//------------------------------//
// Return to Coruscant 
// Story: Star Wars: The Fall of Friendship 
// by King Camelot 
//------------------------------//

The small Republic Light Cruiser, The Explorer, soared through hyperspace, intent on returning to Coruscant. It looked severely busted, and there were dents and blast marks all over the ship, it had definitely seen better days. Its occupants had suffered through a really tough mission, and they were looking forward to the comforts of home.

Within the ship, a Jedi Master by the name of Kelcian Gerrun gave the report to General Cin Drallig, a fellow Jedi within the rank of Master that helped secure secrets within the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

"Has Kamino been secured?" the holographic image of Cin asked. Kelcian nodded.

"Yes, the cloning factory has been cleared of any Separatist occupation. But the fleet suffered heavy casualties and our forces are all but depleted. My crew and I  were the only survivors," Kelcian spoke with a hollow tune.

"Your men fought and died like heroes, may their deeds be remembered until the end of time. Is your apprentice alright?"

Kelcian smiled for the first time on this trip, "Yes, he is alive and well. He enjoyed this trip very much, despite the graveness of the situation. Says that he made a lot of friends with the clones, and he won't stop bragging about how he sliced through all those droids and destroyed that squad of Droidekas. He's driving whatever men I have left crazy."

Cin looked surprised, "He destroyed of group of Droidekas? This is most impressive for someone of his age. I know full aged Jedi who have trouble with just destroying one of them. You must be proud."

"Very much so, he will make a fine Jedi Master one day. He is such a precious little thing, I hope he never changes."

Cin nodded, "Yes, indeed. Such feelings of joy and laughter are scarce in these dreadful times. Back on topic, anything else to report?"

Kelcian hesitated. There was one more thing he had to report, but he was struggling to decide if it was anything of relevance. It was a small thing, really, nothing of any real importance. But at the same time, he felt a disturbance in the Force. Ever since his assignment to Kamino, his nights had been plagued by nightmares, visions that held no purpose, yet warned of great foreboding. He could sense a great sadness, a great anger, and an evil, dark presence that threatened to swallow the Jedi and the Republic whole. These dreams, they told him that something dreadful was coming, something malevolent and twisted. He could hear blasters, crying, screaming, the ignition of a lightsaber... 

and a foreign but familiar mechanical breathing. 

He pushed these thoughts away. Surely there was no importance of a silly little nightmare. That was all it was, wasn't it? He chose to focus on something else, "Well, while we were there, I began to notice the the cloning facility was working at a slower pace than usual. I asked the locals about this, they simply told me it was nothing of importance and turned me away. I feel something of great suspicion within these actions. I wish to speak with Master Windu about this."

"Mace Windu isn't currently at the Temple," Cin answered, "He and a few others left for the Senate Building not too long ago."

Now it was Kelcian's turn to be surprised, "He's not there? Could you patch me into his comm?"

Cin shook his head, "We have already made attempts to contact him, he will not answer his summons. You will have to wait until he returns. But I'm sure this is nothing of real importance. After all, the war is about to come to an end."

Kelcian looked confused, "Is it really over?" 

Cin nodded, "Yes, I have just received word that General Grevious has been destroyed. There are rumors among the Senate that the war has come to an end."

Kelcian couldn't believe it! The war... over? He had been fighting in this conflict for so long that it seemed like it would never end. But at the same time, he was glad that it would be ending. He would have more time to do his studies, train his apprentice, and complete that project that he had been working on. It would be a nice change of pace from the sadness and destruction that he suffered through while fighting this war. He thanked Cin for the news.

Cin nodded, "Of course. Though I'm still not sure about the relevance of what happened on Kamino, I will report it to Master Windu as soon as he arrives. See you soon, my friend." And with that, the hologram fizzled out and disappeared.





Kelcian returned to his quarters for some peace and quiet. He would need it, for that important project of his. Using the force, he shut all of the windows in the room, shielding him from the starry space outside, blanketing him in darkness. He then walked to his meditation seat, sat crisscrossed, and pulled something from his pocket. It was a small Jedi holocron, ancient Jedi archives used to store Jedi information, secrets, and as Legend goes, preserve the spirits and teachings of Jedi Masters of the past. Kelcian closed his eyes, concentrating all of his focus onto that small, glowing, blue cube he held in his palm.

