Author's Note: Hey everyone! Welcome to Pieces of the Past. Just so you're aware, this story is set two years before the events of The Force Awakens. This is my first attempt at writing Star Wars fanfiction, and I'd say my knowledge of the Star Wars canon is pretty good. However, I by no means am an expert, so there may be some errors with regards to canon. I ask that you overlook any minors errors, but feel free to point out any major errors. With that, I hope you enjoy the story!
Daz Contos found himself in complete darkness. The 26 year old human was unaware of his location, and couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Besides the rhythmic sounds of his own breathing, his surroundings were eerily quiet. He reached down to his belt, grabbed his lightsaber, and ignited it. The sound of the blade coming to life reverberated around the room, but was soon replaced by the soft hum of the plasma. The lightsaber cast a blue light around the room, allowing Daz to get a better sense of his surroundings. He discovered that he was in a large room made of stone, with carvings adorning each wall. Daz approached the wall closest to him, and held his lightsaber an inch away from the wall in order to see the carvings. They were exquisitely carved, obviously the work of a master. They depicted various battles throughout time and across the galaxy, with small inscriptions detailing each. As Daz studied the pictures and read the inscriptions, he suddenly recognized the carvings. He had been in this room before, many times in fact.
I know this place. The Hall of Heroes in Master Skywalker's temple. Daz remembered. But how? I thought this room was destroyed along with the rest of temple?
He suddenly sensed a presence in the room with him, one that shook him from his thoughts. A very dark presence, and one that was very strong with the Force. Daz immediately recognized the identity of the presence, a person he had known well at one point. Daz whirled around to face the person, who ignited their own lightsaber. The blade came to life, the cracked kyber crystal inside producing an unstable blade. The blade bathed the opposite side of the room in a red light, and the sound of the crackling blade masked the soft hum of Daz's.
"Ben." Daz observed, his tone serious but without malice.
"Daz. It's been too long." replied Kylo Ren, though to Daz he had been known as Ben Solo.
Ren voice was distorted by the helmet he wore, in order for it to sound muffled and much deeper than it actually was.
"I figured this day would come. You always were persistent, Ben." Daz stated.
Kylo smiled sinisterly, although it was hidden behind his helmet, "Besides Master Skywalker, you're the only Jedi left. And that name means nothing to me anymore, for all intents and purposes, Ben Solo is dead."
"I suppose you're right, the Ben I knew never would've betrayed the Order, never would've killed his friends. But he doesn't exist anymore." Daz noted. "I'm surprised you're here alone, I thought your Knights would be with you. They helped you slaughter everyone else, after all."
"I don't need them to kill you! I'm more powerful than I was then!" Kylo retorted harshly, his tone revealing his anger.
Daz shifted his stance to a defensive posture, holding his lightsaber with two hands out in front of him.
"I guess we'll find out." he challenged.
Kylo responded by swinging his lightsaber around in his hand, and began walking briskly towards Daz. Daz did the same, and soon picked up his pace to a jog. Kylo responded in kind. Both ended up in a sprint, and before long were within striking distance of each other. The Jedi and the former Jedi swung their lightsabers at each other, and the two blades connected in between them. Sparks flew when the blades hit, and the sound of lightsabers clashing filled the room.
"Daz…" a soft, soothing female voice called out.
The voice echoed around the room, and he found the urge to follow the voice. Daz took his eyes off Kylo, and looked around for the source of the voice. Seeing and sensing no one, he turned back to Kylo. The two were locked together in a clash, each trying to push their lightsaber towards the other.
"Daz…" the same voice called out again.
It sounded familiar, and it sounded safe. Daz suddenly found himself growing weaker, his own lightsaber inching closer to him as Kylo continued to push. Before long, he lost his strength entirely, and everything went black.
June 23rd, 32 ABY
Hosnian Prime
"Daz? Daz, baby, wake up." the same voice quietly urged.
With a gasp, Daz shot up in his bed, his head darting around his bedroom. He was breathing heavily, covered in sweat. Daz quickly realized he wasn't in Luke Skywalker's Jedi temple, but instead was in his apartment bedroom. And Ben Solo was absent, both in sight and force presence. He laid back down in his bed and looked at the ceiling, trying to steady his erratic breathing. A light next to the bed turned on, and then Daz felt a hand on his bearded cheek, which gently turned his head to the right. His gaze followed, and he found himself looking at his 25 year old wife, Mayla, who was lying in bed next to him. She was mirialan, with olive green skin and blue eyes that Daz could get lost in. Like most members of her species, Mayla had facial tattoos, a small cluster of diamonds on her cheeks and a thin line of diamonds from the top to the base of her forehead.
"Daz, you were muttering and jerking around. Another bad dream?" she asked, genuine concern in both her voice and eyes.
