Star Wars: Episode I: The Anarchism of the Jedi

There was a lot of noise from behind me, but I paid little attention to it. I sat there in the corner, with my feet up, meditating. My hair was falling in front of my face, but I paid no attention to it. I was focusing. The Force was strong inside me now. Much stronger than it ever had been when I was young. I looked up, my mind going blank for a second before revitalizing back to what it should be. Normality.

A girl at the bar was looking at me. I could sense a sensation surge through her, but it was minimal. She downed her drink and moved towards me, sitting down finally on the table with her legs dangling off to the side.

“Little odd to see a Jedi here.”

I smiled, looked up into her eyes and winked. I then turned my attention to the person that was in the next stall. They were listening in on my conversation. I could feel it. I guess I couldn’t stop them. I’d have to choose my words carefully. I then heard R-7 beep three times. ‘Careful, Master.’

I smiled, making sure not to say a word, until I was pulled my her laugher and response to R-7.

“Hi there,” she started, leaning towards R-7, “You look like you’ve been through a lot.” She then looked up at TC and raised an eyebrow. “Though not nearly as much as your friend here.” Her gaze then met mine. “A rough situation, and you’re not even having a drink?”

I laughed. Nice sense of humor, though I think she might have been serious. She was an interesting figure. She had very long black hair, and was very tall for a female, though by her species, I was sure it was normal. She looked only a few inches shorter than me; maybe two. Her eyes were grey. Interesting.

“Actually, we sort of had a crash landing. This is the aftermath.” I patted TC on the side, smiling at me. He really had it rough right now.

He then turned on with an attitude. “We didn’t crash, Master. We jumped. Remember?”

A little sour, but it was fair. I rolled my eyes. “True, true.” I looked at the female. “Please, have a seat.”

She looked hesitant. “That’s alright. I’m comfortable up here.” She stopped for a moment. “You’re sure I can’t buy you a drink?”

Was she hitting on me? I couldn’t make eye contact with her then. It was hard to be hit on, I suppose. I wasn’t used to it. I was starting at R-7 when I spoke.

“Thank you, but I’m okay.”

R-7 then replied with his own jokes. I couldn’t hold in the laughter.

“I know, R-7. I know”

I turned towards her. "Hello. My name is Aaron, from Naboo. I assume you're a Nagai, though please correct me if I'm wrong." I smiled. "And may I ask your name?"

“Amaya Kento,” She replied after a moment of silence. “Yes, I’m Nagai.”

“Nice to meet you, Amaya Kento." TC started to speak in a language I couldn’t quiet understand, though I instantly knew his tone. "Now, now, TC. I'll fix you soon, I promise."


“I can help you fix him up, if you’d like.” She was very quick to answer me, even though it wasn’t a question. “I know his type. Old, but dependable.”

“Why, thank you. That’ll be quite alright though. TC has some trust issues. Something in his circuitry.” I laughed.

TC, however, didn’t find it funny. “That’s not true, Master. I just…” He then started replying in the same language. I really didn’t like his tone this time.

“TC! That’s no way to act.”

Amaya merely laughed. She definitely was a weird one. I didn’t know how to act, but I made sure to keep my reserve. I made a quick glace to the eavesdroppers. They were talking amongst themselves. If I were going to get help, I’d need to do it quiet.

“I could use you for something else though. I’ll pay you handsomely, but it’s very dangerous.”

She was taken aback for a moment, but shrugged it off quickly. “I don’t mind danger now and then, where there’s money involved.”

R-7 started spinning around in circles at that moment. I looked down at him and smiled. He was the weirdest droid I had ever had before. Though, TC had his moments too. I looked at him and spun him around like R-7 was, replying to Amaya. “And maybe an extra pair of eyes and hands will help when fixing up TC here. Make sure he’s okay in the end.”

She went stiff, reaching quickly for her hip. “Stop that.”

I stopped TC instantly, putting my hand on the droid’s mouth. I made sure I was making eye contact with the female. I had no reason to raise a fight. I don’t know who would win, but I had no reason for it. She flinched. Maybe a reaction from my eyes. I didn’t know. I looked back at TC, widening my left eye that was out of sight of Amaya at TC. He went completely silent. He knew what I meant.

“Sorry about that.”

“You’ve put the poor thing through enough,” she was calming, but there was a bit of anger left in my voice. Rough around the edges, I supposed. “You said you might have a job for me?”

I made a quick gesture back to the group beside me. Still busy with their own nonsense.

"I need a number of things. I'll need a pilot that has a very good ship that knows the galaxy very well. I need someone that knows a lot of the underground trade routes as well." I smiled. "Of course, I don't expect anyone to come up and tell a Jedi that they know those routes. But, I'll need someone that can... find them, easily."

“Well, I’m a pilot, and my Princess is well-equipped to handle most anything. As for underground routes…” She winked at me this time. It was a bit awkward. “I’m pretty good at finding things I set out after.”

“Good.” I looked back at the group. They were quiet again. I waited, wincing a bit at the thought of being heard. They started speaking again. I went quick.

"I need to infiltrate the NOCIS main battlestation base. I will need to you to pilot into the armada, get me to the leading starship, and when I have what I need, take me back to Coruscant."

I made it, and no turn of a head. I laughed. "That is, if we aren't killed first."

She whistled, her hands to her sides. “You’re crazy.”

I winked again. “There’s a method to my madness.”

“I’m sure.” Her eyes were trying to read my soul. It was fascinating to watch. “Care to enlighten me as to just how much you’d pay for your insane adventure?”

Price was absolutely no object to me, though that only happens when you actually have money. "I have fifty thousand credits." I replied. "I'm willing to give you all of that if you get me there. Another fifty thousand if you get me back."


Her shock spoke enough. I couldn’t help but smile. I gave her a moment to contemplate it over, though she had more shivers in her words than I was expecting, even though there were only three words.

“I’ll do it.”

I stood up, strapped on TC to my shoulders and smiled. We would have to be quick. I looked at her, and then to the door.

“Lead the way.”

She shook her head at how sudden I was to leave, but shrugged. She turned, and walked towards the exit, looking back at the bar as if she had wanted another. I found it quiet amusing. We entered the big world of Coruscant streets. I made sure R-7 was keeping up and followed her to her ship on the outskirts of Coruscant.

 

I walked into the busy pub, species of all kinds chattered, yelled, clanked glasses and fluttered. I groaned as I looked at the mass of Geonosians at the bar.Their disgusting bug-like bodies, and those ever flapping wings. I cringed at their look. The noise was immense, but I took no notice as I held my two children’s hands. They stayed close as we fought through the crowd to get to the bar. I growled under my breath as I pushed past a Geonosian, but I quickly smiled at Danner as I placed my arms on the counter of the bar. He smiled at me and gave me a wink.

“Hey Danner.” I muttered, giving him a wink back, “Where’s that Pilot you were talking about?”

“Hey Rabbit,” he said getting a customer near me a drink, “No ‘How’re you doing Dan, buddy ol’ pal.’ Not even a howdy doo?” I half smiled and quickly tugged on his shirt.

“C’mon, I really need a reliable pilot Danner, these goddamned Geonosians aren’t cutting it.” I gave an awkward smile to one of the insect-like creatures next to me. He huffed, and buzzed away.

“You’re great with them, aren’t you Rabbit?” He laughed. I furrowed my brow and stuck out my tongue, hitting him in the shoulder. He yelled out and rubbed his shoulder.

“You’re not being very nice to me today Rabbit.” He smiled, “She’s sitting over there in at the end of the bar. She’s the pale looking elf-thing.”

My kids looked up at me, and pulled me towards the woman. I looked at the young lady. She was pretty tall, much taller then me. Her skin was fiercely pale, and the black she wore didn’t help the matter. Her every movement feigned confidence. I quickly sat in the empty stool next to her as a large being stood up.

“So, I’ve been told you’ve got a ship.” I muttered, looking at her. She turned her gaze at me, and I took my first look at her grey eyes.

“Yeah.” She said taking a sip of her drink, “What of it?”

I smiled, and motioned for Danner to come over. He came my way, “Bartender, how about a Whiskey?”

“I need a ship and a pilot.” I said, taking the shot from Danner, “I’ve got a lot of jobs that send me many places.” She looked at me and nodded, motioning for me to continue.

“I’m a Bounty Hunter.” I said, “I can’t pay you a regular salary, but I can give you a small percentage of whatever currency I get from my jobs. I’m good at what I do, and I always keep my word. You won’t have to worry about me.”

She looked me up and down. I smiled, and took the whiskey in my hand, and drained it. The burn felt good on my throat. She looked down at my children. I laughed, aware she was probably judging me for drinking around my kids.

“What about them? And what percentage are we talking about?” I smiled, and motioned for my children to stand up.

“This is Meer, and this young lady is Ozean. My children and my trainees. They’re still learning but they will be tagging along on all my jobs.” I said with grin, as my children shook her hand. Meer blushed madly as he took her hand, and placed a kiss on it.

“Lovely to meet you.” He spurted out before turning as red as his sister. He quickly hid behind me. The woman laughed.

“How about 25%?” I asked, I knew it was a steep price for just a pilot, but if she proved to be accountable, she would be a good asset. “As long as you’re a good pilot that I can count on. Moving with me won’t always be safe. I don’t always work with the nicest people. But I would like accountability. Will you be able to be there for me when I need you?”


“I’m accountable, as long as you are.”

