**Chapter 835: The Relic of Ossus**
**Scene 1: Devastation Bridge – Anakin POV**
Anakin Skywalker was about to enter the shower when the ship's comm signal cut his plans short. He walked over to the wall terminal and pressed the receive button.
"I'm listening."
"Sir, one of the patrol frigates has delivered the ship they detained to Cato Neimoidia. Judging by their report, your assistance is required."
"How is that possible?" Anakin was amazed.
"Sir… You'd better listen to them yourself," Mirro explained uncertainly.
"Good. Transfer them to me."
A minute later Anakin was already seeing a hologram of a young man in front of him.
"First Lieutenant Chester Grissom reporting. While on patrol to counter smuggling and piracy we intercepted a suspicious small freighter en route through the D-Forty-Five-Gamma-Sever system. The ship was unresponsive to our inquiries, so I ordered its detention and inspection. During the boarding, the ship's crew offered fierce resistance and was completely destroyed."
"And why did you need a whole general?" Anakin quipped.
"Sir. We think this is your Jedi thing. We feel uneasy," the first lieutenant shrugged. "There's a certain oppressive feeling… and the cargo is strange. So is the crew. They're dressed in some kind of uniform… And the cargo…. We didn't dare open the containers… And one of the compartments was sealed right during the assault…"
Anakin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Cultists or something? Aren't there plenty of gifted ones roaming the galaxy? And what could have driven them to fight so desperately? Maybe it's the cargo? Some kind of special contraband?"
"Grissom. I'll be arriving at your location by shuttle. You should leave the detained ship immediately. I'll inspect it myself."
"Yes, sir!" the officer breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mirro," Anakin switched the communication channel. "Prepare the shuttle in the side hangar on the port side. I'll be leaving in half an hour."
"It will be done, General…"
An hour later, Anakin's shuttle slowly entered the Marauder's hangar, where a cargo ship of an unknown model rested on its docking structures to the left. Judging by the individual components, it was some kind of homemade construction, made from parts of various ships.
"Excellent work, Lieutenant. Stay in touch." With these words, Anakin stepped through the connecting sleeve and found himself inside the ship. The ship's outer and inner airlock doors had been cut out during the assault, so he had no trouble getting inside. The corridor layout was similar to that of the *Falcon*—the same circular corridors, except everything looked even more shabby and neglected. The boarding had added its own flavor. Blaster hits were visible on the walls and ceiling.
And indeed, the atmosphere on the ship was, to put it mildly, not very good. And yet, Anakin didn't feel any immediate threat. Strange…
**Scene 2: The Sealed Compartment**
Anakin quickly found himself at the designated cargo compartment. The door was locked and welded shut—but his lightsaber solved that problem in a couple of minutes. Pushing the cut-out piece of durasteel aside, he stepped into the room.
"Hmm. And that was worth making a fuss about."
The room was truly strange. The fabric-covered walls, the massive candlesticks—it all evoked thoughts of some kind of sanctuary. Against the far wall was… a container? A sarcophagus? A coffin? Just a carved stone? Another chest-box-container—underline as appropriate—was on a stand right next to the entrance. Naturally, it was locked—but once again, the Jedi's universal can opener saved him.
Inside, on a velvet lining, lay… a piece of stone?! Yes, that's right. A rough prism, about twenty by ten centimeters in size, completely gray, with barely noticeable veins. It didn't resemble any gemstone Anakin knew. Raising his palm to it, he sensed… something connected to the Dark Side.
"What a surprise. And what the hell is this thing?"
A quick inspection confirmed the stone wasn't a holocron or a lightsaber crystal. Although its size suggested that. Carefully picking it up, Anakin felt… felt… felt nothing, except that it was clearly imbued with the Dark Side of the Force. The stone was simply cold. Perhaps it was some kind of artifact—but either it wasn't working, deteriorated by time, or he didn't understand how it worked. In any case, he didn't feel threatened by it—which was intriguing…
Deciding that the answer might lie in the large box, Anakin took a few steps toward it, and… At that moment, there was a hissing sound. The container opened in a complicated manner. Anakin reflexively jumped back, clutching the stone with one hand and raising his as-yet-unactivated lightsaber with the other.
