Prologue

The Galaxy has had three hundred years of peace since the time of Kol Skywalker. Things have changed but indeed time does not change everything. The Jedi still hold the balance between peace and war in such a frail galaxy. But then there are others who still only think of themselves and of power. I am here to tell you of a darkness that fought to take over the light but the light does not go out easily. Not when there are those who are still true to it.

Chapter one

Saha Lo Bane checked the fighter ship's coordinates again. Her human Master, Teka Keno, was in the Co-pilot seat, arms crossed across her chest and eyes closed. The fifty two year old human woman was the perfect picture of calm. On the surface she looked harmless, but Saha knew as soon as action was required she became the same old Jedi Master she had known for the last eight years. A lightsaber wielding creature in which you didn't want to confront.

"Tattooine approaching." The ship's control pad woke up Saha's mentor. She sat up, blinking away the grogginess from her eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Her Twi Lek apprentice nodded.

"Yes Master. There it is."

Up ahead a small orange planet came into view. A couple minutes later they entered its orbit. Saha toggled the com unit and spoke through her head set.

"This is Jedi Squad 23 C, asking permission to land at port H27."

The communicator on the other line answered in accented basic but Saha had, had enough experience in her apprenticeship training to interpret what he said.

"What is your business here Jedi?" She frowned at his rough tone.

"We are on a mission to settle a border dispute between a settlement of moisture farmers and a tribe of Tuskan Raiders."

There was silence for a moment then finally the receiving end let them through.

"Why is Tattooine always so suspicious of Jedi?" Saha asked her Master abruptly as she often did.

"Because they don't like us," Teka answered.

"Why?"

"We are enforces of the galactic law Saha. Think. Tattooine is one of the biggest smuggling and slave tasking planets in the galaxy. We are the ones who shut down most of their business." The apprentice nodded in understanding but mentally kicking herself for not realising it earlier.

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On the surface of the planet in the Western hemisphere the small settlement the two Jedi were going to visit were having another one of their standoffs with the Sand People. They usually amounted to nothing, each tribe trying to intimidate the other by show of numbers and weapons, but this particular day's shouting and arguing was more violent than the others.

Jaden, a ten year old boy, was watching the proceedings with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. His farther was down there with the other twenty or so men, firing his blaster up into the air, trying to scare off the sand people who stood only a couple hundred feet away. But it was having no effect. The main reason for this was probably because the Tuskan Raiders outnumbered the moister farmers three to one.

"Jaden Korr get away from that window!"

The ten year old spun round. His mum stood in his bedroom doorway, arms akimbo. He grinned sheepishly.

"I was just watching mum."

Trosa walked briskly across the small room

"You will do no such thing. You're supposed to be studying!" her son looked up at her from where he was on the bed. A strand of her brownish blond hair had gotten loose from her tightly tide bun and she pulled it behind her ear.

"C'mon mum," Jaden pleaded.

"No! You want to end up being a moisture farmer all your life? Now study."

Jaden sensed as if it was his own a churning anxiety deep inside her. Not wanting to upset her more he turned round with a sigh and began reading again. Content that he had refocussed on his work, Trosa walked out of the room.

"Your mum has good reason to be angry at you," an electronic voice commented. Jaden rolled his eyes at his droid. It was nothing more than a fist sized sphere used to help him study but boy could it bug you!

"I should have rewired you while I had the chance," he growled.

"Hey don't blame me that your hydro spanner broke!"

"It wasn't my fault," Jaden protested. "I just picked it up and tried turning it on and boom! Bye, bye hydro spanner."

"Of course you didn't try turning it on with your hands. The activation button was broken."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah, I tried using the Power."

The Info droid's sphere body vibrated in disapproval. "I think you should stop using your psychic powers or what ever they are. See that's the problem right there! I'm an Info droid. I'm supposed to know everything and I don't even know how you do what you do!"

Jaden stayed silent. He didn't know how he did it either.

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Trosa threw another berry into her salad. There was a whoosh as the living room door opened and her husband walked in, tired and worried.

"Bad day at work Brag," she asked, a light of mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"Very funny," he growled.

"Jaden dinner time!" she shouted up the stairs. There was a thumping sound as he jumped off his chair and rushed down to the first level.

"Hey dad," he grinned, flicking his long blond hair out of his eyes.

Brag's tired face softened. No matter how he was feeling Jaden could always cheer him up with one grin.

"How're your studies going son," he asked, sitting him on his knee.

Jaden frowned, not wanting to think about school for the rest of the day.

"Ok, kind of boring though."

Brag laughed. "Believe me when you finish school and get a well paying job you'll look back and say 'Thank the powers my parents forced me to study five hours a day.' You do not want to be a forty year old moisture farmer. Trust me on that."

"Yeah," Jaden replied. "That's what mum keeps on telling me."

Trosa set three dishes on the table and sat down.

"Didn't you send a holo message to the Jedi Council?" she asked her husband, changing the subject. "It's been a week now. I thought they were faster than this."

Brag sighed. "Yeah I did too. And the Sand People are coming closer every day. They set up their tents just two hundred metres from here today. I had to post night guards on the outskirts of the settlement."

"They'll come," Jaden said absent mindedly as he crammed his mouth full of fruit. His parents looked at him in surprise.

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Jaden tossed and turned in his sleep. As soon as he'd hit his bed a nightmare had begun. Images flashed through his mind. A lady was there, standing in front of him. He didn't know why but for some reason he felt as if he knew her. Dark shadowy figures were attacking them. The lady's arm was glowing an intense blue and whenever she touched the shadows they died. Suddenly a great monster loomed up behind her. It held out some sort of weapon, ready to kill Jaden's protector. Then his parents appeared. They spoke to him in monotone voices: "Save the Twi Lek, save the Twi Lek, save the Twi Lek." They kept on chanting this for what seemed a life time. Then the nightmare stopped.

"Jaden!" He sat up suddenly. His mother stroked his forehead, concerned.

"Are you ok son?" she asked. His breathing calmed. He noticed he was sweating and his bed sheets were soaked.

"Yeah I'm ok."

She smiled comfortably. "Had a nightmare huh?"

"Yeah, it was really freaky. But I'm alright."

She searched his face then, after seeing he was ok, stood up and smiled. "Good, because you were right." He looked up at her, confused.

"Right about what?" Her smile grew.

"The Jedi have arrived."