Author notes- Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke and his wife, Mara Jade, slowly walked down the halls of the Academy in sadness. They had both felt the deaths of Saba, Morque, Tesar, and Palmala through the Force and it greatly devastated them. They had known the Sebatynes for several years and were good friends of the four Barabels. To feel them all die was absolutely heart wrenching. Luke and Mara weren't the only ones who had felt the tragic disturbance. Every Jedi in the Academy including Jaina, Jacen, and Ben had also felt the deaths and were all greatly saddened by the whole incident. And because of the whole tragedy, every Jedi Padawan and Jedi Knight in the Academy had decided to cease all training sessions for the day. It was indeed a sad and dark day for everyone at the Jedi Academy.
Luke and Mara approached the entrance to the Council Chamber then entered. They walked down the long tiled path then made their way to the Council table. Luke and Mara walked up to the table then Luke briefly looked at each Jedi Master who were standing around the table waiting for the meeting to begin. He saw the looks of sadness and depression on each member's face. They were all still thinking and reminiscing about the four kind hearted and loyal Barabels. Corran and Kyle were looking straight through one of the windows with sad expressions on their faces. Kam had his arm wrapped around his wife, Tionne, who had streaks of tears on her face. And Kyp just looked down at the table in sadness with his arms folded. The deaths of the four Barabels truly had affected everyone.
Luke turned his gaze to the table then took a deep breath. He looked back up at his fellow Council members then spoke in a sad tone. "Greetings everyone. I guess I don't have to inform all of you of what has just occurred. For I know that you all must have also felt the tragic disturbance." Luke sighed then continued. "Saba, Tesar, Palmala, and Morque were very dear friends of ours. They were some of the most kindest and most good- hearted beings we've ever known. And we will all miss them greatly."
The Council members nodded in agreement. There was a long silence among the Council until Kyp broke the silence. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out who's the one responsible for all this. I mean let's look at it. A few days ago this Darth Omega comes out of nowhere and tries to kill Ben late at night. And now a couple of days later this whole thing happens." Kyp sat down in his seat then continued. "Fellow Council members, it's now quite obvious that this Sith Lord Darth Omega means business. And he's, without a doubt, the one responsible for killing the Sebatynes."
"Kyp, although what you say is probably the most logical explanation for this whole incident. We don't exactly have any solid evidence that Omega was the one behind this." Said Luke.
Corran cleared his throat then spoke. "Well actually, Luke, I have a bit of news that could prove that what Kyp is saying is indeed true."
"Really now? Tell us this news."
Corran gave a nod then proceeded. "We all basically know that the Sebatynes left to visit Danni on Rhen Var, right. Well anyway, this morning three hours after I felt the death of the Sebatynes, I received a transmission from Kenth down from the military. He told me that the Scientific Research Facility on Rhen Var had sent a distress signal. The military picked it up then immediately sent Kenth and a small strike force to find out what was going on." Corran paused then continued. "When they got to the Facility, Kenth said it was like a grave yard. Everyone in the Facility including Saba, Morque, Tesar, Palmala, and Danni were dead."
Corran saw a look of surprise and sadness pass across the faces of the Council. No one in the Council except Corran knew that Danni, who was a good friend of everyone in that room, had also been killed.
Corran looked at each member then spoke again. "Anyway, they checked some of the dead bodies and Kenth found that the wounds on the bodies were indeed inflicted by a lightsaber and not a blaster. So that proved that a dark sider had something to do with it. But before Kenth and the strike force reported back to the military, they also checked out the recorded holofootage on the Facility's security cameras. In the footage, Kenth said he saw the dark sider wielding two sabers killing everyone in sight. But here's the thing that Kenth said that made me automatically know who the dark sider was. He told me that the dark sider looked similar to you, Luke, only younger."
"Omega." Luke said as he sat down in his seat. "So he is the one responsible for this."
"All I know is that this Sith Lord must be stopped as soon as possible. We can't just let this guy continue to attack and kill innocents." Said Kyp.
