Paradise Lost- A Star Wars Fan Fiction

Chapter 3: The Jedi- 6 BBY

Jakeb slowed to a stop, panting hard. Whoever this man was, he was fast, but it seemed he had finally come to a stop.

It looked like he had entered an apartment at the edge of the city, deep in the slums where the poorest of the poor lived.

He had no idea why he was following him, all he knew was the man was surely a Jedi. His mom had told him that they were all gone, but maybe there were some left? Maybe he knew them... He had to search his apartment once it was clear. He had to know.

He waited for a couple hours, trying to calm himself down. He was almost killed today... He hadn't had an encounter with death like that in his life.

"Niles...," Jakeb whispered. Niles seemed to blindly listen to the man when he told him to forget and walk away. Maybe the Jedi did something with his mind? Whatever it was, it didn't work on him.

Finally, he saw the Jedi walk out of his apartment and onto the streets, disappearing into the crowd of factory workers. Jakeb creeped over and climbed up the side of the building and entered the apartment. He clicked on the light, seeing that it was a mess, with clothes and random objects everywhere.

He saw a Holo-Table in the center of everything, and figured maybe he could find out more if he activated it. He turned it on and suddenly, a picture popped up, showing a blurry photo of a battle. He saw some people shooting at stormtroopers, who were led by a large man holding a sword similar to the Jedi's, except for the fact that it was red.

Upon seeing the blurry figure, Jakeb felt himself shaking. The hairs on his neck stood up. Was it a man or a machine? He was now questioning himself as he continued staring at it. He looked away, suddenly feeling as if it was looking back at him. He turned it off.

Something caught his eye in the corner of the room. He looked over at it, curious. It was curled in a blanket, only the top poking out...

He gently removed the blanket and held it in his hand. It looked like the thing that was strapped to the Jedi's belt. He felt along the side of it, until he reached a button. With a loud noise, a blade extended from it, creating a blue hue in the room.

"I can't believe it...," he whispered. He moved it back and forth as it hummed. He swung it around excitedly, accidentally cutting through a tarp. He stumbled backwards, realizing he was holding a deadly weapon. He pressed the button again, watching the blade retract into itself.

He stared at the weapon in his hands, amazed by the fact a weapon like this even existed. He turned the Holo-Table again, seeing the dark figure with the red sword again. Feeling braver with his new weapon, he stared at him and ignited his own sword.

He turned the weapon off once more and pressed a button on the table. An image of a man in brown robes with a red beard appeared.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. Avoid Coruscant. Avoid detection. Be secret... but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere and, in time, I believe a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always."

The image froze and disappeared. Was this the Jedi tragedy his mother had spoken about? This Obi-Wan's voice was filled with grief and the message was ominous.

He suddenly felt as if he was entering something he shouldn't... Seeing something he wasn't supposed to see.

He ran out of the apartment as fast as he could and sprinted home. Within 20 minutes he had made it home, stopping and gasping for air.

"Jakeb where have you been?" his mother demanded. "I've been so worried something horrible had happened!"

She looked down to see what was in Jakeb's hand. Her face went pale.

"Where did you find that?"

"Uh... I don't know."

She grabbed it from him. "You should be grateful nobody saw you with this." She walked away with it.

"Mom, what's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Any association with the Jedi is a death sentence! We need to destroy this!"

"But I found a Jedi!" Jakeb exclaimed. His mother shushed him. "He saved Niles and I and I followed him back to his apartment and found that. Then I saw a message from Obi-Wan Kenobi-"

"I said shush!" She clamped his hand over his mouth. "Don't you say another word! Did anyone see you?"

"No, Mom!"

His mother began pulling down the shudders and mumbling to herself erratically.

"I thought you said the Jedi were heroes! Maybe they can help fight the Empire and get our city back!" His mother continued her ramblings. "MOM!"

She froze and stared at him for a time before her gaze reached the hilt in her hand. "This is a lightsaber. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a great Jedi who fought in the Clone Wars." She sighed, pinching her temple. "Your father was a great Jedi as well."

Jakeb felt his vision get blurry. "What?"

"He and his Padawan helped liberate Nular. He went into the city to celebrate where I met him and we struck up a relationship. One day I stopped hearing from him and his Padawan. I later found out about the mass murder of the Jedi. I found out I was pregnant with you and held out hope he'd come back and complete our family. As you can see, he didn't. He and Laen likely perished in the purge."

Jakeb was speechless. His father was a Jedi? His father was dead? "No, I don't believe it."

"Believe what you want my son, but here's the proof." She tossed the lightsaber back to him. "That belonged to Laen, your father's apprentice."

He held it in his hand and heard her voice inside of it. He had no idea how he was hearing her, but he was... "What if the Jedi who saved me was my father?"

His mother sniffed. "There are no Jedi left. He must have been a thief who stole her lightsaber." She began walking into the kitchen.

"His lightsaber was purple!" he yelled after her, which made her freeze. "That was my father's lightsaber, wasn't it?"

She nodded slowly before getting to work cooking their meal. "This conversation is over."

"Doesn't that give you hope?"

"I won't let it."

The room went silent and they didn't speak of it again that night, but Jakeb was constantly thinking about his mystery savior with the purple lightsaber. He had to find out if he was in fact his father and why he had stayed away for so long.

And who was that man in the dark suit in the picture?