“I’d bet my childrens’ lives on my accountability.” I answered. Her grey eyes were emotionless, but I knew she was thinking about it. It was a good deal afterall.

I raised my hand out, and she eyed it warily. She suddenly grabbed my hand and shook it.

“Deal.” She said nonchalantly. I could still see the excitement in her eyes and I laughed inside.

“Schnell, but they all call me Rabbit.” I said.

“Amaya Kento.” She answered.


I could hear the tapping on my door, and my eyes slowly opened. A smile spread over my face, as I remembered Amaya. She had been our pilot for a few years. She had been a great kid. Great pilot. More then accountable, she had been a friend. I laughed as I remembered the way Meer had adored her.

I groaned as more tapping came at the door. She had even taught Meer how to pilot. That was part of our breaking apart. When we had gotten our ship, we didn’t need her services anymore. I frowned. It hadn’t been a bitter parting, but all the same it felt like we had abandoned her. I wondered what she was up to now.
The tapping on her door became louder, and I got up from Danner’s spare bed.

“Come in.” I sighed.

Ozean walked in, a large grin on her face. I laughed as she took out her lightsaber.

“Can we start?” she asked, I could tell she was hiding her excitement.

“Yes, but you have to go make sure your brother is doing what he is suppose to be doing and you meet me out in front. I want you to give me your lightsaber for now.” I motioned for her lightsaber in her belt and she looked at me with unhappy eyes.

“Whaattt?” she groaned.

I smiled and thought of Meer, “It’ll only make him jealous.” She tossed me her lightsaber and walked from the room. I groaned and stretched out, attaching the saber to my belt. I looked out the window and sighed. I hated the damn Geonosian landscape. Sand was everywhere.

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The wraparound made me lose a lot of my vision, it unnerved me, but I knew it would be like that on Hoth. I knew I wouldn’t be able to move with as much ease. That’s why this training was needed. My daughter looked me, the swear running down her face as she took off the cloth that covered most of her face.

The heat was intense, and the layers of clothing made matters worse.

“I hate this!” she hissed, “And shouldn’t Meer be doing this too?” I pressed the button on my lightsaber and I ran after her. She cursed and thrust the cloth back over her face but not in time. The blade stopped millimeters from her neck. She looked at me angrily. I back up slowly with a grin on my face.

“You’re dead dear.”

“That’s cheating!” she yelled angrily, running at me with her now open lightsaber. I laughed and quickly took out my whip, thrusting it at her legs. She jumped just as it got to her and gave me a grin. She quickly got her footing back and I smiled, motioning for her to come my way, and held the lightsaber out in a defensive position. She lunged at me and our lightsabers met with a clash. I grinned widely, the power felt great. I thrust forward, throwing her back, kicking her in the chest. She fell to the ground and looked at me.

“Do you have to be so rough?” she groaned, rubbing her chest.

“Do you think those Jedi are going to be nice?” I asked, grabbing her hand, and pulling her up. She stuck her tongue out at me.

“I suppose not.” She muttered, grabbing her lightsaber again. This time I struck first, but she quickly defended herself. She thrust with all her power, trying to throw me back but I stood my ground and countered with my own push. She yelled as I kicked her again.

“It’ll just take practice. We’ve all got to make sacrifices for a bounty.” I said, helping her up again, “I didn’t kick as hard this time.” She laughed and poked at her ribs.

“I wonder how many of them you’ll be breaking this session.” I laughed and hit her on the shoulder playfully.

The sound of a cough came from behind us, and we quickly turned around lightsabers in hand, in offensive mode. We blushed when we saw the grinning face of Danner and the sulking, angry face of Meer.

“Looks like you’re having fun, Rabbit, not beating her up too badly I hope.” He said with a smirk. They both carried large boxes, and put them down at our feet. Danner quickly pried open the first wooden box, and pulled out a white jacket.

“This material, but at the same time it’s very warm.” He smiled and handed it to me. The cloth was smooth and soft.

“Also, we got some information from Geonosian supplier.” He said, sitting on the top of the nearest box, “He delivered to Hoth just a week ago, and they’re suppose to be sending another shipment to a outpost. He said when he was there he saw Jedi. Many of them he said.” Meer looked at the closed lightsabers in our hand and frowned.

“How do you expect us to do very well if I can’t even use those?” he snapped.

I looked at him and grabbed his chin forcibly, “Watch how you speak to me honey. I’m still your mother. You’ll do perfectly fine without a lightsaber for this mission. You did fine before.” I let go and he looked at me angrily, storming off with the box in his hand. I sighed.

“I’m coming along for this one mission Rabbit. You might need a speedy getaway.” He grabbed the box and lifted it, “We’ll take the supply ship for the time being from the Geonosian. He only wants a small fee. We’ll go in as if we were just delivering supplies. The only problem…” he muttered, trying to not look at me in the eyes, “We’ll blow our cover if a few Geonosians didn’t come with us… it’ll just be two of them, but they have to come with us.” My face turned red and I looked at himangrily. Ozean laughed and patted me on the back.

“We’ve all got to take a sacrifice for a bounty, right mother?” she chided at me. I groaned, and turned my lightsaber on.

“Four more days of training.” I muttered to Danner, “You train Meer for me. He needs to learn to move around in a wraparound.” I lunged at Ozean angrily, and she quickly defended herself. I groaned as I thought of the disgusting Geonosians that would have to bunk with us. I hated my job.

 

It was a nice and quite journey. The woman seemed confused, and then a little scary. I remained quite and polite all the way long. I waited for her to wrap up her business in the catina, and simply looked around until her voice sharpened. I looked at her. I had no doubts anymore. She was a Sith. And I let her in here.

I watched as she pulled out her lightsaber and went out of control. I had no particular choice but to shriek out.
"What are you doing?! Stop!"
I screamed, tugging the people beside me to leave. The people were quick to respond, good for them.

 

The Jedi was shouting at people to run. I held out my hand in her direction and flexed it. She grabbed her throat and gasped for air.

"Stay out of this." I said releasing my grip and Force pushing her against a wall. "Just stay there." She obeyed.

I calmed myself a little. No need to draw this much attention to myself.

"Is there anyone with information? I will only ask this one more time."

A hand rose in the back corner. "I do." It was a couple, looking scared.

"Go back to your drinks." I called to the rest of the cantina and strode to the couple. The Jedi followed. I sat down across from them and glared. The Jedi came to sit by my side. "What do you know?" I asked, my voice low.

"All I heard was that the man you speak of spoke of some sort of underground trade route."

"What was he planning?" I asked.

"I don't know,"

"Where was he going?" I pressed.

"I don't know!"

"Is there anything you do know?" I asked sarcastically.

He thought a minute. "I think you're very pretty. I like the your eyebrows."

The woman sitting next next to him slapped him in the chest and scoffed.

"Jennifer, this not the time to get jealous." She crossed her arms and turned away.

"You don't give annother girl a compliment when your girlfriend is sitting right next to you!"

"Baby, I'm sorry..." He began.

"Why don't you ever compliment me like that?"

"I just... I just..." He fumbled for words.

"No! I see how it is. I've known since I caught you and Dehlila!" Her voice was on the edge of tears. I rolled my eyes and motioned for me and the Jedi to leave. She scooted off of the booth.

"But babe, I didn't do anything! We were just talking!" He seemed desperate.

"Yeah, sure. That's what they all say..."

I interupted the small quarrel. "Did you see which way he went?" The woman pointed but kept her face in her other hand. "Thank you. I'll leave you to your... uh, negotiations." I strode out of the bar, the Jedi on my heels. I heard a slap against and slight "Ow!" as I walked out.

*******************************************************

After twenty minutes of walking in the vague direction that the woman gave us we came upon a landing pad for trade ships passing through the planet. The landing pad was surrounded by fifty foot metal walls almost like a big garage but with no roof.

There was something drawing me now to the ship and I followed it. As I walked the feeling became stronger and I could feel hate from an unknown source fill me. Emotion rushed through my body as I saw a tall man with white hair boarding a ship. The Dark Side began to cloud my mind as I pressed forward. The feeling was becoming unbearable and almost uncontrollable. I stopped ten yards from him.

"Airy?"

 

This was a stupid idea.

"Alright, Princess," I muttered as I found my way to the cockpit, throwing my cloak onto one of the chairs behind me and putting on my gloves. "We've got work to do." I began to turn the nav systems on. One hundred thousand credits. "I'll even get you some new toys when this is all over." The computer flickered. "Come on, sweetheart. Work with me here."

"Amaya! Launch when you are ready! Leave the ramp down!" The Jedi yelled from... somewhere.

"I'm working on it!" I snapped. What the hell was he doing to my ship? And where was he? There were all sorts of noises coming from outside. "Hold on, Princess," I murmured beneath my breath. I'd bite his head off later.

I let out a deep breath as we took off.

 

Her ship was magnificent. I could clear it in one jump if I wanted to, but it was very nice size. SoroSuub Personal Luxury Yacht 3000. Nice. There were some modifications, though I wasn’t much of a pilot, or grease Wookiee to know what they were. I smiled. This would make good time. Maybe even make this mission a lot easier. My smiled faded. My head spun with a pain I hadn’t felt in fourteen years. Something was different. Time, space, air, the world. I couldn’t place it. I was counting spots in my mind that were not there.

She…She was….

“Airy?…”

Here.

I turned slowly, my hair catching the wind and blowing it into the air, white whips in the wind. I turned my body around completely. The wind was starting to become stronger. Much stronger than was expected at this time of year in Coruscant. My robes lifted to my left, blowing wildly, as did hers.

