A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
A mysterious force relic was discovered by a team of Republican archaeologists, working on the planet Krathoz. The Jedi researched the artefact as thoroughly as they could, but its true purpose remained elusive to them. Meanwhile, the Sith made several failed attempts to steal the item, which prompted the Jedi Counsel to hide it in a secure location, known only to a few trusted Jedi Masters.
Only recently, loyal agents of the Republic have finally managed to find out what the enemy knows about the nefarious thing, and the terrible effect it could have in their possession. In addition, they also uncovered an elaborate plot aimed at the Jedi Council itself in order to lay claim to it. A plan that has already been set in motion.
In order to prevent certain disaster, the Krathoz relic needs to be destroyed, quickly and covertly.
Jedi Master Korben Loc and his padawan apprentice, Sylvi Si'Fei, have been sent to execute this critical mission. What they do not yet know is that their trail has been followed by the powerful Sith known as Darth Raj, who already shares a complicated history with Master Korben.
The Defender-class starship came to a sudden halt as it exited hyperspace. Monitors flickered back to life, filling the dim cockpit with new artificial lights. Streams of data scrolled by on the screens, relaying updated ship's diagnostics, schematics and other general information. The main hologram projectors lit up as well. A holographic map of the galaxy, complete with a detailed model of the spaceship, emanated from the panel separating the two pilot seats.
'Autopilot engaged, calculating new route to target coordinates,' chimed a mechanical voice.
No damage. All systems green. It was as if all of the different ship-components were racing each other to tell the two human beings in their care that everything was well, and that they had arrived safely to the specified location.
One of those humans, the male, sat still and silent in his chair. His back was straight, hands cupped and resting in his lap. The man was facing forward with his eyes closed, deep in meditation. He had been sitting in that exact position for the whole voyage, with a serious expression on his face. Jedi Master Korben Loc was, as far as outward appearances go, a normal man in his mid-thirties, of average height and build.
The young woman who sat cross-legged in the captain's seat next to him, playing with the thin braid behind her right ear, knew that beyond physical appearances there was nothing average or normal about this man at all. Not only was he a very powerful force user and a skilled fighter, but he also had a great mind and a humble personality to go with it. For his age he was one of the most successful and decorated Jedi in the galaxy, and one of the youngest ever to reach the title of Master.
Sylvi Si'Fei admired him greatly. She had done so ever since she first met him as a youngling attending his classes. His lectures had always been her favourite ones. She had done very well in them too, despite not being much of a scholar. Regardless of the subject, Master Korben just had a certain way of bringing things to life in her mind like no other teacher quite could.
She hadn't been the only person with that sentiment among his students, of course. It had taken all of her effort in order to stand out, to get noticed by him. Her diligence back then had certainly paid off. After a decisive victory in the finals of a prestigious lightsaber duel during the annual apprentice tournaments back on Coruscant, he had finally approached and asked to train her as his new padawan apprentice.
That was several years ago now, but it still felt almost unreal to her. Sylvi remembered the nervous stuttering she had while making her vow before the Council, with Korben there at her side. A memory that was so precious to her. The fluttering feelings it summoned in her belly were still as vivid as ever.
Sylvi smiled at the recollection of those early days as she observed her restful mentor. Korben looked so serene, sitting there in his meditative state. As magnificent as one of the ancient marble statues in the Jedi Academy's great halls. It was one of his greatest strengths, to be able to slip into a deep trance so easily. To commune with the force in such an intimate way.
She sat watching him, so lost in her own thoughts that even the gentle sound of Korben's voice breaking the silence managed to startle her. 'Are you spacing out again?' he asked.
Sylvi returned to reality in a heart-beat, as if she had just come out of her own personal hyperspace as well. 'What? No! I was just…' she began, but regretted denying the obvious truth. She had indeed spaced out. Again? Surely it didn't happen that often.
Sylvi adjusted her position in the seat and planted her bare feet on the floor, where they perhaps should have been all along. She took hold of the controls to the ship and disconnected the autopilot, for the first time noticing the new information relayed on the displays.
'It seems that we've arrived to the star-system,' she informed her teacher as she fiddled with various buttons and switches, piloting them towards their final destination.
'I did notice us dropping out of hyperspace, you know,' Korben responded with a tiny smirk at the edge of his lips, causing Sylvi another split-second loss of attention. 'Focus on the task at hand, my young padawan. We're here to do an important job. Please pay attention.'
There was no harshness or rebuke in his voice, but Sylvi could feel her cheeks heating up regardless. 'Yes, master,' she replied, followed by a nearly inaudible; 'Sorry, master.'
She returned her attention to the holographic map, indicating their current position in the galaxy. The new information revealed there told her that they were in a nondescript star-system located somewhere in the Outer Rim. The system had only one sun, orbited by four inner rocky planets and four bigger gas giants further out. Their trajectory would bring them close to one of those gas giants very soon. All rocky bodies in the system were marked as unexplored and outside of the galactic civilisation's influence. Population was marked as zero.
