Star Wars Episode VII
The Shadow Revealed

by: Rob Hare


Disclaimer. I do not own anything from Star Wars or any related propaganda, and am not seeking money in this Fan-Fiction.


Star Wars Episode VII

The Shadow Revealed

 

The New Republic has been successful in restoring peace to the galaxy. Luke Skywalker has set up a new Jedi training program on Coruscant and has rebuilt the Jedi Temple. Han and Leia Solo’s son, Anakin, is going through this training program, under the careful watch of Luke, Master Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker.

 

Secretly, on Iridionia, a planet far away from Coruscant, a new settlement has been founded. A new ‘Shadow’ Temple has been built there.

 

Sensing the Dark Side of the Force in the Temple, Luke has sent out two Jedi in search of answers; Anakin, a Padawan learner, and his master Guit …

 

Chapter One

 

A small transport ship lurched sluggishly across space, heading towards the small, red and black planet of Iridionia. The red paint on the cruiser’s hull signified diplomatic status from Coruscant.

Inside, Anakin Solo and Guit Krohn sat, waiting.

Anakin’s black travel cloak hid his brown and black Jedi tunic and lightsabre.     He shifted nervously.

“I sense much unease in you, Anakin,” said Guit. He was a saurian, from a distant planet. His blue face was long, and his jaw full of pointed teeth. He was wearing the same kind of cloak as Anakin, and was a Jedi Master.

“Yes, Master,” confessed Anakin; “I sense much trouble ahead, something I have never felt before … a kind of ominous space”

Guit smiled his reptilian smile. “Very good, Anakin. I sense it also. But don’t centre on your anxiety, and do not fear the future. Your mind belongs here and now in the present”

Anakin nodded. The intercom on Guit’s belt beeped. He grabbed it.

“Yes?”

“This is Captain Noom. We’re approaching the planet. Where do you wish to land?” came the captain of the vessel’s voice.

“Near the outskirts of the settlement, we had better not attract attention”

“Yes sir”

---

A dark hooded creature was pacing back and forth. He was walking in front of a window overlooking a desolate waste of black rock, with twisting, snake-like rivers of lava running in and out of high, spiked ridges.

Iridonia.

The hooded figure stopped. Outlined against the dark red sun, it looked like an evil monster. A dark, ominous something emanated from the figure. The door some metres behind the figure slid open silently.

A droid of some kind came in. It was a protocol droid, except painted black with red eyes. The hooded figure turned.

It was wearing a white mask, shaped like the shape of a human skull, only without the lower jaw, and the teeth were long and sharp.

A cold voice came out of the hood.

“What is it, DG-42?”

The droid stopped. “A republic cruiser is coming down to land on the planet, sir”

The hooded figure stood irresolute for a moment. Then;

“Send out the droids,” and it stalked out of the room.

---

The pilot of the Corellian cruiser, named The Dontoon landed silently next to one of the rivers of lava. Immediately, the two Jedi felt a surge in the Force.

Something evil was here.

Anakin stepped out onto Iridonia for the first time. He breathed.

A simple mix, he thought, of medichlorafutic oxygen and silicon dioxide. It was breathable, as the tests had shown.

Not only did he sense the evil on this planet, he sensed a sudden flow of relief from something just over the ridge beyond where Anakin was standing …

“Master … I have a bad feeling about this,” announced Anakin as Guit emerged too.

“Very good, again, my young Padawan. I think it would be best if we are on our toes,” rasped Guit, “so have your lightsabre ready”

They set off. The Dontoon lifted off, and blasted into the sky, disappearing in moments.

“Come, Annie,” prompted Guit.

---

Jedi Master Luke, the founder of the new Jedi Order, had trained Anakin’s master. Guit was exceptionally good on theory subjects; this was a mission, so Guit felt a bit out of place. His lightsabre hung loosely by his belt: it was fairly plain save for the red and black buttons. At the projection plate, the handle widened, as a protection, and one side rose further up than the other, for pleasure.

Anakin himself was only young, at sixteen, though already his skills were showing as a Jedi. His boyish features were now centred on something. He reached towards his lightsabre, which resembled Guit’s in some ways. It was fairly plain; but at the projection end, four wings curved out and up and then steeply down to meet the plate, giving it the appearance of four claws holding the blade.

