A sleek, dark starship landed on a platform, attached to the side of the Capital Building. The landing gear creaked slightly under the weight of the ship, the hum of its engines quickly died down, leaving the landing area in a strange, ominous calm.
Five hooded figures emerged from the ship, their faces hidden in the shadows of their cloaks. They moved with purpose, their boots making soft, deliberate clicks against the metal platform. The two guards stationed at the entrance to the building watched them approach with suspicion.
"Identification," one guard said, holding out a hand.
Without a word, the lead figure reached into his cloak. But instead of pulling out identification, he produced a blaster. With deadly precision, he fired two quick shots. The first guard fell instantly, the blaster bolt piercing his chest. The second guard barely had time to react before a bolt hit him squarely between the eyes. Both men crumpled to the ground.
They stepped over the bodies and entered the Capital Building, their movements swift and calculated. Inside, the white floors gleamed under the dim light, and the faint echo of their footsteps was swallowed by the vastness of the structure. They were on a mission, and nothing would stand in their way.
—
Several floors above, Finn and Link stood guard outside Senator Connix's door. The hallway was quiet, foot traffic had dwindled down slowly. Now the area was empty. Link was noticeably uncomfortable, her violet eyes scanning the corridor nervously.
Suddenly, Finn felt a disturbance in the Force, like a ripple in the air around him. His senses flared, and his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his lightsaber.
"Link," he said quietly, "something's wrong."
Link looked up at him. "What do we do?"
"Stay here and guard the Senator," Finn instructed. "I'm going to check it out."
Finn stepped into an elevator and pressed the button to descend to the docking level. His heart raced as the elevator carried him down. The feeling of danger was growing stronger with every passing second.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a large lobby bustling with people. Finn's senses immediately locked onto the three hooded figures moving toward him through the crowd. They saw Finn and pulled out their blasters. A man nearby saw them and yelled, "Get down!"
The first shot rang out, and Finn's lightsaber ignited in an instant. He deflected the shot effortlessly, sending it back at the attacker. The man crumpled to the floor, dead before he even knew what hit him. All around them, people were screaming and heading for the exits.
The other two opened fire, their blasters spitting deadly bolts. Finn's movements were fluid, his lightsaber spinning in perfect arcs as he deflected each shot. The Force guided his hand, and within seconds, the two remaining attackers were cut down, their bodies lying motionless on the cold floor.
As Finn deactivated his lightsaber, the building's security team arrived, their faces grim. The lead guard approached him, glancing at the fallen figures. "What's going on?"
"Assassins," he replied. "We need to check on Senator Connix. Now."
Without another word, they rushed to the elevators, Finn's mind was racing. He knew the attack wasn't over. There were more of them, he could feel it.
—
Upstairs, Link stood alone in the hallway, her senses on high alert. She felt the same disturbance Finn had, but it was more than that now, there was something close, too close. Her hand hovered near her lightsaber as she stared down the narrow corridor.
An elevator door opened at the end of the hall. Two hooded men emerged. They started walking toward her and she said, "Stop."
Without hesitation, they drew their blasters. Link's green lightsaber ignited with a snap-hiss, casting a vivid glow in the dim corridor. The first shot came, and she swung her blade, deflecting the bolt back toward the attacker. It hit him squarely in the chest, and he fell to the floor with a grunt, his body still.
The second man hesitated for just a moment, but it was enough. Link charged, her blade a blur of motion. The man fired again, but she deflected the shot effortlessly, her focus unwavering. As she closed the distance, she swung her lightsaber, cutting through his blaster with a sharp hiss.
Disarmed, the man stumbled back, but before he could make a move, Link reached out with the Force. With a flick of her wrist, she sent him flying back, his body falling onto the floor with a thud. He groaned.
Link stood over him, her breathing heavy, her lightsaber still ignited, casting a green glow over the fallen figure. She held her stance, ready to strike again if necessary, but the man didn't move.
Just then, an elevator door slid open. Finn and the security guards rushed out, their eyes taking in the scene before them. The guards moved past her, securing the hallway. One guard rolled the surviving attacker over, cuffing his wrists behind him.
Link deactivated her lightsaber and followed Finn toward the Senator's door. He pressed a button on the wall and the door slid open. Inside, they found Captain Sarthus holding a blaster, his eyes focused on the doorway. He lowered the weapon slightly when he saw Finn. Kaydel was standing behind him with her back to a wall, her expression tense.
"Are you two alright?" Finn asked, stepping forward.
Daro nodded, his grip on the blaster loosening. Kaydel let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Yes, thank you," she said. "Both of you."
Finn turned to exit the room and Link followed, closing the door behind them.
He looked at Link and smiled. "Good work," he said, his voice filled with pride. "You saved their lives."
She silently smiled back.
An officer approached. "I think you should see this."
