The Present, 22 BBY
The bridge of the Resolute, enroute to rendezvous with her home fleet at Taanab.
Anakin stood at the console in the briefing room, studying the tactical holographic map on it. He rubbed his eyes wearily, as he turned to the voice behind him.
"When was the last time you got some sleep?" came the voice of Obi Wan Kenobi.
"Almost two days ago" Anakin replied somewhat slightly wearly, as Obi Wan joined him at the console.
"Perhaps you should go rest for a few hours".
"I'll rest when we catch Dooku and end the war" Anakin said clenching his fist, as they made their way to the main viewport of the bridge.
"I understand you wish to end this war Anakin, but you still need to keep strong. You are human after all" Obi Wan said solemnly.
"Admiral, how long until we meet up with the fleet at Taanab" Anakin asked, as he turned his attention to the admiral at the station near him.
"We should reach them within the hour sir" admiral Yularen responded.
"Good, once we meet them, we need to-" Anakin was cut off, as they suddenly pulled out of hyperspace.
"What just happened" Anakin asked.
"Status report lieutenant" Yularen ordered, as he turned down to the officer in the crew pit.
"Sir, there appears to be nothing wrong with the ship. And no one pulled us out, it appears that we just simply stopped sir".
"That's impossible" Anakin said, turning to Obi Wan. "No ship just stops on it's own, there has to be some malfunction with the hyperdrive".
"No I don't think so Anakin" Obi Wan said, still looking out the viewport. "Do you feel that?".
Anakin closed his eyes and reached out into the Force. After a moment, he felt the odd tremor. He opened his eyes and turned to his former master. "Yes, it feels strange".
"And I'm willing to bet it has something to do with that" Obi Wan said, as he pointed to the large orange and red looking cloud of gas not too far from their ship.
"A nebula, what does that have to with anything?" Anakin asked.
"Admiral" Obi Wan asked, turning his attention from the viewport. "What's the closest star system from here?".
"We are within one parsec from Taanab sir".
"And is this nebula on any known charts?".
"No sir, not on any that we know of".
"I have a theory" Obi Wan said inquisitively, turning back to Anakin. "That whatever pulled us out of hyperspace, and is causing that tremor, is in that nebula".
"Admiral" Anakin said. "Get us a scan of that nebula, and find out if there's anything out of the ordinary with it".
"Of course sir" Yularen nodded, as he turned his attention back to the station he was at. After a few minutes, he called over the two jedi. "Generals, I believe we found something".
As Anakin and Obi Wan made their way to the admirals station, they heard him mutter something in frustration. " What have you found admiral" Anakin asked.
"It appears that there is a ship near the center of the nebula" Yularen replied, pointing to the flashing image on the screen in front of you.
"Is it Republic?" Anakin asked.
"Yes sir, but that's where things get interesting, and a little odd".
Anakin and Obi Wan exchanged a glance, before turning back to the admiral. "What's odd about it?" Anakin asked.
"Well the ship does show up as Republic,the thing is-" he paused, still unable to grasp what he was about to say.
"The thing is what, admiral?" Obi Wan asked.
"The thing is sir, is this ship hasn't been seen in over three thousand years".
"Well, this has certainly gotten interesting" Obi Wan said, sighing deeply and stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"How is that even possible" Anakin asked astoundedly.
"We're not quite sure sir, we think there's a possible flaw in the records system" Yularen responded, glancing back to the officers working at their stations, and back to the two Jedi. "We've even checked them multiple times in case there was a flaw. But everything we've turned up so far confirms it".
"I think this warrants an investigation" Obi Wan said, turning to Anakin.
" I'll get Rex to assemble a squad to come with us" Anakin nodded in reply.
"Good, Admiral" Obi Wan said, turning to the admiral. "Keep the ship here and on standby in case we need reinforcements".
"Yes sir".
"Hopefully we can get to the bottom of all these mysterious events" Obi Wan said, as he and Anakin made their way off the bridge.
It had been about twenty minutes since their unscheduled drop from hyperspace. Now they had a Nu-class attack shuttle loaded and ready in one of the Resolutes hangar bays.
As Anakin was about to board, he stopped and turned to regard the voice behind him.
"Leaving without me again master?" the voice of his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano asked.
"Come on snips, you know that I need you here more than out there right now" Anakin replied.
"Hmm, I'll bet".
"I'm serious. If something was to happen to us, you be the one to get us out of trouble".
"Give me a job I don't already have" Ahsoka replied slyly with a smirk.
"Very funny, now head back to the bridge and be ready in case we need reinforcements" Anakin said.
"Whatever you say master" she said as she turned and started to walk away. "Just try to stay out of trouble".
"Hey, you know me" he replied slyly.
"I know, that's why I said that" Ahsoka said, as she nodded to Obi Wan as they passed each other.
"Ready to go?" Obi wan asked, turning to his former padawan.
"Ready as I'll ever be I suppose" Anakin replied, as he stepped into the transport with Obi Wan behind him. A few moments after they boarded, the boarding ramp closed up and the ship soon lifted up and flew out of the hangar bay.
