Master of The Order Vol. 1: Knight of The Order/Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“DARKNESS ON PAMORJAL”

23 BBY

CORUSCANT (FEDERAL DISTRICT), CORUSCANT SYSTEM

'The galaxy is stuck in political turmoil! Thousands of planets have seceded the Galactic Republic to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems. With tempers rising, the two factions edge ever closer to war, with the Jedi wondering what their role will be in the conflict. Hal has received information about a Senate member selling Republic intel to CIS officials. He has enlisted the help of his friend Marx to help him on his search…'

Late-night Coruscant was as active as ever. Colorful lights dominated the streets. Bars and clubs were filled with drunks and party animals, and the more sophisticated made their way to the theaters. Hal Jyvun and Marx Miwa roamed through the streets, hooded to hide their identities. Hal was a tall and fit human. His light brown skin tone highlighted his muscular body. He had wavy dark brown hair with highlights and light brown eyes. His clean shaved face resembled that of a boy, but his serious stare displayed maturity. Marx Miwa, on the other hand, was one of the shorter humans in the Jedi Order. He had dark brown braids and eyes. He had more muscle than Hal, and his dark skin tone showed it.

“Who exactly are we looking for?” Marx asked.

“Bek Verza. Asha told me he’s been selling confidential information to CIS officials,” Hal answered.

“You better hope Master Yoda doesn’t realize we left the Temple,” Marx said. “And Asha’s information about this Bek Verza better be right. I have better things to do than waste my time searching through a mob of drunks.”

“Don’t worry,” Hal assured. “Asha’s information is reliable. We just have to find him, have him tell us where the CIS officers are located and arrest him.”

“I hope you’re right. Let me see the hologram again, I forgot what he looks like.” Hal showed Marx the hologram of Bek Verza. He was a blue-skin Twi’lek. His eyes were blue and his lekku had dark spots all around them. “So, what exactly does Bek like to do on his spare time?”

“According to Asha, he’ll usually book a whole club for the night and invite all his friends,” Hal explained.

“That doesn’t really help much. How do we even know he’s booked an entire club tonight?”

“Asha told me that the Separatist movement has landed him and his allies in a powerful position in the senate. So, we’ll be sure to see him spending some credits on one of these clubs.”

Marx pointed at The Tauntaun, one of the more popular clubs in Coruscant. “If I were to guess, I’d say they aren’t very happy that The Tauntaun isn’t open to the public.” There was a mob outside the club protesting that they were not allowed in. Hal and Marx approached the club and slowly made their way through the crowd until they reached the entrance. They were stopped by two guards.

“Sorry, The Tauntaun has been booked the whole night. Only the names on the list provided by Mister Verza are allowed in.”

Hal stared the two guards in the eyes and waved his hand at them. “You will let us in.”

“We will let you in,” the two guards said. They opened the door without hesitation and let the two Jedi in. As they walked inside the club, the bright neon blue and magenta colors flashed in their faces. They walked past a bright green sign that said: ''Life isn’t fun without strippers. ''Clear glass tubes with Twi’lek dancers were placed around the main bar. All sorts of species were seated around the different tables. The main bar was filled with the party animals, who were drinking, screaming and laughing.

“I hate you so much,” Marx complained. “Look at this place.”

“Let’s just find Verza and get out of here,” Hal replied.

“Let’s split. I’ll take the left; you take the right.”

“Sound.”

Marx walked through the tables around the club, discreetly looking at the different aliens who were seated. “C’mon, Bek. Where are you? What would I be doing if I had a whole club to myself?” He looked one way and the other, then paused for a moment. “I forgot, I’m a Jedi. I have no idea what these people do.” He kept walking through the tables trying to find the blue Twi’lek.

Hal, on the other hand, was trying to make conversation with the drunks. As soon as he separated from Marx, he walked over to the main bar and asked the bartender for a drink. He turned around to one of the men next to him. “Bek really knows how to throw a party doesn’t he?”

“Of course, he does!” The man screamed at the top of his lungs. “I think some senators side with him just for the parties!”

“Interesting,” Hal uttered. “I wish I could find him, so I could congratulate him.”

“He’s usually in one of the main VIP rooms in the back of the club. He always has some business to attend to before joining the party.”

“Hold this for me.” Hal gave the man his cup and left the main bar. “Marx, he’s in one of the VIP rooms at the back of the club. According to one of the men at the bar, he usually does his business before joining the party.”

