CHAPTER I

Author's Note: LISTEN UP! I know I said I will be reading every reviewer's story, BUT some I haven't gotten to, like Stevemo, and other's I'm skipping over like Yoda's Patawan, cause that review was pointless and weird, plus I didn't get it and it had nothing to do with the story. And I'm not even going to respond to it, cause what is there to respond to "YO you stole my saying!". I'm NOT flaming you, just explaining. And some other people's stories, I haven't read a lot but what do you want? Really, I'm only going to read a story or a few, until you can return my reviews. Ok, now this is taking too long so without further words, on to the first chapter!

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"Mace!"

The call rang over the exotic jungle territory, green flora sprouting its way in dense columns bordering craggy volcanoes emitting noxious gas clouds to blur the periwinkle sky. The call rang over the eardrums of various wildlife, from shaggy banthas to towering, intimidating hulks of muscle that were known as rancors. The call rang over the conscience of the six-year old Korun, Mace Windu, which was currently deluding his caretaker's grasp in a niche between two boulders. Here he was expressing his late found talent, as he focused hard on one particular pebble, which slowly made its way up in space to hover at chin-length.

"Mace…Oh, there you are, you little, slippery rogue-!" Maris, the sturdy Korun who had taken care of Mace since an infant, rounded the boulder's niche and then…banged his head against the rough granite next to him.

"Mace!"

The dark-skinned youth indicated the pebble in the air with a gesture of indifference. "What? You can do it to!"

Maris was still gaping with his jaw hanging open. "You're six! I didn't even know the Force was with me until I was ten, and I was never able to actually perform some exertions until I was in my late teens! Your capability is amazing!"

Mace looked impassive throughout the whole rant. "So?" he replied morbidly. "It's not like I can do anything important yet, or," his fist clenched and his skin darkened as his frame shuddered in anger and his face contracted in fury, "avenge my parents' MURDER!"

"Mace…" Maris sighed in frustration at the routine he had to undertake, since Mace had a lot of outbursts similar to these, "I know it may hurt you a lot; but don't become so anger-provoking, it is an evil trait. But I promise you, we will avenge your parents one day…your parents and my relatives. What? You think the attack didn't affect me at all?"

Mace slumped in pity. "I know, I know…it just pains me so much that I can't do anything, while those slaughterers have their own way…"

Oblivious to both Koruns, a starship streaked across the sky, landing silently on the other side of the jungle. Two robed figures jumped out through the hatch, their feet making slight patters against the ground-level vegetation as they sneaked up on the dark-skinned sentinels centered in the clearing…

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Coruscant was beautiful.

This was in the mind of every of its citizen…and non-citizen. It was a network of life and energy, a network of enormous magnitude, stretching from the cloud-spearing skyscrapers of numerous life forms and synthetic technology to the crowded urban sprawls of traffic and travel, to the lower levels beneath the city's surface crowded with diverse and alien creatures crawling through an interlocking crisscross of artificial lights and glittering holograms that provided the only light in an abyss of darkness. Even in the dull blanket of night's wane, Coruscant still shone alone, like a ball of molten wax, with the iridescent lights of the trillions of organisms that call Coruscant home.

All this beauty was not lost on Jedi Master Yoda, as the green midget patrolled the corridors connected to the Jedi Council room. His mind was in turmoil and his force instincts were ringing with alarm. The last Jedi Council meeting had ended with the declaration that they would send Master Sifo-Dyas and his fellow Master, Ki-AdiMundi, on a mission to visit as many planets and systems as they could in order to recruit more Jedi potentials-they were currently a bit short, after following the deaths of five Jedis in a fortnight.

But Yoda felt there was more than saw the eye in this recruiting mission. Though there were bound to be dangers, the two light saber wielders were more than capable of defending themselves. No, it was not that. He sensed something more sinister and dark involved…

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Mace had frozen still as Maris continued to chatter on. Mace wished he could just glue his elder's mouth shut, but no, those two shadows, whatever they were, had already seen them. Mace was frozen now, not in surprise but in terror. But then his rational sense started to take over, and he struggled to concentrate on his Force field, willing the boulder near him to fly at the trespassers. Come on, come on, he mentally voiced.

Then he was buffeted to the ground by a surge of the Force, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the same predicament happen to Maris. He was under a cloak of suffocation and he couldn't move a single muscle…his throat was contacting, he was going to die…God, no, he was going to die…he still had so much more to do in life…noooooo…

And then the cloak of Force was lifted off, and he found himself staring into the eyes of Darth Sidious.

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Sifo-Dyas glanced at the tall Cerean Jedi alongside him, the notable Ki-Adi-Mundi. The Cerean's face was all a mask of emotion, his eyes glazed down, his nose pointing straight ahead, and the long wrinkles and creases across his features not twitching a hair; he allowed no emotion, whether ecstasy or tragedy, comic or angst to touch his appearance. Sifo wished he could be more like him; he was generally known around the Jedi Council as being the "fellow who wore his heart on his sleeve", meaning he reacted at slight emotions and expressed his feelings in facial expressions at sentiments.

Embroiled in his thoughts, he was jolted alive as a sear ran through his force field, an unfamiliar probe. One he did not recognize, at least not until he thought of the…one thing he had not come into contact with…the Dark Side of the Force.

He turned to the stony Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Did you feel that?" The Cerean acknowledged him with a nod and they both started sprinting in the direction of the emitting.

Gasping for breath, Sifo questioned, "What do you reckon it could be?"

Ki-Adi paused for a second, to catch his breath, before replying, "Well, let's go and find out shall we?"

And with that they ran on.

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Ok, that was an extremely short chapter-I'm really sorry for the shortness and I'll try to make up for it by posting another chapter on this before going on to my other stories. Everybody, in this chapter has been mentioned in the movies, so as of yet, I have not introduce any characters of my own. In fact, there will be a bare amount of characters I will introduce in this story, since it's canon. Anyways, onto my review responses, which gladly were large handfuls.

Onono: Gee thanks, kudos for being my first reviewer! I'll continue to review your stories once you review this chapter, though probably not on that particular date. Anyways, thanks-again!

Yodadude17: Thanks; I do like to occasionally focus on intricate detail. And what's up with the Bring-Me-A-Donut Production :)?

Katroti Opesi: And I can't wait for more reviews from you! I also can't find anything bad to say about your reviews, so just keep on typing away!

The Jedi Princess: I look at your review the same way you look at my story: Wow, very nice review. Very, very nice indeed. Keep going. Hehe!

Ice Dragon3: Ah, Ice Dragon! Half of your response would be in the review I did on your story, and I doubt you'll review this chapter, so I'm sort of going, what's the point of responding to your review, but just in case…yes, not many people write Mace Windu fics. That's one reason I decided on this plot-I like trying something not seen before. The other is, I'm just a plain old Mace Windu fan! And on the weird sentence, you spotted out for me-I thought it would have incorrect grammar without the commas, and I'm really annoyed when I read stories with bad grammar and since nobody else commented on it-well it's gonnna stay that way.

Monev11235: What 'too thing'? Sry, can't correct it if I don't know where it is! And they whistle through the air!

Stevemo: Again, they whistle through the air! Check response above.

Fell Dragon: I salute you for reviewing. salutes. Anyhow, I didn't really use your ideas cause by then I'd already come up with the outline. Dang, have to update my story stats more often.