Sar had been very excited for his first mission, and while he still was. His initial excitement had quickly been quelled quite a bit as soon as he saw the Starship he would be traveling in.
The thing was old, bordering on ancient. It was a transport class, and while it was quite big that was pretty much the only thing it had going for it. The ship was designed after a foreign bird called a Swallow. Therefore the wings ran along with the elongated shape of the ship ending in two big engines at the end. The cockpit was raised slightly above the hull and was constructed mainly of metals with a slim window in the middle.
But make no mistake the ship was basically just a scrap pile, it was so rusted that there was more rust than the original off-white metal color the ship had probably held in its younger years. His Master had already started the engines and activated the deflector shields, so Sar could quite clearly hear the wheezing of the two engines.
While sitting in the co-pilot chair in the cockpit next to his Master he tried to observe everything he could from it, and everywhere he looked he would either find more rust or tech that was outdated by a few decades.
Sar worriedly turned to his Master and asked.
"Master are we sure this piece of hover junk can even get off-world?"
Shaak Ti turned to look at her concerned padawan before hand-waving his concerns away and starting to enter the coordinates for Eoliv into the navigation system.
"Not to worry Sar while I wouldn't count us lasting long in a space battle it will be adequate as a mean of travel to Eoliv"
Hearing his Master's carefree reply Sar merely mumbled something along the lines of "Does this thing even have a Hyperdrive?" in a sulky tone.
Shaak Ti ignored her padawan's grumbles and exited the atmosphere all the while the ship shook and sputtered in protest from the sudden change in pressure which did not ease Sar's worries. When the ship entered the vacuum of space she immediately confirmed her coordinates and entered Hyperspace.
The ship slowly stopped shaking and the motor went silent while the scenery from outside the slim window changed from a world of stars to a narrow tunnel of blue streaks of light.
Seeing and feeling that the ship had entered Hyperdrive without a problem Sar finally began to relax before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, only to be interrupted by the teasing voice of his Master.
"Faith is also an important trait for a Jedi you really should have a little more in me young Sar"
Sar opened one of his eyes looking at his mentor.
"Well I would have more faith if the thing you were going to be flying wasn't a huge chunk of rust"
Shaak Ti smiled and responded.
"Yes, I will agree that this is not the most...Luxurious of Starships"
Sar opened his other eye and sat up a little straighter in his seat, before switching to a more serious face and asking his Master.
"Master, what exactly makes the council believe that there is something related to the dark side there?"
Hearing Sar's question Shaak Ti also put on a serious face before answering.
"Well Eoliv has always been under observation by the order, along with a lot of other planets throughout the galaxy" Looking at her padawan's curious and confused expression she continued "Before their destruction the Sith had plenty of planets under their control which the order keep a close eye on, one of which just so happens to be Eoliv"
Sar thought it strange to think that long ago the Sith actually controlled whole planets while they were now no more than a scary story. Sar still did not understand one thing.
"But Master if the council has always known about Eoliv's history then why are they sending us out now?"
Shaak Ti nodded a little and answered.
"Well, while we have always known about their history we have never actually felt a presence on any of the former Sith planets until a few days ago when we got the word about the dark presence on Eoliv"
Sar finally understood the necessity for this mission and reaffirmed his resolve to accomplish whatever it entailed. Seeing and sensing that Sar had understood the implications of the mission Shaak Ti addressed him.
"Now, that your questions have been answered I suggest you use the time we are in Hyperspace to meditate" Shaak Ti gestured towards the window in the cockpit "We still got some time before we arrive inside Eoliv space"
Sar quickly agreed before rising from the co-pilot chair and heading towards the small room in the ship to meditate.
***
Watching as Sar left the bridge Shaak Ti also decided to meditate. She quickly slipped into the quiet and tranquil embrace of the force with practiced ease before reflecting over the past few years.
A lot had happened from the discovery of the chosen one to Qui-Gon's death. Also, the possible survival of the Sith was a huge cause for concern while some on the council did not believe it. She had no reason to doubt the word of several Jedi's and the evidence presented.
However, the force always worked in balance, proven by the acceptation of her request for a padawan. She had always loved teaching others but had debated whether to actually take an apprentice due to the fact that it would take time away from her duties to the high council, but in the end, she decided that having a padawan to teach would not only strengthen the order but her connection to the force as well.
And she thanked the force for granting her Sar Landala as her padawan. While at first glance he seemed like a troublemaker the truth was that he was a very well disciplined and intelligent young man. His talent with the lightsaber and force was astonishing and his willingness to learn pleased her immensely. Though he could be quite the cheeky brat at times he seemed to take the Jedi teachings very seriously.
Yet his impatience was still a cause of worry for her. While he had gotten better had it he was still far too eager to master everything immediately rather than taking it slowly. She had actually wanted to oppose the council's suggestion that she take him with her on this mission, but she knew that Sar was more than capable enough take accompany her on a scouting mission and that she should not let her feelings get the better of her.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Who knows maybe he would learn some patience during this mission.
