STORY CHRONOLOGY:
-LOJS V1: Beginnings
-LOJS V2: The Clone Wars
-LOJS V3: Revenge of the Sith
-LOJS V4: A Jedi in Exile
-LOJS V5: Rebirth
-LOJS V6: Children of the Force
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
LEGACY OF JARIK SHAN
Volume 1: Beginnings
It is a time of tranquility in the galaxy. For over a thousand generations the Galactic Republic has thrived under the protection of the JEDI ORDER, the guardians of peace and justice.
But sinister forces stir from the shadows, patient and watchful. Having kept hidden for a millennia, the ancient enemy of the Jedi Order has grown in power, causing civil unrest from within the heart of the Republic itself.
However, one Jedi Master will discover that dark forces are not the only ones who will soon emerge from the pages of history...
* : * : *
Galactic City, Coruscant - Core Worlds | 34 BBY |
3rd person POV...
The Sith Master stood silently on the balcony, observing the ever constant activity of the city planet's skyline, bustling with life even in the dead of night. The Sith Apprentice approaches from behind, silent and respectful.
"You summoned me, my master?" he questions softly.
"I have a mission for you," the Master states. "Do you recall the history of Lord Revan?"
"Yes my master. He was a powerful Sith Lord during the Old Republic, who was torn between the Jedi and Sith, eventually having offspring with a Jedi," the Apprentice answers, frowning. "May I ask why you speak of him?"
"There has been a great disturbance in the Force. It would seem that Revan's bloodline, is not as extinct as we thought," the Master reveals.
The Apprentice is caught off guard by this.
"...Master?" he inquires hesitantly.
"A young boy, strong in the Force, has come to my attention," the Master continues. "I have no doubt that he is a direct descendant of Darth Revan himself."
The Apprentice ponders this information for a short while.
"Where shall I find him my master?" he asks anxiously.
"Go to the Chandrila system. Bring the child to us," the Master orders, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Leave no witnesses, no evidence, no trace of your presence left behind."
The Apprentice bows his head in acknowledgement.
"It will be done, my master."
THE NEXT DAY...
Chandrila - Core Worlds
3rd person POV...
The young toddler of two years old waved his arms, stumbling along the ground up to the side of the bookcase. He curiously grabbed and pulled at several things on the shelves, squealing with delight when he knocked them over.
"Now now, Jarik," a woman's voice scolds, and he was then picked up into her arms. "Don't cause such a mess, you hear me?"
"Fwunny Mama!" Jarik giggles, poking at her face.
His mother smiled in amusement and gentle pushed his hands away, while he continued to try and touch her.
"Yes, you're a funny kid sweetie," she coos.
He sound of footsteps coming down the stairs reveals a man dressed in formally casual clothes. He smiled at the two fondly.
"Isn't that an adorable sight," he remarks.
"Yes it is," she agrees, turning to Jarik. "Say hi to daddy sweetie!"
"Hi Daddy!" Jarik squeals excitedly.
He chuckles, walking forwards and giving his son a playful pat on the head. "Nice to see you kiddo."
Jarik giggles, swatting away his father's hands before squirming a little bit more in her arms, wanting to play more.
"Alright little Jari, alright," she relents.
She crosses the living room, setting him in the play area, where a bunch of his toys were set up. He waddled along happily and sits in the middle of his toys, grabbing a few blocks. He happily starts to stack them up, trying to build his own little castle, before grabbing some toy figurines, which were styled into Jedi.
His mother and father watch him play fondly, before she turns to her husband.
"You have work again?" she questions.
"Yes, things have just been getting more difficult," he replies apologetically. "Tax rates just keep getting higher."
Lara sighs sadly.
"To the pits with these corporations. I can't believe they're allowed to be in the Senate," she says.
"Especially the Trade Federation," Marcus adds in distaste, to which she nods in agreement.
Jarik coos a little bit more, and they look over to see him lifting another block into place, but without touching it. Marcus is a little surprised and unsure of how to react, but Lara just smiles at the sight.
