The Pazla Crisis 1: The Hidden Planet
Chapter 1: It Begins
Disclaimer: If I owned them current canon would look a lot different.
A/N: Okay, I'm going to give this a try. I've created a planet in the Unknown Regions. I've named it Pazla and populated it with original characters and mostly original flora and fauna. I've developed a plotline that will bring Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade to this planet. I have hopefully written these two characters in character. Now I am posting it on this site and praying that you wonderful people will tell me that you like it.
So the first couple of chapters will be primarily Pazla and what is going on there but there will still be some Luke and Mara. Hopefully, people will not hate my original characters.
Canon wise, the events of the movies, the events of "The Truce at Bakura" and the events of the Thrawn trilogy happened, other than that, I have no idea what canon is so there.
As for "Breaking Destiny's Bonds" and the "Inexplicable Circumstances" series, I will be returning to those, I just had this in my head and it begged me to start it and see what people thought of the idea.
One last thing, as much as BDB might make it look like I'm all about the happy family fluffy happiness, I have a thing for putting my main characters through hell. I have a thing for causing deep emotional, physical and psychological pain. And Luke Skywalker has been begging me to show him my powers and I sort of want to test out how much angst both Luke and Mara can take, so consider that a warning. You will also notice the 1 in this story's title. I do hope that with this new planet that I have enough material for at least three stories.
Pazla was founded by a group of humans in 5,000 BBY. The five ships, containing a total of 40,000 individuals landed on a planet several tens of thousands of light years from the Core Worlds. In the early days of Pazla, the settlers maintained contact with their world of origin. Later Pazla would have a seat in the Galactic Senate.
Pazla's leadership later became disenfranchised with the Senate and through the work of a team of Pazlaian agents, the existence of the planet was erased from the relatively primitive mainframes of that era. The people of Pazla were free to live their lives in Galactic anonymity. They had no enemies in the known galaxy and so their existence was slowly forgotten among them.
Some Pazlaian youths still ventured off their home world from time to time but they kept the location of their planet a closely guarded secret, much like the Alderaanians would do with New Alderaan millennia later.
Left to their own devices, the Pazlaians thrived. The Pazlaians developed a system of government similar to the Galactic Senate. Each city elected an official to the Council.
While they remained relatively isolated from the galaxy those youths who ventured off planet returned with news of the galaxy and so the Council remained informed for the most part. When news of the rise of the Empire reached the Council, a ban on interstellar travel was enacted. All space craft were dismantled.
Some among the humans born on Pazla were Force-sensitive. Those who displayed skills in the Force had been sent to the Jedi until news of the Empire reached Pazla. After the ban on interstellar travel those with abilities in the Force went untrained, their powers became dull from misuse.
In 15 ABY a threat showed itself, a threat so terrifying that the Pazlaian Council lifted the ban on interstellar travel and sent an envoy out into the galaxy to find help among the planets that had once been loyal to the Old Republic.
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The city of Pazzana on the peaceful world of Pazla was bathed in sunlight that day. Students of Pazzana's famous University were strolling around the sprawling campus, holding hands, smiling, chatting and laughing.
At the Pazzana Council Complex, several of the officials had decided to take their midday meals outside. The high marble columns that towered above the pristinely manicured courtyards were truly a sight to behold.
Beholding them at that moment was Pana Sal. The newly elected representative from the small three village fishing community collectively known as the Darga Union, in honor of the river they resided on, had just finished sitting through a seemingly unending session concerning the budget for the Sigtan Mountain Observatory Project. One of the more senior representatives, a middle aged man from Lumnar had staunchly stated that thirty-four years ago they had cut themselves off from the stars for a reason and why should they bother trying to make even this miniscule connection now.
Pana thought about that. She was too young to remember when her people had banned interstellar travel. She remembered the stories though. Her father had often pointed to the nighttime sky when she was little. "Pana," he had told her "You will hear so many things about the galaxy out there but don't believe any of it. It's a wondrous place. I only wish you could see it for yourself."
Her father had been a space fairing man years before. He had traveled all over the galaxy that was now off limits to the rest of those of Pana's generation. He had been a small boy when Pazla had withdrawn from the Republic. He had been one of the founding members of the Pazla Council and had been the only one to object to grounding all space travel when news of the Empire's emergence had reached their ears.
He had resigned from the Council five years later. Several political hopefuls from the Darga Union had filled his seat in the years between his resignation and Pana's election. At the age of twenty-two, she was by no means the youngest to have held the post.
"Day dreaming again, Pana?" a snide voice from behind her asked.
