[Fic] The True Teachings III: Slumbering Army

[igyman]

Chapter VIII

 

The present. Ninety seven years after the Yuuzhan Vong war. The sun slowly rose over the Abregado-rae Spaceport city. Ralik awoke in his coralskipper about two hours before his meeting with the smugglers. He took the money he won at the sabacc tables last night and went to the city to get himself an expensive breakfast. He entered in one of the most prestigeous and thus most expensive restaurants, which didn't exactly fit into keeping a low profile, but he had more than enough money and he was eager to taste some real food after a century of eating artificially generated nutrients.

 

He ordered the most expensive dish in the menu and paid up front. As he waited for his meal he observed the crowds on the streets, once again the people of Abregado-rae were carelessly rushing to their destinations, completely unaware of the threat that lurks among them.

 

After finishing his meal Ralik had another half hour before the meeting. He slowly strolled back to the landing pad. When he arrived Tarik Vann was already there. The Rodian and Kel'Dor were with him along with four more thugs, two of which were of the Gran species while the other two were Trandoshans. Vann spotted Ralik and waved him to come. Ralik nodded and approached the group.

 

''Well, hello there, sabacc genius.'' Vann said. The Rodian and Kel'Dor nodded their heads as a sign of greeting.

 

''Hello.'' Ralik said coldly, ''Is everything arranged? Do you have the merchandise?''

 

''Yes.'' Vann replied even colder, ''Do you have the payment is the question?''

 

''Of course.'' Ralik showed him the pouch with the money, ''The coralskipper is right over there.'' Ralik pointed towards it, ''Now, show me my ship.''

 

''Certainly.'' Vann replied and one of the thugs pulled out a remote control and pressed a button on it. A hangar opened and in it was a T-65 X-Wing starfighter along with an astromech droid, ''I hope you are satisfied.''

 

''Yes. Very.'' Ralik replied. He handed the money pouch to Vann and went for his new ship.

 

''Nice doing business with you,'' Vann said smugly, ''but I'm afraid we're not done yet.''

 

Ralik turned around and noticed that Vann and his companions have pointed their blasters right at him. He sensed something was wrong when he saw Vann and now he knew what it was. Two members of the New Sith Order appeared at the entrance to the landing bay. They were both humans and they wore black leather tunics and their faces were covered with traditional tattoos of the New Sith Order. The landing pad security knew better than to risk their necks in something that involved the Sith, so they silently left their posts and the landing pad.

 

''You see, the Sith offered me a huge sum to deliver you to them. I have no idea what they would want with you and frankly I don't care. The important thing is that they paid in advance.''

 

''So much for keeping a low profile.'' Ralik thought, ''The Sith Emperor, or one of his underlings obviously sensed the enormous power inside me and ordered his minions to capture me.'' He realized. ''Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh.'' Ralik laughed at the smuggler, ''You just made the biggest mistake of your short life.'' He stood still with his amphistaff prepared.

 

The two Sith approached the group. ''You have drawn out the target, your part in this is over, we'll take it from here.'' One of them said to Tarik.

 

''Very well. He's all yours.'' Vann replied and gestured with his hand to his companions that it was time to leave.

 

''Our master sensed a disturbance in the Force. We thought that the Jedi were gathering again. Imagine our surprise when we found out that all that power comes from a single person.'' One of the Sith minions said.

 

''I hope that knowledge is worth your lives, because you will not leave here alive.'' Ralik replied, with a devious, cold smile.

 

''There's two of us and you are alone. You can't win, if you fight us.'' The two Sith ignited their red lightsabers and assumed the attack stance, ''It's better for you to simply surrender.''

 

''You two have no idea who you're dealing with, I'll just have to give you a little demonstration.'' Ralik said. He abandoned the battle stance and stood completely still, holding his amphistaff loosely in his right hand.

 

''He's mocking us!'' One of the Sith shouted.

 

A few second later that same Sith started to cough. Ralik was simply standing there, watching the other Sith's reaction as his comrade choked to death. The look in the surviving Sith's eyes was that of unspeakable dread. He looked towards the landing pad entrance to see that the smugglers never made it outside, they too were dead. He abandoned his attack stance and just stood there, terrified. Never before had he fought an opponent with this kind of strength in the Force. He started to shake. His lightsaber desintegrated in his hand, Ralik's doing, no doubt.

 

''You call yourselves Sith Lords, but you have no idea what it means to truly master the Force, to achieve your full potential, or to truly understand the nature of the Force.'' Ralik told the terrified Sith.

 

''P... please... spare me.'' The Sith minion pleaded as he fell to his knees.

 

''I'm not going to kill you. Unless you try something stupid, like attack me.'' Ralik told him, ''I need you to pass a message to your Emperor.''

 

''Yes?'' The terrified human said.

