Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Disney. I do not own anything Star Wars related.

Also, the text here should be fixed. :)

Chapter 1: The Man In The Black Cloak

"Look, I didn't mean to hurt him! At all! He threw a punch at me and then-"

"And then you threw him across the room. People don't just fly across the room for no reason. It was you. I know it was you! You need to leave. I can't have people like you working here. It'll draw too much attention. Unwanted attention."

"Mr. Poodar, please. It was an accident. I didn't even touch him or even raise a finger! And I certainly didn't mean to throw him across the floor. It just happened! Please. I need this job."

"I'm sorry Jaden, but I have to terminate your employment here at the factory. You still have your job at your Uncle's workshop. And there are plenty of other jobs in town. I'm sure a man of your capabilities can find more work. I just hope you understand that this isn't personal, at all. This isn't about you pushing Crednik. That guy is a total jackass and more of a tool than the tools he works with. Jaden, I'm terminating you because I can't have the Empire finding out I've been hiding a kid with Jedi powers. They'd shut me down at best. Execute us all at worst. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand." Jaden looked around the office of the manager he'd been working with for the past nine months. It smelled slightly of rusted iron and a medley of molten metals. The office was lit with a single bright bulb and a lamp on the desk. Also on the desk lay Jaden's employment papers, now with a red stamp across the bottom reading "Terminated" and checked box reading "On Good Terms/Re-hirable." Jaden stood, followed by the man sitting across from him, and he reached out to shake his hand.

"Thank you Mr. Poodar. It's been an honor working for you."

"You're last paystub is being calculated right now. It'll be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, if you want to go grab your belongings, I'll meet you at the door with your credits."

Jaden turned and opened the door. From the walkway he looked down at the factory floor, and reminisced over the past nine months of work he had put in on that floor, working with others to build prototype engines for the newest line of speeders that would be coming out next year. Jaden was only 19 years old, but had a great knack for building things and taking them apart, learning how they worked, and then finding ways to improve them.

Jaden turned left, walked down the ramp, and walked straight for the break room. Upon entering, he found Crednik, a young Zabrak male, who in turn looked up from his bloodied hand, which Jaden then noticed was being used to stop a nosebleed. "You're a real freak Jaden Korr. And now you're going to have to pay for it." Crednik jumped up to throw another punch at Jaden, who in turn quickly dodged and weaved around him, then used his left foot to trip Crednik, who fell face first onto the cold metal floor.

"Don't worry, you won't have to deal with me any longer," said Jaden nonchalantly. "Don't worry about getting up either. I'll just knock you on your ass again." Jaden knew this wasn't true. Crednik was almost twice his size, and could probably drop him in half a heartbeat. Crednik was back on his feet in an instant, his nose dripping again with blood. "Come here you little piece of bantha f-"

But he couldn't finish his sentence. A very faint rumbling sound filled room. Crednik clutched his throat and made a hoarse choking sound, as if suddenly struggling for air. Jaden put the last of his items in his bag and closed his locker. 'What is that sound?' Jaden then turned, only to see Crednik stumble to his knees, still clutching his throat and struggling to breathe. "Hey man, what's wrong!?" But Crednik couldn't speak.

"Hang, on! I'm going to get help!" Jaden turned toward the rumbling stopped. Crednik gasped for air, and fell to his side onto the floor, almost passed out. Jaden turned back. "Crednik, what happened? Are you okay?"

"JUST GET OUT OF HERE JADEN! YOU FREAK! YOU WAIT 'TIL MY DAD HEARS ABOUT THIS! HE WORKS FOR THE EMPIRE! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS YOU REDHEADED FREAKSOW!"

And Jaden walked out. He met Mr. Poodar at the door and took his pay. "Good luck, Jaden. May the Force be with you."

Jaden wondered down the alley, pulling his orange pilot jacket closer to him for warmth. The streets of Coruscant were dreary and wet. It had just quit raining when Jaden left the factory. Now, a light shower cascaded down over the city. Jaden had decided to spend the remainder of his afternoon looking for a new job. Having found only two establishments he could have qualified for, Jaden was getting agitated. But then he came across his next target. "Pudna's Pawn, Parts, and Peculiar Pieces" the sign read in neon red. A couple of letters were out, and another flickered on and off.

"Might as well," Jaden muttered before opening the door, which let off a little ding to signal the shop owner of a customer. The shop smelled similar to the factory, but worse. The smell of burnt wires and cheap incense hung heavily in the air. The shop was a fair size, enough room for about 20 customers to shop comfortably in the space. The shelves were covered in all sorts of hardware and supplies, most of which appeared to have collected dust and been lazily wiped off.

"Can I help you?" A scratchy and gravely old voice came from behind. Jaden turned to see an older woman with a greasy apron, salt and pepper grey hair, and a less than amused look about her face. "Uh, ya I'm looking for a job." Before he could say another word, the lady came out from behind the counter and handed him her broom. "You sweep there. Then you clean the parts. Don't touch the money. I be back." The lady turned to walk back behind the counter and out of the room.

