Fiction Gallery

They were still at what appeared to be the Lothal Jedi Temple. From what Aura Tavar had spoken of earlier, this portal only changed when we were, not so much where. Aside from the survivors the temple seemed to be abandoned. Unfortunately they assumed that before they were ambushed. Creon's instincts compelled him to scan the room for anything that could have noticed their arrival. His vision took in the area as a whole and checked for any motion against the wind. His senses in the Force detected nothing, but was clouded by the harnessed energy within the dwelling of this temple.

"Stay on guard," Aura called out. "That could have been an indigenous group that could attack again on sight."

"We're quite literally between a rock and a hard place too," Revak Kur quipped at the portal which was now potruding a portion of a massive stone ecompassing the entire area of the portal. It was a big enough rock under a burial mound that no amount of combined effort would lift. Instead they faced the unknowns of an younger galaxy. The Jedi Consul took the first steps towards the entrance. Master Blade and Creon followed.

After searching the entire temple they concluded it was abandoned. They did not find their vessels for which they arrived on Lothal in this new parallel reality, but figured it would still be a long journey on foot to the planet's capital. It was the only city on the planet however, that had a intergalactic transport shuttle. It was a long journey, but their combined efforts into survival led them to discover that they were in the same year as their previous timeline. They returned to find a very different galaxy, one where a 'Galactic Alliance' and 'New Jedi Order' had pushed back a warmongering invasive species from another galaxy. In the Outer Regions they visited the home of Odan-Urr of what they called "New Tython". They found it under siege by Darth Ashen.

The Sith Lord raised his claw towards the skies and raked down lightning upon squadrons of enemy starfighters. The troops on either side fired only on themselves, intentionally ignoring the Force Users out of fear. Had it not been for the efforts of Revak Kur, Master Blade, and Creon the results of the battle would have been the same. The three musketeers brought with them volunteers from the New Jedi Order, which reinforced Clan Odan-Urr and turned the tides against Darth Ashen.

After the war had ended, the Jedi of Odan-Urr and the New Jedi Order became as one. It exposed most of the Brotherhood's influence and cleared up their maps on the outer rim. This "Galactic Jedi Order" shared its wealth and power with the "Galactic Alliance" and was recognized as an equal galactic super power. The Sith Brotherhood and the Imperial Empire were also seen as super powers politically, but not economically. After the war had ended inflation occurred in the Galactic Jedi Order and Galactic Alliance's favor. The Sith Brotherhood was forgotten to time. Propoganda from the Jedi Order and Alliance encouraged the embargo of the "super power" known as the Sith Brotherhood. It seduced the Empire to do the same in favor of sharing wealth. It lasted another 500 years over its own set of planets, but eventually faded when a unified "Galactic Governance" was created out of the three super powers becoming one.

The sky above Dromund Kaas was dark with the black clouds of the turbulent storm raging across the deserted valley. Sinya’ni pulled the hood of her red nightsister robes more tightly over her cyan lekku as she picked her way through the rubble of yet another failed Sith temple.

“They never learn,” she mused aloud. The Rutian may have been working under a Sith regime; however, her own beliefs stayed closer to grey. She avoided the cult-like adherence to what was called the Dark Side. To truly empower oneself, you had to let go of the foolish duality of the Force and accept it as one unified source. The darkness comes from the user. To accept that means you can no longer view yourself as a guiltless pawn of a dark agenda and take responsibility for who you are.

A flash of lightning lit up the valley, followed by a deafening thunder. The entrance to the ruins lay only a dozen meters ahead. Malevolent creatures were lurking in the shadows, and the diminutive Twi’lek could feel their eyes watching her. She paused–the archeologist should be nearby, if he was still alive. She reached out with her senses, pushing past the abhorrent creatures now tensed with anticipation, past the dark energies emanating from the mute walls...there, she felt it. The fear, the loathing. She could sense him deep in the ruined temple. She closed her eyes and thought at him ”Hang on, help coming.”

The creatures were getting impatient. She hadn’t entered their trap yet. Drawing back from her probe and communication with the target, she shifted her focus to the creatures. Three of them were hunkered down in a small cave just to the left of the temple entrance. It was a simple thing really. A tug on a couple stones in strategic spots and the rock face over the cave collapsed. The three unknown hunters pinned beneath and behind several feet of rubble.