 

''Since your Emperor is aware of my existence, he should know this too: All that he considers his is rightfully mine. Tell him that and tell him that I will soon come to claim what is mine and he will either submit, or die.'' Ralik said arrogantly.

 

''Y... yes, I'll tell him.'' The Sith barely pronounced the words.

 

''Good.'' Ralik turned once again towards his new ship and went for it. Minutes later the T-65 X-Wing rose to the sky and disappeared among the stars. The Sith warrior rose, still terrified, but relieved that he got out of this with his life, but before he knew it he was shot repeatedly from behind. Seconds later he was dead. A droid approached the corpse, he was painted in rusty red.

[Diego Varen]

Ralik is some evil piece of work. Good Chapter as always.

[igyman]

Chapter IX

 

Ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war. The two ships were racing with full speed around the Red Giant's system. The Millenium Falcon and the Ebon Hawk operated by their stubborn owners were racing for the title of the fastest ship in the galaxy, not that anyone except the ships' owners will care much about which ship wins, but still it was just something that they had to do. They were about halfway through the designated flight path and things were just warming up.

 

Meanwhile, back on Yavin IV, Luke Skywalker, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order was keeping himself busy with the historical data he got from HK-47. Once, a long time ago, the Jedi Archives were the nexus of historical knowledge. Pretty much anything related to any historical event could be found there. Unfortunately, during Palpatine's Galactic Empire, the majority of that data was lost. Emperor Palpatine wanted to make sure that all memory of the existence of Jedi ceased to exist. Now the Jedi Archives possess only a small fraction of that knowledge. Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order has done its best to recover that knowledge, but between all the wars they fought there was still a long road ahead of them and the information these droids could give were virtually priceless.

 

While he was sorting through all the data, Luke came across Revan's message that T3 played for him, he saw once again that strange insignia. It triggered a memory to something doctor Ule said during his last visit to the Medical Wing of the Jedi Academy. He and Kyle were wondering what could have caused such madness and doctor Ule's reply was: ''I believe the answer to that question, Jedi Masters, would be a crucial element of Dasha's cure. Without it, I'm afraid, she will most likely remain like this for the rest of her life.'' Luke remembered those words and he got an idea. He downloaded the holoprojection of the insignia onto a datapad and rushed to the Medical Wing.

 

''Doctor Ule!'' Luke shouted as he barged in the Medical Wing.

 

''Master Skywalker, what's the matter?'' The doctor asked with great surprise.

 

''I need to see Dasha immediately!'' Luke said, ''I need to show her something.''

 

''Show her? What?'' Ule was at a loss.

 

''I may have found that answer we were looking for.'' He said, ''Let me in her room so I can show her.''

 

''Very well.'' Ule replied, still slightly confused, but with faith in the Jedi Master's knowledge.

 

Ule opened the door to Dasha's chamber and Luke went inside. The room wasn't very large. It contained one bed and one chair, along with some medical sensors and a camera built into the walls. Dasha was sitting on the bed, still whispering that sentence: ''He is coming, the unstoppable Dark Lord, the whole galaxy will tremble at his feet and then the whole galaxy will burn.'' She whispered it over and over.

 

''Dasha.'' Luke called to her as he sat on the chair.

 

She looked at him, still repeating the sentence.

 

''I need to show you something Dasha, I think you've seen it somewhere and I think it made you ill.'' Luke said calmly.

 

The girl stared at him in wonder.

 

''I think it may help you get well.'' Luke continued.

 

Dasha was still staring at him, silent now. Luke took out his datapad and it displayed the picture of the insignia. The hexagon and two lines shaped like the number one and its mirror image on the sides. Dasha slowly took the datapad and stared the picture it displayed for a minute or two. Luke just sat there and waited, hoping it would work. Dasha stared at the datapad for a few more minutes and then she suddenly stood up. Luke slowly followed. Dasha started to open her mouth as if she was trying to say something, still staring at the picture of the insignia. About two seconds later she simply let the datapad slip from her hands. She sat back on her bed and a few more seconds after that she lost consciousness. Luke picked up the datapad and called for the doctor.

 

''What happened?'' Ule asked.

 

''I showed her this.'' Luke showed the datapad with the insignia to doctor Ule.

 

''What is that?'' Ule asked in wonder.

 

''I believe it has something to do with her condition, I thought showing it to her could help.'' Luke said sadly, ''It seems I was wrong. Completely.''

 

''We can't be sure of that, Master Skywalker.'' Ule replied, ''We will be when she regains consciousness.''

 

''And if she doesn't?'' Luke asked.

 

''She will.'' Ule tried to assure him.

 

''Here.'' Luke handed the datapad to Ule, ''All the information about this insignia is on this datapad. See what you can make of it and be sure to call me, if Dasha's condition changes.'' He said and then he left the Medical Wing.

