As part of the wreckage of an old Imperial-era Star Destroyer lifted into the sky, clumps of turf and soil rolled down it's ravaged sides back to the ground. It had rested there since some time before the Galactic civil war had ended all those years ago, but for some reason Luke felt drawn to something beneath where it had laid just moments before he had tossed the part of the wreckage aside with nothing more than a gesture. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel it through the Force. Something the Star Destroyer had been carrying was important and had a strong, warming presence in the Force as though it knew he was a Grand Master amongst the Jedi Order and that it wanted him and no other to find it. The part of the Star Destroyer that remained in the ground looked as though it was probably part of the bridge section - some of the twisted metal struts protruding from the ground looked as if they had once been supports for the observations ports, and through them the wreckage of the buried ship continued underground. The surrounding area was covered in dense forest teeming with life which Luke could feel through the Force as a single shining entity working as one. None of them seem bothered by the wrecked ship, it had probably been there for decades, and judging by the design of Star Destroyer it was probably an old Imperial-Class that was defunct long before the redemption of his father.
Luke had not been onboard a Star Destroyer of any class since shortly after he had lost his late wife Mara at the hands of his nephew, Jacen. He had tried to suppress his feelings of loss the past couple of years and to move on with his life; but now for some inexplicable reason this ship seemed to bring back those memories and the pain that it gave him. It could have been because of the time Mara spent as the Emperor's hand that he sometimes associated relics of the Empire with her memory. He stood there for a moment looking down into the buried wreckage, not really seeing what was in front of him, but the face of his beloved Mara, the woman who had once tried to kill him.
Sometimes it seemed the galaxy didn't want to be at peace, Luke thought. Throughout his life he had known nothing but loss. He had lost his parents before he had known them, then his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, his best friend Biggs, and along the way he had lost so many other people, but none of them stung as much as the memory of his wife. During the time they had been together she had been his light, they shared a bond that made them stronger and as long as she was around he knew they'd survive anything together just as they had both survived the Yuuzhan Vong war. Together they had been like two halves of a single being, her impulsiveness perfectly complimenting his more contemplative side. Nothing made the pain worse than knowing it was his own nephew that had slain her. He had wanted nothing but revenge, but he knew that lonely path of deceit and revenge only led to the dark side – a path he and his family know all too well and one he did not want to take again not just because of the devastation it would mean for the galaxy, but because taking that path out of revenge would only sully his memory of Mara.
He blinked and his thoughts were jolted back to the present, he didn't know for sure if what he had just experienced was a vision brought to him through the Force, or whether it was his own mind being allowed to wander – whatever it was he couldn't dwell on it, not now. Without giving it another thought he opened himself up fully to the Force, centred his mind and jumped down into the half buried wreckage landing skilfully on the near-vertical floor. From there he started sliding down to a stop at bulkhead that could now be considered a floor due to angle the wrecked bridge had crashed. The feeling was getting stronger now; he could feel that what he had been drawn to was just on the other side of the bulkhead he was standing on. Luke moved part of his Jedi robe to one side and let his lightsaber be drawn to his hand. Activating the switch on his lightsaber, the green blade shot into existence as he plunged it deep into the strong durasteel bulkhead. The heat of the blade quickly melted through, creating raised patches of molten metal around where the blade touched, and he was soon able to start cutting a larger hole. Once his lightsaber had finished its path back round to where it had started he turned off his lightsaber and raised his hand, using the force to push the metal plating out of the hole and onto the floor behind it. Peering through the small hole, being careful not to get too close to the smouldering edges of the hole; Luke carefully shone his portable flashlight through. Flicking the light from side to side Luke could see that the corridor that had once been on the other side of the bulkhead was now mostly collapsed and buried under tons of rubble and dirt – there was only a small opening immediately on the other side of the hole. Luke could still sense something there; he had felt it's presence since a few days ago whilst at the Jedi Praxeum on Ossus. What he couldn't understand was why something in this wreckage would suddenly start calling for him now after all the time it must have been buried. The only explanation he could think of was that something must have moved recently and disturbed whatever was resting here. He was sure though that it was not something living, but something that existed in the Force all the same. Reaching out with the Force again, he searched for the source of the calling until he saw a spot on the ground where he felt it was buried. He couldn't see anything, yet he knew it was there beyond a doubt. Luke closed his eyes and started to call for through the Force – letting it surround it and take hold of it until it was moving slowly out of the soil and into his hand.