Moving on, Sinya’ni entered the temple. It looked much like most other Sith structures. Severe, foreboding, and completely Brobdingnagian. She carefully picked her way through the ruined halls to the waiting scholar. He was truly helpless hiding behind a downed pillar.

“Doctor Livingston, I presume? Come, let’s get out of here,” she said and offered a him a hand out from behind the rubble. “Stay close, we aren’t alone in here.”

“You think? What gave you that impression?” mocked Dr. Livingston, but he accepted the help and followed closely. They were only about halfway to the exit when an angry mutated creature attacked.

“Ahhhhhhhhh! Save me!” cried the cowardly archeologist as he started to run again. But Sinya’ni had the beast sliced in two before he had even rounded the corner.

“Get back here, you big baby!” The Twi’lek called out to him. Reluctantly he came back and they escaped the temple without another incident. Outside however–that’s a different story.

The three pinned gundarks were no longer buried and charged the two sentients exiting the temple. The scholar ran off once more. This time towards the ships.

“Fine! Run off and leave, why don’t you?” Sinya’ni called after him before fading from view. The gundarks circled a few times, trying to figure out where she went. She slowly walked all the way back to her ship. She didn’t even check to see if he made it to his ship safely. She made the liftoff as soon as possible.

“So long you ugly pile of Rocks…”

High upon the peaks of mountain Or'ena, the ruins of the Velastari temple glinted in the setting sun. A loan figure sat crossed legged at the edge of the cliff, with his back to the ancient building. The winds shifted, tugging at the Miralukas' long hair and headband.

Revs reached inside of his robes and pulled out a flask. Taking a long drink, the alcohol helping fight off the feeling of being cold. " Do you know why we don't call them targets?" The voice of his first master Celevon Erinos echoed in his head. "Because a target implies that they may escape. We refer to them as deaders, because once you have accepted the contract they are dead. Failure will not be tolerated."

The words of his old teacher were quickly replaced by those of Marick Arconae. "Quit wasting time. You have one purpose, eliminate the threats and move on with your mission. We do not take prisoners, nor do we leave survivors."

Revs had been trained by some of the Brotherhood's top assassins during the time since he graduated from the Shadow Academy on Arx. His career started with killing petty criminals who were wanted dead by rival gang member. From there he would move on to take out major underworld crime lords in Port O'rval. He had fought in two wars. From fighting on the front lines, to assassinating enemy generals in their sleep. He had never questioned his training, never thought twice about taking a life. But now here with the Jedi…..things were changing.

He had come to Odan-Urr in a desperate attempt to get his younger sister away from the Shadow Clan. She had graduated at the top of her class, and the thought of his baby sister being made into a weapon or left to the hands of a Darkside user who used torture for a teaching tool made the Shadesworn sick to his stomach. Here training with the Jedi, her command of the Force had excelled. Even Revs himself had learned a few new tricks, and even found his entire outlook on things changing.

The Miralukas mind wandered to a recent mission he had run. It was a simple job, to hunt a rogue Togruta that had been harrowing a local village over whether or not they should live as farmers or hunters. It was a simple enough task. The assassin could have easily killed the target and been done with the job, but Aura had requested that he not kill the poor hunter.

The scene played out in Revs head again. The Togruta laying on the ground, the viridian blade of the Mystics lightsaber to its neck. One quick push and the job would have been over right there, but Revs stopped. The Zeltron standing behind him tensed as if waiting to see what the former Shadesworn would do. Revs still couldn't figure why he chose to spare the Togruta's life, but if it made the boss happy he guessed. Maybe he was going soft, maybe he was just getting sick of killing. Either way he decided to take his first prisoner that day. Much to Aura and the rest of the teams surprise.

Maybe it's time to turn a new page. he thought to himself. Maybe it's time to just settle down and live a peaceful life for once. Revs chuckled at the thought. "Yea and maybe I'll quit drinking and settle down. Find a good girl." He stumbled a little as he stood up, talking to himself "Or maybe I can go back to Port O'rval. Lots of good drinks and women there."

Revs turned his back to the setting sun and started to walk into the long forgotten temple. "I hope they still got some beds in here."

