The Dark Jedi Series Entries 8-17 Entry Title: Feelings We thought that we had escaped; we thought that we were safe. We were half right. Though we had escaped, the shuttle that we had stolen only had two locations programmed into the navicomputer. Stall, Vell, and I had no idea where we were actually going, but we all knew that it wouldn't be pleasant. We had two primary problems at this point. We had our destination first and foremost. Though our second concern was Sgt. Duel, his injuries were severe, he was still sedated but his back was in very bad shape, if we didn't get him to a kolto or bacta tank soon there was a high chance that he would never regain the use of his legs, or even survive for too much longer. The ship we had stolen was a shuttle. It wasn’t cramped, these shuttles could hold a decent amount of cargo and could seat up to 12 people without being too tight. The problem was that these types of shuttles were not designed for long trips, there were almost no supplies, and no way to know how long this hyperspace jump would take. The three of us that were ambulatory all met on the bridge to try to figure out a plan. Vell sighed, “Well, this dun look so good fer us.” He opened, “The Sith back at the port no doubt have already alerted des guys dat we are on our way.” “Likely we will be under attack the moment we come out, unless they want prisoners anyway.” Stall added, “We need to come up with something, you got any insights for us Jedi?” I frowned, his disposition toward me had obviously not changed, “This isn’t my area of expertise.” “Figures.” He snorted as he turned to look at the Twilek. “Look Private Stall, I’ve looked over your file.” I said, and it was the wrong thing to say, I felt through the Force his anger spike. “You… Did… What?” he fumed. Captain Vell turned back to the controls, suddenly studying them intently; there would be no help from him for certain. “I looked at your file. I made an official request because I thought that it might come in handy if something occurred in our journey.” “Those files are private!” He snarled, “Don’t you Jedi understand the concept of confidential. You are not my commanding officer; you had no right to look at my files.” “I meant no disrespect. I also felt that getting to know you a little more would give me some insight as to how to mend bridges after our incident on Tatooine.” I tried to explain. “Mission failed Jedi.” Stall spat out, “And to think, I thought after seeing you pull that insane move back at the Starport you might be different. You aren’t, like all Jedi, you think that you have the right to do whatever you want simply because you have the Force.” He turned and stalked toward the doorway to the cargo hold, as the door hissed shut I got the distinction that if it was a hinged door he would have gladly slammed it. “Smooth Jedi,” Vell snickered, “Tha’ was about as smooth as a satellite’s hull in an asteroid belt.” “I did not mean any disrespect.” I sighed, having spent so much time with other Jedi I often forget that people on the outside of the temple aren’t as detached as we are. “What do you think I should do?” Vell laughed, a deep belly rumbling sound, “A Jedi askin’ a spacer who is lookin’ for a quick buck fer advice?” He asked, a twinkle in his eye and humor pouring into the Force, “How tha kriff should ah know? I jus’ fly da ship. If I was you, I’d jus’ ignore it, ya can’t make people like ya… Me, I’ve seen Jedi before an while not all of ya are all that good hearted, ya seem alright to me. For what it is worth anyway.” -------------------- Entry Title: That's No Moon... The ship rocked with a sudden deceleration and I could hear the inertial dampeners scream with the stress as they attempted to halt the momentum that was threatening to toss us around the body of the ship. I pulled myself to the floor with the Force trying to steady myself and managed to succeed rather admirably. Captain Vell slammed forward in his chair however he was restrained by his crash webbing. From behind me in the small cargo room I heard a thump and felt a sharp rush of momentary pain erupt from Private Stall. “What the kriff was that?!?” The Trooper exclaimed as he stormed through the doorway to the cockpit. “Ah don’t know!” Vell responded as he vigorously worked at his controls, “Somethin’ jus pulled us outta Hyperspace.” “What could do something like that?” I asked, as I calmed myself quickly with a technique I had learned long ago before I even became a Padawan. “Gravity well…” The Smuggler stated as he pulled back on his control yoke, “Tha means somethin’ is big, but, I don’t see anythin’. Sensors show nothin’ on screen but dere’s a huge gravity well here.” “Could the sensors be malfunctioning?” Stall asked the captain as his eyes looked out over the sea of stars that loomed before us. “The sensors are not malfunctioning.” I said as I closed my eyes, the feeling was as solid to me as a wall; the power of the Dark Side was all around us. I could feel people, living people, in what appeared to our eyes to be nothing but blank space, “There is something right there.” I extended my hand forward with my finger toward where I could feel the essence of living beings. “You are outta’ yer mind Jedi.” Vell snapped at me, “Ah’m lookin’ right at it, there is nothin’ there.” Stall however narrowed his eyes, “No.” He said, “The Jedi’s right.” He stated as though the words were trying to choke the life from him, “Look, you can see something move… It is very slight, almost like a distortion.” “A cloakin’ device?” the Smuggler asked as he once more worked feverishly at his controls, “Tha’ would explain how it pulled us out. It’s a safe bet they know were ‘ere then. What do yall wan’ me to do?” “Send a hail.” I said, “If they are cloaked it means they wouldn’t have been able to receive long range transmissions. They may not know that this is a stolen ship, and if so, then we might be able to surprise them.” Stall nodded in agreement and Vell keyed up the comm., “To ah, station, this is shuttle…” he glanced at the transponder, “Shuttle Conquest, please ah respon’?” The effect was immediate and dramatic as before our eyes a huge space station faded into view. The station was twice the size of the one that we had left. It was constructed of a single long cylinder down the center, with a ring around the whole place at least a mile long, at four points more cylinders jutted from the ring, it spun slowly in space, bristling with weaponry. The comm Beeped, “This is Station Darklab, you are early Conquest, we weren’t expecting you for at least another three hours.” “Sorry abou’ tha’ Darklab.” Vell responded falling into a more relaxed tone than he had possessed previously, “Tha order sheet ah was given said tha’ this was priority so ah took off soon as ah was loaded up.” “Good to hear that someone over at our supply station at least understands the importance of the work that we are doing here. It is difficult to perform experiments if we can’t even keep our machines serviced.” “Well ya’ dun have ta worry abou’ tha’ anymore.” Vell told him, “As long as it took tha droids to load us up ah think ya have enough supplies ta keep yah set fer a decade.” Laughter erupted from the comm, “Yeah, right. Probably blow through this in a month. In any case we are sending you a landing vector now. Don’t dally we are supposed to be out of contact and need to recloak as soon as you are on board.” Vell nodded while Stall and I held our breath, “Right-o send ‘em away and I’ll slip in quick as a vecna worm goes down a Hutt’s gullet.” Already the Smuggler was working to turn us around and make a break for it when the comm went off again “Be advised Conquest, any deviation from this flight path will result in the high density turbolasers opening fire.” The captain halted his plans and glanced at us, “This ship can’t take hits like the Lighthawk could. I’ll run if ya want but ah don’t thin’ we’d make it.” “We don’t have a choice.” I told him, “We need to play along, sometimes the bantha has to enter the dragon’s den if he wants to avoid being eaten after all.” “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Stall asked, “Any Bantha that enters a dragon’s den becomes dinner.” I glanced at the Trooper, “I was trying to sound wise and cryptic.” Stall stifled a chuckle as he began to guide us toward the station by following their flight path. -------------------- Separated Begin entry... Shortly after landing things happened at a whirlwind pace. I was ushered off of the ship quickly, the landing staff believed I was a Sith Lord. My companions and I were separated, Vell, slick as a Hutt's backside, managed to convince them that we were attacked on route and had the foresight to have Stall remove his and Duel's armor. The armor was stashed in the EVA Suit lockers and he convinced them that they should take Duel to the medical bay. I only hope that Duel was lucid enough to understand what was going on. In order to keep up with the ruse I was forced to act in a manner that was unconcerned. I was lead away to some kind of VIP suite on the station. It seems they think of me as an honored guest. The Darklab is apparently a secret research laboratory that specializes in genetic engineering and genetic study. It seems that their last Sith Lord was killed by someone that they call "Prisoner 0" on site. It seems that they think I am the Sith Lord's replacement, which was probably the intended position of the one I dueled back on the last station. Darklab is a black operation. It seems, from what I gathered, that the entire station remains cloaked unless a scheduled shuttle is due to arrive. The only people allowed to know the location of this place are Sith Lords which means that the ship we stole was the personal ship of a Sith. This works in our favor, it will take the Sith some time to realize where we went since this station's location is only available to a few and since the cloaking will stop the station from sending and receiving holo-transmissions. The Force must truly be with us. I have traded in my borrowed EVA suit for some of the clothing I found here that must have belonged to the former lord. We were similar in size and they fit well enough, though I am forced to use my own boots as his were apparently too small. Currently as I write this I am wearing a black bantha-hide vest on top of a purple ruffled shirt with matching onyx hide pants, as well as a purple trimmed silk cloak. I feel silly in this outfit. It is a far cry from my more functional, though less fashionable, robes. I was given a dossier on "Patient 0" and my stomach has already turned several times over. The stench of the Dark Side that permeates this room is overwhelming, though that may only be in my head. The pain that "Patient 0" has undergone chills me to the bone, I find it amazing that he is still alive. According to the file "Patient 0" is a Jedi. His name, before they rechristened him, was Durant Gantos. I had heard of a Jedi Scholar by that name not too long ago, during the height of the Great War he went missing. It appears that I have found him. My course is clear. I will have to find my companions, rescue Durant, then escape before the Sith can figure out what has gone on and, if we can, put this place out of commission. The longer we stay here the more likely we are to be discovered. I want to stall for time however, I estimate that we have at least a day before the Sith can get another shuttle here. This should be enough time for the facility's medical bay to get Duel back up and on his feet if the Force is indeed with us. We will need him too, I have a bad feeling that this is going to end up worse before it gets better. -------------------- Patient 0 Begin entry... I made my way out of my guest room, trying to look like I owned the station, trying to look like a Sith. My skin crawled inside of the clothes I was clad in, as if though I could be corrupted by the Dark Side just by wearing them. Every few steps I took brought me closer and closer to the place that the notes I had been given indicated Patient 0 resided in. Opening the door I stepped in, finding the lab curiously empty. It had said, according to the dossier, that Patient 0 was not to be approached unless a Sith Lord was present. I assumed that he had been trying to influence the minds of the researchers around him, but it also meant that nobody had entered this lab with the exception of medical droids for over two weeks. Patient 0, Durant Gantos, sat in a chair, I could see it was triple reinforced, and I could see repair marks telling me that he has tried to break out or at least damaged the chair more than once. He was thin looking, his beard was bushy and was in serious need of trimming, his hair was long and white but from premature aging as he was not a terribly old man only forty three if what I knew of him was accurate. I approached and his head snapped up to look at me, his brown eyes burned with hatred for me, or more for the Sith I appeared to be. I stepped cautiously forward and pulled back the hood that I had pulled up to look at him and raised my hands in a gesture of peace, "Jedi Gantos?" I asked, afraid that whatever was in that chair was not Durant Gantos at all anymore. He glared at me, and I could feel tendrils of the Force reaching out to me and I felt them begin to tighten around my throat. His voice was low and steady, strong, which surprised me after reading what he had been through, "So you are another of them?" he asked. I tried to