THE SOURCE : A SKYWALKER RISES

It is 3,000 years after the fall of the Jedi Order and the execution of Order 66. For centuries, the galaxy has known an uneasy peace. Worlds have rebuilt. Factions have faded. The Jedi, once guardians of the Republic, are now scattered. They are wanderers and warriors without a war. Ronin in a time that no longer needs them.

But all is not still in the Force.

Whispers speak of strange disturbances, fractures in the balance, and echoes of a dark presence long thought extinct. From the Outer Rim to the Core Worlds, fear begins to stir once more.

In the shadows, the Sith rise again.

Not as conquerors, but as executioners. Their Final Solution is clear: to hunt down the last Jedi and erase their legacy forever.

The age of peace is ending.

The war for the Force is about to begin again.

CHAPTER ONE : SAVAREEN MINES

Thomfrey couldn’t help but smile. He quickly stashed the food into his tool bag and glanced over his shoulder. No guards in sight. He immediately set to work.

His lungs burned with every breath as he swung his pick into the rock wall. The dim tunnels of the Savareen coaxium mines shuddered with distant blasts, shaking loose a fine drizzle of dust. Pale blue veins of raw coaxium pulsed along the rock face, casting an eerie glow over his grime-caked skin. He was just a boy, no older than sixteen, but months of forced labor under the mercenaries had aged him. His arms trembled with fatigue, yet he dared not stop.

“Bha Bha Yin Gan Gan!”

"WHO STOLE MY FOOD?!"

The guard cursed. He was a hulking Weequay with a twisted sense of authority, his whip cracking mainly to remind the miners of their place beneath him. He enjoyed their pain, barking orders and doling out punishment for the smallest infractions. His meals, however, were a daily insult; thick stews, roasted meats, and fresh bread, delivered down in a locked crate while the miners survived on tasteless watery gruel and scraps.

His ration was missing...again. The miners exchanged furtive glances, smiling inwardly .Their only joy came from these small victories, knowing the sadistic Weequay would go hungry.

The guard searched frantically. The food had been right beside him moments ago. Another guard claimed he’d seen it float away, but had dismissed it, thinking the spice was playing tricks on his mind. He stared at the empty crate, disbelief hardening into a slow, simmering fury. His stomach twisted, already aching with the harsh truth that there would be no food. No meat, no bread, not even a scrap. Just the hollow ache of hunger creeping in, hour by hour till the next day.

But worse than the hunger was the humiliation.

He could feel their eyes on him, the miners pretending to work, their faces smeared with dust and sweat, hiding smirks behind pickaxe swings. They knew. They had done this. And they were enjoying it. He suspected that ever-cheerful pest called Thomfrey, but it was impossible that he had done it, he was too far away.

A sharp crack echoed nearby. Thomfrey flinched as a chunk of stone exploded a few meters away. A miner had struck an unstable coaxium pocket. Red flared within the blue, a telltale sign of destabilization.

“Get down!”

Thomfrey dropped his pick and dove behind a support pillar just as a fiery blast ripped through the tunnel. The shockwave slammed him into the pillar. His ears rang. Screams echoed down the shaft.

When he finally lifted his head, a pile of rubble covered the spot where the miner had stood. His heart pounded. The mercenaries would dismiss it as an “acceptable loss.”

“Back to work, rats! Or you’ll join him!”

The bark came from the overseer, a scarred Weequay with a flickering cybernetic eye. He waved his blaster menacingly. Thomfrey staggered to his feet and reached for his fallen pick.

A hand shot out and grabbed the pick first. "You really know how to dodge, don't you?" came a low, sarcastic drawl. Thomfrey looked up to see Zendayx, the wiry teenage girl who worked the adjacent section, smirking as she held his tool. Soot streaked her brown skin, and her dark hair was tied back with a rag. Despite the grime, her green eyes flashed with audacity.

“I try my best,” Thomfrey said, coughing through the dust. Staring at her a little too long.

He reached for the pick, but Zendayx held onto it a moment longer, arching an eyebrow.

“Your best might get you killed,” she said. “Maybe stop swiping food and standing next to walking detonators.”

Her tone was teasing, but beneath it lay genuine concern.

Thomfrey managed a wry half-smile. “I’ll be sure to consult you on occupational hazards next time.”

Zendayx snorted. “Oh yes, paradise down here.” She lowered her voice and stepped closer. “I heard the mercs talking. Another shipment’s coming tonight. Raw coaxium.”

Thomfrey’s brows knitted. “They keep pushing us harder. They’ll blow us all up for a few credits.”