I sit beside the fire and think As the world fades and shrinks Away from me and my thoughts Leaving behind feelings of distraught

The light of the fire dances It flares and sparks me into a trance The colors bright and glowing Reminds me on times foregoing

In the dark of the night The fire is my only light Yet the warmth I feel it not For the memories none I forgot

Trying to Prevent Disaster

Zarabi's Hunt Kiast Orbit 39 ABY

Neza-Rem Zarabi read the message on his data pad once more before stowing it in a side compartment. Then he eased the Jumpmaster 5000 out of its orbit.

As the craft entered the atmosphere it jolted slightly. Nez adjusted his angle of entry once more before he turned to input the coordinates into his navigation computer. A short silver furred humanoid creature stumbled its way thru the cockpit door and came to a stop behind Nez.

"Mornin Tig, sorry for the bumpy ride." Nez apologized to his Ewok friend.

"What's going on big man?" The Ewoks slurred statement was heavy with fatigue.

"The SeNet reached out with some intel." Nez handed the datapad over to Tig. After a quick read a creepy smile crept across the Ewok's face.

"These folks are dumb." Tig shook his head. "Back in my day pirates were smart enough to steer clear of Jedi, now they want to kidnap the big cheese. Dumb."

Nez shrugged at his companion before hitting a few more buttons. A sudden thought occurred to Nez.

"What do you mean 'back in my day'?"

Essadan Spaceport Kiast 39 ABY

Upon landing in the city the SeNet had identified, Nez paid the Portmaster his docking fee. He left Tig to deal with the refueling and maintenance crews and with a wave he was gone. The Jedi disappeared in the crowds, moving smoothly thru the crowd as he went.

Nez arrived at the meet up location for the SeNet operative early. He scoped out the small office building and identified three escape routes. Two doors and one large window that wad covered by a roll down shield.

The Jedi reached out with his senses and with the assistance from the Force could tell there were no lifeforms in the building.

After checking that the building was clear he reached out to his surroundings in the same manner. Aside from the normal passerby there was nothing out of the ordinary. The mystic sat and waited for the meet up time to arrive and pass.

Nez was not a patient man so in a nonchalant fashion he made his way to the door and entered the corner office building. The shop was pretty unassuming with trinkets on the shelves all over.

The entire room was also all covered in a thick layer of dust. On the floor small tracks could be seen. Nez followed them to a corner where an R3 astromech sat plugged into a power supply.

Nez turned to head back to the front of the store when the Astromech powered on. Nez turned to the custom painted black and orange Droid only for it to roll up to him and start an audio recording.

"Mystic Neza-Rem Zarabi of Tython Squadron, call sign. Warpath." The voice was augmented by a voice changer but it was definitely a prerecorded message. "This astromech is R3-D6. He will take you to the Pirates base and get you an audience with their captain. Beyond that it's up to you to do what you see fit. Good luck."

The recording abruptly ended and the audio recording device ejected out of the Droid and sparked as it destroyed itself.

'Freaking spies always have the best gear.' Nez thought to himself.

Nez followed the Droid out of the door he entered thru and the pair made their way to the outskirts of town.

Nestled into the side of a small Spaceport of the floating island was a pilot bar. Two security guards stood out front with blaster rifles strapped across their chests. The boisterous noise from inside the building roared out of the single open bay door.

Nez and the R3 Droid approached the two guards and were stopped and asked for identification. R3 provided the credentials illiciting a stare from the two guards who looked the man behind the R3 in Mandalorian armor up and down. One if the two radioed in to some unseen security who, after a few moments, replied to allow them access.

Nez entered the loud hangar bay, turned bar, and gave a glance around. His eyes rested on the leader of the Pirates. He wore old republic commando armor with no helmet. His brown hair was streaked with Grey around his ears and his tanned skin was pristine. None of this man's visage surprised Nez. He had many dealings with all sorts of scoundrels. What piqued his curiosity was the lightsaber hanging off his hip next to a blaster pistol.

A runner snaked his way thru the crowd to the man who was laughing with his men. Whatever was said startled the leader and caused him to pass a worried glance over the armored figure standing with his Droid. With a wave of his hand all the noise in the establishment quieted except for one unfortunate Twilek. The pirate leader pulled his blaster and shot the twilek in the head silencing his cackled forever.