Pana turned to see Nach Viver standing there, his arms crossed upon his chest, his green eyes staring down at her and his features contorted into a smug expression of superiority. Pana sighed heavily, Viver had been a member of the Council at the same time she had. He was two years her senior. He represented the farming and textile community of Corzallez.
"Is it a crime to enjoy such a beautiful day?" she asked, forcing herself to withhold to the rules of decorum and putting on her most diplomatic face "Paz knows we won't get many days like this once Bleak comes."
Bleak was the Pazlaian equivalent of winter. Pazla had three seasons, Bleak, Alongar and Belleza; Belleza would soon be coming to an end and the cold chill and deep snow of Bleak would set in within the next couple of weeks.
Viver shook his head "I suppose not," he replied with forced politeness. He uncrossed his arms and took a seat on the bench beside Pana "What was your opinion of the budget request. It seems like Sigtan is always asking for money for something, don't you agree?"
"I believe that an observatory atop our tallest mountain makes sense," Pana defended "The request may have been a bit larger than the Council was expecting but that should not detract from the appeal."
"Oh please," Viver exclaimed "You only think that way because of all of your father's nonsense stories. Caudillo was right you know. We cut ourselves off from the stars. We already know as much about them as we need to."
"You are ignorant and cowardly," Pana stood up. Kaustus Caudillo was the Lumnar representative who had attempted to sow seeds of descent in the Council. It appeared that he had.
"The representative from Darga Union forgets herself," Viver muttered as Pana walked away.
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"An observatory," Guisa Sal murmured as he sat with his family at dinner "We shouldn't just be staring at the stars, we should be traveling to them."
The Council was in recess for the weekend and Pana had come home to spend the time with her family in the village of Caribassa. Caribassa along with Singobassa and Ussmal were the villages that made up the Darga Union.
Pana's mother Olima sighed as the family's orange and green furskit lay down at her feet. "Guisa, please; it's been months since we've gotten to spend any time with Pana, please don't make this about politics."
"This isn't about politics," Guisa contended "This is about human nature, the human nature to explore. When our ancestors came here millennia ago-"
"Not tonight Guisa," Olima said sharply "We've heard your views on this subject every night. You don't need to convince us."
"It's alright," Pana smiled softly "I don't mind."
"You may not mind," Pana's younger brother Zanath said as he surreptitiously fed a piece of his caspira fish to the furskit "But we've heard him give this same speech every night."
Pana groaned, rolling her eyes at the fourteen-year-old boy "Zanath, you know what Mother says about feeding Scallus from table," she said as revenge.
"Zanath," Olima said sharply, turning her attention to her son. Pana smiled triumphantly and quickly finished her meal.
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Later that night, Pana went for a walk in the garden. Loyal Scallus padded after her. Her mind was full of thoughts. She would have liked to travel to the stars. Her mother had remarked on numerous occasions that she had inherited her father's adventurous spirit.
Pana looked up at the stars above her. She wondered what mysteries they held, mysteries that not even her father, the great Guisa Sal, didn't even have knowledge of. What sort of allies resided out there? What sort of opportunities to further the advancement of her people? What sorts of technology could they discover if the Council would simply allow them to build ships again and launch them?
Pana watched as the luminous butterflies flitted from anaris flower to anaris flower, sipping the nectar. The small insects were not afraid to venture beyond their homes to the gardens of the villages along the Darga River. They were not afraid of exploration, so why were the Pazlaian people so afraid?
Pana took a seat under the snapberry arbor and reached out, grabbing one of the remaining snapberries that had escaped being picked earlier in the season. She popped it into her mouth and savored the sweet taste as the berry crackled between her teeth.
Beside her on the bench, Scallus rose from his position curled up by her side and pricked up his ears. He let out a low rumble. Pana turned to him "What is it Scallus?" she enquired.
Scallus's rumble became a full on purr as he bounded off the bench into the arms of the visitor. "Hey Scallus," Kasha Tills smiled, ruffling the green and orange fur much to the furskit's delight.
"Kasha," Pana exclaimed happily as she rose and embraced her friend.
"It's good to see you Pana," the other young woman replied, smiling. Pana resumed her walk around the sprawling garden, chatting with Kasha as Scallus followed closely behind, glancing about protectively.
"I had a feeling you'd be here," Kasha smiled brightly.
"You and your feelings," Pana laughed "I never have to tell you when I'm coming home," Kasha had an uncanny ability that Pana could never understand. Her friend could sense when something was troubling her and it wasn't just that. Things that Pana couldn't explain seemed to happen when Kasha was around.
"How has the life of Darga Union's elected official been treating you?" Kasha asked.
"Alright I suppose," Pana shrugged "It's impossible to get anything done, the Council is all talk, hardly any action."