“Syl?...”

Her eyes weren’t the same. They had red veins in them. I felt fear fill me. She…she couldn’t be. She…she wasn’t. There was no way she was a Sith. I couldn’t believe it. Her black robes were flowing freely, her right hand carrying a blade I hadn’t seen in fourteen years. A red lightsaber that had once been on my side, fighting with me against the Stormtroppers.

Her anger was gathering. I could feel it boiling. There were tears streaming down her face, but they were tears of fury. I slowly reached for my lightsaber, pulling out the one she had given me fourteen years ago. A cyan lightsaber that had never left the side I was fighting against on Naboo.

“Don’t!?” She yelled at me. A Jedi behind her moved, though I didn’t see where the girl had gone. She may have ran into the ship, she may have ran away. I don’t know. “Don’t, Aaron!”

I held the blade in the best defensive stance I could. I showed no emotion in my stance, though I could feel tears running down my face as well. I didn’t want her to attack. I wanted her to drop her lightsaber and be the girl I remembered. The girl I played with, the girl I trained with, the girl I loved. My only family left in the universe.

“What’s happened to you, Syl,” I said quietly, knowing she would hear me perfectly. I could taste the salt in my tears. Strands of hair stuck to my face.

“Don’t make me strike you down, Aaron!” she wasn’t trying to threaten me, but she looked oppressed. Why would she do something like that? I thought I was her only family too.

“Aaron!” she yelled again, taking a step towards me. I stepped back with the opposite leg, keeping my stance strong. I wouldn’t let her strike me down. I loved her, but I wouldn’t let her kill me.

She dove for me, her speed quicker than I had ever remembered. I reacted instantly, lifting my wrists up towards my face to deflect her blade and parry back quick. My blows were nothing compared to her. She swung for my torso from left to right, tears flicking off her face as she swung at me, her tear clinched tightly, her hair flailing wildly. I blocked her swings at my chest easily. I had become a master of defense. I pushed back, walking towards the ship entrance as she swung.

We connected in a cross, holding it there for what felt like ages. I could feel her anger, and I could feel my sorrow. Something within both of us wanted to go back to a simpler time, but we both knew that was never going to be possible.

She looked into my blue eyes; I looked in her brown-veined.

“I’m sorry, Airy,” she spat out, pushing the blade down towards me. I moved in time to parry the move, the blade barely catching the tips of my robes.

I swung a strong upper-cut at her blade, smacking it back far enough to spin around in front of her and clash once again, pulling closer to the entrance of the Princess that was directly behind me. I walked up the small ramp the blade and mine hitting the sides and panels of the ship. I couldn’t risk pulling her into the ship.

“Amaya! Launch when you are ready! Leave the ramp down!”

I didn’t wait for a response, using the force to push Syl back as far as possible, diving for her again to do my miniscule attacks. Each attack was blocked and parried on her part. I had grown faster than her in blocking with my saber, while she was quicker at dodging them without contact at all. She pushed me, I taking the opportunity to push off the ground and be thrown backwards into the air towards the top of the starship.

She launched herself in the air, swinging at my lightsaber as we fell to the top of her ship. As we landed, I swung at her torso, catching her robe barely. Her counter was powerful, the blade missing me and crashing with the ship, cutting through a large portion of the small panel that was no bigger than six feet by six feet.

We did our assortment of pushes and swings on top of the Princess, most of our attacks being spun into the ship, causing sparks and loud crashing. The blades were causing the metal to burn, black singes marking the ship in circular patterns from our swings.

She got close enough to swing down upon me with her saber. I caught it with my dominant hand, swinging mine down onto her. She did the same as I.

We stood there, holding onto each other’s blades, spinning around like madmen until finally she lifted up her feet and booted me away with a sharp kick in the chest; catching herself with a back flip that put her back in her fighting stance.

I gathered myself and went directly into my stance before looking at my saber. It was far different than it was a moment ago. I looked at her quickly, noticing we had pulled each other’s blades from one another.

We turned them both off, throwing them in the air to one enough, and then resumed our fight. I pushed her off the ship finally with a powerful gust, and dove after her, slashing at her as wildly as I could. She wasn’t prepared for blocking. It wasn’t the Sith way. They struck first, blocked later. Jedi, vice versa.

She landed on the ground, rolling away as my blade struck her initial landing stop. She pushed me when she was on her knee, diving at me once again. I swung down at her, catching her shoulder barely as she struck my thigh, cutting barely into the skin. Barely a flesh wound on both of us, but painful all the same. I swung my blade around and knocked hers to the side, noticing she was within arms length of me, and kicked, booting her in the chest. As she flipped backwards, I pushed once more, throwing her through the air a good ten feet before she could gather her flip to catch herself. She was panting, as was I.

I was hunched over, holding onto my thigh, while she was hunched, grabbing her shoulder. From behind me, the Princess started to lift off the ground, slowly circling in the air. Around us, dust and dirt started to kick off the ground into our faces. I took the opportunity to back as closely to the entrance of the Princess as I could.

She was staring at me with those eyes again. Strangers eyes, with tears that didn’t sparkle like they had on Naboo. My eyes burned from the tears and sand in the air. She stalled more than I did. I could feel her pain. She was looking into the same eyes she had fourteen years ago, before we were separated.

With a slight whimper in her voice, she forced her voice to carry over the machine.

“I don’t want to kill you, Aaron!” she yelled, holding her blade tightly in her hand.

I looked up, seeing the landing gate about thirty to forty feet in the air. I bent down and jumped, landing on top of the ramp, my lightsaber off and my right hand on a rod that was slowly collapsing to close the large ramp. My tears fell from the ship upon her. I stared at her for a moment before the ship started to leave.

“Then don’t,” I replied, quietly enough to the words to stab me, but loud enough to make her fall to her knees as the ship started to gain altitude, and fly into space.

 

This had to be the most exciting and daunting experience of my life. And perhaps the most successful attempt of escape I had made. Well, not escape. I had calculated the situation. A sharp Sith had managed to reach Aaron LeBlanc, something I wanted for myself thus I cooperated with her all the way. Thereafter, they had a fight, but I was unclear as to what became of it.

I had taken the chance and climbed in the ship. I could not aid the fight because I was not skilled. I could only join those inside the ship – provided they were friendly. I sulkily climbed in and heard squats and stabs on the top of the ship. I didn’t know if someone noticed me come in and sit on a corner, my arms folded and my knees looking rather knobby.

I was sunk in partial worry and satisfaction as the ship flew. I had, however, no particular understanding of whether Aaron LeBlanc had secured his position, which was a pretty frightening thought.

 

Jedi Knight--Adam Morin

As the Coruscant Freighters began to unload the survivors from the assault on Taris, Adam and a group of younglings and padawans were herded towards the waiting Jedi Council members. They were all powerful looking figures, masking their true strength with the force. The fact that Adam could barely pick up on their abilities marked them as very powerful.

A few of the Masters sighed with relief, a couple even clapped, but most just held their thoughts to themselves. Their expressions were unreadable. One such Master seemed to be eying Adam with more than a little interest. It was the Master Adam recognized as Balnarco Frav. The man was almost legendary for his exploits in the Outer Rim.

When the two groups met, Adam was pulled aside by Master Frav.

"You are strong in the force, child. I could sense it the moment you stepped off the ship. Tell me, who is your master?"

Adam gulped, having never been addressed so casually by a master of his stature. "I have no Master sir. I was only just raised to padawan before Taris was attacked. I don't think the masters there believed me to be ready for the trials."

Master Frav nodded thoughfully. "Well...come with me to my chambers. Tell me of yourself. A child with your strength in the force must have an interesting tale."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much of that night was spent in Master Frav's personal quarters in the Coruscant Temple. They were rather lavish compared to the modest living quarters of most Jedi, but they seemed to suit him.

Adam told the master of how he wanted to redeem his people, of the attack on Taris and how he had defeated a Dark Jedi. Master Frav was very impressed.

"So young and already you have bested a Dark Jedi? Impressive indeed Adam. What would you say if I asked to take you on as my apprentice?"

Adam was dumbfounded. "B-but Master?! You have said you would not take on another apprentice. Aaron LeBlanc was the last."

"I know very well what I said and who I have trained. You do not think me senile do you?"

"Well, no Master."

"Then you will accept my offer? I see great promise in you, young one. Go to the Padawan chambers. Get some good sleep, your training begins in the morning. You must be prepared for the trials if you are to become a Knight."

Adam retired to bed, his dreams filled with thoughts of glory once he became a Jedi Knight.

 

I sat in the back of the offloading ramp, as the Geonosians and Meer unloaded the supplies that would soon belong to the dead Jedi. I smiled and went to the front of the ship, sitting next to Danner. The supply ship had been small, and cramped for the entire trip, but it was hard to stay in a bad mood with him around.

“You ready?” he asked, not really looking my way.

“As ready as I can be, those damned Geonosians are taking too long.” I grumbled. He quickly looked my way and grabbed my chin.

“Now, is that any way to act, you’re about to get your biggest bounty ever.” He said with a smile, stretching out his arms to show how big it was going to be.

“Just watch, those Geonosians are going to turn on us.” I looked at the giant insects at the end of the ship, and gave them a dirty look.

“No they won’t.” he said patting me on the back and laughing.

“We’re ready.” One of the Geonosians buzzed.