Soon they were standing on the ridge Anakin was looking at before. The sun had almost set. Suddenly, from behind a rock two metres to Anakin’s left, he felt the presence of a droid. He turned. The rock exploded in front of him, blasting him back a metre. But as he hit the ground, Anakin flew back up, and as he landed in battle stance on his feet, he ignited his lightsabre.

A blue bar of light and energy came from the simple handle, and deflected a laser bolt. Guit’s lightsabre was flashing also, deflecting hits from another source, the green beam zigging and zagging everywhere. Quickly Guit disposed of his gun turret, and Anakin did the same by deflecting the bolts back at his turret.

They stopped, the guns just smoldering ruins. It was quiet except for the hum of the lightsabres.

Then, a rumbling started.

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” said Anakin again.

“As do I,” said Guit as he turned and ran the other way. Anakin stayed close behind.

As they sprinted over the ridge, however, three massive, eight-foot-tall droids stood before them.

Each one had four arms, each equipped with a twin-barrelled, powerful-looking weapon. They were bow-legged, and their heads were relatively small, in the shapes of skulls.

The twelve arms started blasting immediately.

The Jedi stood their ground, spinning and slashing with their sabres, deflecting and slicing, but after a minute, only one was turned to scrap. The remaining two was occupying one Jedi each. One drove Anakin back until they reached a wall. Anakin flipped over the droid and slashed in mid-air at the vulnerable back of the droid.

The robot crashed and exploded, hot sparks flying. Anakin turned and ran, jumped, landed and plunged his lightsabre into the back of the remaining droid that was cornering Guit.

“Thankyou, Anakin,” said Guit, “I feel a disturbance in the Force”

“I feel it also, Master”

Suddenly, Guit pushed Anakin back, yelling, “Look out!” and raised his lightsabre as a dark-cloaked figure landed on him, a red beam of light wheeling and spinning in its hands.

“Run Anakin!” yelled Guit, “contact the ship! Get to the Temple, and inform them that the Si –“ but he was cut off as he groaned and was Force-hurled against a rock.

Anakin turned and ran, his world spinning and reeling. He felt the hatred concentrated extremely densely in the dark-cloaked thing. He turned and saw the figure raise his sabre to block Guit’s attack.

It counter-struck, spun, and plunged its sabre into Guit’s chest. Guit roared in pain and then fell to the ground.

“No!” cried Anakin as he felt a massive surge in the Force as his master fell. Guit simply fell, and then disappeared. He was now one with the Force.

Anakin channelled his anger out of his body, and pulled out his lightsabre.

He ignited it, the blue blade illuminating the surrounding terrain. The cloaked figure put away its lightsabre, and as Anakin came wheeling in, it held out its hand, and tensed for a second. Anakin was blasted back, and with the swish of its cloak—the hooded figure was gone.

Anakin rushed to his master’s crumpled robes. He picked up Guit’s lightsabre, and clipped it to his belt in a sign of honour. He decided never to use it, though, just in case it was damaged, but just keep it with him as a reminder of his Master, and friend.

He turned and saw a huge temple in the distance. There was a large disturbance in the Force coming from it; Anakin could feel the anger and hate coming from it in waves. As Anakin watched, he vowed to avenge Guit’s death.

---

Anakin was standing in the Jedi Temple, Coruscant. He was facing Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Master, and the spirits of Yoda, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Yoda sighed. “Unclear, this situation is. Assign to you, another Jedi Master we will. Go to Iridonia, you must”

Anakin bowed. “Yes, Master Yoda”. He turned to leave.

“Wait, Anakin,” called Luke. Anakin turned again, back to Luke.

“Anakin,” Luke said, “we are hearing rumours of a new evil in the galaxy. A Second Imperium is being formed. They are using the Temple on Iridionia as a training camp to train the new foot soldiers in the ways of the Force. This is all we know, and you mustn’t tell anyone outside of this Temple

“May the Force be with you”

“Master Luke,” asked Anakin, “do you know who will be training me now?”

