Chapter 3: Entering the Valley
Luke Skywalker sat in his room in the Jedi Temple, eyes closed, legs crossed, his hands resting in his lap. He had taken up meditation shortly after he had fought his father, and the Emperor had been defeated.
Luke had come along way since he was farm boy that fateful day when had been saved by Obi-wan. Luke had no idea that those two druids he had bought would change his like so drastically.
Usually Luke had very little time to reflect upon his life, with the Academy to run. He had begun this Academy as the only Jedi Knight, now even though he was no longer the only Jedi Master; he still devoted much of his time to teaching future Jedi.
His wife, Mara Jade, was one of the key instructors in the Academy, along with the council. Luke had tried to make the Jedi like they were in the days before the Empire. When a student was deemed old enough, they became apprentices, chosen by a master.
Luke smiled, as he heard the familiar roar of an YT freighter's engines roar to life, signaling the departure of Master Katarn, and Zeno Tirn. Although, Luke thought, those engines aren't the same as the Falcon's. Luke knew that there was surely going to be something on Sulon, though Luke didn't know what it could be. He did know that it was probably going to be something that would send the New Republic into a frenzy, if not the Jedi at least.
Zeno Tirn walked to the cockpit, where Travik and Leye were. As the door hissed open, Travik glanced back, while Leye simply focused on the controls. There was something about them both, Zeno thought. He could feel a very strong presence of the force in them both, though he could also feel that they were not strong enough to be Jedi. It was as if the force was guiding them to their destiny.
Zeno sighed, as he dismissed his thoughts. He was preoccupied enough as it was. He took a seat the chair behind Leye. Travik swiveled his own chair around to face Zeno.
"How are you feeling?" Travik said as he turned his chair. Zeno smiled smugly, and shook his head.
"A bit better, but I still have a pain in the back of my mind." Zeno said. After the jump to hyperspace, Kyle and Zeno had explained their mission to Travik and Leye, although they left out a few details, including the Shadowtroopers.
"Well, you know how it goes. You win some you lose some." Travik said sarcastically. Zeno let out a small laugh of sarcastic agreement. "And on a different subject entirely, how far are we from Sulon Leye?" Travik asked.
Leye looked up at him. She had a beautiful face, Zeno thought, but somehow very tragic. Leye's blue eyes seemed to bore a hole into Travik. Zeno didn't know why it seemed like they were on edge, but it did.
"Well brother, if you must know, we're about an hour and a half away from our destination. So you can all just enjoy the ride." Leye said with a hint of some distaste in her voice. Zeno frowned, and then stood up.
"Thank you very much, both of you, for agreeing to do this." Zeno said. Travik winked, while Leye simply smiled, and nodded her head.
Kyle Katarn sat in one of the chairs in the "lounging area" as Travik called it. He recalled his life on Sulon. He had been born and raised there by his father. He had led a simple life as a farmer. After his despicable time as an Imperial Soldier, he learned that the imperials had killed has father. So he left the accursed Empire for the Rebellion, becoming one of their top agents.
Kyle sighed, watching Dur meditate, and leaned back in his seat. After the formation of the New Republic, Kyle had found his father's murderer, a Dark Jedi named Jerec. Jerec was searching for a place of great power called the Valley of the Jedi. Fortunately, for the whole Galaxy, Kyle defeated, and killed, Jerec before he could harness that power for evil. Kyle had come closer to the dark side then he ever wanted to, and hoped he would never succumb to the clutches of it.
Kyle watched as Zeno walked through the small corridor. Zeno took a seat beside Dur, and took his Lightsaber off his belt, and set it one the table in front of him. Kyle looked at the small cylinder that was the Lightsaber. The design was different from most Lightsabers. It used black plating instead of silver.
"I see you used the Firebrand design when you made your saber." Kyle said. Zeno looked at the weapon, and then took a deep breath.
"Indeed I did." Zeno replied simply. "I figured if I'm going to be a Jedi, I might as well be unique Jedi!" Zeno joked. He and Kyle laughed, but eventually there was a dead silence.
"You know, historically, the firebrand design has been chosen by Dark Jedi." Kyle said, hoping to shed some light on why Zeno chose that design. Zeno gave some sort of a grunt, and spoke.
