Author's note!
I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters (even though I wish I did. Lucky Disney...). This version of Jaden is non-canon, hence the fanfic, and my personal imagining of her. If you've played Star Wars Jedi Knight Academy, then you should know roughly what direction this is going. I will be pulling from the extended universe to make things a little more interesting and am using different works as reference as to what happened when so please forgive me if I end up being completely inaccurate.

I wasn't always quiet and reserved. Recent events had left a bitter taste in my mouth that sprung to life when I talked about my old friend. Or perhaps 'mentor' would be a better word. Because of this, I spent the majority of the trip from the spaceport, off at the end of the row of seats. My lightsaber, stashed in plain view on the seat next to me, was enough to ward most away.

"We'll be arriving at the academy in a few minutes." the transport pilot called back to us.

Good. I was itching to do something.

"That would be so great!" said the only other student in my row. I felt his eyes graze over me, by no means of the force, I should add. It was just the odd tingling sensation at the base of your skull when you knew someone was watching.

The sound of shuffling feet and rustling clothes gave me ample indication to know I was about to have company. The young man – human, I saw when I looked up from my lap – had shifted to the seat next to me. His hand knocked my saber into the crevice between the seats. It wasn't enough to keep him away, it seemed.

"Aren't you excited!?" he nearly yelled into my face.

I was excited, don't get me wrong, I'm just not a 'shower' when it came to my emotions.

"We're going to be Jedi! Learning the ways of the force, building a lightsaber..." he glanced at my weapon, "Of course, you already have one. I'm going to get one of those stupid training sabers and I-"

Enough with the rambling, I needed to stop him before he talked my lekku off. "I wouldn't worry about that." I interjected, giving an encouraging smile.

"I can't help it, I want to make a good impression."

"You seem really nervous." That was probably an understatement.

"Aren't you? I mean...well, why would you be? You already have a lightsaber, so you're probably way ahead of me..." He paused, "I'm Rosh by the way...what's your name?"

"Jaden."

"So where'd you get that lightsaber?"

I didn't want to talk about it, but Rosh seemed like a talker. Chances were, if I told him, half the academy would know by the end of the week. Less questions for me, and a story to tell for him. Win. Win.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." There was that bitter taste, "I found myself on-"

The ship jerked to the side, throwing anyone standing to the floor. Something had hit us. I wondered who would have the nerve to attack a ship bound for a Jedi temple.

The ship lurched again.

"Engine one offline. Emergency landing procedures!" the pilot ordered.

My hand found my saber and I clipped it to my waist. There was no harm in being prepared.

The ship split in half on impact, throwing me from the crash. Rosh soon followed, calling my name and most likely hoping to be a hero. I landed on my side, skidding over stone and dirt. Fire erupted from the crashed ship. Adrenalin was coursing through my veins, allowing me to temporarily forget my injuries. I tapped the small ear piece on the side of my head.

"Academy to Yavin Runner Two, do you copy?" came a static filled voice through comms. That was fast, I noted.

"Loud and clear. We made an emergency landing several clicks West of the Academy." I recognized the pilot's voice.

"Is everyone okay?" the academy representative asked. Something about his voice tickled a memory in the back of my mind. I put it aside and listened.

"I think so." came the pilot's reply. Speak for yourself. My arm and leg were starting to go numb.

"Good," There was a pause in the transmission, "We'll send a shuttle to pick you up. Can you lead the students to the nearby Massassi temple?"

"Affirmative Academy, we'll meet you there."

The transmission from the Academy died off. The silence left me with a sense of foreboding. Something was wrong.

"Jaden, we can't get to you." the pilot's voice startled me back to reality. I turned my gaze to the debris. Fire was spreading, devouring anything the flames touched. "Jaden?" the pilot's voice grew worried.

"I'm here." I scanned my surroundings in search of Rosh. He was sitting on a small but high piece of terrain. He was also cradling his ankle but looked otherwise fine. "Rosh is too, we'll find our way to the temple."

"I'm glad you're both alright. Head East and you'll find the temple, the shuttle will meet us there."

"Understood." I tapped my comms, stopping outgoing transmissions.

I took inventory of my limbs. My left side was scratched a good amount and blood had begun to drip down my fingers. It wasn't anything life threatening. Next I moved my headtails and was pleased when they responded.

"Jaden, hey!" Rosh called down to me, "I'm stuck, can you help?"

I pushed myself to my feet, "Hold on, Rosh. I'm on my way." I rounded a boulder and stepped into a cold river that cut its way through the earth toward the burning ship. Rainbow spots of fuel mixed with the water, flowing West down the river. It was only a matter of time until the fuel caught fire.

