Chapter 1
Kai-kwon Deo sat alone in the new Temple's main archive, studying ancient texts ruminating on the mysterious nature of the Force. The archive was one of the largest single rooms in the home of the exiled Jedi Order as knowledge had always been of the utmost importance to a religious brotherhood more well known for their martial ability. They had moved here just a few
years before Kai-kwon was born, after the infamous Treaty of Coruscant saw them banished from the capital of the Galactic Republic at Coruscant. Instead of trying to renovate one of the two remaining ancient Jed'aii temples at Kaleth or Ver Tepe, the Order chose to start anew. They had long ago abandoned the ancient Jed'aii Bendu principles that sought to find balance between light and dark, and felt it less than prudent to tempt the hundreds of young Jedi, already angered by the Council's acceptance of the Treaty that brought them here, by establishing a perpetual reminder of the Order's warrior roots.
Taking a page out of their ancestors use of natural defenses, the Republic had helped construct the Order's new Temple halfway up the Mataki Mountain range on the volcanic continent of Kato Zakar. Banished or not, the Jedi still brought Coruscant with them in the form of architecture. The new Temple was a long, squat building with the Core Classical dome in the center flanked by two smaller rounded domes on each wing. The archives itself was a long, tall room with vaulted ceilings held up by a single classical style column for every fifty square meters, and polished stone floors. The west side of the room was lined with tall ceiling to floor windows in front of a large open floor where Jedi could sit and meditate before the rising sun.
After the meditation space came the actual reading tables in front of stacks where Kai-kwon sat, digging into some of the oldest texts the Temple kept out for everyday consumption. He bundled his thick bantha hide robe around his neck. Out the nearest floor to ceiling window the first snow was falling on jagged peaks, and he was beginning to see the first wisps of his own breath in the poorly insulated room. He shook off the chill and returned to the text laying on the Greel wood table in front of him. There were older texts to be sure, written on dried animal skins in the immediate generations after the Tho-Yor settled the first force users on Tython, but these were kept behind lock and key in the Hall of Records and only available to the Masters. Kai-kwon waited patiently for his chance to dig into those one day, but for now he was content with these texts, many seeming to validate and support the Order 's immersion into the light.
After thousands of generations, the ancient understanding of the Force's balance had recently branched in multiple directions; with the Unifying Force becoming the primary Ideology for today's Jedi. Adherents to this mainstream ethos believed the Force was a single entity that created and guided the Universe in a somewhat pre-determined path. The Unifying Force gave its vessel the power to enact its will, and it was the user's burden to understand and follow that will. Failure to stay on that path would result in a fall to the Dark. The minority belief was in the Living Force, or the notion that there were two separate energies that created and guided the universe. The Dark side of the Force was the counterweight to the Light. They used this symbiotic relationship to create the universe, after, diverging into two fundamentally different paths. Kai-kwon struggled with both of these philosophies and couldn't remember a time when he hadn't. He couldn't understand the notion of repressing emotions like anger, any more than he could understand the notion of letting your emotions control you. What of love? How could we really know love for the collective of beings we fought and died for, if we were discouraged from feeling love on a personal level? These thoughts kept him awake many nights wondering if it wasn't this new rigid adherence to philosophy that led to the Order's late response in countering Sith aggression in the Outer Rim.
When the Darksiders had first appeared, the Council leaders, along with the Republic Senate, sensitive to the public's weariness of yet another war, pursued a policy of appeasement. It backfired. The Sith wasted no time using the Republic's apprehension for bloodshed against them. Utilizing a three pronged pincer movement, they blazed a path all the way into the Mid Rim before the Republic leaders realized they were being played for fools, and mobilized their forces. Once reality had dawned on the Republic's defenders, they met the threat with valiant determination, but alas, too many inroads had been made by the Sith, and the two sides were destined to slog it out in a bitter stalemate over the next five years before the Sacking of Coruscant.
Not yet born, all Kai-kwon could do was agonize over the decisions that led them here. What if they had acted immediately to the Sith's taking of Korriban? Met force with force, instead of with emissaries and diplomacy? Had they put their pursuit of a peaceful resolution above the lives of the citizens they were sworn to protect? He was snapped out of his admittedly hindsight critique by the Temple's keeper of records, Korenna Zon.
"Jedi Deo?" the wizened Jedi asked softly so as not to startle him.
"Yes Master?" he said as he looked up at the human female in her white tunic and robe, clearing the fog of his lingering thoughts.
"You're wanted in the Council chambers…you seemed lost in thought? Anything I can help with?" the wrinkled but pleasant looking Jedi archivist inquired.
"No, Master…just thinking of what could've been" he admitted.
"Well then you should've been sleeping…a far more worthwhile endeavor" she bit back with practiced haughtiness.
"You're right, as always Master" he said with a smile, quickly defusing any chance at another lecture.