'What's so bloody important about this place, then?' she blurted out with an impatient tone to her voice. She hadn't meant to sound so annoyed, but this whole mission was just so perplexing.
They had travelled from system to system in a completely nonsensical pattern for more than two standard weeks now, changing ships or mode of transport several times along the way. All the while Korben had offered nothing by way of explanation or insight. The true purpose of it all remained a mystery.
Sylvi cast a nervous glance at her teacher, who sat as inert as before. 'And who are we trying to shake, anyway?' she added in an effort not to seem completely daft. There was definitely an element of stealth to this quest.
She didn't get an answer.
She hadn't really expect one. None had been forthcoming all of the other times she had asked during this strange trip. They had apparently reached the end destination, though. Korben had said as much himself, before they made the previous jump to hyperspace. Sylvi felt that she could afford to press the issue. 'What could I possibly learn from all of this if I don't even know what's going on?' she asked.
Still nothing.
'I mean; I want to be useful to you. Don't you trust me?' she continued. As the words left her mouth she pulled a hand through her short-cropped hair and risked another careful glance over at the Jedi Master. His eyes were open now, watching the yellow and ringed gas-giant go by outside the ship's windows. A troubled frown was visible on his brow and Sylvi felt a cold sweat coming on. Had she displeased him somehow? If this was some kind of elaborate test of her patience, she had definitely failed it miserably.
How would she fix this? Maybe if she tried to stay really quiet the rest of the way? Her mind worked hurriedly to come up with some way of regaining Korben's favour, but his next words dispersed the worried miasma clouding her thoughts. 'It's not that I don't trust you,' he said. There was a thoughtful pause. 'I do. Completely.' Sylvi recognised the distinct punctuation in his voice, meaning that this conversation was over. So she let it go for now.
They travelled in silence for a while, aiming for the third planet from the sun, right in the middle of the system's habitable zone. They approached from the night-side of the planet, and as they got closer Sylvi noticed something odd. 'Didn't the records say that all planets in this system were unexplored and unpopulated? Those are artificial lights, for sure!' she exclaimed. Sylvi tapped on the holographic panel and brought back the map information for reference. She was indeed right. 'Have we discovered an entirely new civilisation!?' she beamed over at Korben, rekindled excitement in her voice.
Korben didn't look back at her. His gaze was fixed on the approaching planet. 'No,' he replied.
Sylvi didn't understand. If they had already been discovered, then they would surely be in the databases. That was sort of the point of them to begin with, to keep track of the vast number of inhabited worlds spread throughout the galaxy.
She opened her mouth to ask him this, but Korben must have noticed her confusion. His answer came before the question was even spoken out loud. 'They were found decades ago, but have been kept in hiding for the greater good of the Republic. As far as the galaxy is concerned they don't exist. And to them, they're the only known intelligent life-form in existence.' Korben sighed and shook his head. 'Now, please activate the ship's cloaking,' he added.
As she did so, the scope of what Korben had just explained dawned on her. 'The Jedi Counsel hid an entire star-system? Why?!' Sylvi asked.
'To better hide the object that was hidden in it,' Korben replied in a serious voice.
Sylvi wanted to ask more, but judging by Korben's curt answer, he was clearly fazed by something. Instead she focused on their descent into the atmosphere.
After a while her teacher spoke up again. 'I suppose that I should brief you on the mission now,' he said. 'I'm very sorry for all of the secrecy, you must've been quite frustrated.' Sylvi flashed her teacher an exasperated look, to let him know that he was on to something. Korben smiled back at her in return. 'Our mission here is to retrieve a very dangerous Sith artefact that was hidden away by the Jedi Counsel long ago, before they knew what it really was. Then we must destroy it,' he said.
Silence.
Sylvi waited for Korben to say something else, to explain what the complication was. He said nothing else. Was that it, then? 'Alright. That sounds simple enough. We just land nearby, find the thing and then slash it apart,' she said. 'But why didn't they just hide it on some rock in space? Why all of this shady business?' she asked.
'This is an object of the force, Sylvi. It's like a living being, and living things stand out among barren rocks floating in space,' Korben explained.
'Oh, right…' she said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
'Hiding it among unknowing sentient beings is masking its presence. Hiding the whole civilization as well reduces the risk of it being found by accident,' Korben said. 'And we can't just slash it apart, unfortunately. The dark side of the force protects it. The only certain way of destroying the thing is to plunge it into a star, where no one can get to it.'
Korben frowned again and fiddled with the controls on his side of the cockpit.
'I hope that it will be as easy as just picking it up and leaving again, but I've had a bad feeling about this mission for a long time now. Surely the Sith must know that we would seek to destroy the artefact if we ever found out what it really is. It must've been one of their most closely guarded secrets. The fact that it was so suddenly discovered, along with all of their other plans as well. Some of them decade long affairs, even… All of this just seems way too convenient, somehow,' he said.
