Chapter 14: Whispers from the Past

Kira had left the hospital and entered the city without purpose or aim. Her mind still reverberated from her conversation with Ben, and those thoughts stirred up an emotional maelstrom that the chaos and noise of Coruscant only exacerbated. She intended to find her way to the Chancellor's residence to see if Leia would receive her, but so far Leia had shown no interest in either of them; Kira was not even sure the Chancellor knew they were there.

She passed through the streets of the city's center, with the massive dome of the Senate chamber rising high above the streets. Wave upon wave of emotional resonance and mental chatter washed over her as she passed shops, stalls, and crowds of people milling about. She could feel a mounting tension in those around her – a collective anger that was beginning to surge. As she passed a group, she overheard talk of refugees and political corruption, but rather than stop and engage, she ran through Jedi calming techniques to soothe the overstimulation that was threatening to engulf her.

She reached the end of the busy street, which emptied out into a massive square at the base of the Senate building. She had been here one time before earlier in her life, and at that time this square had been bustling with diplomats and government personnel. On this evening, the square bristled rather than bustled with a massive crowd of protestors shouting and chanting about corruption. She caught the refrain of the chant: "SEND THEM BACK, SEND THEM BACK, SEND THEM BACK." She was not sure who "them" were, nor was she certain where "back" was, but as she worked her way through the square to reach the government residences beyond the Senate, she noticed some of the signs and banners held by the protestors depicting anti-refugee sentiment. She had been aware of a growing refugee issue, as the Jedi of the temple kept track of galactic events despite their neutrality and had even attempted to aid in protecting displaced people. Kira deduced that some of the refugees were coming to Coruscant, and the planet's citizens were voicing their considerable displeasure.

The density of the crowd increased, and the anger of those around her peaked. Kira struggled to remain focused on the Jedi calming techniques as the emotional chaos around her threatened to overwhelm her. She pushed through, attempting to reach the other side of the protest. She was jostled and pushed as the crowd surged forward toward a barrier encircling the Senate building manned by hundreds of Republic guards. Suddenly, an awareness cut through the noise, pressure, and anger, and Kira stopped trying to fight her way through. Somewhere to her left, there was a presence she could not place – something familiar as if an echo had surfaced from the deepest recesses of her memory. She looked in that direction, scanning the crowd to find those to whom the presence belonged.

Compelled by the presence and seeing the growing intensity of the crowd between her and the government residences, Kira made ans diverted toward the presence. She cut left through the crowd, and the crush of people thinned as she neared the end of the square. She sensed the presence moving ahead into a side street, and she followed cautiously, attempting to ascertain whether the presence was a threat or not. As a precaution, she unhooked one of her lightsabers and kept it in her right hand, ready for ignition should a threat emerge.

The side streets were crowded as well, but not as packed as the square. She still had not identified who or what was leading her, but the presence continued to strengthen, as did the compelling sense that the presence wished to communicate with her. For twenty minutes, she passed through various city streets, moving further away from the protests and the Senate until, suddenly, she found herself at the base of the old Jedi Temple. There was no visual sign of the presence, but she could still feel it ahead of her. It might even be inside the temple, for all she knew. She stared up at the towering structure, and she noticed the signs of decay. Graffiti emblazoned the walls on the base of the temple, and not all of it was positive. From what she could tell, not everybody was happy that the Jedi had returned. Some were unhappy that the Jedi had returned but did not take part in galactic affairs any longer. Some of the graffiti reflected anti-Jedi sentiment and even anti-Republic sentiment, and Kira saw that not everybody was pleased that the Empire had fallen. Some of the graffiti implied anger and dissatisfaction about both forms of government, with the suggestion that the galaxy would be better off removing elites from power and establishing independence among systems. In front of the temple stood a simple plaque commemorating the events before the birth of the Empire, wherein the clone armies had massacred most of the Jedi. That, too, had been desecrated, leaving Kira to wonder at how so many people harbored hate for a group that kept to itself unless people needed help.

The sense of the presence strengthened, and without using words, it communicated to her to enter the temple. She hesitated, remembering the last time she entered a place where darkness resided. She knew the history of the Jedi Temple, and she expected to feel at least some resonance from the events at the end of the Clone Wars. She knew that Luke's decision to move the Jedi Order to Yavin was at least in some part due to the emotional resonances that remained at the Coruscant temple. Despite her apprehensions, the urgency of the presence compelled her, and in this quiet corner of Coruscant, her mind reflected the silence, leading to a sense of relief. With lightsaber in hand, she ascended the steps to the temple door.

She pushed her way through the door and entered a darkened corridor. She ignited her lightsaber to provide illumination, and the blade cast a golden glow across the silent halls once teeming with Jedi. Work crews had cleansed the temple decades ago, but it had been left forlorn and forgotten, with a thick layer of dust covering the floor and the alcoves throughout the grand hall. Graffiti covered some of the walls, and she suspected that vagrants sheltered here during unrest or inclement weather. As she progressed through the main corridor, she thought she could feel distant echoes of the past, for good and for worse. Many people strong in the Force had lived here, trained here, and practiced here, and she knew that the Force could leave traces. She strained to hear some of these echoes, but they remained garbled and indistinct – mere reverberations.

