Star Wars Episode X NEW JEDI ORDER

Star Wars Episode X New Jedi Order

(Excerpt from Chapter 9….)

The garden existed between moments—a place where time bent like grass beneath the wind. It had no name, for names were things of the living, and this was a realm where only echoes dwelled. The sky above was not a sky at all, but a tapestry of stars so dense they bled together like liquid silver, swirling in slow, celestial currents. The air hummed with the memory of sunlight, warm and golden, though no sun had ever touched this place.  

Finn stood at the edge of the Pool of Time, his ghostly form shimmering like mist caught in dawn’s first light. The water before him was not water, but something older—a mirror of possibility, of futures both bright and bleak. Ripples moved across its surface without wind, carrying whispers of what was, what is, and what might yet be.  

"You’re brooding again," said a voice behind him.  

Finn didn’t turn. "Someone’s got to."  

Ben Solo—no longer Kylo Ren, though the weight of that name still clung to him like a shadow—stepped forward, his presence quieter than it had been in life. The scar that once split his face was gone, but the intensity in his eyes remained. He came to stand beside Finn, both of them gazing into the pool.  

The reflection showed Rey.  

She was knee-deep in the crystalline springs of the Pearl Moon, her hands guiding Bara’s as he assembled his lightsaber. The scene was peaceful, almost idyllic—but both Finn and Ben could feel the storm brewing beneath the surface.  

"He’s strong in the Force," Finn murmured.  

Ben nodded. "Stronger than he knows. And more reckless than she’d like to admit."  

Finn smirked. "Sounds familiar."  

A beat of silence. Then Ben exhaled, a sound that was almost a laugh. "Yeah."  

The pool’s image shifted—Bara sprinting into the forest, Rey chasing after him, the Sith Androids emerging from the shadows.  

Finn’s amusement faded. "They’re coming for her."  

"Not just her," Ben said. "For him. For what he could become."  

Finn turned to him. "You’ve seen this before."  

Ben’s gaze darkened. "I’ve lived it. The pull of the dark side doesn’t announce itself with screams. It whispers. And Bara… he’s listening to something even Rey can’t hear."  

The pool’s waters trembled, showing a flicker of another scene—a voice, distant and distorted, calling Bara’s name from the void between galaxies.  

Finn tensed. "That’s not Snoke."  

"No," Ben said. "It’s older."  

Finn studied him. "You know who it is."  

Ben didn’t answer at first. His eyes stayed fixed on the pool, watching as Rey and Bara fought back-to-back against the androids. There was something wistful in his expression—something that might have been regret, or pride, or both.  

Ben said finally, “The dark side doesn’t end. It adapts. And there are things out there even he didn’t understand."  

Finn crossed his arms. "You’re being a cryptic one."  

Ben smirked. "Takes one to know one."  

The garden around them seemed to breathe, the starry sky swirling faster as if stirred by some unseen hand. The Pool of Time shimmered, its surface fracturing into a thousand possibilities—Bara falling, Bara rising, Rey standing alone, Rey standing with him, a war that spanned galaxies, a silence that swallowed all.  

———

The waters of the Pearl Moon were so clear they held the sky like a mirror. Rey knelt at the edge of a natural spring, her fingers trailing through liquid silver, sending ripples across the reflection of twin suns. The air smelled of salt and something sweet—like the rare blooming vines that curled around the moon's jagged crystal formations.  

Behind her, Bara sat cross-legged on a flat stone, his hands hovering over the disassembled pieces of his lightsaber. His brow was furrowed in concentration, his dark hair ruffled by the warm breeze.  

"You're thinking too hard," Rey said, without turning.  

Bara exhaled sharply. "It's not clicking."  

"That's because you're forcing it." She stood, shaking droplets from her fingers. "A lightsaber isn't just a weapon. It's an extension of you. The crystal chooses its wielder as much as the wielder chooses it."  

Bara scowled at the components. "It's a hilt, a crystal, and some wiring."  

Rey smiled. "And you're just flesh, bone, and stubbornness. But you're more than that, aren't you?"  

He didn't answer.  

She stepped closer, her shadow falling over his work. "Close your eyes."  

"Why?"  

"Because I said so."  

Grudgingly, he obeyed.  

"Now breathe. Not like you're about to swing a sword. Like you're about to listen."  

Bara inhaled, slow and deep. The tension in his shoulders eased.  

"Good," Rey murmured. "Now, tell me—what do you feel?"  

A pause. Then: "The crystal. It's humming."  

"Louder."  

"It's warm."  

"Good. Now ask it."  

His eyelids fluttered. "Ask it what?"  