"The problem is we don't have a clue as to where he could be located. He could literally be anywhere in the galaxy. In fact, because he can use the Dark Side to cloud our vision he could very well be on this planet." Replied Kyle.
"Well as soon as we find out where he's located, we can then put an end to this Sith Lord once and for all." Kyp said as he patted his lightsaber handle.
"Remember, Kyp, as Jedi we are not suppose to desire to kill or harm even if it is a Sith Lord. There are ways to stop him without having to resort to killing." Said Kam.
"And there's also one other reason why we must not harm him." Luke said as he slowly turned his gaze to the floor. Mara, who knew the reason, folded her arms then turned her blank expression to one of the windows on the right side of the room.
Kyp looked at Luke and Mara curiously then asked. "And what reason is that?"
Luke kept his stare to the ground then answered. "I haven't told any of you this yet. In fact, what I'm about to say might shock many of you. But yesterday my son, Ben, showed me Omega's DNA results. And to my surprise, the results showed that Darth Omega is my son."
Everyone in the room except Mara looked shocked. They couldn't believe what they had just heard from Luke.
Kyp, who had his mouth gape open, stared at Luke with a stunned expression. "So, um, let me get this straight." Said Kyp. "You're telling me that murderous Sith Lord, the very one who attacked Ben and killed all those people in that research facility is your son."
"I know it's very hard to believe. In fact, even I was quite shocked by this." Said Luke. "But the results did show that Omega's blood had strand of my DNA and Callista's DNA. Which means that Omega is indeed my son and Callista is his mother."
Kyp shook his head in disbelief then said. "I can't believe this."
"Neither can I." Corran immediately replied.
"The thing is though," Luke said thoughtfully. "I know something had to have happened to Callista for I know she wouldn't have abandoned Omega. So someone, who is strong in the Dark Side, must have did something to Callista and then afterward took Omega and trained him to be a Sith. Which means that Callista is probably -." Luke didn't finish. He just looked down in sadness. Everyone in the room knew what Luke was going to say. They all knew that whoever had taken Omega had to have also killed Callista in the process.
Mara turned her gaze to Luke then spoke. "But what I want to know is how come Callista didn't contact you several years ago before Omega was born. She knew she was going to have Omega why didn't she just contact you through the Force."
Luke shrugged. "I don't know," said Luke. "Unless, the dark sider who was after her prevented her from contacting me by using the Dark Side."
"That's true," said Kyle. "A person very skilled and powerful in the Dark Side could use its power to prevent someone from contacting another through the Force. A full fledged Sith Master could easily do it."
"But now the question is who is this Sith Master that took Omega and turned him into the person he is now?" Luke sighed then leaned back in his seat. "If only I could find out where Omega is located then I could speak to him face-to-face."
Mara smirked. "Judging from everything I've heard, it sounds like as soon as you were to find that Sith Lord son of yours he would do more swinging than talking."
Luke folded his arms then replied. "No doubt he would most likely attack. But if I could just speak to him then maybe, just maybe I can turn him to the Light Side. And then find out who exactly is this Sith Master that's manipulating him to do all this."
---------------------------------------------------
Ben, who had a very sad look on his face, approached the entrance to the Academy's Garden Area. It was early morning after he woke up when he had felt the deaths of the four Barabels. The deaths had greatly saddened him and for a couple hours he even shed a few tears. The four Barabels had been good friends with Ben since he was twelve. They had always been very nice to him and sometimes Saba, Tesar, and Palmala would give him helpful hints and advice on how to be a better Jedi. I really am going to miss them. Thought Ben. He stopped then turned his gaze to the ground in sadness and slowly shook his head. Just thinking about the four Barabel Jedi made Ben's heart sink. His thought's then briefly shifted to his brother, Darth Omega. Although nothing had been confirmed, Ben knew deep down that his brother was the one responsible for killing the four Jedi. He already knew that Omega was lethal after fighting him to standoff but Ben never knew he was capable of doing this.