“Should we wait for him to come out?” Marx asked.

“Of course not. You know I love crashing parties.”

“We should really try to keep this on the low. We’re not even supposed to be here.”

“I know, but it’s too good of an opportunity to pass. Meet me at the back of the club.” Hal made his way to the back of the club and sat down on one of the empty tables. Marx was on the way to the back of the club, but he was stopped by a couple of drunks, who asked him if he was willing to dance for them. One was a short Gran and the other was an Ithorian.

“You got this all confused, buddy. I don’t work here,” Marx told the two men.

“Come on, man. How much credits you want?” The Gran asked.

“Move.”

“Come one, man. We’re all friends here.”

“No, we’re not. Get out of my face.”

The Gran pulled out a knife and threatened Marx. “We tried nicely, now we’re not asking.”

“I warned you.” In an instant, Marx disarmed the Gran, kneed him in the ribs and broke his arm. The man dropped on the floor and started screaming. The Ithorian kneeled next to his friend to try and help him. Everyone at the club stared at Marx for a second and the started cheering him.

“I don’t want any trouble,” the Ithorian shuddered.

“I’m sure you don’t,” Marx said. He walked past the two men and made his way to the back of the club. He reached the end and met up with Hal.

“Keep it on the low, huh,” Hal sarcastically commented.

“He pulled a knife on me,” Marx explained. “I don’t understand what goes through half the minds in this place. Let’s just find Bek and get outta here.”

“As you wish.” The two Jedi stepped up to the VIP entrance and stumbled upon two Houk guards.

“Names,” one of the guards demanded.

“We don’t have names, pal. Just let us through.” Marx replied.

“Names!”

“Chill,” Hal whispered to Marx and then turned his attention to the two guards. “Ignore him, he’s not had the best of days. Here’s the thing, we have very special items for Mr. Verza.”

“What kind of things?” the other guard asked.

“That’s confidential, but you wouldn’t want your boss knowing you didn’t let informants carrying Jedi information through to his room.”

The two guards paused for a moment and looked at each other, thinking. “Go ahead.”

“Morons,” Marx chuckled. The two Jedi entered the VIP rooms and scouted the area before advancing. They slowly walked through the halls until they heard laughing and talking.

“I’m guessing that’s his room,” Marx supposed.

“Yes,” Hal confirmed. “So, do we just barge in and take him?”

“Let’s try to be civilized about this. Follow my lead.” Marx made his presence known by calmly walking into Verza’s room. Inside the room, Verza was gathered with various other aliens. Around them were ten armed guards. They seemed to be discussing ways to aggravate the Republic senators, so that a galaxy-wide war would erupt, and they could profit from selling weapons.

“Verza!” Marx announced. “I rate the place. I’m sorry to spoil your little reunion, but we’re gonna need you to come with us.”

“Jedi!” one of the men shouted.

“Glad you recognized my lightsaber,” Hal said. “Now, Bek, come with us.”

“Shoot them!” Bek Verza ordered.

The guards pulled out their blasters and began shooting at the two Jedi. Hal and Marx ignited their lightsabers and began deflecting blaster bolts all over the room. Marx went on the offensive and attacked the guards. He sliced through two of the guards and impaled a third one’s chest. Hal, on the other hand, focused on deflecting the shots and blocked any exits that Bek Verza could have.

“Kill them, kill them!” Bek Verza screamed.

Marx kept deflecting blaster shots and attacking the guards. He cut a guard’s head and the hand off another, before kicking him against the wall. The remaining two guards dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Hal grabbed Bek Verza and left the room. The two Jedi took the Twi’lek to the back alley and interrogated him.

“What information are you selling the CIS officials?” Hal asked.

“What good will it do to you?” Bek Verza responded.

Marx punched him in the face. “We ask the questions. Who are you selling the information to?”

“You can’t stop the war that’s about to ensue. Both senates are losing their patience and every day a galaxy-wide war edges closer.”

“Answer the question!” Hal demanded. “I’m running out of patience.”

“What are you going to do? Kill me? That’s not the Jedi way, for some of you.”

“What do you mean?” Marx asked.

Bek Verza smiled and stared at Marx, he then turned his eyes to Hal and smiled. “My employer, he’s one of you, he’s the one who began this crisis and he’ll be the one to make me rich once a galaxy-wide conflict erupts. That’s why he left your order.”

