Kylos and Dutton.
They turned to see a Bothan gesturing with his arms as if to push them forward down the staircase. Kylos let Dutton go ahead of him as they complied with the Bothan.
Kylos continued walking forward and looking at the scenery as he struggled to get a hold on where he really was, and what his life was going to be from now on, and he seemed to get one as he reached the end of the staircase and walked toward the main complex.
"You know, Dutton," he said, walking up to the side of his friend, "somehow I get the feeling that I won't be leaving this planet, either."
Exar Kun felt a hundred different emotions course through him as he was led through the jungle terrain by twelve Massassi natives, all carrying huge spears and blades. Out of all the natives who had surrounded him before, only these ones had come to him and had managed to communicate with him that he was to come with them.
So far, they had kept him safe and had really cleared a path for him, but he wasn't really sure about their intentions. He didn't have that object he had showed his master earlier, so he wouldn't be entirely safe from the natives should they turn against him.
They had been walking for a while now, as well. It wasn't as though he was tired, but Exar didn't really want to be too far away from the Academy. This was rushing directly into the area he had only wanted to observe and document for the time being.
Fear crept into his veins as the jungle began to become darker. This wasn't what he wanted.
Maybe...
"Uh, excuse me? One of you? Can you at least acknowledge me?"
Not one turned around, or made any indication that they had heard anything. They continued walking and occasionally cutting through some foliage as they had been doing for what must have been some hours now.
Hmmph. So much for that.
Exar Kun thought back to what he had heard about the Massassi. Lots of stories, some of which had to be true, but a lot of which had to be exaggerated horror stories. Some student who had tried to scare him had said something about child sacrifices, another who had obviously heard too many stories for her to handle said something about the natives' rabid cannibalism which had gone so far as to have the natives hunt down wandering Jedi for food, and one of the masters, the masters, had said that the Massassi viewed the Jedi as somewhat of a huge rival tribe which they would have to wipe out if they became too many.
Part I
Darkness Awakens
BY Sean M. Curran
It is a time of peace. The Republic continues to rule with kindness and justice all over the galaxies in its realm. The Jedi Knights are among the most respected people in the universe, not only because of their endless devotion to prolonging peace, but because of the great power they hold. Those with talent in the Force are encouraged to become Jedi Knights, even though there is no need to do so. All dream of becoming one of these guardians.
The peace has not existed forever, though. Long, long before the current time, an army of dark warriors known as the Sith ruled the galaxy through terror and destruction. The Republic had been formed at the height of the Sith's power, and the warriors largely pushed their way into ruling it. A small band of rebellious warriors who believed that the Dark Side of the Force was not the true nature of it managed to start a war with the Sith, and overcome them. The grateful Republic knighted the warriors, and swore to give them any resources they needed to further the building of their own army. In turn, the Jedi Knights, as they called themselves, swore to protect the Republic vigilantly.
The growing force of Jedi Knights formed a praxeum on the Fourth Moon of Yavin, where a Sith facility already existed. There they found thousands of documents which detailed the extensive research the Sith had taken into the Dark Side. As well, they discovered that the Sith had had a native race of sentients worshipping them and basing their whole religion on what they had been told to believe. The documents were hidden for some years, but the curiosity of the new Jedi trainees prompted their masters to form a secret counsel to decide what to do with the information.
The counsel unanimously decided to destroy all documents that had any direct correlation to learning about the Dark Side. They all knew the information was too dangerous. As for the Massassi natives and their temples, the counsel decided, in respect of their beliefs of the Force, not to destroy them. They instead forbade all the knights from ever venturing into the jungle to study anything the Massassi had built.
As time passed, the Sith became either taboo conversation or they were simply forgotten. The secret Jedi counsel remained, though, making sure that should the Dark Side rise up again, to stop it before it became out of their control. Even so, the counsel knew that the beast they never wanted to wake would not sleep forever....
Chapter One
Kylos Mondra looked around his room. He had lived in it for 16 years now, and felt almost sorry to have to say goodbye to it. The color of the walls, his desk and drawers, his data pads in the corner--he had grown accustomed to all of it.
He pulled the last shirt he would need out of his drawer, walked over to his bag, and zipped it up. Funny, he thought as he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and started to walk down the hallway, I've waited so long for this day and now that it's here..
"Here he comes," a loud voice said from the room he was about to enter, "our boy, all grown up." Kylos half-drooped his head in embarrassment, and looked at his family, who had gathered out to see him. "Hi, dad," he answered back. The tall man who was his father nearly overshadowed his son as he walked closer. "I'm sorry, son, but I'm just so proud of you. Can you give your old man a hug?"
Kylos hugged his dad and moved over to his mother, who was shorter than he was. "I love you, son." She told him as she moved forward to embrace him. "Just be careful."
"I will, mom." He answered. He then stooped down to get face-to-face with his younger brother, who was looking down partway. "Hey, you know I'm only gonna be gone for a little while before I come back to see you, right?" he tried to reassure him. The little boy still looked down. Kylos took a finger, and lifted his head up from the chin.
"Don't worry. I promise you that I'll come back. Okay?" he told his brother.
"Promise?" was the reply.
"Promise." Kylos answered, giving his brother a hug.
A small blatt sounded just outside their door, and he stood up. "Well, that's my ride." He said to everyone, looking them all over before heading for the door. Once outside, he walked a few yards to the transport's door, and turned to face them.
"We love you!" they all said in disconjunction.
He waved as he went into the transport. "I love you too!" he yelled to them. As the transport glided away down the road, his parents both looked affectionately at it leaving.
"I suppose he had too much talent for us not to let him do this, you think?" the father said.
