Chapter 1
14 year old Leia Organa carefully fixed her brown cloak she wore. To hide her identity as she moved through the small port city of Ashu. Located on the unknown planet of Lyluxes. A small planet so insignificant it wasn't even recorded in the Galactic databases. Leia, her bodyguard, and her instructor made their way across the barren world. In a landspeeder across an open field, rocky terrain and what was probably the most densely populated city on the planet. With only a few 10s of thousands of residents Leia would guess generously. Silence had formed between the 3 of them as they made their journey across the world. Leia now understood why she had been assigned a bodyguard. In the distance only 3 clicks away was a massive building unlike any other on the planet. The building had massive white towers that led into the air and came to a point. Sunlight glimmered off the building like a majestic light in the distance. In front of it was the statue of some clocked man holding up what looked to be a lightsaber or at least that's what Leia assumed. "Are we heading for that…temple?" Leia asked, uncertain of what it was.
"That would be correct Princess," her instructor known as Taskmaster Alerka said. Leia wasn't even certain that was the woman's real name. Alerka was a woman in her late 40s to early 50s. Human, with black hair, brown eyes and wore a brown clock underneath a standard Imperial uniform. Leia looked at her bodyguard who didn't even shift at the confirmation. What had Alerak gotten them into now? Leia just sat and looked at the building as the strangest feeling overcame her sense. A feeling of warmth, happiness and serenity seemed to take over and Leia relaxed. Something was strange about this, but Leia just embraced herself into the feeling. It took an hour for them to get out of the city, cross the vast field and finally approach the temple. Which was even more massive than anticipated. Leia would guess it was probably 50 meters tall and 20 meters in length.
Clearly the building had been maintained as weeds grew everywhere wild and free. Animals seemed to flock towards the building as if on guard upon them entering; some of the animals fled, others studied them with curiosity. Alerka pulled the speeder to the side. "Kanos I need you to standard guard and protect the speeder Princess and I are going inside to destroy the temple. The locals won't be too happy about what we are about to do. On top of that this is a test, a test that only you Princess can pass. Leave your sword behind, it will do you no good." Leia moved her hand into her cloak and pulled out the sword only to drop it. She hadn't been allowed to use a blaster outside of the Academy's blaster practice. Most of her training had been in melee weapons. Stick fighting, sword and vibroblade practice. When she would move to carrying a blaster was a question that Leia had wondered. Sure the intensity of her training was improving every day and she was stronger, and faster than before. But she would've still liked the ability to fight with one.
"What kind of test?" Leia asked.
"Only you can figure that out," Alerka said. With that she walked up to the door and placed her hand on a drawing. It was of pictures she couldn't understand or decipher, but the door opened very quickly. "The rest is in your capable hands Princess, but be warned. These places are tricky, filled with mazes and puzzles. And will often test you with illusions of reality. Other times you will have to use your wit to complete your goal. Jedi Temples are not places for children and filled with danger. You are looking for an artifact that the Emperor wants in his collection. Find it and return to me if you fail that means you will be dead. Success is your only option and remember what I told you. Only when you are passive, calm and at peace will the secrets of the universe unveil themselves to you. Now go." Leia looked at the woman then her bodyguard and walked inside as the door shut behind her.
Leia walked through the door as the temple door shut behind her. And so it begins sister, our revenge, Alerka thought to herself. A small, but saded smile crossed her face. Behind her Kir Kanos was looking at her carefully. He just wouldn't understand anything that she wanted to do. "Relax Kanos. Princess is in no serious danger. She'll make it out alive, if not you can slay me here." Kir Kanos stood at 1.8 meters tall, with brown hair and brown eyes and beneath his cloak. He wore one his Royal Guard outfit, the man had been suspicious of her since the day he had been assigned to Leia. The man was one of Emperor Palpatine's most skilled warriors. "Now then you will be on guard. I must mediate about now."
"Of course Taskmaster," Kronos said. "I'll keep your word."
Leia rubbed her arms together as she walked into the main area of the temple. It was quiet, unnervingly silent. A cold draft had formed in the temple with what she presumed to be at least decades old stale air. It was definitely grand with its white halls, a strange crystal seemed to be everywhere. And the walls were designated with symbols, murals and more. It was sterile, almost like a more aesthetically pleasing visit on an Imperial Star Destroyer. "So this was the inside of a Jedi Temple," its main area was huge with a tree growing inside it. "Hey where do I go?" Leia looked around as she could hear her heartbeat turning around and she placed her hand on the temple door. Trying to find an out, but she couldn't find the door.
