A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Episode 0
The Sith Maelstrom
Arriving in the midst of a battle for survival between a rogue force whose allegiance is in question, the Galactic Alliance finds it politically necessary to forge a bond with the mysterious individual in charge of the victorious warship. But doubts linger as to his motives, and with Jacen Solo missing after a secret mission to the enemy flagship his family feels uncertain whether they can convince others of the danger this person represents. With no word yet from Master Skywalker or his wife, they must act swiftly in order to stave off what they see as a slide into absolute darkness...
Book II: The Shade of Oblivion
Chapter I
The statement was both ludicrous and yet made with such conviction that Mara knew the young man believed that what he said was the truth. Whether or not that was so and the consequences if it proved to be weren't her concern at the moment, but getting them to Kessel without getting tripped up by whatever defenses Darth Sival had set up to keep out prying eyes was. To her mild surprise, Brakiss proved invaluable in sensing these unexpected obstacles and saved them considerable time by steering them around them.
In the meantime, Luke's former student and one-time pawn of the Empire told them how he'd spent the years. It seemed that Rkvzlnmara had been docking at a secret airlock elsewhere on the Shadow Academy at the time of its imminent destruction. The Wookiee had been specifically searching for him, or so he informed Brakiss later. Given the imminent risk of destruction along with the facility, the alien had used the Force to coerce the young man into coming with him.
Brakiss had resisted in secret, curious as to who this alien that seemed so familiar was. It would be in the days that followed their meeting that he would learn of the Wookiee's association with Palpatine up until a year after the start of the Clone Wars. The explosion that had destroyed the Shadow Academy masked their journey into hyperspace, and to the rest of the galaxy Brakiss was thought dead.
Jade Skywalker listened patiently through it all, though she had guessed at parts of it from her knowledge of how the Empire did things and the fact of the acquaintance of the two individuals. "So when did he determine you were the one he was looking for?" she asked. "It took him a week to find a scientist he could trust to run the test. After all, he had only seen me when I was really young. But the results were definitive, and he declared that he intended to reunite me with the father I'd never known," Brakiss said.
"But something happened," Luke interjected, "Sival?" "No, it was Yu'shaa," Brakiss said, "Jlan had been keeping tabs on major events during the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, and together he and my father had helped to thwart the Sith Lord's own share in undermining your efforts. At times they succeeded, but like the raid on Myrkr your students made; things went awry many a time as well." "And then he runs into a prominent Yuuzhan Vong, who's supposed to be dead," Mara said to herself.
"Actually, Nom Anor was very much alive at that point," Brakiss told her, "The only trouble was that he was on Coruscant being elevated back to the inner circle of the government and the alien we encountered was halfway across the galaxy. Not too far from here either." "His exact location doesn't matter, that was nearly a year ago," her husband said, "How did Jlan make the link between a second Nom Anor and Sival?"
"Because this particular version of Anor wasn't portraying himself as the charismatic individual who always looked out for his own hide, but as the selfless prophet devoted to helping all of the Yuuzhan Vong," the young man said. "Corran saw him at work a few days ago," Mara said, "He certainly seems to have shifted the message he's delivering, and skewed it heavily towards the Dark Side."
"That was true even when Jlan first encountered him," Brakiss said, "Of course, neither version of Anor had ever met the Wookiee and while aliens might be infidels to many Yuuzhan Vong; Jedi are another matter. But given the slant of the words of the prophet, I volunteered to go instead. As it turned out, I made the right choice." "So what is Sival up to this time?" Luke said, "Or haven't you figured that out yet?"
"Oh, he's made it pretty clear all right," Brakiss said, something about his expression sending a shiver up her spine, "That's why we have to speak to my father. Sival is out to finish what he started years ago, and fulfill the prophecy about one who will bring balance to the Force. If he succeeds, every part of the galaxy could once more be in slavery to the Dark Side." There was only silence aboard the Jade Shadow at that pronouncement as they sped on thru the stars in search of some means of bringing to an end the reign of this dangerous man who sought to disrupt the very fabric of their lives.