Chapter 1 Missing?

This is how it feels to be Kyle Katarn right now: Your on top of the world you can do no wrong, you're just slept with your love of your life in a home that you made with your bare hands. To the world can do no right to you at the current moment, you love your job, you life, your connections to the others around you. For the first time you feel like your home, you are truly brimming with light, with happiness, with satisfaction. You are a Jedi Knight, a protector of the galaxy, and teacher of dozens. There is nothing that can bring you down right now, or is there?

Kyle arose from the rigid bed with the normal assortment of blurry eyes and a drowsy mind. Kyle looked to his right where usually sat his devoted spouse and partner. Though this morning she was not there, odd he thought. The rugged Jedi Knight grinned as he caught a whiff off her standard fragrance, it was a delight just to take in the women's aroma in the morning. Although that still did not stop his wonder for where she had gone, it was unlike her to be out early in the morning, she was a later sleeper then him, and that was saying something. He wondered where she was, out buying him something for his up coming birthday? But what possibly would she buy on this moon that was so isolated that it barley received the common holonet broadcast. Plus weeks ago he had already caught her with a bag off goodies on a return from Coruscant, that he mysteriously never got to peak in too. No that was ruled out, but what could it be should do not have a flight arranged for this whole week. Well no reason to ponder a subject there was no answer too, he thought, So slipped off the bedstead and headed toward the strewn pants that he had worn the night before. He checked for stains, once content that they were clean "Enough" he yanked them on. Now for the shirt, well that one was a tad more tough, Kyle reluctantly headed toward the chiffonnier, where Jan so neatly hung his washed cloths, what a waste it was. The gray shirt seemed like it had been out of use for a while so he seized it with his hand and pulled it over his neck. Then on two the boots, well there was no surprise there Kyle strolled over to the foot of his bed where the boots he had used for the last fourteen years lay, although tattered and weathered, they looked as ravishing to him as the day he had first purchased them. Once satisfied with his garb, Kyle strolled out of his bedroom and in too the makeshift kitchen he and Jan and used over the last three years. The ironic thing about calling the food prep area a kitchen was the fact that it did not hold one piece of food preparing equipment except the foodmaterializer, that only was capable of making strong coffee and breakfast bars. The latter of which was the worst tasting thing known to man, least in his book. So Kyle punched in the buttons for his morning regular, tart coffee. Kyle sat contemplating what today's lesson plan would be for his daily combat instructing class, remotes once again? No maybe sparring? Possibly hand to hand combat? He decided he would let the day's course take him. The foodmaterializer old as it was always did deliver, even if the coffee took twenty minutes to produce. Kyle sipped away at the blistering sludge in his cup as he started for the Great Temple, the central part of Yavin four's Jedi Academy.

Kyle Katarn arrived at the temple a good hour later, even though he had paced himself at a steady trot, although it was not that bad at all he had the power of the force to invigorate himself, and keep reenergized. And living a long ways away from the Great Temple had it's advantages, he and Jan were able to be far enough away from the atmosphere of the Academy and Jedi central that they together could live like a normal couple in there diminutive disorderly cottage. Kyle ran in too Luke Skywalker on his embassies morning exercise routine, this is where their normal daily chitchat had always taken place, and nothing had changed today, expect the fact that this morning conversation would be a clue to a puzzle of a huge upcoming event in his life.

"Hello Kyle" Luke uttered in his ever flat tone, without even turning to see the him approach, Kyle chuckled

"You know sometimes I think you relay on those Jedi powers a little to much."

Luke finally turned to face him with,

"Well if the force can lead one to wisdom, why turn away, there is no easy way in the force, you know it as harder for me to scene you approach then it would be for me to just turn around." Kyle was somewhat affronted,

"Hey, hey nothing personal Luke my boy."

"You know just because I was once your master doesn't mean you should fear my words."

"Trust me Luke, I respect you and all, but I don't fear you my man. There ain't much to fear from that pint-size build and that blunt hair cut." Now it was Luke's turn to snicker, it was remunerative for Kyle when he got a laugh out of Luke, it made Kyle believe that Luke was still part human, the Jedi Master part of him hadn't taken over completely. Now they were past the pleasantries,

"So Luke did you see where my dear wife Jan went off too?" Lukes face turned from that of joyous to one of concern,

"Yes I did as a matter of fact. She came by the temple, O' around midnight to tell the truth and well she wasn't quite distressed. About her father I believe, he sent a message, something about him being quite in legal trouble, she mentioned something about going to Bastion. When she asked to borrow one of the Academy's shuttles. I …." Kyle bust out in anger,

"You let my wife go to an Imperial capital planet by herself, one where she is considered a criminal at large are you Fucking insane. She could be condemned to death over the whole rebel alliance charges, hell that would be prefect Imperial pay back. Ok, calm yourself." Luke looked at Kyle with the most tenderness he could muster in that ever flat tone of his,

"Kyle I did try to stop here, you must know that. But well Jan as you very well may know can be strong minded, and I was not going to pull my lightsaber out to force her to stop, hell I bet she would of still marched right past me. I tell you I'm sorry but Jan is quite a vigorous in her own right as well, she'll be fine." Kyle looked away from Lukes glaring emerald eyes, he could not blame the man, it was Jan's choice to go, she could not be stopped, she must have been doing something to help her father and for what.

