STAR WARS: RED EAGLE

Prologue: Knightfall

ONE

The training remote made a sharp SWISH as it danced through the air of the training chamber. Jedi Youngling Shane Borris, age seven, tracked the floating orb with his eyes and allowed the words of Master Yoda to come to the front of his mind. Let go, you must, the tiny Jedi Master had said. Feel it in your mind and let the Force guide your hands. He relaxed slightly, reaching out into the infinite abyss he knew to be the Force. The power answered him immediately and rushed through him like a cool summer breeze on Alderaan. His training lightsaber came alive with a snap-hiss.

The remote shot, again and again, but Shane was no longer tracking its movements with his eyes. His saber spun to meet the oncoming bolts of red energy, knocking them harmlessly away. The remote reset itself, shifted position, and tried again, but Shane again foiled its efforts.

Throughout the exercise, he felt the eyes of his classmates—those who had also been placed within Bear Clan—carefully following his movements. None of them made a sound, but he could feel them watching him. They were studying his movements, noting what he did right and determining where he might have slipped up. In an effort to impress them, Shane spun, turning his training lightsaber into a whirlwind of energy, and knocked another flurry of blaster fire. One blast struck the remote in its eye, forcing it out of its orbit—it clattered uselessly to the ground. With a smirk of satisfaction, he shut down his lightsaber.

"Very good," came the pleased voice of Yoda. "Very good. Learned much, you have, youngling. Now, again you try; this time, with the shield down."

Shane nodded and reached for the blast shield on his helmet. Just before he could pull it over his eyes and resume the lesson, two figures passed by the training room: a tall man and a young boy at his side. He knew the tall man to be Master Obi-Wan, a favorite of his. The boy at his side, however, is who drew his eye. He was taller than Shane, with the same Padawan's haircut, and wore the plain tunic of a Jedi. The boy had been the talk of the Temple since his arrival. Some of the Masters were curious about him, others cautious. Younglings and Padawans alike looked up to him. There were even whispers that he was the fulfillment of a Jedi prophecy: the Chosen One himself.

Anakin Skywalker. Just his name alone was full of excitement and power, and Shane looked up to him the way any seven year-old would idolize his seniors. How could he not idolize Anakin? In the year the boy had been on Coruscant, he had mastered Jedi arts that other Padawans had spent years trying to perfect. He had garnered more attention from the Knights and Masters than anyone before him. In many ways, he was the perfect Jedi—at least, he was to Shane.

"Focus, young one," Yoda's voice brought Shane back down to reality. "Shield down. Begin again."

Shane cast a final, parting glance as Obi-Wan and Anakin disappeared from sight. He thought of Anakin and then, in that moment, decided to improve himself. If Anakin could gain the attention of the Masters, he would gain the attention of Anakin. All that he needed to do was improve.

"Yes, Master," Shane replied apologetically.

Another training remote swished into place. He returned his focus to the here-and-now and obeyed Yoda, pulling the blast shield down over his face. There was darkness to his mortal sight, but the Force soon took over and it was as if no blast shield was there at all. He thumbed the activation stud on his training lightsaber.

The blade came on.

TWO

Shane Borris strolled into the Archives just after lunch. He was a few minutes late, but Master Gabbett never seemed to mind. Gadon Gabbett was Hapen, a near-Human species from the planet Hapes in the Inner Rim. He was tall, burly, and was renowned for his sense of humor—his humor was a welcome change of pace from all of the dismal events that surrounded the Jedi these days. However, when Shane came across Master Gabbett, who was bent over a holoprojector, the expression on the Hapen's face was anything but jovial. Shane felt his mood shift accordingly.