"Um, excuse me...I didn't mean today. I just wanted to get an application or something. I was going to look at some other places first before-"

Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. The woman walked heavily back toward him, before taking the broom from his hands. "Then you buy something or you get out."

"Uh."

The lady grew increasingly impatient. She had a little vein starting to pop out of her temple, indicating her rising blood pressure. "Just let me look around for a minute," Jaden said, hesitantly. Her nostrils flared slightly. "Hmph!" was all she said before storming back into her office behind the counter. Jaden stood frozen for a second, pondering whether he should actually look around or just leave. He decided on the latter, but as he was on his way out, something caught his attention: a little yellow crystal, sitting in a glass container on the shelf just below the counter. It gleamed and shined in the dim lighting. Jaden stepped over to get a closer look. There was something about this gem that he couldn't put his finger on, but he felt like this gem held some sort of importance.

As he leaned in closer, he saw the reflection of the lady standing next to him in the glass, which startled him.

"Whoa! Um..."

"75 Republic credits. You buy, you go home."

"Uh..." 'It would make a nice gift for my Aunt.' "Okay, I'll take it," said Jaden as he pulled out the 75 credits from his pocket. The woman took the money, took the yellow crystal off the shelf and bagged it up for him.

Jaden took the package and thanked her. "Now you leave. Go. Go, leave, go," was all she had to say.

Jaden quickly left the shop with little intention of ever returning. He walked about half a mile before reaching his Uncle's shop. It was a repair shop for speeders and transports, and was large enough to help about a dozen customers at a time, though they rarely had more than three or four. While the shop was merely a place of employment for about a dozen and a half employees, it was also a home for Jaden and his Aunt and Uncle. They lived above the shop in a lofty apartment.

Jaden quickly walked through the doors and past the shop, towards a spiraling staircase in the back, which he ascended before reaching the front door to the loft. He typed in a six digit code on the keypad next to the lock, which opened with an audible click, then opened the door to be greeted by the smell of something savory being prepared on the stove.

"Good evening, Jaden," his Aunt shouted from the kitchen. His Uncle, sitting in a reclining chair at the far end of the room, looked up for his HoloPad, and smiled at Jaden.

"Evening, buddy! How was work?"

"Been better," Jaden replied.

"Something go wrong?"

"Well, yes and no. Mr. Poodar had to let me go. He said he couldn't have someone like me raising suspicion about his shop." His Uncle got up slowly from his chair, and walked over to Jaden. The man was somewhat heavyset and middle-aged. He was not the fastest man on the planet by far, but was also not the slowest either.

"Jaden, is this about those weird things you said have been going on? Things floating across the room at night? Strange dreams and stuff?"

"Ya. It is. Mr. Poodar was worried I might bring tome unwanted attention to his shop. He was afraid some Imperial officers would shut him down, or worse, and I didn't want that for him either, so I didn't contest his decision."

"Well, that's a bummer. But you'll still always have a job and a home here Jaden, so don't worry too much. We can all deal with this later, but right now it's almost time for dinner. Your Aunt is making one of our favorite dishes."

"The saucy one?"

"That's the one!" came his Aunt's voice from the kitchen again. "Go wash up! I'm getting the table set right now." Jaden went to his room to lay down his things, then went back to the kitchen to wash his hands and help finish preparing the table.

After the meal, Jaden helped to clear the table and clean the dishes. He was about to head straight for his room, when his Uncle called to him. "Jaden, come here for a quick second. I need to ask you something." Jaden walked to his Uncle's bedroom. His Uncle was waiting for him, with a handful of large credits. "Would you do me a huge favor. Take this and go down the street to that wine bar, the one with the blue neon sign. Can you get me your Aunt's favorite bottle of wine? The one with the red and gold label on the front. I'm going to give it to her for her birthday get the oldest bottle you can with this." Judging by the amount of credits he was just handed, Jaden could probably have bought the oldest bottle of wine on this side of the city if he wanted to.

"Sure thing. I'll be back soon."

"Thanks Jaden, I owe you one!"

Jaden left the loft quickly so his Aunt wouldn't notice the small fortune Jaden was carrying in his hand. He quickly placed the money in a pocket inside his jacket, for security. He made his way down the stairs and out the shop door. It was raining again. Not heavily, but not exactly lightly either. Jaden zipped up his jacket and power walked his way down to the wine shop. He reached for the door handle when something in the reflection of the glass door caught his eye. 'Crednik?' Jaden turned, and while he couldn't see exactly who it was, Jaden did see a tall Zabrak man turn quickly and run down an alleyway.