“Enough with the lies. Contact Captain Wolf.” Hal told Marx. “We don’t have the necessary means to get information out of him, but he does.”

“We’re already here,” a young woman’s voice stated. Out of the shadows of the alley, a young woman appeared, followed by two soldiers.

“Asha.” Hal said. “What are you doing here? How did you know we were here?”

“Well, we heard there had been multiple reports of shots at The Tauntaun, so we figured you two might’ve been causing some trouble.” Asha Nala walked up to the two Jedi. She was still very young, eighteen years of age. She was dark-skinned with dark brown eyes and brown long straight hair. She was lean and among the shorter women, but still a little taller than Marx.

“We’ll take him from here,” Captain Wolf informed. “And we’ll make sure he gives us every bit of information we need.” Wolf was big and muscular. He was dark-skinned and his body was covered by tattoos. His eyes were as dark as his skin and he had a small afro.

“Senator Nala, it’s been a long time,” Bek Verza commented. “I look forward to our next reunion.”

“You won’t have to wait long,” Asha replied. “Take him to the shuttle. I’ll be there in a moment.” She looked at Hal in the eyes. “Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You too, Marx.”

“Don’t mention it, Senator. We’re here to help.”

“I’ll see both of you later.” Asha turned around and made her way to the shuttle a couple of blocks away from the alley.

“Let’s go, Hal,” Marx said. “You’ll see her again.”

Hal kept looking at Asha until she was no longer visible. “I know, I know.” He turned around and joined his friend back to the Jedi Temple.

“I hope Master Yoda doesn’t find out we left.” Marx commented.

“I wouldn’t sweat it; they know us by now.”

Back at the Jedi Temple...

Hal and Marx arrived at the Jedi Temple unnoticed. They entered through one of the many secret entrances. Once inside, they each split up to their own rooms. “Let’s see if I can finally get some sleep,” Hal said, before going to his room.

“You still having those nightmares?” Marx asked.

“Yeah. Each night they change.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes they’re about my family, then other nights they’re about Master Plo, or about you guys, or even about myself.”

“You should talk to Master Yoda about it.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Hal left for his room. On his way, he pondered on what Bek Verza had said back at The Tauntaun. ''A Jedi began the Secessionist Movement? Impossible, ''he thought. Bek Verza said that it was a Jedi that had left the Order. The only Jedi that had left the Order was Master Dooku, but in Hal’s mind it was impossible that Dooku would do such thing. After all, it was Dooku who personally trained Hal in lightsaber combat, who cared about his development and always supported Hal in his Padawan years. Hal reached his quarters and entered the room. He accommodated his things and laid on his bed. He closed his eyes and began meditating, hoping that it would help him fall asleep quicker and peacefully.

“Soulsaber…”

“Vormijj…”

“Danger…”

Hal woke up desperately. This was the fifth time he woke up. “Who’s there?” He looked around his room. “Five times in one night! Take a break.” He sat up in his bed and closed his eyes. “Meditation it is.” He decided to meditate in order to form a better connection with the voices. Hal quickly visioned a fight between various Jedi and a Sith. The Sith was a far superior fighter than the Jedi, quickly taking out the ones that challenged him individually. The Sith was finally defeated when the Jedi decided to attack him all at once, and even then, it took every Jedi in the battlefield. The vision then transitioned to a dark side artifact, similar to a lightsaber. After that, it was all black.

“Hal, wake up! Let’s go get breakfast,” a girl’s voice called.

Hal woke up and saw the girl standing next to his bed. “What is it,?”

It was Ahsoka Tano. “Get up, lazy. Let’s go get breakfast, Marx and Shalla are waiting for us.”

“Wait outside, I’ll be out in a moment.”

Ahsoka agreed and left the room. Hal got up from bed and looked around his room. He stood still for a moment and tried to remember what happened during the night. The last thing he remembered was the artifact in his vision. Hal grabbed his Jedi robe and left his room. Outside the room was Ahsoka, waiting for him. “What happened to you?” she asked.

“Long, hard night, little one,” Hal replied. He looked at Ahsoka and patted her in the head. “Let’s go get some food.” On their way to the refectory, they spoke about Hal’s events during the night. Hal explained to Ahsoka what he and Marx were doing in Coruscant, but he made her promise she wouldn’t tell anything to Plo Koon.

“I promise, Hal,” she swore. “Master Plo won’t know a thing.”