 

Luke decided to try to put his mind off the events that just happened, so he made his way to the landing bay. The ''race'' should be over by now. It would be fun to see who won. As Luke entered the landing bay he saw both ships docked on their assigned landing pads. He saw Han coming out of the Falcon boiling with anger, while HK and T3 were leaving the Ebon Hawk with no visible droid-like reactions.

 

''You lost?'' Luke asked, trying to be witty.

 

''I can't believe it!! I just can't believe it!'' Han shouted.

 

''Statement: That'll teach you to challenge the fastest ship in the galaxy.'' HK interrupted.

 

''What happened?'' Luke asked.

 

''Well, we were a third of the way to the finish. We were tied!'' Han turned to HK-47.

 

''And?'' Luke asked eager to find out the answer.

 

''I punched the speed up.'' Han said, ''The Falcon started to accelerate and then...''

 

''What?'' Luke asked.

 

''It seems I pushed the ship too far. I...uh... blew the engines.'' Han said, barely.

 

''You're kidding?'' Luke asked with a slight smile.

 

''No. And the worst part is that the Ebon Hawk had to tow me back here and I was forced to listen that arrogant droid's gloating the whole way!'' Han shouted nervously.

 

''Observation: Perhaps if you took better care of your ship and replaced the old parts every once in a while you wouldn't have lost.'' HK gloated.

 

''We were tied!!'' Han shouted.

 

''Appeasement: Of course we were, what ever you say.'' HK mocked.

 

Han grumbled at the droid and then he looked at Luke: ''You okay? You look like you just killed someone.''

 

''Statement: You killed someone? Please tell me it's true, master! And please tell me there's a holorecording of the event I can watch.''

 

''It's... nothing.'' Luke said.

[Diego Varen]

Luke's personality is captured perfectly. Good Chapter, looking foward to more.

[igyman]

Chapter X

 

The present. Ralik has just left Abregado-rae's orbit, completely unaware that his message to Darth Krayt, the Sith Emperor, will never arrive, that it has been intercepted, so to speak, by an ancient red-colored assassin droid. He didn't really care much about it, he would take what was his either way.

 

The T-65 X-Wing and its pilot left the Abregado-rae system and as soon as they did, Ralik punched in the coordinates into the ship's computer and engaged the hyperspace drive. To his astonishment, Vann had not doublecrossed him, the hyperdrive worked like a charm. The stars turned into starlines as the ship entered hyperspace. There was nothing left for Ralik to do now, but rest and relax. In a few hours he will be at his destination – the huge, planet-sized factory of the Lenari.

 

After about eight hours of travel the craft left hyperspace. He was there. The planet in front of him was the fake planet that actually hid the ancient factory. From outer space its surface appeared to be a real wasteland, a perfect cover for what lay beneath. He scanned the surface for any structures that may be the entrance to the factory. He didn't find any structures, but he did find what appeared to be an entrance. He punched a landing course to those coordinates into the console and started his descent.

 

On his way to the surface Ralik saw what looked like two enormous craters, but their shape was to regular for craters. They must be something else. He decided not to deviate from his course and check it in the factory's schematics, when it's up and running again. Fifteen minutes later he reached the designated coordinates. The entrance was indeed there, but it wasn't an entrance you'd expect. No, there were no doors, just a huge opening that lead to what turned out to be a landing bay. One of many it seemed.

 

Ralik landed the ship, he took out a Gnullith he brought with him and put it on. The Gnullith was a Yuuzhan Vong breathing apparatus – it was a bioengineered creature that would seal itself over the mouth and nose and then force a breathing tube down the user's throat. Ralik knew there was no air here, this was all artificial and since the power was down the devices that were responsible for generating an artificial breathable atmosphere were not working.

 

Ralik made his way deeper into the factory, searching for the master computer. The factory's corridors were completely dark, but Ralik saw everything perfectly. He used the Force to enhance his vision and see in the dark. He followed the signs to the center of the huge structure. He could see a mild light somewhere in the distance. As hours passed and he progressed further and further the light grew stronger. He was near the center of the structure, he could feel it. When he finally arrived he couldn't believe his eyes.

 

''Your eyes do not deceive you.'' His master's voice whispered in his head.

 

''But what I see before me... how can this be?'' Ralik asked, still stunned by the sight.

 

''I told you our technology is more advanced than anything in this galaxy.'' The dark figure's whispering voice echoed in Ralik's head.

 

''The Star Forge drew its power from a star, but this...'' Ralik started.

 

''Yes. We have successfully harnessed the power of a planet's core to power this facility. After all, this factory is the size of a planet...'' The dark figure whispered.

 

''Because this was once a planet.'' Ralik finished his master's sentence and he finally accepted what he saw before him.

