Chapter 4:

THE APPROACHING STORM

The hyperspace jump to Coruscant did not take as long as I thought it would take due to the upgraded hyperdrive within the ship. The Millennium Falcon had a 0.5 class hyperdrive while my ship had a 0.375 class hyperdrive, meaning that time jumps were significantly lowered with such a model.

As we broke through the atmosphere, I had a tingling feeling in the back of my mind. I tried to dismiss it, but it continued to nag at the corners of my consciousness. The feeling proved true when Ahsoka took control of the ship and headed towards the Jedi Temple.

I looked at her, confused, "I thought we were going to the university?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "Not quite."

I crossed my arms, feeling a twinge of annoyance, "So, you lied?"

Ahsoka gave a warm, disarming smile, "Peace, my love. If I told you the real reason we were going to Coruscant, you wouldn't have come."

My frown deepened despite her full lips trying to pry my own lips upward, "Ahsoka…"

Ahsoka sighed gently, "Master Yoda contacted me three days ago and said that Lyra has been reaching deeply into the Force and has been spouting things about the future. The things she's been saying, love, have troubled Yoda to the point where we need to intervene."

I leaned back in my pilot chair with a grunt, "Lyra has been trying to gain our attention for years now. I know she still thinks she's innocent in Cali's death. This was just another ploy. We should head home."

"No." Ahsoka said firmly. "All the other times that she's tried something, Master Yoda has seen through the deception. This time, he believes what's she is saying could be…problematic."

"Possible futures is what one sees when they peer into the Force." I said. "When you look, it could change, or it could stay the same. We aren't meant to see the future and know what destiny has in store for us."

"Which is why this needs to be done." Ahsoka said. "And, of course, she will only explain to you."

"She's become obsessed."

"She was obsessed before." Ahsoka retorted. "Now, she's broken and saying things that could hurt or influence the future. And, we don't want that happening."

I shook my head, sitting back up, "No we don't. You're right." I took my beard in my right hand, "I've avoided talking to her for years. After that one incident when she tried to escape six years ago, I've kept my distance."

"A good and necessary thing, but now is the time to close that distance and find out what is going on." Ahsoka said, staring at the front display. The Jedi Temple was rapidly approaching.

Several years prior, Lyra had been moved to from the Barracks to the Jedi Temple Prison Level. She was guarded by Jedi Knights day and night. She was surrounded by Force-inhibitors, but that didn't mean that she was completely unarmed. I knew, as Ahsoka did, that Lyra was incredibly smart but always let her emotions get the best of her in the long run. There was no bigger game for her, there was only the right there and now, which was a big problem in the grand scheme of things.

The past, it seemed, was always destined to come full circle eventually.

The distance between us and the Jedi Temple closed completely and we landed on the landing platform designated by the Watchtower. As the cooling actuators vented out their exhaust, I fixed the lightsabers on my belt. Then, I leaned over and flipped the switch for the landing ramp.

Ahsoka and I made our way down the ramp and it closed behind us. Waiting at the front of the hanger was Master Yoda.

For an instant, I was caught off guard. Master Yoda never looked so…old. I could feel the Force resonating off of him in palatable waves, but his spirit was weary and his face seemed a different shade of green than it once was.

Then, I remembered. Yoda was approaching nine hundred years old. By my calculations, he would reach that age in a few more years. It seemed that some things of the original timeline couldn't be changed. Yoda's fate might have been one of them.

Yoda leaned a bit on his gimer stick, "Master Marko."

"Master Yoda." I smiled, bowing, "It's good to see you after all these years."

Yoda returned the bow, "And, to see you good it is." He turned to Ahsoka and reached a hand out. She took the hand offered and Yoda patted the back of her hand, "Ahsoka. Thank you I do."

Ahsoka smiled warmly, squeezed back, "Of course, Master. I apologize for the delay."

Yoda shook his head, "No problem it is. Follow me."

We followed Yoda through the hangar and into the Temple itself. He led us to the back entrances that led to the corridor leading to the prison cells. There were Jedi Guardians positioned at every cell, stone faced. The prisoners, we knew, were never mistreated and actually had access to psychological and physical treatments from renowned doctors and medical specialists. However, most declined treatment.

Like Lyra.

We passed by several cells that had more occupants in it than I previously thought were stored here. There were criminals from the Clone War and Shadow War stored here as well. Last time I visited, there were not as many of the same criminals here. Most of them, to my knowledge, were still stored in Republic facilities.