They had landed in the mysterious ship a few minutes ago, and they were now making their way to the ships bridge. As they continued through the ship's dark corridors, they only grew more and more wary and suspicious.
"This is very strange" Obi Wan said. "No signs of life, or even any droids for that matter".
"It's almost as if it was just abandoned and left to be space junk" Anakin said.
"Yes. The question is, why was it abandoned?" Obi Wan asked.
" I guess we'll find out one way or another" Anakin replied, as they continued on through the corridors.
As the reached the bridge, they found it to be like the rest of the ship so far: completely empty.
"R2" Anakin said to their little droid companion who'd accompanied them. "Plug into the main computer terminal and see what you can find".
R2 beeped and whirled several times in affirmation, as he rolled over to the droid access port not far from them.
"We should probably split up, we'd cover more of the ship" Anakin said, turning to Obi Wan.
"Good idea" he nodded in agreeance, as he turned to Captain Rex, Commander Cody and the squad of troops they'd brought with them. "Rex, take Cody, Fives and Spinner and check the back half of the ship. Anakin and I will take Echo, and Boil and check the other half. We'll meet up with you once we're done".
"Yes sir" Rex nodded, as led his group out of the bridge.
"R2" Obi Wan said, turning to the working little droid. "Find the ships schematics and send them to Rex and Anakin. We don't want to get lost in this place".
R2 beeped affirmatively, and went back to working at the terminal. After a few moments, he was the only one left on the bridge, as Obi Wan and Anakin took their group to search the rest of the ship.
Rex led his group through the dark corridors of the mysterious ship. This place was very strange, and that only heightened his awareness all the more, as they crept slowly through the ship, blasters ready to fire at the slightest hint of danger.
As they came to halt in the middle of a two way section in the corridor, they looked around for a moment.
"Where do we go now sir" Spinner, a new recruit to Obi Wan's 212th attack battalion, asked.
"Hmmmm" was how Rex responded, as he continued to observe their surroundings and what possible way to go. He holstered the blaster pistol in his right hand, and reached on his belt for the holographic projector.
As the blueish holographic schematic sprung to life, he turned to his group behind him. "We appear to be here" he said, pointing to the blinking red dot on the center of the schematic.
"This way leads to the living quarters" he pointed to their left. "And this way leads to the med bay" he pointed to their right, as he deactivated the hologram and returned it to his belt.
"Spinner and I can check the living quarters while you and Fives check the med bay" Cody suggested.
"Alright, meet back here when your search is complete. General Skywalker and general Kenobi will meet up with us here as well" Rex said, as he drew his right blaster pistol. Cody nodded and started down the corridor with Spinner behind him. Rex watched them for a moment, before starting down the opposite corridor with Fives behind him.
The large sliding doors opened with a small hiss, as Rex and Fives entered blasters raised and ready for any surprises. They both checked the room from the door, before cautiously moving in.
All seemed to be fine, until they found something.
"Captain" Fives called. "You should come see this".
"Well what have we here" Rex said, as he observed the figure in the medical capsule. A tall, muscular built man with short finger-length chocolate brown hair, dressed in silver armor.
"Is he still alive" Rex asked warily after a moment.
"I don't think so sir" Five's replied, shaking his head. "I tried to get these medical computers to tell me something, but there not giving me anything".
Rex looked back at the figure, before turning back to Five's. "See if you can open it, we should make sure. I'll contact general Skywalker and get him down here". Five's nodded and went to finding a release for the capsule, while Rex took a few steps away.
"General Skywalker. General Skywalker come in please" Rex said into the comlink built into the armor on his wrist.
"I think that about does it for this part of the ship" Anakin said, as he and Obi Wan exited the last room they needed to search. Obi Wan nodded, and they started down the corridor to regroup with the rest of their troops.
"It's all so strange, so far we have found virtually nothing. No weapons, rations, not even any
clothes or uniforms. This is getting more and more mysterious as we continue" Obi Wan said.
"Yeah, hopefully Rex has had better luck" Anakin said. Just as he said that, his wrist comlink started to go off.
"General Skywalker. General Skywalker come in please" came the voice of Rex.
"Go ahead Rex, what've you found?" Anakin asked, as they continued walking.
"We've found a body sir, here in the medbay" he replied, as Anakin and Obi Wan exchanged a glance.
"Is it dead?" Anakin asked.
"We're not sure sir. His body is in a medical capsule, but the computers aren't showing anything on his vitals. I have Five's checking him now, just to make sure".
"Alright stay put, we're on our way".
"Yes sir, we'll finish checking him and- wait" was all Rex said before they heard crashing and blaster fire, and then just static.
"Come on, sounds like they need help" Anakin said to Obi Wan. Obi Wan nodded, and they sprinted off down the corridor.
Five's had found the capsule release and was checking the man for signs of life. He reached over and grabbed the man's wrist to check for a pulse: nothing. He reached up to the man's neck: nothing. He stood up and turned his back to the figure, waiting for the captain to finish his report.
