Chapter 2

Mon Mothma was skeptical of Admiral Ackbar's reports of a high-ranking Imperial defector. The Calamarian rebel led the former Chandrillan Senator through the winding corridors of Home One before stopping at a guest suite aboard the cruiser. She would have asked Ackbar the identity of the defector, but he remained oddly silent on the issue.

Ackbar input an access code on a key panel by the door to the suite. The door split and slid into the wall, revealing a darkened room. The political leader of the Rebel Alliance could make out a man sitting on a chair, but could not distinguish any defining features.

"Please, step inside," the former Imperial offered.

Mon stepped into the guest suite and the door shut behind her, leaving her in total blackness. "May I ask why you hide yourself?" she inquired.

"Lights," the officer said, bringing illumination to the suite and a negative response to her question. He was dressed in a white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral, but oddly enough had blue skin and crimson eyes.

"A non human Grand Admiral?" she asked, completely astonished by what she was witnessing.

"A rare occurrence indeed, but the Emperor I served accepted those with prodigious talents," he told her. "I was only recently promoted to this rank."

"Why have you decided to cast your lot with the Rebellion?" asked Mon as she studied the former Imperial. He was cool and collected with his response.

"Certain elements within the fleet are upset with the Sith coup on Coruscant and I represent only a small fraction of those disgruntled officers," he explained. "I have a squadron of ships under my command and my officers are unanimous in their decision. We wish to seek an alliance with your Rebellion."

"But if you joined the Rebellion, you'd be helping to restore the Republic," Mon argued. "The Rebel Alliance is not aiming to create another Imperial dynasty."

"Your Rebel Alliance is a group of people with common goals and a common enemy, is it not?" the Admiral questioned. When Mon nodded, he continued. "You initially sought to overthrow the rule of Palpatine and restore the government of the Republic in the galaxy. But now your hated tyrant is dead, replaced by one whom many in the ranks see as a heavy handed brute who would place a Sith Empire over the legitimate government of the galaxy."

"We do not recognize the Galactic Empire as the legitimate government of the galaxy," Mon countered.

"But it was legitimately conceived," the grand admiral retorted. "It is all pointless as of now. We have a common enemy in the form of Darth Vader. In exchange for amnesty, I offer vital intelligence and the services of my warships in your struggle against the new Emperor."

Mon kept a stone cold face as she contemplated the grand admiral's offer. The Rebel Alliance had suffered one defeat after another after the disaster at Hoth thanks to Vader's brutal policies. Plus, there were the reports of worlds supporting the Rebel Alliance becoming victims of terrible atrocities. The Alliance needed all the help it could get, even from people who did not share many of their goals.

"We would be pleased to have you aid us in the fight against the Empire," Mon accepted. "Now, may I ask your name?"

"You may call me Thrawn," he replied.

+

The Keldan village of Lemur was hidden in a complex system of valleys, giving it ample protection from invading tribes. But it was easily visible from the air, especially at night when the village campfires raged. Wary of outsiders, the people of Lemur only trusted the Jedi when Luke saved the chieftain's son from marauders.

The Keldans were a red-skinned humanoid race with dark eyes. They possessed little body hair and the males were tall and powerful in appearance. As a race, they possessed differing qualities. Some tribes were warlike while others were peaceful. Most relied on subsistence farming and hunting and possessed little in the way of civilization.

But from some of the ruins Luke discovered, the Keldans were civilized in the past and told stories of a golden age that was destroyed by fire from the heavens. It was sitting in the presence of Altus, the tribe historian, that Luke felt most comfortable. Luke had sent Mara to meditate in her tent so he could discuss his findings with the elderly Keldan.

"You have found more clues to our glorious past?" Altus inquired in his native tongue. For some reason unknown to both, Altus could understand Basic. Luke had no difficulty understanding his friend with the Force.

"I found a holocron," Luke replied. He pulled the recording crystal from his pouch before he activated the device. A distorted hologram of an armored human appeared above the holocron, prompting Altus to gasp.

"Another example of your Force, Luke?" Altus asked.

"It's nothing more than a recording," Luke replied. When he realized Altus did not understand, he explained, "It's nothing more than an imprint."

