The Story of forgotten Jedi Owen Sun
Chapter 19: In Mourning
Drakus' dark ship landed comfortably in Count Dooku's castle on Byss.
Drakus' ship ramp descended and he stepped out to find his Master waiting there, he immediately lowered his head and fell to one knee. "Did you do as I asked?" wondered Dooku.
"Yes Master" replied Drakus.
"Good, I trust the meddling Jedi was dealt with most harshly" said Dooku.
"Yes Master, I have slain the Jedi Knight as you commanded" informed Drakus.
"And what of the ancient Sith artifact, was it discovered?" asked Dooku.
"No Master, your plans for it are safe" assured Darth Drakus.
Dooku approached Drakus. "You've done well my Apprentice, soon you will hold the title of Sith Lord"
"You may rise" said Dooku.
Drakus got himself back up towering over Count Dooku. "I see you have been injured" noticed Dooku.
"It is nothing Master" replied Drakus.
"This Jedi Knight you killed, who was it?" asked Dooku.
"I do not know her name Master but she was a female and was very good with the lightsaber" answered Drakus.
"What did she look like?" asked Dooku.
"She was a small human Master, brown hair and eyes, armed with two pink sabers" explained Drakus.
"Hmm dual pink sabers you say, I can think of only one with such a description, I never knew her name either but I do remember she was one of Arca's students" replied Dooku.
"Good with the sword but knew nothing when it came to the force, this will no doubt upset her old Jedi Master, as I recall he was quite attached to her" stated Dooku.
"Master there is one other detail" stated Drakus.
Count Dooku looked disturbed by this. "What is it?"
"As I left the planet two more Jedi arrived trying to aid the female that I'd slain" stated Drakus.
"I destroyed their ships so they would not follow me and discover this place" informed Drakus.
"Are you positive that nothing followed you Drakus?" asked Dooku sternly.
"Yes Master, I am positive" replied Drakus.
"You better be Drakus, the Jedi can not know where I am" stated Dooku.
Meanwhile back on Coruscant.
Arca climbed the Jedi altars steps carrying the wrapped up deceased body of Anna Arress, Owen watched on with the other numerous Jedi in attendance from the stairs of the altar. Arca placed her body on the altar feeling nothing but loss inside him, he stood back a few feet. Suddenly Anna's body was engulfed in flames as the Jedi altar was ignited, Arca's heart tore apart as he watched his former Padawans body burn right in front of him. Via their bond Owen could feel the intense pain his Master felt, Anna's body then slowly descended into the altar completing her funeral ceremony.
After the ceremony Arca left not talking to anyone and retreated to his quarters, Owen was obviously extremely concerned for his Master. Ki-Adi-Mundi then approached Owen. "Give him time Owen, you are the only one who can truly feel the magnitude of his loss so you can understand why he wishes to be alone, he is in mourning"
"I and the rest of the council will speak with you and Master Arca tomorrow until then I suggest you get some rest" stated Master Mundi.
Mundi walked off as Obi-Wan approached. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Obi-Wan it's my Master that I'm concerned about" replied Owen.
"Did you see it happen?" asked Obi-Wan.
"Yes, it happened right in front of us" replied Owen.
"Who was he?" asked Obi-Wan.
"I don't know Obi-Wan but from what I saw he's far different than the Sith you fought on Naboo" answered Owen.
"Perhaps they are connected, the council did say that there were two of them, you can be sure of that" stated Obi-Wan.
"No Obi-Wan, I believe this Sith is of a different sort, I can't explain it but from what I sensed looking at him he is different" replied Owen.
"Well you would know better than me, you were there I wasn't" said Obi-Wan.
"Yes, well I guess the force will dictate what is to come, whether light or dark" stated Owen.
"I should be going Obi-Wan, I need to rest" said Owen.
"Very well I'll see you again my friend" said Obi-Wan as the two shook hands.
The two went their separate ways as Owen went to his chambers to rest.
Owen began to dream that he and Arca were fighting the mysterious Sith that killed Anna, he looked on watched himself fight the tall Sith with Arca. Owen went to strike at him but was knocked back into the rocky wall, Arca and the Sith now dueled one on one and as they dueled their sabers became intertwined. The ashen looking Sith caught Arca off guard and punched him in the face, he took advantage of a stunned Arca and swiped at his arm with his long blade, Arca fell to his knees helpless. Owen watched as he saw himself come to and try to save his Master but it was too late the Sith had swung and cut off Arca's head.
Owens eyes suddenly opened and he was in his bed staring at the ceiling of his chamber, he breathed heavily. "It was only a dream" he thought.
Owen sat up and began to question what he just witnessed. "Was it, or could it of been possibly a vision" he thought.
"No that's impossible Padawans don't have visions, I'm too young and not experienced enough to have such a premonition" thought Owen questioning himself.