Suddenly images of the nightmare entered Ben's mind. Although the deaths of the four Barabels made him grieve it also made him feel quite worried. Just several hours before he felt the Barabels die, he had a terrifying nightmare, which showed him the deaths of every Jedi he knew and cared about. It's just too odd of a coincidence. There has to be a connection. Ben thought himself. He hasn't told anyone including Jaina about his nightmare yet for he knew that they would probably tell him to ignore it. Part of Ben felt that he shouldn't take the dream too seriously while the other part felt that maybe the dream is important and that it was the Light Side of the Force trying to warn him of things that might come to pass.
There was however one thing in his dream that puzzled him and that was the woman dressed in black. He had never seen the woman before in his life, but still even in his dream he felt that there was something dark and unnatural about the woman. I don't know who that woman was in my dream. But somehow I get the feeling that she just might be the one who trained my brother to be a Sith. And if that's true than she's also the one responsible for causing all this mayhem. But who is she? Thought Ben. Once again so many things circled in Ben's mind to the point he just needed some time to himself and the garden was the perfect place for him to sort out his thoughts and find peace.
Ben entered the Academy's Garden Area then made his way down the Garden's ferrocrete path. As he strolled down the path he began to look around at the Garden's beautiful scenery. The Garden Area was quite similar to the Courtyard only instead of having lots of exotic trees the Garden was filled with rare but gorgeous flowers. There were a few trees here and there but mainly there were hoards of different types of unique and very colorful flowers. In fact at times, Ben had to admit that sometimes the Garden Area looked like a giant rainbow especially if you looked at it from one of the Academy's Upper floors. It may look like a huge rainbow but nevertheless it still is quite tranquil, peaceful, and rather nice looking. Thought Ben.
Ben continued down the path looking for a nice bench to sit in when he suddenly heard someone crying in the distance. He frowned then turned and briskly walked down the left path in the direction where he heard the crying. Ben made his way down the path then stopped. What he saw broke his heart. Sitting in a bench just a few meters away from him was Keira who was crying heavily and had her face buried in her hands. Ben knew why she was weeping. She is probably reminiscing about Morque. Thought Ben. Besides Ben and Valin, Morque was one of Keira's best friends. She had known Morque longer than Ben knew him so he clearly understood why she would be heavily mourning over his death.
Ben slowly walked over to Keira then took a seat right next to her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder then spoke her name softly. "Keira."
Keira turned her sorrowful gaze to Ben and looked into his eyes. Ben could see the tears of sadness streaming down from her eyes as she continued to sob. He didn't like seeing her like this. He loved her so much that whenever he saw her cry or feel depressed it made him feel terrible inside. And whenever she did feel sad or depressed Ben made sure to always be there for her and comfort her.
"Ben? What are you doing here?" She said weakly as she wiped her eyes.
"I was walking through the garden and that's when I suddenly heard you crying." Ben said with concern in his voice.
"Oh."
There was a long silence then Ben broke it when he asked softly. "Thinking about Morque?"
Keira looked at Ben for a moment then turned her gaze to the ground in sadness. "Before he left for Rhen Var, Morque asked me that when he returned that maybe me and him could for now on do our saber training sessions together with our masters for we both aren't that skilled with a lightsaber. I agreed to his offer then gave him a hug and told him goodbye." Said Keira. "I just didn't know that that would be the last time I would ever see him again."
Ben saw more tears forming in her eyes as she continued to speak. "Morque was one of my best friends. There were so many things that we were all going to do together. But now he's gone." Said Keira who was now starting to sob. "I'm going to miss him with all my heart."
Tears poured down her face as she began to weep. Ben gently lifted her chin then looked deep into her tear-soaked eyes. He gently caressed her cheek then softly spoke. "I know it hurts, Keira. I'm going to miss him too."
Ben then wrapped his arms around her small form and comforted her. She buried her face into his chest and cried even harder. Instead of speaking words of comfort, Ben just held her lovingly in his arms as she cried letting her know that he wasn't going to leave her side but remain there with her. For several minutes he held her in his arms and would sometimes gently caress her hair.
Keira left his embrace then wiped the tears from her eyes. They looked into each other's eyes then Ben spoke. "Um, uh. Do you want me to you leave you be for a while?"
