I can see your faces now, you're saying to yourselves, "What's going on? Why's she updating the next day? She said she was going to update next week? Is she crazy?"

Answer: Yes, I know I'm acting weird. But bear with me, please. I'm going on vacation next week, and I'm pretty stressed out from getting ready to leave. Plus, I haven't been feeling so good, and it's making me act weird, like posting reviews to my own story and updating the next day when I said I was going to update next week. I do apologize for my behavior. Hm. Maybe I'm being affected by the Sith artifact. Or maybe it was that slice of triple chocolate cake.

Anyways, this is Chapter 3. Ch. 3 turned out to be pretty long, so I'm splitting it up into two parts. The second part is the one that will be posted next week as Ch. 4. Ch. 4 will explain what the artifact is and why it affects Jaden so. Have I confused you enough yet? Never mind. Just read the story.

5-15-05 edit: Corrected a few mistakes with grammar and punctuation. Also edited the last sentence of the chapter, as I felt it was too short.

5-26-05 edit: Added a few sentences after Jaden's first vision to establish that she has had visions such as this before.

Coruscant – Upper levels – Five days earlier

Jaden secured her Z-95 and checked in with New Republic customs.

"Greetings, Jedi Knight." The human customs officer greeted her cordially. "We have been expecting you. The Jedi Academy has already paid the docking fee, so all you need to do is place your hand here to record your entry." He gestured to a console next to him.

She pressed her hand against the jellylike plating. It vibrated under her hand. The officer watched a string of letter and numbers on the screen.

"All right," he smiled. "You're free to leave." He held out his hand, and the Jedi shook it firmly. "Doris from Coruscant Security is waiting for you just outside the docking bay. He will be your New Republic liaison during your stay on Coruscant."

Captain Mika Doris was a Bothan. His brown fur was speckled with silver hairs. He bowed low when he saw Jaden.

"Welcome to Coruscant, Jedi Korr. May I ask how your journey was?"

"It was uneventful," Jaden replied, smiling.

"Those kinds of journeys are always the best ones, I always say. Now, I'm told that you are here to investigate the Sith artifact?"

"Indeed, I am."

"Excellent. I thought we might begin by investigating the Twi'lek who had the artifact."

"That sounds good. Lead the way, please."

They took a turbolift down to a parking garage where a row of shiny new airspeeders awaited them.

"Impressive," Jaden remarked.

Captian Doris pulled back the cockpit canopy on one of the crafts. "Well, we do what we can." He leaned inside to check something.

Jaden started to smile, but then she was assaulted by a wave of the Force. Images flashed through her mind rapidly.

A starry sky whirls rapidly.

A cloaked figure holds out its hand. "You…you are worthy…"

A gray pyramidal device is lying by itself on a table. A red light flares within it, growing brighter and brighter…

Jaden started. The Bothan officer straightened, and turned towards her.

"We're ready to — Master Korr! You look pale! Are you all right?"

Jaden forced a smile. "I'm fine. It must be the lighting in here." The visions are coming while I'm awake now? This isn't good, she thought.

"You're probably right. I always thought the lighting in here was too poor. Well, we're ready to go." He climbed into the pilot's seat and started the engines. Jaden took the passenger seat and buckled herself in securely.

The craft lifted gently, exhaust rippling underneath the fuselage. Captain Doris knew how to pilot an airspeeder, and it showed in his firm control of the vehicle. The speeder accelerated smoothly, and in seconds they burst out into the sunlight.

"You have good piloting skills," Jaden noticed. "How long have you been flying?"

"Most of my life," Doris replied, his sharp teeth showing as he grinned. "I do not handle spaceships that well, however. I prefer atmospheric craft like this myself. How about you?"

"I do well enough to get by. I prefer running to flying."

The Bothan raised a furry eyebrow. "You're missing out on a glorious experience, you understand."

"That's what all my pilot friends say, but somehow flying doesn't compare with having both my feet on solid ground."

Captain Doris shrugged. "All right. Have it your way."

