Next Jedi: A New Beginning
A new generation. After the defeat of Palptaine and the Order on Exegol, some of the remaining Force-sensitives were encouraged to come out of hiding to help rebuild the Jedi Order, but not the way it was before.
Years later, outside the Jedi Order, a small team of Jedi and powerful Padawans worked elite missions for the New Republic to balance the galaxy. There were occasional disturbances in the force, but mostly in politics.
One day, rumors began spreading throughout Outer-Rim systems that individuals, strong with the dark side of the force, were going to rise up in rebellion to the New Republic. Jedi were dispatched across the galaxy to uncover the origins of the rumor, and to dispense of them once and for all; our main Jedi team was sent to Naboo to deal with reports of supernatural activity.
The Padawan team was a trio that consisted of Aang Drakkar, a Besalisk who knew his way suspiciously well around the galaxy; Exar Sunrider, a non-political, orange and black tattooed Zabrak warrior; and Jo Loren, a cyborg. And leading the trio were twins Rye and Erickson Follnor.
Aang was a powerful Jedi, and wise beyond his age, some would say. He had been on many adventures and had fought in many battles, resulting in his arguably being the strongest of the three. When he applied his knowledge of the force to even science, he learned to do extraordinary things.
Exar Sunrider was the team leader, as equally powerful as Aang. He was raised in an underground warrior organization since he was very little, and he became the most formidable Jedi the galaxy knew. Although when his missions were complete, he always stayed away from large crowds; he was raised not to be seen; but he was still adjusting to his new life, and he hated all the political attention.
Jo had the least experience, but was no less a powerful asset than the others. He usually handled the tech of the team, and tried keeping things afloat with a sense of humor. There isn't much to Jo, but it's enough.
A singular transport ship arrived on Naboo to help the trio with the reported sighting. R.S.S. (Republic Supernatural Specialists) troopers unloaded with special technology. They quickly loaded up on an easy-carry transport.
Aang and Exar followed closely behind the disfigured spirit that moved hastily through Naboo's streets. They watched in wonder as the spirit created blockades of debris by only waving its hand; they shared a concerned look.
"I'm not sure we can catch up to it, Exar. Do you have another plan?" Aang asked.
"Don't worry fellas, I got it covered." Jo spoke over their team comms. He stood on top of a building, overseeing the ghost's path of destination. A probe he detatched from one of his arms kept on top of the ghost, so Jo saw what it saw. "I got every other path blocked off. The ghost is clear."
"Well! I thought you were out sightseeing." Aang playfully jeered.
"Nah, I just thought I could represent squad ghouls." Jo joked.
"Knock it off, Jo." Exar told him. "Stay focused."
The ghost followed the only path it saw. Every path was suspiciously blocked, except for one leading into an alley. So the ghost turned to the alleyway and moved down; it ran into the wall, hoping to phase through it, but wasn't able to go through. It silently pounded on the wall, trying to phase to escape, but it worked to no avail.
Jo jumped down at the other end of the alley. The ghost swiftly turned around.
"Boo." Jo said with a snarky grin. the ghost's face just deadpanned. Aang and Exar caught up to Jo, facing the ghost. "Dead end."
"You're not able to phase. You're an artificial spirit, aren't you?" Exar said.
"I know not what you refer to." The ghost said.
"The concept of life after death only applies to one condition. And it seems you didn't meet it." Aang said.
"Don't try to fool us, we can see right through you." Jo said.
. . .
"Do you have to deal with that all the time?" The ghost asked.
"Yeah." Exar replied.
Just then, a few soldiers appeared on the roof above the ghost and opened the box trap. The trap was powered by a high suction vacuum, which immediately sucked the ghost into the box, which then closed.
"You've been ghosted." Jo said.
Aang looked up, then gave a finger salute. "Good work, men."
"Glad we could catch up in time." One soldier said.
As the Republic teams were loading up, some news anchors followed to ask them questions. Aang and Jo enjoyed interviews, but Exar hadn't yet adjusted to popularity; so when the two left him alone, some people approached him.
"Mr. Zabrak!" A reporter called out. Exar shuddered.
"My name is Exar." He said with resentment, trying to escape onboard his Tantive ship.
"Mr. Exar, do you and your team often deal with ghosts?"
Exar looked up in irritation, then turned around. "No."
". . . w- well, what brought you here today?"
"The Force. Nothing you people would understand." He said, turning around and going on board his team's Tantive shuttle.
The reporter scoffed. "Zabraks."
Exar stopped in his tracks.
"We just do our duty as Jedi and keep the peace." Aang was speaking to the reporter right before he heard a loud crash. Heads and cameras turned to see Exar standing with broken cameras and equipment at his feet, and reporters face down in the ground. "Apologies!" Aang shouted. "He hasn't quite adjusted to popularity yet!"
Aang returned to the interview. "So, Exar, there, has lived most of his life in the shadows. He wasn't exactly raised with the highest opinion of the universe, so we're hoping that can change."
"So are you the leader of your team?"
"Oh, no. Exar is." The answer bewildered the reporters, and Aang sensed it. "He's the leader, because he has known nothing but fighting and strategies his whole life. He was raised a warrior from birth; he always produces the best outcomes in a situation. He just doesn't like media attention."
Meanwhile with Jo. "Ah what can I say? Ghouls just want to have fun." Jo said, placing his fists on his hips and smiling stupidly into the camera. The female reporter gave out a hysterical, obviously fake and drawn out laugh. Jo's face morphed into one that said, 'What did I just hear?'
