Mandalorian Jedi, prologue - Mission to Dathomir
By Gabe Z.
Disclaimer - GL owns Star Wars and all related things. Boba Fett owns the Mandalorian armor and his visage was the inspiration for this story. All the young Jedi Knights belong to Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. Aric is mine, though.
This takes place during the Young Jedi Knights series, in various places throughout the story arcs. This prologue introduces out hero, Aric Jaro, telling about his past, and ending with a mission he is undertaking. Future chapters (if I continue - I only will if some people like it) will probably contain some New Jedi Order things.
Aric Jaro sat confidently in the cockpit of his small Kuat Drive Yards AX-16 light attack ship, the Nightwolf. He took a long look out the forward viewport at the obstacle in front of him. Here, in the Corporate Sector, Aric had run afoul of the local law by disrupting the remnant of a highly illegal slavery ring, and they just weren't about to let him off the hook. His hands flew over the controls of the twenty-five meter long ship and received trills and bleeps of confirmation from his astromech, R2-A1, also known as Chirpy. He glanced at the translation readout. "Primary and secondary shields - Online. Quad laser turret - Slaved to cockpit and online. Heavy ion cannon - Online. Concussion missile tube, online. . ."
He nodded in approval as all combat systems came up functional in a matter of seconds. Chirpy was a damn quick little droid, when he wanted to be. The little astromech shrilled in alarm as he detected the Authority cruiser powering up its own weapons and shields. Aric knew he had to act fast, or else the larger Espo cruiser would tear his own craft into space dust. He quickly obtained a target lock on the cruiser and locked the dual ion cannon battery onto the cruiser. He depressed the trigger of the control stick and watched as the sizzling, crackling blue bolts of ionized energy shot towards the hulking brown ship. Upon impact, the bolts sent ripples of electricity shooting across the hull of the Espo corvette. He smiled grimly and unleashed another ion barrage and sat back, arms crossed, in satisfaction, as the target data readout on his screen indicated the cruisers shields down, as well as hyperdrive damage, and weapon systems. He thought about launching a concussion missile into the ship to finish it off. But that wasn't the way of the Jedi, to kill needlessly. Proud to have remembered that, he activated his sublight engines and plotted a course away from the Espo cruiser. Outside of the Corporate Sector's jurisdiction, he set his hyperdrive for Dathomir, where he was to meet with an old acquaintance and perform a task that had hung like a storm cloud over his friend's life since his teenage years. Chirpy issued a whistle as the stars blurred into brilliant white lines, and the Nightwolf shot into hyperspace with a rumble of engines.
- - - -
In hyperspace, Aric had ample time to meditate and reflect upon his situation. He placed his right hand over the lightsaber that hung to his left on a belt clip. The smooth cylinder was cool and metallic in his hand. He drew the Jedi weapon from his belt and held it aloft, igniting it. A sulfurous yellow-white beam of light shot out from the silver housing and hummed hypnotically as Aric held it there for a moment. Chirpy swivelled his dome to watch, issuing what could be considered an introspective moan. "Chirpy, run program Beta fifteen."
That was a remote program he liked, and even as he thought, the small, grey cylinder emerged from a tiny compartment in the bulkhead just beyond the cockpit. He relaxed his muscles and closed his eyes, letting the Force flow through him. He heard the hiss of the remote as it contemplated its next move. He sensed a disturbance and maneuvered his lightsaber just in time to catch a bright yellow stun bolt from the remote on the tip of the saber. He returned once again to attack stance and tracked the remote with the Force, not trusting his eyes to tell him where his adversary was. The remote fired several beams in a row and Aric slashed with his weapon, catching all but one of the flashing yellow blasts. He dodged the last one and rolled to the ground, coming up on one knee, his lightsaber ready. "Chirpy, end program."
The little droid hooted an affirmative and the remote moved quickly into the compartment from whence it had come. That was enough combat practice for now. Aric walked slowly to the small but comfortable lounge area of his ship and sat in his meditation chair. Chirpy followed close behind, beeping softly. Aric spoke to the droid, his sole companion in these dark times. "Chirpy, keep an eye on the ship. If anything goes wrong, wake me up. Otherwise, wake me when we reach Dathomir."