“Rumor says some big buyers are involved. Maybe even off-worlders.” She glanced around. Her eyes gleamed, not with fear, but with possibility.

He wiped sweat from his brow with a torn sleeve. He knew what she meant. A major transport meant distraction. Chaos. An opportunity.

“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking…”

She cut him off with a dry laugh. “Thinking of it? I dream about it. Anything to get out of this hole.”

For a second, the armor of sarcasm dropped. Thomfrey saw the desperation in her eyes. It was one he shared. Beneath the soot and defiance, they were just kids, clinging to hope.

Before he could respond, the Weequay overseer stomped toward them.

“You two! Less yapping, more digging!”

He raised his electro-prod. He’d used it for less. Zendayx turned without a word, her face cold with fury, and swung her pick at the rock.

Wait... is that food I smell?" the overseer said, looking directly at Thomfrey.

The question hung in the stale air.

Quickly, a Gungan miner shifted in place and released a quiet, noxious fart, sharp enough to cut through the mine's usual stench.

The overseer froze, eyes watering, the scent hitting him like a hammer.

"Enough! Back to work...all of you!"

Thomfrey returned to the wall, heart pounding , not just with exhaustion, but with something sharper.

In the suffocating dark of the coaxium mines, an idea had begun to glow.

CHAPTER TWO: SPARKS OF REBELLION

That night, the mine's central cavern buzzed with tension. Floodlights mounted on support beams cast stark shadows across weary miners and armed mercenaries. On the cavern floor, several large canisters of raw coaxium were being loaded onto a hover-skiff. The unrefined hyperfuel inside glowed an ominous blue, threaded with veins of unstable red. One jolt could turn the whole shipment into a firestorm.

Thomfrey shoveled the last heap of ore into a crate, all the while keeping an eye on the mercenaries gathering by the skiff. He spotted Zendayx a few paces away, pretending to coil ropes while watching the same scene. High above, the night sky of Savareen peeked through a grated ventilation shaft. This might be their only chance.

A gruff corellian smuggler in a dusty coat strode into the cavern, flanked by more rough looking off-worlders. Thomfrey recognized their type. Coaxium dealers, here to buy the hyperfuel on the black market. The leader, a broad-shouldered woman with close cropped hair and a blaster on her hip, barked orders at the mercenaries. “I’m here to move juice, not count bodies...be careful you dogs.”

Zendayx slipped silently to Thomfrey's side as the mercenaries were distracted. "That's Keena Varnis," she whispered, tilting her chin at the smuggler woman. "Notorious coaxium runner. If anyone's got a ship out of here, it'll be her."

Thomfrey nodded subtly. The mercenaries were busy arguing with Keena over payment, a pile of Imperial credit chips glinted in a case she carried. Weapons were lowered but tensions ran high. It was now or never.

With silent resolve, Thomfrey and Zendayx crept toward the hover-skiff, every step feeling like a gamble. The aging astromech, battered, wheezing, its paint faded to the colors of Keena’s crew, struggled to lift a coaxium canister onto the skiff’s bed. The faint hum of its servos seemed deafening in the cavern’s stillness.

Thomfrey’s pulse thundered in his ears. He cast a glance at Zendayx. She met his eyes, sharp, steady, and gave the barest nod. It was time.

A flick of his fingers, barely more than a twitch, rippled through the shadows. The signal. Miners across the chamber stiffened, tools in hand, eyes narrowing. This was it.

There was no going back.

They had nothing left to lose. Death wasn’t a threat here, it was routine, casual, just one wrong blow away.

And for once, they would strike first.

Suddenly, a shout echoed. A mercenary spotted them and yelled. Before he could finish, Zendayx hurled a loose pipe into a stack of tools with a crash, startling everyone. At that exact moment, Thomfrey leapt onto the skiff beside the coaxium canisters. He slammed his fist on the skiff's activation panel. The repulsorlifts whined to life.

Chaos erupted. "Stop them!" the Weequay overseer roared. Mercenaries opened fire. Keena Varnis’s eyes flared with anger and surprise.

Zendayx scrambled up next to Thomfrey on the skiff as it began to glide. A blaster bolt sizzled past her ear and exploded against a crate of mining equipment, sending shards everywhere. "Go, go!" she shouted, grabbing Thomfrey’s arm.

He jammed the throttle forward. The hover-skiff lurched and sped toward the cavern’s half-open blast doors, the same doors through which Keena and her smugglers had entered. If they could just make it outside…

A mercenary lunged at Zendayx; she kicked him off the skiff.