“Actually,” replied Luke, “I believe you are ready for the trials,” said Luke, raising his voice slightly over the murmurs of the other three members of the Council, “and you will be accompanying young Nade Sinh, another Jedi Knight”

Anakin, shocked, bowed and left the room.

---

Anakin Solo stood blindfolded. The room around him was full of obstacles. It was also dark.

He drew his lightsabre. He ignited it. He had sensed the presence of a droid. He turned and raised his sabre, deflecting the first shot of the droid. It emerged, merely a service droid, a cheap one at that, but given special training in combat. It fired again; Anakin blocked the hit, sending it into a nearby obstacle, showering him in sparks as he thrust his sabre into the droid’s arm. Another shot fired from his left. Another fired from behind him.

Soon, though he sensed four droids, there was heat and sparks all around him. He Force-pushed one droid, the gun flying out of its hand, and kicked another’s gun.

The last two he had no trouble with; he cut the gun in half of one, and then deflected one laser bolt at the other’s gun.

His objective at this stage was to disable the droids. Now that that was over, he had to race to the other end of the room. In his way were innumerable obstacles in many shapes and sizes, and large gaps, with floating stepping-stones, some with obstacles.

He sprinted the first leg, around a spindly chair, under a tree-like obstacle, around a block, and so on until he reached the first gap in the floor.

He leapt lightly to one stepping-stone. It swayed gently with the impact. Anakin sensed the next stone had an obstacle on it. He leapt, slashed with his sabre, and landed on the now clear stone.

He ran some more, around more obstacles, and over more stepping-stones, until he sensed the end. As he reached the last obstacle, he ignited his sabre again. A droid leapt out. He deflected the shots—but this droid had a rapid light repulsor, firing about thirty shots a nanoclic. He blocked these, his supernatural reflexes doing their thing, until another droid with the same kind of weapon also came out. He blocked even faster, and then Force-pushed one of the gap in the floor just in front of them, and the other he neatly sliced in half, for at this stage the rules must have changed.

Anakin leapt over the last gap, landing neatly, and ran through the closing blast doors.

---

“Passed barely, you have,” said Yoda’s spirit later that day. “Destroyed two droids, you did. Others did not. They did not sense the change in the rules. You did”

Anakin was taken aback. “I try to—“

“Try, not. Do, or do not,” said Yoda. “There is no try”

Luke smiled softly, as he said, “Anakin Solo, welcome to the ranks of Jedi Knights”

---

Anakin was flying his speeder through Coruscant. It was a fairly good speeder, a slick red and shiny one, with no roof, and a black line running up the front. He was dodging and weaving through the traffic of Coruscant.

Obi-Wan had told him, aided by Anakin Skywalker, about their chase of Zam Wessel, a bounty hunter, many years before, through Coruscant.

As he waited at a stop post, he felt something, and looked up. Someone was falling—straight at his speeder.

The person landed with a thud on the seat next to him, rocking the whole car. The stop post turned ‘Go’, but Anakin was too shocked to move.

The person raised their face—it was Nade Sinh. She smiled as she straightened herself to sit down.

“Anakin, are you going to go or not?” she asked as she turned and looked at the angry traffic behind them.

“Yes,” he said, somewhat annoyed. “What are you doing here Nade?”

She was a pretty young girl, of about sixteen, like Anakin. Her tan Jedi clothes were almost the same, save for the colours. Her lightsabre was graceful and elegant, and emitted a purple blade.

“I just saw your speeder, and, since we would be working together, I jumped out”

Anakin shook his head. “So. I’ll be working with you?”

“Correct”

“And you are a Jedi Knight?”

“Also correct”

“I don’t believe you”

“Incorrect. I know you do. You’ve seen my lightsabre”

“Then you must be a Jedi,” said Anakin. “Just testing”

“Whatever,” laughed Nade. “So,” she continued, “where are we going again? And when?”

“We’re going to Iridionia. I’m leaving tonight. I suppose you’ll want a lift, correct?”

“Correct. But … why are we going there?” she asked.

Anakin shook his head. “My master was killed there”

Nade looked shocked. “Ho—“

“A Sith killed him”. Anakin was looking directly ahead. Nade could feel him emitting the negative energy from himself.