 

Lying behind a five hundred meters thick protective glass and an extremely powerful energy field was the core of a planet. Carefully controlled, it was the only system in this factory that remained fully operational. The sight was amazing and it was damn clever, since the power of the core itself masked the presence of any nearby equipment to any ship's sensors. Ralik looked around and about ten meters to the left of where he was standing he saw a huge computer terminal. ''This must be the master computer.'' He concluded. He approached the huge terminal and powered it up.

 

A minute later he heard an artificial voice report the status of the factory. Everything was operational – the sensors, the defenses, the power plant and the ship production. Ralik took a look at the factory's database, in its schematics he saw what those unortodoxly shaped craters really were. The ones he saw were actually huge exit shafts for the newly produced capital ships. There were other craters he didn't see on his way in that were actually exaust shafts and engine shafts. This place was truly amazing. And it was Ralik's.

 

He closed the factory schematics file and ordered the master computer to start ship production. The artificial voice responded in confirmation and Ralik opened up the ship schematics files. He was even more amazed when he saw that data. There were three types of battleships – the triangular shaped fighter ships that were equipped with very formidable weaponry, the spherical shaped capital ships that were equipped with weapons powerful enough to destroy a planet and there was the special classed master-ship. This battleship was a larger version of the spherical capital ships, but it had tougher weaponry and hull and the leader of the fleet could amplify his Force power over a special neural interface to simultaneously control every crewmember on every of his ships, giving his fleet the crucial edge in a battle – perfect concentration, coolness, timing and precision.

 

''All I need now is an army to operate these ships.'' Ralik said.

 

''It already awaits you, Ralik.'' His master's voice whispered in his head.

 

''What do you mean?'' Ralik asked.

 

''Remember our history, my apprentice? How after my defeat the thousands of my race left our stronghold?''

 

''Yes. I remember.'' Ralik replied, ''But they can't possibly be alive after all this time.''

 

''Oh, but they can.'' The dark figure whispered, ''They are alive, in deep stasis and they are very near.''

 

''Where are they?'' Ralik asked, ''They must be awakened!''

 

''Yes, they must.'' The dark figure concured, ''They are in an undergroud cloning facility on a nearby planetoid, you will find the coordinates in the factory's computer. Go there and awaken them. Then you will have all that you require to fulfill your destiny.''

[The_Catto]

Just finished reading through your story, and all i have to say is great. The storyline is great, you portray the all character's personalities well, and the general layout is great.

 

Looking forward to the upcoming chapters.

 

P.S: I couldn't help but notice when Ralik, was in the VIP gambling quarters, when he said what his name was, Kilar, i like how you just re-arranged the letters, made me laugh, when i realised it. And the fact that he is a 'Killer' is also a funny fact . Anyway, just thought i would say something about that lol

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. I liked the mention of the Star Forge there. I'm looking foward to more.

[igyman]

Thanks to both of you. A little spoiler: what you read about the army in stasis in this chapter isn't the only reason for the name ''Slumbering Army''.

 

@Mr_BFA: Yeah, I simply wrote his name backwards, I was actually inspired by Heroes of Might & Magic V, because there's one character in that game that does a similar thing.

 

@Pottsie: Yup, the data abou that factory is what the Rakata used to make the Star Forge (as said in the prologue ). I was actually inspired by the book ''Rogue Planet'' to make something that appears as a planet on the outside, but is something else entirely beneath the surface.

[igyman]

Chapter XI

 

The past. Ten years after the end of the war. Luke was in his meditation chamber. Thinking. About what happened in the Medical Wing an hour ago, about this dark threat, about everything. Han was still wandering around the Academy, trying to cheer himself up after that embarrasing race. The sun was setting. In an hour, maybe two, night will fall. The students were finishing their daily studies and will soon gather in the mess hall for dinner. Luke wished that training students was all he had to think about, but he had a feeling that day won't come soon.

 

''Now, now, Luke. You didn't really expect everything to be so easy?'' Obi-Wan's spirit appeared before him.

 

''Well, after all the wars... I just thought that moment has finally come, you know, when the galaxy is in peace and when I can relax a bit.'' Luke replied.

 

''As Jedi we are obligated to protect the future as well as the present, Luke. The galaxy is in peace now, but as you have learned, there will come a time in the future when it will be in peril once again.''

 

''Yes, but that danger exists in my time, Ben. Even now it is hidden somewhere and it has already hurt the Jedi greatly.''

 

''Unfortunately, it did. All you can do about it is to take care of those two droids and their ship. They might not seem like much, but trust me when I say that even the most unnoticable thing can affect the final outcome.'' Obi-Wan calmed his former protege.

 

''I... guess you're right.'' Luke admitted.

 

''Well, of course I am. I wasn't a Jedi Master for nothing, you know.'' Obi-Wan joked.

 

''Right.'' Luke smiled, ''Thank you, old friend.''

 

''May the Force be with you, Luke.'' Obi-Wan said and vanished.