"Yeah..." the mother answered. "I just can't believe it though--our son is going to be a Jedi Knight."
Outside of a huge multi-building complex that scores of ships were taking off from and hundreds of people were walking in and out of, the transport gently stopped next to a pathway. As two of the transport's doors opened up to let the passengers out, a computer voice said, "Destination reached--Selonia Intergalactic Spaceport."
Kylos stood outside the door he had come onto the transport through, and took in a deep breath of the air. He knew it would be a while before he came back to his home planet. There was nothing like Correlia's air he knew. He thought a couple more seconds on this before a couple of hands pushed him out of the doorway.
"Come on, you scrawny little toad, I've got places to go! Things to see! Girlfriends to make!" a voice said behind him as he stumbled onto the walkway.
Kylos turned to face the voice. "Rushing into things only helps you fail faster, Dutton." He said firmly. His friend walked out with a bag in one hand and the other hand over his stomach. "What are you, getting sentimental and philosophical on me? You're making me sick." Dutton answered. They walked side by side as they approached the complex.
"I'm not getting nearly as sentimental as my parents, did, though." Kylos said. "They practically held a ceremony for me." At that, Dutton laughed. "Yeah, I saw from the transport window. Not exactly what happened over at my house, but I can't exactly say I'm envious of you, either."
Kylos turned to him. "What did happen over at your house?"
Dutton thought for a second as he approached the front of the entrance and pushed open the door. "Let's just say that the Jedi counselor they sent over to my house had to tell my parents that he just advised Jedi prospects and didn't actually take them to the praxeum."
Kylos laughed as they walked forward toward the main terminal dividing the ship flights from one another. Voices and noise came from every which way, whether from speakers or from the people around them. Kylos pulled out a data pad from his pocket and looked at the corresponding signs to see which transport was theirs. Dutton looked off at a corner where several creatures were picketing against droid pilots. He read out loud one of the signs.
"'I want a pilot who won't malfunction.' Huh..some people are just afraid of progress, I guess." He looked at Kylos, who was still busy with what he was doing. "What do you think about those idiots over there?"
Kylos passed the question off. "Do you want to know because you're interested in my opinion or because you want to argue with someone without getting into trouble?"
Dutton sneered and answered, "The first one, gutter trash. Quit getting smart with me."
Kylos looked up at a sign and at the data pad, and pointed to a hallway. "That way." He said to Dutton. As they started to walk down the hallway, Kylos told him, "I think those people are against droid pilots because, as you said, they are afraid of progress, but I think it's a little different than just that."
Dutton raised his eyebrows as they turned a corner, bumping into a few people, and Kylos continued. "The droid pilots were brought here in the first place because there were problems with the living pilots--eyesight difficulties, muscular problems, mental instability, and so forth. Those problems are hard to correct with actual people, but with a droid those problems are either easily corrected or non-existent."
His friend interrupted as a few people brushed past them. "Yeah, Kylos, that's all well and good, but what exactly is your point?" The other friend frowned and said as they continued walking, "My point--which I was about to say before I was interrupted, Dutton--is that with any solution to a problem like this, there are always new problems introduced into the whole thing. Certainly, we all know about the problems sentients have while piloting, but we know very little about the problems droids have while piloting. What could possibly happen when a droid is at the wheel, and it malfunctions? Does it just change the ship's speed a little bit, or does it go berserk and not respond to any command that is given to it? Does it do something little that no one will notice, or does it bring an end to all the passengers on board?"
Dutton shrugged. "This is the gate." He said to Kylos. They both looked over at the crowd of sentients all waiting for the next transport to come in. A few seemed to be talking to one another, but the rest stayed pretty silent. Dutton looked around half-quizzically. "Geez, it's like they don't even know where they're going."
"But, they do."
Both Kylos and Dutton turned around to see a man dressed in an olive- colored robe walk toward them. The man had a slight smile on his face as he greeted them. "Sorry if I surprised you there. My name is Philip D'Manes." He extended a hand, and they both took it after the other.
"Kylos Mondra."
"Dutton Maech."
Philip pointed his arm toward a row of seats, and they all sat down together. "I should probably let you know that I'm not a trainee here," he told them, "but you should feel free to consider me as one for the time period of our trip."
"Just out of curiosity," Dutton asked, sounding somewhat demeaning, "what exactly are you, then?"
Philip smiled weakly and pulled open his robe to reveal a lightsaber hanging from a clip on his belt. "Does that answer your question?" he asked. Dutton nodded, somewhat astonished. Kylos leaned forward. "So, then," he said, "you're a Jedi Knight who's going to tell us what we should expect at the praxeum on the way over?"
Philip nodded. "I'll tell you right now, if you like." To this, Kylos nodded in agreement. The Jedi leaned forward a little a quieted his voice. "I should warn you, though, everyone sitting silent over there right now knows what to expect."
Kylos's face drooped slightly.
Aboard the transport, Philip had just finished his speech to Kylos and Dutton. He sat on an aisle seat and looked over at the two of them. "Little different than what the counselor told you, huh?" he asked them.
Dutton looked over at him. "Okay, lemme see here. I've already tried levitating things with my mind back at home, and the largest, heaviest thing I could do was my powerball helmet. Are you telling me that one of the first ability tests we have to pass is lifting up an entire boulder?" he asked, panicking at the end.
Philip nodded, and Dutton silently swore. "Yeah, that comes after the first week or so. The tests become harder and harder as we progress." He told Dutton. He looked at Kylos. "Anything you're concerned about, Kylos?"
Kylos thought for a moment. "Yeah," he answered after a minute. "You were talking about lightsaber training back there, and...I don't know. I feel like if I had a lightsaber, I'd cut off one of my appendages or something."