I walked out of the ship, and sat on one of the boxes. Ozean ran up to me from the side of the ship, her eyes as big as saucers.

“Mother!” she yelled. I quickly got up, bringing out the lightsaber from my belt.

“What?” I asked in an urgent voice.

“He left, he went alone. He took his lightsaber too!” she yelled. I cursed in frustration.

“Tell Danner to be ready to leave, I’m not sure how this is going to turn out.” I said, as I ran towards the outpost door, “And you get yourself in here with me, we’ve got to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

I ran inside the building, and noticed immediately how dark it was. I could barely see my own hand. I brought out the blade of my lightsaber, which gave me just enough light to see where I was doing. I stayed in a defensive position as I worked my way into the building. My breathing was light.

I looked around, and saw and heard nothing.

“Meer?” I whispered.

Nothing.

I walked forward, and felt a hand touch my shoulder. I quickly turned around and brought my blade down to meet Ozean’s blade. I let my guard down and sighed.

“It’s me mum.” Whispered Ozean into my ear.

We slowly walked forward, stopping in the middle of the room. We looked around, and stopped when we saw the shocked face of Meer under a table nearby.

“Hide.” I heard him say in barely a whisper.

I started to say something when I heard the noise of many lightsabers opening. My mouth fell open shock, as I saw the lights of 7 lightsabers surrounding us. We could hear the doors we had just entered close, and the cackle of the Geonosians. I cursed under my breath, they had cheated us.

My breathing became hard as I kicked Meer from his hiding place. He quickly got up and brought out the yellow-greenish color of his blade.

“That Jedi you killed in Endor.” I heard one of them say, as he slowly crept closer to us. The circle around us slowly enclosed around us, “He was a good friend, and those are his lightsabers, I’d like to have them back.” My heart raced as I slipped off the hood over my head. I quickly began to maneuver my Lekku, as my children watched me.

“Meer, get those Geonosians and get that door open with your saber. Ozean, we’ll have to defend ourselves and we need to keep them away from Meer just long enough.” I said in our language.

Meer instantly dashed for the side, and we ran in front of him, in a defensive position at the three nearest to him attacked. I caught the first attack with great force, nearly sending me flying back. I countered and kicked at his legs. He jumped back momentarily, as another lightsaber came my way. I quickly thrust him back, as another came my way. I could barely see Ozean as she fought for her life.

I dodged and rolled underneath a few of them, ending up next to Ozean. I yelled out as I saw one of them swing his blade at her neck. She was surrounded. I quickly grabbed the Jedi’s feet and knocked him over. I instantly took out my gun and shot him multiple times in the chest. I thrust myself over his body as a blade came down at me. I grabbed the dying Jedi’s blade and opened it, waving them around me in a circle. The Jedi momentarily jumped back, and Ozean ran over to my side. We both stood panting in our defensive mode as the Jedi encircled us again.

I could hear as Meer struggled to get the door open with his lightsaber. The smell of burning metal filled the room. We made she to block the passage to him. There were only 6 Jedi left.

“You can’t win bounty hunter.” I heard the same voice from before say. I quickly closed the extra ligthsaber and attached it to my belt. I ran at the nearest of the Jedi, our blades meeting in a fury of power. I yelled and slid to the side, catching his arm with my blade. He winced and force pulled me towards him. I kept my blade in front of me, and once again our blades met. I could feel a blade just barely miss my head as I slid onto the ground. I quickly thrust myself up behind him, only to meet with the blade of another Jedi.

I heard Ozean yell, and looked at her motionless body just feet from me. I yelled and dove towards her, stopping a blade as it came down at her. I thrust him away, as her eyes fluttered opened. She looked at me, blood coming from her mouth as she tried to speak. I yelled and attacked the nearest Jedi in a vast amount of fury. I kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him flying back. I quickly took out my blaster and shot him in the face. He fell to the ground in a gory mess, and I grabbed his lightsaber as another ran at me, his face full of anger. I laughed and countered his attack, making him miss. My blade met his chest as he fell to the ground.

“Mother!” I heard Meer yell. I looked over at Meer, the light illuminating his portion of the room. I motioned for him to come as I dodged my way to Ozean. She looked at me with eyes of terror as she battled to protect herself. I put my weapons to my belt and grabbed her shoulders. I yelled out in pain as a blade hit my back. The smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils. I ran backwards, pulling her from her shoulders, going in the direction of the door. Meer ran in front of me, blocking the many oncoming attacks. I yelled out as one of the half-dead Geonosians flew at me, attaching itself to my face. I yelled out and hit it as hard as I could. It fell to the ground, but quickly grabbed its gun, shooting me in the chest. I yelled, losing my grip on Ozean. She fell to the ground, but quickly grabbed her blaster, shooting the Giant bug multiple times. My body weakened as the blood left my wound, but I ignored it and grabbed Ozean again.

I pulled her out the door, and through the snow that covered the Hoth ground. I tossed her onto the ship as it began to lift off. The flames filled the building as Meer left, jumping onto the ship. Blood covered arm as he helped me into my seat.

I looked at him angrily as I attended to Ozean’s wounds. We looked down one last time as we saw three Jedi putting out the flames on themselves. We had failed.

----------------------- ​

We arrived at the Emperors ship, with bandages all over us in our own ship. I was so glad we had our ship back.

I had taken Meers lightsaber and hid it somewhere he wouldn’t dare looked. I hadn’t talked to him since. I put the four lightsabers we had accuired on my belt. One of them was badly burned, probably not useful to the Emperor. I watched as Meer walked from the ship. I knew he hadn’t learned his lesson, and I feared for him more than anything.

I walked out, my supplies on my belt. I covered my bandages with my clothing, not wanting the Emperor to see me in this condition. Ozean was the worse off, but a day of rest had done her good and she was healing well. Her face my main concern now, a big chunk had been taken off on her cheek and it pained her badly.

I sighed and hope Danner was okay on Geonosis where we had left him. He would have to run, since the Geonosians would know where he lived. We couldn’t go back to the same home again. He had said he wouldn’t leave Geonosis though. I truthfully hoped that decision wouldn’t cost his life.

I walked from the ship, Ozean followed now far behind. We traced our steps to the meeting room. I sat at the end of the table, and placed the lightsabers we had gotten from the mission onto the table. Ozean sat next to me and placed her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes. I pattered her head as Meer leaned in his normal spot against the wall. We didn’t say much to each other as we waited.

 

“That prophecy is completely useless.” He was beginning to get on my nerves about wasteful topics. I stared at the hologram, waiting for an interesting topic. I could feel the presence of the Jedi Slayer landing on my ship. I would have to end this soon to deal with her.

“Master, we’ve both heard the prophecy. It could be him.”

I shook my head. My foresight didn’t see it. The Son of the Force was younger than I was. I looked into the hologram. “Train him the proper way, but I will not waste my time with him. My target is already off Coruscant.”

“But you send huntsman for him? Why?”

“The same reason the old Lord did. There were two. I have one. I need the second to comply.”

“The same side of two coins, in my opinion, Master.”

I turned off the hologram, stood, and left my quarters. The bounty hunter was in the conference room now, waiting.

I entered in the same manner I had before, looking swiftly at each of the three Twi’leks. I smiled. All three had suffered recently. She looked at me with strength and fear. Her daughter didn’t look at me, but down upon her lap. The boy refrained from all movement and sight. He might have learned his place after all.

“You said double the price. I expect six lightsabers.”

She looked hesitant, stood, and unhooked four lightsabers, all of them new, but one of them badly burnt. They floated towards me hastily, stopping within arms length of me. This one was completely useless to me, but the other three would be fine prizes. I would take this burnt one, but it was no prize. It would be punishment for failure.

My smile faded into pure anger. I grabbed the burnt blade, turning on the green saber and walked towards the three of them. Within seconds, the two chairs the women sat in splintered into hundreds of thousands of pieces, their bodies being caught within the air and forced onto the wall, sprawled out like a star.

“I let your son live.” I started to retort. “I leave him be perfectly fine. You give me your word for double the prize.”

“I’m sorry, Master,” she spat out, tears starting to well in her eyes.

“Apologizes will not work this time.” I walked close to her son, who was in a defense stance, looking at his mom, and then at me. “So, I will give your son a chance to defend himself before I kill him.”

His mother yelled something, but he didn’t listen, swinging at me with his fist as quickly as he could. I dodged each swing, leaving my lightsaber out of the fight. His anger was immense. I smiled, twisting my wrist around, the lightsaber moving too quick for his eyes. Within an instant, his arm went limp a ‘V’ shape cut splitting off his everything below his forearm. He screamed, falling backwards, gripping his forearm with his right arm. I then swung again, cutting off one of his headtails, and then again, slashing a piece of his thigh away.

With the push of my hand, he was forced into the wall, denting the metal. Blood from his head and back ran down the wall, his moans and agonizing whispers filling my heart with glee. I thrusted the saber forward into the wall, just below his groin.

”Don’t ever let me down again, Jedi Slayer,” I said with a smile, releasing her son from my grip. He fell just slightly, landing on my saber only momentarily, but his screams were stronger than any other pain he had felt in his life.

I turned off the blade and hit him with the hilt, knocking him towards his mother and sister. I then turned and walked away, listening to his screams. I didn’t release his family from my hold yet. His sister was crying and his mother was trying her hardest to comfort him from the wall.