 

Luke went to the terrace. The sun had almost set. Only its peak was visible on the edge of the horizon. Luke felt a mild breeze on his face. It was a very calming and pleasant feeling. Luke enjoyed the weather for a few minutes and then the door to the meditation chamber opened and HK-47 entered the room.

 

''Statement: Excuse me master, but while I too would stare at the sunset, if I was a little meatbag girl, I think our time would be better spent in the Jedi Archives. I still have a lot of data to give you.''

 

''Very well, let's go.'' Luke said, trying to ignore the little girl remark that HK made.

 

The two went back to the Jedi Archives, T3 was already waiting for them there. They went to that same terminal they were working on when they started the exchange of information and they continued. HK-47 finished his detailed description of the Jedi Civil War and its aftermath, then he gave Luke all the information he possessed about the Mandalorian Wars and when he was done with historical events, he started talking about the worlds he visited and the species he enountered and with who he ''facilitated communications''. The amount of information the droid had was remarkable. It will take some time to sort them all out, but it will be well worth the trouble – the Jedi Archives will be restored.

 

''...and that would be pretty much all I can tell you about that matter.'' HK finished.

 

''Thank you. This will be very helpful, since much of the historical data was lost.'' Luke said.

 

''Statement: Then do a better job at keeping this one. I'd hate to think that all this time was wasted.''

 

''Right. So, what will you do next?'' Luke asked the droid.

 

Again, as Luke finished his question, something happened, as it did when HK was reactivated on Vjun: ''Statement: Protocol Slumbering Army activated.'' HK said.

 

''What does that mean?'' Luke asked in confusion.

 

''Clarification: My first objective is complete, thus this new protocol was activated, giving me further instructions.''

 

''What are your instructions?'' Luke asked.

 

''Statement: I and my astromech companion are to remain at the Jedi Academy. Since we were reactivated too soon we will enter a hibernatory state, we will automatically reactivate every five years and you will provide us with new data on the galaxy.''

 

''And that's it?'' Luke sounded almost disappointed.

 

''Negatory: No. When the data on the galaxy matches the information given to us by our old master, namely when there is an Empire instead of this Galactic Alliance you have now, our hibernation will end and a new protocol will activate.''

 

''I see.'' Luke said.

 

''Statement: We only request that you provide regular maintenance to us and to our ship during our stay here.''

 

''You shall get it.'' Luke promised.

 

''Statement: In that case, we will return to the Ebon Hawk and begin our hibernation. Oh, tell that angry meatbag friend of yours I said hi.'' HK said, referring to Han.

 

''Sure, I know that'll make him very happy.'' Luke said.

 

''Statement: Happy? I though it would make him more angry. Better don't tell him anything then. You know, master, you're no fun at all.''

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. HK's lines are priceless and I like Obi-Wan being there too.

[igyman]

Chapter XII

 

The present. The era of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire. At least it was for the time being. Ralik stood on an observation deck and watched as the first of many ships of his new fleet was being assembled. It was one of those spherical capital ships. It took about three hours, which was amazingly fast, a lot faster than the Rakatan Star Forge ever could have been, but the ship was finished and ready for use. It was like nothing before seen in the galaxy. About a quarter the size of the Death Star, metallic black color and small yellow-orange lights coming out of the windows of the spherical hull.

 

Only one thing left to do before his conquest would begin. Ralik returned to the master computer and got the coordinates of the cloning facility, it was time to go and awaken the troops. He left the factory operational and in his T-65 X-Wing he went to get his army. Now that the factory was operational, the layers of dirt covering its surface have dissipated in space. The factory's metal hull could be seen now. With its automated defenses up and running it was perfectly safe to leave it unmanned for a short while. As soon as Ralik's ship was clear of the factory's artificial gravity it speeded up into hyperspace.

 

The cloning facility was on a planetoid only four light years away from the factory, so the trip wouldn't be a very long one. About two hours later Ralik arrived to his final destination – an asteroid field in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere in that field a planetoid lay hidden and in it a slumbering army. It took Ralik some time to locate the planetoid, since it was shielded by a ring of larger asteroids and then to safely navigate through the field to it.

 

The X-Wing landed on the atmosphere deprived planetoid and Ralik once again put his Gnullith to use. Finding the entrance was easy this time. It was more or less visible from Ralik's landing site. Ralik ran to it and entered. The cloning facility was operating on emergency power, judging from the dimmed lights. Ralik passed through the airlock and as the gray hexagonal door closed he removed the Gnullith. The artificial atmosphere was there. He continued along the wide corridor, passed through the cloning lab and continued downwards. His suspicions were true, on the lowest level of the facility he found what he was looking for. A vast chamber, the size of twenty storehouses, filled with thousands of cylindrical-shaped stasis pods.

