STAR WARS DESTINY
EPISODE IV
CALM BEFORE THE STORM
For so long had he been watching.
For so long had he been with Darth Vorath, aiding him in his schemes.
For so long had he watched as the Dark Lord of the Sith's plans transpired.
Now it was time.
Vorath was now in search of the armor of Valtheran and the tomb of Kal-Teraz. He would aid the Sith Lord in both of these quests. And then he would be cast aside.
And the Dark Lords of the Old Empire would once again triumph.
CHAPTER ONE
Ever since its founding, the New Jedi Order had grown larger each year, though it was still far from the size of the Old Jedi Order. The new Jedi had also become more 'popular' with the inclusion of three relatives of the order's leader, Luke Skywalker. Their names were Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo, the three children of Han and Leia Organa Solo.
And as a plus, the oldest of the three-Jacen-was now being tutored by Luke Skywalker's apprentice, Toah Jarsan. Much to Toah's chagrin, however, Jacen proved to be a somewhat difficult student, mainly because of his strong view on the Force.
The two of them had been sent by Luke to find a location for a new Jedi Temple, for the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 was too small for the ever-growing order, and Luke did not wish to relocate to Coruscant for reasons unknown to Toah. Toah and Jacen had thus been led to the planet Ossus by Jedi Master Morin Tharr, who told them that it had once been the site of a Jedi library thousands of years ago.
When the Republic cruiser jumped out of hyperspace, Toah noticed that the elderly Jedi Master had forgotten to mention that Ossus was completely desolated.
Toah and Jacen boarded a Republic shuttle and took off from the hangar of the Home One-type Star Cruiser. The shuttle flew towards the planet and soared over the ruins of what Toah assumed was once a great city.
After flying over many hills, mountains, and forests, Jacen spoke to his master. "Where's the Jedi library?"
Toah glanced at his apprentice with a slight smile. "Master Tharr did say it was once here on Ossus. But I doubt it is still intact."
Jacen frowned. "Then why are we here if it's gone?"
"It's not all gone," Toah answered him. "I'm sure there is still something of it left. Once we retrieve any remaining holocrons or artifacts, we'll contact Coruscant to send replace the library with a new Jedi Temple."
The shuttle finally arrived at a ruined, stone-made building which Toah presumed was once the Great Jedi Library. As soon as the shuttle landed, the two Jedi walked down the landing ramp and pass the entrance leading into the building. Inside, the Jedi Library appeared less like a library and more like a tomb.
Books and artifacts were scattered everywhere, dust covering everything. In the corners of the room formed cobwebs, accompanied by what appeared to be scattered, rotting bones.
Naturally, Jacen was freaked out. "What happened here?" he exclaimed.
Toah shrugged. "I don't know. What ever it was, it happened a long time ago..."
"Obviously," Jacen muttered, glancing nervously at the skeletal corpses. He and Toah began searching the ruins for unique Jedi artifacts that could be passed on to the New Jedi Order. It did not actually take long for Toah to find a very intriguing relic.
"A holocron," he muttered to himself. "Just like the one Vorath showed me..."
Jacen rushed to his side. "A Jedi holocron?" he asked once he noticed the object. "Master Tionne taught me about those. They have knowledge of past Jedi Masters."
"I know," Toah murmured. "I've seen one before, long ago..." He paused before turning to face Jacen. "Go ahead and take this back to the shuttle. I'll keep looking for anything else."
Jacen nodded and took the holocron, leaving Toah alone among the ruins of memories....
* * *
His mind was lost as it entered a Force vision. From what Toah could tell, it was of the past. Two Jedi Knights, one a short alien, the other human, stood in the same place in which he now stood.
"It's all gone," said the human Jedi. "All of it...gone."
"There is no emotion, Master Lamar," the alien Jedi said. "Only peace. We can not change the past. Those who died shall remain in our hearts and memories."
"I just want Exar Kun to pay for this," the Jedi named Lamar muttered.
"I sense anger in you," the other Jedi said sternly. "You must rid of that. Exar Kun will be brought to justice."
* * *
Rain pounded heavily on the steel exterior of the Mon Calamari weapons testing facility on the oceanic world of Mon Cala. Inside the base stood four individuals: the Togruta Jedi Knight known as Taana Di, the Siniteen mercenary Smarty, the Arconan smuggler Dem Hazon, and the Mon Calamari weapons tester Naavel.
Behind the large, transparisteel window before them was an all-white testing room, which held a supposedly dangerous, fighter-mountable rocket launcher recovered from an abandoned Imperial base on Had Abbadon. Smarty and Hazon were specialized in testing and studying weapons such as this one, and were thus hired by the New Republic for this occasion. The Jedi Order had sent Taana Di as well to ensure that nothing went wrong, and also due to the Republic being unsure in trusting these two mercenaries.
"Well?" Naavel asked the two of them after they had spent a few minutes analyzing it. "What do you think?"
Smarty grimaced at the Imperial weapon. "Seems to be made by Altech Industries. They tend to make very unstable weapons."
"Would it be safe to use?" the Mon Calamari engineer asked.
Hazon shook his head. "Doubtful. Many Altech-made weapons have been known to kill their user as well as their target. I would strongly advise against using it."
Naavel's eyes began to shift around nervously. "That...may be a problem."
"Why?" Taana Di asked.
The Mon Calamari cleared his throat. "There is a planet in the Outer Rim that the remnants of the Empire is residing on. Chief SoBilles wants to use this weapon on them."
Both Smarty and Hazon's eyes widened as they exchanged uneasy glances.
"I...don't think that would be a good idea," Hazon said. "This weapon might be able to decimate an entire city. Dozens of innocents would be killed."
"I know," Naavel said sadly, bowing his head. "Some of the senators are trying to convince the Chief against using it, but they're not as vocal as his supporters."
Smarty sighed. "Well, Hazon and I have no say in the Republic's affairs. All we can say is that you should use at your own risk."
"All right," Naavel replied. "I shall inform Senator Marrab of this. Thank you for coming."
"No need to thanks us," Hazon said as he and Smarty turned to leave. "Just doing our part of the deal."
The two mercenaries left the room, leaving only Taana alone with the Mon Calamari engineer. Naavel noticed that the Jedi Knight was lost in her thoughts.
"Is something wrong, Master Jedi?" Naavel asked.
Taana shook her head hastily. "It is nothing. There's just...something stranger in the Force...as if something's afoot."
The Togruta Jedi left without another word, leaving the engineer in confusion.
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