"You can't say that your father didn't warn you," Kasha laughed.
Pana nodded "Yes, but I always assumed that he was simply embittered by the Council's decision to ground space travelers."
"Pana," Kasha admonished "You should have known he wouldn't have been so petty."
"Still…" Pana shrugged again "He never misses an opportunity to remind me of how much better things were when Pazla was a member of the Galactic Senate, or to let me know of all the wonderful things that can come from traveling to those blasted stars of his." Pana's tone was world weary and tired.
"The stars belong to all of us Pana," Kasha reminded her "The night sky is for everyone."
Pana nodded "Remember when we used to pretend that we were space travelers?" she asked with the hint of a smile on her face.
"Yeah," Kasha smiled "You, me and Mikk would spend hours in that old hull of a ship in your father's shed."
"How has Mikk been?" Pana questioned. Mikk Rashan was one of her dear childhood friends. He had been a willing participant in all of the mischief that she and Kasha could cook up.
Kasha's expression became serious "I thought you'd heard."
Pana stopped in her tracks and turned to Kasha "Heard what?" she asked, pointedly.
"He got a job sheering sniggles at a farm in Corzallez," Kasha informed her.
"Why didn't you send communication to Pazzana?" Pana asked.
"I did," Kasha told her "I attempted to reach you at your residence. The droid that handles messages for your complex must not have informed you that I called."
Pana groaned. A-2PO was an old droid that had been passed down through generations of politicians that had occupied that particular residence facility. The droid was an antique, more suited as a museum piece than anything else. No droid factories on Pazla made protocol droids. The droids that came off the assembly lines these days were for textile work and computer maintenance. Pana resolved to have a rather firm word with the droid when she returned to Pazzana.
"When did he leave?" Pana asked.
"Only three weeks ago," Kasha answered.
"Have you heard from him since?" Pana asked.
Kasha thought for a moment as they stood in the middle of the garden, luminous butterflies circling overhead "No," she finally said "Come to think of it, I haven't."
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Mikk Rashan ran through the forest. There was no other way to reach Caribassa. He had to get there, he had to tell Pana and her father what had happened. They would understand, well he wasn't sure they could make anymore sense of the events he had witness than he could but they would understand what had to be done.
He had run as far as he could and he collapsed against a tree. He fought to catch his breath. Every time he closed his eyes he could still see the lightening that had struck without warning, the farmhouse with its occupants trapped inside, burning. The screams, he did not need to close his eyes to hear the screams.
Pana and her father would be able to help, not because of their affiliation with the council but because Pana's father would know what had to be done. Mikk had heard Pana's father's stories of Jedi and Sith ever since he was a small boy.
He knew what that lightening was, though he could not make heads nor tales of how a Sith had gotten to Pazla and not been noticed. He knew that Pazla faced an awful threat and they needed help, help that they would find in the greater galaxy.
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Tens of thousands of light years away in an apartment on Coruscant, Luke Skywalker paced the floor. He had seen something in his dreams only a few days before. The vision had troubled him. It had been eleven years since the Emperor had been defeated.
"Stop pacing already," his would be assassin turned good friend, Mara Jade commanded with undisguised irritation in her tone.
Luke turned to look at her, seeing the look on her face, he dropped into a chair and began drumming his fingers on the tabletop absentmindedly.
"I think I preferred the pacing," Mara muttered a minute and a half later.
"Sorry," Luke apologized as he got control over his unruly organic fingers. His cybernetic hand did not have that same tendency.
"So what was it you saw?" Mara asked in a tone that told him her patience was growing thin. She'd been sharing an apartment with him for six months and he had been companionable enough of a roommate that she hadn't had much to complain about but now, she could feel his anxiety and unease coming off him in waves even without the aid of the Force.
It had taken her three hours this night to coax it out of him that he'd seen something and it had been another hour that he had spent pacing the floor without telling her a single thing.
Luke sat in the chair, not saying anything for a long time, his eyes were fixed on the carpet. He replayed the vision in his mind. A dark cavern, someone he didn't recognize standing at the far end, sneering at him, gleaming yellow eyes, the eyes of a Sith. He had felt the pain of so many beings around him. People were dying, hundreds, no thousands of people, dying and he couldn't stop it.
"Hey Farmboy," Mara waved a hand in front of his face. She was very nearly fed up with trying to coax the information out of him. If it wasn't for the fact that he was so deeply troubled, she wouldn't have been trying at all.
"Oh," he said, looking up at her. He felt the weights of those deaths, deaths of people who for all he knew, were still alive, upon him.
