"Presence In The Night"

A Piece Of Star Wars Fanfiction By

Brandon League

(Brnleague@aol.com)

Legalese-I do not own Star Wars. That honor goes to His Royal Highness, King George Lucas. I am writing this story simply for love of the genre. I pinky swear that I will make NO profit off of this story, if King George promises NOT to send any Lucasfilm stormtroopers after me.

Summary-Four years after Palpatine declares himself Emperor, an elderly Jedi Master hiding on a remote moon ponders his past, as well as the powerful Dark Side presence in the distance.

---------------------------------------------------------

He could feel his presence... He knew he was coming...

D'Quoth sighed as he looked up at the starry sky. The elderly Whiphid Jedi Master could feel Anakin's presence just as clearly as he could feel his own heartbeat. He knew that Anakin Skywalker was somewhere nearby, quite possibly here on this small moon at this very moment. D'Quoth shuddered and put up the hood on his now-fading Jedi cloak. He wasn't cold...at least not physically, the chill that he felt came from inside. It was caused by a strong sense that the former Chosen One was very close by. The FALLEN One was what he was now, the Whiphid thought sadly. His mind wandered back to that tragic day, over four years ago, when he had heard the news of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side.

It had been a day like any other, at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. D'Quoth and one other Jedi Master, an intense Bothan by the name of Te Marcera were in the Comm Room of the Temple doing their daily duty of processing incoming messages when something truly startling had happened. A message came in from a volcanic world somewhere in the Outer Rim. It was from a bearded, human Jedi Master by the name of Obi Wan Kenobi. D'Quoth knew the man only by reputation. He was something of a legend around the Temple. Everyone in the Temple revered stoic, calm, and affectionate, Kenobi as something of a model Jedi. Even Master Yoda and Master Mace Windu, the two highest ranking Jedi in the Republic, regarded Kenobi as one of the best.

This day, however, something was HORRIBLY wrong. D'Quoth knew that from the moment the hologram popped out of the holoprojector. The figure in the hologram barely resembled a venerable Jedi Knight, let alone one known for his stoicism. Obi Wan Kenobi's eyes seemed to have sunk into his skull. His hair was wild and unruly and his Jedi cloak had been savagely ripped. He looked like someone who has stared right into the inferno, fighting for his soul...and lost. Immediately both Jedi had stood from their chairs and watched with total interest as Kenobi relayed his message. Needless to say, what Kenobi told them poured ice water straight into both of their hearts. Even to this day, D'Quoth remembered the message, word for disturbing word. It was addressed to Master Yoda.

At first the bearded Jedi struggled to compose himself. It was a brutal struggle, for no doubt what had happened had driven Kenobi almost to the brink of madness. Slowly, he spoke. "Master Yoda, this is the hardest thing that I have ever had to say. Master, Anakin is dead." The Jedi Knight paused, steeling himself for what had to be said, even though it was not pleasant news. "Master...he turned to the Dark Side. I tracked him down to a small, unnamed planet here in the Outer Rim Territories. It was too late. The hate had-" Here Kenobi paused, obviously struggling to hold back strong emotion. "The hate had consumed him, by the Force, the Council was right. The Council was right all along. He was too old...Master he was too old to be trained and you knew it all along."

The transmission went dead.

D'Quoth and Te Marcera gasped. Even though the two Masters only had fleeting knowledge of Master Kenobi, they both knew who this "Anakin" was. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, was somewhat of a living legend in the Temple. There wasn't a Jedi on Coruscant who didn't know of the almost mythical youth who had such an exceptional attunement to the Force, that he was accepted into Jedi training at the mind-boggling age of NINE years old. Very rarely was a student accepted past the age of six months and NEVER in the history of the Galactic Republic had a student over four years of age been accepted. Exceptional or not, age made one dangerous. The more life experience a being had, the more exposure to negative emotions one had. Hate, fear, sorrow, prejudice, these were not the feelings of a Jedi, and so no one Anakin's age had ever been accepted. Now the two Masters had a painful example of why.

"A true shame this is."

So engrossed in their own thoughts, neither Jedi had felt Master Yoda approach the room. Both Jedi turned and bowed respectfully to the head of the Jedi High Council. Yoda nodded at the two Masters and walked gingerly into the room, leaning on his cane. Although, D'Quoth did not know for sure, he had always assumed that Master Yoda had broken his leg on a mission when he was much younger and the limp had always stayed with him. Despite this, both Jedi knew that appearances could be deceiving. They knew (as did everyone in the Jedi Temple) about Master Yoda's titanic lightsaber battle with the Fallen Jedi Count Dooku at the Battle Of Geonosis, two years previously. The only reason Dooku had escaped that day was because he had distracted Master Yoda with an act of sheer cowardice. D'Quoth had resisted the urge to snort indignantly at the memory.

