Star Wars: Episode I: The Anarchism of the Jedi

Aaron left, and Nana began to wander around the room. She'd expected something a little fancier, but this wasn't bad. Only one bed, though. Good thing she and Katterat were so small.

She stretched, slumping down onto the bed with a relaxed sigh. She stuck a hand into one of her many inside-pockets and popped a piece of candy into her mouth. Nana had been a little worried when she'd gone back to the Jedi with her "borrowed" sweets still in her pocket, but he hadn't said anything. She smiled - he might've seemed strict, but maybe he was actually really nice.

Then it just kinda hit her that she hadn't told him their names. How could she forget that? Living with Rat for so long had really done a number on her social skills...


Katterat headed in the direction Nana and the Jedi had disappeared to. He didn't like being separated for too long, and he wanted a word with that Jedi.

The young man was coming towards him, alone. What happened to Nana?

Katterat stopped, looking up at the Jedi. "Hey," he barked, "Just where is this thing going? What is it you have to do?"

 

A lightsaber--Adam Morin

It had been nearly a week since Adam had enetered that Force forsaken hole of a room in the lower slums of Coruscant. It had been Master Frav's wish that he perform his last trials in that wretched place, had been his wish for him to build his lightsaber there. Adam shuddered at the memories of the place, of the pain he had endured, of the things he had discovered about himself.

The cuts on his back from the lashings he had endured burned as sweat dripped into the wounds. It had been three days thus far, and Master Frav had denied Adam food, water, or sleep. All the time, he was expected to keep all the parts of his lightsaber afloat with the Force, and if the thing was dropped, Frav would disassemble the peices and make Adam start over from the beginning. The lashings never ceased.

The lashings never ceased, not until the final peice was placed on the saber. Master Frave hd said it was Adam's Trial of Flesh, necessary if he wished to become a Jedi Knight.

On the fourth morning, Adam lapsed into a kind of trance. He saw things, visions. He saw himself standing in darkness, clothed in shadow. His eyes were like a demon's. Behind him loomed an even darker shadow, but he could not quite make out who it was. It seemed to be several people. Then, he saw him stab himself with a red lightsaber. The vision ended when Adam saw his father's eyes. Frav had told him that was his Trial of Spirit. The only thing left was to complete the lightsaber.

Frav seemed to have compiled a vast amount of devices and crystals over the years. Master Frav had even come across an extremely rare Kaiburr crystal specifically for his padawan. Adam bound each peace to another as they called out to him in the Force. The finished product was a magnificent peice of work. The hilt was pressure sensitive, coming on when Adam took it to his hand and going off when it left, but also a locking mechanism to keep it on or off. The hilt itself was made from electrum, a material almost as rare as the crystal. The weapon seemed to flow through Adam when he took it into his hands and the lashings stopped at last.

Sweating, Adam stumbled out of the small room, just narrowly being caught and steadied by Master Frav.

"You have done well yet again my apprentice. You are now worthy to be a knight. Rest. Your training in the seven forms is to begin in a week's time." said he.

 

Rabbit watched her son's shuttle leave and silently wished him luck. The warmaster's eyes burned into her head.

"Would you like a blessing for your child?" asked the warmaster.

C'Tzr growled a warning.

The warmaster shook his head. "One day, Sith, I will teach you your place." The Vong turned back to Rabbit. "Well?"

As soon as the bounty hunter shrugged yes, a pair of rings flew from the warmaster's wrists and wrapped around Ozean's arms and legs. Slowly Rabbit's daughter was lifted into the arm as her limbs were stretched.

"No!" said Rabbit as she reached for her lightsaber.

C'Tzr focused his mind gently but firmly pushing and pulling her body.

Rabbit couldn't move. She cursed at the Sith.

"He will kill you. If he doesn't, Vincere will," spoke the Sith into her mind.

"He's killing her," said Rabbit still struggling against the Sith's mind.

"The Vong venerate suffering and blood. He is blessing Meer through your daughter's blood, pain and death."

Ozrean's arms and legs were stretched to their limit but the back bands kept teasing them outward.

C'Tzr willed Rabbit's eyes shut as Ozrean's final screams and a wet splash ended the blessing.

The warmaster slowly walked over to Rabbit. C'Tzr stood between them.

"Step aside Sith. Your witchery has no hold on me."