Without much choice Leia started to walk looking around the room. Why did she have to do this? It split off into multiple hallways each of them different from the rest. Leia peeked in between several of them and she took a step down one of the largest hallways. Only to hear a chirping sound. Her brown eyes shifted from the hallway to the origins of the sound to see an animal. The animal was four legged, standing about 1 meter tall in height and much smaller in width. It was a long furry animal with golden yellow fur, yellow eyes it was almost majestic. Leia approached the creature curious as it was represented by several of the murals around the temple. The creature lifted its head and made a chirping sound as if to catch Leia's attention. "Well, aren't you adorable?" Leia said, carefully approaching the strange creature. It chirped again and the strange sounds filled the temple with life itself.
Soon more of the chirping appeared in different pitches. It was a symphony to the ears. Slowly Leia approached the thing where it stood and she reached out to stroke its fur. It was as soft as winter's first kiss. The creature seemed to chirp with pleasure as she did it, "Well you're cute I've never seen a creature quite like you." For a few short brief moments Leia was allowed to pet its fur before the creature jumped up from the ground. It moved around her and then lurched upwards snagging her cloak and started down a path. "Hey get back here!" Leia shouted at the creature which ran at incredible speed and Leia followed it.
The creature turned down the 3rd right most pathway then made a sharp right. In the doorway a white light appeared as the creature dashed inside. Leia followed and covered her eyes as the whole world turned to light. "Leia…Leia…Leia!" Slowly Leia removed her hands that were covering her face. Leia's eyes were staring into a blue sky slowly ascending was a man's hand. "Leia answered me already, this isn't funny anymore." Leia took the hand and slowly stood up to see a strange man looking down at her with a conference on his face. The man was of modest height, with dirty brown hair, sunkissed skin, blue eyes with a small scar across his left eye. He wore a dark brown robe with a belt around his waist and a cylinder-like device was attached to it. A small detail that caught Leia's attention was that his right hand was robotic. "Hey are you okay? Should I take you to the infirmary?"
"I'm fine," Leia said and looked around utterly confused. This was a place that Leia had no clue about. In the center of the area was a giant white tree, the ground was a beautiful area with several places one could openly train at. It was also peaceful, the most serene that Leia had ever felt. "Where am I?" Leia asked the man who folded his arms across his chest.
"The Jedi Temple training ground," the man said with a light chuckle. "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting weird."
"I thought the Emperor destroyed the Jedi Temple?" Leia asked the man who was now studying her. He looked at her and then over his shoulders to somewhere else and Leia followed his gaze. Towards a woman who was gazing at them he beckoned the woman who got up from her position on the ground and approached them. Leia looked at the woman she was a beautiful almost like an angel descended upon the world. With brown hair, brown eyes and wore a beautiful white dress that seemed to follow her in the wind.
"Do you know about any Emperor going around destroying Jedi Temples?" The man asked the woman who looked at her. "Your daughter is having a moment I think."
"Daughter?" Leia asked, "Look crazy I don't even know who you are. My name is Leia Organa. I'm the crowned princess of Alderaan. I don't even know who you are." The 14 year old spat defensively. Both of the adults looked at one another with confusion at this point.
"I think we should take her to the infirmary," the woman said. Leia reached and pulled out her sword and held it up. The woman looked at her confused as the man took a step back and Leia did the same building up some distance. She wasn't the most skilled, but Leia could defend herself with a blade. The mysterious woman lifted her hands and approached her, "Leia calm down its me. Your mother, Padme Amidala your scarring your father. Are you feeling okay?"
"Step back!" Leia shouted and swung the sword only for the man to ignite a blue blade and counter attack her. The two of them locked blades as Leia wasn't about to let this go.
"Anakin, don't hurt her!" The woman shouted, "She's probably stressed from the mission on Naboo she has to go on."
"I know, I know," the man said with that he used his other hand and Leia's body went flying through the air. Leia winced out as the man returned the blue blade back into the cylinder which it finally clicked in Leia's mind. Lightsaber. That was the world in which she was looking for. He had a lightsaber just like Lord Vader only this one was blue compared to Vader's red. "I was this way too when I was younger, but I'm not going to let her hurt you either." The man's eyes turned towards her, "Now then Leia let me help you."
"Stay away from me!" Leia shouted as she moved back towards a staircase wall. With that she mustered strength inside herself and an energy she had never felt before exploded. Sending the man flying backwards. The room shifted and the man spoke with anger in his voice.