Owen then noticed the sun of Coruscant rise. "I don't have time for this, I've got to meet with the council" he thought.
As Owen dressed he began to second guess himself again. "Could it really happen, it seemed so real" he thought.
Owen then started to make his way to Arca's chambers still thinking.
"If it is going to happen maybe I can do something about it, warn Arca, tell the council, but what good would that do if it is already predetermined" thought Owen.
"Oh it was probably noting, I can't have visions, I'm only a Padawan for force sakes" he thought.
Owen then made his decision in his mind. "I'll keep it to myself, I'd just add to my Masters grief right now, besides it can't be true" he thought shielding the event away in his mind.
Owen hit the call button on Arca's chamber door but got no response. "That's odd" he thought.
He then glanced at the chamber's information panel, the message on the door indicated that Arca wasn't in his chambers. "Where could he be?" he wondered. "We have to meet with the council"
Owen looked around and a temple informant told him that his Master had spent the night in the one of the many Jedi Temple meditation chambers. Eventually Owen found Arca in a meditation pose on the floor, he didn't want to interrupt Arca especially after what happened yesterday, but Owen then remembered their meeting with the council. "Master, I'm sorry to disturb you but we are scheduled to meet with the council" said Owen.
Arca opened his eyes. "You woke me Owen"
"You were sleeping Master?" pondered Owen.
"In a way, yes" said Arca as he arose from his seated position on the floor.
"Master, the Jedi Council awaits" informed Owen.
"Very well, lead the way" replied Arca.
As they made their way to the council chambers Owen could tell immediately that something wasn't right, something was different about him, he kept silent not sure of his Masters response.
"Do you wish to ask me something Owen?" asked Arca.
Owen was a bit surprised to hear his Master speak. "I can sense your concern" said Arca.
"To tell you the truth Master I am, ever since what happened on Thule you haven't been the same" stated Owen.
Arca stopped walking and turned to his Padawan. "I appreciate your concern for me Owen but know this, after what I witnessed I will not rest until I find the Sith that killed Anna" replied Arca.
Arca stormed away ahead of Owen to the council chambers.
Owen could sense great loss in his Masters heart but now more than loss he sensed great anger and vengeance, Owen was shocked to see that the man he looked up to since as long as he could remember felt such things. He feared the worst as he remembered what Master Yoda said about the dark side, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and suffering to the dark side. "No" he thought. "Not Master Arca, never him"
Owen ran to catch up with Arca as he was already in the Jedi Council chambers deliberating with the council, in attendance was Master Yoda, Windu, Mundi, and Poof.
"Absolutely not" stated Windu.
"The council will not allow you to go on some mad quest for vengeance, you will adhere to your Jedi oath" stated Mundi.
"Realize hurt you are by Anna's death but allow this we cannot" said Yoda.
"If the council will not allow me to find this Sith, I will do it myself" stated Arca.
"We understand your pain and loss Arca but what you're asking is not going to happen" said Poof.
"I'm not asking for an approval, I will go after the Sith" stated Arca.
"Defy the council you would?" questioned Yoda.
"If I have to I will, I will not stand by while the council deliberates and does nothing" stated Arca.
"You took an oath like countless Jedi before you, if you defy it you will be cast out of our order forever" stated Mundi.
"That does not matter to me anymore, I have considered the risk and I will not be satisfied until this is done" said Arca.
"And when will you be satisfied, when you find this Sith and he strikes you down just like Knight Arress, you must think before you act Arca, you have no idea where he is or what kind of a threat he poses" stated Windu.
"What of your Padawan, you would abandon him before his training is complete?" questioned Poof.
"Owen no longer needs my guidance, he has been ready to become a Jedi Knight for some time now" replied Arca.
"Once again, if the council will not allow me to do this than I shall embark on my own and accomplish this myself" stated Arca.
With that Arca turned and made his way to the turbo-lift, he was just about to enter when Owen stopped him. "Wait!"
"Master please, you cannot do this, think of what you've done over the years for the order, you can't just leave like this, think of what Anna would want" said Owen.
"Owen I appreciate your advice but I have already made up my mind" stated Arca.
"Master think, the last thing she would want you to do is leave the order and give in to your anger and kill this Sith out of revenge, it is not our way Master, and I know deep down it is not your way either" stated Owen.
The members of the Jedi Council looked at each other in amazement at Owen Sun.
Arca turned around. "Please Master, hear what the council has to say first then decide" pleaded Owen.
Arca stepped back from the turbo-lift and into the council chambers. "What do you want me to do?"
Master Windu looked shocked at Arca, what Owen had said meant more to him than the councils warning. "Well before you interrupted us we have been given some news that we think will help" informed Windu.
"One of our Republic spies has discovered something interesting about this Sith" said Windu.