respond, already it was hard to speak, "Not... Exactly." I coughed, "My... Name is..." another cough escaped my throat, I could have shoved him with the Force, smashed his head to the side to break his grip but doing so would not gain me his trust which I would need if I was going to save him, "V-Val Starwind." The invisible grip around my throat released instantly, "Tao-Ri's Padawan?" he asked with surprise, but the grip returned in force only a split second later taking me so much by surprise that I fell to my knees, "Nice try Sith." He seethed through clenched teeth, "I may not be able to get out of this chair, but I am going to kill as many of you as I can until one of you decides to kill me." I could tell by his eyes that he meant it, and I did not think I could talk much more so I went with a new approach. I forced myself to my feet and took the few staggering steps forward that it would take to reach him and I drew my right lightsaber from my belt and with a snap-hiss the blue-white blade leaped into existence as I raised my hand to strike. I watched as Durant closed his eyes as if he was waiting for the end. The end would not come though as I moved with accuracy despite the situation and in three rapid trikes I cut through the bonds on his hands and feet. The feeling around my throat vanished instantly as the Jedi Scholar released his grip. "What kind of a trick is this?" He demanded of me. "No trick." I replied, "My name is Val Starwind and I'm here to rescue you." Durant raised an eyebrow and stumbled to his feet, I could feel him pulling on the Force as he did so to steady himself and grant his atrophied muscles strength. "I've been here for over a decade." He said, "Why send rescue now?" "We didn't know where you were. I found my way here by accident as it was." I replied as I rubbed my throat from where the invisible fingers had just moments ago squeezed. "Right." He answered, "If this is a trick it makes little sense but it doesn't feel like you are lying. That doesn't mean much, Sith always lie." "I'm no Sith, but we need to get out of here." I replied. At that moment two orderly droids barged into the room, no doubt alerted that the prisoner had gotten free. The Scholar raised his hand and gestured toward them and I saw sparks fly from them as their heads were crushed in like empty cans of fizzy glug. "Yes. We do." He replied as he began to walk toward the door that lead to the hallway entrance of the station. -------------------- Battle to Med-Bay 5 Begin entry... I have never seen anything like it. The sheer fury that poured off of Durant Gantos as the Jedi stormed down the hallway of Darklab 1 was staggering. The Dark Side, I knew it well, and I could almost see it swirling around Durant as he moved becoming an engine of pure destruction. I dimly heard the blaring of alarms and I already had begun to more than doubt my actions in freeing him so rashly. A pair of Imperials rounded the corner, the alerts from the alarm system no doubt bringing them directly toward us. These two were different, they were clad in slick, black, form fitting armor, and each one carried a long assault blaster that was also suitable for sniper work. I swore under my breath, "Cipher Agents." I drew my lightsaber and barley managed to deflect the first shot to come in, had I been even a split second slower my brain would have been cooked by the bolt. I was poised to deflect a second shot, but it never came, Durant didn't give it the chance. He gestured and the second Agent spun, not of his own accord, and his rifle's barrel found itself pointing at the other imperial. With a small twitch of his finger Gantos forced the trigger to squeeze and the blaster bolt slammed into the second Agent's temple, he was dead before he even had a chance to register the shock. I watched as the first Agent was yanked into the air and gasped at what came next. Gantos turned his wrist, and I could see a sadistic smile on his lips as the Imperial's head twisted completely backward, his feet twitching for only a moment before he too was dead. Durant Gantos simply continued to walk on, unperturbed by the snuffing out of life that he had effortlessly engaged in. Not only did he engage in it, but his smile, his posture, I could tell... He enjoyed it. The Jedi Scholar stopped and looked at me, he must have sensed my thoughts, I had been betrayed by my feelings. "They were animals." He said, in a cold and dangerous voice, "Sick, diseased, animals, killing them in a mercy." He did not give me a chance to comment and continued on, expecting me to follow, I had little choice but to do so. "The Dark Side." He said as we continued to walk, "It is not as evil as we are lead to believe. It is not corrupting. It is simply more aggressive. In a war like this, that kind of aggression can be a powerful ally." He stopped, "You may disagree Val Starwind, but frankly I do not care, I will do whatever it takes to escape from this place and end the threat of the Sith. I have seen what they do. I have seen what they stand for." He gestured suddenly and a door slid open, another quick turn of his wrist and a woman flew from it, he must have felt her presence. She was pretty, and young, younger than I am in any case. She was clad in a simple medic's uniform, I stepped forward as I sensed what was coming but I was too late. Durant snapped his hand upward and her body followed through, held by the invisible grip of the Force. She slammed into the ceiling. A wet snapping sound and a blossom of read across the paneling and it was done. Durant simply continued to walk, while I saw the look of frozen horror a face that was, only moments ago, full of life. "You said that your friend was in Med Bay 5?" He asked, as casual as anything as he took a few more strides on his legs. "Yes." I replied, contemplating best how to confront him, this was not right. "I know what you are thinking Padawan." He replied as he paused his steps once more, "You disagree with my methods. Fine. We can talk about it when we are off this place... Unless you want to stop me... If so, I warn you, you'll have to strike me down... An unarmed Jedi, a prisoner of war..." "Of course not, I..." I tried to defend myself. He turned and looked at me, cutting me off, his smile unsettling, "No." He said, "I didn't think so." We were only a few halls away from Med Bay 5 by this point, and I knew that Sgt. Duel would be inside, hopefully able to fight, or at least move. Our movement however came to a screeching halt as we turned a corner. Standing in our path were three men one was tall, wearing thick heavy armor. I recognized that armor, Beskar. He was bristling with weaponry and carried a pair of blasters on his hips, his helmet featured a familiar T shaped visor. Across his back was a jet pack, the nozzles barely visible to us. The other two wore similar outfits, and they bore the same insignia on their shoulders. It was a clan insignia, a cog with a wheel on the outer rim. I knew exactly what we were dealing with... Mandalorians. The tall one turned to his companions, "Ke'pare!" He ordered to them before he addressed us. "I am Chief of Security for Darklab station." He said, "I knew something smelled fishy when I learned of your arrival so me and my boys here figured you'd come for the injured one eventually if something was up. I don't particularly hate you, and I don't feel like killing you if I don't have to. That one," He gestured to Durant, "Is particularly valuable. However, the Sith are paying shiny coin for us to watch this place for them and I have to do my job. If you don't surrender I won't hesitate to kill you." I ignited my lightsaber, Mandalorians, we are taught, are not people that make idle threats. We, as Jedi, are taught to never underestimate an opponent and I was not willing to. My training had already taken over anyway, I had begun identifying the weak parts of my enemy's armor. Beskar is a miracle of metallurgy. It is highly resistant to lightsaber strikes, but it is also immutable. Meaning it is hard to make flexible. Contrary to popular belief you can cut through the stuff, it simply takes a lot more time, thin bands of it though, such as those placed around moving joints, are considerably more vulnerable. The battle started almost before I realized what was happening. Durant raised his hand and the lead Mando unleashed a blast of flame almost instantly. My companion was forced to dive to the side, which effectively stopped him from grabbing the Mandalorian in a Force grip. I saw the big one move in, but by that point I had my own problems to worry about. The second two Mandos, I don't know their names but we will call them Right and Left, unleashed a volley of blaster shots at me. Almost without thinking I drew my second lightsaber and began moving through a soresu pattern that was designed to help against that kind of attack. I knew against two Mandalorians if I made any mistakes at all I was as good as dead. I knew I had to even these odds and I had to do so quickly. I dove toward the Mandos, switching to an Ataru movement mid-leap as I spun, trying to put as much momentum behind my attack as possible. The tactic worked, thankfully. Part of Jedi training revolves around learning how people think. Psychology is a huge part of battle, much bigger than most other parts of it. When we have an opponent outnumbered and outgunned we expect them to retreat. Even though I wield a lightsaber, the most logical course of action would be to back away to find a position of tactical superiority. The Mandalorians knew that in order for me to attack I had to close distance, though with two of them, and a hail of blaster bolts, they didn't expect me to suicidally charge them. My move took them by surprise, only briefly though. The short Mandalorian that stood on the right side recovered and ignited his jets doing a quick burn backward. His friend however was not so lucky. To his credit he did try the same maneuver, but he was a split second late. My blade came down aiming at the spot right below the elbow pad of the armor and the gauntlet. I knew that this part of the armor was the most vulnerable part on the substance. There was a brief delay as the thin beskar band in the underlay tried to resist the strike but it simply could not hold up, I burned through effortlessly, before another small delay and my blade came fully free. I had scored a cho mok, and Left's right arm came free from his body, this was the same arm that controlled his Jet Pack, but I could not afford to pause there. Without stopping I allowed my lightsaber to continue into his body, the Beskar stopping my lightsaber more that effectively as it dug a furrow and melted through the top layer only, it did however cause my momentum to reverse on me, which was exactly what I had planned. I flipped my main-hand, my right hand, saber so that I held the blade point down and swept my left hand up into the heavily armored forearm of the Mandalorian's left arm to knock the arm upward even though my strike did no damage it was designed only to give me an opening as I turned with my new momentum. I step back as I spun, the downward pointing lightsaber being angled along my forearm as my off hand held the Mandalorian's arm up exposing the arm pit, another weak point in the armor. As I finished my turn I jabbed with all of my force behind the drop point stab that penetrated the thin portion of the armor and burned into the insides of the Mandalorian and pierced his heart with a fatal shiak. The entire movement took less than half a second, the dead Mandalorian stumbled backward his Jet Pack still sparking, I was hoping that his partner would have been stunned by the display, but my hopes were misplaced as the moment the now dead Left stumbled back and the angle was clear, Right unleashed a hail of blaster fire toward me. In my credit, I survived, but not without suffering a graze to my side, and even that was only because I was still moving. A half inch more and the blast would have struck my left torso enough to collapse a lung which would have likely resulted in my death given the circumstances. This Mandalorian would not go down so easily. "Mar'e," He said, "ala aru'e" I don't speak Mandalorian, not in the slightest, but I got the feeling that he was excited. The way he said it had struck me as though he was looking for a good fight. I am a little surprised that he was not more upset by the fact that I had killed his comrade but as they say, "There is no figuring a Mandalorian." My musings were interrupted by another barrage of blaster fire and once more the battle was on. While my opponent and I circled one another testing each other's defenses, I caught sight of Durant and the lead Mandalorian battling. I was concerned for Durant as he was unarmed but now I could clearly see that his lack of a physical weapon was not much of a hindrance. He fought with the Force and he fought smart. The Mandalorian must have tried to use his blasters because I saw them on the floor behind the Scholar, no doubt disarmed by the Force. This had made the Mandalorian move to a closer range, the older Jedi though was no fool. He had triggered with the Force his enemy's jet pack when he had moved forward and the wily Jedi guided him face first into the wall. The impact didn't seem to stop the Mandalorian however as he must have been protected. He turned and lunged on the older Jedi and I watched as the two of them were locked in a grapple rolling on the ground each trying to gain