"He's growing stronger," she says softly.
"I still have to admit it is a little bit weird to see him doing that," Marcus says, though not rudely.
"It's just a family heirloom you know," she replies knowingly.
"Have you ever... umm... considered... giving him to the Jedi to train? They would take him in," Marcus hesitantly points out.
Lara's response is immediate.
"No, not unless absolutely necessary," she says firmly. "Besides, I can train him about the Force myself, you know this."
"I know Lara, and I don't want to give him up either," he replies in agreement. "But I also know that there would be no danger anymore; at least I don't believe so."
She sighs, facing him fully.
"Maybe not. But I don't fully trust the Jedi either. And if people discover his heritage..." she trails off anxiously
"I know Mandalorians won't be happy, but there aren't any Sith around either," he points out.
"So the Jedi believe," Lara murmurs, shaking her head. "They can't sense it on Coruscant, but I can sense it here. So could my father. There's a darkness in the galaxy. Sith, or otherwise, there's something out there.
Marcus looks at her sadly and they glance back at little Jarik, who looks up at them with a wide smile, which they return softly.
"Fair enough," he says in acknowledgement. "I certainly won't complain."
"And I'm glad," she replies.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER...
In the late evening, Marcus returns back home from his job to their simple house out by fields and forests, away from any major cities. He parks his speeder by the house and gets out, heading for the door. Opening it, he steps inside and spots Lara sitting on the floor with Jarik in her lap, helping him with the Force.
"Now, little Jari, you have to raise an arm out and focus. Concentrate like this," she says softly.
She raises an arm towards the toys and two of the toy blocks gently hover above the ground, making Jarik coo in delight.
"Can I lift more?" he squeals eagerly.
"Of course you can, just make sure you focus on it, ok?" she tells him.
Jarik nods his head eagerly, and then turns towards the blocks, raising both of his arms towards it. He frowns, tongue stuck out in concentration, and tries to lift the blocks. Two of them start wobbling, slowly rising to the air, and Jarik makes a few quiet grunts of exertion. After raising about a foot into the air, they fall back to the ground, much to his disappointment and sadness.
"Aww, I can't do it!" he whines, tears starting to well in his eyes a little bit.
"Hey, shh shh, it's okay Jarik," Lara soothes, leaning her head down to look at him. "This things just take time, you'll get it."
"Really?" he asks, sniffling a little bit.
"Really," she says with a reassuring smile.
Jarik stops crying, and becomes happier again, grinning up at his mother, before letting out a wide yawn.
"Looks like it's time for bed little Jari," Lara says in amusement, noticing Marcus out of the corner of her eyes.
She picks Jarik up into her arms and then stands up while he rubs his eyes tiredly.
"Say goodnight to Daddy before you go to bed, okay?" she tells him.
"Goodnight Daddy," he says, waving at him.
"Goodnight son," he says, smiling at him.
Lara and Marcus share a look, smiling at each other, before she moves towards the stairs and starts heading up towards Jarik's room. Marcus lets out a sigh, tired from the long day at work, and moves to head for the couch, before the doorbell suddenly rings. Frowning in confusion, he turns back, wondering who could be at his doorstep at such an hour and opens the door.
A man in a black cloak with a hood up stood in the doorway, catching Marcus by surprise. The red and black tattoos on his face, and the fierce expression make him a little wary of this stranger, who he could just barely see had horns underneath the hood, identifying him as a zabrak.
"May I help you sir?" he questions.
"Yes, you can. I'm a member of the Jedi Order, and it has come to our attention that you have a child that is Force sensitive," he says with a smile, though it felt cold and harsh. "I was sent here to possibly retrieve this child, and bring him to the Temple on Coruscant, to learn the ways of the Force."
Marcus frowns, feeling more uneasy by this.
"I'm afraid you must have the wrong place Master Jedi. Our child isn't Force sensitive," he replies.
At the foot of the stairs, Lara slowly steps down, looking at the doorway cautiously with narrowed eyes, feeling something off.