"Stay clear, Rosh." I said, coming up to a tree. I retrieved my saber from my waist and activated it. The blade jumped to life, its low humming almost inaudible with the raging flames behind me. The blade was a bright yellow, too bright to match my skin but it represented me well enough.

I carefully carved a wedge from the tree in the direction I wanted it to fall. With a final sweep of my weapon, the tree collapsed. The impact shook the ground, sending birds flying and any remaining land animals skittering away. The tree left a smell of burning wood and a path to guide Rosh to the ground. The dark haired human hobbled along the impromptu bridge.

"Are you alright?" I asked, jutting my chin toward his ankle.

He waved away my concern. "I'm fine. Nothing can keep me down." Rosh boasted despite keeping his weight off the injured ankle. I made my mind up then to keep an eye on him, convinced he would rush head first into danger. Probably off a cliff.

"Good. Keep an eye out, whoever shot us down might still be lurking around."

"Who do you think did it?" Rosh wondered, following me as I headed to the only way out of the dead end valley that didn't include crawling through burning rubble. He stayed in the river, no doubt an attempt to keep the swelling down. I shrugged. It didn't help to be guessing about our enemy.

"Imperial forces, I bet." Rosh continued, "They're pretty sour about the whole rebellion thing working. Why come here though...?"

"Rosh," I interrupted his pondering, "Focus."

"Right. Sorry."

We rounded a large boulder, keeping an eye out for potential threats. What we didn't notice was the howler lurking in the tall grass. I only saw enough movement to know something was there before it raised its head and let out a head splitting screech. I whipped my hands up to the side of my head. I felt nauseous and dizzy. My body began to curl up to fight the urge to empty my stomach. The green and yellow creature had other plans; however, and leapt at me. A blaster bolt struck it and rather than teeth and claws flying toward me, it was dead weight. The body collided with mine and I stumbled backward.

Rosh inspected the body. He was pale, probably suffering from the same dizziness that was just starting to ease up. "Woah...a howler." He declared.

"Howler?" I asked.

"A reptile that can stun prey with their howls. Hence the name."

"Never would have guessed." I said flatly.

"You okay to keep going?" He asked, though he didn't look much better than I felt.

I nodded. The nausea had subsided.

"I see something up ahead." he said, rushing off.

I followed, though at a slower pace, wary for howlers. A wall built into the stone of the valley sides had a thick metal door in its center. Behind some bars was a lever. Rosh was staring at the barred switch, sweat beaded on his forehead. The force was pulsing, connecting him and the lever. His concentration broke and he threw his hands up in frustration. "It's stuck."

Using the force was like moving in water. You are always surrounded by its flowing currents. Turning it to your will required concentration and will power. I reached out and grasped the lever, giving it a tug with the force. As Rosh had said, it was stuck.

"Try again," I said, "We'll do it together."

I felt him connect with my efforts and together we pulled. The lever groaned at our attempts, inching and eventually snapping forward. The door began to raise, scattering rock dust into the air. My grasp on the lever disappeared.

"Yes!" Rosh celebrated, "Teamwork!"

I nodded and walked through. A path of grass had been flattened, presumably by a low to the ground creature if the light scuff marks were any indication. I hoped the creature was gone, another run in with a howler wasn't high on my to-do list.

"Let's keep moving." I said for no particular reason. It helped to keep my mind calm and diminish the twisting sensation of 'something is wrong' in my stomach.

We made our way through the forest that the valley had emptied into. The trees were thick, shooting up to the sky to rival the buildings on Nar-Shaddaa. Rosh continued to glance at me, his mouth opening and closing. Eventually I had had enough.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping over a fallen tree.

Rosh paused at the log and carefully picked his way over it. "I didn't mean to bother you." he said sheepishly, "Your tattoos, what to they mean?"

"Oh?" I reached up to run a hand over my head tails. They had crisscrossing designs running their length.

"These ones," I rubbed a spot at the top of my head, "Are meant to show that Grakkus the Hutt owns me. Not anymore, obviously."

Rosh made an inquisitive face, "You were a slave?"

"Yeah." I shrugged, "And it wasn't like what you're probably thinking."

The young human turned scarlet, hiding his gaze and rubbing his neck. I chuckled and sat on the log, patting a spot beside me.

"He had plenty of other Twi'lek girls to keep him occupied." I leaned back, using my arms to support myself, "He collected artifacts and I tended to the vault before it got torched. Imperial forces apprehended him years ago. There was a lot of force related items in the vault. Lightsabers, crystals, and books. Stuff like that."

