Star Wars: The Rise of Nexu

Chapter 1: Dark Forces Rising

Chapter 1

The planet of Kromus was a planet constantly plagued with storms. Rain poured down from the clouds and lightning streaked through the sky as a single ship entered the planet's atmosphere. It was a small ship, nothing too fancy. It was pointed, and it had the insignia of the Jedi Order stamped on the side of it. The silver ship stood out greatly from the planet below. Though most of the galaxy had advanced rapidly in the past years, Kromus still seemed to be stuck in the dark times. It's old, stone structures were crumbling, and they looked like they could collapse any day. As the ship touched down, all of the passengers inside felt a great disturbance in the force. This planet was plagued with darkness, and even entering the atmosphere, one could feel the evil presence of the sith lords who had called this planet home.

The ship's ramp lowered after a minute of silence on the ground, and four people walked out, all clad in very similar robes and tunics, the basic outfit of the Jedi. The first person to walk down the metal ramp was a Sullustan Male. He was older, about 65 years, and his robes were grey. This was Master Ka, one of the highest ranking Jedi Masters on the Jedi council. He was known to be wise beyond his years, and his enemies knew him to be a fierce, relentless opponent. Not only was Master Ka a leader within the Jedi, but he also played a key role in Galactic Politics, serving as the council's representative in the senate. The second person to exit was another older man. He was human, and his dark hair had hints of grey throughout it. He was a human, and despite his age, he was known to be an outstanding duelist among the Jedi Order. This was Master Danz. He, like Master Ka, was a key member of the Jedi Council, and before the Sith became extinct, he was commonly known to be the best person to call into battle against the Dark Side.

Following the two masters were their respective padawans. Both were human males, and both had fiery red hair. Master Ka's Padawan, Max Ariedo, was a small man, about 19 years of age and very fit. His small size made him very agile, and he preferred acrobatics and evasion over straight lightsaber combat. His previous master, Master Riggs, had been killed in a mining explosion months before, and as a result of this, Master Ka stepped in and claimed him as his padawan. Master Danz's Padawan was Ryan Degd. He was 17 years old, and he was very tall and well built. Unlike Max, he preferred brute force over anything, and he often used his strength to gain the upper hand against his enemies. He had been a nearly perfect padawan for Master Danz, who was very strict with his teachings, and who would punish Ryan for even minor mistakes. He felt that this way worked best to teach Ryan discipline. Ryan was different than most Jedi for one key reason, and that was that he had a brother in the order. His brother, Nikkus Degd, was two years older than him, and had been master Ka's old padawan until recently, when he became a Jedi Knight. Despite the Jedi's strict rules about families, both siblings had been allowed to train due to their abnormally strong connection with the force.

After all of the Jedi were off of the ship, they stood in a circle to discuss the mission ahead of them.

"Alright, as you all know, the council has sent us here to investigate a large disturbance in the force. Many Jedi, including myself, have had visions leading us to believe that the Sith may not be as extinct as we once believed. It is our job to simply investigate this threat. It should be a relatively easy mission as long as everything goes well." Master Ka explained as the rain poured down on him and the rest of the group. There were no questions from the padawans regarding the mission, so they started to walk towards the large temple before them. Though the structure was mighty and large, the majority of the temple was actually built underground, and because of this, it had gone largely unexplored by the Jedi, who did not want to discover the evil secrets which may lay beneath the surface. As the group approached the ruins, all of them began to feel the darkness radiating from the caves below them. It was as if the dark side of the force was penetrating them, and wrapping itself around them completely. Despite this feeling, they carried on. It was surprisingly easy for them to enter the temple. Large holes made for perfect entrances where thick stone walls once stood. As they each stepped into the temple, all of the light seemed to fade away, leaving them shrouded in darkness.