The droid whistled an affirmative and set down its third leg, rolling away to the cockpit and jacking into the Nightwolf's computer. Aric reclined in the large, comfortable chair and shut his eyes. He began to breath deeply as the meditation commenced. His thought drifted to his home, on Ord Mantell, where his parents owned a public transportation company. They had long since retired and were, to the best of his knowledge, enjoying the benefits of retirement on a large sum of money earned during their lives. A montage of images drifted through his mind as he meditated. He saw mother and his father, going about their lives, with happy expressions on their faces. He would have smiled if he wasn't half-comatose.
His thoughts wandered next to his Jedi training. On Ord Mantell, his parents had a friend who was Force-sensitive, but not a Jedi. She always said that around him, she felt the Force flowing freely, and she felt that he had enormous potential as a Jedi. She knew of a Jedi Master, one of the few who had survived the extermination, and his parents reluctantly agreed to send him to learn of the Force, at the age of eight. He had traveled to a world just inside the border of the unknown regions to a bluish-gray planet, named as M-012 by the partially recovered logs of the Outbound Flight Project. She had taken him to the region where the Force felt strongest, and sure enough, there was a humanoid Jedi Master. He was now human, that much was sure. He was powerfully built, but had bluish-black hair, blue skin, and piercing red eyes. He had no idea what his species was a the time, and was startled to find that he was a Chiss. He had trained there for almost eleven years, until he was nineteen. Jedi Master Kos Orpak granted him the title of Jedi Knight, stating that his training was complete. He left the planet on one of the rare star liners that came through the border of the Unknown Regions and ended up in the Koornacht Cluster, in the Core.
He was awakened shortly thereafter by Chirpy's loud whistles and hoots. "I'm up, I'm up! Calm down."
Chirpy blatted indignantly at him and rolled back into the cockpit. Aric followed close behind and sat in the left pilot's chair and gazed out at Dathomir. A green-blue, lush world, he knew of the rich warrior tradition of the world. He also knew of the local women, who treated men as if they were nothing more than a commodity. He shivered at the thought of being caught by one of the warrior women, but it also sent a tingle of curiosity through him. Would it really be that bad to be caught by one? He smiled and keyed up a set of coordinated into the nav computer. The ship began to descend through the clouds, and within moments was on the planet's surface, at least a hundred klicks from the nearest settlement, according to the nav computer. He looked down at his armor and chuckled softly. He had bought the Mandalorian armor from some old junk dealer on a small moon in the Koornacht Cluster, who was only too happy to be rid of the cursed stuff, he had called it. However, it had server Aric well, inspiring either awe or fear in whomever he happened to pass on the street. In combination with the lightsaber dangling from his side, he was an imposing presence wherever he chose to be. He stood and walked to the hatch of the ship as the boarding ramp lowered. He checked the contents of his pack and issued some commands to Chirpy. "Keep watch on the ship. If anybody tries to get in without my voice authorization, give 'em hell."
Chirpy tootled a happy affirmative and set to work arming the complex security features of the Nightwolf. Aric was proud of the security measures that he had installed in the ship, among other things. If he armed the system and an intruder tried to pry their way into the ship, a light blaster cannon would emerge from the top and bottom of the ship, spraying the area with fire. It had saved his skin several times, as it could give covering fire by voice command, also. The boarding ramp touched the damp ground and he walked down. Chirpy whistled a farewell and blatted an interrogative. "When will I be back? Shouldn't be more than two days, assuming all goes to plan. And I don't get caught by some warrior woman."
Chirpy whistled staccato in what might have been considered droid laughter. Aric walked down the ramp and turned in time to see the camouflaging of his ship being initiated. That was another modification he was happy with. The ship could extended netting all over itself, in whatever color and pattern was required. That too had saved his skin more times than he cared to count.
He marked the position of the ship with a marker beacon and began to hike in the direction of the coordinates Lars had sent him not three days earlier. The air was cool and crisp, and damp vegetation sloshed beneath the black boots that went with the armor. He was eager to see his old friend, but was apprehensive about the urgency and despair in the transmission. Calming his nerves with the Force, he continued his walk through the wilderness, drawing ever closer to his old buddy's location.