Ozrean's blood, Rabbit's sorrow and hatred stirred up the psychic gargoyles that haunted the Styx. They howled for the Vong's pain and humiliation. A single face twisted and shifted until it became the Old Man's. With a brief flash of blue, the Sith ghost settled over C'Tzr's features.

The Old Man pulled up each of Ozearn's bones and snapped them forming ragged edges. They flew at the warmaster some pinning his body against a far wall, while others popped off metal armor, ripped away piercings, or ruined complex wiring systems connected to the his body. With a roar, C'Tzr forced the metal wall to pull inward pushing the warmaster off the bones. The warmaster dropped into a pool of his own blood.

"Consider yourself blessed as well," said the Sith as he released his mental hold on Rabbit.

 

As the feeling began to return to Rabbit's arms and legs, C'Tzr spoke into her mind. "The warmaster has lost face. The Vong pride themselves on being immune to the force and being able to take pain. He passed out and I never touched him. Let his own kind deal with him ...... or I will take your head myself."

Both the Sith and the Vong Overload approached the warmaster. Silently, the Overload motioned for the warmaster's body to be taken aboard the ship.

"Now, " said C'Tzr, "I will begin blessing the planet below."

 

The sensation of something evil clouded the world. I opened my eyes, slowly looking around the small room of Jedi Council members. Frav was missing from his position, as usual, but the rest remained. I frowned, feeling pain, lose, and fear.

"Grand Master?" Koon said from besides me.

I closed my eyes and searched. Searched for answers. Searched for clearings. Searched for help.

Only pain, only fear.

I opened my eyes. For the first time in weeks, I stood up. Everyone in the council shuffled in their seats apprehensively. Within their minds, I could sense their fears, and they were just as mine. Each of them were already to their feet as I stood to full height. They knew what I could feel.

"They are here," I said silently. "Evacuate the planet."

Each of them moved quick, their eyes stricken with fear. I stood still, speaking as they all moved to leave. I couldn't move my body, the pain above the planet was holding me still.

"The Yuuzhan Vong are here."

The last in the room was Koon. He was waiting for me. I looked up to him, tears in my eyes.

"How long, Grand Master?" His voice was unsure, and strained.

"Death is here."

 

C'Tzr watched as the fifty transport ships began to take their positions over the planet. Scans would show no life and there wasn't. Just a single, reprogrammed droid. The Sith nodded and the ships all took off for the planet's surface.

Minutes later, they all crashed striking their targets and making their overloaded reactors go critical. The explosions and flashes of white death were quick. The silence that followed was finally broken by a deep rumbling as large slabs of rock began to shift beneath the planet's surface. Lava rose. Volcanoes sprewed ash and poisonous gas into the air. Within six hours dark clouds of deadly dush began to block out the sun.

C'Tzr stared at the planet. "Signal the Vong ship,"

"The message Master?" asked a trooper.

The Sith smiled. "Darkness."

 

As I moved around the ship, I ran back into my Ewok friend. I realized quickly, he wasn't really my friend. He had the biggest attitude towards me. I sighed at his unjust attitude.

Katterat stopped, looking up at the me. "Hey," he barked, "Just where is this thing going? What is it you have to do?"

I looked about the ship, even though I knew we were alone. I sighed and looked at him, bending to his height. He was timid, but he stood at his height. I looked at him before looking away from his eyes.

"Okay," I said silently, "I am on a mission to apprehend data from the New Order of the Confederacy of Independent Master Starship. The data has information on it that is vital to the defeat of the Sith. I am to sneak in, grab the data, and return to Coruscant with it all."

He didn't know what to say. I grinned, keeping it as small as possible.

"You think you can do that?" he finally said.

I smiled, lifting up a thumbs up. "That's why I'm here."

I stood up and pointed the Ewok down the hall towards his friend's room. "She's down there. Last room on the right."

He nodded and walked off. My information was floating around in his head. My grin disappeared. I knew the pain I was about to endure. I just needed to survive. I turned around and walked into the room that held my droids.

"Hey, TC. Hey, R-7," I smiled at them, though they both new my tone too well to believe me.

"What's wrong, Master?" TC finally asked.

I sat next to him, folding my arms and laying my head into them on the desk that TC was on top of. I sighed.

"I just have to survive."

 

The second wave of transport ships circled Coruscant. Again there would be no life signs detected. Each ship carried a single droid pilot and was stacked with rotting and diseased corpses. As one, the ships launched themselves at ever major body of water on the planet. This time, the reactors didn't go critical but merely released their shields to expose radiation to the water.