"Yeah, always associate a certain type of something with a certain type of something else." Zeno said with a taste of dissatisfaction. Kyle gave a confused look, and before he could say anything, Zeno explained.
"Look. I understand that obviously there is a distinct line between the light and dark side of the force. But just because Dark Jedi have been known to do something in the past, doesn't mean that a Jedi Knight can do it today." Zeno said. Kyle sat back, to let this sink in. Kyle knew in his heart that Zeno was right, and knew that what he said made sense. Because Dark Jedi in the past used that design, only Dark Jedi can use it?
"I agree with Zeno." Dur said, breaking his meditation. "You should not judge others by what type of clothes they where, or what type of devices they use, but by the actions they do." He continued. Kyle laughed.
"I'm not disagreeing with you guys at all. In fact I do agree with you completely. I just wanted to know why Zeno chose that design!" Kyle said enthusiastically. All three Jedi looked at each other for a moment, and then started laughing.
"Well if you put it that way! I guess it's just because I liked the design." Zeno said with a smile. Soon, Travik came around the corner.
"Looks like our ETA is shorter then we thought. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in five minutes." Travik said, leaning on the ledge of the corridor.
The Twin's Gambit landed at the mouth of the valley, at least, the valley that corresponded with Zeno's coordinates. As Zeno, Kyle, and Dur walked down the ramp of the starship, Zeno turned to Travik.
"I'd like to ask another favor of you my friend." Zeno said. Travik nodded. "If you could go to Barons Hed, the capital city, and ask around for information on this Valley." Zeno said.
"Sure, no problem. When you need us, just call us with this. It's a special comlink that is directly connected to the ship's comm. System." Travik said, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Alright, see you later."
As the Gambit took off, the Jedi looked down at the Valley. Kyle wore his usual tan shirt and brown shoulder guard, while Zeno wore his usual long coat. Dur on the other hand, wore a simple robe; very similar to what Luke Skywalker wore.
"Well, shall we be going?" Kyle said. With that, the three started walking down the Valley.
Luke Skywalker sat in his room in the Jedi Temple, eyes closed, legs crossed, his hands resting in his lap. He had taken up meditation shortly after he had fought his father, and the Emperor had been defeated.
Luke had come along way since he was farm boy that fateful day when had been saved by Obi-wan. Luke had no idea that those two druids he had bought would change his like so drastically.
Usually Luke had very little time to reflect upon his life, with the Academy to run. He had begun this Academy as the only Jedi Knight, now even though he was no longer the only Jedi Master; he still devoted much of his time to teaching future Jedi.
His wife, Mara Jade, was one of the key instructors in the Academy, along with the council. Luke had tried to make the Jedi like they were in the days before the Empire. When a student was deemed old enough, they became apprentices, chosen by a master.
Luke smiled, as he heard the familiar roar of an YT freighter's engines roar to life, signaling the departure of Master Katarn, and Zeno Tirn. Although, Luke thought, those engines aren't the same as the Falcon's. Luke knew that there was surely going to be something on Sulon, though Luke didn't know what it could be. He did know that it was probably going to be something that would send the New Republic into a frenzy, if not the Jedi at least.
Zeno Tirn walked to the cockpit, where Travik and Leye were. As the door hissed open, Travik glanced back, while Leye simply focused on the controls. There was something about them both, Zeno thought. He could feel a very strong presence of the force in them both, though he could also feel that they were not strong enough to be Jedi. It was as if the force was guiding them to their destiny.
Zeno sighed, as he dismissed his thoughts. He was preoccupied enough as it was. He took a seat the chair behind Leye. Travik swiveled his own chair around to face Zeno.
"How are you feeling?" Travik said as he turned his chair. Zeno smiled smugly, and shook his head.
"A bit better, but I still have a pain in the back of my mind." Zeno said. After the jump to hyperspace, Kyle and Zeno had explained their mission to Travik and Leye, although they left out a few details, including the Shadowtroopers.
"Well, you know how it goes. You win some you lose some." Travik said sarcastically. Zeno let out a small laugh of sarcastic agreement. "And on a different subject entirely, how far are we from Sulon Leye?" Travik asked.