“I’m sorry,” said Nade. They flew on in silence.

---

The golden sun set on Coruscant as they returned from their tour of Coruscant. Anakin had learned a bit from Nade, as she had from him.

They were almost at the Jedi Temple, when a ship rounded the corner. It was a bit like the Old Republic’s gunships, used in the Clone War, except that this ship was red and black, and was slightly spiky, hovering with its atmospheric repulsors.

“Anakin …” said Nade. It sped towards them. And they realized what the spikes were. They were all under the wings, three on each side. Then one of them fired.

Anakin swerved; he was doing twenty parsecs a nanoclic. Extremely fast for a speeder. He swerved around the gunship and sped around another building. Now the ship was rapidly firing, aiming at Anakin’s speeder, but never hitting it; just the buildings around it. Suddenly a missile launched from under the gunship’s body.

It wormed and weaved its way through the traffic.

Nade sensed it first.

“Jump Ani!” she yelled as she threw herself out of the speeder. Anakin jumped out too; as he left, he felt the shudder as the missile hit and exploded. The whole speeder was engulfed in a fireball, and Anakin and Nade were falling straight down.

Anakin noticed that they were right next to the Jedi Temple, and its hangar. He grabbed Nade, and Force-pulled on the door of the hangar.

Since it was a huge, stable object, Anakin was pulled towards it.

His hand connected with the lever that opened the hangar’s door. He pulled it, and yanked Nade to her feet, and sprinted in as the gunship blasted and blasted.

Once inside, Anakin closed the door.

“Are you okay, Nade?” he asked. She nodded.

Anakin led her to his ship, a Jedi Starfighter. The design of it was like the old Jedi Starfighters, which were red and white and were in the shape of a wedge. He leapt into the cockpit followed by Nade. As the blast windshield closed and the vacuum secured, Anakin turned his Starfighter to the door. As he’d expected, the gunship outside was still blasting, and had punctured the door in some spots. Then it fired a missile; and as soon as it hit and destroyed the door, Anakin boosted out of it, through the explosion and past the gunship, which wheeled to face them, lasers blasting.

Anakin piloted the fighter out of the city, above it, and through the clouds and out of the atmosphere.

“What was that Annie?” asked Nade as they made it into space.

“I’m not sure, but I’d say a Zabrak gunship”. Iridonia was home of a race called the Zabrak. Since the Zabrak had a complex discipline section of the brain, they could suffer immense physical pain.

Once, a Sith Lord named Darth Maul, a Zabrak, had killed Obi-Wan Kenobi’s master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

They flew across space.

---

They were near a cluster of planets, a strange system on the Outer Rim.

They flew past Geonosis, a large ringed planet, and past Tatooine, a smallish desert planet, and then they saw Kamino, a large blue planet.

As Nade was admiring it, she sensed the ship behind them.

“It’s back!” cried Anakin. He boosted through the asteroid field around Geonosis and was aiming to land on Tatooine, when an explosion next to them rocked them off course. They were heading to Kamino, so Anakin steered towards it more.

He broke through the clouds to find it was pouring with rain, and that there was a vast, grey, churning ocean in front of them. That engulfed the whole planet.

Anakin steered his fighter towards the horizon, skimming the waves barely. He saw on his scope a set of buildings ahead, large structures, domes on large columns.

The ship behind them was blasting its guns at them, so Anakin dodged and swerved and weaved, also avoiding the massive swells below them.

As they neared the structures, Anakin noticed two things; there was a large square platform floating above the waves next to the buildings, and that the ship behind them had fired a proton missile.

Anakin weaved between columns, hoping to lose the missile. It collided with the column in front of them, sending shrapnel in their direction. Anakin saw the platform up ahead, and subconsciously slowed down. The ship behind them roared just over them, and as it passed over the platform, something dropped out of the bottom of it.

It was black, rippling and falling at a fast rate. Then it slowed down, and stopped, then connected to the ground.

“It’s him,” said Anakin as he felt the surge of hatred from the thing that had fallen. “The Sith Lord”

“It can’t be a—“ started Nade, but she stopped as she saw the red lightsabre ignite.

