CHAPTER ONE
"Hey, did you just cheat on me, droid?"
C-3PO's photoreceptors lifted up from the dejarik table to look at the Sullustan sitting before him. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm afraid."
Sev Nep frowned. "It was my turn and you moved your Mantellian Savrip to crush my Kintan strider!"
"Did I do that?" The protocol droid titlted his head. "I am terribly sorry. I am not much of a dejarik player, you know."
Sev simply scowled and leaned back in his seat, giving up on the game. He turned his head to Anakin Solo, who sat on the opposite side of the Adventurer's lounge, tinkering with his tools, and said, "Did your parents program your droid to be a jerk?"
Anakin shook his head. "I don't think so. I think he just got some of his attitude from Artoo."
The Sullustan sighed. "And that's why you don't see me hanging out with droids a lot..."
Anakin smiled to himself and returned his attention to the comm unit that had somehow broken apart, most likely due to the fact that the ship was an old one, and uses as well.
It had been about three days since he and the others had left for the four worlds where a warning signal made by Toah Jarsan was detected, and where the mysterious Glorian invaders had arrived. So far, they had visited Dantooine and Tatooine, and on both of those worlds they had encountered the person known only as the Revanchist, and watched him defeat hordes of Glorians.
Anakin wondered if they would meet the Revanchist again on Kashyyyk, and, if they did, if he would explain to them what exactly the Glorians were and how they could be stopped. And if not, then Anakin, Commander Naar, and the rest of the team would have to fend for themselves.
Anakin broke away from his musings as the Stormtrooper known as Kalvin came from out of the cockpit. "We've entered the Kashyyyk system," said the sometimes stoic trooper.
Anakin, Sev, and C-3PO followed him towards the cockpit, where the lush, green homeworld of the Wookiees floated before the Adventurer, almost filling up the viewport due to its rather large size. It was surrounded by three moons, which, compared to Kashyyyk, looked the size of the tiny remotes Anakin had faced in his lightsaber training.
Sitting in the pilot's seat, the Iktotchi commander Zanjaar Naar spoke with a spaceport officer via comlink and received permission to land at a starport in the city of Kachirho.
"It's best if you and the others don't put on your armor," Naar then said to Kalvin. "Even with the Alliance, Wookiees don't take kindly to Imperials."
"I don't blame them," Kalvin muttered as he armed himself with a heavy blaster rifle.
* * *
The scarcely lit cargo hold of the Imperial transport made Jedi Master Kyle Katarn feel uneasy as he attempted to meditate. It was clear to him that the Dark Jedi to whom this ship had once belonged to often meditated here as well, letting his dark side energies spread throughout the entire ship.
After a few tries, Kyle gave up on his attempts and decided to search the cargo hold for anything useful. As he rummaged through the dark room, his comlink buzzed and Arek Cobalt's voice crackled through the speaker.
"We're approaching the Manaan system," the pilot muttered. "Let's hope the natives don't try to drown us."
Let's hope there's a place for us to even land, Kyle thought. From what he had read of the planet, Manaan had slowly fell to obscurity, due to the fact that its primary export, the healing substance called kolto, had been ignored in favor of bacta. As such, it was likely the native Selkath had taken down Ahto City, which served as a place for off-worlders to visit, due to the fact that hardly anyone visited Manaan, at least not since the Galactic Civil War.
In order to pass the time while Arek tried to find a port to land on Manaan, Kyle continued to search through the cargo hold. Among the things he found was a small, metal case, which contained a collection of at least five lightsabers.
Someone must have been busy, Kyle said to himself sardonically. Never knew someone needed this many lightsabers...
As he examined the lightsabers however, he began to feel a strange, familiar feeling, as if he had seen these lightsabers before. He took one of the silvery hilts and held it in his hands.
And then, realization dawned on him.
Ten years ago, at the start of the Imperial Sith War, Andor Chasan, a Jedi Knight and friend of Kyle's, led a group of Jedi to the planet Kuar, located near the Daragon Trail, in order to find a Sith outpost. Those Jedi never returned. And now Kyle held Chasan's lightsaber in his hand...
He pressed the activation button and ignited its azure blade. He knew vengeance was against the Jedi code, and, as a Jedi Master, he certainly was not planning on seeking it. But as Andor Chasan's friend, he would avenge him and make sure his murderer was brought to justice.
Deactivating the lightsaber blade, he attached the hilt to his belt, replacing the one he had lost to the Dark Jedi, and walked out of the cargo hold, knowing that they would be nearing Manaan soon. If the Glorians were indeed there, he was prepared to stop them. He was prepared to do anything to prevent another war.
To prevent anyone from sharing Chasan's fate.
* * *
The Adventurer descended through Kashyyyk's tall, lush wroshyr trees and soon arrived at the coastal city of Kachirho, located on a system of islands surrounded by the murky oceans. From the cockpit's viewport, Anakin could see a welcoming party gathering at one of the many platforms protruding from the thousand foot high wroshyr tree, on which the Adventurer was about to land.
Coming up beside him, the cocky Stormtrooper known as Vex let out a low whistle. "Do Wookiees normally greet guests like this or are they expecting us?"
"In case it's the latter," Kalvin said, "I would keep a blaster handy. Or a lightsaber, if you've got one."
"Try not to look intimidating though," Naar advised. "It's not a wise thing to do when dealing with Wookiees."
The Adventurer soon came to a slow land onto the strong wooden platform, allowing Anakin, Naar, C-3PO, Sev, Vex, Kalvin, the smuggler Jast Kyjar, and the other trooper, Tesara, Avon, and Levat, to exit the ship. Awaiting them was a group of Wookiee guards, all clad in light-armor, along with a dark-skinned human male in an Alliance-styled uniform, who saluted in greeting to Commander Naar.
"Welcome to Kashyyyk, sir," the man said. "I am Jak Kasra, assistant to Senator Triebakk and interpreter for Chieftain Ciiranta and Captain Barakka here."
He gestured to the leader of the Wookiee guards, who gave a curt nod to Anakin and the others. Commander Naar returned the gesture with a slaute.
"We appreciate the welcome, captain," he said. "I am Commander Zanjaar Naar of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force. Three days ago, we received a signal from Kashyyyk and three other worlds. We have since learned its meaning and that it indicates a faction of alien invaders have reached these planets and are hiding somewhere here."
Kasra slowly nodded. "Yes, Admiral Sovv has informed us of the signal. But we were not aware of its meaning..."
"It's a good thing we're here then," Naar said. "Admiral Sovv has sent us to exploit these invaders and stop their plans."
Kasra gave a faint smile. "We appreciate your assistance, commander. Shall I assign you someone to guide you through Kachirho? It is a big city, and Kashyyyk is an easy planet to get lost on."
Naar nodded. "If it's not too much trouble..."
"Not at all." Kasra brought out a comlink and murmured into it. He then turned back to them and said, "Lysira Naris is waiting for you at the community center, which is on the second platform to your right. Have a nice day."
The group thanked Kasra and they began heading for the community center. As they passed through a crowd of Wookiees and humans, Anakin suddenly felt a foreboding sense tingle in his mind. He dared to look over his shoulder and saw the Revanchist standing amongst the crowd.
You should not have come.
Anakin blinked his eyes once and the masked being was gone...
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