“Thank you,” Hal appreciated. Hal and Ahsoka reached the refectory and grabbed breakfast. Hal heard a whistle and after a moment of looking around, he saw Marx and Shalla, who were sitting on one of the more secluded tables. They made their way to the table and sat down with them. Next to Marx was Shalla, his sister. She was even shorter than Marx. Her dark brown hair was cut shorter was the same color as her eyes. Her skin color was a lighter than Marx’s and she had an acrobatic build.

“How was your sleep?” Marx asked.

“Same as always,” Hal responded.

“It was horrible,” Ahsoka emphasized.

Marx and Shalla chuckled. “What about your night?” Shalla asked Ahsoka.

“Mine was good,” she replied.

“I wish I could say that,” Marx commented.

“You had trouble sleeping too?” Hal asked.

Marx looked at Hal dead in the eye. “I kept hearing the same voices over and over: ‘Soulsaber, Vormijj, Danger.’ They didn’t stop throughout the whole night.”

“That’s really weird. I kept hearing the same voices.” Hal said. “After some time, I decided to meditate around them, and I managed to form a connection with the voices and had a few visions.”

“What did you see?” Shalla asked.

“I’m not sure. All I remember are some Jedi fighting a very powerful Sith and then an artifact, similar to a lightsaber.”

“We should go see Master Yoda; he can definitely help us.” Marx suggested.

Hal agreed. The four Jedi finished their food and went on with the rest of their day. Miwa accompanied Ahsoka to her youngling practices, while Hal and Marx visited Yoda for help. The two Jedi arrived at Yoda’s quarters and the doors automatically opened. Hal and Marx looked at each other curiously. “Come in, you may,” Yoda said. Hal and Marx entered Yoda’s quarters and sat with him on the floor. Yoda was meditating. The room was filled with a peaceful aroma, not a bad vibe in sight. All Hal could feel was harmony.

“Trouble, you boys have, eh?” Yoda asked.

“We need some advice,” Hal explained. “Last night we heard some voices.”

“They whispered the same voices over and over,” Marx added. “Soulsaber, Vormijj, Danger.”

“Soulsaber,” Yoda let out after some thinking. “Long ago, it was built. A dark-side artifact made by a Dark Jedi. Very, very dangerous it is.” Master Yoda went on to explain that the Soulsaber, rather than a weapon, was more of a manifestation of the dark side itself. It was a nexus of dark-side energy, and its presence could be felt by anyone standing near it. He explained that any being untainted by the dark side who touched the Soulsaber was immediately hit with a backlash of dark-side energy.

“What should we do, Master?” Hal asked.

“Trust your instincts, you must, and do what you believe is right.”

“Well, the voices gave us a location, Vormijj,” Marx said.

“Vormijj,” Hal repeated. “The Temple of Vormijj, located in the jungles of Pamorjal!”

“If they contacted us, they were maybe calling for help.” Marx theorized. “After all, one of the voices did say ‘danger’”

“Very cautious, you must be,” Yoda warned. “Created not only to destroy life, but to corrupt Force-sensitive beings to the dark side, the Soulsaber was. Fill the wielder with negative emotions, such as anger, aggression, and fear, igniting it will, and turn some Jedi to the dark side, it could.”

“Don’t worry, Master Yoda.” Hal assured. “We’ll be careful.” The two Jedi left Master Yoda’s quarters and prepared to embark on their mission to Pamorjal.

At Pamorjal...

“We’re entering the planet’s atmosphere,” Hal informed. “You ready to do this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Marx answered. “Why do we have these clothes again?” They were both wearing a leather base layer with metal armor, leather pants, and leather boots.

“For unknown reasons, Jedi are banned from the Pamorjal jungles. My guess is it has something to do with the temple.”

“Do we know where this temple is?”

“Nope, but Pamorjal’s central market is filled with people willing to do anything for money. We’ll just pay one to guide us.” Hal piloted the shuttle into the planet’s atmosphere and landed the ship in the central market’s landing zone.

“Put your lightsaber inside the backpack,” Hal told Marx. “We’ll take them out once we reach the temple.”

Marx put his lightsaber inside Hal’s backpack, and they disembarked the shuttle. As soon as they were on the ground, they were interrupted by a salesman.

“Good day, gentleman,” the man greeted. “What brings you to Pamorjal today?”

Hal and Marx looked at each other. The man was extremely enthusiastic and well mannered. “We’re looking for someone to take us to the temple.” Marx pulled out a bag and jiggled it. “We’ll pay good money for whoever takes us there.”