Philip looked at him for a second, and suddenly began to speak to him very softly.
"Using a lightsaber is easy, once you get the hang of it."
Kylos suddenly perked up. "But, I mean, I guess once I got the hang of it, using a lightsaber would be easy."
Philip smirked. "All the exercises are easy once you get the hang of them."
Kylos continued talking in a sort of pleasant daze. "Yeah, all the exercises would be easy once I got the hang of them."
Dutton leaned forward and looked at Kylos. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked him, puzzled.
Philip looked briefly at Dutton and spoke again. "I'm just talking, Dutton. Nothing special."
Kylos echoed, "I'm just talking, Dutton. Nothing special."
Dutton looked at Philip and suddenly realized what was going on. "Hey," he said to Philip, "how are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Doing what?" Kylos said to Dutton. Philip suddenly sat back and relaxed, and Kylos seemed to wake up from a daze. He looked at Dutton, who was wide-eyed with amazement. "Why are you staring at me, Dutton?" he asked. Dutton responded by slowly acknowledging Kylos and saying, "We have got to learn how to do that."
Kylos looked at him, and then back to Philip. "What is he talking about?"
Philip waved his hand slightly. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Kylos."
At that moment the intercom suddenly switched on, and one of the attendants spoke. "We are now preparing for takeoff, and in a moment we'll hear from our pilot, so please put your safety harnesses on now."
Everyone did so in a disjointed manner, and as Kylos and Dutton sat back to relax, a mechanical-sounding pilot's voice sounded over the intercom.
"Greetings, all passengers. I am Pilot model X-38-112, and I will pilot the ship toward your destination, Yavin 4. I understand that, because I am a droid pilot, some of you may be slightly apprehensive. Fear not, however, for I have been programmed with all the latest emergency techniques that would be mandatory should an emergency situation come up."
Dutton turned to face his friend. "Well, so far, so good, wouldn't you say?" he said smugly. The pilot continued.
"To allay any other fears you might have about this flight, I will let you know that the transport ship you are currently in, as well as the pilot you are listening to, has just gone under an extensive inspection and tune-up prior to now. You should feel confident that, in all probability, nothing will goo wrong."
Both the boys' eyes suddenly widened.
Chapter Two
The sun shone bright, and clouds streaked across the blue sky. Birds chirped and squawked peacefully in the distance. Master Vodo-Siosk Baas looked around and breathed in the wonderful air. His students were all around him; sitting together having something to eat on a woolen blanket, discussing their lessons together under the shade of the many trees surrounding the temples, or practicing their skills in some manner. He was pleased at the order which had come to the Jedi.
But then, he felt it. In the pit of his stomach, something terribly wrong. He started to cringe; he looked up and saw that no one else mimicked his action--they must not feel it. He gritted his teeth--how couldn't they? The feeling was almost completely overcoming him. And then, there was a laugh. A familiar laugh, off in the distance. Vodo looked up again.
Now, the students reacted. They all seemed to hear this laugh. It shouldn't have seemed strange, but there was a dark tone to it. It wasn't mockery, though, that wasn't the right sense coming from it. There seemed to be a feeling projected from it of more---hatred.
Then, the source of the laughter appeared. An ethereal being who was completely black began laughing harder and harder and louder and louder. The students were all dumbstruck with fear. At that moment, the being split apart and shot into the sky. Gray clouds began to form from what was once his medium and the sky went dark. Lightning tore across the clouds viciously, and thunder rumbled loudly enough to shake the ground. A cold wind began to pick up and howl, and Vodo felt an icy chill run down his back.
He watched, horrified, as the lightning began striking everywhere. The whole forest seemed to immediately be engulfed in fire. The fire spread across the terrain, and to the praxeum. The buildings began to go up in flames. He heard numerous screams erupting, getting closer and closer to him. He looked over at the source of the screaming and saw the wind taking up his students into the clouds, where they disappeared from viewing. Some students were not taken, but lightning tore through them and turned their bodies to ashes.
He watched as a few of the students simply ran off, not knowing where exactly they were going but letting fear take control of them. It was then that he heard the laugh again, this time directly above him. He looked up at the swirling maw of clouds for a moment and then he saw the lightning come tearing at him...
Vodo shot up in his bed, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. My heart is going too fast, he thought, clutching his chest. He concentrated on the pain and closed his eyes. There is no fear, only serenity...there is no pain, only warmth...there is no danger, there is only peace.
He opened his eyes and felt that his heart had gone back to its normal rate, and his apprehension had passed. He took a deep breath, and got out of bed. As he walked over to put on his robe, he flicked his finger slightly. The previously disheveled bedgarments straightened themselves out and tucked into the corners of the bed itself.
Again I have this dream, he thought as he tied the robe together. It was longer this time. What does it mean? He walked over to the window of his small room and pulled it open. A tray of plants and roots of many varieties suddenly were within his reach, and he grabbed one of the roots from its pot. Closing the window, he walked over to one of the machines on his counter. He flipped a couple of switches, and placed the root inside a gurgling machine. Steam rose from it as he closed the lid, and then he heard a knock on his door.
As he walked towards the door, he thought to himself. It was early morning, so few people were knocking on one anothers' doors. It was either one of the Jedi Masters reporting an urgent matter to him, or, as he opened the door--
"Good morning, Master Vodo."
--An overzealous student.
"Come in," Vodo said to the student half-heartedly. The student walked in politely, and as Vodo closed the door, he said to him, "Sit. Would you like some redroot tea?" The student shook his head as he pulled out a seat for himself at the table. As the master walked over to his brewing machine, the student asked him, "Are you wondering why I am here, Master?"
