Chapter Text
Skywalker had expected that once they'd left the council chambers, his master would scold him for disobeying his instructions again. Though fortunately, Kenobi was merciful enough to save the scolding for when they'd made it back to the padawan's quarters. The room was filled with all sorts of machinery that the padawan had gathered over the years. He liked repairing and tinkering with machines, modifying and inventing droids, and other mechanical contraptions. Meditation was always tricky for Skywalker. He could never keep his mind and body still and relaxed, but only when his hands were working with a mechanical device that he was able to feel the Force in such a way that could be described as balance.
If only he were doing that right now. Instead, once Skywalker was sitting on a stool next to his workbench and Kenobi rested in front of him on a metal slab atop a hyperdrive, the master finally spoke up with another lecture that would only further create disdain between master and apprentice.
"Anakin Skywalker," Kenobi began; his voice, while attempting to show restraint, spilled out with frustration as he spoke. "In the five years since you became my apprentice, you have tested the limits of my patience time and time again. Pulling stunt after stunt that could've gotten you expelled from the Jedi Order more than a handful of times. I've done my best to discipline you, and defend your actions to the Council, but this time… you've gone too far."
Skywalker inwardly groaned. Everything his master had said, he'd expected him to say. And while he understood his master's frustrations, he also believed there to be justification for his own actions.
"But master-" he tried to defend, only to be stopped when his master put a hand up to silence the young teenager.
"I specifically told you to drop the matter regarding Nevrona and go to the archives to study. Instead, you went and searched up Nevrona and got not only Madame Nu involved, but also the entire Jedi Council. Do you have any idea how humiliating, how embarrassing it is for me?"
This time, Skywalker couldn't help but verbally groan. "Hey, I brought up a serious issue that the Order had neglected for thousands of years. For all we know, the Sith could be seeking out Nevrona right now. We might not even get there in time to retrieve whatever relics or treasures might be on that planet. I did you and the entire Order, and maybe even the galaxy a favour."
Kenobi rubbed his temples, groaning inwardly.
"That is not the point, my young padawan. The point is that you disobeyed my direct order and got yourself involved with one of the most dangerous menaces to the galaxy. The Sith are not to be taken lightly. I know, for I let my guard down when I fought the Sith assassin who killed Qui-Gon and nearly got myself killed alongside him. This might've even allowed the Sith to take over Naboo."
"But you didn't fail," Skywalker pointed out. "You not only survived but came out victorious as a knight and even became a legend throughout the Order. Obi-Wan Kenobi: the first Jedi in a thousand years to defeat a Sith Lord. When younglings, padawans, knights, and even masters walk past you, they look at you with a level of admiration that rivals even the members of the Jedi Council. Heck, the Council practically treats you like an honorary member."
"And that can be dangerous, Anakin. Glory and prestige are tools that blind one to the true horrors of the dark side of the Force. It's what led Malak and his mentor Revan to become the infamous Sith that history remembers them as.
"As Jedi, we are supposed to be humble, not just to the citizens of the galaxy, but to those within our very Order. For if we are not, we risk becoming consumed by pride. Blinded by the glory of our heroic deeds. Allowing our enemies to sneak in and strike us from behind. It is something I've tried repeatedly to teach you."
Kenobi paused for a moment before continuing.
"The only reason I'm allowing you to participate in this mission is that I hope seeing first-hand the effects of the Sith will show you why the Jedi practice caution, to avoid the fate of so many of our past brothers and sisters who fell to the dark side and joined the dark cult. Though frankly, I question myself for such a decision. Because to face the Sith, one must be mastered in self-control; balanced in both the body and mind. None of which you have shown recently, my very young padawan."
Skywalker couldn't help frowning while looking down at his feet, unable to face his master. His words hurt him deeply. More so than when the training remote shot him in the shoulder.
"Regardless," his master went on, "What's done is done. And there's no going back now. All we can do is prepare for our departure to Nevrona. In the meantime, you will stay in your quarters until we are ready to leave. Am I understood?"
"Yes, master," Skywalker groaned, much to his master's annoyance.
Getting up, Kenobi began to head towards the room's exit, but just as he was about to leave, he turned around, looking even more frustrated and disappointed than ever before. "I'll send over whatever data Madame Nu provides us for our mission. When we leave, I expect you to have a calm head, your behaviour in check, and your mind tuned to your surroundings.
He then left without another word. Once he was gone, Skywalker reached out through the Force and threw a servo wrench across the room, knocking over several components lying on a makeshift shelf.
"He just doesn't get me! He never has… He never will…"
Skywalker wasn't the only Padawan who was feeling frustrated. Ever since he'd joined the Order, Karbaz had watched as the other Jedi continued to stomp on Skywalker, even when he showed genuine care and compassion for those in need. Yes, he was wild, unorthodox and unpredictable, but these traits only made him more interesting.
Before he'd shown up, Karbaz had never been able to express herself to anyone adequately. He'd shown her true courage and a willingness to defy those who were wrong. It's what led to her standing up for him against not just padawans like Stallite and Carit – who had no problem expressing their annoyance with Skywalker regularly – but even Madame Jocasta Nu and the entire Jedi Council. Her speaking out against the Council had come as a surprise to even herself, yet it gave her such a rush when she did it. And it paid off. Not only had she helped Skywalker get the permission he desired so that he could look for the Chancellor's friend, but she was also going with him. It would be their first mission together, and boy, was she excited.
She'd wanted to begin preparing for the mission with him as soon as the Council meeting had adjourned. Maybe even celebrate with him. Unfortunately, both their masters had separated them, saying that they needed to talk.
Kenobi had taken Skywalker to the latter's quarters while Master Ti had escorted Karbaz to the Zabrak's quarters. However, they didn't talk right away. Instead, the Jedi Master had insisted that they meditate first.