More blasterfire streaked past them, illuminating the dark cavern. Thomfrey ducked low, keeping one hand on the controls.

"Dont shoot the canisters! You idiots!!" the Weequay overseer roared.

The heavy canisters rattled dangerously beside them. One direct hit to those, and none of them would see another day.

Keena Varnis drew a pistol and fired. The bolt grazed Thomfrey’s shoulder, but he kept control. Zendayx flung a spanner that struck Keena’s wrist, sending her weapon flying. The skiff shot past her and out into the cool night air.

Outside, wind whipped at Thomfrey’s face. The skiff careened down a rocky slope toward the coastline where a rusty freighter was landed. It was the smugglers’ ship. Alarms rang out behind them; mercenaries gave chase on foot and on speeder bikes, red blaster bolts flying wild in the dark.

Keena Varnis crouched on a speeder bike, her pistol trembling in her grip, not from fear, but from the weight of a decision. The miners were escaping, dragging crates of precious coaxium, the very shipment she'd planned to buy with her last credits. She could try to gun them down now, take back what she considered hers. Or... she could switch sides. Let them aboard her ship, play the ally, and ride out with the goods for free. Her eyes narrowed. Credits were credits, and loyalty was just another gamble.

Zendayx clung to the side of the skiff, eyes wide. "Head for that ship!" she yelled over the roar of the engines and wind. Thomfrey saw the freighter’s ramp was still down, they had been loading the coaxium. The silhouettes were moving frantically, they were Keena’s remaining crew, unsure what was happening.

He grit his teeth against the pain in his shoulder and steered hard toward the open ramp. The skiff careened toward a parked freighter. "Jump!" Thomfrey shouted. He and Zendayx leapt onto the freighter’s loading ramp just as a stray bolt struck the coaxium canisters on the skiff.

A deafening fireball erupted. The shockwave hurled Thomfrey and Zendayx against the freighter’s ramp. Inside, klaxons blared as the ramp began to rise.

Thomfrey’s vision blurred. Coughing in the smoke, he grasped Zendayx’s hand and felt a squeeze in return. She was alive.

The freighter’s engines roared. Keena had dived aboard and now hauled the ship skyward, leaving the burning wreckage and enraged mercenaries behind.

As the ramp sealed shut, Thomfrey collapsed onto the cold metal floor beside Zendayx. They had done it,escaped the mines. His entire body trembled with shock and relief. Zendayx managed a shaky grin. "Well... that could have gone worse."

Thomfrey let out a breathless laugh and passed out.

The freighter shot off into the starry sky, leaving Savareen far behind.

CHAPTER THREE: WRITINGS OF MASTER ORUN DARR

Thomfrey and Zendayx stood beneath the swaying fronds of silken palm-trees, their hands entwined as golden sunlight filtered through the canopy onto the ivory sands of a secluded Naboo island. Soft music from Gungan water-harps lilted on the breeze, mingling with the scent of blooming verantha flowers and the gentle hush of crystal-clear waves. In front of a gathered circle of allies and friends, they kissed…deeply, unreservedly. Her fingers grazed his jaw; his arms pulled her close, and the world around them melted into a haze of warmth, peace, and promise. Then, without warning, the entire paradise shattered. A freezing torrent of water crashed over Thomfrey’s face like a wet slap from the Force itself. He choked, gasped, and bolted upright, sputtering as rough laughter echoed around him. Keena’s men loomed above, holding an empty bucket and smirking cruelly. “Rise and shine, lover boy,” one sneered. “Dreamtime’s over.”

Thomfrey stood up quickly and noticed briefly that Zendayx was looking at him.

“So who were you kissing? ”

“That is the least of your problems ”Keena said, jaw clenched and blaster raised, finding herself begrudgingly impressed by the sheer audacity of their escape.

But admiration meant nothing. She threw them into the brig, fury simmering just beneath the surface.

She knew what was coming. The mercenaries would not just come after her. They would brand her a traitor. Universal warrants would flood the systems. Every bounty hunter from Coruscant to the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim would be hunting her. Her name, once respected, was as good as poison. Trust was gone. Her life as she knew it was over.

Her first instinct had been to eject them into space. Quick. Silent. Final. But something deeper held her back. A nagging feeling. A whisper of intuition. If she turned them in to the authorities, there might still be hope. She would salvage her name. Maybe even claim a sizable bounty.