"Perhaps you may not know, which is not uncommon," the man says dismissively. "But it is of utmost importance, and I have to take him quickly. It is a dangerous time for Force sensitive children, as there are rumors that some have been kidnapped."
"Well we won't have anything to worry about Master Jedi. Our son, is not a Force sensitive," Marcus replies more firmly, not liking where this was going.
At the foot of the stairwell, Lara is tense, very cautious and wary.
"Sir, you must give your child to me," the zabrak says, his voice turning to more of a growl.
"I'm afraid not sir. In fact, can you prove that you are a Jedi?" Marcus challenges.
The zabrak's eyes suddenly flash a bright yellow, and Lara widens her eyes in horror. He reaches for his belt slowly.
"Very well, if you insist..."
"Marcus! GET BACK!" Lara suddenly screams.
She thrusts her arms out and then whips them back, using the Force to yank Marcus towards her, causing him to yelp in surprise just as a red lightsaber flashes out, slicing where he once was. She catches him, preventing him from falling over and then thrusts an arm out at the Zabrak, pushing him away and slamming the door shut with the Force. The zabrak yells in rage as he was forced away, the door slamming in his face.
"What was that?!" Marcus cries out in shock.
"It's Sith!" Lara exclaims in horror.
Marcus takes this in within several moments, shocked at what Lara was saying, before quickly rushing her upstairs.
"We have to leave, come on!" he exclaims.
They run up the stairs at full speed when the front door is blown open, slamming against the far wall with a violent crash as Darth Maul storms into the house, lightsaber ablaze. He senses the two rushing up the stairs and quickly tries to follow after them.
"You will not escape!" he roars.
Lara whips around on the way to Jarik's room and slashes an arm, using the Force to pull down a bookshelf to block the hallway, and opens a couple of other doors. While Marcus dashes into their room to get their things and send out a distress call, she makes for Jarik's room, slamming the door open and speeding towards his bed. Behind her, she can hear the sound of Maul's lightsaber slashing through the obstacles.
"Mama? What's that?!" Jarik cries out fearfully in confusion.
"We've gotta go honey, come on!" she exclaims, quickly scooping him up into her arms.
"Well well," Maul growls, and she whips around to see him in the doorway like the angel of death, yellow eyes glowing. "What have we here?"
Jarik screams in fear and buries his face into Lara's shoulder who turns to the side, holding him protectively in her arms.
"Don't you lay a hand on my son!" she says fiercely, glaring at him.
Maul just chuckles sinisterly, his voice sending chills down Lara's spine. She never expected to encounter a wielder of the dark side before, much less a Sith.
"Give me the boy, and I will spare your insignificant life," he growls.
"Never!" she retorts angrily, ready to protect him with her life.
He scowls, snarling angrily like a rabid beast and prepares to rush forwards when suddenly Marcus comes charging from behind, wielding an armored gauntlet, and nails him in the back of the head with a powerful punch. The Sith assassin stumbles forward with a surprised grunt and whirls around to cut his attacker apart. However, with startling speed only a highly skilled warrior could have, Marcus evades the swing and thrusts his gauntlet forward, which unleashes a blast of concussive energy that sends Maul flying into a shelf, which then collapses on top of him.
"Marcus―!" Lara gasps in amazement.
"No time, come on!" he exclaims, grabbing her arm.
The two run out of Jarik's room and then down to the end of the hall, where a window sat, showing the fields and forest beyond. Marcus grabs a chair without pause and throws it at the window, shattering it into pieces.
"We'll have to jump!" Lara warns him.
"I can handle it, lets go!" he replies swiftly.
Together, the two hold their hands and jump out of the second floor window, Jarik still held securely in Lara's other arm. She uses the Force to cushion their landing, and they both land on the ground. It was now dark out, the two moons bright in the night sky. Large trees covered the landscape on their left, and on their right was a large field, at the end of which was a small river. A loud yell, full of outrage sounds from the house, and Lara knows that the Sith was going to be outside and chasing them in moments.
