Star Wars – The Trials of a Jedi
Prologue
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….
The Republic has fallen for the fourth time leaving the Jedi defense lying in fragments. The Sith are now in control as a dark shroud covers the galaxy extinguishing any sign of hope, but buried with the darkness exists a ray of light threatening to dispel its hold.
Distain dripped from his mouth as the Dark Lord orated the note which adorned the holopad clenched in his hand, 'In a small, damp cave on Duxn are those whom you seek.' With his final word his crazed eyes met the assembly of troops, a sinister smile embellishing his lips. Suddenly a voice blared over the intercom breaking his mind away from his twisted desires, it was the pilot.
"Lord Cylis, we are about to enter atmosphere of Duxn. What are you orders?"
"Exterminate the Jedi and salvage their weapons." His tone cold and malevolent.
Meanwhile, on the surface of Duxn the Jedi Masters assemble.
"I have felt a disturbance in the force, I'm sure that you have all felt it also. The Sith are aware of our presence here, therefore we must find a way to gather all Jedi for relocation until our forces ready." Master Dudg informed with a calm conviction.
"We shall, Master Dudg, however first we must have the knights convene before the counsel." Master Odel replied as he turned to the counsel's secretary, "Please summon Jedi Samuel Quaid, Nomad of the Records before the council. We must debrief him before our opportunity is spent."
Beep, beep, beep... The alarm for a meeting went off but this time something was different.
"Master Quaid, you have been requested to meet with the counsel. The Sith are upon us." said the council's secretary.
Quaid had already begun waking up, but overhearing the secretary's dire words jolted him out of his bed. He hastily clothed himself before the com had completely shut off, grabbing his robes and making his way directly to the council chambers. It had not occurred to him that the Sith could find them here on Duxn, where the Mandalorians had their base for over three millennia as well as one of the tomb of a Sith Lord. This planet may have an abundant history to it, but it hasn't been on anyone's radar for years, making Duxn an ideal site for one of the enclaves of the Jedi Order. The last known Jedi or Sith that had come to this planet would have been during the life of The Exile, and she had looted the Sith Lord's tomb.
How could they have found us here? Surely it was no coincidence with Duxn being the most important enclave established for the Jedi as well as home to the council. Quaid now deep in thought almost didn't notice the person passing him. It was Muss, a mandalorian and one of Quaid's closest friends who had helped him in many missions.
"What are you doing here, Muss?" he asked noticing the fact that Muss hadn't removed his helmet.
"The same as you, Quaid. Your Masters sent for me as well as our former partner. Guess they wanted the best for this."
Suddenly, Quaid froze in his tracks. "Kris." Quaid thought out loud.
Muss looked at him quizzically, his helmet now in his hands, "Quaid, you okay?"
Crap... he thought to himself wishing he had a good answer. Not answering a Mando was never wise, especially for one's health, Jedi or not. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Muss' face was adorned with an expression of skepticism, fully aware that Quaid wasn't.
As the two made their way to the council chambers they saw an old friend standing in the doorway. Not slow in remembering that he had left them to die on a planet five years ago, out of pure greed regarding a bounty reward.
"Hey, Muss, Quaid. How have you two been in the last five years?" Kris asked lacking any sign of apology.
"Okay considering the circumstances of our departure." Said Muss with no attempt to veil the bad taste that Kris left in his mouth.
Seeing the potential for escalation, Quaid stepped in and looked at Kris, "We trust you to get the job done, but trust is earned not fleeting. With that said, you do have my forgiveness."
Just as Quaid finished speaking, the doors to the chambers opened.
"This important mission cannot be left in the hands of a Jedi Nomad. It should be assigned to a Jedi from the Mission Corp."said Master Kresh just as Quaid and his group entered the room.
"You judge too harshly, Master Kresh. I was once the Jedi Nomad. I trained Quaid in the Jedi arts, including the ways of the Jedi Nomad." replied Master Ketorn.
Quaid could guess what going on in the conversation that just took place between the council members. Master Kresh was the member of the council which had attempted to refuse Quaid's appointment to become the Jedi Nomad. Due solely to Master Kresh's desire for his padawan to be appointed to the position, but Craton had left the order.
"Oh, Jedi Quaid, Muss, Kris and you have come as well. Good. I'm sorry that we had to wake you all this time of night." said Master Cade Skywalker as they entered the middle of the chambers.
"We are all honored to oblige a call from the council, though. We wish it was due to lighter circumstances than this." said Quaid bowing his head.
Suddenly, a deep voice resonated from behind them, "Many of us agree with that statement, my son."
At that moment Quaid turned to see a Master of the Jedi Shadow Corp. He had not seen him in over seven years, which attested to the severity of the situation as both both of them stood before the council.
"Hello, father."
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