Inside the brig, Thomfrey and Zendayx met Lysandra Keth, a wounded and aging Theelin Jedi who lay slumped in the corner. He had been captured as a bounty as well. Keena was transporting him to Virellos, where a man named Jung waited. He was a young Sith general with a reputation that was spreading like wildfire across the galaxy.

As the hours passed, the two youths spoke with Lysandra. He responded cautiously, offering little more than vague nods and deflections. But as the conversation deepened, Lysandra found his gaze drawn repeatedly to Thomfrey. There was something in the boy’s presence, something quiet but undeniable. Not power, exactly, but a stillness that reminded him of temples long buried and voices long gone. He said nothing for a long time, torn between instinct and fear. Then, with a resigned breath, he reached beneath a loose panel in his pack and drew out a bundle wrapped in old cloth. Inside were ancient Jedi texts, brittle with age, and a weathered journal bearing the faded emblem of the Order. The air seemed to shift around them. "These," he said quietly, "aren’t meant for just anyone."

Thomfrey sifted through the items. His fingers brushed against a small device. The holoprojector activated with a click, casting a flickering star map across the cell walls. It showed a location deep within the galaxy, isolated near the edge of the Deep Core.

Lysandra stared at it in stunned silence. Then, almost reverently, he retrieved the journal and handed it to them.

"These are the writings of Master Orun Darr," he said, voice low. "He spoke of an artifact that leads to something greater. The Source of the Force itself."

Thomfrey felt his hands begin to shake.

Lysandra’s eyes darkened. "He warned of a living planet. A power beyond anything we understand. And he spoke of a dark heir who seeks to claim it. If this heir reaches it first, the consequences will be catastrophic."

Zendayx’s breath caught. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "A descendant of Palpatine. Jung must be the one the mercenaries mentioned and he is rumored to own the coaxium mines."

Her expression hardened. Her eyes burned with new resolve. "If a Sith is after the Source, we cannot stand by."

In the dim light of the cell, they made a silent vow. No more running. No more waiting.

They would find Master Orun Darr.They would uncover the Source.And they would get there before Jung.

CHAPTER 4: VIRELLOS

Keena’s freighter touched down amid swirling crimson sand on the sunbaked outpost of Virellos, its landing struts groaning as they met the worn duracrete pad etched with scorch marks and rust. The air shimmered with heat, thick with the scent of scorched metal, salt from the nearby sea, and the acrid tang of starship fuel. At the edge of the landing zone, Vossar, a grim-faced Chiss acting as her intermediary met with a squad of local enforcers. He handed over Thomfrey, Zendayx, and Lysandra Keth and the others with little ceremony. After a tense round of bargaining in a half-lit customs shack, he secured her bounty,barely worth the risk.

The cell was dim and stifling, lit only by a flickering overhead panel. Shackled to the wall beside Thomfrey, Lysandra Keth studied him in silence before finally speaking. “The Force burns bright in you, boy...brighter than I’ve seen in decades. You’re not just sensitive. You’re something else.” Thomfrey looked away, uncertain. “Reach for it,” Lysandra urged. “Call the blaster. Focus on it.” Outside the bars, a bored soldier paced with his weapon slung lazily at his side. Thomfrey closed his eyes, reaching deep. But instead of calling the blaster, something stronger surged through him. The soldier let out a strangled cry as his body jerked off the ground, yanked violently forward like a doll caught in a storm. He slammed into the bars, face-first, and crumpled unconscious. Lysandra’s eyes widened, stunned speechless. Thomfrey, trembling, unlocked the cell door with the guard’s keycard. Zendayx caught the blaster mid-fall. The trio bolted down the corridor, vanishing into the warren of tunnels before the next shift even realized they were gone.

Reaching the edge of the island, they discovered and swiftly commandeered a glimmering QVX-97 Interceptor, parked beside a luxury skiff, it was undeniably the prized toy of some affluent tourists drawn to the radiant beaches of Virellos. As they powered up the sleek vessel, engines humming to life beneath the coral-dusted canopy, they failed to notice the dark silhouette cresting the horizon. They weren’t alone. They had been tracked from the prison and before the Interceptor could lift off, a searing bolt slammed into its hull, rocking the cockpit with a thunderous jolt. The chase had begun.

"Fasten your seatbelts!" he shouted, but it was too late. Half the crew were already tumbling across the cabin, thrown off balance by the sheer force of the sudden takeoff.