The man’s eyes shined as he looked at the bag. “Say no more. My name’s Julius Decaux, and I’ll be your guide for today. I should tell you that the temple is very dangerous and not everybody makes it out alive.”

“We know,” Hal replied.

Julius raised his eyebrows surprised. “Follow me, then.”

Hal and Marx followed Julius through the main trail that led to Pamorjal’s main jungle. They followed the main trail into the jungle for about one and a half miles. They then deviated from the trail into a small route to the left of the trail. They followed the route straight until there was no more route to follow.

“This is where it gets tricky,” Julius said. “There’s no more trail. This is all by memory.”

“Can you get us there?” Marx asked.

“Probably. Be careful with the Parjcals.”

“Parjcals?” Hal asked.

“Yes. They are giant felines that will rip you apart if you are not careful.”

“That sounds lovely,” Marx commented. They kept following Julius through the jungle until they reached an open area with symbols on the ground. They were big and painted all over the grass.

“We’re on the right track.” Julius said.

Hal looked at the grass and examined the symbols. It was an ancient dialect. He heard movement through the grass and looked up and around him. “We’re not alone.”

“I feel it too,” Marx said. He surveyed his surroundings and tried to make out where the sounds were coming from.

“This is not good,” Julius said.

“What?” Hal asked.

“The natives.” Julius looked around him terrified, trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from. He pulled out a blaster and stood close to Hal and Marx. “You guys are armed, right?”

“We don’t need guns,” Marx responded. He heard a loud screech. A dozen of natives jumped from the woods and attacked the merchant and two Jedi. Julius began shooting the natives, who carried metal shields and spears. They covered themselves with the metal shields and pushed him. He managed to land some shots on some of them but was forced to retreat. Hal and Marx engaged them in hand to hand combat. Hal knocked out a native and took his shield and spear to fight the others. He stabbed a native in the chest and struck another in the face with his shield. Marx, meanwhile, kept fighting the natives with his bare hands. The natives that engaged him were quickly brushed aside with a series of strikes that left them on the ground. Hal finished off the natives that attacked him and turned his attention to Julius, who was being attacked by four natives.

“Help!” Julius frightfully pulled the trigger of his blaster as the natives surrounded him. He managed to kill one of them and as the others closed on him, Hal engaged them with his hands. He attacked one of the natives from behind and smashed his head on the floor, leaving him unconscious. He then moved on to the next one, kicking him on the neck and breaking it and with the final one, he grabbed one of the shields and threw it at the native, slamming his head and dropping him on the floor.

Marx finished what was left of the natives attacking him and rushed to Hal and Julius. “Well, that went quite well I would say.”

“Indeed,” Julius concurred.

“We need to get to the temple now,” Hal said. “We’re running out of time.”

“Of course. Follow me.” Julius led the two Jedi through what was left of the woods until, after ten minutes, they reached the temple. Instantly, the dark energy emerging from the temple was felt by Hal and Marx. It was unlike anything they had ever felt. The coldness entered their body and messed with their senses.

“Here we are. The Temples of Vormijj,” Julius presented. “Now, what I’m owed.” He extended his arms, demanding his payment for risking his life to take them to their location. Hal pulled out the sack with credits and handed it to Julius. The merchant jiggled the sack and heard the credits. He then smiled, nodded at the two Jedi and made his way back to the market. When Julius was out of view, Hal took out the lightsabers and handed Marx his.

“The coldness from inside is unlike anything I’ve ever felt,” Marx remarked.

“We have to be very careful,” Hal pointed out. “We have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

Marx nodded in agreement and they went up the stairs. At the entrance were located four giant statues of ancient Jedi. They were all caped and carrying staffs. The inside of the temple was completely dark and there was a ten feet tall door in their way.

“Time to turn on the lightsabers,” Hal said. He pulled out his saber and ignited it. The area lit up green and Hal analyzed the door in front of him. “This door can only be opened by Force users. I read about these types of doors before. In order to open it, the Force user must form a deep connection with it, unlocking it from within.” Hal handed Marx his lightsaber. He turned to the door and closed his eyes. He extended his arms to the door, concentrating all his senses into connecting with the door. The door spoke to him, as if it was alive. It guided him through its mechanism, until Hal opened the door.