"We'll never be able to outrun him in time, and he'll be on us before we can reach the speeder!" Lara says in helpless panic.
"Mama, Daddy, what's happening?" Jarik whimpers, and Lara quickly strokes his head.
"It'll be alright sweetie, nothing will happen to you," she soothes, her voice catching a little bit.
Marcus glances back up at the broken window, then back at Lara, a pained expression coming across his face. Sensing what he was about to do, she widened her eyes in horror.
"No!" she protests.
"I'm sorry Lara, but I have to," he says sadly.
"Please, t-there must be another way!" she pleads desperately, tears welling in her eyes.
"You have to go, get out son out of here safe. I'll hold him off!" he says more firmly, his eyes hardening.
"Marcus, no!" she protests in anguish.
"Just go!" he shouts, shoving her away from him and towards the tall grass, further out of the light of the house.
There were tears in his eyes as well.
"I love you," he whispers.
Maul then appears at the window, about to jump down before several stun blasts shoot in his direction. He deflects them with his lightsaber and snarls, narrowing his eyes on Marcus, who was dashing towards the forest. He then jumps to the ground, his anger and rage at Marcus overtaking him fully, and chases after him.
"YOUR CHILD WILL BE MINE!" he roars in outrage.
"Come and get me then!" Marcus yells back.
Lara watches in anguish, tears in her eyes before she disappears into the fields of tall glass, sobbing to herself as she carries Jarik away to safety.
In the trees, Marcus continues firing at Maul, who easily evades or deflects the shots like child's play, approaching very fast. Soon, he lunges towards Marcus with a growl, intending on impaling him. However, Marcus throws away his stun blaster and rolls to the side, avoiding the red lightsaber, coming back up on his feet behind him. Maul turns around, snarling at him, yet also smirking in sick amusement.
"Pathetic fool," he spits out mockingly.
In response, Marcus pulls out two small vibroblade daggers in both of his hands, which spark to life with crackling red energy on the blades.
"I had a much different life before getting married," he retorts.
Scowling, Maul dashes forwards, swinging his blade at Marcus. However, Marcus blocks the strike with one vibroblade, and swings out with the other. Maul easily leans to the side to avoid the attack, and launches into a series of quick and deadly strikes. Marcus tries desperately to block them, his blades crackling as they clashed with the lightsaber, being forced back quickly. After seeing an opening from Maul's rage however, he takes it, stepping past his strike and then kicking his leg, slashing out with a vibroblade.
Maul stumbles back, slowly glancing at his arm, of which a small, smoldering cut was in his sleeve. Slowly looking up, his yellow eyes flare in absolute outrage, causing Marcus to back up uneasily.
With a roar, Maul then charges forwards, his lightsaber swinging at insanely fast speeds, delivering blows with great strength. Marcus attempts to block several of them, but soon the blades are destroyed at the hilt by Maul's saber strikes, and then his left arm is cut clean off. He yells out in agony, collapsing onto his back, glancing at the stump of his arm in horror and pain. A heavy boot is then pressed onto his chest, and a red saber is held to his throat.
"Where is the child?!" he snarls.
Marcus grits his teeth, grimacing in pain, yet still manages to send a defiant glare back at the Sith.
"He's long gone by now, darjetii!" he spat.
Maul's lightsaber was then swung at him, the red flash of a lightsaber the last thing that Marcus Shan would ever see.
Lara POV...
I rushed for the riverbed, trying desperately to get as far away from the house and the Sith as possible, clutching Jarik tightly in my arms. The poor boy, my son, he was so confused, and so frightened, it took everything I had to keep comforting him with the Force and not break down in tears.
Then I felt it.
The wave that hit me through the Force causes me to gasp, stumble, and come to a stop in the field, eyes widened in absolute horror and grief. Tears were streaming down my eyes as I quietly sobbed, feeling as Marcus's life ended. I glanced back, seeing the house and the forest in the far distance, the field of tall grass in between us.
"Mommy, where did Daddy go?" Jarik asks quietly with a whimper.