Thomfrey’s starship roared over the sparkling coral bays of Virellos, skimming so low the twin rudders sent ripples across the turquoise water, as local patrol crafts tore after him in a barrage of warning fire. He veered sharply inland, darting between towering sea cliffs where bioluminescent vines clung like veins of light, then plunged into the kaleidoscopic canyons of the Glasswind Range, each crystalline wall refracting the sun into dazzling storms of color that danced across his cockpit. The pursuit raged through wind tunnels carved by time and water, across salt flats that shimmered like molten mirrors, and finally into the Skyneedle Forest where the trees stretched so high they scraped the cloudline. Thomfrey twisted through their tangled spires, engines whining against the g-forces, until he burst into the upper atmosphere with a final loop that sent two of his pursuers crashing into the canopy below. The last patrol locked missiles on the starship.

“Master Lysandra, I need those hyperdrive coordinates immediately,”

Thomfrey urged, his voice tight with urgency as blaster fire rocked the hull. Calm and composed, Lysandra keyed in the final sequence with precision. “Coordinates locked. Jump when ready. With a snap and a flash, the ship vanished into hyperspace, escaping by the very hair of his head, a single scorch mark left smoking on the aft panel as proof he’d been there at all.

CHAPTER 4: AN ASSASSIN'S STRIKE

Thomfrey, Zendayx slipped away into the bustling market in Drokka, following clues from Orun’s journal. They soon found Garn Voxx in a shadowy cantina booth, a grizzled cyborg trader who had dealt with Orun Darr.

Over a hushed drink, Garn divulged what he knew. “Orun went searching for an artifact on Fex. Rumor is he found it, but then disappeared. Word on the holonet is that jung snatched him, took him to some fort on Kamino.” He glanced around nervously. “This is dangerous talk. There are those who'd kill to keep it secret.”

Before they could ask more, a whispering dart suddenly embedded in Garn’s neck. His eyes widened in shock. Thomfrey caught the old man as he slumped forward, lifeless. Across the cantina, a hooded assassin armed with a dart launcher slipped out the back door.

Heart pounding, Thomfrey bolted after the killer with Zendayx at his heels. In a trash littered alley behind the cantina, the masked figure turned to confront them. Without a word, the assassin flung a compact blade at Zendayx. Thomfrey flung out his hand instinctively and the dagger veered off course as if swatted by an invisible force, clattering harmlessly to the ground.

The assassin hissed in surprise, then raised a palm. Thomfrey felt a blast of unseen power slam him backwards. A jedi. Zendayx fired a blaster bolt in return, and the assassin dodged with ease. Deciding retreat was wiser, the assailant melted into the maze of alleys in a blur.

Shaken and breathless, Thomfrey helped Zendayx up. “Garn’s dead,” she whispered, anger and fear in her eyes.

Thomfrey had felt the force responding to his will again, diverting the weapon midair. He looked at Zendayx, his eyes wide with disbelief. She returned the look, equally stunned. Whatever power was awakening in him, it was getting stronger.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Orun Darr was on Kamino, and they had no transport. Desperate, they made their way through the crowded alleys of Drokka’s black market, searching for a ship they could hire. There was only one freighter available, and to their surprise, it belonged to Keena Varnis.

She looked up in shock as they entered the hangar. “You’ve got some nerve showing your faces,” she muttered, her hand hovering near her blaster. Thomfrey stepped forward quickly, speaking before she could act. He promised her payment, a reward greater than any bounty...treasure linked to a powerful Jedi secret.

Keena hesitated. Suspicion flickered in her eyes as she studied them. Finally, she lowered her hand and gave a curt nod. “Fine,” she said. “But remember, I call the shots.”Lysandra stared at her , but made no comment.

Kamino awaited and there was no time to waste.

CHAPTER 5: STORMING FORT WSTMUNT

A gray wall of torrential rain and crashing waves greeted them on Kamino. The freighter hovered above roiling seas, stealth systems engaged, as they prepared to infiltrate Fort Wstmunt. The fortress was a former cloning facility turned private stronghold of Jung. Thomfrey’s heart thumped against his ribs; the odds were clearly against him.

Under cover of darkness and storm, they descended onto a maintenance platform. Keena had reluctantly agreed to help,both out of obligation and the lure of whatever treasure Orun Darr sought. Together with one of Keena’s crew, a droid named Zeech-4 who had extensive slicing abilities, they slipped inside a side hatch.

The hallways of Fort Wstmunt gleamed sterile white, intermittently lit by lightning flashes through high windows. Every step was fraught with tension. Thomfrey felt a strange tingling in his senses, as if the Force itself were guiding him through corridors and past patrolling stormtroopers. At one junction, he halted the group just before a security droid passed, guided by uncanny intuition.