“I have another mission for you. The credits from the last two missions have been wired to your account. There is a Sith Lord on Ralltiir. He’s created a cult against he Empire. Eliminate him and the cult leaders. There should be two other than him. After that, I need you to report back to me immediately. I will have a very important mission for you. One that I will accompany you upon. You have five days.”

I left the room, the force that was holding them releasing. They had five days.

 

Momo couldn't believe his eyes. There, with his back turned, was Momo's missing older brother, Ciro. Ciro had been missing for two years, but Momo knew it was him. It had to be.

"Ciro!" Momo called out as he ran toward Ciro, who continued to ignore him. "I-I can't believe it's really you-"

Momo reached for Ciro's shoulder to turn him around, but as soon as he did, it was not the face of his brother. It was the face of a Yuuzhan Vong. Momo screamed out in fear at the creature who killed Master Uta Von.

Momo then fell into a dark room. He was afraid, but drew strength from the 'Fear is the path to the dark side' logic. Momo saw that a bunch of Yuuzhan Vong were circling him, and drowning him in their malice.

Momo wasn't about to fall down- he unsheathed his lightsaber and swung at one of the Yuuzhan Vong. Momo was surprised, however, when he saw that the Yuuzhan Vong shattered. Its remains fell to the floor like shards. It was then that Momo realized that the Yuuzhan Vong were merely mirrors. However, they began talking.

"Where do you think your brother is right now?" One of them asked.

Momo was shocked. He'd always known Yuuzhan Vong for destroying and killing on the spot- not playing mind games.

"H-He left a long time ago! How should I know?" Momo replied.

"That's because he joined the dark side."

Momo's eyes widened. "N-No...that's...that's impossible! Ciro would never-"

"I guess you knew him less than you thought, child." Another said.

"SHUT UP!!!" Momo screamed, as he stabbed his lightsaber through the mirror. The mirror shattered, and another began talking.

"He doesn't want to see you anymore."

"I told you to shut up!"

SHATTER!

"He doesn't want to see you anymore."

CRASH!

"He doesn't want to see you anymore."

BANG!

Momo destroyed and destroyed until all of the mirrors were reduced to shards. However, he could still hear their voices playing over and over again.

Momo woke up, and realized something. All he did in the dream sequence was kill and destroy, just like a Sith lord would do if he was being taunted. And what was worse, Ciro might be on the dark side.

As Momo sat up and cried, hoping that he didn't wake anyone up.

 

The wind was blowing forcefully around us. I couldn't believe that it was really him standing there.

"Syl?" He whispered. I could hear.

He hadn't changed much from the old days. His eyes were still the perfect blue they always were. He just looked older, more mature. The Jedi had done well with him.

The hate started to boil up inside of me again. Not hate for Aaron. No. Hate for me. Hate for becoming what I had; for letting go of Aaron so easily. How could I of forgotten him so? The only family I had ever had and I had forgotten him; left him to become a Sith. When we were younger, nothing could have come between us. Why should that have changed over the years?

Why? Because the Jedi Counsel had brainwashed him, led him to believe a lie of peace and symbiosis of Sith and Jedi. Their way was corrupt and it had reached Aaron. He had not come for me, either. He had left me just as easily and it was now my hate began to grow for him. He had forgotten me just as I had forgotten him. It wasn't fair that he expect everything from me and that I should expect nothing from him. Hypocrisy. That's what this was and it made me livid.

I was torn between the side that loved my 'brother' and the hate that was the Dark Side that resided in me; in my soul.

He turned on his lightsaber, the cyan color reflecting off of the metal of the ship. The same one that I had given him fourteen years ago and he was going to use it against me.

Ungrateful bastard. Yet somehow sweet and touching.

"Don't!" I shouted. I don't know what made me shout it. Maybe it was my heart telling him to run for it. Maybe it was the younger me calling out to me to tell me not to do it. "Don't Aaron!"

The Jedi behind me took off toward the ship.

Leave her. I obeyed.

I felt tears slip down my cheeks as I moved into an offensive stance. I looked into his eyes and saw tears forming there as well. I wanted anything to just drop my lightsaber and run to him; to run into his arms and never let go. To just be there with my family. My Airy. But it was like the Dark Side was controlling me, making me do these things against my will. Like I was just a spectator watching myself advance on the only person who had ever loved me like he was an enemy.

And he was, in a sense.

"What's happened to you, Syl?"

"Don't make me strike you down, Aaron!" I took a step toward him. "Aaron!" Why did I keep calling his name? To bring him closer? Or to make him leave? My thoughts were confusing me. My mind was swirling. Imagine mixing alcohol with Vicodin. That was what my mind was doing.

I knew he wouldn't let me kill him. It wasn't the Jedi way. It wasn't Aaron's way. I dove for him.

His reactions were superb. He blocked my attacks swiftly. The Jedi had taught him defense well. That wasn't the Sith. If anything, they were the opposite. We focused on brute strength and offense while the Jedi used their minds to conquer the enemy and only attack when absolutely necessary.

We connected at a cross. I think we had a connection of the mind for a moment. I went back to the fields on Naboo, remembering the green grass, the blue skies, the waterfalls... It seemed ages away and, although he was merely inches from me at the moment, he, too, seemed ages away.

"I'm sorry, Airy," I said tears falling freely, not even attempting to force them back. I wanted him to see my pain. I wanted to see that killing him was not something I wanted to do. I wanted him to see that I still loved him. I pushed down on his blade and singed a bit of his robes.

We moved onto the ramp of the ship behind him. There wasn't panic in his voice, just concern.

“Amaya! Launch when you are ready! Leave the ramp down!” He called to someone in the ship. He force pushed me backwards. I recovered quickly and did the same. He used this as momentum to jump atop the ship. I followed closely behind. He swung at me when I landed and singed a bit of my robes as well. I launched a powerful attack at him swinging my lightsaber down as hard and as fast as I could. He dodged the attack and the blade went into a part of the ship's panel.

We continued to duel blocking the other's attacks swiftly and leaving a path of burnt metal where we had danced.

I swung at him again and, to my surprise, he caught my lightsaber by the hilt. He swung at me and I caught his as well. We stood there exerting force against the other. We spun there for a moment like tops until finally I reached up and kicked him in the chest using the force I exerted on him to do a backflip onto my feet and into an offensive stance once more.

My lightsaber felt funny in my hands, like it didn't fit me. We looked down at the lightsabers we were holding simultaneously and realized that we had taken the other's lightsaber. I turned his off and he did the same. We tossed the lightsabers to one another and resumed the battle. He used the time I took to catch mine to force push my roughly off of the ship. He dove after me swinging widly. I wasn't used to this tactic. Jedi never attacked and I knew little of defensive manuvers.

I landed on the ground and rolled away inches from where his blade struck the ground. I got to a knee and dove at him again. He swung down at me and caught my shoulder while I knicked his thigh. We both winced in pain. Realizing how close I was he kicked me in the chest, then, while falling back, force pushed me ten feet back. I landed roughly on my feet.

We stopped for a moment to regain ourselves. He was hunched over his thigh, while I kneeled clutching my shoulder. Minor wounds, but painful all the same. The ship began to rise and Airy stepped back just before the ramp.

“I don’t want to kill you, Aaron!" I half whimpered, half shouted. The ship was causing quite the disturbance; blowing sand everywhere and creating an awful ruckus. He turned and jumped up on the ramp as it rose, turning off his lightsaber as he did so. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes as the tears fell from his eyes.

"Then don't." The words cut me deep. I fell to my knees as I looked into his eyes as the ramp closed and the ship departed.

The dust settled as I kneeled. My eyes fell to my lightsaber. I turned it off and threw it aside. The feeling of hopelessness and fear was overwhelming. The adrenaline was leaving and I was finally becoming aware of the soreness of my body. I fell over onto my side and curled my knees to my chest.

I broke. I wept and wept, for hours it seemed, until finally I drifted into an uneasy slumber.

*******************************************************

“No, Airy, don't!" He was swinging at me, or who I thought was me. Our lightsabers clashed loudly. I could see the hate in his eyes as the anger consumed him. The scene played out like this; various attacks and parries until I was looking at his back and into the face of his opponent. It was me, but in the robes of Emporer Vincere. Lightsabers, thousands of them, lined the walls. Ignorant of what I was doing I used the force to turn on all the lightsabers simultaneously and make them fly towards Airy. My eyes were wide. Why was I doing this? A silver one bolted towards Airy's heart. He wouldn't see it. He wouldn't be able to block it in time. "Airy! Look out!" The lightsaber was inches from Airy's heart.

I woke in a cold sweat. I looked frantically around, evaluating my surroundings. I was on my ship, on one of the cots in a medical room. Zzyzx was sitting by me holding a cold, wet towel.

“Are you okay?" He asked setting down the towel and scooting closer to me.

“Where am I?" That was a stupid question. I knew I was on my ship. I leaned up and swung my legs over the side of the cot, burying my face in my hands.

“We're at Emporer Vincere's personal shuttle." He said cautiously, like I was a bomb that would explode at anytime.

“What?!" I screeched jumping up and facing him, fury on my face. Why the Hell...?

"You told me to bring you, ma'am..." He whimpered, cowering slightly. I threw up my hands.

“When? When did I tell you to bring me here?"

"Last night, when you came into the ship. You said, 'Zzyzx, take me to my master's shuttle. The coodinates are already set.' Then you came in here to sleep."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" I roared causing him to back away.

"I don't know ma'am." He murmured. "You seemed out of it when you came in. I assumed you just had a long day and you were tired."