the upper hand on the other. I didn't have much time to focus on those two though as my own enemy, Right, had moved in and was leveling his flamethrower at me. Flamethrowers are strange weapons but like all weapons they have strengths and weaknesses. Contrary to popular belief there are several ways for a Jedi to deal with one. The first way is to push the flame away with the Force, this can be done but this is very hard and I am not skilled enough to accomplish it. The second is to push the arm to the side, knocking off the aim of the person. The third is to pinch closed the nozzle and watch as the flame backs up and explodes the weapon and often the person holding in, I am not skilled enough to try that third one yet. I went for the second method, with a twist... I pushed the Mandalorian's arm to the side, just slightly, and called on the Force to protect me from the radiant heat. Then I spun in with my lightsaber. My aim was not to sever his arm, but instead to target the fuel pump that fed the flamethrower. A split second later the flame thrower sputtered and died as my strike had succeeded, it wasn't a cho sun, but it would do. "Osik!" He snarled as he looked at his sputtering flamethrower even as he disengaged from me, his posture was low and I have no doubt that had I been able to see through his visor I would have seen his glare, "Atin Jetii!" I caught a glimpse of Durant's fight even as Right charged toward me, somehow the Scholar had wrenched off the lead Mandalorian's helmet and had it in his hand using it like a club as the two fought. Durant's hair was singed and I could see some blood coming from his arm while the lead Mandalorian, a man with dark hair and brown anger filled eyes was bleeding from his nose, which was bent at an odd angle and sported a fresh cut on his forehead. At first I thought that my opponent had made a fatal error, I could feel his frustration and anger through the Force. He charged at me and I felt his rage build but then, something changed, suddenly he was a ball of fury and I couldn't anticipate his attack. He pulled some kind of blade and began slashing at me, before I could react my lungs filled with fire as something cut deep into my stomach. I let out a gasp, I was cut, and I knew I was cut badly, but my opponent was pinning me. I could feel the blade exiting my back, which meant that he had gone right through me, and I was only fortunate that he had missed my spine. I squirmed and dropped my left lightsaber, the pain almost unbearable, and only managed to retain my composure because of my Jedi training even as he forced me back against the wall. He lifted his head up, so that I was face to visor with him even as my right lightsaber deactivated in my hand. "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur." He hissed, almost as though he relished the words. I smiled, and coughed a bit of blood up even as I did so, "Same to you." "Parjai!" he crowed, radiating pleasure and a laugh as he pulled back slightly, preparing to finish me by yanking the blade up, the laugh however died in his throat as I hit my activator switch. In his battle fury the Mandalorian had never noticed that I pulled my deactivated lightsaber to my chest, with his head tilting up it left an opening beneath the lip of his helmet, an opening which my lightsaber was now extending through. The blade had stabbed upward and diagonal, spearing the center of the Mandalorian's brain, he did not live long enough to finish his motion, or to even realize that he had lost. I slumped to the ground, sliding down the wall, dimly aware of the world around me. The blade was still mostly through me, and I knew that I would have to do something quickly if I was going to survive, but healing was not one of my skills, at best I could hope to crawl into Med Bay 5 and find something there. I did get to see, however, how the final battle between Durant and the Tall Mandalorian ended. The Mandalorian was on top, the pair were still wrestling. The Mandalorian pulled his ham sized armored fist back and laid a powerful punch into the Scholar's face. The Scholar looked pretty bad, one eye was swollen shut and his nose was also broken, the pair were bleeding heavily. I tried to stand up, but could not, the pain was too great, fortunately it did not look like I would have to. Just as the Mando prepared another blow, one that would surely finish the older Jedi, he reached out and the Mandalorian's blaster slid across the floor and into Durant's out stretched hand. Then, it was over. Durant shot the Mando in the face and the large warrior simply stopped moving. Durant collapsed to the floor however, and also stopped moving, I assume he had either passed out, or he had died but was too stubborn to go alone. I was unsure. I closed my eyes and allowed my world to fade to black wondering if I would join the Force before I awakened. -------------------- Interlude Begin entry… I am adding the following section to the Journal of Val Starwind simply for a matter of filling in a stretch of blank space in the records. My name is Sgt. Lemit Duel of the Republic Special Forces Havoc Squad. I wish to open by saying that I do not dislike Jedi Starwind, I just dislike the political games that the Jedi play, and that while I am not sure how Jedi Starwind depicts me in this journal I feel at least some degree of respect for him and for his willingness to act. I was in and out of a lot of the events that lead us to Darklab Station, a lot of it is blurry, I remember a battle and I remember that at one point some shutta decided to use the repulsor bed I was strapped to as a means of portable cover. I remember being rushed to a medical ward. I remember the pain as a medical droid reattached the nerves in my spine as well, that wasn’t pleasant. I should first explain the extent of my injuries in a little greater detail. The explosion severed my spinal column. This isn’t an injury that cannot be treated, but it needs to be treated pretty quickly or else recovery is nearly impossible. I am told that I just barely made the cut. I woke up in the medical bay; I was wearing one of those silly flimsi-plast gowns that seem to be standard issue everywhere. My legs hurt like crazy, which was a good sign; it meant that I could move them again. The first thing I was aware of, after how much my legs hurt, was that there was blaster fire coming from outside of the medical bay. Unarmed I decided to wait until the sound died down before I made my way to the door. In the hallway the situation was rather dire. There was an older man wearing a flimsi gown similar to the one I was wearing, who was laying next to what I could only assume was a Mandalorian, going off of the armor, the Mandalorian, a large man, had a blaster burn on his forehead, he was very dead, while the old man though beaten up pretty bad appeared to be alive, if unconscious. I found the blaster that I assume did the deed only a few inches from the older man’s hand and I picked it up, SOP (standard operating procedure) in these situations is to follow POSP (Procure on Site Protocol) and that means to make sure that I was armed. There were two other dead Mandalorians, one of them was missing the lower part of his arm and it took me a few minutes to realize how the second one died. Val was also there, at first I thought that he was dead, but then I noticed that his chest was moving, but he was in bad shape. I had to make a command decision. I grabbed Val, and as gently as I could, I drug him back into my medical room, Med Bay 5. It took some coercion but I was able to convince the medical droid to get to work. Then I pulled in the older man, and finally I took the dead mandos inside. Once that was done I sealed the door and made preparations to barricade myself inside. The med droid assured me that Val was able to be treated, and though the injury was bad and his stomach and intestines were slashed pretty bad it claimed to have both the programming and supplies needed to treat the injury. The droid also claimed that the old man, the droid identified him as Patient 0, was not seriously injured, and aside from a broken nose and some bruises was simply exhausted. The automaton wanted to contact security, I advised it against that by pointing out that I was more than capable of patching the Jedi up if I had to and I knew where to put a bolt to fry its memory core. It saw things my way. POSP states that after acquiring a weapon the next step is to procure body armor if possible. Thankfully I had three suits of Mandalorian armor to choose from. The larger Mandalorian was about my size and since he had been shot without his helmet on, which I also retrieved from the hall, it was no big deal to get myself dressed. In Havoc Squad we are chosen because of our nerves of steel. We are chosen because we are willing to do whatever it takes. We are chosen because we are the best of the best. It was moments like this that I almost wish I was a little less of a man. Allow me to explain. Many armchair soldiers like to claim that stripping the armor of your enemies to claim for your own is easy. Oh, it is easy; pulling armor off of a dead man isn’t very hard, it isn’t like they fight back. That isn’t the hard part. The hard part is putting it on, especially when you don’t have a sani-steamer handy. When a person dies, a human anyway, the first thing that happens is we lose control of our bowel and bladder functions. This means putting on armor that someone died in, without properly cleaning it, is, for lack of a better term, gross. I was actually lucky this time. Most Mandalorian armor is full environmental armor, and thankfully so was this suit. That meant that it automatically recycled bodily waste. I had heard that the reason that they employed this system was so that they never had to stop during a war march, I was just happy that I wasn’t going to be clothing myself in someone’s body juices. Bear in mind that I was naked save for a thin flimsi gown. I did what I could to stash the three bodies of the Mandalorians. There were likely holocams so security may, or may not, already have known what happened but it wouldn’t hurt to try to cover my tracks in any case. The medical droid took about twenty minutes patching Val up. That gave me enough time to take inventory of the weapons we had. There were six blaster pistols, only five of them were actually functional though, one appeared to have been crushed. There was some partial armor that maybe Val or the old man could use, but from what I know of Jedi I doubt Val would want it. We had two lightsabers, Val’s, I made sure to bring them in when I pulled the bodies inside. I also had a wrist mounted flame thrower with enough fuel left for a single burn, and a Jet Pack which had exhausted its fuel supply completely. Still it could have been a lot worse. Knowing that company was going to come sooner or later I barricaded the door with one of the spare beds. I knew that it was a good precaution when I began to hear thumps against the medical room door. We were about to have company. The droid claimed that while Patient 0 and Val needed to rest it could wake them with stims, and it assured me that it had done an adequate job of sealing Val’s wounds to where they wouldn’t reopen. I told it to go ahead, I had a feeling that Val’s lightsabers, and whatever the Old man could do were about to come in handy. -------------------- Reunited Begin Entry... I awoke in the med bay, I felt like I had been through a ringer and a half, the first things I noticed were that I had not become one with the Force, the second thing I noticed was that a medical droid was standing over me and had just injected me with something. This could be either a good, or a bad, situation. I sat up and saw a Mandalorian standing at the edge of the room, this was definitely not good. It was the big Mandalorian and I instantly reached for my lightsabers, which were not on my belt. About that time my brain clicked back into full wakefulness and I remember that the big Mandalorian had been shot in the head and I had seen it. I forced myself to relax, if I was a prisoner, fighting an armed opponent while unarmed was the fastest way to become one with the Force that I could come up with. I also noticed that we were barricaded inside the medical bay: Medical Bay 5. "Sgt. Duel?" I asked as I slid off of the bed that I had been laying on. The Mandalorian nodded, and his voice was recognizable even through the speakers of the helmet, "Who else would you expect?" He said, "I pulled you and the old man in here, we have company coming so I told the medical droid to wake you up. You are sore, but you'll have to live with it." I nodded, "Pain is an illusion, there are Jedi techniques to ignore it, I'll be fine. Have you had any contact with the others?" Duel shook his head, "Negative." He said, "Your lightsabers are right over there, the old guy should be up soon." I looked over and sure enough the medical droid was tending to Durant. The droid pressed a hypospray against the aging man's arm and a hiss came from the unit. It only took a second for it to work it's magic, the medical droid was sent reeling badkward as Durant pushed it with the Force savagely. It was unsurprising given the fact that he had been victimized by these droids many times in the past. "Durant!" I ordered sternly as I caught the droid in my own grip, noting that it might be useful, "Calm down, we are okay." He was on his feet in an instant, "No! No boy we are not! As