Emptying her mind after her little reminiscing. She truly began to meditate. Time passed and she was deeply immersed in the force when suddenly a dark chilling feeling assaulted her. Snapping her eyes open she quickly sprung up from he seat reaching for he lightsaber, only to realize the lightsaber was no longer attached to her waist.
Looking around in confusion Shaak Ti noticed something troubling. She was no longer standing on the bridge of the transporter but in a world of shadows.
Everywhere she looked there was darkness however the darkness seemed to be moving almost like completely black smoke floating through the air. While confused and on guard, due to the sudden situation Shaak Ti still remained completely calm. Using the force she tried to see if she could sense something.
Her force sense caught a faint presence different from the dark world around her. She quickly turned toward the direction of the thing, or rather the person she had sensed. For there stood a robed figure wearing robes even blacker than the world around them, sick yellow eyes gleaming with a sinister glow from under the hood. He or she stood about as tall as Shaak Ti herself but still seemed to somehow tower over her.
Shaak Ti got into a hand to hand combat position as she felt that the person in front of he had no good intentions.
"Who are you!"
Shaak Ti demanded in a strong calm tone of voice that carried her strength in the force with it. The shadowy figure merely ignored the question, only shifting slightly making the shadows around it move slightly. Then the distinct sound of a lightsaber being lighted resounded throughout the darkness. A ruby red blade emerged from the hand of the figure.
It lifted the hand holding the lightsaber slightly pointing the blade at Shaak Ti, before chuckling in a coarse manner. Shaak Ti could still not glean anything from the figure, and before she had a chance to say anything else, the scenery once again changed.
She knows found herself on her knees in a little clearing on a planet she didn't know. It would seem to be some kind of forest however it seemed as if a great battle had taken place with the forest on fire and the grass in the clearing scorched and destroyed. Looking up slightly she once again came face to face with the shadowy figure from before.
It was standing right in front of her looking down at her with its arms in its robes. She could still not see the face of the figure beneath the robe, only staring into those horrible yellow eyes.
After a minute of seemingly nothing happening the figure finally removed its hands from its robes. One of them holding a lightsaber. The figure ignited the lightsaber and the sound of humming filled the dead clearing. Slowly lifting the lightsaber up over its head in a two-handed grip it finally spoke.
"The Jedi have failed!" The hoarse voice clearly belonged to a male, and she had a strange feeling that she had heard it somewhere before. Before she could think any further the figure spoke once again "YOU HAVE FAILED, SHAAK TI!"
And with that shout of hatred and malice, the ruby red lightsaber was swung down.
***
Sar was in his room meditation when he suddenly felt a sudden disturbance in the force. Quickly opening his eyes he sprung up from his meditation position and sprinted for the bridge. Quickly opening the door and entering he spotted his Master on one knee, her hand on the floor and other holding the side of her head as if she was in pain.
Quickly running and kneeling beside his Master he grasped her shoulder and utilized what little he knew of Force Healing to ease her pain. Sar asked his Master in a very worried voice.
"Master?! Master are you okay?! What happened?!" Sar quickly asked what was on his mind in a rapid-fire way. Shaak Ti sent a calming force stream into her worried padawan through the force pathway that Sar was using to heal her.
"I am fine Sar" Hearing his Masters words and the calming force made Sar relax a little.
"That's good" Sar exhaled a relieved sigh before he frowned a bit "What happened, Master?"
Shaak Ti removed the hand from her head and stood up a bit unsteadily prompting Sar to try and steady her only to be stopped by the palm of her hand.
"I said I am fine Sar" Her voice was strict meaning that she would not accept his help.
"As for what happened. I'm not completely sure myself, but it would seem I had a rather disturbing force vision concerning the Sith"
Hearing his Master's words Sar's frown deepened.
"Should we head back and report to the council?"
Shaak Ti steadied herself before shaking her head and replying.
"No, I suspect that the recent dark side activity on Eoliv has something to do with the vision. We will continue our mission and report to the council afterward"
Hearing his Master's words Sar wanted to argue out of concern for her wellbeing but he knew that what she said made sense and that the decision would be made based on fear and that was not the Jedi way.
"I understand Master" So Sar replied as a Jedi would.
Shaak Ti patted the top of Sar's head before sitting back down in the pilot seat and gesturing for Sar to take a seat in the co-pilot seat.
"It would not be wise to continue meditating and risk getting caught in another vision. We should be exiting Hyperspace shortly"
Sar nodded and took his seat and looked outside of the slim window in thought.
***
A few moments passed and the shaking and wheezing of the ship started up again waking Sar up from his slumber. When he looked out of the window he once again saw the familiar sight of millions of stars in the darkness of space.
There was just one thing that seemed out place. It was a huge grey planet there wasn't really anything inherently special about it except for the intense feeling of that bittersweet presence that Sar had come to know as the dark side.
Sar was dragged out of his immersion, in that feeling he had experienced the very first day of meditation training with Shaak Ti, by his Masters' voice.
"Well, Sar there it is. The planet Eoliv" She looked away from the window and over at her disciple who was also looking at her before continuing
"Or as the archives refer to it...The Planet Of Betrayal"