Deep in the facility, they found Master Orun Darr’s cell. Through the transparisteel door, the sight made Zendayx gasp. Orun was an elderly Togruta, frail and bruised, slumped against the wall. Thomfrey hurried to override the door with Zeech-4’s help. As it slid open, Orun’s eyes lifted weakly.

“You… came,” the Jedi Master rasped in disbelief. Thomfrey knelt beside him, surprised. He had never met him before.

Orun managed a painful smile. “The Force… has not abandoned me after all.” But before they could lift him, alarms blared. A voice crackled over the intercom, cold and aristocratic: “I don’t know who you are, but you’ve saved me the trouble of hunting you down. Secure the intruders.”

Jung Palpatine. His tone sent a chill through Thomfrey. In moments, armored troops poured into the corridor. Blaster fire erupted. Keena cursed and returned fire with her pistol. Zeech-4 shrieked binary protests and retracted behind a crate.

Thomfrey stood, positioning himself between the attackers and Orun. Zendayx grabbed a fallen trooper’s blaster and provided cover. They were outnumbered. A bolt sizzled past Thomfrey’s head. He had no weapon...only the mysterious power within him he barely understood.

Fear for Zendayx gave him focus. Thomfrey raised a hand, channeling that same force from the alley. A translucent wave of energy swept forth, knocking several troopers off their feet. One crashed into an electrical panel, sparking an explosion that rocked the corridor.

Amidst the smoke, a tall figure emerged. Jung Palpatine himself. He wore sleek black armor and a life-support pack that hummed on his back, feeding glowing green Bacta–Kessel fluid through tubes into his veins. His face bore the legacy of the Palpatine line: gaunt, pale, with eyes like golden embers. At his flank stood Keena Varnis.

Thomfrey’s stomach dropped. Keena’s blaster was now trained on them. “Keena… why?” Zendayx shouted, betrayal raw in her voice.

Keena smirked sadly. “Credits, girl. And self-preservation. Jung pays better than luckless treasure hunts.” Her eyes flickered with regret before hardening. “Nothing personal.”

Zendayx’s face twisted with hurt and fury. In that split second of distraction, Jung Palpatine struck. He thrust out his hand and blue Sith lightning arced down the corridor. Thomfrey threw up his arms instinctively with Lysandra trying to encircle the Sith. The lightning slammed into an invisible barrier just short of him and Zendayx, crackling against a Force shield that Thomfrey conjured without thinking. Pain lanced through his body at the strain, but he held firm.

Jung hissed in annoyance and intensified his onslaught. The energy was overwhelming; Thomfrey yelled in agony as he struggled to contain it. Behind him, he dimly sensed Orun Darr, awakened by the surge, raising his own weakened hand to bolster Thomfrey’s shield with the last of his strength.

Zeech-4 suddenly emitted a high-pitched whistle. The droid had accessed a control panel and triggered something. Overhead, red emergency lights flashed, and a loud klaxon sounded. The fortress’s failsafe systems, perhaps triggered by the firefight, now activated. A computerized voice droned: “Containment breach. facility lockdown in 30 seconds.”

Jung Palpatine snarled. With a sweeping gesture, he ripped a section of metal wall free and sent it hurtling. It smashed into Zendayx and Orun, knocking both unconscious. “Zendayx !” Thomfrey cried out . In his lapse of concentration, the Sith lightning found its mark, blasting him full in the chest.

Agony. Thomfrey collapsed to his knees, smoke rising from his scorched shirt. Jung advanced, looming. “You have meddled in designs beyond your ken,” he said, almost pityingly.

Dizzily, Thomfrey became aware of the object rolling from Orun’s limp hand. It was Orun’s lightsaber,a strange design with a pronged emitter. Summoning his last ounce of will, Thomfrey snatched the hilt from the ground just as Jung sent another bolt of lightning toward him.

Thomfrey thumbed the activator. With an explosive whoosh, a blade of flame burst forth, not a steady beam but a swirling fire of shifting color, blue to green to white-hot. The lightning met the blade and danced off in sparks. Jung’s eyes widened in surprise at the weapon.

Fueled by righteous anger and desperation, Thomfrey rose with the fiery blade and struck at Jung, who barely blocked with his own crimson saber. Sparks flew as Thomfrey pressed the attack with unexpected strength, driving Jung back a step.

Keena took aim at Thomfrey’s back, but a sudden shot from behind her made her cry out. Zendayx, bloodied but conscious again, had fired a trooper’s blaster, wounding Keena’s shoulder. “I missed your head,” Zendayx spat.