“That was…impressive,” Marx said, impressed at the complexity of the door. He handed Hal his lightsaber and they both entered the temple. The lightsabers were the only light source inside the temple. It was completely dark and quiet. From what Hal could see, the temple was completely tattered. Pillars were destroyed and the floors and walls were falling apart. Fauna had taken over the temple.

“You hear that, Marx?” Hal looked around. He waved his sabers, lighting the area around him. “They keep whispering in some ancient dialect.”

“I hear it too,” Marx affirmed. “We need to keep moving, find what we need and get out of this place. It gives me the creeps.”

“I’m with you on that one.”

After walking some time through the temple passageways, they reached a circular room, with three different passageways.

“Now what?” Marx asked.

Hal shushed Marx. “Do you hear that?”

In the distant, an old man’s voice could be heard. It was a very familiar voice to Hal. He had heard that voice since he joined the Jedi Order, and that voice belonged to someone very special.

“Dooku,” Marx said. “What’s he doing here? No one’s heard of him for some time.”

“Maybe he’s in trouble.”

“Yeah, but where’s the voice coming from?”

Hal paid very close attention to Dooku’s voice and attuned his senses to figure out where the voice was coming from. “Left passageway. Let’s go!”

Hal ran into the passageway and Marx followed him. With their lightsabers ignited, they ran the entire passageway, but Hal stopped just before his lightsaber lit up the end of the corridor. “I have a very bad feeling about this.”

“Is it the loud breathing that lets us know there’s clearly something between us and the end of the passage?” Marx sarcastically asked. “Or the fact that my senses are all over the place and I sense a darkness like no other?”

“A combination of both.” Hal lit up what was left of the corridor. Three guards revealed themselves and pulled out lightsabers.

“This is not good,” Marx said.

“We’re gonna have to face them.”

Without saying a word, the guards ignited their red lightsabers. Hal and Marx assumed a combat stance and waited for the guards to make their moves. One of the guards lunged at Hal. Sabers clashed between them in a crackling frenzy. They pressed against each other's strength, but neither of them gave. Marx was almost shaking, he had never fought a Sith in his life, and then two came along. He focused on blocking the strikes and trying to counter them when they were vulnerable, but it came to no avail. He watched as his friend battled the other guard fearlessly, but nothing scared him more than the thought of losing him right there and then.

Hal pushed the guard into the corridor wall and tried to stab him, but the guard dodged his lightsaber slash and kneed him in the chest before throwing him into the ground.

Marx Force pushed one of the guards against the wall and using his agility, stabbed the guard in the shoulder. He turned his attention to the other guard. They engaged in more lightsaber combat. The guard grabbed Marx by the neck and slammed him into the ground, causing him to drop his lightsaber.

Hal got up and lashed at the guard he was fighting. The guard dodged his lash, grabbed Hal and kicked him into the floor. On the floor, Hal felt the dark presence around him, but he realized it did not come from the guards, it came from beyond the door. This meant that the guards were not Force users. As the guard slashed his saber down at Hal, he was Force pushed back. Hal got up and attacked the guard. A quick slash combo knocked the lightsaber off the guard’s hand and Hal slashed him in the chest. The guard dropped dead and Hal saw Marx being choked to death on the floor. “Marx!” He ran to his friend’s aid. Using the Force, he pulled the lightsaber from the guard he killed and ignited it. As he lunged at the guard, he was confronted by the other guard who had been stabbed in the shoulder.

As Marx began to lose air and life from being choked, he used all his power to pull his lightsaber with the Force and before the guard was able to react, Marx ignited his blue lightsaber and decapitated him. He got up and saw Hal battling the last guard.

Hal used the two lightsabers to overwhelm the guard and, before he was able to do anything, Hal had the two lightsabers stabbed through the guard. The guard dropped on the floor and Hal threw the red lightsaber to the floor. “I thought you needed saving.”

“I managed.” Marx looked at the three dead guards on the floor. “What were those things?”

“I have no idea. They wielded lightsabers, but they’re not Sith.”

“Let’s get the Soulsaber and get out of here.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” Hal opened the door and they entered the dark room.

“Well, well, well. What a surprise.”

“Dooku, what are you doing here?” Hal asked.

“The better question is, what are you doing here?” A hooded figure emerged from the shadows and stood next to Dooku.

“You should not be here,” Dooku warned. “Leave while you still have the chance.”