 

''My army. It is here and it is larger than I imagined.'' He thought. He made his way through the huge stasis chamber to a small door at its opposite end. He passed through the door and his suspicions were correct once again, for the computer that controlled and maintained all those stasis pods was there. Ralik approached the command console and initiated the awakening procedure. He rushed back into the stasis chamber and witnessed the awakening of his new army.

 

The stasis pods started to open, one by one, and from them rose tall black aliens, some were dressed in traditional warrior armor and others only in leathery robes. ''So these are the Lenari.'' Ralik thought. ''The master wasn't lying, they truly have physical similarities with the Sith species, but they, unlike the Sith, are stronger and more intelligent. I couldn't have asked for more.'' With his red eyes Ralik watched as the last of the aliens woke up. It took them a minute or two to recover from post-stasis desorientation and then one of the armored aliens approached Ralik.

 

''You bear the insignia of the Lenari Imperium. Are you the follower of the True Teachings?'' The alien asked.

 

''Yes.'' Ralik replied, ''I have come here, after a century of studying under the spirit of your hooded leader, to awaken you and lead you to your destiny!''

 

The aliens unanimously cheered and the armored alien that stood in front of Ralik bowed down and said: ''You truly are the one our leader foresaw. You are here to spread our ways across this galaxy. We bow and follow.''

 

''Excellent.'' Ralik said, ''How many of you are there exactly?''

 

''Five thousand, my lord.'' The alien replied, ''I am Overseer Crull, at your service, my lord.''

 

''An Overseer? If my knowledge is correct, that is one of the highest ranks in the Lenari legion.'' Ralik said coldly.

 

''Yes, my lord, it is.'' Crull responded proudly, ''I am the highest ranking officer here, at your service.''

 

''Good, now tell me do you have any means of transportation off this rock?'' Ralik asked with an authoritative tone.

 

''Yes, we do.'' Crull confirmed what Ralik already knew was true, ''Our transport is hidden by a holographic field, it is actually a few meters away from this facility's entrance.''

 

''Excellent. I have already activated the ship factory, I want two and a half thousand to return with me to the factory and I want the rest to stay here and get the cloning lab up and running and, of course, use it to breed new troops.''

 

''Yes, my lord.'' Crull replied, ''Pardon me, my lord, but how shall we address you?''

 

''My name is Ralik and you may address me as my lord, or lord Ralik. At least until we conquer this galaxy and I become Emperor.'' Ralik replied.

 

''Yes, my lord.'' Crull said submissively.

 

''Good. You have one hour to make the necessary preparations, then we go to fulfill our destiny! The True Teachings will rise from the ashes and spread throughout the known universe!!'' Ralik shouted in excitement.

 

The aliens cheered once again and then slowly started to disperse to do their new master's bidding. Four hours later Ralik, Crull and two and a half thousand of his troops were back at the factory. Nothing to do now but wait. When their ranks are sufficiently bolstered and their starship armada built, the conquest will begin.

[The_Catto]

The conquest will begin. oh yeah ... can't wait :D:D. Nice chapter, Igyman. Definitley, can't wait for the next.

[Diego Varen]

Good Chapter igyman. For some reason, I keep hearing The Omen song . Looking foward to the next Chapter.

[igyman]

Thanks people! The next chapter will be up soon. I would post it now, but I'm too tired (I had to get up at 5 AM, long story), it will be posted either later tonight, or tomorrow morning.

[Diego Varen]

Thanks people! The next chapter will be up soon. I would post it now, but I'm too tired (I had to get up at 5 AM, long story), it will be posted either later tonight, or tomorrow morning.

 

No worries. Looking foward to it.

[RC-1162]

awesomeness! im sorry i didnt check it out earlier, iggy, but i had a pair of hectic school days and i could read only noe. HK is very well portrayed and the storyline is amazing. i spotted a few grammos and typos, but they're minor. Keep it up!

[igyman]

Chapter XIII

 

Eighty seven years earlier. Now that the two droids are in hybernation mode back on their ship and life at the Jedi Academy was slowly getting back to normal Luke could finally get back to his regular duties as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Those regular duties included lectures, training sessions, sorting out the data received from the droids and, of course, spending time with his family.

 

Luke's son, Ben, was now about fourteen years old and he was well away in his Jedi training. He was currently away from the Academy, on a mission with his master, but he sent a lot of letters to his father and Luke finally got the chance to read them. He was just finishing the last one when Han came.

 

''Hey, Luke.'' He said in a half-whisper.

 

''Han. Everything alright?''

 

''Alright? Oh, yeah, besides losing a race to a four thousand year old junkheap and being incredibly embarassed and losing most of my self-esteem, everything is just fine.''

 

''I see.'' Luke tried to hold back the laughter.

 

''Oh, that's nice. Just great. Even you are laughing at me.''

 

''No, no. I apologize'', Luke said, ''So, what's next on the agenda?''

 

''Well, the Falcon is all fixed up and restocked, so I'm ready to head back to Coruscant.''