Eruptions has destroyed most of the water pruification plants. The dust dried out many citizen's throats driving them to drink the tainted water. C'Tzr closed his eyes and felt all the deaths washing over him and smiled. "Signal the Vong. Tell them I have brought death."

 

C'Tzr turned toward his senior officer. "Organize ships to drop water rations in every major city. One ration for every two people. Let them riot and kill each other for the water. Once this has been done, signal the Vong and tell them I have brought them blood."

 

The screams, pain, fear, and anger from Coruscant pulsed inside the Sith's head. He fed the psychic energy to the gargoyles that rode the currents of the force within his own ship. As they built in power, C'Tzr channeled them into a single, demonic voice screaming the planet's fate directly into Vincere's mind.

 

Katterat stopped at the door to Nana's room.

What was that? What the hell was that? Freaking Jedi mind tricks or...dammit!

He turned and stormed after the Jedi. The son-of-a-gun nearly made him forget what he was going to say. Damn him!

Katterat saw him disappear into a room and barged in without knocking. He was sitting at a desk with his head down and his arms crossed.

"Hey," the young Ewok barked, causing the man to look up. Katterat stopped. The Jedi looked different now. He had that look in his eyes, same look Nana got whenever she was caught with her hands in someone's pocket. That fearful, disappointed look that said 'this isn't going to work'.

The Jedi blinked, and the look was gone. He was the cool, collected hero of justice again. Katterat bit his lip - it was more scary than annoying this time.

"Listen," said Katterat, "I don't know much about this whole Sith-Jedi thing, but...what you're doing, it's dangerous. So don't go and get yourself killed."

He turned and headed to Nana's room without waiting for a response, letting his metal pipe drag across the floor.

Even with his pistol, Rat knew he wouldn't stand a chance against a Sith. And Nana, he didn't even want to think about it. They needed that Jedi, at least for the time being.

Nana was sprawled out over the bed when he entered the room, sucking on a piece of candy. She sat up when he entered, smiling, and patted the spot beside her.

"Check it out," she chirped, "We got a bed."

Katterat smiled, hopping up beside her. Compared to the stack of bug-infested blankets they used back home, this thing was comfortable as hell.

Nana passed him the sack of candy. "What are these things, anyway?"

Katterat peeked into the bag. They were clear, golden things - perfectly round and a little on the small side. He popped one into his mouth, and it tasted sweet and minty.

He shrugged, setting the bag between them and laying down on his back. Nana did the same.

"Hey," she said, "Didja see the girl driving this thing? She's pretty, huh?"

Katterat shook his head - he'd been too busy death-glaring Jedi to notice.

"Well," said Nana, "She's really pretty. I wonder what her name is."

"Maybe she's whats-his-name's wife," said Rat.

Shxt.

 

It was silent than ever before. I nursed my wounds silently, playing with the harmony of silence. I felt my hair swish against the wind and then glanced out of the window. No droids, no Jedis, no Siths and no husband. It seemed like paradise.

There was some commotion in the hallway, possibly some children. I believed in Aaron LeBlanc's friendly and affable nature, and possibly he had a few children of his own anyway. I then chuckled, walking out of the room. I wondered what's the mother like, because these kids are quite loud.

There was a different vibe all of the sudden. Her hands trembled, and he became a little numb. She was feeling the Force. Her husband was near.

"Last warning, my dear - last warning."

I heard my husband's words inside my head. I don't know where they came from. They were echoing, echoing so terribly I could feel my body parts spreading, and then returning. I felt so much pressure on my head for no good reason. Finally, I decided to puke and ran to the restroom, disillusioned.

I walked out, shivering like I had been trampled over. I strode to the pilot room, where I found Aaron LeBlanc with his droid. Droid.

I immediately backed away, but I had to say what I had to.

"Sir," I began, my voice slurry, "The attack is near. It's..."

I was swooning all over again. I felt my body beating like a heart, every single muscle convulsing like a frantic mule. I feel to my knees, and finally said out unconsciously:

"It's now."

The ship radar turned red with alarm. Well, I wasn't wrong after all.

 

"It's now."

I jumped to my feet, rushing passed her. I wasn't expecting this to be now, and I really didn't want to have this much fuse. Ever since I had taken this mission, things had been going from bad to worse. It only took me a few moments to storm into the cockpit area, where Amaya was cursing at herself.

"Another friend of yours, Jedi-boy?"

