Chapter 1
It happened so long ago. In a time of confusion. Of war. A battle broke out. Against a power that threatened the entire galaxy. A sith almost as powerful as Emperor Palpatine himself. Almost.
There were good times. If you were in the right place at the right moment you might've heard the sound of laughter or seen a slight glimpse of a smile. Oh, and of course, nothing ever starts bad.
---
Swing, block, swing, block. Never really attacking. Never giving into anger. Luke's opponent was strong, but not strong enough. Everyone has weaknesses, but Zenik seemed to have an abnormal amount of them. Swing. The way he held his blade. Awkwardly and uneasy, as if it weighed fifty pounds. Block. The way he moved like he was attached to the floor.
Luke remembered trying to teach Zenik to use a lightsaber. It always seemed to Luke that his instructions went in one ear and out the other. Maybe that's why Zenik turned so easily to the darkside.
Luke swung and Zenik's lightsaber went flying out of his hands and landed on the other side of the room. Luke's still hummed in front of him. There was fear in Zenik's eyes. He was afraid of Luke. No. He was terrified.
"Please don't kill me, M-Master Skywalker. P-Please!" Zenik ran away from Luke and huddled in a corner of the room. His voice quivering as if he was about to cry.
Kill him? Luke shut off his lightsaber and reattached it to his belt. He walked over to where Zenik sat trembling like a little child on the floor.
"What makes you think I'd kill you?"
Zenik stood up. His expression had changed and he was no longer trembling. "I'll be back for you, Master Skywalker. I'll be back!"
He walked across the room and paused to pick up his lightsaber. Then disappeared out the door.
Luke never understood Zenik. It was like he had multiple personalities. One moment he was begging not to be killed and the next he was threatening. He'd always been that way. Luke thought back to the time when Zenik first came to the academy. He was just a small boy. Orphaned at birth.
---
Luke Skywalker stared at the small boy in front of him. The boy was sent to the Academy over a week ago, but still remained silent. Luke wasn't sure what to do with him.
"We'll try this again," Luke sighed. He didn't know why he was doing this. He had a class to teach. Other students.
"My name is Luke Skywalker. You may call me Master Skywalker, or just Master. You are at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. You were sent here from Corellian system because of your Jedi traits. I was not given any information about yourself, your family background, or what your Jedi abilities are. I am not asking again."
The child stared blankly at Luke. Did he not hear him? "Your name and any family information you know," Luke repeated. The child's blank look remained.
Luke sighed a little frustrated.
"It's not a hard question."
"Zenik Farren. Born on Corillia. I'm an orphan and do not know anything about my family."
The child's voice was soft and high pitched. Zenik was definitely younger then he looked.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Zenik shook his head slowly and stared wide-eyed at Luke. "I can move things"
Zenik had a noticeable lisp and a slight stutter. Luke guessed his age to be at least eight or nine, even though he looked around twelve years old.
"I see," Luke nodded. "Show me."
Before Luke finished speaking, Zenik had his arm out in front of him and was levitating a large rock behind Luke. Luke turned around just in time to see the boulder fly fiercely through the air, knocking down a few small trees in its path. Luke turned back to the boy. Zenik was in tears.
"I'm sorry M-Master Sky-w-walker," he sobbed. "I c-can't control it."
Zenik bolted out of the forest and back to the Academy. Luke called after him, but it was no use. Zenik showed no signs of slowing.
"He's going to be a tough one," Luke sighed and headed out of the forest himself.
Zenik was certainly a peculiar child. Luke had trained many people in the ways of the force, but never in any of his classes had he come across a child like Zenik. A child with an almost sinister personality one minute, then becomes frightened and confused the next. Luke wasn't sure that he could teach Zenik. He had a bad feeling about him.
Luke sat on a large tree stump deep in the forest of Yavin 4, watching his class as they practiced their lightsaber skills. He had a good class. All except Zenik, who was as usual, sitting against a tree doing absolutely nothing. His lightsaber on the ground beside him. Luke sighed and approached him.
"Are you not going to practice?" Luke pointed at the boy's lightsaber. "Stand up! Show me what you know."
Zenik picked up his lightsaber and stood up as ordered. He stared at the weapon as if he had never seen one before.
"Do you remember anything from the lessons?"
Zenik shook his head, Luke sighed. It was going to be a long night. He turned and addressed the rest of the class.
"Class! Return to the Academy and await further instructions there. I have to work with Zenik alone for awhile."
Obediently the children followed Luke's orders and soon it was just him and the boy.
"First thing," Luke said with a smile. "Lets turn that lightsaber around. You wouldn't want it pointing at your chest when you turn it on."
With that, a long night of continuous instructions and lessons began.
---
Luke sighed again. Zenik was all to confusing for words, but there was something different about him. Luke couldn't feel the good or the bad in Zenik. He was just a presence. An empty presence.
There was something wrong and Luke could sense it. Something terrible was going to happen. The question was when...and what.
To be continued...
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