"And the others?" Rosh asked, lightly tracing a design that ran half way down my lekku's length.

I pulled a headtail over my shoulder, pointing at a jagged design. "This is when I left Nar-Shaddaa. This one," I drew my finger down to a round pattern, "Is from the time I spent traveling the galaxy."

"And this one?" Rosh's thumb brushed against a cluster of lines that spread from a single point before merging once again. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Someone very close to me died." I explained.

Rosh recoiled, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"I know." I said simply, smiling at his concern. I knelt by his injured foot and began to tighten his laces. He winced when I tugged but didn't complain. It would still be a while before we reached the temple and I know his foot would need all the support available.

"I wouldn't change anything, you know. Everything that has happened, led me here. We'll be training to become Jedi and I'll be able to do some good." I stood and offered my hand, "Let's not linger any longer."

We made out way to higher ground, following streams up river until we could see the tip of a dark structure poking through the top of the canopy. We made good time despite Rosh's ankle and were soon following the edge of a ravine, looking for a way across that didn't involve cutting down one of the many towering trees. I didn't want to call attention to us when we were so close to our goal.

We found an old stone bridge that appeared to have been constructed by the same people as the stone door. I crossed first with Rosh following uncertainly behind me. We were immediately met with jutting boulders blocking out way.

"Hey, maybe you can use your saber to make another bridge." Rosh suggested.

I shook my head. It would draw attention. Instead I began to scale the nearest boulder. My injured arm and leg shook with the effort and when I pulled myself to the top, I had sweat dripping from my face. I pulled Rosh up each section as I went. I tried to focus on the force to help lighten the load but it served only to tire me more.

Climbing down the other side was considerably easier. That mostly had to do with us falling rather than carefully descending.

The forest funneled us toward the temple. I was able to see it over a rock ledge that blocked the way. Rosh broke my building excitement when he ducked for cover.

"Jaden, get down!" he whispered urgently, "Stormtroopers in the clearing."

I ducked behind a large fern and peeked to look at the troopers. There were two of them, wearing their standard black and white armor and armed with rifles.

Rosh looked warily over at me, "Maybe you should check it out."

I set him with an annoyed looked. Me? I mouthed.

"You're the one with the lightsaber after all." Rosh pointed out. While that was true, having a lightsaber did not mean I was capable or comfortable waltzing up to stormtroopers.

"Fine," I conceded, "Just cover me."

I peered around the bush. The troopers were still, their heads on a swivel. There wasn't much chance to catch them both of guard. I felt nauseous. I had never killed another sentient being. Sure, I had been around death for most of my life. It was something one came to know when enslaved by a Hutt, but to take a life, it horrified me.

"I can't." I said, "Let's find another way around."

"The others are probably waiting for us. This is the fastest way." Rosh argued, "Look... when the left one looks, I'll take him out, you get the other while he's distracted."

I took a deep breath. One. I could handle one. They were stormtroopers, the bad guys so they had it coming, right?

I nodded.

Ducking around the bush, I leapt into a sprint. Rosh's blaster bolt flew past me, striking the intended trooper in the chest. I didn't have time to see how his body crumpled or hear the last groan that would escape his lips, I was too focused on my own target.

The stormtrooper turned toward the commotion, his rifle raised. It was too late, I had already lunged toward him. My saber jumped to life as my shoulder came into contact with his chest. The blade punctured his armor, piercing his stomach. We fell together, the impact caused my hand to slip, bringing with it the glowing weapon. It cut neatly up his abdomen and through his shoulder. His cry of pain was muffled by his helmet.

The smell of burning plastoid and flesh made me want to retch.

My body moved on its own, pushing me into a sitting position and eventually a stand. Rosh was there in an instant, hand on my shoulder to lead me away.

"Jedi." a new voice said. It was followed by a hiss of a saber.

My eyes searched for the new person. He was dressed in red and black. Grey armor covering his chest had designs painted in red. The hood and mask pulled over his face completed the ensemble. I would have thought him a mercenary if not for the red lightsaber gripped lovingly in his hand or the sinister yellow of his eyes.

Everything about his screamed 'dangerous.' Even the force, in which I usually needed to focus to make a connection, felt heavy.

"Come get me, Jedi." he challenged, stepping forward.

Rosh's hand disappeared and he retreated back a step. "Let's go, Jaden." My companion turned to run.

The armor clad man flicked his free hand and Rosh was thrown to the ground, held there by the force. The man started to advance.