Keira shook her head. "No, stay here with me." She replied.
Ben slightly smiled. "Alright. I'll stay here by your side." Said Ben.
The two remained in the Garden for over an hour until they finally decided to head back inside the Academy building. Ben and Keira walked down the halls of Academy then made their way to the entrance of Keira's quarters. They approached her door then stopped.
Keira turned and looked at Ben. "Ben." Said Keira.
"Hmm?" said Ben.
"Thank you for being by my side today." Keira said with a smile.
"You're welcome, Keira."
The two then embraced each other in a long affectionate hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Ben." Keira said as they released their long hug. "I can't imagine my life without you."
Ben smiled then did something that was, to him, quite daring. He leaned down and placed a soft but affectionate kiss on Keira's cheek. Keira slightly blushed then looked deep into Ben's blue eyes. "Ben, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time." Said Keira.
"What is it?" Ben asked.
"I, I, uh-," Keira looked down then back at Ben. "Umm, never mind. I kind of forgot what it was that I was going to say."
Ben nodded then said. "I understand, the same thing happens to me often."
"Well then, um, good bye Ben." Keira said.
"Yeah, good bye Keira." Ben said with a smile. Keira smiled then slowly backed away from Ben and entered her quarters. Ben looked down the long hall to his right and proceeded down the path. I really do love you, Keira. And I don't know what I'd do without you. Thought Ben as he made his way down the hall, which lead to his quarters.
-----------------------------------------------------
Luke stood there on his balcony staring out at the beautiful Mon Calamari scenery. It was now dusk and his balcony offered a very exceptional view of the sun sinking into the watery horizon.
Luke closed his eyes then stretched out with force and felt the essences of the Light Side surround him. He felt peace, love, life, and tranquility all around him. Everyday he would stand out on his balcony and meditate. It made him feel relaxed and calm.
As he stretched deeper into the force he suddenly heard a voice sound in his head.
Luke.
Luke frowned. Someone was trying to contact him through the Force. But who was this person? He then heard the voice again only this time much clearer.
Luke.
He now recognized that feminine voice.
Callista? Luke replied through the Force.
Yes, Luke it's me.
Where are you? Luke asked.
I am no longer among the living. I, like your masters, am now one with the Force.
Luke sighed. So it was sadly true. Callista was dead and now here she was speaking to him the same way Obi Wan did several years ago during the Galactic Civil War.
Callista there is so much I need to ask you. Said Luke.
Luke, listen to me. The balance of the Force has once again been shifted. The Dark Side has begun to eclipse the Light Side just like it did several years ago when Vader brought about the Jedi Purge. The Dark Lady of the Sith has already set her wicked plan into motion to bring about the end of the Light and the Jedi.
Dark Lady of the Sith? Said Luke. He thought for a moment then realization suddenly hit him. He knew whom it was that Callista was talking.
Lumiya! You're talking about Lumiya. Said Luke. He had faced Lumiya several years ago but the battle ended in a stand still and the Dark Lady escaped. Since then she was never seen again for several years and now Luke was beginning to know why.
Yes, she even has corrupted our son, Orion, with lies and deceit.
Orion? Said Luke.
Yes, that is Omega's real name, the name and life, which has been stolen from him by the Dark Lady. She has used these lies to corrupt him and turned him into the heartless Sith Lord that he is now. If he is not turned and the Dark Lady is not stopped then all will come to darkness. But there is hope however and that hope is Ben.
Ben? Said Luke.
Your son, Ben, is the one who will turn Orion back to the Light Side and together they will bring about the cataclysmic end of the Dark Side. Now I must go.
Wait Callista. Said Luke.
Goodbye, Luke.
Callista wait!
Suddenly Luke opened his eyes then looked around. It was now night and he was still out on the balcony. He took a deep breath then he heard Mara speak to him from behind.
"It's about time you awoken from that trance of yours, farm boy."
Luke looked at Mara and she immediately noticed the distressed look on Luke's face. Mara frowned then spoke again. "What's wrong?"
"This whole thing is now much worst than I thought," said Luke. "Much worst."