That train of thought was cast away as we neared Lyra's cell.

Yoda looked to me, "After you, Master Marko."

"Thank you." I said, raising a hand over the security sensor. The Force sparked to life for an instant and the symbol facing upwards suddenly flipped downwards, the red indicator light turning green for a successful transition.

I turned to Ahsoka, "Want to come with?"

"I think she'll open up more if it's just you." Ahsoka said, patting my shoulder.

I took a breath, "Fair point." Handing over my lightsabers to Ahsoka, I walked in. The door closed slowly behind me.

I turned forward as Lyra came out from behind her cot. She had been laying on the floor it seemed.

Her blonde hair was tousled and her overall appearance suggested that sleep had alluded her for some time. Or, the sleep she did get was haunted by images or nightmares. Black bags hung under her eyes, eyes that were a dull blue in contrast to the bright azure they once were.

She adjusted herself on top of her cot, hands in her lap and eyes locked with mine. It was a wonder how much one could age. It had been six years, but Lyra looked as if she had aged double that. The wrinkles in her forehead and cheeks were more prominent. Her body shape was thinner, less muscle to fill out the gaps. The prowess that had once been around her aura was long gone.

For a long moment, we continued to stare at each other before I cleared my throat, "Hello, Lyra."

Lyra was silent.

I indicated the ground with a nod of my head, "May I?"

This time, she nodded shortly, her eyes never leaving mine.

I cast a look around the room. As far as cells go, it was furnished nicely. Her cot looked to be comfortable and there were separate small rooms for storage space for books and one for the bathroom. The bathroom had a door switch while the storage room did not. A quick glance to Lyra's fingernails indicated that she had recently been biting them. A nervous tick of hers that she had never been able to kick.

"I've seen worse places to live." I said softly, turning my attention back to her.

Lyra nodded her head, "I remember."

Interesting. I thought, reaching out with the Force and finding it near impossible to do. Right. Force inhibitors.

That meant I had to go off of visual and audio cues to detect the truths and the lies.

"So, Lyra." I started. "Why am I here?"

"Why are you here?" Lyra questioned.

I sighed gently, then took a breath, "I've been told that you are saying some very concerning things."

"Such as?"

"You tell me." I said. "I was only briefly told on the trip here. Up until fifteen minutes ago, I thought I was going to do an interview with a university student about the Shadow War."

Lyra cracked a small, sardonic smile, "So, she lied to you."

Not a question, but it was a statement.

"Misdirect." I corrected without malice or attitude of any kind.

"Right."

Silence for a few more seconds, then I spoke again, "What things have you been saying, Lyra?"

"Only what I"be been sensing." Lyra said, voice devoid of emotion.

I leaned forward a bit, "Which would be?"

Lyra's pupils shrunk to the size of pin-holes, "Death."

A shiver ran up my spine.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, craning my neck to the side.

Lyra fell silent, the fury that had started to warm in her eyes slowly dissipating back into the calm demeanor she was trying to display.

"And, how have you been sensing things?" I asked. "Your connection to the Force is cut in this room."

"Almost." Lyra said. "I would say ninety-nine perfect of that connection is cut. But, that last percent is used to the fullest. I have sensed something far off. I can't tell if the time is drawing near."

"Time for what?" I asked.

"For change." Lyra's eyes blazed blue, but there was another color trying to take root.

I leaned forward a bit more, my own eyes changing color. I could feel it. The color change caught her off guard and she actually leaned backwards in one quick move.

I pulled back the pure blackness that had showed itself and then straightened my back, "You wouldn't be promoting that change unless you absolutely thought you had to."

Lyra started to cast her gaze downward, but I used that one percent connection to hold her neck up, making her keep her gaze locked on me.

"What have you been sensing? Be specific." I said firmly.

Lyra pursed her lips, "I don't want to say something that could hurt the future."

"You didn't care so much about that when you were spurting out whatever you were saying before I came here." I said. "And, if it was so detrimental to the future, you would have made contact with me sooner."

"You wouldn't have come!" Lyra said, emotion exploding from her, eyes tearing up.

"You'll never know if I would've now." I said, taking a deep breath, "But, I'm here now."

"After six years." Lyra emphasized the number of years.

I frowned, feeling ire spark, "You tried to escape. You killed two clones in the attempt. Two clones who I knew…and, you killed Cali all those years ago. Seeing you made me sick."

