Corellia
Arkadi was sitting out on her porch, cradling baby John in her arms. Light was streaming down over the peaks and down the valleys, casting long shadows. It was still early morning on Corellia.
She had to stifle a yawn as she looked out over the rising sun, painting the sky a vibrant red.
She heard the sounds of someone walking up the front steps behind her. The sounds reverberating and crashing over the rocks as they ran up the steps.
John whimpered slightly.
Arkadi sighed to herself gently.
The steps reached the top and stopped, then they pressed the ringer. Arkadi got up as the attendant Droid opened the door.
She walked down the steps, slowly, laboring. The bundle of joy in her arms was prohibiting easy movement, and the aches and pains of her body, combined with lack of sleep, all contributed to making her pace sluggish.
She used the smooth wooden railing as support. Its texture smooth and ice cold under her fingers.
She saw that her visitor was the aide to her father that was rather fond of her. She frowned slightly at that, not knowing what he wanted.
He looked up at her and smiled at her brightly, clearly glad to see her again after all the time apart.
"Arkadi" He said nodding to her simply, trying to keep his voice neutral, but his voice was quivering with excitement.
She nodded back at him darkly.
"Look…I…um…I am here to help" He said, staring at his feet and then giving her a guilty look.
"Are you now?" She said, genuinely curious, tilting her head to one side and glancing at him, arching one eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah I am. In some small way. Nothing major." He sighed.
She looked at him urging him, begging him to continue with her eyes.
"Look, I, you know my opinion of Galen."
She nodded at him wondering where this was going, the twist and turns.
"You know I do not like him much, that I do not like his relationship with you, and how it turned out." He glanced at John and shifted his feet uncomfortably. "And I wish things could have worked out a different way between the two of us." He sighed again. "But, do not mistake my intentions. All of that is irrelevant. I am here to offer my services to help, just help. I have no intention of replacing Galen nor do I especially want to replace Galen. He is obviously the only person for you in the world, and I respect that. I just offer to be here, check in every now and then, and to bring you what funds I can from my…" his voice trailed off as he smiled chagrined. "space repair job."
She smiled at him. "I really appreciate the offer, I really do. I have no friends up here and I am all alone." She smiled sadly, feeling tortured and so alone, but grateful someone was there for her. But she also felt tortured and conflicted because she felt as though she was betraying Galen like this, but she had to survive.
"Well its not like I can come by that often anyways, I need to work hard just to stay afloat, and since some of it is going to help you, well there is that."
"I appreciate it." she smiled, this time genuinely. For all she knew Galen was gone. Her survival, in that context, could not have been a betrayal. She hoped that Galen would have understood that.
He was a Jedi.
"So what is going on in the world?" She asked, he was her only contact with the outside world.
He went onto explain the things that were going on in the world, that the economic bill proposed by her Father was being bitterly fought and debated.
She enjoyed the discussion greatly, sitting down at the table, and being entranced by the conversation.
She had the Droid serve crumpets for the both of them as the afternoon stretched into night.
The Jedi Temple
The Council was convened, a far too regular occurrence these days for the comfort level of most of the Masters gathered around the room.
The Force energy positively crackled, the room felt positively worried and on a knife's edge.
All the Masters felt each other's worry, which only served to increase their own feelings of unease.
Their fears were heightened by their own reliance on one another.
Their was only one center of calm. Too old and too wise to be perturbed by much anymore.
But even the Grand Master scowled around the room. The Jedi in many respects were not ready for this, and his deepest, darkest fears were that they had let themselves become this way, and that they would not be able to face the storm that was so clearly coming.
The scent was firmly on the Force, and he wondered how much he should actually tell the assembled crowd.
All he knew was that he had to get the Order ready, one way or the other.
And that the greatest Master that would help them achieve that end was now a Fallen Knight, missing.
And despite how much that the Grand Master personally agreed with Master Zaun on a wide variety of topics, and despite how much he valued Galen's council, the rest of Jedi Orthodoxy and the assembled Council, would never permit Galen's solutions or for Galen to be a member of the Council.
The irony was so great that it even surprised his seven hundred and forty eight year old self. That the greatest Jedi that they needed, was the most hated Jedi that they had, and was the one that they needed the most.
He cleared his throat bringing the meeting to order.
"Much to discuss we have." He said.
