EDITED 3/11/2019 Changed some of the Exiles' names.
CHAPTER THREE
Anakin followed Durus and his Herglic partner- whom the Zilkin had introduced as 'Dah', because it was the only thing the burly being could say- out of the dark chamber and into a larger, more brightly lit one. The room looked as if it belonged to the King of Onderon, with artistic ornaments and tapestries decorating the walls. In the center of the room was a large, oval-shaped table, where Sev Nep, Vex, Kalvin, Tesara, Jast Kyjar, and Lumpawaroo sat. Upon noticing Anakin, Sev beamed.
"Am I glad to see you," the Sullustan said. He then frowned. "Where's Lysira?"
Anakin shook his head. "No idea. I thought she would be with you."
"I thought she was with you."
Anakin looked at Durus, who merely shrugged. "Is she the girl with dark hair?" the Zilkin asked.
Anakin nodded. "Yes. Where is she?"
"Odds are she's with Animus."
At that moment, two large doors at the end of the room swung open, allowing a burly man with dark skin to stride in, with Lysira Naris close behind him. The man stormed up towards Anakin, his brown eyes filled with rage.
"Solo," he growled, "you're really starting to make me wish I had killed you and your friends."
Anakin stood his ground, returning the man's glare. "What are you talking about?"
The man, who was clearly Animus in a human form, jerked his head in Lysira's direction. "Do you have any idea who she is?"
"She's my friend."
The man responded with a disdainful snort. "She's more than just that. She's a Revanchist."
Anakin's eyes widened. "The Revanchist? Lysira is the Revanchist?"
"You got bantha meat in your ears? I said she's a Revanchist. One of five."
"Five?"
Animus nodded curtly. "One for each of these five planets: Dantooine, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, and Tatooine. She, of course, was the one for Kashyyyk."
"And why is this a bad thing? The Revanchists on Dantooine and Tatooine helped us."
The burly man scoffed. "You really don't know anything, do you?"
He turned to Lysira. "Explain it to him."
The young woman hesitated for a moment, glancing from Anakin to Animus, before finally speaking. "The Revanchists are part of a...second Jedi Order."
"A second one?" Jast exclaimed. "As if one wasn't enough..."
"Why is there a second Jedi Order?" Sev asked skeptically.
"I can not explain," Lysira said. "Anyway, the Revanchists are basically the leaders of this order. And...see, my order values the balance of the Force. And the balance, as they- we see it, is equality of the light side and dark side, with a third power in the 'middle' to keep them in check.
"Thus, two of the five Revanchists are light, two others are dark, and the fifth one keeps us in balance."
"So, which one are you?" Anakin asked, already dreading the answer.
Lysira bowed her head. "I'm...one of the dark ones."
"Oh, that's just great!" Sev snapped. "All this time, we've been hanging out with a Dark Jedi! No wonder I thought you didn't like me."
Lysira glared at him. "I know what you're thinking. I'm not like a Sith, or even any other Dark Jedi for that matter. I believe in bringing peace to the galaxy without using diabolical methods or enslaving people."
"I'm sure Palpatine would've said something like that," Kalvin grunted.
Lysira sighed. "Please, you have to believe me."
She turned her eyes to Anakin and he immediately felt his heart skip a beat. "Do you believe me, Anakin?"
"I...I don't know."
Crestfallen, she turned away from him and walked to the far side of the room. She stood there silently and stared at one of the many tapestries hanging there.
Breaking the awkward silence that fell over the group, Jast said, "So, what are we going to do now? Why are we here?"
"I'm glad you finally asked that." Everyone turned to see a male Siniteen standing in the large doorway, along with a short and pudgy Ortolan. Both were dressed in white lab coats.
The Siniteen gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I was getting a bit bored of all of this...drama."
"Zerev." Animus nodded at the newcomers. "I'm sure you and Xilus can give some exposition to our guests."
"Ah, yes." The Siniteen gestured to the Ortolan, who brought out a small, bronze-colored orb. He pressed a button on its side and a huge and wide map of the galaxy spewed out of it, stars and planets flying everywhere. The shutters of the room's windows then closed, placing the room in near darkness, save for the bluish light that emitted from the magnificent map. The resulting effect mesmerized Anakin.
"Right then," Zerev said as he moved through the room-wide map. "First off, the disappearing planets. The Glorians' original objective was to 'harvest' the stars Dina, Horuset, Kashyyyk, Pyrshak, and Tatoo One and Two. Doing so, however, would destroy the five planets they needed for their mission, which were Dantooine, Korriban, Kashyyyk, Manaan, and Tatooine, respectively."
There was something familiar about that lineup of planets to Anakin, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Thus," the Siniteen went on, "when the Glorians 'harvested' these stars, they also planned to transport these planets and their systems to a place in the Unknown Regions, where they would orbit artificial suns."
"Kind of like Centerpoint Station," Anakin mused. In response to the odd looks aimed at him, he quickly added, "Before the Imperial-Sith War, my father's cousin tried to use an ancient space station as a weapon to move around planets."
"Ah yes, I remember that," Zerev said. "Quite foolish of your father's cousin to think that he could control a Killik creation."
Before Anakin could inquire what a 'Killik' was, Zerev returned his attention to the map. "Now then, so far, thanks to your actions, only Kashyyyk and Korriban have been abducted out of the planned five, with the operations on the others having been foiled.
Guess Mastar Katarn was successful on Manaan, Anakin thought.
"However, the Glorians have since begun invading the galaxy, transporting worlds that are 'minor' but still important to their operation. So far, Kaal has been the first to be abducted."
"What are the other targeted worlds?" Sev asked.
Zerev examined the map. "Agamar is one, along with Onderon and Belsavis. Even Alzoc Three, I believe."
"Alzoc?" Jast echoed. "What would the Glorians want with a barren snowland?"
Zerev glanced at Animus, who gave a slow nod. "We...have our theories."
"Like what?" Anakin asked.
"Have you ever heard of the Infinite Empire?"
Anakin thought for a moment. "I can't say I have. If I did, I don't know anything about it."
"I wouldn't expect you to. Hardly any detailed records of it exist." Zerev spread his arms out, gesturing to the stars and planets surrounding him. "Thousands of these worlds, including partially neutral worlds like Maridun, were unified under the Infinite Empire's tyrannical rule. Located on five of these worlds, however, are pieces of a map leading to an ancient factory that was destroyed millennia ago...or so it seemed."
Anakin's eyes widened. Everything was clicking together. "You mean...?"
Zerev nodded, his face grim. "The Glorians are rebuilding the Infinite Empire...and the Star Forge."
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