He left the Archives exchanging hellos with an old friend, and turned right through the East Hall towards the central foyer. Fifteen years ago the Sith, realizing the Republic was far stronger than it had gauged, called upon its contingency plan that would once again play upon the Republic's desire for peace. With the war having become nothing more than a brutal and bloody quagmire with both sides bogged down in the Mid Rim, the Sith Lords had called for a parley with Republic officials…and the handful of Jedi Council members only too willing to oblige. They had demanded a neutral rendezvous on the world of Carida, and all fighting had ceased immediately. Except for some Jedi who warned of Sith treachery, including Kai's old Master Orgus Din, and a few wise Senators, the Republic marched headlong into the peace conference with only the slightest security precautions. Once all of the Republic's military and political leaders reached Carida on the edge of the Colonies, they launched their devious sneak attack.
On Coruscant, where a token security force waited completely unaware of the ronto bearing down on them, Darth Malgus led a small force of saboteurs to Coruscant where they took down the orbital defense stations before calling down a large force of Sith Sabers and Mandalorian mercenaries led by Darth Angral. Within two hours they had destroyed the Jedi Temple where Master Ven Zallow was struck down along with many Knights and Padawans, and seized key governmental facilities across the capital. The Mandos struck hard and fast, laying waste to all military hard points on the Planet. With Coruscant in complete disarray, the Republic diplomats on Carida were forced into signing a completely unfavorable treaty, which saw the Jedi banished.
Having to leave their home of the last five thousand years, it felt only natural to return to the planet that had been the only other home they knew, the deep core world of Tython.
Due to Tython's location in the galactic core it was surrounded by all sorts of dangerous cosmic phenomena related to the super massive black hole at the core of all spiral galaxies, and getting there was a challenge very few accepted. For those who were brazen enough to try, the reward was great. Tython was a garden world of immeasurable beauty and resources steeped in the Force, and its isolated location made for a great safe haven to rejuvenate the badly wounded Order. While Tython had always been considered dangerous for non-Force users, its seclusion and safety from other dangers also brought non-Jedi refugees from the war, including a large number from a banned Twi'lek religious order who were now the planet's only other sentient inhabitants. They had left their home some twenty years earlier fleeing not only the war but the chauvinistic slavery laws and religious persecution of their homeworld. Kai-kwon didn't know much about their beliefs but at least knew their reverence for the female Twi'lek put them in direct confrontation with Ryloth's extremely patriarchal society.
Upon arriving on Tython the Jedi had lived around the Twi'lek villages of Kalikori as they set about building the temple whose grand corridors he now briskly walked down. It was nowhere the size of the temple on Coruscant, but then again the Jedi are nowhere near the size they were at the start of the war thirty years ago. Its beige and blue exterior was fronted by statues of the greatest Jedi. Some might think it an odd preoccupation or a sign of ego to spend anytime creating artistic busts of Jedi past, but to the Jedi art was just another manifestation of the Living Force, and history was a servant's path to immortality.
Statuary aside, Kai-Kwon and his friends would often jokingly refer to it as the merchant king's mansion, and for all intents and purposes it looked identical to the estates of business tycoons across the galaxy. The interior was mostly golden with light blue trim and dark blue carpeting in certain areas. Kai-kwon watched his feet pad some of that dark blue carpeting as he ascended the final steps of the wide circular staircase that divided the floors. The top floor was home to the Council chambers, which was flanked on either side by the War room, where all military tactical decisions were made, and the agricultural Council room. Even in wartime the Jedi Order's primary mission was to help those who could not help themselves…the number of which only increased in times of conflict. For this just cause there was an entire wing of the Jedi Order who may have lacked the martial ability or command of the Force to become Jedi Guardians, but who made up for it through their commitment to the light and the will of the Force. Embodying that will the only way they could, they traveled the galaxy helping small communities affected by drought, war, or other geological circumstance, most didn't even carry a light saber.
The grand double doors that led to the Council chambers were fifteen feet high by eighteen feet wide and three feet thick made of polished wood from the Tythonian Ak tree that towered above the forests of the planet. He pushed the comm panel to signal his arrival and after clearance by the protocol droid D2-1B the doors began to open from the inside. Walking into the Council chambers he was pleased to discover he had not yet outgrown the awe and reverence that had filled him since he was a boy being called into this place. Each of these masters had been leaders in the fight against the Sith Empire before the treaty was even signed. They all had significant victories to their credit, many of which were re-enacted to this day by younglings in apartment hallways and farmsteads throughout the Republic. Some, like Master Satele Shan had even been the subject of blockbuster holo-vids during the truce. They weren't just the Republic's greatest hero's, but also the Order's greatest, and Kai-kwon felt himself revert to a wide eyed youngling every time he was brought before them.