Vodo laughed slightly as he pulled a glass for himself out of the cupboard. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes."
The student smiled, and as Master Vodo poured some of the tea into his glass, the student pulled a cloth-wrapped object from beneath his robes and placed it on the table. Vodo turned around to see him unwrapping it eagerly. He sat down, and looked between the object and his student. "What is that, Ex-"
The student pulled off the cloth all the way, and Vodo took a glance at it.
Lightning
Vodo's right arm seized all of a sudden, and he grabbed it forcefully. "Master! Are you all right?!" the student yelled, very concerned. The master focused the calming technique he had used on his heart earlier on his arm, and the seizure stopped quickly. He gave his student a reassuring nod, and looked at the object again as his student relaxed.
It was a half-meter long, rusted brown, and covered with strange symbols. Vodo looked at his student with obvious concern. "Where did you find this?" he asked him.
At that, the student suddenly looked apprehensive and said, "I found it..on the ground." The master looked at him sternly before his student continued, "..In the jungle." The master looked disapprovingly at his student. "You know that the jungle is forbidden--"
"I was only on the outskirts of the jungle, Master!" the student contended.
Vodo held up a hand to silence him and continued speaking. "Regardless, all of the jungle is forbidden. You knew this, and yet you allowed your curiosity to get the best of you." The student looked down slightly, but perked up again. "Suppose it is a historical relic of the planet. Couldn't the Republic use it in their museum?" he said hopefully to his master.
His master began to wrap the object back up as he shook his head. He waved the object at his student slightly as he continued to speak. "Anything that we find in the jungle belongs to the Massassi. That is the end of it." As his student's head began to droop, his master continued speaking to him. "Why did you even bring this to me? How did you think it would be beneficial to either of us?"
His student looked up at him, somewhat excited but not as much as before. "When I held it in my hand, some of the natives came over to me. I thought that they were going to kill me, so I ran, but they surrounded me from all sides. When they were all gathered around me, they began to bow before me. They started to say something in their language, and when I wanted to leave, they let me."
Vodo raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Is that so?" he asked of the student.
The student nodded. "Master, I've been told over the year that I've been here that the Massassi were dangerous, and that if we ever came near them, then we would risk our own doom. But it seems to me that the Massassi respect us. With that object," he said, pointing to what was in his master's hand, "I think that they would treat us like gods. Perhaps they would offer us their own work and resources. We could do a lot more with their assistance than we could on our own. After all, we've only seen a small part of this moon, perhaps they would be able to show us things that we could only imagine. Wouldn't that be beneficial to all of the Jedi, Master?"
Vodo thought on this for a moment, turning away from his student and hiding his own emotions. He didn't want his student even to have any idea what was going through his mind.
"Master?" the student asked.
Vodo took a second before answering. "I want you to go about your daily exercises and self-training as you usually do every day...but do not go anywhere near the Massassi natives, or the jungle. Do not even mention what you have told me to anyone else, and do not ask me to give you back this object."
The student's surprise and disappointment were obvious even though Vodo did not see his student's face. "But Master, what about all that I've told--"
Vodo held up a dismissing hand. "I will take it under discussion with the rest of the Jedi Masters. You may leave."
Vodo didn't turn around, but felt mild anger coming from his student as he got up from his seat, left the room, and shut the door behind him. Once he was sure the student was out of earshot, he proceeded over to his console on the other side of the room. He sat down, and punched in a sequence of codes into the system. There was a small humming noise as he waited for a response.
A few seconds passed, and Master Ve'mahn Roth appeared on the screen.
"Ahh, Master Vodo, good morning. What brings you to calling me? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Master Roth said, with a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice.
Vodo smiled weakly, and answered. "If you cannot tell already, I am greatly troubled."
Roth was slightly taken aback. "By what?" he asked, concerned.
"One of my students has brought me a piece of an ancient Sith relic." Vodo answered. "He expressed interest in pursuing after what secrets both the Massassi natives and the jungle held."
Master Roth was obviously upset by this. "You scolded the student for going into the jungle, I would assume?"
"Yes, of course." Vodo answered. "I'm more concerned with the fact that he seems to show a fascination in the forbidden territory rather than the fact that he disobeyed a rule."
Master Roth nodded, still somewhat upset. "Have you taken steps to make sure that he does not share what he has learned with anyone else? I would be most disagreeable to having to call an assembly if more students learn of this."
Vodo answered, "Yes, I have," but thought to himself that Roth seemed to be missing the point. " But I was curious as to what to do with the object he gave me."
Master Roth thought for a moment. "Keep it hidden for now. If it is possible, I would like to return this object to from whence it came rather than destroy it. I don't want the Massassi natives to become any more upset with us than they already are. As for your student, keep an eye on him at all times. I realize from experience that you do not wish to have any unnecessary intervention from other Masters on your students."
Vodo nodded, and was about to sign off when Roth continued speaking.
"However, if I find that your student is managing to cross into the jungle without your notice, know that I myself will intervene on your and the rest of the Jedi's behalf."
Master Vodo was stung by the remark, but countered it. "Rest assured, Master Roth, that Exar Kun will not find out any more about the Sith than he already has."
Chapter Three
Outside the praxeum, a little later that day, Master Sara Varese walked around, observing the students as they looked at things around them and pondered on their meaning. She saw them engage in a mild debate and smiled.
I was once like that, she thought. She had been a master for some three years now, not nearly as long as the others, so she had few students she was allowed to teach. She mostly observed the students and their masters' techniques, in order that she herself could learn from them and use them with her own students eventually.