I sighed, walking beside her to look at the screen. It was one shuttle, unmarked with a Sith, Yuuzhan Vong, or NOCIS symble. I didn't see any other markings that would give it away. It was moving faster than Amaya could turn to see, due to the direction it was moving.

"Are there turrets anywhere on the ship?

She pointed backwards towards a small room. "Duh."

I nodded and moved for it. As I walked Amaya spoke up. "We'll be going into hyperspace soon. Just keep him off our tail long enough for the engines to get rolling."

Behind my, my Jedi friend moved for it, moving down the ladder towards the first turret and me going up to the second. As I entered the room, I noticed a laser gun with massive handles. It looked like it would sway easily automatically, and was already prepped and ready to go, probably the design.

"Great."

I sat down and motioned it to find our follower. I accidentally shot off one of the lasers, the red beam zipping through empty space.

"Oops." I said. It had been too long since I had shot something. I moved around to find him then.

 

Momo Geso- The Dark Side of the Force

A crash came through the wall.

A group of Yuuzhan Vong were coming to get Veronica Dos, as Momo's intelligent guess was. Then, he realized that they weren't here to kidnap the Chief of State- it was not Yuuzhan Vong nature, after all. They were here to kill her, Momo and Master Nami.

Master Nami's teal lightsaber glowed brightly to match her flaming anger.

"Protect the Chief of State at all costs!" Master Nami shouted. "Go!"

Master Nami charged into the crowd of monsters, destroying them mercilessly. Momo had never seen Master Nami so angry. Snapping out of his trance, he spoke to Veronica Dos.

"Stay by me, ma'am-"

Momo was surprised to see that Veronica Dos was being held hostage by the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong. He was holding a lightsaber to her throat.

"Come any closer, boy," The Supreme Overlord said. "And you can say good bye to your precious leader."

He was moving back out of the Chief of State's door very slowly, as Nami Ichigo could only watch in silence.

But Momo's rage was powerful. More powerful than his masters.

He lifted his hand, slowly, and did the unthinkable for any Jedi.

The Supreme Overlord started to be choked. He started to slowly lose blood in his head as Momo clenched his fist, making his palms bleed. The Supreme Overlord let go of the Chief of State, and he slowly began to fall to the floor. However, as he began to meet his demise, he was laughing.

"You've done it, Padawan," the Supreme Overlord wheezed. "You've unlocked the Dark Side of the Force inside of you."

Momo's shock knew no bounds. The Dark Side of the Force? Is that what he was controlling? But how could he believe a Sith?

"Shut up!" Momo screamed. "Shut up and die!"

At that moment, Momo used his other hand to open, and he tortured the Supreme Overlord. The Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong's bones, muscles and tendons constricted and became irregular. Master Nami could only watch in horror as her young Padawan was torturing the overlord. Killing painlessly was one thing, but torturing was another. As Momo saw the Supreme Overlord die, he only tightened his force grip on his throat, and the muscles in his body.

When he died, Momo knew what he did, and he realized that the Supreme Overlord was right.

Momo had used the Dark Side of the Force.

Momo's hands slowly fell as his legs gave out. When he realized what he did, he buried his hands in his face, and cried.

Veronica Dos watched as Nami Ichigo walked over to her young Padawan. She was as scared as he was, but she didn't care about the whole 'no emotions for a Jedi' deal. Her Padawan was being emotionally tortured by beating himself up over something he didn't fully understand, and she wanted to help him.

Master Nami walked over to Momo and wrapped her arms around him.

"You did nothing wrong, my Padawan." She said softly. "Nothing."

Momo shouted incessant nothings at Master Nami, in which the words were:

Kill, Overlord, Torture, Dark side, Am I bad?

"You're not a Sith, Momo," She soothed. "The Force has a way with intertwining its powers. Some Sith use Light Side powers, and some Jedi use Dark side. It's the way of the world. You're not bad. You're not bad at all."

Momo slowly began to calm down after his breathing came back to normal.

Veronica Dos smiled as she noticed a side of Nami that she had never seen before.

"Now come on," Master Nami said. "We have to leave. Coruscant is going to be destroyed soon and we have to get the Chief of State out of here."

Momo snapped out of his sobbing, as he told the Chief of State to stay behind him.

As the three of them piled into the ship, Momo watched Coruscant slowly begin to fade away.

"We need to find out where the Council is," Master Nami said as her sympathetic eyes turned to Veronica Dos.