long as we are on this station we are not okay." he growled, and I felt him reaching toward me with the Force, he was better with that kind of thing than I was and I knew if he lashed out I would not be able to deflect it all, I braced myself none the less. "I hate to interrupt this." Duel said, "But we have more important things to worry about." It was a mistake, Duel brought Gantos' attention toward him, and Gantos lashed out. I watched as the sergeant was lifted into the air and began to choke, I dove between the two, hoping to break Durant's concentration, "Durant! He's a friend! The one we came to rescue!" I heard a thud as Duel hit the ground behind me and Durant's eyes went momentarily wide with the realization, "He swiped the Mando's armor?" he asked. I nodded and stepped away, Duel was getting off of the ground rubbing at his throat, "Yeah, didn't have much of a choice." He sounded as though he was a combination angry and scared at the outburst, and I couldn't blame him. "I apologize for my actions." The Jedi Consular said, "I didn't realize, I was shocked." "Don't worry about it," Duel waved his hand, "If I woke up in a strange place with a Mando standing in front of me I'd probably attack too." I raised an eyebrow, Durant's demeanor had completely changed, it was an act, I could feel that much, but it struck me as odd that he would put on a show in front of the Trooper. We, at the academy, are taught to always discern someone's motives. Being able to tell what someone's goals are can help explain, and help to predict, their behavior. This was one of the secrets of the Jedi, as I mentioned before, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge. In this case I did not know what Durant's goals were. They could be revenge, they could be escape, they could be anything, however the fact that I didn't know meant that I could not make assumptions. It was something I knew I would have to keep in mind. "Okay Sgt. Duel, what is the situation?" I asked. "Well," He began, "I sealed the door, and barricaded it, but that isn't going to hold for long, most of the stuff in here was flimsy, and I know that there are people on their way." His statement was given an exclamation point as at that very moment a thump slammed into the door. "If we can't rely on the defenses," Durant began, changing his tone to sound instructive, "Then we have to attack. Sergeant, can you unseal the door so that it can be opened from the inside?" Duel nodded, "Yeah, I just used the lock command anyway, didn't blast the console." Durant Gantos nodded, "Good, then I propose we open the doors, I'll fling the barricade at them, that should distract them enough for you and Val to launch an offensive." The plan, I had to admit, was sound, but I didn't like the source. The change in his demeanor was unsettling to me, however at this point i didn't have a choice but to play along, "Makes sense. I'll take whoever is on the right, is that acceptable to you Sgt. Duel?" The Trooper in the Mando armor nodded and pulled out the blaster pistols that he had acquired, "I only wish I had a blaster rifle with me." he murmured. "I agree," the Jedi Consular responded, "I would love to have my lightsaber at this point in time." I shrugged and picked mine up from their resting place, "You can carry one of mine." I offered. The Consular shook his head, "No. I shall be fine. You are extremely skilled in Jar Kai, you are also skilled in the single blade I know but you are far more effective with two instead of one. I shall be more than sufficient with my skills with the Force." At that point a piece of the door warped as an impact hit it. "Now the time has come to make our daring escape." The older Jedi said, "Open the door." Sgt. Duel opened the door and time seemed to slow down, the barricade accelerated like it was a shrapnel explosion. Shards of debris, plasteel, metal, and more, rained out like a shaped charge. In the hallway we could see five of them, agents, this place must have been a very secret project to have this many on board. Cipher Agents are good in a fight, however Jedi and Troopers are better. Agents tend to rely on range and surprise, two elements that they didn't have at the moment. Caught flat-footed and in the open they didn't stand a chance. Duel charged first, slamming his shoulder into the first agent on the left, flipping him over in a judo style throw. The agent hit the ground and the one behind him, now the one in front of duel squeezed off a shot that bounced harmlessly off of the Mandalorian beskar armor. Duel stayed true to his name as he aimed one of the two stolen blaster pistols at the downed agent, while he aimed the second at the one who had shot at him. One squeeze of each trigger a split second later and neither one of the two imperials would be able to threaten anyone ever again. I charged to the right, spinning my lightsabers before me in a defensive pattern. A blaster bolt went flying off of one of my sabers even as I made my attack. The Agent tried to step back, but he was simply not ready, and I wasn't willing to give him the chance. I swung low with my off-hand saber, aiming at a point above his knee but below his groin, effortlessly my lightsaber passed through and the cho mok was scored, the agent stumbled on his only remaining leg and began to fsll over toward the floor, I continued as I moved not allowing even that as I swept my other saber, it's brilliant blue-white blade, downward as I spun, landing a sai cha as I separated his head from his body. I did not pause as I stepped over the first now dead agent, the second squeezed off a series of four quick blasts. Had I been using only one saber I could never have deflected them all, they came in at different angles of attack, making deflection with a single weapon impossible. Fortunately I had two and deflecting the bolts was simply a matter of coordination. The Agent stepped back and tried to fire again, aiming at my legs. It was exactly what I wanted him to do. I leaped into the air and turned full horizontal in mid motion, I began a jung ma, a three hundred and sixty degree spin, and became a virtual vibrosaw as I spun to the Agent. This maneuver was my two bladed version of the classic falling leaf technique. I am ashamed to say that one of my weaknesses as a Jedi is that I have become too aggressive in combat. I allow myself to join with the Force and allow it to guide my hand but I fight with a manner that allows me to be most practical. I have been reprimanded for this by Master Tao-Ri many times. Had he seen me perform the technique that I was about to, he would have reprimanded me again. It is not that I feel hatred, it is not the Dark Side, I simply have seen too much war. This is something that the masters say have touched many padawans, myself included, it was one of the reasons I was teaching rather than on active missions as of late. I simply do not like to risk not ending a fight instantly, and against enemies who try to kill me, I rarely hold back. It is something I deal with each time I draw my lightsabers. I came down on top of the agent, spinning in a deadly twirl, and twisted to land on my feet at the last moment. The agent fell, half of him on one side, half on the other, his insides split and displayed gruesomely before me. Even the cauterizing effects of a lightsaber could not contain all of the blood as the deck became stained with crimson and the smell of burned flesh filled the area. I had performed a picture perfect and flawless vertical sai tok. The remaining agent was stunned, possibly from the shrapnel blast, and possibly from the fact that in less than a second four of his friends were laying dead. I considered for a moment taking him prisoner but Durant did not give me the opportunity to act on that. With a simple gesture from his hand the remaining enemy found himself slammed first into the ceiling, then into the floor, the wet snapping of bones told us all we needed to know. This fight was over. We did not have time for rest, we knew that there might be more Cipher Agents around, and we still had to track down Captain Vell and Pvt. Stall and escape before more Sith forces managed to arrive. Entry Ends...

The Lighthawk Series Entries 3-7 Entry Title: Hand to Hand I am waiting for Master Tao-Ri to arrive to have me released. I have a feeling that I will be scrubbing the floors back at the academy for some time when I get back. I am being held, on Tatooine, in a small jail cell, the charges levied against me are pretty long but include destruction of private property, assault, and public endangerment. If the younglings back at the academy knew about this they would likely lose a lot of respect for me, though I did try to tell the authorities that it wasn't my fault. I had better start at the beginning... I was sent to Tatooine on a routine mission. A mother had asked that the Order send someone to investigate her son whom she believed might be Force Sensitive. I went to discern the validity of her suspicion and found it to have some merit. After I signaled the Jedi Temple with my findings I decided to wait for the transport that would return me to Tython by relaxing a little in the cantina near the dock. That was probably the biggest mistake I could have possibly made. Let me explain a little about Tatooine for those reading this who have never had the pleasure of visiting this place. It is hot, for starters, there are multiple suns which render most of the planet and endless desert. The sand is gritty and annoying, the winds blow the particles into everything, mechanical devices, armor, weapons, hair, clothing, it is understandable that people's tensions run high in such a dismal place. Though the planet teams with life it is a bleak sphere. It is dangerous, filled with Tuscan Raiders, deadly creatures such as the Kryat Dragon, and it is a den of thieves, smugglers, and bounty hunters. The troopers stationed here are far from their homes, cut off from their families, and are called out to handle everything from domestic disputes to massive slaughters of innocent people. In the cantina there were three such troopers. They radiated frustration through the Force, and they were imbibing gratuitous amounts of jawa juice. I slid into a stool at the bar and ordered a blue milk hoping that the cool beverage would wash the stale taste of sand from my mouth. As I sipped at the drink it appeared that I had gained the attention of one of the three. I do not know their names. The first one was tall, and had a sergeant's chevron on his armor. The second two were shorter, one was thin, the other kind of stocky looking. For the purposes of this entry I will refer to them as Sarge, Slim, and Stout. It was Slim that started it, he was a human, and had short black hair. He pointed to me and slurred, "Oiy, look'it 'ere. A Jedi. I thou' yer kind up an' lef' with yer robes 'etween yer legs." I remembered that I sighed and rubbed my temple with my free hand, the Jedi Order was not as respected as they once were, "We are recovering from our losses, we did not abandon the Republic." I replied. Then it was Stout's turn to talk, "Too right. You and your shiny swords didn't really manage to do a whole lot during the war. Thankfully the Republic wised up. Got me and my brothers watching thing's now." I raised an eyebrow and watched the one with the Sergeant's chevron, a questioning eyebrow raised. "What?" He asked, the smell of cheap liquor rolling from his breath, "Can't handle the truth?" He leaned close and the stench of the drinks he had consumed became nearly unbearable, "Eh Jedi?" "I don't want a fight. I just want to finish my drink..." I told him, however his reaction was not what I was hoping for. He snatched the half finished glass of blue milk from my hand and upturned the glass spilling the azure fluid onto the floor. "Looks like you are finished." He said as his two cronies laughed. I stood up, preparing to leave, I didn't want a fight, this was just a simple mission, an easy one, a relaxing trip away from the Academy for a short time. The troopers had other intentions however. Slim pushed me back down onto my stool before I could step away from the bar. "Where' 're ya goin' Jedi?" He sneered, "Too good ta talk wi' us norma' people eh?" I sighed, I didn't want to do this, but I did not want a fight here and now, I called to the Force as I looked at Slim, "There is no need to bother this guy." His and Stout's eyes glazed slightly, "Ther's no need ya botha' this guy." he repeated. I gestured again, "We should let him off easy. Go on, get out of here." He nodded, "We shoul' let 'im off easy. Go on Jedi! Git outta 'ere!" I felt the blow through the Force a split second before the bar stool crashed into me, "What are you doing to my boys!" the Sergeant bellowed at me as h e raised the bar stool to strike again. I sprung quickly to my feet but the trance on Stout and Slim was already broken. As I rose I met Slim's fist and was rocked back, barely able to avoid a second swing from Sarge. I spun away quickly pulling my leg back on instinct as Stout hurled a kick at my shin. All hope of getting out of this without a fight vanished. I pushed Sarge away from me as Stout threw a long extended right hook at me but I had the advantage of not only the fact that they were drunk but also the Force on my side. I grabbed his arm and pulled my way past him, pulling his arm around behind his back in a painful, but not damaging hammer lock. In the same motion I lashed out a