Jaden quickly entered the building, and shook off the water now running off his jacket. The bouncer let him pass, as he had seen Jaden in the bar at least once a week. Though this wasn't exactly the friendliest place in town, nothing about Jaden stood out: an orange pilot jacket, a white undershirt, brown pants with silver Corellian stripes running down the sides, a black leather belt and black leather boots. None of that said anything special, and he was unlikely to draw any unwanted attention. He walked over to the counter and sat down.

"What're ya havin' today," said the man from behind the counter in a deep throaty voice.

"A glass of Corellian ale, and then a bottle of red Corellian wine to go. Give me your oldest bottle, please."

The man looked at him for a moment, before turning to the counter to prepare the request. Jaden looked around. The Wookiee three seats down looked as if he'd fall out of his seat any minute. There were a few Twi'lek girls sitting in a booth with a bottle of something green, and in the other far corner of the room sat a man in a black cloak and hood, with simply a small glass of what looked like some kind of non-alcoholic juice. Something about that man stood out to Jaden, but he couldn't think of what it was, so he ignored it.

"That will be 2,475 credits, young man." Jaden turned back to the counter, where the bartender had placed his glass of ale, and his bottle of wine. The Wookiee looked up at him, then fell out of his chair. "Aye, if ya can't stay upright, go sit down in a booth before ya hurt ya self! I'm not gonna pay for any injury you get from being too drunk again." The only reason the bartender didn't try to remove the Wookiee from the building altogether was because the man actually valued his arms. The bartender then set down a silver bottle with a red and gold stamp on the front in front of Jaden, the set a small glass of a champagne colored drink next to it.

Jaden pulled out the 2,475 credits and placed them on the bar, leaving a 25 credit tip as well. He then took his things and sat at the small table straight in the back of the room. He sat and slowly sipped on his ale. After a few minutes, he looked around the room again. The Wookiee was now lying in a booth next to the bar, apparently passed out. The Twi'lek girls were giggling about something, and the man in the cloak was still sitting in his seat, his juice hardly touched.

Jaden still didn't know what to think of that guy, but decided to down the last of his drink and head home before the rain picked up any more. He tilted the glass back and took a final swig, before placing the glass on the table. He was about to get up, but then heard the door open, and looked up to see two stormtroopers walk in.

Jaden quickly sat back down and did is best not to draw attention to himself, which wouldn't have been a problem, until someone pointed him out. "Over there, he's the one. That's the Force guy." Jaden looked up to see Crednik pointing directly at him. The two stormtroopers turned and looked at him, then marched quickly in his direction. "Sir get up, you're coming with us."

"Okay, what did I do? I didn't do anything wrong," Jaden replied.

"You're under arrest! Turn around and get against the wall with your hands on your head!"

"But I-"

"Turn against the wall!" The stormtrooper on the left raised his blaster. But then, that same stormtrooper flew back and hit the bar. A glass shattered very audibly, and the other trooper raised his blaster. A single shot rang out, but somehow missed Jaden, it's intended target, and impacted in the wall behind him, sending small pieces of wall flying across the table. The shot shouldn't have missed. But Jaden then realized that he had somehow managed to dodge the blaster bolt, which should have been impossible, yet it somehow happened.

The stormtrooper stood dumbfounded for a second, but began to squeeze the trigger a second time before he also flew across the room. This time, the stormtrooper flew to the side and landed on the table just behind the Twi'lek girls, who in unison let out an audible shriek.

Jaden then noticed that the man in the black cloak and hood was now standing with his arm outstretched toward the second trooper, as if he had been the one to send him flying into the table.

The first trooper was now getting back to his feet. As he raised his blaster, the man in the cloak reached for his belt. He pulled out something that looked cylindrical in shape before a green plasma blade ignited from one end of the device with a loud Ffffkrrrrsshhzzzzzzwwwooooooommmmm! sound.

The first trooper fired two shots at the man in the cloak. The man swung his blade to deflect the first shot, which bounced off the green blade and hit the second trooper straight between the eyes, who then slumped back to the floor. As the second shot rang out, the man with the lightsaber swung again, and the second red blaster bolt bounced back at the shooter, the first trooper, and impacted in the chest plate. That trooper also fell over, dead.

Crednik ran out the door in an instant. The man in the cloak stood for a moment, before deactivating his blade and replacing the saber on his belt. He then turned toward Jaden. "Are you alright?" the man asked.

"Ya, ya I'm fine...That was really kinda cool, what you just did there with the laser sword and all."

"You yourself seem to hold potential for such talents."

"What? What do you mean."

"I saw what you did with the first stormtrooper. You pushed him into the bar, but you didn't touch him. You moved him with your mind. From the moment you walked in, I could feel the potential in you."

"Look, whatever. Who are you?" Jaden asked.

The man then removed his hood to reveal an average human male, with a round face and brown hair with a few noticable grey strands. "My name is Luke Skywalker."

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. More to come soon!