The Chief of State's home was being destroyed, and she felt as if she had betrayed her people.

"They'll be expecting Veronica Dos."

 

The Return of the.. Dead. Pt. 1

After the short, to wookiee standards, break into the space of the Mid Rim. I consoled my tortured soul to manipulate the feelings of weak, adulterated emotions. Ready to break into my tempered being and avenge my past, I headed to Kashyyyk.

Buzzers blared as my ship came into view of Kashyyyk. Things started to fade...

Memories, flashbacks of the past, of my family, of my dear Sirtfa. I lost touch with everything. Lights became a blur, the entire shuttle felt distant and irrelevant to my current situation. The air felt different, smelt different. Oddly enough, I felt home, not for long though, not long enough to become comfortable.

Heat, the flames of her cremation burned in my eyes, I could feel the animosity poisoning my veins. Watching her disappear into the smoldering flames...

The tremors throughout the craft awoke me, arriving into Kashyyyk caused the ship to undergo fierce turbulence and with no recollection of the events that got me there I safely landed. The door opened slowly; forgotten flavors in the air. The woodlands seemed familiar enough. But enough trailing off course. I began.

Revenge. The only thing on my mind.

Running, fast enough that the trees passed by at a flicker. The undergrowth seemed unbothered by my weight. The next thing I saw was the scene of a battlefield. An old Kashyyyk village lay in rubble.

No matter, as long as Nasyk is still intact

Moving along quickly, the area grew into a large gully. I knew this place, the young cubs would come here to play and wrestle. A bush near by rustled. With Ryyk blades quickly in hand I moved in. A small wookiee no older than 15 came tumbling out. By the markings on the nose and face and the necklace around his neck it seemed to be Chief Yaru's cub.

Frightened the cub asked, "Why do you have your -"

Sad, for that to be the last words of a Wookiee. Pinned to the wroshyr tree next to, what used to be us, the cub died. Before leaving, I grasped the necklace and ripped it off his stiff body.

Waiting until nightfall and when the Wookiees in the village would be suspicious of the cub's disappearance, waiting for a search party to band together and head out.

Didn't take long. A group of 6 males and a few females left out the main path. Now was the time. Into the village looking for the biggest hut to find the Chief, Yaru, for he would not lead the search party, his position held too high of importance.

Dispatching two sentry's who were bickering about their roles in the tribe. One lay on the ground. With a glance he was just another wookiee, but after he spoke I knew exactly where he fitted in. It was Jybal, one of the slowest to ever carry a blade, for him to be a guard of any sort was a disgrace. Although, he did not prove worthless. Under his breath and without much air to speak he astonished me. "Haze?" muffled by coughed blood, but enough to peak my interest. I stared into his glazed eyes. They rolled back into his head. Guess he didn't want a conversation.

Moving onward I spotted Yaru's home. I passed through the door into a small hallway, shadows loomed onto the walls. Voices could be heard,

"With this search party, we are losing our protection from attack. Remember what happened only a month ago? Only explained as "dark figures" blasted through the ---"

Another voice spoke, "Yes we all know, but he is my son!"

"Yaru." I muttered. Foot steps grew closer to my position. I took shelter behind another wall behind the main entrance. The foot steps left outside. Heading back into the hall that lead to the expired conversation, a sigh could be heard. Yaru was in the next room; seated in a chair facing away from the hall. With quick agility and a single silent stroke of my ryyk blade I had Yaru on the floor bleeding. Blade against throat I snarled,

"Remember this face?"

"I...." Yaru whimpered

"Pathetic." and with effortless force Yaru lay dead. This wasn't enough for me. A blood lust took over. I dug into his corpse, mutilating the very existence of what is called a Wookiee. Moving outside the camp, with a special gift in hand. A local sentry overlooked the walls of the encampment, for fear of being noticed and for the frenzy burning in me, I unslung my bowcaster off my back. With careful aim the sentry fell head first with a bone-snapping, skadoosh onto the ground. Placing the "gift" outside the home I left that village for it was worth nothing. The night sky gleamed with its serenity. Showing mercy to those seeking it. But tonight would not be the night the sky would shine it's dark lumination. Instead, with the push of a button the home of Nasyk's chief exploded. Flames engulfing the middle of the village. Screams, and shrieks arose. I slowed away from the hell.

Back at the village, the people howled in horror as their beloved leader's head stood on an ancient pike infront of his home. With the beads belonging to his son wrapped around the pole.