It floated out of his hand, and hovered a few feet in front of his face. All Kelcian could think about was opening that small box, uncovering its secrets, learning what it had to offer. Only then, could he unlock the secrets of the Force, and use it to preserve peace and harmony throughout the galaxy. Slowly, the holocron's glow began to burn brighter, and a small clicking noise could be heard within the small device. He was close, he felt it. The secret of the Ancient Masters was within his grasp. Just a little longer, almost there...

He opened his eyes, he had finally done it! The holocron had opened for him. All of its hidden knowledge was now open to him, and not just to him. He pulled his comm device from his pocket and called Commander Turner, "Commander, send Tylias to my quarters immediately. I wish to speak with my apprentice."

Turner saluted, "Yes, sir. May I ask why? Have you finally got a breakthrough?"

Kelcian nodded, "Let's just say, I wish to share what I have found with my son." 

Turner saluted once more, and cut communications. This was it, Kelcian had finally completed it. The other Jedi spoke of it as nothing but rumors, and yet here it was, right at his fingertips. With this, he could learn the hidden powers of the Force, and use it for the protection and preservation of the Jedi. But first, before he showed the Council this, he wanted to show the person he was most close to the great discovery that he had made. Tylias was always fascinated with his work, and enjoyed his tales about the Old Republic. Learning about those ancient Jedi had always been a common dream shared with them, and it would be cruel of Kelcian to leave him out of this. This meant a great deal to both of them. 

The doors opened to reveal Turner, clone commander of The Explorer, and Tylias Gerrun, Padawan learner at age of ten. He was currently discussing to Turner about his adventure with the droids.

"And then those Rolling Death Droids appeared out of nowhere, surrounding me from all sides! And using the Force, I crushed all of their shield generators, and then I whipped out my lightsaber and was like, swish, swoosh, slam!" Tylias bragged, pretending to swing a lightsaber and cut imaginary foes in half. Turner had a forced, but warm smile on his face. He loved the little one, but he could be a bit of a handful at times.

Turner faced Kelcian, "General, I have brought Master Tylias as you ordered. And my men thank you greatly for removing him from the bridge."

Kelcian smiled, "Well, tell them that I won't take long with him. Then he can rejoin you and the rest of the crew. I'm sure you'd love to hear more about the  Rolling Death Droids." Turner gave a face of absolute terror, he couldn't take much more from this kid. Kelcian chuckled, "I'm teasing, Commander. Return to the ship and order the bridge to launch us out of hyperspace once we reach Coruscant."

Turner pulled himself together and saluted, "Yes, sir."

Once Turner had left the room, Kelcian motioned Tylias to sit down, and gave him the good news, "You opened it?! That's fantastic, Master! Tell me what you saw! Don't leave me in the dark! Tell me, tell me!"

Kelcian chuckled once more, "Patience little one, instead of telling you what I found, why don't I show you? Join me in meditation."

You know, Tylias was a very friendly, and hyper kid. But when the time called for it, he could be serious and calm, this was one of those times. As he meditated, Tylias let all emotion go, and focused on the opened holocron with his master. They called upon the Force, utilizing their skill of using it to unlock the secret of the blue box. With both of their efforts, they had managed to make a swirling picture appear in front of them. Tylias was confused, "Master, forgive me for asking, but what is so important about a image of a mess of nonsense?"

Kelcian dismissed this comment, "My young padawan, this is not simply a mess of nonsense. Look closer, what do you see?" Tylias focused once more on the picture. Suddenly, the picture didn't seem like nonsense anymore. He could see planets filled with life, stars that burned brighter than any lightsaber could, and he felt the Force, and its influence over all of these things. It became clear to what this was now.

"Master, this is a map of the galaxy!"

Kelcian nodded, "Correct, my son. What we see here is a complete recording of the galaxy and all planets and stars that dwell within it. It appears that this map is but a fraction of the information we seek. There must be a clue in this map somewhere. Let us look further."

Kelcian and Tylias continued to observe the map. There was something they were missing, they just knew it! And this map held the key to finding the next puzzle piece. This was a complete replica of the galaxy and its planets, it there was anything to be found, it was here. Wait a minute, something wasn't right...