As the neared, Anakin prepared to leap out onto the platform. He opened the blast shield, and rain and cold blasted in.

He jumped out, leaving Nade to fly the fighter. She moved to the pilot’s seat, and closed the cockpit.

---

Anakin fell, using the Force to slow his fall. He slowed down more, and then touched the platform.

Rain splashed all around him. The hooded, masked figure in front of him watched, empty eye sockets gleaming red.

“Who are you?” yelled Anakin over the rain.

The figure still stared intently. Then, “I am Darth Evisce. And at last will I have my revenge”

---

Nade piloted the fighter through the columns under the buildings on Kamino, the disused Clone factories of long ago.

The other fighter was behind her, blasting constantly. She weaved past one more column, and then was in free ocean space. The fighter launched another missile. Nade varied her speed, trying to shake the missile off her.

She then was struck by an idea. She nosed the fighter down, and plunged the ship into the ocean. The missile followed, but exploded on the surface of the water, and as the enemy fighter blasted past, one of the engines caught fire, and careened out of control back to the Clone facilities. Nade burst from the water behind it, nudging it in the direction of one of the buildings.

The fighter spun, then smashed into one of the columns, exploding into a hot flame.

---

“Your Master was foolish, Anakin,” hissed Lord Evisce, his voice coming from everywhere as he circled, stalked Anakin. “He died easily, as will you, unless you succumb to the powers of the Dark Side”

“Never!” cried Anakin. He leapt straight at Evisce, drawing and igniting his lightsabre. He slashed down hard, but the attack was blocked easily.

Constantly, the billions of midi-chlorians inside Anakin’s millions of billions of cells in his body spoke to him, telling him what to do next.

Block, down, up slash, parry, thrust, spin, jump, they told Anakin. He blocked blow after furious blow.

Darth Evisce was not relenting; his sharp fingers clutching his lightsabre, whose blade was unusually tall and thin. The handle was about 30 centimetres long, and when it was ignited, metal plates that protected the projection plate slid off it.

Anakin’s was a simple black and chrome-handled sabre like his mentor’s. The blue blade able to lengthen and shorten.

With these weapons, the two Jedi fought, slashing, ducking, and blocking each other. Anakin flipped over Evisce to avoid a low horizontal swipe, and ran up along the platform. Evisce leapt after him, to find that, to Anakin’s relief, the platform tipped down under the weight of the two fighters.

Anakin turned and Force-summoned the window of one of the nearby dome-topped columns. He zoomed towards it as the platform he had just launched from crashed into the waves below, sending spray into the air. He smashed through the window and rolled. He turned off his lightsabre. He started looking around for Nade to see if she was flying towards him, but then Darth Evisce soared up through the window, lightsabre on. Anakin quickly withdrew his, too, but was hurled out through the far window by blue lightning spreading from Evisce’s fingertips. He groaned as he smashed through the window, and then everything was silent.

---

Nade piloted the ship back to Anakin’s fighting place to see a figure plummet helplessly towards the oceans, so she put the boosters on full power and opened the cockpit. Anakin Solo landed inside with a crack, and groaned. Nade piloted the Starfighter back to Coruscant.

---

“Yes, Master Yoda,” said Anakin as he confronted the council once again. “It wielded a red lightsabre, most definitely. I’d also say that we should go in and destroy this monster. What can you see in the future, Master Yoda?”

“Hmm,” said Yoda as he closed his eyes. “The Dark Side clouds much again. Felt this in years, I have not. Sad, this is also. Assault on Iridonia we must set up. Use the Empire’s old Stormtroopers, we will.

“Uncover this mystery, we must”

“Thankyou, Master Yoda. Who should I inform for help?”

“Help?” repeated Luke. “We don’t need help, I think we got enough Jedi already”

“Master Luke,” said Anakin, shocked, “are you sending in the Jedi to help Stormtroopers in a war? I mean, with all due respect, we only have … what, a hundred Jedi, this hasn’t been attempted since the Clone War!”

Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda exchanged looks. Anakin Skywalker sighed.

