CHAPTER SIX
Anakin and his mother walked into the Defense Force's command center on Mon Cala, where Jedi Grand Master Xanus Baran and other members of the Jedi High Council, including Corran Horn, awaited them. Master Baran nodded in greeting to the two of them.
"I apologize for the sudden summon," he said. "I'm sure Jacen has already told you of Master Plun Kil's fate..."
Leia nodded. "Yes," she said sadly. "It is a very tragic incident. Now, why have you called us here?"
Baran's face became grim. "We spoke with Admiral Sovv on how to handle the situation with Toah Jarsan. After much deliberation, we have come to a decision..."
"The Defense Force is going to send a team of twelve troopers to Dromund Kaas," said the Kel Dor Jedi Kro Sadoon. "Meanwhile, we have decided to send four Jedi to accompany them...and we were hoping that Anakin Solo would be up to the task."
Leia's eyes widened. "Anakin? You want to send him to Dromund Kaas? A planet rife with the dark side?"
"Don't worry, Leia," Baran said, raising his hands as if to calm her. "We'll be sending three Jedi Masters to go with him, including his former master Kyle Katarn."
Leia looked back and forth between her son and the gathered Jedi Masters. Finally, with a sigh, she said, "Very well. Just make sure he's safe."
"Worry not, Leia," said Master Sadoon. "He will be in good hands."
Leia opened her mouth, as if to say something else, but seemed to decide against, as she instead simply said, "All right. When shall he leave?"
"The team is leaving at dawn tomorrow," Baran replied. He glanced at Anakin. "I suggest you get some rest."
Anakin nodded in response and turned to follow his mother out of the room. On their way out, he said quietly to her, "You don't need to keep worrying about me, Mom. I'm not a a kid anymore."
Leia sighed. "You still are to me..."
* * *
Aidel Saxan stared out at Corellia's night-time sky from her office window. Despite hours of debate, the Corellian Council and the Galactic Senate still had yet to make a compromise on where the Galactic Alliance was to stay.
"I'm surprised the revelation of Jonash e Solo having once been Supreme Chancellor didn't sway their decision," muttered Senator Chelch Dravvad, who, along with Aidel's trusted allies, sat in her office. "Especially Captain Solo..."
"Yes, I was hoping it would persuade Solo and lead him to persuading the entire Alliance." Aidel shook her head. "I should have known better."
"Very true," said Denjax Teppler, Aidel's chief advisor and husband. He made a steeple out of his fingers. "However, we do have, for lack of a better term, a secret weapon."
Aidel turned to face him, eyebrows raised in question. "A secret weapon? And what would that be?"
"Not what," Teppler said, smiling. "Who. We have Thrackan Sal-Solo."
Bemused looks fell upon him from everyone.
"Are you mad?" Dravvad said. "Do you not remember the conflict he was involved in seventeen years ago?"
"Seventeen years do make a difference," Teppler noted. "I believe Sal-Solo has learned the error of his ways since then."
"But are you sure we can trust him?" Councilor Anato asked.
"No," Aidel said quietly, ideas and plans forming inside her head. "But I'm sure we can control him."
* * *
Rain began to pound onto Anakin's bedroom window as he struggled to fall asleep. All he could think about as he laid awake was what in the galaxy Toah Jarsan had been doing these past nine years. And more importantly, why he was on Dromund Kaas, the former capital of Darth Vorath's Sith Order and empire.
Anakin turned over to look at his chronometer. An hour 'til dawn, he saw. He had not been able to get even a minute of sleep.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pang in his head. The world around him started spinning and he soon found himself standing in an empty, all-white room. A cold wind breezed past him as billions of atom-sized materials swirled together and formed a humanoid-shaped figure that materialized before him. The being was a masked man, covered in dark robes and red armor. He also wore a hooded cape, with the hood raised over his masked face.
As the figure began to approach him, Anakin stepped back, searching for his lightsaber. The man raised his hands as if to calm him.
"I mean you no harm," the stranger said in a voice that sounded almost disembodied. "I come to you only with a warning."
"What is it?" Anakin asked, still wary of the man.
"Do not go to Dromund Kaas. If you do, you will face a danger greater than a thousand Jedi can face."
Before Anakin could question him, the figure began to fade, as did the featureless scenery around him.
"Beware the Glorians, Anakin Solo," the man said in a faint yet vaguely familiar voice. "Beware the Glorians..."
No comments:
Post a Comment