Lyra's eyes filled to the brim and tears streamed without a sob from her mouth, "…James."

"I am not here to relive the past." I said firmly, placing hands on my knees. "I am here to talk about the future that you saw. Saying everything out loud could influence others to take action that is not necessary. If there is action to be taken, you need to tell me exactly what you've been seeing."

Lyra shuddered, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because." Lyra all but whimpered, "It isn't clear enough. I see…I see…"

Then, she started to choke. A dark force descended upon the entire room, seizing Lyra by the throat and holding her in mid-air, gasping for breath.

"I…I didn't!" Lyra was spouting. "I…didn't say…!"

"Didn't what!?" I shouted, jumping to my feet and reaching out through the Force to find the source of the darkness. The door behind me opened up and Yoda and Ahsoka burst through, reaching out into the Force to break the hold on Lyra. The pressure started to fall off her neck when suddenly I felt the Force twitch.

Out of thin air, a surge of Force energy blasted out of nowhere, throwing Yoda and Ahsoka against the rear walls. I stayed upright, using the Force to create a shield around me, all but deflecting the entire onslaught.

I reached deeper, calling on the Force to break the connection that had hold over Lyra. As I finally started to unravel the last strand holding her in place, I felt her life stop.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her arms went limp as she muttered out a final word.

"…James."

She fell from the air and I dove forward, catching her in my arms. Her neck hung lifelessly from her body. I placed a hand to her neck.

Ahsoka came up behind me, "James. Is she…?"

I nodded, my heart still and solid, "She's dead."

Ahsoka held up her arm, comlink flaring to life, "Lockdown the Temple!"

I held her comlink down as she said it, cutting the connection off, "No use. It didn't come from inside." I stared up to the ceiling, feeling darkness prickle at the base of my spine, "It came from somewhere else. I felt the connection."

"What kind of connection?" Ahsoka asked.

I turned to her, Lyra in my arms, "She was talking to someone."

"Someone has been communicating with her?" Ahsoka's mouth was slightly agape, "How?"

"I don't know." I said, fighting my grip on the body of one of my oldest friends who had broken my heart by drifting so far from the light, "But, however it was happening, it was happening. Someone used that single percent connection through the Force and has been talking to her while she's been in jail. From what I felt, it's someone incredibly dark and powerful."

Yoda tapped his stick, "Find them, we will."

"No." Ahsoka said. "We have to be careful about this. We need to consider that a course of action is what this person is expecting us to do." She went silent for a moment, then said, "Blaze. Did you recognize anything about this that seemed familiar?"

I nodded, immediately picking up on her train of thought, "That it's very similar to what happened to you in the Clone War. Yes. I did."

Yoda hummed thoughtfully to himself, "A connection, there might be?"

"But, Barriss is dead." Ahsoka said, looking at Lyra's body, "And, Lyra never was in contact with her before or during the war."

I gave Lyra a sad look, "Maybe not, but someone made a show today." My sad look turned predatory, "Time to go on a hunt."

Ahsoka nodded, "Back to work then?"

"Back to work."

The hunt had begun.


After Lyra's body had been placed into a cryo-chamber to preserve her flesh, I turned to Ahsoka as the hydraulics to the pod closed, "We need to call the Council."

Ahsoka nodded, "Once we make orbit, we will. Can't have anyone listening in on our transmission."

I gave a nod, then turned to the window of the room. The sun of Coruscant glowed brightly in the mid-day. Again, as it had so many years previously, it occurred to me how unbelievable that there were billions of people on the planet that had no idea of what had just transpired.

As was the way of life.

"We need to go." I said.

Yoda hobbled into the room, "Leaving, are you?"

"Yes, Master." I said, taking a knee in front of the near nine-hundred-year-old master of the Force. "I must make contact with my Council."

"The help of the Jedi, you may yet require." Yoda said, tapping is cane on the ground.

I shook my head, "No, Master Not this time. This is personal."

Yoda hummed to himself something about a dangerous path to which it would lead down. He had always believed that such crusades or missions that were purely emotional in base would lead to ruin. In some cases, he was right. However, the child who would have rushed into the galaxy to find and destroy an evil he had no knowledge of or no skills to face said evil had grown up. He had become a husband, a father, a master…he was a warrior.

"If I require your assistance, I will send for you." I said gently. "Think of this as one of the missions you used to send Obi Wan and I on. Just us two against a legion of bandits, pirates, and marauders. If we needed backup in those days, we always called you. I will do the same."