Better. I thought to myself.

A whooshing sound from above, quiet at first, but then grew. The spotlights of a hover craft came over my position.

I fled into the forest. Running through brush, I was being hunted. A sharp sting awoke in my spine. I fell forward with a loud thump and stumbled into a tree. With a crack from my skull on the bark of the tree. I lost my senses...

 

A Disturbance

Zzyzx hadn't returned yet to report and I knew Aaron was moments away when I felt it. A great wave of distress washed over me as I felt the Force flow hot through my body. Something was wrong. Someone had died. I felt it was someone important.

I saw trees. Tall, thick trees that I knew only grew on one planet. Kashyyyk. It was a blur. I saw blood. I saw hate. I felt revenge.

The Chief that resided in Nasyk was one of our allies and I knew he didn't have many close friends. He always made enemies, anywhere he went. It was amazing that he had decided to side with the Empire, what with Vincere's reputation. I couldn't feel his lifeforce anymore.

"Zzyzx," I said alerting him over a small wavelength. "I need you to alert one of the droid army ships to go to Kashyyyk and pick up any suspicious characters. I feel they'll be running away from something. I'm thinking he or she killed the Chief there. A wookiee no doubt. Hurry! We have no time to waste!"

"Yes, ma'am." He said. He didn't say anymore. I trusted my Ewok. He wouldn't fail me.

I resumed pacing in the break room. It was so small that the room almost seemed to be closing in. I threw up my hands in frustration and impatience and decided to meet Aaron head on. I left the lobby and went outside.

It was warm and the sky was clear. Stars, moons, and planets dotted the night sky.

It was a perfect night.

 

Awaking to sounds of struggling men uttering curse words. Hands were touching my fur, lifting me off the ground. Flash of lights and engine rumbles distorted my senses. I struggled furiously grabbing for anything in arm's reach to fight with. A blunt object came in contact with my temple.

Dazed and confused I awoke. Hearing noises of soldiers talking about locations of planets and coordinates. My arms and feet were being held in shambles. I tryed to break the binds holding my fury within.

Useless I thought. Who had me captured? Who!? Was it the Republic? Couldn't be, they would have left me to my own to be trialed and punished. Then who...

The craft landed, the guards looked intimidated to open the door. One seemed to struggle with the panel, nervously pressing the buttons. The door opened.

 

"Ma'am," It was Zzyzx reporting back. But so soon?

"Yes, Zzyzx?" I asked.

"Ma'am, Delta 1 reported saying that they caught the wookiee they think is responsible for the Chief's death."

"That's great! Send them here!"

"Uh... Ma'am. I think they already are." I looked at the ship before me. It looked like Airy's ship, I was sure of it.

I waited patiently as the ramp lowered.

 

It took all my concentration to fire at the ship that circled us. I could hear Amaya below me, cursing up a storm. Her ship was receiving minimal damages, but minimal was too much for her liking. Further below, I could hear the Jedi speaking to herself, pleading, hoping, wishing for something. I didn’t know what, but I knew she was frightened.

My shots hit the ship only a few times, and with absolutely no power. His shields were strong, and the shots were ineffective. I sighed plenty of times, my concentration focused as hard as I could on the ship, no matter how fast it moved. I could hear Amaya say, ‘Finally.’ It was probably a good sign.

There was another shot, hitting the front of the ship, and then another aimed for the engines of the ship. Amaya instantly threw more curses at the ship. I moved my laser gun down and shot, hitting the wind of the ship. The ship spun, and another pair of lasers hit the ship’s wing again, from the Jedi below me.

Amaya then punched it, and the ship was shot forward into hyperspace. We were now going to be much closer to the NOCIS battle station.

I climbed out of the turret and moved towards the ladder, climbing down and stepping out of the way for the Jedi below me. She had tears in her eyes, so I left her alone. In her seat was Amaya, spinning back and forth with her hands in her black hair. She was counting backwards in some language I hadn’t heard before. Maybe she was cursing again? I didn’t know.

She stood up and sighed. “Anything else you gonna do to my ship?”

I didn’t know, so I stayed quiet, not wanting to upset her. I would rather not answer than tell her a lie.

“If you need me, I’m going to be in my room, hitting myself.”

She walked by me, and turned towards her room. I looked back after her, but she didn’t turn back. I followed after her, but turned towards TC and R-7 instead. She and I were not doing so well, I feared.