Karbaz found this especially hard when all she could think about was her best friend. A boy who made her feel a sense of acceptance and belonging unlike anything she'd felt from anyone she'd ever known.
The decorations in her room somewhat honoured Skywalker, from the holograms of star constellations and the model of a famous podracer to even the holo image of her and Skywalker from back when they'd first met.
Skywalker made her happy. Plain and simple. What was wrong with that? She didn't understand why the rest of the Order despised him. Even when she was angry with others when they expressed their disdain for him, her heart throbbed at the mere thought of him in her mind, including right now.
Though this sense of happiness was shattered when her master, while still appearing to be meditating, spoke up, interrupting the padawan's train of thought.
"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"
Though she didn't say who, Karbaz knew exactly who she meant by "him" when she spoke.
"Is it not wrong to admire a fellow Jedi?" she argued. "Is it wrong that I simply wish to be friends with him? He's as much a Jedi as you and I are."
Master Ti shook her head. Opening her eyes, she became serious, as shown in her tone of voice. "Don't think I don't know of your infatuation with Skywalker. You've had it long before you became my apprentice. And it has grown significantly since you escorted him to the healing ward."
"We're just friends," Karbaz argued. "Nothing… more…"
Master Ti sighed. "You're in a challenging and dangerous place, my padawan. You must move past your feelings towards Skywalker and restore balance to your heart. Just as we, as Jedi, seek to restore balance in the Force."
Usually, Karbaz would nod her head and accept her master's instructions. This time, however, she couldn't. "Why?" she asked. "Why can't I have these feelings for Anakin? He makes me happy. He's a good friend. Someone who lets me be myself in my weakest moments and repairs me when I fall apart."
"Stara, you more than well know that these feelings are attachments. Something that is forbidden for Jedi to have. They lead to the dark side. And when facing them on a world once controlled by the Sith, they will destroy you and everyone else around you. If you wish to come to Nevrona, without being a liability to yourself and the other Jedi, including Skywalker, you must let him go."
This wasn't something Karbaz could embrace. "But… But… Anakin… He means so much."
"I'm not saying to throw him away if you can manage to regain control over your feelings. But you must restrain your feelings. Prevent them from doing to Anakin what so many other Jedi have done to those they care about when they fall into darkness. Do you understand?"
Reluctantly – very reluctantly – Karbaz complied. "Yes, master," she bowed.
Malak Spire: once a small, one-story facility, known as Outpost 3956 BBY, built originally as a scouting base in defence against the Mandalorian crusaders. As the war between the Mandalorians grew bloodier, the building was expanded into a tall, heavily armed fortress intended to lure the Mandalorian fleet into an attack that would weaken the warrior race. After the war ended, far from the fortress, it became a haven for the Jedi and soldiers who remained loyal to Malak, the Jedi who discovered Nevrona, the world it was on, and his leader, Revan.
Upon returning to the greater galaxy after a mission into its deeper reaches, the now-christened Darth Malak made this world his retreat and haven for dark relics and weapons for use later in the new war against the Republic.
Since Malak's death, many Sith followers and soldiers have fought for control of the fortress and its treasures, eventually returning to more expansive parts of the galaxy to continue the fight against the light and the Jedi who opposed their beliefs. Though some followers, both force-sensitive and non-force-sensitive, remained to guard Malak's greatest treasure.
For generations, these followers kept this relic safe and out of the grasp of those they considered unworthy. Few were deemed worthy of even seeing the relic in the last thousand years. In the current day, only the Chief was allowed into the relic's chamber, a massive room with fortifications that could withstand orbital bombardment, guarded by beings infused with the dark side of the Force by Darth Malak himself.
These beings were covered in old, yet well-maintained Sith Trooper armour painted black, and armed with crimson-bladed lightsaber pikes. They showed no emotions, never taking off their armour or stopping to eat or rest. They struck fear into the hearts of Darth Malak's followers.
The Chief passed them as he entered the relic's chamber. Once inside, the door was closed behind him, and the Chief, descendant of the first officer to hold command of the fortress back when it was a Republic outpost, knelt before the relic as if he were bowing before an overlord, which in some perspective he was.
"You summoned me, my lord," the Chief greeted.
"The Jedi are coming," the relic announced, speaking with an electronic-sounding voice that made the Chief's skin shiver while his eyes widened in shock.
"Impossible!" the Chief gasped as he stood up. "The Jedi have long believed that our world is nothing more than old legends. Surely this is a mistake."
"IT IS NOT!" the relic backlashed. His voice rose to the point where it was loud enough to cause the chamber to shake, making the Chief drop his body back down in fear.
"Forgive me, my lord," the chief begged.
"Your desire for forgiveness is pitiful. And not of importance. What is important is that you prepare the others. For among the Jedi to come, the Sith'ari will be joining them."
Again, the Chief was shocked. The Sith'ari was a being of legend from the beginning of Sith history. The ultimate lifeform in the Force; a master of the dark side. Said to be more powerful than both the entire Jedi Order and Sith Order combined. Legend said that they would rid the galaxy of the Jedi forever and bring about eternal glory for the Sith. While it was not surprising that the legendary Sith could be a Jedi, as many powerful Sith Lords had once been Jedi Knights as well before embracing the dark side, what did surprise the Chief was that the Sith'ari was still a Jedi now, even when he'd been identified as the Sith of legend.
"Who? Who is the great Sith'ari, my lord?"
Another tremor shook the chamber as the relic spoke again. "That is not of your concern. Just make sure that you and the others don't kill the Jedi until I have said otherwise. Ready yourselves for a fight, and prepare to capture, but do not kill. Am I understood?"
The Chief knew better than to argue with the master of Nevrona. He'd already tested his patience enough for one day.
"It will be as you command. Lord Malak."