A chill went down Hal’s spine as he heard Dooku’s words. That was not the Dooku he knew. Something told him that the friend and mentor he once had no longer existed. “Dooku, what happened to you?” He asked.

“All will soon make sense, my dear friend,” Dooku answered. “But for your own sake, leave now.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Marx stated. He pointed his lightsaber at Dooku and the hooded figure. “Now hand us the Soulsaber.”

“Do what you must, apprentice,” the hooded figure commanded. “I want that Soulsaber in our hands.”

“Yes, Master.”

The hooded figure disappeared into the darkness of the temple, leaving Dooku, Marx and Hal to battle for the Soulsaber. Marx lunged at Dooku, but he ignited his red lightsaber and blocked Marx’s strike.

Dooku pushed the Marx aside and took on a better position to defend himself from the Jedi. He had no intentions of killing either of them. He would just tire them out and escape with the Soulsaber when he had the chance.

“It can’t be,” Hal said perplexed. He could not understand how the man who mentored him in lightsaber combat and was one of the greatest Jedi he knew could turn to the dark side. “Why?”

“If I explained to you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Dooku tried to explain. “Walk away and no one will be harmed.”

“We can’t allow that,” Hal said tartly. “The Soulsaber’s coming with us.”

“Then you leave me no choice.”

Hal and Marx approached Dooku from the left and right. Marx charged Dooku again, but the Sith Lord swiftly blocked all of Marx’s strikes. Hal attacked Dooku as well but had all his strikes blocked too. Dooku hit Marx with a blast of Force lightning and left him on the floor. He tried to Hal too with Force lightning, but the young Jedi blocked it with his lightsaber. The two interchanged a series of blows and slashes, but none managed to land any of them, for the other either blocked them or dodged them.

After some time, Marx got up from Dooku’s lightning strike and witnessed his friend locked in combat with Dooku. He picked up his lightsaber and rushed to help Hal. Dooku Force pushed Hal into a wall and when Marx charged him, he dodged the Jedi’s strike and slashed him in the leg. He took the opportunity and grabbed the Soulsaber. As soon as he removed the Soulsaber from the pedestal, he heard a loud rumbling and the temple began collapsing on top of them. Dooku lost his balance and fell, with the Soulsaber dropping to the floor.

“Hal, now!” Marx signaled. He used the Force to toss the Soulsaber toward Hal. Hal grabbed the backpack and caught the Soulsaber with it. He helped Marx up and they both headed for the exit, but they were blocked off by Dooku.

“Don’t make me kill you both,” Dooku pleaded. “Just hand over the Soulsaber.”

“You don’t take no for an answer, do you?” Marx asked.

Dooku ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the two Jedi. Marx and Hal dodged the strike and they both Force pushed Dooku into the room at the same time.

“We should leave,” Marx said.

“You’re probably right,” Hal confirmed. They left the room and made their way through the crumbling corridors. The was ceiling falling apart on top of them, but they either dodged the falling debris or used the Force to push it from on top of them. After traversing the entire temple, they reached the exit, but it was blocked with debris.

“Quick, use the Force to move the debris off the

exit.” Marx began moving debris with the Force, but before he could even move one piece from the exit, a Force lightning strike hit him and flung him through the debris and outside the temple.

“I have run out of patience!” Dooku exclaimed. He ignited his lightsaber and walked furiously towards Hal. The Jedi retreated to aid his friend, who was down on the ground. As he exited the temple, he was stopped by Julius and a squad of Pamorjal forces.

“Jedi! You will pay for what you have done to our temple,” Julius barked. “Kill them!” The Pamorjal forces began shooting at Dooku and Hal. Dooku tried to take advantage of the moment to take the Soulsaber from Hal, but as he made a move towards the backpack, someone threw a grenade at them and the explosion knocked both of them to the ground. Dooku got up and sent a shockwave of lightning towards the soldiers shooting at him. He Force pulled Hal’s backpack toward him, but Marx grabbed it midair and placed it on his back. Dooku, with no more options left, made a run for it and disappeared into the woods, leaving Marx and an unconscious Hal to battle Julius and the remaining Pamorjal forces. Marx used all of his powers to Force push the Pamorjal soldiers to the ground. He then grabbed Hal in his shoulders and made a run for the tall grass. Some soldiers got up and started shooting at him, but he deflected the shots with his lightsaber.