The tension in the room skyrocketed as everyone stated at the corpse and then their leader who was still staring at Nez.

"What may I ask is the reason for the untamed visit. We told the collective representative they sent that we would get it done and tomorrow we plan to launch ournoperation."

'Well now I know why they are so brave to go after Revak.' Nez thought to himself. He had to think on his feet.

"I don't know what the Droid told your guards but I'm not from the collective." Nez let the words hang in the air as he readied himself for a fight. "I am actually here to see if we can't persuade you to our side."

"Who is we?" The pirate leader leaned forward in his chair as his curiosity was piqued.

"Clan Odan Urr." Nez flatly blurted out. The pirate captain sat up in his chair and the color drained from his face as he rested his hand on his blaster. For a few tense moments Nez kept his mind on pulling g his Saber to his hand but the fight never came. The leader raised both hands and chuckled to himself.

"Your famed Sentinel Network really is good." The pirate waved his hands at the crew to sit back down. In the moment Nez had not noticed that every person in the bay laid their hands on their blasters. "So what is you counter offer?"

"Well first you don't start and all out war with Odan urr on a planet you can't keep with a political entity that isn't beholden to any government on this planet." Nez paused as he thought, "Second the Vitali don't come down on whatever routes you run and third I don't have to kill anyone."

The room went nuts with cursing and yelling and laughter.

'I guess if you don't get results asking nicely use a little force.' Nez reached out into the group around him with the Force and into their mind. He pulled one emotion from the depths of their mind. Sheer terror. The ones who were not accustomed to the intrusion fell to their knees or off their chairs while the stronger minded ones stood slowly and back away. The captain sat very still. The look on his face never changed.

"It's a neat trick Jedi but you folk are peace keepers and aren't violent without provocation."

"You threatened to abduct my Mentor and friend, I ask you to test that assumption at your earliest convenience." Nez's lightsaber appeared in his hand and ignited. Not a hair on anyone's head moved after the whizzing activation of the lightsaber. All eyes were on the Jedi to see what he would do.

"I suggest you disappear from this sector before you are removed violently." The growl in Nez's voice was enough of a threat but his words drove it home. The pirate captain just nodded as sweat dripped down his temples.

Nez deactivated his Saber and canceled his connection to their fear. The building let out a collective sigh as the Jedi walked out of the building and vanished into the crowd.

"What do we do boss?" The first mate was the first to speak.

"The collective already paid us right?" The pirate captain kept his eyes on the door.

"Yes bossman."

"Then I suggest we fuel up and make ourself scarce." The pirate captain downed his drjnk and left thru the hangar bay doors to the adjacent hangar.

Aboard the Zarabi's Hunt Essadan Spaceport Kiast 39 ABY

"Hey Tig have they hit hyperspace yet." Nez was reclined against the bulkhead as the Ewok watched the monitor.

"Theg just jumped," Tig looked at Nez, "to Tatooine. What did you do to get them to leave the planet?"

"Oh just some persuasion tactics I picked up." Nez chuckled.

"You threatened them didn't you?" The Ewok retorted flatly. Tig was more stating a fact than he was asking. He knew how his fellow Jedi operated and he wasn't surprised when Nez smiled back at him.

"Alls well that ends well." Nez replied as he took another pull from his drink. "Send my report to the SeNet along with their ship identifiers. I want to know if they ever approach orbit again.

"Yes big man."

I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen. I look upon the flames and see people I have known, People I have loved, people I have lost. Memories swirl through my mind like the smoke from the fire, Drifting away, or choking me.

I try not to have regrets, but I fail. Lives I have affected for better or worse, Lives that affected me. The memories haunt my psyche, dancing across my brain, Like the fire I sit beside, as I think.

I sit beside the fire and think The flitting thoughts of aged mind Like our world, burning, on the brink While my soul drifts forth to find The End.

I sit beside the fire and ponder Before the curtain call of life How our animal race does squander Upon this world, we conquer by the knife And shatter balance once known At the Beginning.

I sit beside the fire and dose Eyes closed, breathing shallow My heart flutters gently upon embers fallow A final reflection before the close. This our Earth we do not keep In condition made for peaceful sleep Greed and strife which our leaders reap Must be stopped before we dig the graves of future folk Too deep.

I sit beside the fire and ponder. I sit beside... I sit.