kick toward Slim, which did nothing to him through his armor, but did manage to push him off balance. I heard a roar as Sarge charged me, quickly I released my hold on Stout and shoved him forward, stumbling and off balance as I ducked low putting my shoulder into Sarge's midsection. Letting his own momentum carry him into me I stood and redirected him, he went careening over the bar behind me and I heard a loud crash as a dozen bottles shattered when he slammed into the shelves containing the bartender's stock, the smell of alcohol intensified in the room. By this point patrons had lost all control and had begun numbers of other fights in the room, the brawl was getting out of hand. I saw a Zabrak and a Rodian rolling on the ground throwing punches. The bartender cried out as he waived his hands, "No blasters! No blasters!" as he ducked a hurled glass. I barely had time to breathe before Slim dove on me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist and weighing me down. I cursed myself for being so careless as Stout turned and lashed a nasty punch into my jaw. For a second my vision blurred from the impact and I feared I would lose consciousness but fortunately the darkness did not creep in on me yet. I called to the Force to augment my strength as I fought back against Slim's grip, finally managing to pull one of his arms up to my shoulder and managing a passable hip toss. The thin trooper crashed into his stocky companion and the pair went down in a pile of flailing and armor. I tried to catch my breath but there was little time. I sensed an attack coming at me from the bar but was too winded and still stunned from Stout's earlier punch. I felt something smash into the top of my head and stars exploded before my eyes, liquid, foul smelling and bitter poured down my face as pieces of glass cascaded around me. I stumbled, there was also a bit of blood coming from the wound and the world began to tilt a bit. I managed to turn in time to see Sarge standing, what was once a bottle of spirits resting in his hand. The man with the chevrons on his armor dove at me from over the bar and we went down in a heap of limbs, armor, and robes. To be honest I don't remember much about the brawl beyond that point. I recall that Sarge and I rolled around, and I remember knocking some stools over. Somehow I had gotten the upper hand over Sarge because I remember pulling myself to my feet, then there were security forces ordering me not to move, I think I turned to explain what happened but then I felt the impact of several bolts of blue stun blasts hit me before I lost consciousness. When I awoke, in a peace keeper's office, some time later I was informed that I was under arrest. I was able to make one holonet transmission to Master Tao-Ri, who was... Disappointed... In me. No doubt I will have much to explain to him when he arrives. For now all I can do is write in my data pad and meditate. ----- Entry Ends -------------------- Entry Title: The Voyage Home I have been placed aboard the freighter Lighthawk following my release from the detention center on Tatooine. Master Tao-Ri was side-tracked and was unable to arrive in person. Currently on board is not only myself but a trio of annoyed Troopers, members of Havoc Squad. Once more I was grouped with Slim, Stout, and Sarge. At least that is what I called them. I learned from the Peacekeeper that their real names were Sergeant Duel, Private Wing, and Private Stall. I do not know their first names, and they do not seem very forthcoming. It seems after our bar fight the trio had been reprimanded and their punishment was to be, as they referred to it, my babysitter. They were sober now, but to be honest it didn't do much to raise my opinion of them, nor did it seem to raise their opinion of me to tell the truth. Whenever one of them walked by the room I had been assigned on the small freighter I could feel their annoyance through the Force just as easily as I could hear the sneer come from their lips. I decided that I wished to learn a little more about them before I cemented my judgment of them. It did not take me long with my data terminal to receive their service records via data transfer from the Jedi Archives on Tython. After reading them I learned exactly why they had a severe distaste for me, and for all Jedi it seemed. I could not help but see things, slightly, from their point of view. Sgt. Duel was stationed on Alderaan when the Sith made their attack there. His service record was very impressive. However, he made a note in his report that the Jedi did not intervene when they should have and because of their late action in preventing the Sith attack his wife and son were killed. I could sympathize, I, after all, was a native of Alderaan myself. For all I knew it was possible that I could even be related to the man. Though he had let his anger fester and the Dark Side had grown strong within him. Pvt. Wing was just a sleemo. I try not to use harsh words like that but I have no other way to describe him. He was ruthless, a liar, and judging from his record, little better than a Sith. He had disobeyed orders multiple times during missions and used lethal force on civilians. Those outbursts had kept his rank low despite his amazing skills, according to his file he was a one man demolitions squad and was capable of leveling a city in only a few hours. Pvt. Stall was a loud mouthed braggart. He didn't like the Jedi because he believed, according to his reports, that we were, as he said, "A group of religious fanatics who believed that they were genetically superior to the normal people in the Republic." I couldn't exactly dispute that some people had that opinion of us, but they were completely wrong. As Jedi it is our job to serve the Republic, in essence, we believe that they are better than we are. As Duel walked by my room I felt another wave of annoyance from him, this would indeed be a long flight. I felt the ship buck suddenly. My danger senses alerted me only a split second before. If I had been more aware of the moment then perhaps I would have felt it, but instead my attention was devoted on the files I was reading. I reached for my lightsaber and drew it to my hand from the small table beside where I was sitting. There was another shudder through the ship and then a loud thud. We were being boarded. I made my way into the hall, glancing around, it didn't take me long to find the entry point. There was already the white hot mark of a lightsaber burning through, the red tip followed shortly afterward and began moving in a circular pattern. That ruled out pirates, there was only one thing that it could be, and the word sent a chill through me like a cold breeze on Hoth... Sith. I have fought Sith before. When I was a Padawan learner and I still remember the eyes. Some were yellow. Some were not. All were inhuman and filled with hate. I am no rookie. I've killed Sith before. My lightsaber has, more than once, succeeded in performing a sai cha in battle before on them. Even that doesn't cover their eyes though, which often glared at me even in their death. The Troopers, lead by Duel, made their way to the hallway where I stood. He carried a Z-4 Rotary Blaster Canon. The Z-4's are favored by those who believe that quantity is more important than quality. Regardless, the weapons are effective. They can spit out hundreds of blaster bolts per second and can shred armor like flimsiplast. Though a skilled lightsaber user can follow the stream with their blade, rendering the weapon useless if the Force user can maintain their focus. Following Duel were the two privates: Stall and Wing. Stall carried a simple light repeating blaster, I preferred that weapon to the clumsy Z-4. It was more easily aimed, and while it didn't fire faster, it could be repositioned rapidly and was much more formidable to face when armed with a lightsaber in my opinion. Wing was armed to the teeth, I could see an E-6 Blaster Carbine gripped in his hands and a number of grenades strapped to his utility plate. "Stand back Jedi!" Duel snapped to me. I obliged, Duel was 29 years old, he had fought in the final days of the Great War when he was a fresh recruit at age 18. I technically had a lot more command experience than he did, having been given my own squad before I was old enough to shave, I had seen, according to records, about a year and a half more combat than he had despite being only 23. Pointing that out would be stupid though as, at this time, it would only increase tension. I could see that the circle was almost complete and soon the wall section would fall away. I pressed the activation stud on my lightsaber and the blue-white beam sprang into existence giving a snap-hiss as it did so. I breathed in once, feeling the flow of the Force, and allowed it to enter me, to guide me, to ready me for what was to come. The circular area fell away from the door and instantly Duel opened up with a spray of blaster bolts, he screamed like a rancor as he poured the deadly rounds into the hole. The anger in him was palpable, almost a tangible thing, and I could feel it in the air. I felt the retaliation before I saw it. A grenade, guided by invisible hands, streaked out of the hole. Duel barely had time to open his eyes in surprise before it detonated. The blast would have wiped him clean from this plane had I not sensed it coming, I grabbed Duel in a Force grip and pulled him away from the blast in time, his armor taking the brunt of the damage even as he bounced off of the bulkhead from the blast wave, he was alive but he wouldn't be ready to fight for a while. That was when she appeared. She was at once both beautiful and hideous. I cannot describe her in any other terms. She was tall and slender, her hair pulled back in braids, in each hand she held a saber of crimson blood. She went for Stall first, screaming like a wild animal, her form was primal and unrefined, what I had seen before in Sith. To Stall's credit, he did not panic, he retreated backward and fired a series of blasts at her, five to be precise, aimed, in the order of head, right leg, stomach, right leg, chest. It was a brilliant plan, and it almost worked, though she sensed the shots coming and managed to bat each one against the walls harmlessly. Wing was paying attention though, as the last of Stall's shots were deflected he hurled a grenade, one coated in an adhesive, toward the Sith. She extended a hand however and sent it streaking back toward the soldier. I saw it stick to his mid section and I knew that there was nothing that I could do. Wing, to his credit, was a professional, instead of panicking he dove into the hole, to what he knew had to be a tube that was linking the Sith ship to our freighter. The explosion was massive, it must have detonated all of his other explosives, because the force blasted us all into the wall. Decompression followed next. I held myself to the deck with the Force, so too did the Sith. Stall quickly tethered himself with a magnetic line and continued his blaster assault, he absolutely had bravery. Duel began sliding toward the hole but I braced myself and grabbed for him to protect us both. I could hear bolt after bolt being fired and the smell of ozone from each shot. The Sith kept batting them back though, her jar kai was nearly flawless. I only hoped that the magnetic seal would form soon because I knew that Stall could not keep that up for much longer. Time slowed for me, I saw the seal begin to form, I saw the Sith take another step toward Stall, I saw Duel's eyes come open with a start. I knew that this was the decisive moment. I let go of Duel, the seal was formed enough that he would not careen out into space, and I dove toward the crimson blade using Sith with every ounce of power I could muster. I drew my second lightsaber, usually kept in a small pouch at the base of my back and ignited it in mid air. The Sith had turned and had to halt her attack on Stall to face me. The movements that happen in a lightsaber duel are described as many things. Some call them savage battles of clashing ideology. Some call them a series of lightning fast blows too quick for someone to follow. I call it a dance. I duck, I leap, I twirl, I swing, and I dive. My partner does the same. In the handful of seconds of explosive motion I felt the brush of her saber within a centimeter of my skin more than half a dozen times. Her style was savage and unrefined. Mine was elegant and flowing like water through a stream. I would like to write that I was the better fighter. I would like to write that I drove her back and took her captive. I would like to but I cannot. The truth is, she was better than I was. Had that battle continued to it's outcome I would not be able to write this. As I engaged her though she left herself open for just one second. I missed the window of opportunity though. Stall didn't. His blast caught her right in the small of her back, causing her to stumble forward right into my blades. Both of my lightsabers pierced her and out of reflex I pulled them apart in different directions. The result was a sai tok. With the boarding party defeated, mostly by Duel's barrage, and the grappling arm destroyed by Wing the frigate captain quickly took us to Hyperspace. During the battle however our hyperdrive had been damaged and less than fifteen minutes in we reverted to real-space. Sgt. Duel is recovering from his wounds, and we have held a small ceremony on ship for Pvt. Wing. The hyperdrive failure destroyed our