The man held out a necklace, taken off one of the attackers. A metal emblem dangled from the chain, a symbol, The Path of the Open Hand.
—
The forest enveloped Rey as she pushed deeper into the thick undergrowth, each step taking her farther from the city of West Platt. Moss-covered trees towered above her. Flying creatures moved through the canopy, casting shadows in the moonlight. There was a pull, a disturbance in the Force, that gnawed at her senses. It was subtle at first, like a faint whisper, but the closer she got to her destination, the stronger it became.
Rey paused for a moment, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She glanced upward, hearing the faint hum of an approaching ship. The vessel soared above her, making its way toward a distant clearing. She resumed her pace, quickening her steps, her senses heightened. As she approached the clearing, the dense forest opened up, revealing the structure she had been searching for.
The temple from her vision.
The temple was massive, a towering stone relic from a bygone era, its surface covered in moss and cracks, weathered by centuries of neglect. But despite its age, the temple was anything but abandoned. The ship she had seen earlier, a medium-sized transport, landed softly on a platform nearby.
From her position at the edge of the trees, Rey watched intently as a group of hooded figures emerged from the ship. They carried heavy crates toward a large stone archway, that led into the temple's interior. She couldn't sense any immediate danger from the group, but there was a foreboding undercurrent in the Force, a warning that something was amiss.
Rey could feel Ben reaching out through the Force, his presence flickering in her mind like a distant star.
I don't think the temple is abandoned.
No, it isn't.
Rey waited until the last of them disappeared inside, before she moved from her hiding place. She crossed the clearing swiftly, her footsteps barely making a sound on the soft grass. Her cloak billowed slightly in the breeze as she reached the stone archway, pressing herself against the cold surface of the temple wall. She glanced inside and saw no sign of them. The hallway beyond was dark and narrow.
She slipped inside, her eyes adjusting quickly to the gloom. The narrow hallway opened up into a larger chamber, the ceiling high above her, with ancient murals etched into the stone. But what caught her attention were the stacks of crates lining the walls. Rey approached one of the crates, carefully prying it open. Inside, blasters were stacked in neat rows. She inspected the contents quickly, there were hundreds of them, all brand new. She moved to the next crate, finding more weapons. This was more than just a hideout.
Rey heard a noise from deeper within the temple, and she quickly closed the crate, moving further into the structure. She descended a set of stone stairs, the passage leading down into the heart of the temple. The air grew cooler, and she heard the distant hum of machinery. She followed the sound until she stepped out onto a wide stone balcony. Below her was a massive hangar bay, filled with dozens of starfighters. Rey's breath caught as she saw the array of ships being serviced by dozens of workers, many of them moving about with tools and parts, fixing up the fleet.
She stepped back, intending to leave and relay the information to Ben. But then, she felt it. The unmistakable sensation of danger creeping up behind her. Rey spun around, two hooded men appeared from the shadows. They weren't armed, but their intentions were clear.
She held up a hand and slowly waved it through the air. "It's okay that I'm here."
One man responded, "No, it's not."
It didn't work. They lunged at her, throwing punches aimed at her midsection and face. She moved swiftly, dodging the blows with ease. Her training and connection to the Force made the fight seem almost trivial at first. She ducked under a wild swing, delivering a precise elbow strike to one man's ribs, sending him stumbling back. The other swung at her, but she twisted out of the way, countering with a kick to his knee that dropped him to the ground.
But before she could finish the fight, a third man emerged from the shadows, holding a blaster. She sensed him too late.
Rey felt a jolt of energy slam into her side. The stun bolt spread through her body like fire, her muscles seizing. Her vision blurred, she tried to fight it, to stay conscious, but the stun shot was too powerful. Her knees buckled and everything went dark.
—
Ben walked down the dimly lit streets of West Platt, an unsettling feeling gnawed at him. The streets were relatively empty, with the occasional passerby casting quick glances his way, unaware of the Jedi beneath the dark hood. As he approached the landing pad where the Falcon was docked, the feeling intensified. He quickened his pace as the Falcon came into view.
R2-D2 greeted him with a soft chirp from the top of the ship's ramp, his dome swiveling to focus on Ben as he approached.
"Hey R2, any word from Finn?"
The droid gave a series of quick beeps and whistles. His dome swiveled to the side, indicating the nearby communication console.
"Play the message."
He heard Finn's voice as the recording began. "Kaydel was attacked again, she is alright."
Ben's jaw clenched as Finn continued.
"We successfully captured one of the attackers. He is a member of the Path. We've got confirmation now that they're behind the assassination attempts. We'll take Kaydel back to Dulathia, then we'll go to Dalna to help you. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."
The recording ended and Ben tried to reach Rey through the Force.
Rey.
Something felt wrong, her presence in the Force was distant, like a faint echo.