Before the confrontation could tip further, the lockdown system engaged. Blast doors slammed down from the ceiling, separating Jung and Keena from the youths and Orun. Jung’s furious visage was the last thing they saw as the barrier sealed with a boom. They were temporarily safe from him, but also trapped.

Water began seeping through cracks because the earlier explosions had weakened the oceanic foundation. The corridor groaned. “We have to get out, now!” Zendayx urged, rushing to Thomfrey and Orun’s side.

Thomfrey extinguished the flaming saber and with Lysandra’s help, he hoisted the dazed Orun Darr over his shoulder. Zeech-4 led the way, whistling a path to an alternate exit.

They navigated through knee-deep water as sirens wailed. Behind them, they could hear Jung’s soldiers trying to cut through the blast door. Thomfrey’s chest burned from the lightning strike, but he pressed on.

At last they burst out onto a platform open to the raging storm. The rain was like icy needles. A small shuttle was docked there. But between them and salvation stood three figures in cloaks, sabers drawn. They each wore a symbol of overlapping circles. The Brotherhood of the Force.

Before Thomfrey could panic, the lead knight lowered his saber and yelled over the wind, “Come with us if you want to live!”

Stunned, Thomfrey and Zendayx hurried onto the shuttle, half-dragging Orun. The Brotherhood knights covered their retreat, one even pausing to beckon to Zeech-4. The little droid beeped and rolled aboard.

As the shuttle hatch sealed and lifted off, Thomfrey peered out a viewport. Fort Wstmunt was sinking, waves crashing over its walls. Jung Palpatine and Keena had escaped onto a distant platform, watching their prize slip away.

Inside the shuttle, the leader removed his hood, revealing a stern Zabrak face etched with tattoos. “We are the Brotherhood of the Force. We tried to keep The Source safe by any means, but now we see you as allies,” he said. After seeing Thomfrey’s power, the Brotherhood was convinced he might be the one destined to protect The Source.

Safe aboard, Orun Darr roused briefly. He managed a grateful smile at his rescuers. “Thank you… and beware… Palpatine’s heir knows of this Skywalker.” His failing eyes met Thomfrey’s. “The Force within you... protect The Source…” With those last words, Orun Darr passed into the Force, his quest now resting on new shoulders.

Thomfrey bowed his head in sorrow. Zendayx took his hand firmly. The word Skywalker echoing through his mind. He wasn’t just a fugitive ,he was part of a legacy that shaped the galaxy, a name whispered with awe, hope, and fear across generations. A Skywalker. The realization struck him, crashing against everything he thought he knew about himself

CHAPTER 6: AMBUSH ON MALDO KREIS

At the frozen world of Maldo Kreis, Thomfrey’s group took refuge in an ice cave. They had tracked an ice spider to its nest. With the Brotherhood’s help, Zeech-4 and a droidsmith worked hastily to forge a protective suit for The Source’s harsh environment. While they waited, Zendayx finally broke the uneasy silence. “Back on Kamino… Orun called you Skywalker. Are you?” Thomfrey shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe I have their blood, maybe not. But I’ll do what’s right, either way.” She squeezed his arm and managed a tiny smile. "You know, if you’re a Skywalker, you definitely got left out of the good looks department."

Before Thomfrey could answer, blaster fire echoed at the cave entrance. Jung Palpatine and his troops had tracked them down. With a burst of cold wind, the Sith heir stormed in, lightsaber flaring red. His gaunt face twisted in triumph. “Foolish children. I’ll take that suit now.”

Blue and green blades sprang to life as the Brotherhood knights battled the invaders. Thomfrey ignited Orun’s fiery lightsaber and charged at Jung. The Sith was powerful, and their sabers clashed in a dazzling duel amid the ice. Jung sneered, driving Thomfrey back with brute strength. Blades of plasma clashed in a storm of sparks, the hum of lightsabers slicing through the ice. Each strike sent shockwaves through the air as Force pushes and aerial flips turned the battle into a deadly fight of speed and precision. Thomfrey seized the momentum, driving Jung off balance with a flurry of strikes, just as Lysandra darted behind him and slammed a heavy tool into the glowing Bacta-Kessel canister strapped to Jung’s back.

Fluid hissed and sprayed. Jung bellowed as his life-sustaining supply spilt on the ice. Snarling, he hurled Lysandra aside with the Force. Injured and staggering, he still managed to adjust the newly completed protective suit. “This isn’t over!” Jung snarled. He unleashed a flash thermal detonator, and in the blinding heat light he and his soldiers escaped to their ship.