I looked into those big black eyes. He was so adorable, I couldn't stay mad for long. I calmed myself down and went to sit down on the floor next to where he stood. He backed away slightly.

"I'm sorry, Z," I said grabbing his hand and pulling him into a hug. "I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just... I was supposed to kill someone for Vincere and I didn't. I don't know why I would ask you to come here. Maybe just to report. Nevertheless, that's no excuse for my actions, and I'm sorry." I did my best to smile.

He grinned back under all the fur. "It's okay. You're forgiven." He hugged me back. It was like having my own personal teddy-bear, but bigger. We let go of each other and I stood up. I wasn't looking forward to what I had to do.

"Well, I guess it's time to report." I brought my lightsaber to me with a wave of my hand and holstered it to my side. "Wish me luck." I stepped out of my ship and began the long walk down the hallway of the personal shuttle. It was like walking the line of execution and I walked it with no fear; my head was high, my shoulders back.

I marched quietly to Emporer Vincere's study. To my death.

 

I felt failure. I was angered, but I couldn't place it until Syl walked through my study. I had been searching for something else. My eyes flared, but my smile stayed firm. This proved my thoughts.

She knelt and waiting for my command.

"Stand, Sylvana." She looked terrible. I didn't comment it. "Sit."

She moved and sat in front of me.

"Report." I loved my one worded answers. She knew me well. She didn't answer. She was good enough to know she couldn't look me in the eyes, but no answer was making me terribly angry. I knew she had failed. The anger that struke me was immense. My fist clinched but I held by my powers. I loved her, and I knew what I needed from her.

I swung my first into her face, knocking her from the seat and onto the floor. She looked at me with the most discombobulated look in her face.

"You have failed me, Sylvana."

"I'm sorry, Master." She said finally, standing up just to bend to a knee. I turned around and looked on into space. I closed my eyes to search her feelings. Much were pointless and quickly overlooked, but something caught my attention. He had done well.

"I need you to do me two things. I need you to bring me a Jedi Council Member. Alive. Do not kill him, do not harm him. Master Frav. He will be on Coruscant. Bring him to me, however necessary. Then, I will have you deal with Aaron."

She stood, and left, blood gushing out of her nose.

 

Intricacies of the Froce--Adam Morin

The sweat on Adam's palms made him feel as if his hand would slip off the rock he was perfectly balanced on, but he concentrated on the force and stayed where he was, unmoving. One armed hand-stands weren't exactly his specialty. Master Frav circled around him in wide steps, poking his legs occasionally. Adam slipped a little and grunted.

"Focus young one. Now, the rock to your left..don't look! Reach out with the Force and feel for it. Lift it," ordered Master Frav.

Sweat trickled down into Adam's eyes causing them to burn. Doing his best to ignore it, he closed his eyes and embraced the Force. Using it like a pair of arms, he reached out for the rock and lifted into the air, making it float about five feet off the ground.

"Good good. You are doing very well Adam. Now the rock to your right."

Again Adam reached out with the Force and lifted the rock to his right, letting it stop a little lower than the first. His muscles tensed as Master Frav poked his ribs again.

"Excellent. Now me."

Adam grunted with exertion as he wrapped the Force around Master Frav and lifted him a few feet off the ground. Adam's breath was becoming more fast-paced.

"Astounding indeed. You are quite strong my child," said Master Frav as he orbited in a wide circle around Adam. "Adam, have you ever heard of the Kathol Rift?"

"No Master," grunted Adam through clenched teeth. "I am not familiar with that part of the galaxy."

"Of course, few are. In the Kathol Rift are a race of people called the Aing-Tii. Have you heard of them?"

"No Master," grunted Adam again. "I am not familiar with the Aing-Tii."

"Of course, few are. They are a Force-sensitive people...every one of them. Everything about their existence is tied to the Force. They use it in ways even the strongest Jedi cannot. It powers their ships. It is a part of their weapons. So strong are they that even the largest and most advanced frigate would not stand a chance against them. Do you know what makes them so strong Adam?"

Adam shifted on his hand a little bit. "No Master, I do not."

"They see the Force not as Light and Dark, black and white, but as a rainbow of different colors. Each color, merely a different aspect of the Force. There is no good or bad to them. You see Adam, the Force is merely a tool. It is how we use it and towards what end that makes it good or bad. Even Luke Skywalker held this view. Release and rest."

Adam set the Master Frav and the rocks gently to the ground before slipping off his own rock and crashing to the floor. Slowly, he sat up.

"Adam, to be truly powerful, one must master all aspects of the Force. That is all for today Adam. Go get something to eat and be back here same time tomorrow."

Adam nodded and left the personal chambers of Master Frav, sweat still burning his eyes as he stepped out into the hall. Adam shook his head, wondering if all of Master Frav's students had had lessons as intense as that.

 

C’Tzr stepped off the destroyer and began loping through the buzy spaceport streets of Hapes. The crowds parted, offended by the Sith’s lack of physical perfection to which all of Hapes aspired. Occasonally one would look over at the militia men silently willing them to remove the knight’s offensive resence. The militia men all had the same response. Each one stared at the ragged , blood soaked wreck of humanity that was C’tzr and then to the star destroyer that he came from. Suddenly their guns and armor didn’t seem enough. So they turned their attention towards the sky, the cobble stones, or just blindly stared through the Sith.

The Sith knight stepped into a deserted alley and closed his eyes. The blood was still fresh enough to summon the force. From the cobble stones and roof eaves they came, wispy, cloud-like faces filled with haughty desires and dripping with superiority. C’Tzr smiled. This was the true face of Hapes. Behind the quest for perfection in body and mind was a stinking cloud of smugness and loathing for any who didn’t measure up.

“Perfect,” said C’Tzr.

He pulled the cloud like energy around him. It didn’t cling and smother like the hate fueled power on the destroyer but merely floated lazily around the bloodiest areas of his flesh, like moths flitting around a flame. C’Tzr tried forcing them to wrap around his body but the faces just fell apart only to reassemble several feet away and mock him. So the knight, instead poured all his anger, hate, and blood lust into the still dripping gore draping his robes. The tiny droid s hidden within his cranial implants responded in earnest flooding his mind with visions of carnage and slaughter. As these thoughts mixed with the Sith’s own more and more faces appeared and took orbit around him.

“You,” said a pair of militia men who turned into the alley.

C’Tzr heard nothing, but watched as more and more faces lazily floated towards him. Each face regarded him with disgust clearly hating themselves for being drawn to the blood and the knight for bringing it.

“You there,” repeated one of the men leveling his rifle at the knight as his pure silver eyes gazed skyways at the cruel faces only he could see.

A few faces turned toward the militia men and silently hissed. Slowly the abandoned the Sith until they formed a hazy chain between the knight and the pair of militia men. C’Tzr’s eyes gradually recognized the weapon barrels.

“This is a private area,” said the taller of the two, “ You must …”

The faces all nodded at C’Tzr. He nodded back understanding their message.

“They brought these fools for me to prove myself,” said the Sith to himself.

A wicked smile crossed the former pit fighter’s face rows of yellowed fans peeked out. With effort, he slumped his shoulders, rounded his back, and shuffled towards the pair. Both men relaxed as the Sith became more compliant. Still they flanked the Sith and kept their weapons at neck height.

They walked him back into the main street. Members of the citizenry, emboldened by the sight of the humbled Sith, began hurling insults and curses. The faces swelled and smiled.

C,Tzr slowed his pace and began limping. The taller militia man began prodding him with the gun.

Limp. Prod. Limp. Prod. Stumble. Prod. C’Tzr dropped to a knee and sank his fangs into the taller man’s knee. The knee cap ripped free with a twist of C’Tzr’s neck. Pain seized the man’s body tightening his trigger finger. With a quick flash, his partner’s left arm vanished in a puff of pink mist.

C’Tzr kelt letting the gory rain cling to him. The faces smiled and gently landed on his flesh. The citizens ran. The two men were screaming in fear and pain. The knight pulled the sounds and emotions deep into his body causing his own spirit to swell. Slowly, C’Tzr began to turn facing each of the compass points in turn. When he faced south west, a surge of energy stiffened his body. Leaving the men to die, he slowly walked off towards the jedi.

 

I sat with my face against the wall as I listened to his screams. The nurses held him down as he struggled, as if out of his mind. He had struggled with us too, after he had woken up. They said it was shock, he had gone through a lot of damage. It was just the shock. Tears filled my eyes, and my body shook as I sobbed in the corner.

The noise started to fade as he calmed down. They had probably gotten the medications in him My sobs slowed, as I closed my eyes and listened to his deep breaths. He was okay. Well… okay as he was going to get after dealing with the Emperor.

“Mother.” His voice was faint. I quickly wiped my eyes, and turned around. Ozean got up from her seat in the other corner. The nurses moved from the room. My heart sank as I looked at him for the first time since we had offloaded him from the ship. Bandages covered his head, where his Lekku had been cut from. I grimaced and touched his face. He looked at me, his eyes seeming to shine. He gave me a weak smile and put his right hand onto my hand.

“Hey there.” I smiled. His hand slipped from mine and he closed his eyes. I walked back from him, knocking into Ozean. She grabbed my shoulder, and ushered me from the room. We left him to his slumber.

“He’ll be fine here.” She said as we sat in the seats outside his room. She closed the door and scooted her seat closer to mine. “We’ve only got 5 days to do this, and we don’t even know where exactly these Sith are located. We just know they’re on this planet. That’s it.” She whispered into my ear.