Daz nodded, cupping her cheek in his hand and gently rubbing his thumb over her tattoos.
"Yeah, third one this week." he replied.
Mayla pulled him closer to her, and kissed him. As they kissed, Daz ran his hand through her smooth, black hair that was just long enough to reach her neck.
"What's bothering you? It's odd to have this many bad dreams in a week." she asked after they parted. "Is it work? Did something bad happen?"
Daz worked as a police officer in Hosnian Prime's capital, Republic City, and Mayla knew that because of that he had seen some pretty horrible things.
"No, honey, nothing's bothering me. Don't worry about it." he responded, trying to alleviate her worries.
He smiled at her to try to let her know he was telling the truth. Mayla knew he was lying, but she smiled back anyway. She knew her husband too well, noticed his subtle tells he had when he wasn't telling the truth. They had been married for just over a year, after all, and had dated for a year before that. Because of this, Mayla knew Daz never lied to her about anything, except when it came to his nightmares. She believed he was trying to cover them up so she wouldn't worry about him. Mayla assumed something about the recent crime wave in Republic City was causing his bad dreams. She worried about not only the dangers that posed to his physical health, but his mental health as well.
Mayla sighed, "It's just… I'm concerned about you, Daz. With how much crime has gone up and…"
She was interrupted by Daz gently placing a finger to her dark green lips.
"Hey, everything's fine. Trust me, okay?" he assured her.
Daz kissed her again, hoping to convince her he was telling the truth.
"Okay, I trust you." Mayla replied, smiling weakly.
"We still have a few hours before we have to wake up. Let's try to get some more sleep." he suggested.
She yawned, "No complaints here."
Mayla reached over and switched off the bedside light. She scooted over right next to her husband and laid her head on his shoulder, placing a hand on his bare chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed his wife goodnight on her forehead. Mayla smiled at his affection, then slowly drifted back to sleep. Daz remain awake a little longer, his thoughts focused on Ben.
The truth was, everything was not fine. Daz hated lying to Mayla, but it was for her own good. In actuality, he was extremely worried. Daz knew that for Force-sensitive individuals, dreams were not meaningless. Every dream had a specific purpose, and Daz knew his were showing him the future. Soon, he would encounter Ben again. Daz was aware that Mayla knew he was lying; he could feel the emotions in her through the Force. However, his troubles were not about his job, as she believed. After Ben had slaughtered the new Jedi Order and destroyed the temple, Daz had fled to Republic City, hoping to hide in a large sea of people. His thought process was that the First Order would never attack a city of its size, especially not the capital of the New Republic. He had changed his last name to 'Prysmian', and had gotten a job as a police officer. Daz couldn't tell Mayla what his concerns were actually about. She knew nothing of his past as a Jedi padawan, of Ben's betrayal, of him fleeing to Hosnian Prime in order to escape. And if he could help it, it would stay that way. The less about his true past anyone, including Mayla, knew, the less of a chance Ben would find him. However, if his dreams were to be believed, his deception wouldn't hide him for much longer.
The couple's alarm clocks went off promptly at 7:00. With a groan, each rolled over to their respective nightstand to turn off the alarms. Mayla sat up first, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a soft groan. Daz smiled, finding the small noises she made when she stretched to be incredibly cute. He followed suit, sitting up to prevent himself from falling back asleep.
"Good morning, sweetheart." Daz greeted, placing a hand on her thigh.
Mayla leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Good morning to you, too." she replied, looking up at him with loving eyes.
Mayla got out of bed first, and slipped off her black, knee-length nightgown in order to take a shower. As she was about to place it in the hamper, she heard Daz whistle behind her. She looked over her shoulder, and saw him still sitting in bed, a grin on his face. Daz winked when her eyes met his. She rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile, playfully throwing her balled up nightgown at him. It landed on his head, and the couple both laughed before he took it off.
While Mayla showered, Daz brushed his teeth and trimmed the length of his beard with an electric razor. Tonight was date night for the couple, so he had to look somewhat presentable, which meant no scraggle. He noticed his hair was getting a little long, he usually kept it around three inches long.
I'll have to remember to get it cut soon. Daz noted.
He hopped in the shower after Mayla was done, and the couple ate breakfast together after getting dressed. Mayla was a nurse in the pediatrics department of a nearby hospital, so she wore standard nurse scrubs. However, she wore a black, long sleeve undershirt in addition to a green, traditional mirialan head veil. Her people were very conservative when it came to their dress, with most women leaving only their hands and faces exposed in public. Daz wore the dark blue uniform of a Republic City police officer, along with his black boots and standard issue DL-44 blaster pistol. After finishing breakfast, Mayla adjusted his appearance like she did whenever something seemed out of place. She pushed back some stray strands of his full head of hair that had fallen onto his forehead, and adjusted his nametag that read 'Officer Prysmian'.