Yoda nodded, his face towards the ground in pensive thought.

Ahsoka reached forward and laid a hand on my shoulder. I could feel her fingertips on my collarbone, signaling that it was time to leave.

As we made for the exit, Yoda called for us.

When we turned to face him, his face was slightly fallen, "Down different paths, the Force has led us, young Marko. Your path, I sense, will continue to expand and grow beyond limitations set. Wisdom I send with you. Both of you."

I blinked for a moment, stunned. Then, I bowed. I bowed not only out of respect but out of admiration. Twenty years and he was still teaching me new things. Saying things that I had never heard before from my parents, teachers, or friends.

"Thank you, Master." Ahsoka said before I could. "You are most kind, as always." Her words were warm with friendship.

"Proud I am." Yoda said, voice quiet. "Proud of who you have become. Proud of what you have made." His eyes turned to me, his golden-brown irises seeming to take on a warmth unlike anything I had seen from him, "Your parents, proud they would be, Blaze Marko."

Emotion welled up in my throat as I remembered my family, then I forced it down, "Thank you, my master."

Even though the praise was given, I could feel something else stirring in the Force. It wasn't coming from Yoda. It wasn't coming from Ahsoka, and it wasn't even coming from me. It was just there. There was just a feeling of wrongness.

Something foreboding.

In the back of my mind, I truly hoped that Yoda was just being sentimental, and it wasn't a goodbye of some sort. He had plenty of years left to help train the Jedi. And, who would take over the Council as Grandmaster when he was gone?

Master Plo Koon came to mind.

I shook my head, casting the thoughts away.

Ahsoka passed through the door into the hallway and I cast a look back at Master Yoda. His eyes met mine in an exchange that seemed to be more through the Force than anything. We weren't staring at each other in that moment. We were staring at the energies wafting off our spirits.

Information could be sent over a vast array of medias. The Force was once such media. There were no words spoken, there didn't need to be. I knew exactly what he meant and there was…no emotional response from my being.

It was just as if it…was.

My mind was blank until my back hit the seat of the pilot chair.

Ahsoka must have felt my unease because she reached an orange hand out, overtaking my own, "What is it?"

I met her blue eyes, losing myself in them for a moment as I had done a million times previous.

"Master Yoda." I said softly, almost whispering, feeling emotion now. "He's…getting old. I can see it."

"I could too." Ahsoka said. "But, according to what you've told me, he has a few years left."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore, Ahsoka." I replied, looking out the viewport. "I felt something when he looked at me. I hate to admit it, but I feel like he was almost saying goodbye."

Ahsoka's eyes turned sad, "You felt that through the Force?"

"It was…unclear." I admitted. "I'm just saying what I thought it felt like to me."

Ahsoka squeezed my hand, then brought it up to her mouth for a kiss, "He has lived almost nine hundred years. He's taught every Jedi in some way for nearly a thousand years. Whatever his fate, I know that our friend will be taken care of."

I nodded, remembering for the first time in a long time a memory from my childhood. It was of my father and I. We were watching Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. When Yoda had died, I had been sad. He had been so wise and strong and the last Jedi.

And, now, as an adult who had gone through a life unimaginable to that young child from long ago, I felt that same sadness. Was there something we could do to prolong his life? Was there a secret that I could find in time? Could I clone Yoda and transfer his consciousness?

No.

There were some things that you couldn't just change because you didn't like them, especially when it came to natural death. To cheat death in that way was to invite catastrophe. I had brought Siri Tachi back to life during the Clone War, but I had the blessing of the Force Ghost of Qui Gon Jinn. Yoda had lived a life full of learning, adventure, pain, joy, and humility. If it was his time to go, albeit earlier than I wanted, so be it.

"I hope he doesn't go just yet." I whispered.

Ahsoka's hand came to my bearded cheek, "Me either." Then, her eyes sharpened slightly, "What are we planning to tell the Rebirth Council?"

Back to business. I nodded, reaching forward to pull a lever and retract the landing gear. As we lifted towards the sky, I hit a button on the dashboard, "We are going to commence an emergency meeting. We also are going to let Kane know."

Ahsoka gave a nod, "Good thinking. Let's not tell too much over a communication channel."

"Didn't plan to." I said just as the face of my brother appeared. His newly shaven face almost shining in the light he was in.

"James. How goes your trip?" His auburn hair was cut short again.

I gave a small sigh, "Let me fill you in, brother."