"You shouldn't have done that," which was followed by the rhythmic breathing of a man she knew all too well. Lord Vader appeared in the shadows with his red lightsaber in tow. Standing up, the man who was known as Anakin disappeared into the stanching mechanical nightmare that haunted her dreams. The room around them changed as Leia took a step back to realize she was standing over on the edge of some platform overlooking a valley of darkness below. Looking at the menace of Darth Vader he spoke towards her, "You will never finish your mission on Naboo princess. The quest for the truth about Padme must remain buried where it lies." With that the man jumped into the air which gave enough time for Leia to roll right underneath the man. Who jumped off into the abyss below. Shaken Leia was breathing heavily as the world shifted again, but this time it was different. Back to normal as the world around her disappeared and out came the stone hallway with the sound of chirping.
That creature was making that sound again and Leia was distracted from her thoughts. Away from the visions, Illusion of reality. That small creature returned in sight and Leia ran after the thing which started running again. It was trying to lead her somewhere, but where? Leia ran down several more hallways if Leia stopped running the creature would turn towards her. Trying to taunt her before dashing away again. "Get back here!" Leia shouted as the creature ran into a room that was very different from the rest. The door behind Leia closed again trapping her inside the room. "Great, where are we?" Leia asked the thing which only chirped happily and it was surprisingly calm. She approached the creature, but it wasn't running anymore it just rolled itself into a ball and laid down. Walking over to it Leia finally snatched her cloak back from the creature and put it back on over her. Looking around Leia moved her hands over the smooth crystal walls trying to find some exit, but no dice. Finally she moved over to the creature and sat down.
"What would Taskmaster Alerka say?" Leia thought a moment before the woman's words made their way back to her. "When you are calm, passive and at peace the universe will unveil itself to you." That phrase had been burned into her memory. There wasn't a day go by that Leia hadn't heard the phrase. Sighing Leia took a seat down crossed legged right next to the creature. Straightened her back and closed her eyes; meditation was the very first thing she had learned at the academy. The very first thing that Taskmaster Alerka had taught her and she'd practice everyday to the point it was a part of her routine. And for the first time since she had started meditating the entire universe opened itself up to Leia.
"You were the chosen one-" a man's voice shouted.
"Once more the sith shall rule the galaxy," another voice much more sinister said.
"You may fire when ready," a voice that Leia was all too familiar with. She could feel everything across the galaxy. It was as if a blanket had been removed from her revealing itself to a new light. From one end of the galaxy Leia could feel happiness, sorrow and madness. She could hear the screams of agony, and decay while the symphony of love and compassion were everywhere. Somewhere out there in the galaxy a feeling of impending demise was everywhere. Whatever this was, it was something that felt powerful and Leia reveled in it. She pushed out further and further with her mind as her mind stretched so did the flowing current of reality. It expanded and so did the pure wave of emotions that overcame her body. Leia didn't fight, it only expanded further and further out of reality.
Leia meditated for some time enjoying this new found sensation. Pushing further and further out while enjoying the very nature of this sensation. She reached out stretching her hand to open her mind. Bathing herself in the very ocean of reality as she slowly drowned in it. Leia let go of her emotions, her senses, her reality to taste this flavor the universe had finally unveiled a part of reality she was unaware of. A new dimension, but elsewhere in the galaxy unbeknownst to Leia someone else was paying attention.
Leia finally left the temple with the strange object in hand. It was a mask of some sort heavy to hold and radiating with rage. Whatever this artifact was, it wasn't a good thing for the Emperor to have. Why did he want it? It was a pondering question that Leia pushed aside as she stepped outside the temple to see Taskmaster Alerka locked in meditation while her bodyguard Kir Khanos was clearly bored out of his mind. "So you succeeded did you? Excellent, now move some short distance away if you'd please?" Leia walked over to the woman and suddenly the sound of cracking took place. It was loud Leia turned her attention to see the Jedi temple was cracking and began to fall apart. Soon as if all at once the entire temple collapsed onto the ground it was one of the loudest sounds Leia had ever heard off. "If you are unaware that artifact in your hand was the only object keeping the temple together. Now that it's been removed the building is beginning to crumble." With that Alerka stood up from the ground and brushed off her uniform.
"You were in there for 3 days," Kanos noted. Leia looked at the man bewildered.
"3 days?" Leia asked. "I-"
"I told you Princess," Alerka cut in the middle of the conversations. "Jedi temples are not places for children. They are tricky, filled with illusions, puzzles and traps. These things happen when you wander into these types of places. You have what we wanted its best we start going." Leia looked at the man who was looking at her concerned, "Now then let's go before the local realize we've destroyed this temple they worship." And with that the 3 of them departed in the background Leia watched as the temple cracked and eventually crumbled into the ground with a large enough boon. It was a very real possibility she could've been inside that thing when it collapsed.