The group peered at him curiously, and then the newest member of the order spoke "Attacks have been happening on the Outer Rim of the New Galaxy. Pilots have been going into Uncharted Space, to never return."
"That must be our first priority." The Second Master of the Order said.
"No, our mission, to gather information, it must be." the Grand Master said firmly. "Rushing into the fire, when not knowing the threat, dangerous that is."
"But we must do something." Another one of the Temporary Councils argued.
"Do something we will, considered our actions, must be, if war, we are to avert." The Grand Mastered iterated.
"And then there is the issue of Master Zaun falling." One of the female Councilors breathed.
"Ha, good riddance." Another Councilor said.
A spike of anger shot through the Grand Master. "Good riddance you say? Able to defeat Death he was, needed him we did."
The Masters fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"If war it is to be, then be ready we must, or all is lost." The Grand Master set grimly.
The Dark Planet
Death and Galen had been there for several months, and for not a single day did the sun rise or set, just a constant darkness about the whole planet. Sometimes it was dark and oppressive, and other times it was a bit on the light side. Never daylight, but less dark.
They could never see that far.
The shuttle made the perfect base for them, as it had arrived mostly intact, just none of the flight systems had worked, but it was easily defendable, provided good shelter.
But the most amazing thing about the whole incident was that most of the supplies had made it intact, and the supplies that he had added. The containers were air tight, and literally bolted down to the floor to prevent them from being sucked out by decompression. The ship was clearly built to survive.
Add onto that the Mercenaries had their own food stuffs, richer, darker, and so much better for you than the Protein Packs that he got from the station.
They were beginning to run low on this food though, and Galen was worried, terrified actually of the possibility when they ran out.
Galen's hypothesis about the planet was confirmed. It was literally coated in the Dark Side of the Force. Evil energies whirled around him obscuring everything, but yet at times it was light and he could see through the darkness, not far, but far enough to scout out his surroundings on the edge of the jungle.
The food was poisoned and twisted by the Dark Side, as were the creatures, and while it was possible to heal it through his knowledge of the Force, that would take a lot out of him when the time arrived.
They had spent much of their time here healing.
Galen, upon impact had suffered a concussion and a broken arm. Despite this they were able to make a caste for him and were able to explore the jungle.
They were hooted and hollered at, and had to kill two creatures with his Lightsaber.
They were also able to make a makeshift Lightsaber for Death out of supplies from the shuttle. It was not too powerful, but it gave Death something to do and to train with.
The Force was with them.
But much time had passed and now they were mostly healed. Galen's arm was out of the caste even though his fingers still hurt from time to time, and his arm was still numb. It was usable though and that is all that he wanted.
They were eating a rich hot stew, that was turning to ice quickly, the oppressive blackness of the planet seemed to take the heat and the energy out of the air.
Death stared at it suspiciously while he ate. Playing with it, and twirling it gently, before he scooped it up with the spork and stuck it in his mouth, chewing on it lightly.
"Galen, what happened to my father?"
Galen looked up and Death was peering at him curiously, full of wonder and suspicion etched on his face.
Galen had expected this, and had an answer, despite the difficulty of it. It just surprised him that it had taken months upon months for the question to be asked. But they had been busy surviving.
"Well he was killed, by a group of men, I could not stop them, they ambushed him and by the time I came upon him it was too late."
"But my father never traveled with anyone." Death revealed.
"I did not travel with him, but I knew of him. I am sorry things had to be this way."
Death did not know how to take the news. His father always preached ruthless and unceasing devotion to strength and passion. That those were the only ways to survive, and a misstrust of all things that were outside of his sphere of influence. That to survive you had to be stronger than anyone else and to Death this had seemed wise.
Especially given the hard life that the two of them had led ever since he was born. Death usually had to trick or control women into helping them and taking care of him while his Father went off onto various adventures.
But over the last two months he found someone who was more then willing to do it, more then willing to replace the mother that he had lost all those years ago.
And Death could tell that his father was starting to love her in his own weird twisted way, which was opening up old wounds for all concerned.
But now she was dead, his Father was dead, and he had to rely on a perfect stranger for protection and training. Galen promised that he would be trained.
Death's Father insisted, that he was about ready to use the Force, and to begin that aspect of his life.
And now there was this man, coming out of the sky to fulfill that promise. Death struggled on whether he should trust Galen or not, but his scent was familiar.
But there was just something about him.
"Well shall we begin." Galen said picking up his lightsaber.
Death nodded.