"Luke I have to go after her, I mean I just can't sit and wait and hope she'll be ok…..I mean what if she…." Luke patted his old friend on the shoulder, he was not in any way good with women but he did know what it like to have friends or family in peril.

"Kyle I know the feeling, and I am one hundred percent ok with you going, but I'm sorry too tell you that there are no available shuttles on the surface right now. Two of the shuttles are off on supply runs and my person star fighter is off with a student. I ever sorry but I have no mode of transportation for you to go after her. Please come inside, well mediate over the issue, the force can show us where Jan is, possibly the meaning behind…" Kyle cut Luke off mid sentence, his voice once again calm and under control but there was a distinct bit of grief In the tone,

"Luke that is a good Idea, but I'm sorry there is no "US" on this one, this is an issue I would rather handle alone, I just can't even think of loosing her and if it were to hap……." Kyle did not weep on the outside although his soul was shrieking out in horror, for what could happen to the one thing in the world that he would put first among all else.

"Kyle if you must go alone I shall be respectful of your wishes, but please do not do anything you shall regret in the years too come, you have brushed with temptation once please don't go there again. I would hate to loss you again, we've already loss enough."

As Kyle turned as he spoke one last set of words to Luke,

"Nonsense, nobody's fall to the darkside is your fault Luke, a person choices his path. I've been at the crossroads before I made the right choice, and If I have to again, you know which side I'll be on. Although that doesn't mean, that I won't do everything possible to get Jan back…." Kyle started to back off toward the rising sun back to his cottage, he needed to think, mediate on this issue. He would have been of this moon right now, if it had something to carry him off, but it didn't. So what was he to do, well he would mediate see if he could find Jan through the force, that was the most he could do for her at the current moment. Luke yelled out words that Kyle had since over the years come to hold dear,

"Remember Kyle, There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force."

This is what Kyle Katarn is feeling right now: You've been caught of guard, found that you safe bubble of rapture was not as imperishable as you once thought. Your thrown in to a sea of black, you life is hard to see all of sudden. The only true support pillar that has held up your emotional column is now gone missing and the only thing you can do is mediate over the issue. The sea's waves are getting higher and higher, you can't keep your head above the water, you have a one way ticket out and it's slowly drowning you to death, there is no above there is no below. Although there is a piece of hope, it lay in the force, it is a lone light in the black sea, it is a light that beckons one toward it, to safety and security. This is how it is to be Kyle Katarn right now.

Kyle sat legs crossed outside his humble little hut, mediating, reaching out in the force, and calling for Jan's voice. Willing himself to hear her call, for her to beckon him towards her. It was a somber moment, there was nothing he could hear, no call, no gesticulate for him, all was silent. Usually Kyle would of become frustrated with the situation, become enraged if it was anything else, but here and now with no Jan there was no emotion to feel, there is no anger in emptiness. Although he was not totally empty, he did have the force and for what that was it lent him some reassurance. For that was not the way of the lightside of the force it is not empty or unfulfilling, it is the opposite, it is all consuming, it over comes one with it's wisdom and compassion, for that is the way of the lightside of the force. Kyle alone and empty as most of him was, did hold on to those parts of the lightside, they kept him sane, they kept him from drowning in the sea of emptiness, just barley but he was still afloat. Kyle did not give up hope branched out through the gleaming stars, he called out first, then listened, then repeated, maybe it was a waste of time but he could not take that chance, for this was the only avenue he had to find his dear love. Then a spark, not what he was looking for, but it was a spark stills the same. It was the voice of Kal Ors, he wives estranged father. He was were this entire thing started, Kal Ors was where this whole story stemmed from, he was the source. Kal echo though the force was faint, but noticeable still, Kyle searched trying to think of what planet this man would possibly be on. The Jedi reached out from where Kal Ors echo resonated, there he glimpsed a stormy desert of sand being basted in light by twin suns through a set of unfamiliar eyes.
"Tatoonie" he remarked aloud,

"That son of bitch is on Tatoonie." Kyle got up to start to prep for his upcoming mission that he now had a place to advent too. He still sometimes was a astonished at the wonders of the force all these years after the first time he had connected to it during his race to the valley of the Jedi.