Or something like that. She knew perfectly well why she was somewhat disadvantaged compared to some of the other masters who had been in her position for an even shorter time than she had. The counsel of Jedi Masters was simply predominantly male, and they liked it that way. Sara had no question in her own abilities, but she was sure the others did. There were a few who weren't as stubborn-minded as some of the older Masters, like Vodo-Siosk Baas and Ch'unther Weyl'ev, but she knew there would be little chance for her to really prove herself in front of them.
She smiled. The new students coming today will be my chance, she thought. Typically, the students were pre-assigned to various places and masters, but there would be a free-reign today. An extremely rare occurrence was the free reign, where students and masters alike would take their pick according to how the Force guided them. Certainly, the free reign was much more effective than the standard systematic approach was, but it usually took hours, and for some reason the older masters thought this to be a waste of time.
Sara knew, though, were she to choose excellent students and teach them well, the masters would have new respect for her. Perhaps she would be placed on the counsel. Whatever happened, she was excited. She continued walking aimlessly along the pathways.
"Oh, no, look out!!!!"
Sara turned quickly to see a rock headed straight for her head. In the split second she had to decide a course of action, she had two options: duck, and let the rock fly into whatever else was behind her, or..
She whipped her hand up and the rock stopped moving and floated in the air a mere inch before her palm. She looked down at it as she concentrated. It was about the size of her own head, and her eyebrows raised at the sight. She looked around for its source.
A second after her eyes went around the now very quiet area, she spotted two guilty-looking boys with piles of equipment next to each one of them.They seemed to be itching as she looked at them. Sara continued to focus concentration on the rock as she walked toward the two students. Once she had reached them, she let the rock fall to the ground. The loud noise seemed to make them reflex.
"Please tell me," she said sternly to them, "what exactly just happened?" Sara watched as the boys looked back and forth at one another for a moment before one of them responded.
"We were, uh, playing catch with our minds, and, uh, I must have concentrated too hard and Creece here not enough, and I think that's why the rock came at you." He smiled weakly. Sara looked down slightly, and pulled her head back up. "So then," she asked, "why is it that you felt you needed to use a large, heavy rock to play catch with?"
There was an embarrassed pause, and Creece spoke up. "We were trying to make the activity more difficult as we went along.." he pointed to the piles of equipment beside them. "..We started out with little things, like pebbles and ball bearings, and-"
"And you worked your way up to the thing that flew at my head, is that correct?" Sara interrupted, now more amused than stern.
They both nodded.
Sara shook her head downward, but then looked up at both of them with part of a smile on her face. "From now on, remember this: levitating and slowly moving things with your mind is perfectly acceptable and proper, but," she said, bending over, picking up a helmet and standing again, "when it comes to playing catch, leave that as a task for the body." She flung the helmet at the boy opposite Creece, and he clumsily caught it. As she walked away, she heard the two boys walking off somewhere else and she thought to herself again.
Naive, she thought as she walked, but pliable. A pair of young men like that, properly trained and good enough friends, could easily keep each other in check.
She walked into the main temple area, where preparations were still being made for the new group's imminent arrival. The huge sundial built into the wall cast a great shadow across the floor, and Sara looked at the time.
Still a few more hours, she thought. But it wouldn't be too long. Destiny never kept people waiting. The trainees of hers would soon be here, and she was ready to receive them.
A large bump startled Philip D'Manes out of his sleep, and he shifted in his seat as he quickly regained consciousness. He looked around at the many other passengers in the transport along with him who hadn't even been fazed and he smiled.
I'm defintely a Jedi, he thought to himself. Ready at a moment's notice.
There had been a time when he was like them, a time when he wasn't woken up by mere hyperspace turbulence; he could vividly remember the day he traveled to the praxeum. Kylos was much like how he was, constantly pondering and wondering about things.
In fact, Kylos looked more like a prospect than anyone else Philip had seen. His mind was focused sharply. Many of the others, like Dutton, seemed to be along for the ride and the glory. Dutton wasn't the worst of them by any means, but he failed to realize just what the implications of being a Jedi Knight were.
Philip cycled through the Jedi Code of Honor quickly. Courage, wisdom, peace, and charity. These are all of the Force, and they are what a Jedi must adhere to at all times. Remain steadfast and vigilant, for you are the guardians of all galaxies.
He couldn't remember how many times his master had drilled that into his head. It had stuck with him, though, and he had become a special emissary for the Jedi Masters' counsel. Were it not going to be a free reign once they arrived at the main temple, they wouldn't have sent him. He had been given the assignment of finding the likeliest candidate for a Jedi Knight, and the likeliest master to place him with.
One, Master Roth, had hinted to him that he felt that the Force was directing him to receive the potential Knight. Philip, of course, knew better and knew that his own master had told him of the various deceit and malice that had, over the years, seeped into the Jedi counsel and just who was allowing his desires to take precedence over the Force's.
Vodo truly is a great master, he thought to himself. He hoped that all of the power-hungry masters wouldn't overshadow Vodo when they placed their knowledge into the Holocubes. Some of what they had placed into the cubes were bald-faced lies, and occasionally the truthful information was altered to place various masters in a more favorable light.
Fortunately, the masters were not so corrupt that they strayed from the Jedi teachings that had been established since the Jedi had come into power. If that were the case, Philip would feel compelled to expose what he had learned and leave the Jedi altogether.
Philip looked over at Kylos, who was still asleep.
As long as there are Jedi like him, Philip thought, there is still hope for the next generation of Jedi.
Chapter Four
Deep in the corridors of one of the less used of the Jedi temples, a group of nine were gathered around a large table. They were engaged in debate, but that wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. What was unusual about their meeting was their topic--secrets.