The Council sat in form fitting chairs in the dugout center of the room, which was by design to keep them from being as imposing as possible. The chamber itself was fairly Spartan, with a tiered dome-like vaulted ceiling and a two-tiered sunken floor to match. The high-backed chairs of the twelve current masters formed a circle around the sunken floor, with a small single holo-comm in the middle. Behind each of the chairs was a bronzium statue of past Council members. The veneration of past events and beings was not exclusive to the Jedi Order. History was vital to the culture of the Republic as a whole. It was one of the most important subject in schools throughout the galaxy, and it had nothing to do with the fear of repeating it, since repeating history was a symptom of emotion more than ignorance. No, what drove this celebration of history in their culture was its intrinsic motivation value…its power to induce extraordinary behavior. Republic sociologists and historians had shown time and again where civilizations that devalued history tended to be more nihilistic and hedonistic, while societies that prized the past were more prone to values like altruistic and abstemious. The idea of a legacy could drive beings to incredible deeds.
As Kai-kwon walked into the room he was greeted by the current Grand Master. Entering middle age, Satele Shan was still considered one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy, with smooth olive skin, dark black hair almost always kept in split braids, and light blue eyes the color of gemstone. Like most Jedi she took great pains to stay out of the public eye, but circumstances had proven too difficult for her to avoid the spotlight, and she had become the most recognizable and documented Jedi alive.
Grand Master Shan had just been a recently promoted Knight working with blade master Kao Cen Darach, when they witnessed the vanguard of the Imperial fleet arriving to reclaim the ancient Sith world of Korriban. It was also the first time she would duel Darth Malgus, which began a running battle between the two that had never revealed a clear victor. Despite her inexperience she quickly showed herself to be one of the Republic's most capable leaders, and fiercest warriors. She had led the same group of Republic commandos from the orbit above Korriban to the day of the Treaty. Rumor had spread throughout the Republic that she had a love affair with the squad's Captain, Jace Malcolm, and possibly bore his child. If true it would have compromised her position, but probably not done irreparable damage. Of all the Order's prohibitions, the most leniency is shown in matters of attachment. And even more leniency is shown when you're Satele Shan.
The Grand Master wasn't just renowned by Republic civilians as the Hero of Alderran, she was also renowned by her fellow Jedi, and more so than just the normal respect that was commanded by her position. She won this additional adulation through her innate ability to lead, self-sacrifice, and her complete reinvention of combat with the double bladed saber. She had turned what had been a defensive weapon into a devastatingly effective offensive one as well. Instead of defensive counter attacking, she was known for mad dashes through multiple opponents. A style normally discouraged for its susceptibility to over committing, she did it all with incredible tactical and defensive control, and this seemingly reckless abandon had made her a rallying symbol for the Republic and a prized target for the Dark Council.
As Kai-kwon approached he felt words catch in his throat only for a moment, "g-greeting Masters, you summoned me" his stammer hidden by his reverent bow.
Pretending not to sense his nervousness she began ", yes Jedi Deo, we have a situation that's arisen… on planet," bypassing her normal pleasantries about his training or studies, which immediately concerned Kai-Kwon.
"Here Master? On Tython?" he confirmed needlessly.
"Yes, an emissary from the refugees in Kalikori arrived earlier to report that Flesh Raiders have attacked the village on each of the last two nights in an…organized manner."
"Flesh Raiders?" he silently chided himself for redundancy but on this occasion it was warranted considering the semi-sentient creatures had never been reported to do anything more than snatch some Cupas in the middle of the night or attack the random hunter…never an organized raid.
"Yes the implications are very troubling" she said sensing his unease. "We must find out why? If it's out of some sort of famine than we may need to help, but either way these attacks must end" She said with the same commanding presence she had utilized throughout the war.
"Yes Master, I will leave immediately" he answered, bowing his head in the spirit of servitude to the Force and his Masters.
It was then his old master, Orgus Din, who spoke next. "I think we are all in agreement that Kai-kwon is one of the most promising young Jedi we have seen in some time, but I would still feel better if I accompanied Jedi Deo…at least until we figure out how serious these attacks are," he quickly glanced at Kai-kwon to see if he had wounded his pride, but his old student remained stone faced.
Orgus Din was one of the few Jedi that had survived the Sith's surprise attack on Coruscant. He was a bit of an outlier in the Order, he was short for a human, and he shaved his head completely rather than wearing his hair long in the fashion favored by most human Jedi. He was such an outlier that members of the press had begun referring to him as the "Plain Jedi", which Kai-kwon had heard was a source of amusement for all the Masters, including Orgus Din himself.
Kai-kwon thought maybe some of his fashion sense had rubbed off on him since he also wore his dirty blonde hair shorter than most. However, try as he might Kai-kwon could not look ordinary or plain. His muscular physique and chiseled face kept him from blending in anywhere.
"I agree" the Grand Master said looking around the room to see the concurrent nods of the other assembled masters. "Master Din and Jedi Deo may the Force be with you both" she intoned the familiar parting of the galactic faithful.
He hesitated before leaving and turned back to his old mentor, "Master are you coming?" Orgus Din rose to his feet but waved a dismissive hand at him "Go on ahead Kai-kwon, I will meet you in the speeder bay in twenty minutes".
"Very well Master" he responded, sure that Master Din's reason for remaining was to discuss his selection for this assignment.