I looked down at my feet and knew she was right, but my heart sank as I thought of Meer. I wanted to be near him but I knew we’d have to get our mission done. I had to stay near him, just for the time being.

“I want to stay here a few hours, just to be next to him. Then we can go out.” I said. She nodded and looked at the door next to her.

“I felt the same way.” She muttered. She got up from her seat and stretched out. She quickly turned back my way. “Want anything to eat? I’m getting a drink.”

I shook my head “no” and she walked off without another word.

I got up, and opened the door to Meer’s room. His chest rose from under his blankets, and on his face was a smile. A tear fell down my face as I walked up to him, sitting on the edge of his bed. He scarcely moved, not really taking notice of my presence and stayed in his dreams. I smiled and planted a kiss on his forehead. My eyes met his stump of a left arm, and I gently grazed it. His arm fidgeted but quickly rested.

My mind wondered as I remembered Meer as a child; That beautiful smile of his. That charm of his. I laughed as I thought of the way he had treated Amaya. He fawned over her every chance he got. He would stay behind in the ship, neglect his training just to be with her. Childhood crushes were the cutest thing. I thought of the day he flew Amaya’s ship all by himself. He had been so excited, and had given Amaya a hug near the end. I giggled madly as I thought of how red he had turned afterwards.

“Ma’am” I heard a voice whisper, as a hand touched my shoulder. My instincts told me to reach for my lightsaber that was hidden under my belt, but I ignored it and turned around. My face stayed nonchalant as I looked at the young human nurse. She looked at me with concern.

“We’ll be able to stabilize your son, but getting his robotic limb might take about a week. Did you want us to do anything about his tentacles?”

I looked at her angrily, “Lekkus.” I snapped.

She looked at me, taken back and stood back from me.

“So-Sorry” she muttered, her face turning red as she looked down at her feet.

“Make it 4 days,” I said, snapping my fingers to get her attention, “I want him taken care of in 4 days. You have one of the best facilities here, am I wrong?”

“Of course, but—“

“No excuses, if he isn’t ready in 4 days, I’ll have your head for it. Don’t think I mean that as just a threat honey.” I snapped, and walked from the room. I grinned, and walked out, only wishing I could see the look on her face. As I closed the door, Ozean ran up to me grabbing my arm.

“I overheard someone. I know where they are.” She said with a smile on her face, “We’ll be able to reach there in about a day. We’ll have some time to plan out our attack.” I smiled and patted her on the back.

“I’ve all ready got us a ride.” She said, ushering me to go with her. I followed.

 

I entered his study and kneeled before him. I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. He knew I had failed and I knew it.

"Stand Sylvana." He said fury in his eyes, but a smile still firm upon his face. "Sit." I obeyed. "Report."

I couldn't. I knew that he was livid and I knew that no answer would make him even angrier, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I had failed. There was disappointment present in both of us.

Out of nowhere a fist hit me in the nose with such force that I was thrown from the chair I sat in. I was confused for a moment until I realized it was his fist that had hit me. A million thoughs went through my mind.

That was uncalled for...
OW!
What the...? He could've force pushed me, choked me, hell, even crushed me, but no! He hits me in the nose?
Douche...
Hit me in the nose...really?
Why am I not dead?
Why is he keeping me alive?
But I failed...
Airy...
Oh my God, there's blood....

...Really? In the nose?

"You have failed me Sylvana." The sarcastic part of me wanted to respond, but the adult kept me silent. I took another knee in front of my master keeping my head down low.

"I am sorry, master." My voice sounded funny. Like I was underwater. The blood was making it hard to breathe right, let alone speak. I did my best to breathe steady, to try and ease the pain.

"I need you to do me two things. I need you to bring me a Jedi Council Member. Alive. Do not kill him, do not harm him. Master Frav. He will be on Coruscant." Oh great. Didn't I just get back from there? "Bring him to me, however necessary. Then, I will have you deal with Aaron." I shuddered at the thought of facing Airy again. I felt ashamed... So ashamed...

I stood and left the room.

 

I threw the ship into autopilot and raced to the door. The Jedi was there, nearly doubled over, lightsabers still in hand. "What the hell happened back there?"

"I'm sorry..." He stuttered, not making eye contact. He… was he crying?

“You better be." I said a little roughly. What was I supposed to do? I grabbed a first aid kit from one of the shelves nearby and tossed it to him. I hated it when people cried, hated the obligation of needing to feel nice towards them and hated the way it screwed with my own emotions. "Care to explain?"

He began using the aid kit on his injured leg. "I was attacked." Ha. And that attack left him crying? He was obviously avoiding the question. "Duties of a Jedi." It had to have been more than that.

"I'm sure." I didn’t want to know. As long as he didn’t damage my Princess and paid me the money he promised, I would let him keep his troubles to himself. As long as he didn’t… I narrowed my eyes at him, struggling to keep my voice calm. "My ship?"

"No major damage, I swear." No major damage? What exactly did he mean by ‘major’? He looked up at me, his eyes red from tears – almost as red as I felt. "I would say new tattoos.”

Calm down, Kento. One hundred thousand credits. One hundred-freaking-thousand. And hell, he looked so pitiful, sitting there gazing up at me, no doubt fully aware of my fury. He truly did seem like a nice guy. I softened a bit, turning to leave. "You need help, let me know."

"I'll fix your ship,” he said as I was walking away.

I turned back, a little awkwardly. "I meant with your injuries." I paused. “I'll deal with my ship. She's been through plenty."

He looked down. "Then let me pay for the fixes."

I laughed. With the kind of money he had, he better pay. "Well, that I assumed,” I said, smiling.

He didn’t meet my eyes. He stood up, starting to walk past me. "Can you show me to my droids and...” He stopped. "Seems we have company."

I followed his eyes. There was a young woman – another Jedi? she looked like one – curled up in the corner of my ship. I swore. "What are you doing here?" I demanded, grabbing her by her robes and raising her up to my eye level, Tekh’la blade in my other hand.

She stammered incomprehensibly. I rolled my eyes. Well, at least she didn’t seem dangerous.

“One hundred thousand credits,” I muttered quietly to myself. Jedi. Let them deal with each other. I let go of the female one, stalking off. "If anyone needs me,” I said loudly, “I'll be in the cockpit, hitting myself."

 

I smiled upon seeing Aaron LeBlanc. Alright, he seemed pretty freaky with tears in his eyes, but he was alive. That was something commendable. However, I recalled the part of their meeting during which I had been present. They seemed to know each other. Maybe old rivals. But why was he crying? Maybe he was sad about fighting her? I shrugged. I was being stupid.

In midst of my musings, a Nagai (or as I assumed) held me up, anger blazing in her eyes. She demanded my purpose for being here, but I didn't say a thing. I was too scared. Anyhow, she spared me and left the room. I quietly looked back at Aaron LeBlanc, somewhat afraid and somewhat happy. I wanted to train and I wanted to help the Jedi Council. He was the perfect person to be with.

I stood up, my legs trembling from the sudden weight which had descended upon me. I grabbed a dent-like part of the ship, looking at him with an innocent expression on my face.
"I-I'm Anarbasti. You're Aaron LeBlanc-c, right? I'm sorry if-f this is a ba-ad time, but I..."
I was so confused. He looked so vulnerable standing there and I was going to ask such a big favor.
"I wanted to train...with...you."

 

Train? I had never trained a Jedi before. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had only been trained, never been the teacher. Syl had taught me for most of my powers, and Master Frav for the rest. It would be very difficult to know what exactly to do.


With all that had happened to Syl, I didn't want anyone around me right now. I sniffed and walked up to her, putting my hands on her shoulders.


“My dear,” I started, “I wouldn't know where to start. I want you to think first of what all is going to happen. Here soon, I will be in grave danger, and I will put you in that danger if you are with me.”


She looked so confused and sad. I sighed.

“We will talk it over after a while.” I turned and grabbed TC; R-7 following us. “After a while, we can talk more about it, okay? For now, rest, look around the ship, and maybe even talk to Amaya. I'll need some time to be.”


I walked by her, looking at Amaya. She knew my thoughts and pointed down the coridor that lead to a repair room where I stayed for a few hours.

 

“Ouch!” TC screamed as I drilled in another piece of his leg. “Please be careful, Master.”


I smiled. “When could droids feel pain?”


He made a few sideways remarks, and then dropped the subject. I went back to work on the other pieces of his legs and started putting them back together before attaching them. A very hard three dimensional puzzle. I examined a small silver screw that was slightly bent, and then put it in the pile of parts that were either shattered or couldn't be used.


I sighed.


“TC,” I said, grabbing a usable piece to attach it to his right leg. “This might be a little difficult. We might have to leave you on the ship.”


“But Master,” he sounded terribly distressed. “Here? I don't know this woman. What happens if she decides to leave, and sells me to some poor peasant that uses me for repetitive tasks.”


“Like you were made to do, TC?” I mocked.


He didn't answer. He shifted his body around. I reached out my hand for a tool that R-7 was holding. He beeped at TC a few times, raising a few good questions. I smiled. Often, R-7 would tease TC, and it aggravated him, because TC had only served my family. It was nice to see him being nice.


“Why, yes, R-7. I think I will be able to function properly after Master Aaron is complete with my repair.”


“Yes, you will be,” I encouraged. “Better than ever.” I looked at another piece of his leg and put it in the unusable pile. “We are going to need to stop somewhere for parts if we're going to fix you completely up though.”