"He has one contact to the outside galaxy that we know of and he is stationed right now on Taloraan" informed Windu.
"So as you can see we want you to go to Taloraan contact our informant and get all the information you can about the Sith out of his contact" ordered Windu.
"If I am to do this, I do it alone" stated Arca.
"You will not do this alone Arca, you will take your Padawan with you" ordered Mundi.
"Come in handy he no doubt will" stated Yoda.
"And a Master does not simply abandon his student, you know this" said Windu.
"This has nothing to do with Owen, I do not want to drag him into this, I wish to this alone" stated Arca.
"Mistaken you are Arca, everything to do with Owen this does, there when Sith struck down Anna he was and there he shall be when you fight him" perceived Yoda.
"You will take him with you Arca, this is non-negotiable" said Mundi.
Although in firm disagreement Arca nodded and left the council chambers.
Owen still in the council chambers stayed behind to say a few words.
"I understand your displeased with Master Arca over this but I wish for the council to be lenient, he has suffered a great deal so you can understand his frustration and outbursts, I know I do" stated Owen.
"Do you really understand Owen?" questioned Windu.
"Yes, I feel I do Master, via our bond" replied Owen.
"You may feel his pain and loss but you don't know where it truly stems from" said Windu.
"Master?" questioned Owen.
"Do you know anything about Arca and Anna's past?" asked Windu.
"Very little, I was young when the two went their separate ways" replied Owen.
"Then you don't truly know how Arca feels right now, the council knows more of Arca's pain and loss then he would let on, we know that Anna was like a daughter to him and he would of done anything to keep her safe" informed Windu.
"You see Arca rescued Anna from slavery at a very young age, sensing the force in her he trained her from childhood, he had never done that with any of his other students, not even you Owen" stated Windu.
"And when they parted ways it affected him more than he knows, to Arca he failed as a teacher, and to fail someone who he raised and trained from childhood hung heavy on his heart" stated Windu.
"Even now we could still sense the feeling in his heart" informed Windu.
"That is one of the reasons we are more than concerned about Arca now, he was so attached to Anna that her death could cause him to fall from the path of light" stated Mundi.
"No, Master Arca could never fall, he's been a wise Jedi Master for years" replied Owen.
"Owen every Jedi is at risk of falling, that is why we shield ourselves from such attachments so we can guard our emotions, including Arca" stated Windu.
"A lesson that Knight Arress had a hard time learning I recall" stated Poof.
"Now that you understand, go you must" said Yoda.
Owen was about to leave when he remembered the dream or perhaps vision he had, Owen had shielded it away in his mind but felt he should at least get an opinion from the council now that he was here.
"Is there something else Owen?" asked Windu.
"Yes there is, one of my fellow Padawan friends has had a dream but he believes it to possibly be a vision" informed Owen.
"A vision, from a Padawan, such a thing is impossible" stated Mundi.
"Nothing is impossible with the force, continue" said Windu.
"Well in it he witnesses something so terrible that he wonders if it is a vision if there is a way to stop it from happening" informed Owen.
"Visions are often a way of telling Jedi key elements of the past or present but very rarely do they tell us of the future" stated Poof.
"Is there a way to change it?" asked Owen.
"Such a thing can be done but once a vision is given very rarely can you change what it dictates" stated Windu.
The answer disturbed Owen. "Why, is there something you wish to ask us?" wondered Windu.
Owen pondered the question for a moment. "No Masters, I better be going" said Owen heading for the turbo-lift.
As he headed for the turbo-lift Master Windu stopped him. "And Owen, we want you to watch your Master closely, now that you know how Arca truly feels we need you to be wary of his actions, with his unpredictability today I'm not sure any of us knows what he'll do next" stated Windu.
"Yes Masters, I will" replied Owen as he stepped into the turbo-lift.
"Hmm this Padawan friend of Owens sounds like he can see events before they happen, we must find out who this one is" said Mundi.
"Umm indeed" replied Yoda knowing that Owen was really the one who had the vision.
Meanwhile in the hanger area.
Arca and Owen were already prepared to leave in their brand new Jedi Stafighters.
"Despite what the council says you shouldn't be coming Owen" stated Arca.
"Master I am not here to spy on you I only wish to help you find this mysterious Sith" replied Owen.
"I know Owen and please forgive me for what I said in there, I am still your teacher and one day very soon I know you will become one of the orders greatest Jedi" stated Arca.
"Thank you Master, coming from you that means a lot to me" replied Owen.
"Let us leave then" said Arca getting into his Jedi Starfighter.
So with only one hope of finding the Sith Arca and Owen would travel to the gas planet of Taloraan to find the Sith's contact, with Arca in a perilous unpredictable state Owen would have to watch his Master closely at the behest of the council.