Sylvi didn't know what to say after such uncharacteristic openness coming from her master, and it didn't help that she wasn't privy to the whole story yet. 'Maybe it was just a coincidence,' she said, as it was all she managed to come up with on the spot.
'Maybe,' Korben said, clearly unconvinced.
The ship shuddered and a small fighter aircraft detached itself from underneath the hull. It veered off on autopilot after dropping clear of its mothership, heading towards a pre-programmed set of coordinates. Sylvi turned to face Korben and gave him a questioning look.
'Just as a backup. Let's hope we don't need to use it,' he replied with a reassuring smile. 'Set us down over there,' Korben said, pointing at a flashing red mark that had appeared on the holographic map. The designated area contained some flat meadows and fields, next to an old farmstead. It was located on the edge of a forest, some distance away from nearby habitations.
Sylvi did as she was told and steered the ship towards their new target. They touched down on a field nearby a stable. She could see that there were some native animals moving about inside, shifting nervously from the noise and atmospheric disturbances caused by the invisible ship landing outside of their home.
Korben closed his eyes and bowed his head forward, striking a contemplative pose with a hand held at his chin. He was doing it again, slipping so easily into that state of mindfulness. It was a joy for Sylvi to observe him for a while, as she routinely killed the ship's engines and readied the flight-protocols for their next take off.
When the Jedi came back to the waking world she was already done and waiting by the exit, pulling on her boots. Sylvi was still watching her mentor from a distance, as she often did. Korben probably knew of her habit, but had never remarked on it. Sometimes she wished that he would, just to get some sort of reaction from him at all.
'I sense no sentient life-forms nearby, the owners of this farm must be away for tonight,' he said. There was a pause before he continued. 'I hope they don't mind us borrowing two of their mounts for a little while.'
Sylvi followed his gaze towards the stable. What!? Surely he wasn't being serious. She arched her back and crossed her arms. 'Are you really going to make me ride an animal again!?' she asked him with a bewildered stare. Korben was looking back at her, not quite managing to hide a bemused grin behind his hand. 'Can't we just find some decent off-road vehicles or something?' Sylvi continued. 'I think I saw some on the way here, actually. They must have the technology. Anything, really! You know how bad I am with animal transpo…'
During her short outburst, Korben had risen gracefully from his chair and taken a few steps forward to close the distance between them. He laid a gentle finger to her lips and the rest of her complaints were forgotten in sheer surprise and astonishment. Sylvi looked up at her teacher. There it was again, that odd and out of place worry-line on his brow. As soon as she noticed it, it was gone and replaced with his previous amused expression. When he bent in closer, all thoughts of asking him about it vanished in a swirl of emotions.
'Sylvi,' he whispered into her ear. 'How are you going to learn if you always seek to avoid the lesson?' Korben was right there, his smell and presence so close to her. Her teacher backed away and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked down into her eyes, holding her full attention. 'It's important to challenge oneself in areas of weakness. That's the best way to improve and grow,' he said.
She could have reached out and touched him. She very nearly did. The thought of it quickened her heart-beat and brought fresh heat to her cheeks. Sylvi quickly averted her gaze, hoping that Korben hadn't managed to see how affected she was by his closeness. There was no way of escaping his notice, however, and not that she really wanted to.
He craned her neck back up with a finger placed under her chin and she found herself looking up into his eyes once more. His hand traced the line of her jaw to her ear, and then caressed the side of her head. Sylvi closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Korben's fingers eventually found the braid behind her right ear, where his hand froze. The two of them stood like that, together in silence for some time before she dared to open her eyes again.
Her teacher appeared to be deep in contemplation again. He had averted his gaze, and Sylvi was unsure of what to do next. Her thoughts were racing too quickly. All of this was more intimacy than she had ever experienced from him before. She wanted more. She wanted him to do… something, however improper it might be.
Their eyes found each other again, and Korben broke their silence. 'You've been a very good apprentice to me, Sylvi,' he said. His voice had a sombre streak to it, and he followed the length of her braid in his hand. 'I want you to know that our years together have been some of the best in my life. I have no doubt that you'll become a great Jedi one day.'
Sylvi didn't know what to say. This was such strange behaviour, coming from him. Very odd. Korben didn't wait for her to reply, though. He simply turned around and strode away towards the exit of the ship, leaving her standing there all alone in stunned silence. What had he meant by that? It couldn't have been a confession of love, could it?
Before there was any more time to reflect on what he had just said, Korben called to her, his voice echoing with a shout from outside the ship. 'Come on now Sylvi, there's no time to dawdle! Let's saddle these boys up, and get our mission over with.'
The command dispelled her trance, and set her scurrying for the rest of her equipment.
Focus on the mission, Sylvi, she thought to herself, focus on the mission. She would have plenty of time to ask Korben what he had meant once this blasted artefact was dealt with. 'Sure! I'm on my way!' she shouted back, and hurried after him.