They began their descent to the lower levels. As the airspeeder sank, Jaden noticed a gradual change in their environment. Fine transparisteel was replaced by the cheaper durasteel. The light became less as the buildings blocked out the sun.

After about forty-five minutes of flying, they arrived at their destination.

"This is the ninth Twi'lek district," Captain Doris said. "Other Twi'lek districts, like the first and third, have more wealth. This particular area is one of the more poverty-stricken areas. The Twi'lek who possessed the artifact lived here. His name was Elan Jorus."

The Bothan escorted her through the seedy streets. Gaunt-looking Twi'leks turned around to stare at them with hollow eyes as the Bothan and human passed by. Captain Doris kept a hand on his blaster lest one of the beings was hostile, but Jaden could sense that they were merely curious. She kept her expression open and friendly.

The two investigators entered a residential complex and went up to the second floor. He stopped at a door and knocked. A weary-looking Twi'lek female answered the door.

"Greetings," the captain said courteously. "I am Captain Mika Doris of the New Republic. I have brought a Jedi here to investigate your husband's death."

The Twi'lek looked fearfully at Jaden, then lowered her eyes to the floor and nodded. She stepped back, and Jaden entered ahead of the Bothan.

Three Twi'lek children with rags for clothing stared curiously at the strangers. One little girl smiled, showing teeth rotted from malnutrition. Jaden smiled back, but her insides were churning.

How have these children managed to survive in this wretched place? she thought. And what are they going to do with their father and provider gone?

"Can you tell us about your husband and the artifact he had?" Captain Doris asked Elan's wife.

"Yes," she said in barely a whisper. Tears formed in the woman's eyes, and she struggled to control them while in front of her children.

Jaden was stirred by compassion for the woman and her family. Gently, she said, "We know you must be having a difficult time right now. If this isn't a good time to talk―"

"No!" Elan's wife's expression suddenly turned to one of seething anger. Jaden was taken aback by the ferocity of her gaze. "Find out why that thing destroyed my husband! I'll tell you everything you want to know!"

"When did your husband first find the artifact?" Captain Doris asked.

"About two weeks ago. He had found it while searching for employment. He brought it home the first day he had found it...and it never left his side since."

"Why? Was he obsessed with it?"

"Very. He wouldn't let any of us touch it. He let us glimpse it when he brought it home the first time, but after that, he kept it hidden."

"What does the artifact look like?"

"It is gray, and pyramidal in shape. When it is activated, it glows red."

"Where is the artifact now?" Jaden questioned.

Elan's wife shrugged. "His...body was found in the back room, so I assume it's still in there somewhere."

Captain Doris went to the back room and opened the connecting door. The smell of something burnt wafted into the front room. The children covered their noses.

The Twi'lek mother trembled. "I...found him in there. He was dead...burnt from the inside out." She burst into tears. Jaden winced.

The Jedi dug into her pockets and came up with two hundred credits. "Here." She pressed them into the widow's hand. "Take these. You and your children should move out of here, at least for now."

Shock spread over the Twi'lek's face. "You're...you're giving me two hundred credits? Just like that? Th – thank you, Master Jedi! I will be ever grateful!" She beckoned to her children, and when they were gone, Jaden joined the Bothan captain.

He was standing transfixed in the doorway, staring into the room. Jaden came up beside him and looked into the room.

The Sith artifact was on the table in the middle of the room. It was gray and pyramidal in shape ― just like in her dreams, Jaden realized.

A vast army descends on a defenseless city. The horde slaughters everything in its path mercilessly.

A human is strapped to a table. He is being tortured. He writhes in agony as bolts of electricity run through his body.

A gray pyramidal device is lying by itself on a table. A red light flares within it, growing brighter and brighter…

Everything swirled around dizzily in a kalidoscope of colors. Faintly Jaden could hear Captain Doris's voice calling, "Jedi Korr!"

With a supreme effort, Jaden tried to reach for the light, but it was too late. Everything went black.