- - - -
Lirkana Tai watched the mysterious man intently from her vantage point in a tall tree, almost twenty meters from the ground. She was intensely intrigued by the mysterious armor that he wore. He looked like that bounty hunter she had heard about, Bob Fat, Bobo Fret, something like that. But he wouldn't be coming to Dathomir to hunt, would he? Dathomir was not a place for fugitives to hide, due to its lack of cities and relatively open wilderness areas. She watched closely as the man continued confidently on what was apparently an errand of some kind. She swung down from the tree on a think vine and hit the ground with a damp thump. She carefully and quietly continued following him, until she noticed a glint of silver, from an object hanging from his belt. A lightsaber! She was taken aback by this new discovery and suddenly felt vulnerable. If he was a Jedi, there was no guarantee that he hadn't already spotted her! She was a bit shaken, but was determined to have him.
- - - -
Aric froze. He sensed another being near him. It wasn't just another pack of the small rodent-vermin that he had seen on his trek. It was definitely another person, shadowing him, tracking his every movement. He could sense no malicious intent from the being, but definitely felt desire and curiosity rise up from the stalker's mind. He adjusted the light filters in his Mandalorian helmet to see in the infrared. He turned around three hundred and sixty degrees, and froze when he saw a blotch of heat in the otherwise dull infra-red landscape. He nodded to himself, satisfied. So he did have a shadow. Well, he would just play it cool and act like he didn't notice. But when his stalker made their presence obvious, he would be ready. Oh yes, he would be ready.
- - - -
Lirkana cautiously parted the foliage obscuring her view and gazed at the Jedi who was now walking between two rock faces. She decided that it was time. She hurriedly, but quietly, dashed to the other side of the left rock face and withdrew her fibercord lasso. She hurled the rope upwards and caught it on a solid pillar of stone jutting from the top of the rock. She firmly pulled it tight and scaled the cliff in little more than a minute. She quickly recovered her rope and stood at the edge of the low cliff to observe the armored man. She watched as he removed his helmet and attached it to his belt. She held her breath as she saw his face. He was indeed handsome. He had shoulder-length jet-black hair, and piercing blue eyes. He surveyed the cliffs for a moment, but seemed to decided that there was nothing of consequence there. He continued on his way, and Lirkana jumped down the with her rope, shooting towards the Jedi. . .
- - - -
Aric stopped and felt something coming towards him. He rolled away at the last second as a figure flew down from the cliff and landed hard on the ground. He rolled and drew up on one knee, reflexively drawing his lightsaber and igniting it. The yellow-white blade filled the dim pass with bright light and he stood, observing the figure.
She was obviously a warrior woman, but she didn't look at all roguish or violent. In all of his twenty-two years he had not seen any woman so beautiful. She wore black armor which looked to be made of some kind of lizard scales. It covered only her torso, revealing her well-muscled legs and slender, long arms. She wore a headband which was made of the same lizard-skin as her armor. She had bright red hair, down to the middle of her back, in several braids. She had black eyes which struck him with their fiery determination and strength.
He rolled to the ground as the woman brought up what looked to be a lasso and cast it at him. He was a fraction of a second too slow, because the lasso caught his left ankle and jerked him to the ground. He dropped his lightsaber and it fizzled out, lying on the wet ground, a mere meter from the end of his arms. He quickly drew it to him with the Force and turned to see the warrior woman striding towards him. He thumbed the switch and the yellow blade once again ignited. In a second, he activated the dual-phase mode of his saber, doubling the length of his blade and changing its color to a bright silvery-white. The tip of the extended blade tapped the woman's armor and she drew back, stunned. He cut the rope that bound his leg and hopped up. He eyed the woman suspiciously. "What do you want?"
She looked defiant, and seemed poised to try to attack him again, but she apparently thought better of it. She kept her lips closed tight in defiance, but eventually answered. "I am Lirkana Tai, of the clan Tai. You are to become my mate."
Aric drew back and adopted an incredulous expression. Oh boy, now you've done it, Aric. He realized that the Dathomiri women captured men in the wilderness and they basically owned them. Or sold them to other warrior women looking for men. He narrowed his eyes. "No, I don't think so. I'm on a mission here and it's very important."
She seemed to regard the answer for a moment, but then she responded. "No, I have captured you. You will accompany me back to my village."
"Captured me? Hardly."
She shot him a vicious glare. He was taken aback by her expression. "Okay, okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me to complete my mission and I'll go back to the village with you. Maybe."
She looked for a few moments as if she was going to refuse and force the issue, but she agreed. "I will accompany you on your quest. What do you seek."
Aric pondered how best to phrase his answer without telling her too much. "I'm looking for an old friend. Someone I've not seen in a long time. . . a long time."