"A true shame this is," Yoda repeated. He sighed wearily, leaning on his cane. "Such potential, he had. A wonderful Jedi Knight, he would have made, I am certain." Yoda paused for a brief second before continuing. "Dead, he is not, I fear. Befallen him, a worse fate has." D'Quoth and Te Marcera gasped. For a moment, there was complete silence in the Comm Room, then Te Marcera broke the silence with his broken Basic. "Master, what do you see? What has become of Padawan Skywalker? Master Kenobi seems sure that he has died." Yoda closed his eyes, probing outward with the Force. Unfortunately he could not see Anakin's fate. The Dark Side clouded his vision like a thick, morning fog. Yoda sighed. "Know not do I, Skywalker's fate. Know I do, however that this great Republic...is dead."

Master Yoda's prediction came to pass. Holding the "emergency powers" that he had been voted by the Galactic Senate shortly before the beginning of the Clone Wars around him like a funeral shroud, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the New Order. He declared that the Republic was no more, and that a strong, glorious new "Empire" would take its place. Present at that address, viewed by everyone in the galaxy, was Palpatine's strange new associate. He was a tall figure dressed in hellish, black body armor. He stood immovable like a statue as Palpatine addressed that this figure was the hero of the New Order. The man's name was Darth Vader. Then came Palpatine's most shocking announcement. The Jedi were enemies of the state, secretly in league with Count Dooku to overthrow the Empire! Every Jedi in the Empire was a criminal, subject to arrest. That very night, newly christened "Imperial Stormtroopers" occupied the Jedi Temple. Over a thousand Jedi were arrested, and half that number was killed outright in what would be the beginning of the nightmarish "Jedi Purge."

Many Jedi had escaped from Coruscant that night, Master Yoda and Master Windu among them. D'Quoth had also made good his escape, lamenting the sight of his good friend Te Marcera lying dead in the main hallway of the Temple. That was the last time D'Quoth had seen Master Yoda or Master Windu. A day didn't go by that he didn't wonder of their fate, or of the fate of that noble Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi. As he left Coruscant, D'Quoth was amazed to hear Te Marcera's voice in his head, whispering one word over and over like a mantra... Desairt. Glancing through his ship's navicomputer, D'Quoth discovered that Desairt was a small moon in the Outer Rim, far from Coruscant. He would be safe there, he knew it. "Thank you so much, my old friend," D'Quoth said softly in Huttese.

He had been safe. In the four years since he had fled Coruscant, D'Quoth had seen no sign of any Imperial soldiers. The moon was too small to have its own Imperial Governor, and the people who came to this moon were mostly smugglers taking advantage of the massive starship garage on the other side of the moon, either by getting their ships fueled or repaired. D'Quoth led a peaceful life here, in hiding from the sadistic Emperor Palpatine and his death machine that was the "Galactic Empire." He would never let his guard down, of course, but the Whiphid Jedi felt safe for the time being. Maybe someday the Empire would fall? Maybe Palpatine's reign would be brought crushing down around him, and peace would cradle the galaxy once again? Yes, D'Quoth felt peaceful and content...until two nights ago when he first sensed the dark presence.

D'Quoth sighed softly as he came back to the present. The Jedi knew what was coming and he knew that it was inevitable. He had not lived for a hundred and two years by being close-minded and foolish. That didn't mean that the elderly Whiphid would die easily, mind you. As a race, the Whiphids, native to the planet Toola, were warriors. Even though he had lived almost his entire life in the Jedi Temple, D'Quoth knew that the blood of tribal warriors and hunters flowed through his veins...and he had the Force. The Force was a more powerful weapon than a thousand blasters or vibroaxes put together, and it would help D'Quoth to face his destiny. The elderly Whiphid Jedi smiled as he glanced at the night sky. THERE WAS NO DEATH THERE WAS THE FORCE. The old adage from the Jedi Code found its way into his mind as he lightly meditated, preparing himself to battle the powerful Dark Side presence that grew ever closer...

-------------------------------------------------------

End Notes-To quote James Brown, "I FEEL GOOD!" That's my third piece of Star Wars fanfiction and whew, was it a blast to write!!! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Positive, negative, indifferent, I don't care, but I must insist...no death threats and no marriage proposals, I will accept neither! I truly hope you have as much fun reading this, as I had writing it. May The Force Be With You!!!!