 

I had watched as Aaron LeBlanc confidently countered the attacks. I had been here before. In such a turret, watching as Morchein fought his invaders. We were fighting for Jedis at that time. I still was. I still was.

I had managed to give no more than three successful shots, or perhaps only one because I only foresaw the damage of my last shot. I was trembling, I didn't know why. I was supposed to be strong, but the worst thoughts came to my mind. What if Falae was in the ship? Morchein had a habit of bringing him along! What if...what if there were Jedis in there too? What if...I trailed off.

After we plunged into cyberspace, I sobbed quietly. Aaron LeBlanc left me alone, too kind of him - or maybe not. I had probably just lost my life partner and my son. I had probably just lost everything that was mine, everything that belonged to me. Me.

Or maybe that's the reality of life. Nothing belongs to you. Nothing, but reality. Or maybe not even that. The thought of it made me wail, and I finally jumped out the turret, forced to conceal my tears. No one was there, not even our angry pilot, which made it seem like I was really alone.

I stumbled over the box that lay in the path - for a moment I got angry and then returned to my angst. I knew my room was occupied, another of the many things to depress me. I finally walked into the shiny bathroom, and sat down on the floor, burying my head in my legs. But I didn't cry. I just sat there, blank. I didn't want to think. It made me feel alone and angry.

 

Our fall out of hyperspace was a blur to me, in every aspect of the word. The speed of the attack was immense. We had accomplished nothing in our stealth moves. The NOCIS battle stations had known we were coming from the start. Amaya diligently did her best to avoid all firefights but only prevailed minimally. The ships were too fast, and they had were far more prepared for us then we were of them.

I left the young girl and Ewok to the aid of my two droids as I rushed to the cockpit to see Amaya, cursing under her breathe, as the dogfights continued. I scanned the space, looking for the leading ship. The one we needed to land on. The one that contained the data I was searching for.

My mind was still in a blur. Her presence was near. It was powerful. It was angry. I could feel her anger rushing through her. It caused me to be weak at the knees. I held on to Amaya's chair for more than just balance.

"What the hell, Jedi-boy?"

I didn't know either. We were supposed to be completely unknown to them. Someone had tipped them off.

"You said no one knew!" she screamed, flipping more levers, and turning the angle of the ship to the left.

"I don't know what happened!" I retorted. It was true. Nothing could have prepared me for this. I looked around and still saw nothing. I looked down at the planet.

"Land the ship. Far from any sites. I'll have to hick the rest of the way."

She sighed, flipping another lever.

"No! This is suicide."

I grabbed her shoulder, but she shifted me off. I grabbed it once more.

"Please," I whispered. "Land it. You can regroup down there."

"If I drop you off, I'm probably gonna want to get the hell out of here." She screamed.

"Then leave." This truly was suicide. "If you must, then go."

She sighed heavily, whispering something foreign. She wouldn't leave. I could feel it.

I looked out at space as we neared the planet's atmosphere quickly, in aims to land in the outskirts of the mountains, where no one could find us.

 

Patience is a Virtue

I was pacing. I wasn't meaning to, but I always got excited very easily. I don't know why. Maybe I was just a very social person. I never liked to be alone, unless I was mad, and even then it was nice to have someone around to beat up.

I was anxious. There was no one around to talk to and even if there was I wouldn't have anything to say. I was quiet, for the most part. I merely liked one's presence. There was Zzyzx, but he was busy in the cockpit, searching for Aaron's ship. I had better not bother him. I didn't know anyone else on the planet, so conversation with them was out.

"Ma'am, it's the wookiee we caught on Kashyyyk. He killed the chief. The truth serum we gave him made him confess. What do you want us to do with him?" Two stormtroopers had walked up to me without my knowing. They both had a large, hairy arm in theirs. He growled and the troopers flinched.

"Put him in the detention cell in the underground level." I said to the troopers. They nodded. "And as for you, Wookiee," I spat the race. "You'll learn your place in this galaxy. As a slave for us Sith!" He howled as they yanked him away. I laughed.

But as quickly as it had come, it left and was replaced by a disturbance. I felt Airy. He was close. Really close. My eyes darted across the landscape looking for any sign of him. I saw a ship coming swiftly into the atmosphere some distance away.

"Someone get me a f*cking landspeeder! Now!" I screamed, at no one inparticular. But one appeared. I think I stormtrooper ran one out to me, but I don't remember. I just remember jumping on it and taking off in the direction that Airy's ship was coming down.