It was something the group had specialized in for decades, and something that only the nine had any idea was a regular practice at the Yavin praxeum. Certainly, any one of the other praxeums had secrets they kept from the rest of the surrounding worlds, as well as the Republic, but on Yavin it was different. To try to find out all that the nine had hidden would be like trying to find a certain piece of mud somewhere in a bottomless pile of mud.
There were those among the nine that held some level of integrity, but all had helped make the job of a Jedi Master but slightly different than a crooked politician's.
"Excuse me, what did you just say?"
Naxos Grade leaned over the table toward Vodo-Siosk Baas. "I said," he told Master Vodo, adding some scorn to his voice, "perhaps it would be wise to keep an eye on this student of yours."
Master Vodo's eyes narrowed. "First of all, you know perfectly well that 'this student of mine' is named Exar Kun. Second, you make it sound as though he's purposefully doing this. His curiosity is merely getting the best of him."
"That makes him all the more dangerous, then, doesn't it?" Xanthem Xela, an elderly Sullustan, called from one of the ends of the table. He leaned forward. "Curiosity was the undoing of the ancient civilization of Najortha, when the people tried to siphon fire out of their volcano. Certainly, they got what they were trying to find, but their ashes are the only thing that they can show for their efforts."
There was a quiet laugh that went around the table before Ve'mahn Roth stood and spoke. "Well, Master Vodo, I think that Master Xela makes an excellent point--Exar Kun's curiosity is dangerous. That is precisely why this meeting has been called. When I spoke to you over the communicator, I didn't want to have to poke my nose into your business without good reason-- "
That has got to be one of the biggest lies I've heard in a long while, Vodo thought.
"--But I felt too strongly about how important this whole matter is for me to keep silent about it. I don't have much doubt at all that your student will keep his secret to himself, but I think it's an unneccessary risk to assume that he will stay out of an area he's been forbidden to go into if he already disobeyed that rule." At that, he sat down and waited for a response.
Vodo shook his head in dismay and was about to speak when Ch'unther Weyl'ev stood up and vouched for him. "I think this talk is seriously arrogant." He said firmly. "The only one here who personally knows Exar Kun is his own master. Can we speak with any certainty as to what the actions of someone we don't even know might be?" With that, Master Weyl'ev sat down and was almost immediately countered by Yalc Revlis, who was a couple of seats to the left of Weyl'ev.
"But even Master Vodo has said that he does not know Exar Kun well enough to predict his actions! Is that not true, Master Vodo?" the creature finshed, pointing towards him for an answer.
Vodo stood. "What I said, Master Revlis, was that Exar Kun has done much self-training and has closed himself off, for the most part, to me and everyone else regarding who he is. He hides his emotions and thoughts well." Master Vodo paused. "So, then, I suppose that that is true, in a certain sense, that I do not know him well enough to predict exactly what he will do."
Master Roth started to speak. "Thank you, then-"
"I can tell you, though," Master Vodo started to say, cutting Roth off, "that Exar Kun does not handle pressure well. That is precisely the reason why I've allowed him to teach himself. I feel that if we were to keep even a hidden surveillance on him, much less an active, visible one, it would drive him further toward the jungle, rather than away from it."
"How so?" Master Grade asked rather nonchalantly.
Master Vodo glared at him and spoke. "If we keep pressure on him, he will feel compelled to disobey us not because of his curiosity, but because of his loathe toward us. He will become so enraged and feel so trapped that he will want to hurt us in any way he can just to make us stop. He works like a spring--" he said, looking directly at Master Grade, "the more you push against him, the more forcefully he will recoil."
On these last words, there were some muffled whispers among the masters, and nothing more for almost a minute.
Finally, Ve'mahn Roth stood along with Vodo and spoke.
"Master Vodo, what you are saying is indeed sensible, but I believe that you are overestimating this Exar Kun. You speak as though he were able to destroy all of us were his will riled up enough--I simply do not see that happening, Master Vodo. And besides-"
"He has an extremely high Force potential, Master Roth. I do not think I am overestimating him." Master Vodo forcefully interrupted.
Master Roth held up his hands in defense. "Please allow me to finish, Master Vodo. You have had your time to speak already." There was a brief pause, but Master Vodo sat down. Master Roth continued. "And besides, Master Vodo," he said, once again entering into his previous mode of speaking, "I believe that you are thinking only of one student. Our goal, as a group of masters, is to serve the greater good. What will best serve the Jedi as a whole. I don't think that it's wrong to sacrifice one man's comfort for the benefit of everyone else."
A murky feeling suddenly swelled in Master Vodo's stomach. He rubbed the source of the sensation and suddenly saw a brief flash of his earlier vision. He closed his eyes and drowned out the background noise as he focused his calming technique on the apprehension.
What seemed like a minute later, Vodo opened his eyes and looked around to see if anyone was staring at him.
No, no, they were all looking at Roth still. As far as Vodo knew, no one had given him any notice. He looked up at Roth, whose words were becoming clear.
"I believe that we have given this enough time for discussion. We should come to a decision as to what to do now. Any objections?"
Vodo didn't move, but felt like saying something when no one made any objections to Roth's proposal. Vodo looked at Roth, who smiled. "Well, then, we'll start. All those in favor of a surveillance, whose nature is yet to be determined, upon Exar Kun, please raise your furthermost right appendage."
Master Vodo felt hands and tentacles and wings going up all around him. Even Master Weyl'ev had his hand up.
"All opposed?"
Vodo was the only one who even moved for what seemed like an endless three seconds.
Roth smiled and moved his chair under the table; the other Jedi Masters followed suit. "Well then, everyone," Roth said, with a smile on his face, "let's get prepared for the students' arrival. We all know how the free reigns go; we'll get this over with as soon as we can."