communications array however. We are on the boarder of Sith territory with no hyperdrive and no communications. At this time that is all I can report. I will write again once the situation changes. -------------------- Entry Title: Adrift The damage to the Lighthawk's hyperdrive was extensive, though that was only the beginning of the bad news. In addition to the communications systems the sublight engines were also damaged. Our ship was running slow, wounded, and according to our navigation charts we were right on the boarder between Republic and Imperial space. Following the attack we took stock of our situation. Pvt. Wing was more than dead and Sgt. Duel was pretty banged up. We didn't have any bacta on board either so his injuries would have to heal on their own. Captain Vell, the pilot of the Lighthawk, a twilek had come to join us shortly after the hyperdrive went offline. It was only due to his expertise that we had been able to get the ship moving at all again. We didn't talk much about the attack, though Stall insisted that he be allowed to clean up the body of the Sith. The woman was beautiful, but now she lay in two pieces, separated just above her waist. He seemed to be handling the situation fairly well from what I could feel through the Force. As the repairs were being done I found myself thinking back to the academy and wondering if the children were alright. I know that they would want to know what happened to me, I only hoped that I would be able to tell them the story myself. The coldness of space was starting to get to me, I had no love for space travel. Some Jedi tell me that they can meditate more easily in space, that there are less distractions. They tell me that the stillness allows them to feel the Force more clearly and that they find it calming. I don't. To me the darkness of space is cold, sterile, it is a place with no life. That is not to say that space should be feared, only that I seem to connect better with the Force in places where life flourishes. That is why I feel more at ease on my homeworld of Alderaan or in the forests of Tython. My moments of introspection were interrupted by Stall, he had come to tell me that Captain Vell wanted us both on the bridge. Together we made our way through the corridors, still dimly lit by emergency glow panels, in complete silence. Vell's news wasn't good. The ship would not be able to hold together for very long. It seemed that the inertial dampeners had failed and it was only a matter of time before the Lighthawk would shake itself apart. Fortunately for us, the smuggler had a plan. The Captain knew of a nearby planet, Sith controlled, that had a shipyard in orbit. His plan was risky. With myself and Stall in the upper and lower gun pods Vell planned on a full frontal assault. The only crew on board were myself, Vell, Stall, Duel, and an old out-of-date medical droid designated as 2BM1. M1 had a repulsor bed attached to him that was mobile so that it could be used to move wounded, like a stretcher. Vell reckoned that we could drive at the docking bays all guns blazing, then, steal a shuttle. The plan was reckless, but I had to admit that it had merit. After all the Sith wouldn't be expecting it, nobody could be that crazy. The biggest risk was the ship breaking apart while it drove toward the bay from the hits, but that was where the beauty of Vell's plan came to be. The ship would move in a straight line and be completely depressurized. We would all be in vac suits, that way, when the hull buckled there would be no leaks to worry about and none of us could be sucked out. Vell guessed that once we were on a straight vector he could cut off the engines and at that point destroying the ship completely would be next to impossible as there would be nothing to explode. The plan was risky, but it was the only one we had. -------------------- Entry Title: Full Frontal Assault I sat in the gun pod and watched the space dock grow larger in the horizon. We saw two destroyers turning to face our craft and already we could see the lances of turbolaser fire streaking toward us, some missing, some impacting our shields and bouncing our craft around. I knew from this range our own gun pods would do nothing, all we could do was wait. Vell piloted by a maniac, the ship vibrated and I watched a panel fly off of our hull, I knew he was right, the Lighthawk was doomed before we started this attack run. The fighters were on us in an instant. The ships were small, sleek, and deadly. They blasted at us, and launched a pair of concussion missiles toward our bow. Vell however twisted the ship in a maneuver that made my stomach flip end over end. The inertial dampeners were dialed low, Vell claimed that this allowed him to feel the ship better. The only things I could feel were the Force and the Bantha steak in the rations that we had eaten as our potential last meal. I quelled my queasy stomach, allowed the Force to flow through me, and unleashed the power of the quad cannons into the Sith fighters. One of the fighters crossed into my path, I felt it before I saw it, and my bolts struck home causing the ship's cockpit to disintegrate. I felt a flash through the Force, a momentary feeling of fear and panic as the pilot inside saw the void rushing to meet him. It passed faster than I could blink. "One down." I calmly said into my comm as I began swiveling toward the next incoming target. "Well you don't have to sound so excited about it!" Stall barked back in an almost joking manner, "Besides, I've got two!" We spun again and I gritted my teeth as the stars that were below me had suddenly become the stars that were above me, "Quit yer yappin' and keep on shootin' you two! This ain't no competition! 'Sides, I already got five and there are four more out there!" We spun again and I saw a pair of concussion missiles streak past my gun pod, so close I swear I could have reached out and touched them, I flinched out of reflex and I guess I must have let out a sound of concern because I heard Vell let out a deep belly laugh, "A bit close for ya Jedi?" I did not reply, instead I tracked another target and opened fire. Once more one of the fighters blossomed into a fireball. I felt another massive shudder through the ship, we had been hit. "Okay boys!" Vell called over the comm system, "The engines are red-lining and they are gonna blow any second, I got our final vector in, so you two might wanna get to the hallway." I didn't wait long. I dropped from the gun pod and slid down the ladder. The pressure suit I was in was one of the thinnest ones. It allowed a lot of mobility, which was required for my fighting style though provided low environmental protection, unlike the others it was also unarmored. The way the plan was laid out we would only be in vacuum for a short time and there might be heavy fighting in the bay so I placed my faith in the Force and chose the garment so that the others would have the added protection. In the hall, connected to the inner wall, we had installed some make shift handles to secure ourselves as there was no danger of decompression. The helmet that I wore provided me more than enough air and allowed me pretty good visibility and peripheral vision. My lightsaber was clipped to my belt and I could feel it and the one I wore on the small of my back even through the suit I wore, their presences were reassuring. In the hallway already was Captain Vell, his lekku wrapped around his neck in his enviro-helmet. Sgt. Duel was held onto the gurney of 2BM1 by a pair of flexiplast straps and was being kept from bouncing around by the repulsors of the droid that were doing an amazing job of keeping them both steady. It was not much of a surprise though, droids like 2BM1 with their square single eyed heads, were used all over the galaxy to keep injured soldiers from suffering further damage from being jostled during transport. Stall barreled past me and grabbed onto one of the handles. His blaster rifle was held onto him by a thick strap, "Hey, Jedi." he asked, "What is the deal with the lightsabers?" he asked as we were bounced around by another series of impacts, "I thought only the bad guys carried two of them." "Not always." I responded, I knew that the talking was a way of keeping his mind off what was going on, we all knew if the outer hull on this side of the ship buckled that we would all be dead, and it was a scary thought to feel so helpless, "I'm right handed, or at least I used to be, when I was five I was hurt during training." "Training? What did you do fall down some stairs or something?" He asked. "No, lightsaber, training lightsaber anyway. It was calibrated wrong, it seems one of the kids tampered with it and managed to raise the power output. Cut through my saber and then went about two inches through my upper arm." I pointed to the spot that I carried the small scar, "Almost cut my arm off. We didn't have any bacta at the time due to the war and even Jedi healing trances take a lot of time. It was over four months before I could use the arm again but instead of stopping I started using my left hand... By the time I got the use of the arm again I had become ambidextrous." He winced, "And you said you started when you were five?" Vell snickered, "Ya don't know much about Jedi do ya Private?" the Smuggler asked, "Jedi start young, real young, I once played evac for a squad in the Siswinna sector, the commander was a Padawan. Couldn't a been older than nine. His master fell in tha fighti' and tha kid lead them ta tha evac point. When he loaded tha injured troopers on board we was out of room so he opted to stay behin' till another pickup could git there. I saw tha kid later at tha medical frigate, he was on the field, alone, fer ova three hours." "You are kidding." Stall said, "What kind of idiot would take a kid that young into battle, or put them in command?" Vell smiled, "Nobody. But then again, he wasn't no kid, he was a Jedi." The trooper shook his head, "What a load of bantha poodoo!" he started, "The Jedi are no diff-" he started, but then another shudder hit the ship. "Something is wrong." I said suddenly, I could feel a disturbance in the Force, "I have a bad feeling about this." Vell shook his head, "Nothin' we can do now but wait. Let me see if I can bring somethin' up from the forward cams." He fiddled with a data pad that he had strapped to his forearm, "Not good." He answered, "We got a problem." He showed us the image from his data pad's screen, the docking bay that we were heading for was closing. It would be shut before we made it. We were in trouble. "Stang!" Stall murmured, "Well... That's it then." "I reckon so." Vell agreed. Sgt. Duel remained silent though, due to the sedatives he was under. I could feel the tension but I knew that we could make it. The Force had given me an idea. I released the handle and crossed the depressurized hallway, "I'll take care of it." I said. The trio, and somehow even the droid, seemed to look at me in shocked surprise as I pushed open the airlock. If we hadn't depressurized the ship we would have been spaced. I stepped out of the ship and braced my legs on the inner part of the door, making me a platform that aimed directly at the shipyard's docking bay. I crouched and opened myself to the Force. I felt it coursing through me and I pushed off in a leap that was strengthened by the Force. I shot from the ship. With the Force assisted leap adding to the momentum of the ship I was moving like a missile. I turned in the air, placing my feet beneath me, aiming at the side of the docking bay as I pulled my lightsabers from their resting places and ignited them, their snap-hiss, heard through the vibrations to my suit. I saw the confusion on one of the Sith fighters as it passed near me, without even thinking about it I twisted, cutting through his thruster with my blue-white lightsaber. The ship exploded and I used the blast to propel me even faster toward the bay. I saw the bay beneath me and felt a cold feeling permeating through my body that I was sure was more than just the vacuum of space. I bent my knees and pushed against the bay with the Force. I landed hard on the outer hull but nothing had broken. Then, I used the Force to hold myself to the hull like I was wearing a pair of magnetic boots. The Lighthawk was above me and growing larger, I let the Force guide my hands and slammed my lightsabers into the hull just left of the closing bay doors. The metal turned red and vented gas and steam into the void and I could even feel it through the thin environmental suit. Finally a shower of sparks shot from the hole, and not the kind from the metal. The bay doors had stopped closing. The Force had indeed guided me well, I must have hit the wiring that controlled the door. I only had a few seconds though to get through in case the Lighthawk got wedged in it. Guiding myself with telekinesis I pushed myself through the opening just as the first part of the Lighthawk's hull began sc****** along the floor of the docking bay. It took me a moment to right myself in the artificial gravity but I saw the others, and the medical droid leap from the open airlock as well. The plan, as crazy as it was, had worked. I quickly ran over to the others, still chilled from the brief exposure I had suffered. "Boy!" Vell barked, "Tha' was tha craziest, dumbest, most suicidal thin' I had ever seen and if ya ever try somthin' stupid like that again withou' tellin' me first I swear I'll kill ya myself!" A stream of blaster bolts