My breathe caught even more, as I looked down at my child, struggling to hold back my tears for his sake. The look of innocence and fear on his face was enough to break my heart even more than it already was.
"Daddy's fine sweetheart," I whisper to him soothingly, stroking a shaky hand through his hair. "He's protecting us from the bad guy. It'll be okay little Jari..."
He shivers, but accepts it, clutching tightly to me again. giving the house behind me another look, and sensing the Sith's presence, I continue to run as fast as possible. I didn't know what else to do, only that I had to get away as fast as possible. My son could not fall into the hands of the Sith. And no matter how I feel about them, I know the time has come, that the Jedi Order has to be warned of the Sith's return!
Then before I realize it, I come across a large river, one that leads directly to the capital of Hanna City over a few miles. I gasp in horror, as this river was way to wide for me to cross.
"No..." I whisper in complete hopelessness.
I feel like all is lost, when a comforting presence suddenly washes over me, causing me to look out at the river. Much to my shock, several feet in front of me was a ghost like figure forming out of pale, glowing smoke, taking the form of a woman. She wore a Jedi battle outfit, with two pigtails in her black hair, and a double bladed lightsaber on her belt.
"You can save him, Lara." she whispers, her voice echoing in my mind. "Destiny has chosen him."
Something tells me to look down, and in the water I see a small little raft with blankets: the perfect size for Jarik, floating there. I look back up to the woman, but she was already gone. But I know that she was a spirit from the Force. And I will not ignore that will of the Force.
Working fast, I kneel down and place Jarik into the raft, wrapping him in the blankets, he looks up at me in confusion, waving his small, stubby arms out to me with a fearful whimper.
"Shhh, shh, it's going to be alright sweetie," I whisper soothingly to him, stroking his head.
"Mama..." he says in content, immediately calming down.
I smile sadly at him through my tears, knowing that I couldn't join him, as this is where my story would end. It was too late for me, and it broke my heart to know that my little Jari would have to grow up without parents, scarred for life at the knowledge that we were killed. I prayed to the Force that my son would be protected, and that he will be able to fulfill his purpose, live a happy life.
In the distance, I then heard the echo of a furious yell, sounding closer now. I glanced back through the fields nervously, sensing that the Sith was approaching quickly. I... I would have to leave him now, but still I turned back to Jarik, giving him one last message.
"Mama, what's that?" he asks uneasily, but so full of innocence.
"No matter what happens, know that your father and I will always love you," I whisper to him.
He looks at me in confusion, and at the sound of a lightsaber slashing, I shut my eyes tightly, tears flowing through them, and push the raft away into the river. As the current starts pulling him away at a steadily increasing speed, he whimpers, desperately reaching out to me while I watch, tears filling my eyes.
"Mama!" he cries out, making my breath catch in my throat.
He was moving far down the river, the darkness slowly obscuring him when the Sith storms up behind me, lightsaber ablaze. I whip around to face him, glaring at him through my tear filled gaze. His cold, wild yellow eyes flare angrily at me, analyzing me with contempt and disgust.
"Where is he?!" he demands.
"Out of your reach Sith," I spat furiously.
He growls, approaching dangerously and dragging his lightsaber across the ground.
"Wrong, answer woman! NOW WHERE IS THE CHILD!?" he roars, jabbing the lightsaber in my direction.
I narrow my eyes at him, no longer afraid. This was the will of the Force, and that is all I, or any member of my bloodline since Revan have, and will, obey.
"I will never tell you," I reply coldly, with firm determination.
His yellow eyes flash with fury, and he stabs his lightsaber forwards, directly through my chest, and through my heart. I gasp in shock and pain, glancing down at the lightsaber that was stabbed all the way to the hilt, and then back up at the Sith, his yellow eyes piercing my soul.
"He... will be more... than you ever will," I hiss.
He violently retracts his lightsaber, and I collapse onto my knees, vision fluttering into darkness. As I slump onto my side, barely feeling the pain, the last thought I have is about my husband, my child... my legacy.
'I love you, little Jari.'