As the others got up from the table and left, Master Vodo sagged forward and rested his head in his hands. He heard someone come up from behind, and sensed who it was almost immediately.
"I don't want to hear any false sympathies, Weyl'ev. If you had really wanted to help me, you would have gone with your convictions and raised your hand when I did mine." Vodo said, trying not to show just how badly he felt.
There was a pause behind Vodo, and he heard a response.
"I'm sorry, Vodo, but I just felt that voting with the rest would have served the whole of the Jedi better. We both know how dangerous whatever is in that jungle is; we can't afford to let one person get any slack." Weyl'ev finished.
Vodo scoffed silently. Have they really gotten to you that much?
Weyl'ev's head drooped slightly. I went with my convictions, Vodo. I tried to serve the greater good.
Vodo laughed slightly in desperation.
"So did I, Weyl'ev."
Deep in the jungles of Yavin, a cloaked figure streaked across the terrain and trees. He breathed only when it was absolutely neccessary, and let the Force do most of the work. As hard as he could, though, it seemed he couldn't keep calm. He chanted to himself either out loud or in thought, There is no anger, there is only calm; there is no anger, there is only calm.
He ran faster, but he couldn't do it.
All along he had been told that there was only power in peace, but it seemed as though he couldn't summon any of it.
How could he not see the advantage in what I brought him? He thought. If it helps the Jedi, what could possibly be wrong with it? How could he not see?!
His anger began to flow again, and he cycled through the chant. There is no anger, there is only calm. There is no anger, there is only calm. There is no-
At that moment, he tripped on a vine. His anger turned to disbelief as he flew through the air and crashed into a group of bushes. He managed to push away the pain, but the disbleief turned to anger again as he turned back to face the vine. His speed threw around his robe, and the hood covered his entire face at the moment he wanted to look at what had tripped him.
He felt his anger start to surge from within him, and he tore the robe from around him and threw it as far away from him as he could. Exar Kun looked at the vine which had stopped him in his tracks. He stared at it, and couldn't understand why he wanted to destroy it so badly. He felt a plethora of images consume him--his father abandoning him, his abusive teacher on his homeworld, Master Vodo scolding him, Jedi students ridiculing him, Ve'mahn Roth...his lip curled...Ve'mahn Roth taking the glory away from those who deserve it--and his anger could contain itself no longer.
It totally took him over--he didn't even realize his actions as his hand grabbed his lightsaber off of its clip, gripped it tightly, and brought a yellow-orange blade to life. He screamed in rage.
Everything went into a blur, but he felt himself charge forward and slice the vine across the ground into a hundred pieces. But he didn't- couldn't-stop there. He looked around and manifested the images of his mind into the forest around him.
He ran after his father, who ran screaming for help. Exar quickly caught up to him, swung the lightsaber, and cut his father in half.
There was a collective laugh that rang out behind him; he whipped around with unending rage and charged them. They were all cowards, just like his father; they ran everywhere. Each one he sliced through, but he couldn't count how many of them there were. They had made him their living joke, and he laughed scornfully at their torn corpses.
Someone to the left--
He turned, feeling the rage course through his veins, fueling him, strengthening him, becoming him.
The teacher was no coward--he charged full speed at Exar, screaming with what seemed an almost equal rage as his former student. But the teacher was a brute; he had no finesse. Exar let him go by like a bullfighter would his adversary.
Exar felt into a leap, and flew like a blur toward the enemy. The teacher made a move for Exar's saber, but Exar caught his hand before it had halfway made its course, and crushed it like a clump of dirt. The teacher screamed in pain; Exar let the sweet noise resonate before he turned off his blade.
Exar then shoved the retractor end of the weapon into his teacher's open mouth, and let realization come into the teacher's face.
And with a hideous grin on his face, pressed the activation button on his lightsaber.
The man's body went limp, and Exar Kun let the even limper hand he used to support the body go. He stared at the body for a moment, and spat on it.
Someone to the right--
He saw Master Vodo.
He resisted the urge at first, but then screamed at him.
"You fool!!!" he roared.
The lightsaber blade swung, and his master's head was unaffected for a moment before it toppled off onto the ground, the body following with it-- a clean cut.
At that, the image of his master disappeared, and with it appeared a small shrub cut into two pieces. Exar stared at it, and found himself breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Bending over, he relaxed for a moment. He pressed the button on his lightsaber to retract the blade, stood up, and looked around.
He had just cleared out a square mile of the jungle.
His eyes widened as far as they could possibly go, perhaps because they could not believe what they were seeing. Exar Kun felt himself shaking.
Crack
He whipped around and faced the direction the noise had come from. A lone Massassi native stood before him, holding a spear at his side. Exar relaxed and held out his hands to show he meant the native no harm. "Friend," he said, trying to sound pleasant instead of frightened.
The native stared at him, his expression unchanged.
Exar thought quickly back to his exercises. What is it I want to do? He thought forcefully, and it came to him. He stretched out his feelings to try to enter the native's mind--get a feel for what the man was thinking. He had been told at various times that finding a specific thought was impossible, and reading emotions of someone you did not know extremely difficult. He thought back briefly as he concentrated to the note he had left in his quarters, an excuse that would be suspicious, but solid enough to--
Why is he just standing there?
Exar Kun looked up at the native's face in astonishment. He hadn't thought that last thing--he was certain about that much. But how did he just manage to pull off the impossible? How did he read that man's thought?
Exar closed his eyes, concentrated, and relaxed. Hello, he thought. This had been one of his most difficult exercises--thought projection. But if he had managed to pull it off once...
Hello....hello..hello.
Exar looked up, wondering just what the man's recation would be.
