Cade Skywalker is training to become a Jedi Knight in the New Jedi Order, but before he can do so, he must figure out who he really is. As war approaches the Jedi, Cade must discover how different he is from other Skywalkers before him.
Cade ducked under Shado's lightsaber and brought his own saber up to counter it. Shado deflected Cade's strike and swung his blue lightsaber at Cade. Cade sidestepped it and grabbed the hilt of Shado's saber while striking at Shado with his own green lightsaber. In one quick motion, Cade had disarmed Shado. Cade powered off Shado's lightsaber blade and tossed it back to him.
"Every time," Shado murmured, though he didn't look too sad about losing again.
Cade was about to suggest a rematch when Wolf Sazen walked into the room. "We're here," he said. Cade and Shado followed him into the cockpit, where the pilot droid named Rex was facing them. The droid had a tanish-orange "face" with a purple visor and blue sensors. The droid was facing them and waving at them with one hand, while his other two were landing the ship. Cade could see why the ride had been so bumpy, the droid probably had only been looking where he was going half the time.
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"Hello!" said RX-24. "It is nice to finally see all of you. We are currently in the process of landing. This has been my most successful piloting job so far—everyone on board is still intact at the time of arrival!"
Cade was beginning to feel some of Shado's pessimism about the droid. But Shado wasn't focused on the droid. He was staring out the window, his eyes wide. Cade followed his gaze out the window and saw that Wayland wasn't at all how it had been described. It wasn't a desolate, dead planet at all. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It was a lush, green planet with large and wide variety of plants as far as the eye could see.
Cade looked at Shado. "I thought you said this planet was dead."
Shado looked back at him. "It was. The darkness of this planet was overwhelming. But now..."
"The Ossus Project has worked. Creatures called the Yuuzhan Vong have reshaped and restored this planet to greatness. But this is only the beginning. Hundreds of planets will be just like this soon," Wolf explained.
"That's incredible," Shado said.
"Indeed," Wolf agreed. "It is most extraordinary. Now, let us venture down and check on the Yuuzhan Vong and their progress. It is likely they have completed their work here."
The entrance and exit ramp lowered as the Celador Sash shakily make contact with the ground. Cade, Shado, and Wolf walked down it and onto the surface of the planet. They walked around for a little while, exploring the planet and its legitimacy. Sazen knelt down in the soft, long grass and placed his hands upon it, closing his eyes.
"It's perfect," Wolf muttered, his eyes closed. "Completely—"
Wolf's smile suddenly faded and was replaced by worry. Cade stepped forward. "What is it, Master?"
"I feel a disturbance," Wolf muttered, not moving an inch.
"My father told me that—"
"No," Sazen interrupted Cade. "Not in the Force. Something closer. Something that's..." Sazen's eyes snapped open and he rose to his feet. "Right here."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble. A giant shadow appeared far away and began quickly surrounding the planet, turning the lush greenness into cold darkness. Cade drew his lightsaber, but there was nothing to strike. And the shadow was approaching them at top speed.
"Back to the ship," Sazen said, staring around at the shadow. "Now!"
They turned and ran in the direction of the Celador Sash, but the shadow was faster. As is quickly approached, Cade began feeling colder and colder. There was a pull deep within his chest that was growing exponentially, as if trying to draw him backwards. He felt his running slow and it took all of his effort to keep running forward. Wolf and Shado were still running normally, though, and Cade was falling behind. Wolf and Shado turned back to try and pull Cade along with them, but that only slowed them down. With Cade as a burden, they were no match for the shadow. Within second, the shadow caught up to them from all sides, engulfing the Celador Sash in the distance and then approaching the three Jedi. Cade barely had time to brace himself before they were swallowed by the darkness, leaving behind the planet's beauty and all its life.