"There, now you're ready for work, Officer Prysmian. Can't have Republic City's finest not looking their best." she commented, grinning.
Daz kissed her, which she happily reciprocated.
He gently squeezed one of her hands, "What would I do without you?"
It was actually their jobs that had brought them together. On one of his patrols over two years ago, Daz came across a teenage twi'lek girl who had accidentally been shot in the stomach during a botched robbery attempt in a marketplace. He had arrived on the scene before any medical personnel, so he took the girl to a hospital himself. As fate would have it, the nearest hospital was the one Mayla worked at. Since the girl was a teenager, she was moved to the pediatrics wing after surgery. Mayla was assigned as her nurse, and Daz had waited in the girl's room until she woke up and her parents could be contacted. Despite both knowing how cliche it sounded, it was honestly love at first sight for the two. When Daz came back to the hospital a few days later to check on the twi'lek girl's progress, he also built up the courage to ask Mayla out for a date. Just over two years later, and here they were.
Just like every other day, Daz drove Mayla to work, considering the young couple could only afford one hover car. He landed the car in the lot near the entrance to the hospital, and the two leaned in for a goodbye kiss. Mayla stepped out of the car, and leaned against the door to say goodbye.
"I'll pick you up a little after 5:00. Have a good day, honey!" Daz said, smiling.
Mayla smiled back, "You too, babe. I love you!"
"I love you, too." Daz replied, his smile growing wider.
Before he could pull away, Selona, Mayla's female twi'lek friend and fellow nurse, came up to the car also.
"You two are too cute, you know that?" Selona asked rhetorically.
Mayla blushed, and Daz laughed softly.
"Hey Selona, good to see you. Keep Mayla out of trouble until I get back, will you?" he asked jokingly.
Selona smiled and put an arm around Mayla, "Good to see you too, Daz. And I always do, don't you worry."
The young couple said goodbye one more time, and waved as Daz pulled away.
"How did you get so lucky, Mayla? It seems like there are no decent men left in this city after you snatched up Daz." Selona remarked. "Why can't a handsome, kind, caring police officer bring a hurt girl to the hospital when I'm working? You better hold onto him tight, there's plenty of women in this city who'll try to steal him away from you."
"The right guy's out there for you too, Selona. You just have to find him." Mayla replied. "And I have no intention of letting Daz go, ever. And I know for a fact he feels the same way."
"He doesn't have a twin brother who's single, does he?" Selona asked, half-jokingly and half-serious.
Mayla could only laugh and shake her head.
"So, did you tell him yet?" Selona asked.
Mayla shook her head again, "Not yet, I'm actually planning on telling him tonight. After we come back from dinner."
"And you're sure it wasn't just a false positive?" Selona questioned.
"I'm sure. Unless all five tests, all from different brands, came back as false positives." Mayla answered.
"He's going to be so excited. Daz will be such a great father." Selona stated. "And I can't think of anyone who'd be a better mother than you. You just have a way with children."
Mayla smiled, "I know he's going to be a great father, you should see the way he lights up every time we talk about a family. I just hope I can be as good of a mother."
For years, Mayla had dreamed of becoming a mother. After she had married Daz, she wanted that dream to come true even more. And now, it was becoming a reality. Mayla placed her hands over her womb.
Your father will be so happy when I tell him about you, little one. I can't wait to meet you. she silently told her unborn child.
A few hours into Daz's shift, he was sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork from a recent arrest. It was undeniably the worst part of his job. As he was detailing the arrest, he suddenly felt a faint disturbance in the Force. Daz could barely feel a dark presence, but felt it nonetheless. A very dark presence, at that.
Ben. he correctly guessed.
Daz shot out of his chair and ran to the hover car lot, not bothering to stop when his sergeant called out after him. He hopped into his hover car, and sped off towards the hospital. Daz immediately tried to call Mayla's communicator, but she didn't answer. He tried again, with the same result.
"Come on, Mayla, answer." Daz pleaded.
On the third try, she finally picked up.
"Daz? You never call me during work, what's wrong?" Mayla asked.
"Babe, listen to me, it's an emergency. I need you to find some excuse to leave work." he calmly instructed. "I'm on my way to the hospital now. Can you be outside in ten minutes?"
She took a few seconds to process what she was hearing, "Yes, I can do that. Daz, what's wrong?"
"I'll explain everything later, right now I just need you to trust me." Daz stated.
Mayla paused momentarily before answering, "Okay, I trust you. I'll be outside."
