BEYOND THE STARS: A NEW ORDER RISES

CHAPTER 1: CONNECTIONS

(No I'm not dead sorry for the wait lol. I wanted to take a minute and figure out what direction I wanted to go in next but I got it figured out now and I'm super excited for what's coming but we gotta set the stage first ;) anyway have fun!)

"And where would you begin your search?"

Leader Snoke's voice rumbles through the grand room, echoing off the pristine, polished, black tile floors and blood-red walls. He sits against his throne, seemingly without a worry in the galaxy as his arm lay against the armrest, other hand stroking his wrinkled face as he searches deep into the Inquisitor's mind.

But the fallen Kenobi pays it no mind, keeping her back straight as her master sorts through her intent. "Coruscant, at the old temple ruins."

The Supreme Leader gives a deep humm of curiosity, "You know the temple was reconstructed into Emperor Palpatine's palace. Very little remains."

She nods her head, having known this question was coming. "Yes master, the ruin now stands as a haven of darkness. I sense a test..." she pauses, closing her eyes as her mind reaches out and allows the surrounding whispers to consume her thoughts..

She's two years old again, in the temple. Stars shine through windows in the midnight sky, the silence it brings seeming to echo off the walls in its own way. As she looks around, she sees the intricate tall ceilings and swirling pillars that always made her feel small. Although, at the time, in the most comforting way possible. Like when her papa's big arms wrapped around her in an embrace that warmed her very soul. But now, as she looks around the tall ceilings and long pillars are distant. They swallow her whole in sheer size and leave a cold, empty void in her chest.

When she looks behind her, she sees an older man, the wrinkles of his face portraying an age of around mid-sixties. His wide eyes were glazed over with an old pain as they stared at her, his shaky breath escaping a hung-open mouth. And his familiar face  tugged annoyingly at the back of her mind, just out of reach.

That was when the whispers started.

They filled her senses until it was all she could hear, all she could see, all she could think.

Follow the path.

And as she opens her waking eyes once again, she shakes away the remaining blur from her vision. "It calls me. As if it's trying to show me something. Lead me somewhere."

The Supreme Leader nods his head with a growing smirk, "Your connection to the dark side grows by the day. Go. Find what the darkness wants you to see."

She gives a respectful bow before taking her leave. "Thank you, Master. I will not let you down."

~.~

Metal doors slide open with a wave of the Inquisitor's scarred hand as she enters a room only differentiated from every other by its purpose. It has the same dark silver walls. The same black tile floors. The same pristine white helmets at every corner. But this room was also filled with the beeps and trills of binary ringing through it. Parts and pieces are scattered across the tables with deactivated doids torn down to their wires. From astromechs to protocols and everything in between. This room was both a haven, and a slaughterhouse.

She walks up to the engineer-in-charge, her hood up as her cold, dead crystal eyes stare into his soul. "I need a droid. Something small that can traverse different terrains. Ruins, desserts, forests. It needs to be versatile, something that can help me explore."

The man holds up a finger before leading her over to a table towards the back of the room. "I know just what you need! A BD-Unit. Perfect for exploration. All the units you see here are equipped with scanners, scomp links, holo-projectors, communications, and can even translate over 6-million languages into binary. You're free to any you like."