“Well, young Anakin,” said Anakin Skywalker, “we will have to assign you someone, and all know that Iridonia is the home of such foul creatures as Nexus, and so on. I remember a nexu attacking us on Geonosis on the battle that sparked the Clone War. They will have genetically modified nexu, I believe, and many Zabrak warriors, and not to mention droids, this mysterious Sith Lord and his Master—or Apprentice”

Anakin Solo bowed and left.

---

Plans were being made for the stormtroopers, dozens of clones made by a Sith Lord a long time ago, and turned into the evil henchmen of the Empire, but now serve the New Republic as soldiers, as Anakin heard. Anakin had decided to visit Corellia, his home world before he went to attack Iridonia. He and Nade were inside Anakin’s starfighter, plummeting through space. He disengaged the ring-like attachment used for hyperspace travel and headed towards the darkened planet.

The Assault on Iridonia was to commence in four days’ time. Anakin steered towards the dark planet.

As he broke through the cloud-line, he noticed that they were above a huge valley encircled by mountains. It was night. Anakin could remember that there was a city over the eastern hills. Anakin zoomed over the mountains, but didn’t find a city.

---

At the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Yoda was arguing with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“Master Yoda, with all respects, we can’t amass an army in time for this attack. We have only one hundred and eighty two Jedi Knights, forty of which are Masters and one hundred and one of which are Padawans. How are we to do it?”

Yoda sighed, his green body surrounded by a blue light. He was becoming clearer because he was concentrating. When he was meditating he disappeared, not being needed in the Physical Force.

“Master Obi-Wan,” Yoda began. “Your views are valued, but clouded they are also. Underestimate not the power of the Jedi. Learn this, you will”

“Yes Master, but-” Obi-Wan was interrupted as the door opened and a Jedi walked in, followed by a citizen. The citizen’s clothing was simple, dark and made of cloth. He had black hair, which matched his black clothing, and black eyes.

“Yes?” asked Yoda.

The Jedi Knight nodded. “This man claims to have Jedi abilities”

The Council murmured.

“He,” continued the Jedi, ”has even used the Force to create a lightsabre”

Luke started. All of the Council was scanning the man, who looked pretty ordinary. After a minutes’ time, Yoda, who still looked skeptical, reached out with his mind and found that this man was a Void, showing neither the good, dark or even neutral side of the Force.

“Show us your lightsabre, please,” rasped Yoda. He picked up the lightsabre and ignited it. A red beam shot out of it. It had one button and two letters, in black, engraved in the side in close, logo-like fashion.

Yoda raised an eyebrow.

The man sensed what Yoda was thinking and explained.

“My name is Sirna Ti,” he said. “I engraved my initials in it”

Yoda looked up, eyes narrowed, brow furrowed. Then he snapped back to the here and now.

“Asses you, we will”

As he left, Luke concentrated on the man.

“He’s a Void,” Luke said as his eyes reappeared in their normal state. This caused much murmuring, because a Void was a being who could blank out their mind; normally, Jedi could sense whether a beings allegiance was good, evil, or neutral. This man’s mind gave off none of those, because he chose not to convey his thoughts.

A Jedi trait, thought Luke.

Obi-Wan turned to Luke. “This could mean anything. He could mean well, or he could mean to destroy us”

Anakin shook his head. “He would have done so while he had the chance, I believe. I don’t trust this man”

Luke shook his head, saying, “I’m not sure about this one. He seems to be fine, so I suggest we ask if he wants to join the ranks of Jedi”

“But,” Yoda pointed out, “If he refuses, destroyed, he will have to be. Ask him to reveal his true allegiance, we will”

The whole council sighed. Luke made a slight motion, and the door to the Council’s room slid open with a hiss. A Jedi Knight stood outside, waiting, ready. He walked in.

“Yes, Masters?” he asked.

Luke sighed. “Bring the man before us”

The Knight nodded. He returned momentarily with the man.

Anakin scanned the man quickly, and then spoke to him. “You aren’t giving off any feelings, so we cannot assess you. Try to clear your mind, to push away the blankness.

The man nodded, and concentrated, trying to do so. “Master Jedi,” he said as he relaxed after a moment. I have been doing this for long, so I am afraid that I know not how to push this blankness away”

Luke nodded. “That’s alright. As soon as we’ve tested you, we’ll get back to you.”


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