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The rest of the trip was uneventful enough, and soon they were landing on the mystery planet nobody had ever heard of, or seen before. He stood behind General Kenobi and watched as The Resolute descended through the clouds of the planet's atmosphere. Once they cleared the clouds he saw forest covering the majority of the planet's surface.

"Cody?"

"Yes sir?" He responded looking at the Jedi general.

"Make sure the men know not to disturb any of the life on this planet. Once the ships land we will be making the rest of our journey on foot."

"Yes sir."

He quickly sent out a comm repeating Kenobi's orders then proceeded to follow his general to the hangers where gunships were being loaded. They boarded one and he felt the shift as it took off.

Minutes later they were planetside and he was overseeing the men as they unloaded while the Jedi talked off to the side.

"Commander."

He turned to see General Windu approaching. He nodded respectfully. "General."

"Select a small party to accompany us on our journey. The rest are to stay and look after the ships." With that General Windu turned and walked away.

Cody sighed, almost none of the men would volunteer for watch duty when there was a new mysterious planet to explore that also came with a very low chance of combat. It seemed like he was going to have to do some bargaining.

Men tramped through the woods around them as they made progress toward their goal. Both Cody and Rex had picked their best men to accompany them, and they were now moving relatively quickly. Anakin was taking the time to make note of every little thing he saw. This planet had no records in the Jedi Archives and has far as he knew it had no name.

The trees were tall, similar to Endor, the ground had patches of mist that rolled over it with an almost whimsical air, if it weren't for the fact that it dropped significantly in temperature every time they stumbled across one of the patches, Anakin would be relaxing in the planet's almost holofilm perfect setting. Sun did manage to break through in some spots, through those spots were few and far between. Even with the lack of direct sunlight, their path was relatively well lit, as if there was some alternate form of light.

More than anything though Anakin could not shake the feeling of being watched and from what he could hear of the men's chatter, he was not the only one.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

Anakin jumped at the sudden sound of Obi Wan's voice.

"I suppose. Creepy is a better term if you ask me."

Obi Wan chuckled. "You think that way because it is the unknown Anakin."

"No, I think that way because I feel like we're being watched."

Obi Wan paused for a moment and Anakin knew he was listening. He shook his head after a moment.

"Well we did have suspicions about this world being inhabited." He said.

Anakin sighed. Only Obi Wan could be told that they were being watched and react with such calmness. To him the world felt strange, the Force moved oddly around them it was unsettling. He continued on with Obi Wan next to him. They came to a stop a moment later.

In front of them stood what once must have been a grand temple, but now it laid in ruin. The thing that grabbed his attention first was the three cloaked figures who were coming out of the fog that laid over the ruins and moving towards them.

Obi Wan watched as every hand in his party went for a weapon. He sighed and moved forward, placing himself between the two groups. The three figures came a bit closure but the one in the middle stopped short allowing the other two to pass them. Obi Wan couldn't make out anything due to the cloaks. The two took several steps past the first one then they too stopped. Simultaneously they pushed back their cloaks.

One was a female Zabrak, her markings curled and covered her entire face, her hair was neatly braided between her horns, she was a rarity among her people for sure, the other was Pantoran, and she at least seemed welcoming, her light pink almost white hair was in a tight bun, and she regarded them calmly.

"We come in peace, and mean no harm." Obi Wan said, deciding it was best to lay their intentions out now. "My name is Obi Wan Kenobi, I am a Jedi master from the Jedi Order."

There was silence from his audience but he was positive they were listening.

"We came here seeking knowledge. The Force guided us here."

The Zabrakian glanced at her companion before they both looked back at the remaining cloaked figure. The cloaked one nodded, then turned around, raising their hands only to reveal gloves, towards the ruins. Obi Wan felt the Force rush around him like a whipping wind and watched as the fog that laid over the ruins was pushed away. The ruins themeselves seemed to ripple and then vanish. Once gone the fog and ruins vanished several in his party stepped back in surprise. The temple that had made up the ruins stood upright and solid. It's architecture was ancient and stunning. It was tall, very tall, in fact Obi Wan couldn't see the top of it. It seemed out of place in the forest, as if a forest this old had somehow come second to the temple.