Leye looked up at him. She had a beautiful face, Zeno thought, but somehow very tragic. Leye's blue eyes seemed to bore a hole into Travik. Zeno didn't know why it seemed like they were on edge, but it did.
"Well brother, if you must know, we're about an hour and a half away from our destination. So you can all just enjoy the ride." Leye said with a hint of some distaste in her voice. Zeno frowned, and then stood up.
"Thank you very much, both of you, for agreeing to do this." Zeno said. Travik winked, while Leye simply smiled, and nodded her head.
Kyle Katarn sat in one of the chairs in the "lounging area" as Travik called it. He recalled his life on Sulon. He had been born and raised there by his father. He had led a simple life as a farmer. After his despicable time as an Imperial Soldier, he learned that the imperials had killed has father. So he left the accursed Empire for the Rebellion, becoming one of their top agents.
Kyle sighed, watching Dur meditate, and leaned back in his seat. After the formation of the New Republic, Kyle had found his father's murderer, a Dark Jedi named Jerec. Jerec was searching for a place of great power called the Valley of the Jedi. Fortunately, for the whole Galaxy, Kyle defeated, and killed, Jerec before he could harness that power for evil. Kyle had come closer to the dark side then he ever wanted to, and hoped he would never succumb to the clutches of it.
Kyle watched as Zeno walked through the small corridor. Zeno took a seat beside Dur, and took his Lightsaber off his belt, and set it one the table in front of him. Kyle looked at the small cylinder that was the Lightsaber. The design was different from most Lightsabers. It used black plating instead of silver.
"I see you used the Firebrand design when you made your saber." Kyle said. Zeno looked at the weapon, and then took a deep breath.
"Indeed I did." Zeno replied simply. "I figured if I'm going to be a Jedi, I might as well be unique Jedi!" Zeno joked. He and Kyle laughed, but eventually there was a dead silence.
"You know, historically, the firebrand design has been chosen by Dark Jedi." Kyle said, hoping to shed some light on why Zeno chose that design. Zeno gave some sort of a grunt, and spoke.
"Yeah, always associate a certain type of something with a certain type of something else." Zeno said with a taste of dissatisfaction. Kyle gave a confused look, and before he could say anything, Zeno explained.
"Look. I understand that obviously there is a distinct line between the light and dark side of the force. But just because Dark Jedi have been known to do something in the past, doesn't mean that a Jedi Knight can do it today." Zeno said. Kyle sat back, to let this sink in. Kyle knew in his heart that Zeno was right, and knew that what he said made sense. Because Dark Jedi in the past used that design, only Dark Jedi can use it?
"I agree with Zeno." Dur said, breaking his meditation. "You should not judge others by what type of clothes they where, or what type of devices they use, but by the actions they do." He continued. Kyle laughed.
"I'm not disagreeing with you guys at all. In fact I do agree with you completely. I just wanted to know why Zeno chose that design!" Kyle said enthusiastically. All three Jedi looked at each other for a moment, and then started laughing.
"Well if you put it that way! I guess it's just because I liked the design." Zeno said with a smile. Soon, Travik came around the corner.
"Looks like our ETA is shorter then we thought. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in five minutes." Travik said, leaning on the ledge of the corridor.
The Twin's Gambit landed at the mouth of the valley, at least, the valley that corresponded with Zeno's coordinates. As Zeno, Kyle, and Dur walked down the ramp of the starship, Zeno turned to Travik.
"I'd like to ask another favor of you my friend." Zeno said. Travik nodded. "If you could go to Barons Hed, the capital city, and ask around for information on this Valley." Zeno said.
"Sure, no problem. When you need us, just call us with this. It's a special comlink that is directly connected to the ship's comm. System." Travik said, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Alright, see you later."
As the Gambit took off, the Jedi looked down at the Valley. Kyle wore his usual tan shirt and brown shoulder guard, while Zeno wore his usual long coat. Dur on the other hand, wore a simple robe; very similar to what Luke Skywalker wore.
"Well, shall we be going?" Kyle said. With that, the three started walking down the Valley.