 

''Well, it's been nice seeing you. Tell me one thing, Han...''

 

''What's that?''

 

''Why did you really come here?''

 

''What do you mean?''

 

''I mean, the Falcon was all battered up when you came, what happened?''

 

''Oh, that. Well, I got into a little dispute with the Cavrilhu pirates.''

 

''And you didn't tell me this because...?''

 

''Well, I didn't wanna worry you, besides it's no big deal, a couple of shots were fired and I got away. They didn't follow me, don't worry.''

 

''Same old Han.'' Luke said.

 

''Always will be. Well, I gotta go, see you around.''

 

''Right. See you, Han.'' Luke said and Han left.

 

Days went by as ordinary as they could be. The students were training under the watchful eyes of their masters and life slowly went on. Luke was just finishing the sorting of all that information he got from HK-47 when he received an urgent call from the Medical Wing of the Jedi Academy. He rushed there as fast as he could. When he came in, doctor Ule was standing there, holding a datapad, the doctor's stance was one of utter confusion.

 

''Doctor Ule?'' Luke asked.

 

''Master Skywalker.'' The doctor said, ''You're here.''

 

''Yes. Your message said that there's some sort of emergency.'' Luke said with some confusion.

 

''Well, there is... sort of.'' The doctor said.

 

''What do you mean?'' Luke asked, his confusion growing by the minute.

 

''Well, something happened. I have absolutely no explanation for it, but...'' Ule paused.

 

''What? What is it?'' Luke asked.

 

''It's Dasha, Master Skywalker.'' Ule said.

 

''What about her? Is everything allright, doctor?'' Luke asked.

 

''That's the thing, Master Skywalker. Everything is just fine.'' Ule said with a slight smile.

 

''Good to hear.'' Luke said, ''Wait a minute... You're not saying...'' And then it hit him like a fist in the face. He restrained himself from using his mind reading abilities as a courtesy, which is why he was so stunned by it all.

 

''This morning Dasha woke up, Master Skywalker.'' Ule said, ''Fully recovered.''

 

''Amazing. So, she's allright now?'' Luke asked.

 

''She seems so. I have no idea how she recovered, but I have a feeling it has something to do with that thing you showed her. It seems it just needed time to work.'' Ule said.

 

''That's excellent news, doctor. Where is she? Can I see her?''

 

''She's still in her room, go on in.'' Ule said.

 

Luke approached the door to the small room to see Dasha sitting there calmly. She saw him and put on a mild smile. He entered.

 

''Master Skywalker.'' Dasha greeted him.

 

''How are you feeling?'' Luke asked.

 

''Fine. The doctors tell me I've been in a coma for a week and that before that I was in a delusional state.'' She said.

 

''Did they tell you how long have you been sick?'' Luke asked.

 

''Eleven years.'' She confirmed sadly, ''That thing, that... creature, or ghost, or whatever it was. It took eleven years of my life away from me.'' She sobbed.

 

''Listen carefully, Dasha. Master Katarn and I have read your journal and the journal from the Ebon Hawk. In the past few days we've had our share of strange and interesting events.'' Luke started.

 

''What happened?'' She asked.

 

''Well, for one thing, the Ebon Hawk is here. At the Academy.'' Luke said.

 

''You excavated it and you towed it here.'' She asked with excitement.

 

''Excavated, yes, but we didn't bring it here. The two droids that were still inside did that.'' Luke said.

 

''They were still operational? Remarkable.'' She said.

 

''Yes, one of our on-site engineers reactivated them.''

 

''So, where are they now?'' Dasha asked.

 

''They are in a hybernatory state, they will reactivate every five years... I'll fill you in on the details later, what's important now is that they've given us a huge amount of historical information and among it was something about your own discovery, the one that caused your illness.'' Luke said.

 

''What did you learn?'' She asked.

 

''We know now that it has something to do with an ancient cult of some sort. Something called the True Teachings. The Jedi Revan went on a distant and remote planet and defeated their leader and at that moment he foresaw a threat rising again in a distant future. I'm convinced now that the break in we had all those years ago and your illness were the work of that threat. Unfortunately, I don't know where he is, or how to stop him, so we'll have to rely ourselves on Revan's droids to do it.''

 

''The droids, Master Skywalker?''

 

''Yes. Apparently, Revan left them and the ship hidden so they could stop this dark threat when he shows himself.''

 

''You keep saying he, do you know who he is?'' Dasha asked.

 

''If I'm right, then the galaxy will face a being never before seen. A Force user, incredibly powerful in the Force, but immune to any Force attack.'' Luke said with a sense of dread.

[The_Catto]

Another good chapter Igy.

[igyman]

Thanks, there's only one more chapter left when this part of the fic is concerned, but I've already started working on the fourth part, so you won't have to wait too long until I start posting that one. And there'll be a lot more action in the fourth part, along with another mystery.