suddenly blazed out from Stall's rifle's barrel, "You might not get that chance!" He said. As I looked up I saw that we were surrounded by Sith battle droids. Seemingly in command of them was a single Sith, I could feel the Dark Side emanating from him, and in his hands blazed a crimson double-bladed lightsaber. A chill shot through my spine, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the exposure I had endured. To be continued... -------------------- Entry Title: The Fight Scene Many things happened at the same time. I will endeavor to cover as much of it as possible as I recount the sequence of events. Captain Vell pulled something from his belt, it must have been some kind of grenade, and threw it toward the Sith Lord. The Sith caused it to arc backward toward the Smuggler but the object exploded in mid air sending out a devastating blast of sound and a brilliant, blinding, light. I heard a loud hum come from behind me and I knew that it was the 2BM1's protective ray shielding turning on. Blaster bolts began flying and I sunk into the Force hoping to stay alive long enough for my vision to clear. By the time I had regained my sight the situation had changed significantly. Vell and Stall were using the medical droid and the wrecked and burning hull of the Lighthawk as a form of cover. The smuggler would slide out for only a few seconds to let fly a hail of blaster bolts from his modified DL-12 heavy blaster pistol before ducking back. I wondered how long the 2BM1's shields would hold. The tactic was working however. Each time he slid out another battle droid would fall to the floor, damaged beyond function from the bolts that slammed into them. Stall was trying another tactic. He had taken a page out of Wing's book and was tossing grenades into the battle droids by arcing the projectiles over the hull and the medical droid-shield. Bits of broken droid were already scattered around the room. The droids were not focused on me, probably due to the risk to their commander, the Sith Lord. I could see that he too was in a similar state of recovery and almost before I was ready he had charged me. Our lightsabers clashed and for me, the rest of the galaxy seemed to melt away. Some people call this ability "shatterpoint" I simply call it intuition. I knew, without knowing, that this Sith was the key to victory. If he fell then the day could be won, if he did not fall, then my companions, and myself, would surely die. The Sith Lord in his resplendent cloak spun and leaped into the air. Like a buzz saw he flew toward me, twirling his blade like an extension of his arm. It came down toward me and would have cleaved me in two, from head to groin, had I not interposed one of my own blades while stepping backward. Lightsaber combat is like a dance. Only unlike a dance a single misstep equals death. You never know precisely what your partner is going to do, but you have an idea of what they can do from any given position. That is where the Force gives a Jedi an edge in melee combat, the Force guides us, giving us an idea of which of those actions your partner is going to take instead of simply what they can take. That is why it is folly to face anyone skilled in the use of the Force in a one on one fight at close range. I pivoted on my foot after stepping back and then, using the Force, changed my direction mid movement to enter a thrust. The blue-white of my right hand saber going high, for the Sith's chest, the green of my left sweeping low trying to disconnect my opponent's legs from his feet. The Sith had successfully read the attack however. He twisted his saber end over end in a vertical spin and stabbed downward deflecting my stab and blocking the low shot. Quickly he adjusted his grip and forced the top of his blade forward, using my trapped second saber as a pivot to take a shot at my head. I spun to the left, using my trapped weapon's blade as a point coming in a full circle, rotating around it and stepping off like a ballet dancer. While I did so I made a wide horizontal arc with my blue-white blade that was aimed at the midsection of the Sith Lord. The shot was masterful and flawless, but was ultimately doomed to failure. Seeing what I was doing the Sith allowed his momentum to carry himself forward into a roll and going beneath my counter strike. In doing so it set him up to make a wide swing from the ground that could have removed one or both of my feet at the ankle. The Force aided me however as I launched into a back flip, allowing the Sith's saber staff to pass harmlessly beneath me. I turned on landing and swung my sabers in succession, creating a pair of momentum driven vertical crescents as I twisted and leaped after the Sith Lord as he smoothly rose to his feet. He sneered and drove his double bladed lightsaber upward in a horizontal block, intercepting the first of the two crescent strikes, then instead of trying to block the second one he turned his blade horizontal crashing the other end of his lightsaber into the descending second strike knocking it harmlessly to the side and retaliated with a slash that was aimed diagonally to strike at my right shoulder. I sidestepped quickly to my left and could imagine sizzling heat of the crimson blade pass dangerously close to my fragile flesh, I could have sworn I felt it even through the envirosuit. I slammed my main blade down on to his, pinning his to the floor and rolled over his blade flipping toward the right, in doing so I swung my off-hand blade, the green blade that I had usually carried in a saber holster around my back, at the Sith's neck. The Sith Lord tried to bring his saber staff up in time, but pinned beneath my blue-white lightsaber he simply wasn't fast enough. My emerald blade sliced through the two and a half foot long center of his double saber causing sparks to shoot from the second blade, the Sith had no time to react though as at nearly the same instant his head fell from his neck his eyes open with shock. The battlemaster of Tython would have been impressed. The final maneuver had been complex, and the string of movements had completed their purpose. A sai into a jung that tied into a sun djem and a sai cha at the same time. If the enemy had chosen to sacrifice their weapon to the sun djem they could have escaped, but by trying to block the maneuver they only moved themselves into the position for the sai cha. It was a maneuver I had learned during the war, and it used the Sith's own desires against them. A Sith craves nothing but power, and would often rather die than give power up. Their first instinct then in such a duel is to usually try to protect their weapon, which ultimately leads to their demise. Even if they do sacrifice their weapon though they are left unarmed and while that does not mean they are not dangerous, they are significantly less so. Ending the duel though did not quite end the conflict. More battle droids had arrived and although the 2BM1's shields were designed to withstand light vehicle fire they had to be nearing their limits. I saw Vell come up and spray another series of blasts at the incoming horde while Stall was reaching for his last grenade. Across the bay was a small imperial shuttle, and I could see that indeed it's loading ramp was down. I had other problems however. With the Sith Lord dead the droids were turning their attention to me. This was good for my companions and very bad for me. I drilled constantly in Soresu forms for situations such as this, though not as much as I trained in the ways of Ataru, but I knew I would not last long against concentrated fire from the battle droids. That was when, however, Captain Vell saved us all. He tossed one final device from his belt. It looked like a grenade but was small and cylindrical. When it struck the ground though it exploded into a cloud of billowing black smoke. "What are yall waitin' for!" He cried as he made a bee-line for the shuttle, "Go for tha shuttle! While we got a chance!" The 2BM1 droid obliged and Stall continued to use it for cover as he walked behind it's shields, firing into the cloud. The droids were unable to aim at us but as the smoke expanded our ability to see went down as well. I was able to follow my allies by sensing them through the Force, had the Sith Lord still been alive, we all might have been easy prey for him. The transit only took a few minutes and when we were finished we were on the shuttle and, fortunately for us, the ship was already powered up. There were crates on board as well and it was pretty cramped, I can only assume that they were loading it for delivery when we arrived. I tossed a silent thanks to the Force and strapped in. The Twi'lek sat at the controls, "Hold on to yer butts!" he called as he engaged the engines and before I knew it we had cleared the doors. I slumped, the battle exhausted me, and it was not one sided at all. I knew that I had come close to becoming one with the Force. Permanently. There was nothing for me to do but watch, and put my faith in the Force and the Smuggler at the controls as Vell made a mad dash toward open space. "Get the nav-comp workin'!" He yelled back to Stall, who was already at work at the terminal. "Where to?" The Trooper asked, his armor blackened from a number of close hits. "I don't blasted care! Whatever is fastest! We can plot a new course later!" The captain barked as a few shots made us bounce in our chairs. "Done!" Stall responded and without hesitation Captain Vell pulled a pair of levers. I watched as the stars stretched into star lines, and felt the acceleration push me back into my chair. We were safe... For now... Entry Ends...

Compilation Post: I am working on the next segment but I thought copying the full story here to one post would help new readers get into the story. The Academy Set Entries 1 and 2 Entry Title: Attachment Master Tao-Ri is away. He could not discuss with me the nature of his mission and could only tell me that he is going to investigate some pirate reports along a hyperspace route used to transport candidates here to Tython. He asked me to allow the children a day to play and so I took the children to a grove not far from the main academy complex. They were full of energy, eager to practice their lessons. I had cautioned them to use care in their applications however it is great experience for them to run and play while calling on the Force. Once this war resumes this kind of second nature, instinctive use, may very well save their lives. I relaxed in the shade of one of the tall trees near the edge of the grove and took in the sweet pure air. The air of Tython is always crisp and clean, it is a refreshing change from other places I have been such as Coruscant or Ord Mantell. I closed my eyes and extended my perceptions taking respite in the chirping of the birds, the warmth of the sun, and even the tickling sensation of a fly landing on my arm. My meditation did not, however, go uninterrupted. I felt the pain, the shock, and the fear through the Force and found myself on my feet and was nearly instinctively reaching for my lightsaber before I heard the high pitched squeal of one of the younger children, a little Twi'lek girl named Luma. I did not feel any danger however so I moved my hand away from the hilt at my side, I chastised myself for such a rude action even as I quickly made my way to the child. Luma stood with a little Rodian boy named Kurri who was around the same age as her as well as a slightly older human girl named Nara. I could see little Luma's four year old hands were cupping something, and I could feel pain coming from both her and the creature in her hands. I approached the five year old and knelt down to get a better look. In the hands of the tear streaked face of the child was what appeared to be a small frog. It was twitching a little and I could see it's leg was broken, it was in terrible pain and was very afraid. "It was an accident." she said through a series of gasping sobs. I looked at the other two children and felt a sense of guilt coming from Kurri, I looked at him and waited for him to speak. "I just wanted to see it." He said sullenly as I reached down and took the frog from Luma's hands and sent calming and soothing feelings to it through the Force. "What happened?" I asked simply, keeping my tone soft and compassionate, trying to keep judgment from my voice. "I saw Luma and Kurri arguing and came over." Nara said, she had a habit of being somewhat of a tattle-tale a habit that neither I nor Master Tao-Ri had been able to break the seven year old of yet. I nodded, "Thank you Nara, will you go and gather the other children up for me?" I asked partially because I felt that this lesson might be important and partially so that I could speak with Kurri and Luma alone. The girl nodded vigorously as she ran over and began to call the other children in. I turned to Luma, "Would you like to tell me what happened youngling?" I asked, feeling her compassion in the Force like a wave, her focus on the injured frog that I was gently stroking. "I..." She began, and her face looked down at the grass beneath her, "He's my pet." she said. I could feel a wave of shame come from her. "I see." I frowned, such things were generally not permitted at the academy, I knew why the child would hide it. "Go on." "I found him last week when we were walking by the lake with Master Tao-Ri. I just wanted to keep him for a little while... When you told us we were coming to the grove today I thought I could bring him here and let