After going deeper into the tall grass, he stopped to sit down on a rock and tried to wake up Hal. He heard a shuttle flying above him and looked up to see Dooku’s shuttle leaving the planet. “That’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

Hal began to slowly open his eyes and looked around unclearly. “Do you have the backpack?”

“I do,” Marx answered. He helped Hal get up and patted him in the back. “We should get out of here. Pamorjal forces are looking for us everywhere.”

“I hope our ship’s still in one piece.”

They made their way through the tall grass and the woods until they arrived at the central market. They took a peek at their shuttle; it was crawling with Pamorjal soldiers.

“That’s not good, is it,” Marx commented.

“We’re gonna need a new shuttle,” Hal said. Hal looked around and saw a shuttle that was quite unguarded. “There.” He pointed to the shuttle. “We’re need disguises to make our way to the shuttle, though.” No one answered. He looked behind him and Marx wasn’t there. “What the…” He looked to the front again and saw Marx standing in from of him with two hoods.

“Way ahead of you,” Marx said. He gave Hal one of the hoods and they both put them on. They began walking through the market and went across to the unguarded shuttle. They boarded the shuttle and when they entered the cockpit, they stumbled upon three Pamorjal soldiers. They all stared at each other for a moment and before the soldiers could take out their weapons, Marx and Hal landed several blows on them and knocked them out.

As Hal started up the shuttle, Marx dumped the soldiers’ bodies outside the shuttle. Several soldiers noticed Marx dumping the bodies outside the shuttle and began shooting at him. “Time to go!” Marx exclaimed. He waved at the soldiers and closed shuttle’s ramp. He joined Hal on the cockpit and they immediately left the planet’s surface.

Once on space and away from trouble, Hal pondered on the events that had just occurred. He wondered what could have caused Dooku to turn to the dark side, who was the hooded man Dooku called “master”, and what did they want with the Soulsaber.

Some time later...

Back on Coruscant, Hal and Marx joined the Jedi Council to report their findings back on Pamorjal. They explained that the voices they both heard during their sleep were warning them about Dooku and the hooded figure using the Soulsaber’s powers for their own gains. They also confirmed that their long-time friend and former Jedi Dooku had fallen to the dark side and was apprentice to a secret master.

“That is a shame,” Mace Windu lamented. “He was one of the best Jedi the order had.”

“Indeed,” Yoda agreed. “But bigger questions, all of this expose. The identity of this Sith Lord, we must figure out.”

“We didn’t get a good look at him, but he seemed older and had a very eerie voice,” Hal explained.

“This Sith Lord could be the same one that trained Darth Maul, which means Kenobi killed the apprentice and not the master,” Plo Koon theorized.

“For now, we’ll try to track down Dooku any way we can,” Windu said. “We also need to keep an eye on this emerging crisis.”

“Our part in this emerging conflict, I know not,” Yoda said. “Careful not to lose our ways, we must be.” The Grand Master looked worried, as he stared at the two Jedi Knights in front of him.

“What will happen to the Soulsaber?” Marx asked.

“The Soulsaber will be locked deep in the vaults so that its dark powers are not used to wreak havoc across the galaxy,” Ki-Adi-Mundi informed.

“Thank you, masters.” Marx and Hal bowed at the Jedi Masters in front of them and they exited the Jedi Council Chamber.

Outside the chamber, Hal spoke with Marx and Plo Koon. His master congratulated him on recovering the Soulsaber and bringing it safely to Coruscant.

“Thank you, Master. Couldn’t have done it without your training.”

“At least now it’s safe in the vaults,” Marx said. “If you’ll excuse me, my sister needs my help in the hangar.” Marx retreated from the conversation and made his way to the hangar to help Shalla.

“Master, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it, Hal?”

“I’ve been feeling a very familiar connection throughout the temple lately.”

“Familiar?”

“Yes. Familiar in the sense that it is very strong, almost brotherlike.”

“As if you had a family member close to you?”

“Exactly. I don’t really know how, but I feel it.”

“Meditate on it. I’m sure you’ll find the answer. If you don’t, find me and I’ll try to help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you, Master.” Hal and Plo Koon parted ways. Hal headed for his quarters and Plo Koon entered the Council chamber.

“Become very powerful, he has,” Yoda told Plo Koon.

“And at a very young age,” Plo Koon added. “He still has a very young mind, but he has already become far superior than many Jedi in the order.”

“Make sure he continues this path, you must.”

“I won’t let him down. I promise.”

“A beacon of light during the dark times ahead, he will become.”