Coughing in the settling dust, Thomfrey found Lysandra bruised but alive. he had crippled Jung’s strength, but at a cost, he now had the suit and a head start. Thomfrey helped him up . He winced, a leg injured from the attack. “Stop him,” Lysandra urged, pained but resolute. “I’ll only slow you down.”

“I’ll come back,” he promised. As one of the Brotherhood tended to him, Thomfrey levitated to the freighter and engaged the hyperdrive. Jung Palpatine was already fleeing toward The Source in his new massive starship and Thomfrey raced into the sky to follow, determined to end the chase and save the galaxy.

CHAPTER 7: INTO THE SOURCE

Thomfrey’s starship dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of a swirling large luminous planet. It was like a wall in many regards. An entity whose dimensions were beyond comprehension. It throbbed in a way that was indescribable. This was The Source. Alive with the Force itself. In its orbit, Jung Palpatine’s warship loomed lost in its Pull. Its huge size making it difficult to maneuver. Thomfrey approached it stealthily with his smaller ship. When he was closer, he managed to dock with it in very unstable conditions, slipped aboard the vessel through a maintenance hatch, determined to stop Jung once and for all.

He found no opposition. Jung and his remaining forces had already descended to The Source’s surface. Thomfrey commandeered a small landing shuttle and followed. The shuttle brought him to a shimmering forest clearing at the planet’s heart. There, at the edge of a glowing abyss, stood Jung in the protective suit.

Jung ignited his red blade as Thomfrey approached. “You’re too late,” Jung snarled. “The Source’s power is mine!” He kept his foot poised over Zendayx threateningly. “Surrender, or she dies.”

Thomfrey slowly deactivated and dropped his lightsaber, hands raised as if in compliance. He stepped forward, locking eyes with Zendayx. In that silent moment, understanding passed between them.

Suddenly, Thomfrey thrust out his palm. A powerful Force wave smashed into the ancient stone plinth at the abyss’s edge, shattering the artifact Orun Darr had found. The beam of energy it projected into the pit sputtered out.

“No!” Jung screamed. He hurled Zendayx aside and tried to unleash a torrent of Sith lightning at Thomfrey but nothing happened. He was shocked and surprised. The Source itself had reacted. The abyss erupted with a pillar of brilliant light that caught Jung mid-attack. The Palpatine heir’s scream was drowned in a rush of cosmic power as tendrils of living light wrapped around him. In seconds, Jung was lifted off the ground and pulled into the radiant vortex. With one last wail, he vanished…consumed by The Source he had sought to enslave.

Breathing hard, Thomfrey ran to Zendayx and pulled her away from the edge. He cut her bonds, and she threw her arms around him in relief.

Yet Thomfrey felt a subtle pull in the Force, a silent voice rising from the glowing abyss, speaking without words. The Source was calling to him. Its presence was vast, ancient, and impossible to ignore. In that moment, he understood everything. It had chosen him, summoned him, and asked of him the ultimate price. There would be no plea, no bargain. Only acceptance and surrender.

Zendayx saw the change in his expression. “Thomfrey…?” she whispered, gripping his hand.

His heart breaking, Thomfrey turned to the girl who had become his closest friend and love.

Zendayx’s eyes filled with tears. “No… we’ll find another way,” she pleaded, voice trembling. She knew even as she spoke that he had no choice.

Thomfrey cupped her cheek tenderly. “Thank you, Zendayx... for everything. You gave me hope when I had none. I love you.” His own eyes brimmed with tears.

She clutched at his shoulders, desperate to hold him here. “I love you too,” she choked out.

Behind Thomfrey, the column of light swelled, enveloping him in a gentle glow. His form began to shimmer with the same ethereal radiance. Zendayx gasped, trying to keep hold of him, but her hands passed through empty light.

“May the Force be with you, always,” Thomfrey’s voice echoed around her as his figure dissolved into motes of light. Those sparks of life swirled around Zendayx like fireflies, then drifted upward to merge with the brilliance of The Source.

Zendayx sank to her knees, sobbing not only in grief but in wonder. She could feel Thomfrey’s presence all around warm and reassuring. As a Brotherhood ship descended to retrieve her, Zendayx wiped her tears and managed to smile faintly.

In the days to come, the galaxy would learn of what transpired at The Source. They would speak of a brave Skywalker who sacrificed himself to bring balance to the galaxy.

An unseen observer had been watching it all unfold in silence. From the shadows beyond the stars, he laughed a low, knowing sound that echoed through the Force.

This was only the beginning.