[The_Catto]

Awesome stuff, looking forward to it.

[Diego Varen]

Good Chapter igyman. I noticed one error (Alright not Allright), but other than that it's fine. I'm suprised this part is finishing soon, since it seemed shorter than the others, but the Chapters seemed longer. I'm looking foward to the final Chapter and the fourth Part. Can you give us a Working Title and will it be the final Part?

[igyman]

(Alright not Allright)

 

Thanks, I didn't know that.

 

It seems shorter because when you look at it nothing much happens, but the number of chapters is the same as it was for the second part.

The fourth part will be the final part and the title will most likely be ''Fate of the Future''.

[RC-1162]

very good chapter, iggy. you have a great skill at leaving cliffhangers. keep it up!

[igyman]

Epilogue

 

The present. Coruscant. The capital of the Second Galactic Empire. Still the place of many exciting events and the center of commerce, but ruled now by the Sith. During the planet's terraforming into Yuuzhan'tar, the Yuuzhan Vong crushed its moon and pulled the planet from its orbit, so it lay closer to the sun. Now, ninety seven years later, the planet has recovered, but the invasion will never be forgotten.

 

The planet's climate was now noticeably warmer and some sections of the city are still under reconstruction, some others will probably always remain terraformed. The city-planet was ruled by a tyrant's hand. A tyrant with a strange vision of a galaxy in order and his name was Darth Krayt. Nobody in the new Sith Order really knows who hides behind that Vonduun crab armor, but everyone of his Sith Order knows that he has survived for about a hundred years and only his trusted lieutenants know that he did it by spending a lot of time in stasis. His body has started to fail him, a strange disease slowly killing him, which is why he has made it his goal to find the mysterious Jedi who can bring people back to life.

 

Darth Krayt had a number of lieutenants, most important of all were Darth Wyyrlok, his second in command, then his two Hands – Darth Nihl and Darth Talon and then there was Darth Maladi, Krayt's head of Intelligence. She was just bringing in the latest progress reports.

 

''...we have managed to capture and convert three more Jedi and five Imperial Knights, but we've found no clues as to the whereabouts of the mysterious Jedi you seek, or the former Emperor Roan Fel.'' Maladi reported.

 

''I see. Tell me, Maladi, what have you done at Abregado-rae?'' Krayt asked.

 

''Well, my lord...'' The Devaronian woman started.

 

''Yes, Maladi...'' Krayt knew he wasn't going to like it.

 

''We've organised an ambush for the person you sensed, but we failed.'' She said.

 

''He escaped?'' Krayt demanded.

 

''Not only did he escape, my lord, he also killed the entire smuggling group that lead us to him along with one of our agents. We're not sure about the exact circumstances surrounding the death of the other agent.'' Maladi said.

 

''You only sent two agents against him?!'' Krayt was furious.

 

''Y... yes, my lord. Two of our best on Abregado-rae. We figured that between the two of them and the smugglers our target wouldn't stand a chance.''

 

''You figured?'' Krayt held out his arm in a gripping stance and started to choke Maladi with the Force, ''Did I not tell you that this person is like nothing I've ever sensed before, or do my words mean nothing to you, Maladi!?''

 

''N... no, my lord... of course they do, but...'' she could barely speak.

 

''But nothing!! This is not the first time you've disappointed me, Maladi. I'd be careful if I were you. If you continue down that path, I might have to replace you. Now get out of my sight.'' Krayt released the Devaronian woman from his grip and she tumbled out of the Throne room.

 

''We must be extremely careful, Wyyrlok.'' Krayt said to his second in command a few minutes later, ''I sense that we haven't seen the last of this mysterious threat.''

 

''Threat, my lord?'' Wyyrlok said, ''Are you certain? Perhaps he can be turned to serve you.''

 

''No. I doubt it. You've heard how our agents and those smugglers died.''

 

''I have, my lord.'' Wyyrlok confirmed.

 

''Then you should know that this is someone extremely powerful and extremely dangerous. He must be found and stopped. The galaxy must be put in order and I am running out of time.'' Krayt said.

 

''Are you feeling well, my lord?''

 

''As well as it is possible, Wyyrlok. The disease in my body slowly spreads, we must find the Jedi-healer as soon as possible.''

 

''We are doing our best, my lord.'' Wyyrlok said.

 

''Also, reassign all available men to search for our Abregado-rae fugitive. When they find him, he must be killed.'' Krayt said.

 

Somewhere, on a hidden massive ship factory Ralik and his Lenari army dwelled. His armada slowly grew and the time when everything will be unfolded was approaching. The time when Ralik will fulfill his destiny.

[Diego Varen]

Nice Epilogue igyman. I'm looking foward to the fourth Part. Will it always start with Coruscant, the present, etc? Either way, I'm looking foward to it and I hope it's longer.