Sure enough, Mayla was waiting outside the hospital when Daz arrived. The couple sped back to their apartment, neither saying a word. Mayla was worried sick, but to her, Daz was acting strangely calm. That had always been something she admired in him, he never seemed to lose his calm in stressful situations. When they arrived back in their apartment, Daz immediately began changing out of his uniform and into plain clothes, a gray shirt with black pants and his brown leather jacket.
"Mayla, I need you to change into normal clothes too." he instructed while changing.
She did just that, putting on a traditional mirialan long sleeve, ankle length black dress with dark brown leather boots. Daz then tossed her his blaster pistol. He had taught her how to shoot a few months after they started dating, and she had become a pretty good shot since then. Daz opened one of the drawers of his dresser, and began unlocking the false bottom. While Mayla felt comfortable using a blaster at the shooting range, she wasn't comfortable with using it in a situation like this.
"Daz, what's this for? What's going on?" she asked, beginning to panic.
Daz stopped unlocking the bottom, and strode over to her. He gave her a hug, then placed his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.
"I can imagine how you feel right now. I promise, I'll explain everything once were safe." Daz calmly told her. "Just be prepared that you might have to use that blaster. Can you do that?"
Mayla's eyes widened in shock, "Use this? Daz, please, what is happening?"
He took a deep breath, not wanting to reveal this to her until they were safe. But Mayla was beginning to panic, and understandably so.
"Mayla, some very bad people from my past have found me. It's not safe here for us anymore." Daz admitted. "I know it's not much to go off, but it's too long a story to tell now. I'm really sorry about all this."
Mayla took a few deep breaths to calm herself. It wasn't much, but she now knew a little of the situation. People were coming for Daz, who would most likely hurt or kill him if they found him. That was all she needed to know for now. She was still quite nervous about the possibility of having to use the blaster, but she wouldn't hesitate to protect her husband if she had to.
"Okay, let's go." she said.
Daz gave a weak smile in response. He finished unlocking the false bottom, and pulled out his old lightsaber. It was very similar in design to the one Master Skywalker had used when the Empire was defeated.
Mayla couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Daz… Is that…?"
"A lightsaber? Yep, like I said, I'll explain later." he replied, nonchalantly.
A flurry of thoughts ran through her head, most having to do with why her husband had a lightsaber in his possession.
"Alright, time to go. You ready?" Daz asked.
Mayla weakly nodded her head, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared to death. Daz reached out with the Force, and felt Ben's presence getting closer.
He grabbed ahold of Mayla's hand, "Follow me. We'll get through this, I promise."
Mayla could only weakly nod again. The young couple left their apartment, and Mayla wondered if she'd ever see it again. Daz led her through the hallways of their apartment building, never once letting go of her hand. He peered around a corner, and his heart instantly dropped at what he saw. Four figures, all clad in white combat armor, stood in front of the elevator, slowly walking towards them. Daz distinctly remembered that combat armor from the attack on the Jedi temple, these were First Order stormtroopers.
"Mayla, they're already here. I'll try to handle this, but be prepared to start shooting if need be." he whispered.
Daz started to pull away, but she held him back.
"Daz, wait." Mayla urged.
When he turned around, she pulled him in for a kiss, which for all she knew could be their last.
"I love you. More than anything." Mayla told him.
Daz smiled, "I love you, too. You're my everything."
With that, Daz let go off her hand and stepped around the corner. Mayla peered around the corner so she could see what was happening. The stormtroopers immediately aimed their weapons at him.
"Stop right there! Drop your weapon!" one of them ordered.
"It would be in your best interests to let me go." Daz replied, igniting his lightsaber.
"It's the Jedi, open fire!" the same trooper yelled.
"No!" Mayla screamed, believing that Daz would be killed.
The hallway immediately filled with blaster fire, but before she could return fire, she was stunned by what she saw. Daz effortlessly blocked all incoming fire, even deflecting two blaster bolts back that killed two of the stormtroopers. He swiftly closed the distance between him and the remaining two troopers, striking them down in quick secession. Mayla couldn't believe what she had just seen. Not only had her husband just defeated four stormtroopers, but he had moved with such a grace and elegance that could only have come from years of training. And there was only one group of people in the galaxy that trained with lightsabers.
Daz is… a Jedi… she realized.
Daz collapsed the blue blade, and motioned for Mayla to come to him.
She could barely find her words, "Daz… you're…"
"A Jedi? There's… uh… a lot you don't know about me." he finished for her.
"Please make sure this is in your explanation." she requested.
Daz nodded, "Of course."
Author's Note: To clarify, I based Mayla's clothing off of Barriss Offee's in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon series. Hopefully you enjoyed the first chapter of the story! If you did, please leave a review to let me know! I have the entire plot planned out, but I'll only continue this story if people are enjoying it, so make your voice heard if you want it to be continued.