“Where, Master?”


I didn't quiet know. It would take a while to get to the NOCIS capital starship.”I'll figure it out, TC. I promise.”


“Okay, Master.”


I smiled. Always so trusting in me. I loved it. I owed him a lot though. I would keep my promise. I put the tool down on the bench next to his leg and sighed, examining all the pieces. I wondered if Amaya had extra pieces. I would have to ask. We were on autopilot, so I was sure she was roaming around. I thought about her for a moment, closing my eyes and finding her location. She was close. I opened my eyes and smiled.


“Hey, R-7. Can you help me sort this broken pieces?”


He confirmed, an arm attachment coming out and helping sort the nuts and screws from shards of metal. I helped move the heavier pieces, sighing heavily while I did so.


“I'm sorry, TC. I didn't meant for this to happen.”


“It's okay, Master,” he said with a very strong sincerity. “Accidents happen.”


We finished quickly and I sat back, kicking up my boots beside TC.


“What do you think Dad would say?”


“That he was very proud of you.”


I smiled. I would call him a liar, but I knew very well that he was right. Dad loved me, and he wanted me to do great things. I knew he did. He wanted great things for Syl too. I looked away, tears being held back with all the strength I could. Syl was alive, but at what cost?


I sighed, closed my eyes, and waited for Amaya to come in.

 

At first, I felt so dejected and stupid. It seemed he would turn me down. Well, I still can't say he said yes. I was being cold. I knew he was crying a minute ago, probably because of the Sith I had found, but I simply had to ask him such a favor. I wouldn't have, normally, but I had to explain my presence in the ship. Moreover, despite my goodwill, I had no right to interfere in his emotional troubles.

I smiled as he left, thinking that he might be accepting the idea. To add to it, I would explore the ship! That would be so exciting. I could even tell Morchein and Falae! Or not. I was afraid of whether they'd pass the information on. I would have to tell something to them, though. I had been missing for two days. Fortunately, they had not bothered. I hoped, they had not bothered, that is.

"...and maybe even talk to Amaya."
I felt sarcastic enough to laugh, but I forgo it. She seemed to angry - why would I want to fuel her anger by coming over to her. However, I silently walked over to a shiny room in the ship.
"Must be the meditation room or something."
I said out to myself. It turned out to be the bathroom.

Interesting.

 

They looked out and waited. It had been two days all ready, time wasted. It had taken them a day and a half to get to the building Ozean had overheard about. It had taken the other half of the day finding out about the building and the guards that surrounded it. The guards were large, unintelligent humans with blasters. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they lacked the skill of good shot.

We watched as the guards changed, for the morning shift. The morning guards were known for being idiots, or so we had heard from the local bar. They liked their women. It was around 8am, and the best time to go in. The Sith Lord would be there without her two followers, only momentarily while they carried on their orders. They would come back just in time for us to slay them. Or so we hoped.

I smiled as I watched Ozean walk in her new attire. It showed much and left almost nothing to the imagination. The men yelled out something to her as she reached them. She fluttered her eyebrows and began to talk to them sweetly. They quickly let down their guard, and began to flirt with them. She got in as close to them as she liked as she leaned in, as if to kiss the first man. She quickly took out her knife, slitting his throat. The other guard didn’t even have a chance to react as her lightsaber and decapitated him. He fell with a thud.

She threw a sweater over her revealing shirt as I ran over to the now wide open door. The blood of the men spilled into the room. I walked over the men, lightsaber out as we crept down the hall. We could hear the chatter of the Sith Lord just beyond the door. We looked at eachother and quickly pushed the button for the door to open.

It opened and instantly a saber came at us. Our lightsabers met as I looked the Sith in her angry eyes. She grinned as she jumped back, force pulling me to her. Ozean quickly shot at the Sith. She lost concentration, dropping me to the ground as she dodged Ozean’s attack. I fell with a thud and quickly went back into a defensive position.

The Sith looked at us and began to laugh.

“You didn’t think I knew this was coming?” she said. We surrounded her on both sides.

“We were ready for you.” She said with a sly grin. The two figures appeared out of nowhere, attacking us from behind. My lightsaber met his and I quickly flung to the side, attempting to get an advantage. He caught my attack his with lightsaber, his speed matching mine. I cursed under my breath backing up. The Sith Lord sat in her seat and watched with enthusiasm.

The Sith thrust me backwards painfully into the wall with his force push, but I quickly recoiled and ran at him my saber in front of me. Our sabers met once again, but my fury matched his now. We danced around with angry quick strikes, catching them each time. I could hear the scream of the other Sith. I looked over momentarily to see the other Sith fall to the ground, her head now on the floor. The man next to me screamed in anger, ran at Ozean.

I smiled and kicked the feet from under the Sith. I thrust my ligthsaber at him only to have him catch it with his own. He yelled angrily and force pushed me from him. I hit the ceiling, my head hitting it painfully. I fell just as Ozean’s saber came unto his neck, splitting it from his body.

The yell of the Sith Lord filled the room as she ran at us with the swiftness I couldn’t comprehend. I quickly dodged to the side, swiping her with my lightsaber, bringing blood from her arm. She yelled furiously as she came at me with a quick, powerful thrust of her lightsaber. I caught it and struggled to push her back. Ozean quickly ran at her, and the Sith Lord spun around. I took my chance, pulling out my blaster and shooting. She jumped out of the way and thrust her saber at me, catching my arm. I jumped back as Ozean began to shoot from behind her. I took out my trishot and began to do the same. The Sith threw us both back against the wall, holding us where we were. She smiled.

“Worthy opponents.” She smiled, I could feel her hate radiating throughout the room. My arm shook as I reached towards my belt. The pain was excruciating as I fought the force, grabbing one of Meers Cold grenades. I quickly threw it at her. It went off, sending the freezing liquid in her general area. We fell to the ground as she tried to move, but it quickly froze leaving her like a translucent ice sculpture.

My arm hurt to move, so I let it dangle to my side. Ozean quickly got up her saber in her hand. She took it and swung it at the Sith’s head. Small pieces of ice flew everywhere, and blood splattered Ozean’s sweater. Her head fell with a thud, the ice shattering. We walked off with the three lightsabers in our hands. This time they were unscathed.

------------------------------​

We led Meer onto the ship, he seemed chipper. He smiled and walked briskly as if nothing had happened. We started the ship and I sat next to him as he turned on the autopilot.

“You sure you’re okay?” I asked. He looked at me and sighed.

“Yes mother.” He said, getting up and stretching out, “I’m not hurting anymore, I’m perfectly fine!” He took off towards the back. I sat and watched as the stars outside passed us. I liked space, it was beauty.

“Mom, we got a transmission from the Emperor.” She said, “Get over here.” I walked over and stood in front of the machine, the image of the Emperor flickered on.

"Jedi Slayer: I will not require your assistance immediately. Save my prizes. I will have my General transmit you when needed. Until then, take some time off." His image flickered off and I gave a sigh of relief. We were getting a break, something I knew Meer would need.

Meer walked over, his lightsaber in hand. I frowned.

“Should you have that?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.

“C’mon mother. I nearly died and you’re saying I can’t learn to use it?” he pleaded, tugging on my shirt. He gave me the puppy dog face and I laughed.

“All right, but you have to rest for a few days at least.” He nodded and took off towards his room. I smiled, turning towards Ozean.

“Has Danner contacted us?” I asked.

She shook her head, “Yeah. He’s fine, the Geonosians didn’t take any further action against him.” I smiled.

“They won’t be getting a chance either.” She raised her eyebrow at me and started to walk away, but I quickly grabbed her arm.

“Tell Danner to order us some powerful explosives, we’ll be needing them within a few days.” She walked off, shaking her head. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. Time was all we needed.

 

Zzyzx helped me bandage my nose when I returned. The pain was diminishing, but that was more than I could say for the swelling. It looked horrible. My face was sure to look like a Gomorrean. It looked more painful than it was.

"There. You're all finished." Zzyzx said applying the last adhesive strip. I touched at it and winced a little at the sensitive parts.

"Does it look too bad?" I asked grimacing at what the answer could be.

"Not horribly bad..." Zzyzx said turning away to put the medical supplies back in their corresponding places.

"But?" I asked. I knew there was one coming. No one just stops mid-sentence unless there's a negative coming too.

"But you're not at your best. It'll take a while for the bruising to fade and a little longer than that for the swelling to subside. You're still beautiful, though." He smiled under the fur. Was he... Was he hitting on me? I tried to read his thoughts, but they were babbling in Ewokese. He turned back to me and put a hand on my knee.

"Um... I think we'll go to Coruscant now." I stood and left for the cockpit a little faster than was completely necessary.

*******************************************************

We arrived in Coruscant in a timely manner. Night had fallen and yet the city was still busy as ever. The planet was teeming with life.

"Stay on the ship Z. I'll be back soon." I left him standing on the ramp looking slightly disappointed.

 

I assumed that Master Frav would be at the Jedi Academy so I made my way in that direction. It wasn't terribly far, so I decided to walk. It would be great exercise.

There were few people when I arrived. I walked in the doors and to my suprise, no one stopped me. It was like no one could tell from my appearance that I was a Sith. was I that good at hiding it or were they secretly running off to tell their masters as soon as they were out of sight? I kept my lightsaber close and walked on.

I strode up to a woman who looked as though she could help.

"Excuse me," I said bowing slightly. "But could you tell me where Master Frav may be?"