him go but Kurri saw him and he tried to take him from me and..." Her eyes filled with tears again and her voice cracked, I looked to Kurri so that he could finish the tale. Kurri fidgeted, "I just wanted to see it." He said, "So I picked him out of Luma's hand, but she grabbed at him and pulled back and she must have had his leg because it suddenly felt a lot of pain and I got scared and dropped it." He looked down at his feet and his guilt and shame intensified, "I didn't mean to hurt it." I nodded and looked over my shoulder to see the children gathered already, I held the frog and continued to stroke him gently trying to do what I could to soothe his pain. "Come along." I said as I made my way to the gathered students. A few minutes later we were all sitting cross legged in a circle around the injured frog which I had gently placed on the soft grass. Little Luma had regained her composure and I had already recounted the events of what had happened to the children. "Now, younglings," I said, "What did Luma do wrong?" I asked the group. One child raised his hand, a young Zabrak, after I nodded he said, "She hid it when she wasn't supposed to have a pet?" he asked. I shook my head, "While it is true that she did hide the frog, she did not mean any harm to it, and while that was something she will have to apologize to Master Tao-Ri for, that isn't the biggest thing." Another of the younglings reached for the air, "She should have let Kurri see it?" she asked. I again shook my head, "While it is good to share, Kurri should not have tried to take the frog from her." Luma's small voice then carried to the group, "I shouldn't have tried to grab for him." She said, "I wanted to keep him even though I was going to let him go. I never want to care about anyone ever again, if I didn't care about him he wouldn't have got hurt." I frowned, "Not exactly." I said as I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "You caring about him was not a bad thing. That shows compassion. That is a trait that we admire, if not foster. The problem was that you let this influence you too much." I gestured to the frog, "When Kurri took him out of your hand you were blinded by your attachment to the animal and tried to hold on to him." "A Jedi must care about others, or they cannot be a Jedi, however a Jedi must not become so attached to something that it clouds their judgment. That is the danger in attachment young one. We often want to hold on so badly that we end up hurting the thing that we care about." The girl nodded, "Is he going to be okay?" she asked, once more gesturing to the frog. I smiled, "We will bring him to one of the healers and see what they can do for him. As you two are the ones that hurt him I will then expect you to care for him until he has healed. Once he has we will take him back to the lake and let him return home. Alright?" The feeling of relief and happiness that erupted from the small Twi'lek washed over me like a warm summer breeze, "Really?" the girl asked. I nodded. "Alright children." I said as I carefully lifted the frog up in my hand, "Let us return to the temple and help our amphibian friend here." With that we returned to the temple and the healers were able to place a tiny spring on the frog's injured leg. Though they did give me odd looks about the act. I checked in a few minutes ago on Luma and Kurri and found both children dutifully watching their small green charge. I hope that the lesson on attachments is not one that they soon forget. ----- Entry Ends. --------------------- Entry Title: Anger The first line of the Jedi Code is one that I am always amazed so few people outside of the Jedi Order actually understand. I have had Republic Troopers try to tell me that the Jedi seek to be emotionless droids, and that they find it inhuman. The meaning of that first line however is important for Jedi to learn. Today Master Tao-Ri was instructing some of the older children in the beginning arts of the lightsaber. This is an important part in every Jedi's training, the lightsaber is not simply a weapon, it is a tool of defense and an extension of the Jedi's core. Some people balk when they learn that we begin teaching younglings as young as six years of age how to handle the tool, however it is felt, by me at least, that the more natural the feeling of the item is in the hand the longer a Jedi has to become used to having it as an option. Many Troopers when they get out of basic training are very aware of the presence of their weapon. So much so that they become distracted by it. It is on their minds at all times and thus it is always one of the first thoughts that will come to them in a tense situation. For a Jedi, such a distraction can be a serious weakness, and familiarity with the lightsaber can alleviate that possible issue. Today though, there was a problem. Nara, one of our seven year old younglings in the Gizka Clan became angry. I know Master Tao-Ri felt it through the Force, and I could feel it as well, a building maelstrom that felt like it was pushing against a barrier. She was dueling with another young student, a Mon Calamari boy of nine named Kalun. In the previous five matches he had managed to make contact with Nara before she could strike him. Her anger could be felt but her face remained serene. The feelings flowed off of her like the roar of an angry Krayt Dragon, yet she appeared to be calm on the surface. I watched her, as did Master Tao-Ri. Her form had grown sloppy, but she had begin to move faster, I could see as the training continued that Kalun was becoming taxed more and more in each successive duel. Something was wrong, I traded glances with my Master but he simply raised a hand to me, palm out, motioning for me to wait, I thus deferred to the Nautolan's wisdom and continued to watch. Nara drove the Mon Calamari back, his eyes swiveled a little showing a hint of panic. I watched as she struck his blade again and again, twisting her strikes left and right, each impact causing Kalun's wrist to twist painfully. I expected the match to end very soon but was very concerned with the feelings that were coming off of the youngling. It was then however that Kalun, Nara's superior by two years, disengaged his lightsaber just as Nara took another devastating swing at him. Her blade passed harmlessly through the spot where Kalun's blade had previously been and she lost her balance, in a flash Kalun's blade reignited and before she could recover he held the tip to her throat. The training saber could not cut, but it could give a painful jolt, and it was clear that the older boy was indeed the winner in the conflict. That was when it happened. Nara's eyes flashed with anger and the barrier that we had felt earlier shattered like glass. The Dark Side had been unleashed. The girl let loose with a growl of anger and moving faster than Kalun could react dove along the edge of his blade and rammed the older boy in the face with her elbow. The Mon Calamari's lightsaber fell from his grip and in a split second Nara was on top of him. I reached out with the Force but Master Tao-Ri was even faster. I saw as Nara was lifted into the air, her small limbs flailing. Her training saber fell to the ground. Kalun was holding a hand over one of his large round eyes and I could see that the pink skin around it was swollen and red. I quickly made my way over to him and pulled him to his feet pushing him behind me as I did so. Nara was still flailing in the air but the anger had been released, it had run it's course. "That is enough Nala." Master Tao-Ri said sharply, "Your training is done for the day." Her nostrils flared as she was lowered to the ground gently, "What? I won the fight!" she snarled. "You did," the Nautolan Jedi Master responded, "But you gave into your anger to accomplish it. Against another opponent that move would have cost you your life. Also, you won not by your skill with a saber, but by injuring your clan-mate." Nala frowned and looked up, her hand going to her mouth as she did so. I turned and looked at Kalun and could see blood seeping through where his hand was pressed against his eye, he was whimpering slightly in pain, even I had not realized how severe her elbow had been. "Go to your room Nala." Master Tao-Ri said, "I, or Jedi Starwind, will come and speak with you shortly." The girl nodded a bit, I could feel the guilt rolling off of her, and lowered her head to walk back toward the temple. "Jedi Starwind, please take Kalun to the infirmary to have the medical droids look at his eye." I nodded and turned, "Come on Kalun," I said gently as I put a hand on his shoulder, "Let us get you patched up." Then I left with the boy. A few hours later I spoke with Master Tao-Ri and it was decided that I should speak to the child. Outside of her room I could feel a storm of emotions raging with in her. There was anger, sadness, shame, and guilt rolling like hurricane winds coming from within. I knocked at the door and waited for permission to enter. When the door hissed open I saw that Nara had packed her belongings into the small carrying chest that each initiate was given. "Nara?" I asked questioningly as I noted that her initiate robes were folded on her bed and she was clad in a simple jumpsuit. She looked up, and I could feel the fear in her, "I am resigning from the Jedi Order Master Starwind." she said simply, a very odd thing to hear coming from such a small child. It would have been almost cute if she had not been so serious. I frowned as I moved to sit near her bed, "Whatever for youngling?" I asked her. "Isn't that what you are here to tell me?" She asked, "I hurt Kalun, I used the Dark Side. Now I have to leave the Order." I placed a hand on her shoulder, "Kalun will be fine, the medical droids have already fixed him right up, and we would not exile someone from the order for a simple mistake." She frowned at me, "But I can't do this!" she said, anger creeping into her voice, "I am not like you and Master Tao-Ri, or like Kalun, or any of the other initiates. I feel anger!" I tilted my head a little, raising one eyebrow at her, "And you do not think that we do?" I asked. "The Jedi Code." She says, "Tells us that there is no emotion, there is peace. I tried, I really did, but even when I ignore it it is still there I am still angry and I try to keep ignoring it but then it just comes through!" I nodded, "Young one, Nara, listen to me. The code does not mean that we do not feel emotions, only that we do not let them control us. Everyone has feelings, and yes, your feelings are intense, however mine were too when I was your age." I smiled, "What is the second line of the Jedi Code?" Nara frowned though responded without hesitation, "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge." I nodded, "Good. Now tell me, why were you angry?" She sighed and sat on the bed beside me, "I don't know. I just was." I brushed her bangs away from her face, "Come on Nara, we both know that isn't true." She looked down as her feet swung off the edge of the bed, "I was mad because he was better than me." I patted her shoulder, "And why do you think that is?" I asked. "Because he's been using a lightsaber for three years and he has started learning the other forms." she responded. "Exactly. So you were fighting a superior opponent and were ashamed that you were losing." I said, "In the end he used Tràkata to defeat you that last time before you elbowed him, an advanced maneuver for one his age." I felt a wave of shame come off of her again, "I just wanted to win." she said sullenly, "I wanted to show that I was just as good as him." I nodded, "The mistake you made young one, was that you did not seek to acknowledge this anger, you tried to hold it in, you tried to contain it." I said, "Like air in a balloon though a balloon can only hold so much before it bursts." "What else am I supposed to do then Master?" the child asked. "Young one," I said, "Anger cannot exist when one knows why they are angry. You have to inspect your anger, dissect it, understand it, then you can conquer it. You cannot ignore it and hope it goes away. Bottling such things up only compounds the problem." She frowned, "But what if I can't do that?" she asked me. "You can." I said, "If I did not have faith in you, and Master Tao-Ri did not have faith in you, we would not be having this conversation." I told her, "Tomorrow you will apologize to Kalun and every morning after breakfast, but before lessons begin I want you to come to me and we will begin working on ways for you to better understand your feelings, until you are more confident with your ability to handle them. Alright?" The child smiled a little, "Yes Master Starwind." she said as I stood. "Good, then try to meditate on what we talked about, and stay in your room for the evening. I will see you tomorrow morning." Nara nodded to me and picked her Jedi robe up off of her bed as I walked out of the room to prepare some exercises that I would use the next morning. ----- Entry Ends

Hello all! I said I would raise this thread from the grave once the new forums hit and now is the time. I'll be re-posting the story up to the point that was seen, and, later today a new chapter will be added. Aiming for one chapter a week over the next 5 weeks to finish out the journal! Thank you to all loyal readers. Author's Note: Please don't post in this thread until the first cascade of reposts is up, you'll see a note. Edit: The cascade is up, all current chapters are posted! Happy reading!