"So we know that supernatural activity is the property of the R.S.S., but why exactly are you here now?"
"I'm just here for the boos."
The reporter gave out a much less enthusiastic chuckle.
"What can I say? I have Jedi spirit."
"Okay, we're done here." The reporter said as the interview closed.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Nearby crowds groaned and walked away.
"I can't boo-lieve this crowd." He said.
Aang walked by and started dragging Jo by his cloak. "Let's go, Jo."
"Hey! You can't boo this to me!"
"Enough." Aang said.
"What ghost around, comes around."
"Shut up, Jo." Exar said.
Jo said one last word to the crowds. "I'll send you all a ghostcard!" Then the ramp door closed.
The trip back to their base was quiet. Not a single word, joke, or statement from anyone. The ship exited hyperspace in the Kashyyyk system and landed near their beachside base on the planet's surface. Along the landing platform, they'd noticed they had been visited by a Republic ship that they recognized to belong to Ephraim, their mechanic friend.
"I'm still not fond of this place. We need a better base." Jo said.
"Well, if we lose this one, Jo, you can pick the next one." Exar said, opening the door and entering the base.
Jo celebrated in his head; Aang lightly smacked and said, "At least this isn't Dagobah."
"That's the truth."
In the meeting room, their twin leaders Rye and Erickson were discussing their next Republic meeting, then Exar caught Rye's attention.
"We cleaned up Naboo, but there was still no sign of any dark side activity."
"But of the ghost?" Rye asked.
"Whatever it was, it was of another spiritual energy. Like nothing I've ever sensed before." Exar said, even surprised himself.
Aang sat down, clearly distraught. "The Force wasn't with it, yet it had the ability to move objects without touching them."
"Other than the Jedi philosophy of maintaining life after death, I had never seen a ghost before." Exar said. "Master Rye," He said with extra emphasis, "What was it?"
"An abomination is what that was." Aang said. "Only the Jedi can become apparitions when they become one with the Force. Whoever that was didn't-"
"Aang, be calm." Rye said.
A moment of dramatic silence passed before Ephraim made his presence known from the hallway. "Am I interrupting something?"
"An interruption, yes, but a necessary one." Aang said, getting up and giving his friend a hug.
"What's the update?" Ephraim asked.
"No specific dark side activity, but there is something sinister afoot. We can neither confirm nor deny any sith involvement." Exar said.
"I'll have our Senator friend propose an investigation into Naboo." Ephraim said.
"And you three need to practice your lightsaber form exercises." Rye said to the main trio.
Once everyone left, Rye and Erickson shared a look of concern and suspicion. Rye sat down next to Erickson and asked, "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to ask ourselves what we can do, let the Naboo investigation proceed, and let our team investigate other systems further. All we can do from here is guide them." Erickson replied.
"We need to convene the council."
"Brother, we purposefully separated ourselves from the Republic, remember? We can't do our jobs within their jurisdiction."
"I know."
Exar sat down on his mattress with a huff, frustrated at the lack of knowledge he obtained.
In the time Aang had been around, he had never experienced anything like what he had.
Jo was equally as bewildered as the others, but didn't know what to think. His naivety didn't give him a hint of a bigger picture.
There was a bigger picture; bigger than the Jedi ever knew. Bigger than the Sith; bigger than the force itself. Only time could begin to unravel the destiny of the universe.
The Next Day -
Aang took a stroll by the beach of Kashyyyk, then sat in his favorite spot. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind, and listened to the waves. He heard the howls and crashes; he felt the life energy within the planet and connected. He took a deep breath and began meditating.
Jo went digging around deep in the forest. He would occasionally find artifacts from the Clone War buried deep in the ground; he would polish it up and occasionally put it on display in his room. He sensed something in one spot particularly, and concentrated on digging there. He struck gold -or armor- when he uncovered a set of Clone Trooper armor.
Exar exited his room late; he spotted Rye and Erickson packing some supplies. He asked, "Going back to Coruscant? Where are the others?"
"Their usual antics on the beach." Erickson answered.
"With your discoveries, we're proposing an investigation into Naboo to the Senate." Rye added.
"Ephraim left already?" Exar inquired.
"He did. He's making early preparations for us."
Exar hummed. "Good luck, masters." He said, then escaped to the beach.
Aang had a vision. He couldn't make out most of it, but was confident in a few clues. When he awoke from his vision, it felt like no time had passed. "Mustafar." He mumbled. 'I know that ash-ridden planet anywhere.' He thought.
Exar approached him on the beach. "I know that sense anywhere. What is it this time?"
"I think we're supposed to go to Mustafar."
"Didn't we go there already?" Exar asked.
"Oh I remember Mustafar very well. Well, you know, I have fl-ash memory." Jo said as he appeared in full Clone armor, tapping the robot side of his head.
"Oh another one?" asked Exar.
"Yeah, I feel a c-ash flow with this one."
"How do you connect that?" Aang asked.
"Nostalgia always rakes in big bucks." Jo answered.
"Not everything is funny, Jo." Exar stated. "You have to start taking things more seriously."
"In a galaxy of adventure, and war, far from everything is funny."
. . .
"So. . . what's the sitch?" Jo asked.
At that moment, the three of them felt a sudden shift in the Force like none of them had ever felt before.
. . .
"I'm not the only one who felt that just now, right?" Jo asked.
"Well," Aang said, standing up from his place and brushing the sand off his robe, "I say we move to Mustafar now."
"Agreed. I have a bad feeling something sinister is about to unfold." Exar agreed.