The presence beckoned her forward, and she climbed the stairs toward the Jedi Council chambers. After dozens of flights of stairs, she reached the door to the chamber, which appeared very much as it might have thirty years ago. The presence beckoned from inside, and with lightsaber still ignited, Kira pushed through the door. Beyond the door stood the circular room with chairs arrayed in a semi-circle. The lights of the city shone beyond the window, providing the only light beside the glow of her blade. She could still feel the presence, but she could not see any sign of it.

She had reached the center of the room when she felt a sudden shift in the nature of the presence. Her vision rippled and shimmered, and she felt a shooting pain through her head. Disoriented and in pain, she knelt to the ground, and when she looked up, she saw a vision of two men. Instinctively, she knew that they had just committed murder together. One was older and disfigured, although he stood above the younger man, who knelt on the ground. The younger man was more familiar, and after a moment she identified him from memories of watching training videos and old news footage with Ben as a child: Anakin Skywalker.

He knelt before the older man, whom with a jolt of terror, she recognized as Emperor Palpatine. She shifted into a defensive position, anticipating an attack, but the two took no notice of her. Instead, Anakin, his breathing heavy and his demeanor anguished, pleaded with the Emperor. "Just help me save Padme's life; I can't live without her."

Palpatine inhaled, his voice deepening, and he told Anakin, "To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret."

Anakin, in evident relief, sank back to the floor. He responded to Palpatine's claim by saying, "I pledge myself to your teachings."

Palpatine, pleased, whispered, "Good…. Good!" Then, as if drinking from a deep well, Palpatine closed his eyes and rumbled, "The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become! Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth. . . Vader."

Anakin looked up to Palpatine and said, both relieved and horrified, "Thank you, my Master."

The scene shifted suddenly. The Council chamber was lit dimly, and dozens of children hid behind the abandoned chairs of the Jedi Masters. Anakin, cloaked, hooded, and filled with grim, menacing intent, stood at the entrance to the chamber. One of the children stepped forward and said, "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?"

Kira watched in horror as Anakin ignited his lightsaber. The children froze in terror as Anakin stepped forward. He raised his blade. . .

And suddenly the vision was gone. The chamber was still dark – darker than it ought to have been. The lights from the city outside the building were strangely muted, and as she peered around the room through the darkness, she felt the presence again. Raising her lightsaber in a defensive posture, she looked around, feeling certain that something was about to attack her.

"So many secrets. So many lies. . ." called a familiar voice.

Kira turned in the direction of the voice, but still, she could not see the presence. "Who's there?" she called, turning this way and that to find who was with her. A red glow caught her eye in the corner of the room, and slowly, a cloaked and hooded figure materialized. The form of Emperor Palpatine coalesced, tinged by an aura like the ghosts of the departed Jedi masters, only with a red glow.

"My girl. . ." the Emperor taunted.

"You're dead! Ahsoka told me!" Kira shouted as she backed away from the Emperor.

"Oh, indeed," the Emperor said, "But the Sith. . . we are eternal."

"What do you want!" she shouted, ready to strike.

"Soon, the galaxy shall know the truth. And when they do, they will come for you." The Emperor said, relishing the cruelty of the statement. He continued, saying, "When they find out who you really are, they will call for your head. Those who have long suspected. . . there will be nowhere safe for you." The Emperor's figure shimmered, then slowly vanished. As he did so, the darkness lifted, and Kira stood alone in the Jedi temple, her weapon raised uselessly, her mind racing.

Breathing heavily as panic, rage, and hatred flowed through her, she extinguished her blade and worked to catch her breath. As her breathing deepened, her thoughts slowed as well. The vision had shown Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader and murdering children at the orders of the Emperor. This contradicted everything that she had ever heard about the brave, noble, dashing Jedi. Her Masters taught her that he had fought for the Republic, conquered enemies, and died at the hands of Darth Vader. Unsure whether she could trust the vision, she could still see Anakin pledging himself to Palpatine. Had Anakin not died at the hands of Darth Vader? Had he become Darth Vader himself? Had he overseen the deaths of billions of beings across the galaxy while helping the Empire oppress trillions? It went against everything she had learned.

And yet – a memory flitted through her mind of Leia's face when Ben, as a child, had pretended that they were Anakin and Ahsoka taking on General Grievous or fighting alongside the Mandalorians. It had been one of Ben's favorite games as a child, and, reluctantly, she had played along as Ahsoka, who had later become her mentor. Leia had always disapproved, attempting to steer Ben away from his idolization of her grandfather - but always without success. And she remembered how Ahsoka had talked about friends she had lost to the Dark Side. Could it be that the friend she referred to was her own Master?

Why would they not tell her? Why keep this a secret? She imagined the effect it might have on Ben. He often pretended as a child that he was Anakin defeating Darth Vader, and she knew that he fantasized about what it would have been like had his grandfather survived and helped Luke overthrow the Emperor and bring peace to the galaxy. Her turmoil was tremendous, but for Ben, it would be a devastating blow.

And the Emperor – what truth had he been alluding to? How had he appeared the way he had when the Jedi had confirmed that he had died twenty years ago. Why did he continue to haunt her, of all people?

Kira looked out the window toward the Chancellor's residence only a few miles across the city. She could see the lights and fires burning from the protests which appeared to have worsened while she was in the temple. She knew that Leia was there, watching the chaos unfold below and issuing orders to the local security forces. She would be indisposed. But Kira needed to know.

She turned from the council chamber and fled the temple, rushing out into the night where the massive protest raged in the streets of Coruscant between her and the answers she sought.