The native seemed to be trying to flick an insect off of his arm.
Exar Kun felt anger course through him.
WHY DOESN'T HE JUST ANSWER ME?!!!
The native almost flew backwards, absolutely terrified. He ran off, screaming "Kai ye'ahh! Kai ye'ahh!" as he disappeared into the foliage.
Exar Kun's eyes again widened. How could this be?
He thought for a moment back to his training. All along he had been told how to receive the power of the Force--everything in the Jedi code. Peace, wisdom, charity. Anything else would produce barren fruit, as someone had put it.
But what if the Jedi Masters were wrong? What if there were more than those ways to channel the Force? Exar Kun had just spent most of his time in anger and in fear--the cleared forest and the terrified native were a result of merely allowing those emotions to be released. Was there power in them?
His mind turned dark. What if the masters had known of this all along and had kept the knowledge to themselves simply to keep the students down and--no, no. That couldn't be. The masters were blind, that was all. He knew, and they didn't.
They couldn't--Exar suddenly thought. Master Vodo wouldn't allow himself to see because he did not want to appear a fool before himself or anyone else. Exar smiled smugly. Very well, he thought. Only I will know. He turned around.
And, with mouth gaping, found himself surounded by hundreds of the natives.
Chapter Five
Kylos Mondra felt the tingling burn that only electricity could produce surge through him for a half-second, and he went from being asleep to being airborne in the same amount of time.
"Owww!!" he yelled a moment before falling back into his seat. He gritted his teeth and sulked for a minute while he straightened himself out and his senses all began coming back on-line. Is it too much trouble for one of the attendants to nudge my shoulder? He thought angrily. As he massaged where the lingering pain was strongest, he looked around and saw everyone mirroring his action.
"Stupid seat-shock thing!" Dutton yelled next to him, punching part of the seat. "I was in the middle of the best dream I've ever had.."
Kylos looked at him, and his gears suddenly switched to common sense. "Well, we've probably arrived at the Academy, Dutton."
"Shut up." The reply came, and Dutton turned to stretch his neck muscles.
"Think fast, boys."
The boys instinctively turned to feel their bags collide into their faces. They sent over a couple of scowls back to Phillip, the one who had apparently thrown the bags and who stood cross-armed against one of the empty seats.
"We're here." He told them. "And if I were you, I would start thinking happy thoughts and looking at least halfway pleasant--anger is looked down on at the Academy."
"What for?" Dutton said, getting up from his seat with bag in hand. "Isn't anger the inevitable response to having to lift up boulders against your will?"
As Dutton brushed by, Phillip answered, "Being a smart-ass is looked down on at the Academy, too." Kylos laughed slightly as he picked up his bag, and started to move out of his aisle.
Creatures of all kinds did the same, and they all went into crouched single-file moving towards the exits of the transport.
Phillip disappeared from the boys' sight, but Dutton and Kylos managed to stay within earshot of one another. One of the attendant's voices came over the speaker system.
"Thank you for choosing Bikler Starways for your transport needs. We hope that we can provide service to you again in the future.."
As Dutton reached the threshold of the exit, he stopped in what looked to Kylos like complete shock. "No," he said, dazed. "I don't think I'll be leaving this planet, thank you very much."
Kylos's eyebrows raised as he stood next to Dutton. "What are you-" he started to say before looking at the same sight.
"...And we welcome you to the fourth moon of Yavin."
Kylos looked upon an endless landscape of greenery and a palette of hues decorating the sky. The only things he could point out specifically were the various pyramids and structures and the occasional birds that would fly by. Foliage blanketed almost everything that was outside of the Jedi structures. It was one of the most incredible sights Kylos had ever seen.
"Hey, could you hurry it up a little bit?" a gruff voice sounded behind Kylos and Dutton.
They turned to see a Bothan gesturing with his arms as if to push them forward down the staircase. Kylos let Dutton go ahead of him as they complied with the Bothan.
Kylos continued walking forward and looking at the scenery as he struggled to get a hold on where he really was, and what his life was going to be from now on, and he seemed to get one as he reached the end of the staircase and walked toward the main complex.
"You know, Dutton," he said, walking up to the side of his friend, "somehow I get the feeling that I won't be leaving this planet, either."
Exar Kun felt a hundred different emotions course through him as he was led through the jungle terrain by twelve Massassi natives, all carrying huge spears and blades. Out of all the natives who had surrounded him before, only these ones had come to him and had managed to communicate with him that he was to come with them.
So far, they had kept him safe and had really cleared a path for him, but he wasn't really sure about their intentions. He didn't have that object he had showed his master earlier, so he wouldn't be entirely safe from the natives should they turn against him.
They had been walking for a while now, as well. It wasn't as though he was tired, but Exar didn't really want to be too far away from the Academy. This was rushing directly into the area he had only wanted to observe and document for the time being.
Fear crept into his veins as the jungle began to become darker. This wasn't what he wanted.
Maybe...
"Uh, excuse me? One of you? Can you at least acknowledge me?"
Not one turned around, or made any indication that they had heard anything. They continued walking and occasionally cutting through some foliage as they had been doing for what must have been some hours now.
Hmmph. So much for that.
Exar Kun thought back to what he had heard about the Massassi. Lots of stories, some of which had to be true, but a lot of which had to be exaggerated horror stories. Some student who had tried to scare him had said something about child sacrifices, another who had obviously heard too many stories for her to handle said something about the natives' rabid cannibalism which had gone so far as to have the natives hunt down wandering Jedi for food, and one of the masters, the masters, had said that the Massassi viewed the Jedi as somewhat of a huge rival tribe which they would have to wipe out if they became too many.