But no blow was required.
From the insides of a… container? box? capsule? coffin?… tumbled out… Yes, it was a person, a woman, gasping for air. Her body, covered in a tattered tunic, lay sprawled on the floor of the cargo hold. Her purple, raven-colored hair was scattered in all directions, obscuring her face.
**Scene 3: The Stranger from Ossus**
"Who are you?" Anakin still didn't activate his sword, hoping it wouldn't be needed.
"Maybe she's a prisoner? Or a slave? But why stuff her in a box? It doesn't look like a hibernation pod, and who in their right mind would use one? Although, wait… I feel… the Force. She's gifted."
At that moment, she raised herself up on her hands and looked at him. Her eyes were slightly clouded, and by the looks of it, she was a little out of it. But one thing Anakin could tell for sure—her eyes were blazing gold. And that meant…
"Tell me… Are you a Jedi?"
Anakin had trouble understanding the meaning of her question. She used such an archaic form of Basic that if he hadn't traveled the galaxy with Dagon and learned through the Sith holocrons and later sifted through a pile of old military reports from the Temple Archives, he wouldn't have understood her.
"Yes. I'm a Jedi. Do you need help?" Anakin nodded, just to be sure.
But the woman just looked at him—very intently, searchingly. And then she laughed bitterly and muttered something.
"…What an irony… We still managed to do it… despite everything… Everyone… The sacrifices were not in vain… Oh, how I wish they could all see this… But now… I have no more reason…" She sat awkwardly, and, looking Anakin in the eyes again, muttered, "You can kill me, Jedi."
"Why would I kill you?" Anakin was frankly shocked by her statement.
But she didn't seem to listen to him.
"We did not fight in vain, Jedi. The Order… has changed—even if… it took time. That was… our goal… ever since we left… Tython… and found a home… on Ossus… Balance… True balance…"
"Tython? Ossus?! Ashla?! Bogan?! What nonsense is she talking about?!"
"Who are you?" Anakin sat down on the floor next to her, placed the stone on the floor, and shook her shoulder.
The stranger barely reacted to his actions, but still answered.
"My… name… is Arden. Arden Lyn…"
Anakin's eyes widened. The name rang distant bells from old Jedi archives—something about ancient conflicts, lost orders, and forgotten wars long before the Republic as he knew it. The woman looked exhausted, her golden eyes flickering with fading light as she struggled to stay conscious.
"Arden Lyn… from Ossus?" Anakin repeated carefully. "How… how are you here? This ship looks like it was built yesterday."
A weak, bitter smile crossed her lips. "Time… is a cruel master, young Jedi. I was… sealed away… to preserve what little hope remained. The stone you hold… it is a shard of the first kyber… touched by both Ashla and Bogan. A bridge… between light and dark. We sought balance… when the Jedi and Sith tore the galaxy apart. But the cost… was too high."
Anakin felt a chill run down his spine. The Force around the woman was ancient, layered with centuries of sorrow and determination. "You're… one of the old ones. From before the Republic."
Arden Lyn coughed weakly, her golden eyes meeting his. "The Order you serve… it has changed. I sense it in you. The Chosen One… carrying both sides. We dreamed of this… but never lived to see it. If you are truly what the Force has proclaimed… then the sacrifices of my brothers and sisters were not in vain."
Anakin helped her sit up straighter, offering a ration bar from his belt. "Rest. You're safe now. The Republic… we're not what you remember. Dagon—the Grand Master—he's changing things. Attachments. Families. Real balance."
The ancient Jedi's eyes softened for a moment. "Then perhaps… there is still hope."
Outside the ship, the battle for Neimoidia raged on, but in this sealed compartment, a piece of the galaxy's forgotten past had just awakened. Anakin activated his comm.
"Mirro, prepare medical teams. We've found… something important."
The war continued, but for Anakin Skywalker, the lines between past and present had just blurred in ways he never expected.