Adrenaline pulsed through me.

 

We landed in the outskirts of the planet. I could feel my blood running through my veins. Adrenaline. I knew what I needed to do, but I was expecting this to be in space. A quicker getaway, a faster escape. On a planet, there was so much more that could happen, and not having a ship to escape in at my immediate turn was going to be a problem.

I walked into the room where the child and Ewok were. They were cleaning R-7 together. I smiled, but felt something run through me. I wasn't going to see them again. I pushed the thought out of my mind as quickly as I could. Of course I was. I had this. I knew what I was doing. As Frav said, I was the best infiltrator the Jedi Order had.

"Hi," the girl said.

I looked at her, seeing her smile. She knew what was going on, but she was avoiding it. I think my face was giving away too much for her. I smiled back.

"Hi there," I responded.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I am."

"Will you be back?"

I paused. My heart wanted to be back, but my mind knew better. "I'll try my hardest. I promise."

I walked over to TC and R-7. My little droid beeped at me with such confidence, and fear, that I wasn't sure if I would be able to contain myself. If this was goodbye for only a little bit, then why did it feel like forever.

"No, R-7. I want you and TC to stay here with them. They need you more than I will right now. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"But, Master." TC said apprehensively. I looked back at him, my face forcing the biggest smile I could muster.

"I'll be back, TC. You just keep R-7 in line and safe."

"Ye...yes, Master."

I walked over to TC and put my hand on his shoulder. His legs were still in complete shambles.

"We'll get you fixed. I promise."

"Okay, Master."

I turned and walked for the door, turning back towards the group. "I'll see you all later."

The girl and TC waved. R-7 beeped. Even the Ewok gave me notice as I left.

As I walked towards the exit, I saw my Jedi friend. She looked like she was having a hard time. She looked at me, and then away. As I neared her, she lifted out a hand. I shook it.

"Thank you for everything," she said silently.

I smiled. "I'll be back. We'll get you home afterwards, I promise."

I didn't know what she wanted, but the comfort of my sincerity helped a little for her. I let her hand go and walked past her, whispering 'goodbye' as I passed.

Finally, I was at Amaya, who was standing at the ramp that lead to the desert planet ground. I looked at her and she at me.

"Look," she started, but trailed off when I pulled her in for a hug. I don't know if that was the smartest thing to do, but I felt like it was needed.

"I'm sorry, Amaya," I whispered in her ear before letting her go. "I didn't mean to take my anger out at you. I apologize."

Even under her hard exterior, I knew she was still a girl, and the apology meant something. She didn't show it immediately, but she did finally.

"Don't worry 'bout it."

"I'll be back, okay?"

She nodded, not making eye-contact with me. I couldn't say goodbye to her. I turned for the ramp and started walking away. The warehouse I would be needed to make my way towards was about two days out. I could make it there by myself, and be completely hidden in doing so, but they would be sending out patrol for Amaya's ship. I knew she would figure out what to do. She was smart like that.

From behind me, I could hear Amaya trying to gather the words to say something, but she didn't. The ramp slowly lifted to a close as I made my way towards the NOCIS battlestations.

 

A Time To Strike

I stopped a long way from the ship. I could see Airy, faintly, but I could still see him. And he was saying goodbye to the people on board. Did he know that he wasn't going to return and was just instilling false hope for everybody? Or did he really, truly believe that he would succeed. I chuckled slightly.

"Zzyzx," I asked. He came over the com.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I need you to send a small stormtrooper squad to these coordinates. I can't take Airy alone and I need someone to help me bring him back. Can you do that for me, Z?"

He confirmed and I went back to observing Airy. He was walking this way. No matter. The squad would be here soon. I sat cross-legged and meditated, waiting patiently for my time to strike.

 

My senses were stronger than I had realized. Beyond, several meters away, I could feel her. She was waiting, patiently. Meditating to a hymm that calmed her body. A coma that would make her stronger. The connection between us made inflitration almost impossible at times.

I looked off towards different forestry that might help lead the way to the facility faster. She would sense my change in the wind faster than I can make the jump and sprint. We would clash somewhere in the forest.

I thought about my powers, hoping something might cloud her vision long enough for me to get passed her. If I could pass her, I could avoid confrontation early on, though I knew, it would happen one way or the other.

I began to run.

I began to run.

I began to run.

I began to run.

I began to run.

It was all I had left in me, and all I could muster, but I began to run.

This would keep her on her toes.