This would prove to be an unknown mistake. Because with his back turned, he wouldn't notice the pair of deep green eyes open.
The figure quickly took in the situation, and slowly and quietly, stood up behind the white armored soldier.
With quick speed, he grabbed the soldier and flung him into the computers, causing some to fall and break.
The other soldier barely had time to react, only able to draw his blaster and fire two shots. The figure dodged the shots, and tackled the soldier, disarming him.
Rex recoiled from the hit, and dropped into a fighting stance. He threw a punch, but missed as the figure dodged and grabbed his arm, throwing him into the capsule with a loud thud and grunt.
The figure heard others coming, so very quickly, he extended his hand and called on the force to bring his weapon from across the room to him.
It was almost perfectly synchronized.
Just as the figures weapon reached his hand, the doors slid open and the three blades ignited in unison. They all stood there for a moment, looks of shock and awe on their faces, before Obi Wan spoke.
"Who are you" he said determinedly, the blue blade of his lightsaber glowing and humming in his hand.
"Jedi".
"What did you say?" Obi Wan asked.
"Jedi" the man replied, as he became more aware of where he was, and why he was there. "Are you Jedi?".
Obi Wan and Anakin exchanged a hidden confused glance. "Yes, we are" Anakin replied, turning back to the man. "Who are you?".
The man's expression changed from one of confusion to relief. "I'm one of you" he responded, deactivating his lightsaber, and gestured to his armors shoulder guard. Obi Wan and Anakin were surprised, when they saw the familiar symbol of the Jedi order on it. "Jedi knight Jake Delarus, at your service. Might I ask who you two are?".
Obi Wan and Anakin looked at each other and then deactivated their lightsabers as well. "Alright, Jake. I'm master Obi Wan Kenobi and this is my former apprentice, Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker".
"Pleasure to meet you both. I'm sorry for roughing up your men, but after being asleep for so long, I forgot the whole reason I would wake up".
"How long have you been asleep?" Anakin asked.
"A long time, that's all I can tell you for now, the rest is classified" Jake replied, his face and tone turned serious.
"What do you mean 'classified, and what's going on here?" Anakin asked.
"I'll keep it short, I am on a very important mission for both the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic. Regardless if I told you now or not, you'd still take me to the council. I will tell you all you need to know once you take me there. It is vital I meet with them anyway".
"What makes you think we'd take you to the council?" Obi Wan asked inquisitively.
"You find an abandoned ship that hasn't been seen in over three thousand years in the middle of a nebula, and the only person on it wears Jedi armor, wields a lightsaber and says he's on an important mission for both the Jedi order and the Republic. Unless the order has changed procedure since I last checked, I can't think of a reason that you wouldn't".
"He does have a point" Anakin said.
"Very well, we'll take you to the council, and see what they think about all of this" Obi Wan said.
"Very good, shall we get going" Jake suggested. Obi Wan nodded and turned to led the group back to their shuttle. As they started to leave, Jake stopped and turned towards the bag not far from the medical capsule. He reached his hand out and called upon the force to bring it to him. In mere seconds, the bag flew to his hand and he slung it over his shoulder and rejoined the group.
A little while later, they landed back on the Resolute. As the boarding ramp dropped down, Ahsoka watched as her master and his group walked down the ramp. She was surprised to see the unfamiliar figure at the back of the group. He stood there for a moment looking around, as if he was taking in new surroundings.
"Welcome back Skyguy, glad to see you made it back in one piece. And apparently you made a new friend" she said, as the man joined them.
"Ahsoka Tano, meet Jedi knight Jake Delarus" Anakin announced, as Jake bowed slightly in respect. "Knight Delarus, meet my padawan Ahsoka Tano". Ahsoka returned his bow.
"A pleasure to meet you padawan" Jake said politely.
"Likewise" Ahsoka returned his compliment. "But I seem to be light on details master" she said, turning back to her master.
"I'll fill you in as soon as I can. Right now, we need to get him to the council as soon as possible" Anakin replied, gesturing to Jake.
"That may have to wait master. While you were investigating the ship, we received a transmission from Taanab. Apparently, the separatists launched an attack on the fleet. They were repelled, but the fleet lost a few ships, and some were pretty badly damaged. They've requested that we rejoin them as soon as possible".
"Alright, head to the bridge and have the admiral set course for Tanaab and get us there as quickly as possible". Ahsoka nodded, and left to go to the bridge.
"It seems that the council will have to wait a little bit" he said, turning back to Jake.
"It's all right, it sounds like there are more pressing issues at the moment"Jake replied, as they started to leave the hangar bay. "I am willing to lend any and all help I can to help you".
"That is greatly appreciated. I'll debrief you in on all you need to know about the Separatists right now" Anakin replied, as they made their way to the bridge.
In the next chapter, there will be a battle, and we'll see a duel as well.
Thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this story.
P.S. MasterKenobi25: Thanks for the comment man, it really made me happy that you liked the story so far. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.