"I am Siegfried, Master Knight of the Jedi Order," the hologram spoke. "I am the keeper of this holocron. I am the keeper of information on the wars of the Great Schism."

"Master Knight, why did you come to Keldan?" Luke asked, hoping there was some record of the planet in the holocron.

"I chased Darth Prime to this world after we defeated his forces on Dathomir," Siegfried replied. "The remnants of the Dark Jedi fleet attacked the Keldan cities and he was already attempting to establish a new empire. We banished the rest of the Dark Jedi into the uncharted reaches of the galaxy. All that was left was to defeat Darth Prime."

"My people tell legends of an evil wizard," Altus spoke. "He was the one who destroyed our old villages."

"Siegfried, have you ever encountered a man named Revan?" Luke asked.

"A Jedi Knight named Revan accessed this holocron nearly four millennia ago," Siegfried replied. "He left a message on this holocron so people could follow his trail."

The hologram of Siegfried flickered and was replaced by a light skinned human with long brown hair. "I am Revan," the hologram said. "I discovered the ruins of the Keldan cities not long ago in the great desert. Very little was left to discover, but I did find the wreckage of an ancient battlecruiser. Its logs have revealed information on the ancient Dark Jedi who assumed the title of Dark Lord of the Sith centuries ago. I also found a book containing information on the prophecy of the Sith'ari."

Revan's hologram flickered for a moment. Once it stabilized, the message continued. "Darth Prime prophesized his own return as a warrior who would walk the sky," Revan said. "I'm not sure what this means, but I will use the logs to determine my next destination. I shall head for Dathomir." Revan's hologram disappeared, prompting the emergence of Siegfried's hologram.

"Do you have another request?" the hologram questioned.

"No," Luke said.

"If you have more questions, feel free to activate the holocron again," Siegfried said before the recording device shut down.

Luke stared at the holocron as he assimilated the contents of Revan's message. Yoda would not want to remain uninformed. Luke realized he would have to return to the temple as quickly as possible.

+

Han piloted the Millennium Falcon away from the surface of Dantooine. The Corellian pilot did not understand the logic of the Alliance reoccupying the old Rebel base, but he realized the planet was too remote to attract the attention of the Empire. In Han's mind, it was certainly better than the Rebel outpost on Keldan.

"Any idea why we got stuck with the resupply job, Chewie?" Han asked his co-pilot. He did want to see Luke again, but hated going to Keldan.

Because I'm a Wookiee and Keldans respect warriors, Chewbacca replied.

"If we're lucky, we won't run into any Keldans," Lando said as he settled into the seat behind Han. "Our last trip to the Outpost wasn't very pleasant."

Han groaned at the reminder. The Rebel Outpost had been ambushed by a group of hostile Keldans during his last visit. The Alliance would have abandoned Keldan altogether if the Jedi were not present on that world.

The Millennium Falcon passed by a group of Rebel cruisers while Chewbacca used the navicomputer to plot a safe route through hyperspace.

"Here goes nothing," Han said before pulling back the lever on his console, propelling them into hyperspace.

Darth Apostas piloted the Sith Infiltrator through the atmosphere of Dathomir, ignoring the presence of the Force sensitive witches on the surface. The previous Emperor may have feared the Nightsisters, but she did not. The Nightsisters feared her.

The Sith Infiltrator landed outside the small Imperial outpost. The night air was cool as Apostas emerged from her ship. The outpost had been abandoned years ago, but Apostas reoccupied it so it would become her personal retreat. She felt an urge to journey to Dathomir, one strong enough to force her to deviate from her mission.

The Sith brushed past the droid guards and entered her personal fortress. It was still in a slight state of disrepair, but the droid crews were working diligently to make it a building worthy of a princess.

Apostas boarded the turbolift so she could descend to the lower levels. Imperial construction crews had discovered an ancient temple below ground. It was a place the princess could call home. When she emerged from the turbolift and into the torch-lit stone structures, Apostas could sense the dark side radiating around her. This was the secret temple of Darth Prime, the first Dark Lord of the Sith.

Apostas confidently walked towards her personal chambers. Then, a vision of a Jedi wielding a blue lightsaber shot through her mind. Apostas took a step back, realizing it was simply her gift of foresight. "Who are you?" she asked.

No one responded.