Mara stood up and turned towards her bedroom. She didn't know what it was that possessed her to turn back. The waves of anxiety were just the same as they had been before but there was something else, sorrow… perhaps… fear. No, but there it was again, a definite fear was creeping through Luke.
She sighed and dropped into the seat she had been previously occupying "Tell me what it is that you saw?" she asked.
There was something sincere in her tone. Luke looked up "There is a new darkness in the galaxy," he whispered "And I don't think I will be able to stop it."
"Of course you won't be if you think like that," Mara told him, rising again "It's late, go get some sleep," she said briskly.
"Goodnight Mara," Luke called though he made no indications of leaving the chair in which he sat.
At the door to her room she turned and said in a soft, understanding tone that very few people ever heard her speak in "When the time comes to face this new darkness you believe is coming, you won't be alone," with those words, the door to her room slid closed.
Luke smiled softly in spite of himself as he stared at the now closed door. His loyal astromech droid, R2-D2 came over and stood beside him. The droid tooted and whistled something that Luke seemed to understand.
"Yeah," he agreed, patting the droid on his dome "It is late. Maybe I will try to sleep." R2 whistled and tooted something else and Luke chuckled "You're more of a mother hen than 3PO." He received an indignant razz from R2. Luke chuckled again, patting the droid's dome once more "Goodnight buddy."
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Darkness, a cold, stomach turning darkness, it surrounded her on all sides. She did not recognize this place. She tried to look around but the darkness obscured all but two figures. One she knew and was very familiar with. The other was foreign to her. She could feel darkness emanating from him.
The familiar figure was speaking to her, familiar blue eyes seemed unable to break their gaze from hers even though the dark one was standing dangerously close, within striking distance of him. "Run!" he shouted and suddenly the vision began to twist and turn, becoming a cacophony of sound and fear.
"Who is your friend?" she could hear the stranger calling as the visages swirled before her. The familiar one's face was one of shock, perhaps terror. Was it possible that terror existed that he could not control?
"Run Mara!" he screamed and she saw his eyes pleading with her. But her legs would not obey her, she was frozen in place.
"Who is your friend, Skywalker?" the strangers voice, an evil voice, full of evil glee and the desire to inflict pain, asked as his face dominated Mara's vision.
"Leave her alone!" Luke yelled and suddenly Mara was looking at him again, watching the fear in his face grow exponentially. The next thing she knew, there was a burst of light, no, not light, lightening, Sith lightening. She saw Luke collapse to the ground, unready for the attack.
All she saw dissolved into total darkness, the laughter of the stranger remained, the inhumanly mirthful laughter of a Sith.
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Mara sat up in bed, breathing heavily, the sheets wrapped tight around her body. She waved a light on and glared at the chronometer. It was barely two hours since she had gone to bed. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She grabbed a robe and threw it on over her nightclothes. She silently waved her door open with the Force and moved into the common area.
Somehow, she had expected that Luke would still be there, sitting in the same chair she had left him in. The fact that he wasn't there caught her off guard. R2-D2 sat in a corner but Mara didn't believe that the droid was paying attention to her. He stood silently as if shut down for the night.
Mara slipped silently along the wall until she reached the door to Luke's room. She paused, knowing that this violated a barrier, some tenet of roommate code. She half turned in back in the direction of her own room. But there was something inside her that just had to know.
Noiselessly, she slid the door open with the Force and soundlessly entered, reaching out to Luke's presence just enough to make sure he was sleeping. The thought of him knowing she had come to check on him filled her with such mortification, she knew she would never live it down if he found out.
She could see the outline of Luke's figure, lying on the bed as she crept closer. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She could see his chest rising and falling steadily beneath the sheets. Her gaze moved to his face as she reached the bedside. Her Force senses were on high alert, making sure that he could not detect her presence.
His face bore an expression of distress, an expression that Mara had to admit, tugged at her heart painfully. She reached out with the Force again, stroking his presence with the calmest and most soothing energy she could conjure. She wondered if he was having another vision. It stood to reason that he was. She could feel pain through the connection that she and he had formed over the years. She felt distress and terror, abject, unbridled terror.
What in blazes was he seeing? Was it the same cold darkness that Mara had seen? She thought back to her own vision and the feelings that had possessed her to sneak into her roommate's bedroom in the middle of the night. She looked down upon Luke's sleeping and yet distressed face once again.
Suddenly a strange urge tugged at her. She longed to brush the blond bangs away from his eyes and lay a gentle kiss to his forehead. She pulled back quickly. Where had that come from? She backed out of the room and waved the door shut before heading to her own room. Maybe she could salvage what was left of her night's sleep. In the morning when she was well rested, thoughts like that wouldn't seep into her mind.