The object landed in Luke's hand, its square like shape fitting on his open palm perfectly. As it touched it started to feel warm, and instantly Luke knew what it was – a Jedi holocron. He had come across a number of these before whilst trying to find out more about the Jedi that once served the Old Republic. Although great tools of knowledge, it seemed that they always brought bad news with them. Dusting the holocron down, Luke studied the designs on it – it appeared to be at least a couple of thousand years old. The fact it still worked was a testament to how well built these holocrons were. Of course though, any conventional power cell would have depleted after all this time, instead it was powered by Force energy. Luke surmised that maybe some disturbance in the Force had triggered something in it, making it call out to be claimed. After giving turning the holocron over in his hand, half examining it, he stowed it away inside his robe and Force jumped back out of the wrecked Star Destroyer landing gracefully on the ground just outside it.
Luke took his SoruSuub built personal communicator from his pocket, "Artoo power up, we'll be leaving as soon as I get back". Luke heard a series of whistles and beeps from Artoo, "Yes that's right Artoo, I've found what I was looking for – we're going back to Ossus".
Luke had landed his StealthX craft only several hundred metres away, but he wanted to get back to the Academy as soon as he could so that whatever message the holocron had, he could share it with the other Masters.
Inside the Great Hall, all of the Masters were gathered, waiting to see what was so important that it required the attention of the entire Jedi Council at this time. Since the time Ossus replaced Yavin 4 as the centre for Jedi learning there had been many gatherings in this hall between the Jedi Masters – many of which had resulted in a change in the Galaxy either for better or for worse. Luke entered the Great Hall, pleased that so many had answered the call. As he strode into the centre of the hall the other Masters stopped talking and took their seats ready to see what their Grand Master had to say.
Luke placed the holocron on pedestal that had been prepared, and activated the holocron; and as he did so an image of Master Vodo-Siosk Baas appeared. "When brother and sister Jedi born to walk the sky are laid to rest, darkness will fall, alliances will crumble, and the Sith Order will rise again."
Luke almost staggered back with shock at the immediate response from Master Baas – it was unusual for a holocron to relay a message immediately with no formal questions being asked.
"Is there anything we can do to stop this future?" Luke quickly regained his composure and pressed for more details. He knew that a holocron as old as this may not last long before shorting out.
"Only the teaching of the Whills will help a walker of the sky to correct the path; but darkness will fall." With that the holocron gave out, and the hologram of Master Baas fizzed out of existence.
Corran Horn rose to his feet and looked at Luke. "Master Skywalker, who was that? What does he mean?" he said.
"He was a great Krevaaki Jedi Master - Master Vodo-Siosk Baas. I've come across one of his holocron's before – he died along time ago during the Great Sith War," Luke replied.
"His student, Exar Kun became a Sith Lord and nearly destroyed the Order before it had even begun," Kyp Durron added; not giving up information that Exar Kun had exerted influence over Kyp once during his youth. Exar Kun had tried to influence him into doing his bidding and this led to Kyp using the Sun Crusher, a super-weapon capable of destroying entire solar systems by making the star go supernova. He had worked hard to redeem himself since the day he had used it to destroy the Cauldron Nebula.
Cilghal, the Mon Calamari Jedi-healer had remained silent up until now, but she leant forward, "'When brother and sister Jedi born to walk the sky are laid to rest' – it is logical to assume that he talks of Master Skywalker and Master Solo. It is possible that the Sith rise because of something that happens to you both?"
"It isn't the first time a holocron has spoken of Leia and myself as 'brother and sister born to walk they sky' – it must be something to do with what Master Baas saw in his vision before he recorded the holocron" Luke mused. He had never given it much thought before why a previous holocron has prophesised about them before, but having another could only mean that something pivotal would still happen with their lives that would have grave consequences for the galaxy.
"We must meditate on this. A new Sith Order would be devastating not just for the Alliance, but for the galaxy" Corran Horn responded – a number of Masters nodding their heads in agreement.
"Meditation is a waste of our time. We are Jedi. We serve the Force and must follow where it takes us. If Master Baas says the Sith are going to increase in numbers then we do something about it before it happens."
"I think it is clear what the Order must do. A dark storm is coming and we must be ready for it. We have to find these teachings of Whill that Master Baas spoke of - the future of the Galaxy may depend on us."