"Where it wants to be."  

Bara's hands moved without hesitation. The pieces slid together—the emitter matrix locking into place, the casing sealing around the kyber crystal with a soft snick. His eyes flew open as the hilt ignited in his palm, the blade bursting forth in a brilliant, shimmering blue-green—unlike any lightsaber Rey had ever seen.  

He gaped. "It's—"  

"Alive," Rey finished, her voice soft. "Just like you."  

Bara stared at the blade, transfixed. Then, with a sudden, fierce grin, he swung it in a wide arc. The hum of the saber harmonized with the wind, singing through the air.  

Rey watched him, pride swelling in her chest. He was still reckless. Still impulsive. But there was something bright in him—something worth nurturing.  

Then the Force twisted.  

Rey's head snapped toward the horizon.  

Bara felt it too. His blade deactivated with a hiss. "What was that?"  

"Trouble," Rey said, her voice tight.  

A distant tremor shook the ground. Birds scattered from the crystal trees.  

Bara was already moving, clipping his new lightsaber to his belt. "I'll check it out."  

"No." Rey caught his arm. "We don't know what's out there."  

Bara yanked free. "And we won't if we just sit here."  

"Bara—"  

"Just like I was wrong about the other galaxy communicating with us?" he shot back.  

Rey stiffened. That was a low blow. Months ago, Bara had been plagued by visions—whispers of a distant realm, a voice calling from beyond the stars. Rey had dismissed it as dreams. But the visions had persisted, gnawing at him.  

Now, he threw it in her face.  

Before she could retort, he was already sprinting toward the tree line.  

"Bara!"  

Cursing, Rey took off after him.  

The forest was a labyrinth of glowing flora, the ground spongy underfoot. Rey moved silently, her senses stretched thin. The disturbance was close. And it was wrong.  

She found Bara crouched behind a moss-covered boulder, his breath shallow. Ahead, in a clearing, stood three figures.  

No—not figures.  

Machines.  

Humanoid, but too perfect, too still. Their bodies were polished obsidian, their faces smooth and featureless save for glowing crimson eyes. And in their hands—  

Lightsabers.  

Crimson blades, hissing like serpents.  

Sith Androids.  

Rey's blood turned to ice.  

Bara's hand drifted toward his saber. Rey grabbed his wrist. Not yet.  

One of the androids turned its head. Slowly. Deliberately.  

It knew they were there.  

"Run," Rey breathed.  

The androids moved.  

Bara ignited his blade just in time to block a downward slash. The impact sent him skidding back, his boots carving furrows in the soft earth. Rey's saber flashed to life, intercepting the second android mid-lunge. The third circled, its movements eerily precise.  

"Who sent you?" Rey demanded.  

The android didn't answer. It couldn't.  

It struck.  

Rey parried, countering with a sweep that should have severed its legs—but the android twisted, avoiding the blow with unnatural grace. These weren't mere droids. They were Sith—programmed with centuries of combat knowledge.  

Bara was holding his own, but barely. His inexperience showed. He overcommitted, leaving himself open. An android exploited the gap, slashing toward his ribs—  

Rey shoved with the Force, sending the machine flying into a crystal spire. It shattered on impact.  

"Stop trying to fight them!" she barked. "Feel them!"  

Bara gritted his teeth but nodded.  

The remaining androids attacked in unison. Rey dropped into a defensive stance, her blade a blur. She feinted left, then spun, cleaving through one's torso. It collapsed in a shower of sparks.  

Bara, meanwhile, had closed his eyes.  

The android lunged.  

At the last second, Bara sidestepped, his saber arcing up in a perfect diagonal slice. The android's head toppled to the ground. Its body staggered, then crumpled.  

Silence.  

Bara was panting, his knuckles tight around his saber. Rey deactivated hers, stepping over the wreckage.  

"You okay?"  

He nodded, still staring at the destroyed machines. "What were those?"  

"Nothing good." Rey crouched, examining the debris. No markings. No insignia. But the craftsmanship… it was too advanced for any faction she knew.  

Bara wiped sweat from his brow. "So. I was right."  

Rey sighed. "Yes. You were right."  

He smirked. "Say it again."  

She flicked his ear. "Don't push it."  

But she couldn't suppress her own smile.  

Then, softer: "Maybe I'm not just your teacher anymore. Maybe now… I'm your partner, too."  

Bara's smirk faded into something genuine. Something warm.  

The moment was shattered by a distant roar—mechanical, deafening.  

Something big was coming.  

Rey met Bara's eyes.  

"Ready?"  

He ignited his saber. "Always."  

———

ATILA

———