CHAPTER SIX
Xanus Baran, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, groggily awoke to a bright beam of light being directed at him, prompting him to groan.
"Subject A is awake," said a monotone voice, most likely from a droid or a computer.
"Excellent," a second voice said. "Decrease the light."
The light dimmed enough for Baran's vision to clear and he saw that he was in a small room, completely restrained onto a table of some sorts. Beside him, the Dark Jedi leader whom he knew as the Revanchist was in a similar situation, though he seemed to be still unconscious.
"Did we enjoy our nap?"
Baran looked up to see a cloaked being standing over him, green eyes glowing beneath the rim of their hood. The Grand Master recognized him as the assailant who had attacked him and the Revanchist. He opened his mouth to speak but the being waved his hand to silence him.
"Do not bother speaking. Any questions you may have will not be answered. Any attempts to free yourself will be intervened, and your struggles will be futile. All that you must know is that you are now part of a scheme greater than your little war. A scheme that has been conceived by an entity older than the stars."
Baran managed a smirk. "Hyperbole, much?"
The being glared at him. "Of course a mere human such as yourself would not believe in such a concept. Not to mention that you are a Jedi. Your kind tend to be narrow-minded."
The stranger gestured at a large door which Baran had not noticed before. "Which is why you and your friend are now guests to my master, for he shall give you the courtesy of discovering the truth."
The door slowly began to open, revealing an indescribable shape.
"Moments before your death, of course."
As the doors parted, Baran's eyes grew wide with the horror and disbelief at what he was now seeing....
* * *
The moment Jaden's ship exited hyperspace, he immediately felt a sharp pang in his head. It was so painful that he barely heard Dax's voice speak through the intercom.
"That must be the station," the other man said. "Pretty strange looking, huh?"
Once the pain had subsided, Jaden had to agree with Dax. The space station's structure consisted primarily of an asteroid filled with craters, each one having odd-looking pieces of technology and being covered by translucent domes, creating a rather exotic shape. However, it was not the station itself that he found strange. It was its location.
"It's orbiting a black hole," he said.
There was a pause from Dax's end as the man seemed to realize that fact. "Star's End," he finally said. "You're right. But what's weirder: that, or its star?"
"What star? All I see is that crystal orb-"
"Exactly."
This time, it was Jaden's turn to realized a bizarre fact. "Oh. And how exactly does a star become a crystal-"
Another sharp pang stabbed at his head as a faint voice echoed in his head. Welcome home.
"Jaden?" he faintly heard Dax say. "You there?"
"Yeah," Jaden grunted, trying to ignore the pain. "Shall we head on in?"
"I dunno, that black hole's pretty... scary looking."
"You're free to go somewhere else," Jaden said, moving his ship forward. "As for me, I'm going in."
* * *
"So, this is the Jedi Grand Master."
Xanus Baran could not believe that such a calm, smooth voice could be emitting from the abomination that stood before him.
Golden scales protected its raw-looking flesh, a thick liquid oozing between the gaps. It lacked any limbs to be considered even remotely humanoid, as well as a distinguishable face, leaving it seemingly impossible for the thing to speak.
"You think me an abomination simply because I lack the traits of an average humanoid?" the entity asked. "How narrow-minded of you."
It was then that Baran realized that the thing seemed to be speaking via telepathy. However, he could not muster the willpower to respond, so instead he spoke aloud.
"What are you?"
"What I am matters little, and your feeble mind would not be able to comprehend such knowledge either way. I am unique to this galaxy- nay, this universe- and thus it would be impossible to put me under any classification."
"Who are you, then?"
The flesh beneath the scales rippled, giving Baran the impression that the entity was laughing.
"These days, I am often called the Watcher, for it is I who oversee the machinations of the Glorian Empire. Others call me the Magnificence, out of respect and awe at my seemingly god-like capabilities."
The scales rippled again, though in a different manner this time.
"However, you do not view me with awe nor respect. You do not know me as a presence that controls the current events of the galaxy. Instead, you know me only as an abomination unusual to the galaxy. You view me with horror and, perhaps, terror.
"Thus, I see it only fit that I give you my true name, for it is the only descriptor which will satisfy your curiosity."
The entity slithered closer to him and Baran suddenly felt as if he had been thrown into a void, where nothing- not even the Force- could possibly exist.
"You may call me Waru."
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