Chapter 1: The Holocron

Jedi Master Reesa Doliq dashed through the marsh, on a single-minded mission to reach her padawan before the girl's life-force faded completely. Despite the intense heat and the bog that clung to her heels and the thorns that raked her limbs, Reesa kept on, hoping with all the Force that she could reach her apprentice in time.

Reesa thought about the events that had led up to this moment; she had delivering a report to the Jedi High Council while her padawan, Takke, was on reconnaissance. Reesa had felt a twinge in the Force but she hadn't wanted to run off during the middle of her report so she stayed where she was. What a foolish decision that would be. She had realized the error of her choice as she felt the blade stab into her apprentice, delivering what Reesa knew all too well would be a mortal wound if she didn't do something. She had sprinted off without a word to the shocked Jedi Masters, her only thought of Takke, her padawan.

By the time Reesa reached her apprentice, Takke's presence was very weak, nearly imperceivable. Reesa knelt over her Quarren padawan, while simultaneously reaching into the Force for signs of danger; Takke's wounder had to still be nearby.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Reesa asked, while reaching into her medkit for bandages, though she feared the wound in her padawan's side had bled too much for her to be able to do much at this point.

"Master, you're here. Thank the Force. A man snuck up on me from the trees and attacked me with a vibroblade," Takke choked. "And Master, he- he used the Force."

"But, how is that possible?" wondered Reesa. "How did he sneak up on you? His presence should have been detectable."

"Like this," said a man's voice from behind Reesa as she felt a sudden presence, so chaotic and hateful to a degree that Reesa hadn't before sensed. Then a lightsaber ignited inches from her neck.

Holocron Diary of Master Reesa Doliq

Entry 2348

Date: 24. 11. 77 BBY

It's funny how unpredictable life can be.

It's always those missions that seem as if they will run smoothly that prove to be the most dangerous. You would think that by now I would have known that but apparently I didn't, and paid the price for it.

When I first took it, the mission seemed standard enough. Takke and I had been assigned to look into the workings of the Syndicat government of Phindar. It was common knowledge that the planet was run by an active criminal organization, but no one had deemed it of enough importance to take any real action. I had been here before and it bothered me that such a rule was allowed to continue right under the noses of the Senate and the Jedi, so I mentioned it to Ramo, my former Master whom I have spoken of abundantly in this device, and he brought it to the High Council, which agreed to let me investigate. I knew going into this that finding crime alone would not lead to action, only discovering something of real danger would bring that on.

I must stress that, while from this explanation, the mission may seem as if it held sufficient peril, it did not appear so when I arrived here. After all, the Syndicat knew we were running an inspection as they called it, so it was unlikely that any hostility would come from there.

I'm really going off and turning this into a mission report so I'll get to the facts of importance. I had finished my investigation and found nothing overly disturbing so I was reporting those findings to the Council when I sensed what I now know was Takke being attacked. Even in the few hours that have now passed since then, I have dwelt on that mistake countless times. If I had only realized then what I was sensing, I could have intervened. But what's done is done, brooding on it won't help anyone. If only I could teach myself that.

Anyways, when I reached Takke she was still living, but I was about to face a greater test of my skills than I have in years.

"What? Don't pause it there!" exclaimed Twi'lek Jaedrin Cadet Roshari'dannr, protesting against his Gossam friend's action.

"Keep your voice down," shushed Shai Tan, the young Gossam being spoken to, as she pointed out a group of Jedi Elders walking down the gravel road near the hideout of the two Cadets.

"Good catch," said Roshari'dannr, "I do hope they move on quickly, I can't wait to see what else the lady in the holocron is going to say."

"You really must be excited about this recording, Roshar" observed Shai. "You never get this impatient over anything."

"I'm surprised you're so calm," said Roshar. "This was an amazing find, discovering a relic so old. Did you see the date? It's before the Battle of Yavin, that's centuries ago."

"I'm excited too at discovering something this old but it really isn't of any worth. Sure, you can enjoy whatever is inside but then what? Keep it for personal satisfaction? Hand it over to the Elders for analysis?"

"I don't really know yet," replied Roshar, studying the ancient device and the holographic image of the young woman that it displayed. "Right now, I'm too curious to see what else is in here. But maybe we should take it to my quarters instead of accessing it out in the open here."

"That's a good idea," said Shai, "but make sure it stays hidden in your robes. I'm sure something like this would be confiscated, especially with the ban on such things by the Watchers. Any artifact this old, especially from before the Battle of Yavin, is sure to be forbidden to us."

"You're right," agreed Roshar. "I'll make sure no one sees it."

Ten standard minutes later...

After a time of hurrying back to Roshar's room that felt far longer than it actually was, the two teenage Jaedrin scurried inside; the burly green-skinned Twi'lek followed by the diminutive Gossam.

"We made it," said Roshar. "There were a couple moments I wasn't sure...it was as if some of the Knights sensed what we were doing."

"Maybe they did," replied Shai, sitting cross-legged on the floor and reactivating the holocron with with a nudge from the Force. "We made it though and that's what matters. Now let's get started, there is less than an hour of free time left."

"That should at least give us time to finish this entry," said Roshar, pressing the button to resume the robed woman's recording.

I never should have let myself get cornered like that, but I had not even considered the possibility that I would be unable to sense any danger around me. In fact, the method used to sneak up behind me is still a mystery, and one I wish I could solve.

Now both my life and that of my apprentice were in jeopardy. Nevertheless, despite starting off at such a major disadvantage, I set to overcome my opponent...

Reesa paused for a moment, catching the gleam of her apprentice's azure blade that hummed so close to her, close enough that she could feel it beginning her burn the skin on her neck. One wrong move, any move really, and she would be dead. However, it was situations like these where Reesa Doliq thrived.

In that second of stillness, Reesa's instincts went into overdrive, searching for a way out of this predicament. Movement wouldn't work, meaning her lightsaber would be of no help at the moment. Any sort of telekinetic attack would take too long to summon, so that was out, too. That left her one option; manipulation of the mind. She would have to implement the technique she had planned in far less time than she ever had before but she was confident in her ability.

It took only a moment for her mental feelers to probe the consciousness of the man behind her, causing a hyperaware, internal focus in his mind while clouding his senses to his surroundings. The potency of this action would only last a moment but it was all Reesa needed and she ducked away from the man, at the same time grabbing her lightsaber from her hip and slamming the ignition.

Reesa has utilized a form of the Force technique Malacia, though, like many other things, she had tweaked it to fit her own needs, namely by adding further physical disorientation. However, the automatic strength of her attack, and the Force signature she now sensed in her opponent, meant that its affects would, for the most part, die off very quickly. Even as Reesa whirled around to face him, the Dark Jedi, as he seemed to be, had regained his footing and had his lighstaber ready to strike.

"Surrender and allow me to take you before the Jedi Council and leniency may be granted you," said Reesa, resisting a smile at how much she sounded like her former master.

"Not a chance," growled the Dark Jedi as he tensed, a torrent of emotions raging from him. Then he lunged at Reesa.

A/N: Here it is, the result of my muse's crazy, but wonderful idea.

It's the first story I have that was started on a whim without any previous basis but I think it has a lot of potential.

As always, I love to hear from my readers so any observations and/or critique are very welcome.

For exclusive information on this and other stories, feel free to visit What the Fosh! forum ;-) (you won't regret it!)

Stay tuned for Chapter 2!

-Caleb