"The Grand Master has agreed to let you into our temple." The Zabrakian said.

"Follow us." The Pantoran said.

Obi Wan glanced at the group behind him. There were several shrugs then the Jedi moved to begin ascending the stairs.

"Commander, you and your men stay here." Windu ordered.

Obi Wan glanced up at movement from the Grand Master. They had glanced back over their shoulder. They made a motion with a gloved hand and the Pantoran turned to Windu.

"The Grand Master wishes for you all to enter us."

Windu looked up at the cloak figure then at Obi Wan before he motioned for the men to follow.

The temple was dark inside but from what Kenobi could tell it was just a grand as it was outside.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

The Zabrakian let out a sharp sigh and said nothing. The Pantoran looked back at him over her shoulder.

"We are the hands of the Grand Master, the... council if you will."

"You're both young to sit on the council." Windu said.

"Age is not everything, and some are older in soul than in body." The Pantoran replied.

"So you don't have names then?" Anakin asked.

The zabrakian seemed irratated by Anakin's abruptness. Obi Wan shot him a look of warning, this was not a place to make enemies. He could sense others all around them just out of sight.

"I am Lenoka, my companion is Nirki," the Pantoran responded.

Obi Wan looked at the Grand Master who had yet to say anything.

"And who is your Grand Master if I may ask?"

Nirki looked at him. "You'll learn in due time," she said icily.

Lenoka laid a hand on her shoulder. "Nirki…" She said, warning in her voice.

Nirki pulled away from her with an eye roll.

"You'll learn more as time passes. Everything is taken in careful steps when it comes to outsiders. You'll have to forgive us it's from our past experiences," Lenoka said to Kenobi.

He nodded and glanced at the others around him. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing, this planet, that had only appeared weeks ago, had a history long enough to make them wary of strangers?

They walked in silence heading deeper into the temple. Suddenly Obi Wan could make out a vault in front of them. All three of their guides raised their hand and opened the vault. It opened slowly as if it had not been open in a very long time, but it made no noise.

They all entered into an almost pitch black room. Obi Wan couldn't make anything out, and when the vault doors closed it got even darker. Then slowly he realized that there was light in the room, growing brighter with every moment. He looked around and saw thousands upon thousands of holocrons, of all different shapes and colors, all pulsing with the Force. At the opposite side of the room he saw Nirki and Lenoka standing beside the Grand Master.

He crossed the room and joined them. Nirki and Lenoka looked at him.

"You and your fellow Jedi will continue on, your men must stop here." Nirki said.

The order was quickly passed around and soon the Jedi Council members and Anakin stood in front of their guides. Behind their guides was another, larger, door. This one looked ancient and appeared sealed but Obi Wan had a feeling that there was more to it than that.

The Grand Master raised their hands and Obi Wan could feel the Force rush to help them. The door was suddenly lined with bright light and opened to reveal a blinding light that he could make nothing out in. He watched the Grand Master enter.

"Follow the Grand Master inside." Lenoka said.

Obi Wan took a deep breath to center himself then stepped into the light.

On the other side of the light Anakin found a plain room with containing the members of the Council who had entered with him, and the Grand Master. He moved over to Obi Wan as the doors sealed behind him.

"Think we're ever getting out?" He asked.

Mace Windu glanced over at them with annoyance. "I'm sure it is about to be explained."

Anakin looked at the Grand Master who was facing them. Beyond the gloves they wore, he had seen nothing of the person under the cloak. But something was familiar about them. The way the Force pulsed and moved around them was oddly comforting. Like a constant in his life he had been missing. "Who are you?" He asked.

The Grand Master's gloved hands appeared from the cloak once more and moved to push the hood back. Slowly light penetrated the shadows the hood cast over their face. Realization struck Anakin as the Grand Master's identity became clear.

"An old friend."