"Hang on," Tylias realized, "Master, something is wrong with this map."

Kelcian turned to his apprentice, he was eager to hear what Tylias had to unveil, "Oh, how so?"

Tylias pointed to an out of place planet somewhere in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, "This planet, right here. It doesn't exist, there's no record of this planet in the Jedi Archives. This map is faulty."

Kelcian looked at the planet, Tylias was right. There was no record in existence about that planet being there. Was all this for nothing? Had the Council been right, that this was all just a fairy-tale, and that it was childish to think it was more than that? 

No, this map had to be correct. They didn't go to the Outer Rim and back to find a clue that led them on a wild goose chase, "Good catch, my apprentice. But remember, the one who created this holocron would not want his knowledge to be found so easily. He's counting on us thinking that this map is a fake. But just because there is no record about something doesn't mean it's not real. Remember when we thought Kamino was a non-existent planet?" 

Tylias did remember. There was a time, before the Clone Wars, that they thought there was no such thing as a planet called Kamino. And yet now, Kamino was one of the most vital planets to the survival of the Republic, "Master, are you saying that the one who wrote this holocron, hid his secrets on a planet that no one had knowledge about?"

"Correct, my apprentice," Kelcian confirmed, "That means that after we report this to the Jedi Council, that planet will be our next destination."

After closing the holocron, he opened the windows, letting the stars back in. Kelcian got up from his seat and contacted the bridge, "Captain, when will reach Coruscant?"

"We're approaching the planet as we speak, General," the holographic image of the Captain reported.

Kelcian smiled, "Good, report to me when we reach the planet. I have a lot to discuss with the Council."

"Yes, sir!" the Captain saluted, as he fizzled out. Kelcian moved to exit his quarters, with Tylias close behind him. The two could not wait to share their discovery with the Council. It would be revolutionary to the Jedi, and would be recorded in the Jedi Archives for generations! Kelcian turned to address his apprentice, "Now, when we reach the Jedi Temple, I want you to behave yourself. We don't want to upset the Council. I still have memories of the last time you..."

Kelcian stopped talking, and stopped moving for that matter. It was almost as if he was a droid that had been shut off. Tylias spoke to him, a little scared, "Master, is something wrong?"

Kelcian didn't answer, but the answer was yes, something was indeed terribly wrong. Once more, he could feel that great disturbance in the Force. Almost as if thousands of Jedi throughout the galaxy screamed in pain and terror, and were suddenly silenced. He could hear the swing of lightsabers, the sounds of blasters, but the blasters weren't coming from Separatist droids. He could hear younglings screaming in confusion, in fear, and in pain. He could hear an old, but evil voice, uttering a simple sentence. He could sense the Dark Side overwhelming the Force. Something terrible was happening, and he had a good idea what it was.

"My dreams," was the only thing Kelcian uttered. There was a minute of silence, then he turned to Tylias in a serious face, "Tylias, stay behind me at all times. Stay behind me and keep your lightsaber out, do you understand me?"

Tylias did not understand. He was scared and confused, he had no idea what his master was telling him. But before he could ask, Kelcian teared down the halls, almost yelling into his comm device, "All personnel, prepare the ship for defensive actions! And shut down all communications with the Senate Building! I don't want a helmet, comm device, or transmission device online!"

Tylias finally managed to catch up with his master, this wasn't making any sense! He was telling his crew to cut all communications, he was preparing the ship to fight as if they were heading into enemy territory! His master was scaring him, "Master, what's going on?!"

Kelcian kept running, "There's not time to explain! We have to disable the hyperdrive before we reach-!"

His sentence was cut off as The Explorer jumped out of hyperspace. From a near by window, the two saw what had happened. Republic ships were circling Coruscant, all heading to one place: The Jedi Temple.

Kelcian could feel it, and now so could Tylias, the Jedi Temple was burning. They felt multiple clones charge into the temple, killing any Jedi in sight. They slaughtered them as if their years of service with each other meant nothing. Like the Jedi were enemies to the Republic. They could not feel a sense of remorse within the clones. They were killing the Jedi, and not showing any mercy or regret in the process of it. Tylias stared at the planet in horror, while Kelcian simply stood there, letting a single tear fall from his face.

The Purge of the Jedi had begun.