"Jaden...what a lovely name." He said, "It will look splendid on your grave."

I brought my lightsaber to bare. It did nothing to slow the advancing assailant. I bent my legs, anticipating an attack but he walked past me, eyes focused on Rosh who had managed to turn enough to expose his blaster. He fired.

The bolts were deflected harmlessly away, soon followed by the blaster itself when the man used the force to rip it from Rosh's hands. With Rosh defenseless and the saber wielding, force using, man approaching, I knew I was the one with the best chance of surviving a direct confrontation. To say I was afraid would be an understatement. I had heard of dark jedi, they were called sith and were feared throughout the galaxy.

With what little training I possessed, I centered myself.

"Jaden!?" Rosh yelled, his voice holding an understandable note of panic.

I charged. It was probably a bad idea but I had only been instructed on basic defensive forms and to use them, I needed the man's attention on me. I swept my saber toward his waist and was caught by an offhand force push. I tumbled back, disengaging my saber to avoid an accidental amputation.

After coming to a skidding halt, it was easy to see the man still had no interest in me for the time being. I pushed myself up, mostly relying on adrenaline to keep me steady.

"Your fight is with me!" I challenged, taking my stance again.

The armor clad man waved away my words, "Soon enough, young jedi."

He raised his saber.

"N-no!" Rosh was frozen in fear, holding his arms in front of his face as though that would stop the attack.

The saber twitched down.

Surprising myself with my reaction time, I sent out my mind and will into the living force to grasp the man's arm to still it. Naturally he fought against my influence, inching his limb forward and further from my grasp.

"You're fight is with me!" I repeated, yanking his arm and causing him to stumble.

Regaining his footing, he turned his yellow gaze on me. I tried not to shiver with unease. "You seem to be in a rush to die, Jaden." He drew my name out as if tasting it.

"I think you are underestimating me." I said, sounding calmer than I felt.

"Doubtful."

I had his attention now and looking to Rosh, who was starting to curl in on himself, it was clear I would be fighting alone.

The man was the first to act, sprinting forward and flicking his lightsaber in a quick strike toward my head. I parried, slicing my saber at his shoulder to which he side stepped smoothly. We traded blows, each feeling the other out, finding out limits. It was becoming terrifyingly obvious that he had the upper hand.

I narrowly avoided losing my legs with a roll backward. Back on my feet, and panting, I took my familiar stance. There was an odd comfort in using the blocks and parries I had been taught. It helped me focus, kept me alive.

The man began to advance again but as he readied himself for an attack, a rock hit his armored shoulder.

"Hey!" Rosh yelled, a quiver in his voice. He had gathered himself enough to stand and run interference. That was when something spectacular happened.

I saw the opening Rosh had created and lunged forward. The man tried to block but a quick pull through the force by Rosh restricted his movement. My body moved of its own accord, flowing through the rivers of the force energy around me. My saber was guided through these rivers to meet the fleshy part of my opponent's upper arm, severing his hand and saber. I followed my instincts and brought my weapon down in an arch, crossing the man's neck. His remaining hand went to grasp the wound. Realization flickered in his eyes before he slumped to the ground.

My saber hissed off and I fell backward, landing on my behind and drawing my knees close. My hands trembled and eyes threatened to tear up. Life threatening situations weren't new to me, I grew up on Nar Shaddaa, but this had been different. There had been a powerful focus behind his rage filled movements and a stillness behind his gaze. I had been able to tell that he had killed before. It hadn't phased him and killing us would have been another tally and nothing more.

I leaned over and vomited. It did little to relieve my shakes.

"You alright?" Rosh asked, visibly unsteady and pale. His hand held his blaster gingerly, aimed halfheartedly at the man's body.

"I'm fine." I lied, "Just glad it's over."

"Yeah," Rosh forced excitement into his voice, "You really kicked butt!"

"Not without you, I didn't."

I let him pull me to my feet. Looking to the temple, while allowing myself some steadying breaths, I motioned vaguely at the bodies. "Think you can grab their weapons?" I said, "I'll check the temple and see if the others are there."

"Uh..." he shot a look at the dead man.

"I doubt he's getting back up." I assured Rosh.

"Get their weapons...yeah, yeah!" Rosh sounded a little more like himself, "I can do that."

A small, seemingly deliberately placed, rock wall blocked my way to the temple. It was easy enough to scale, as unlike earlier, steps had been carved into the stone. On the other side was a waist deep lake of water surrounding the temple. It was difficult not to stand and stare at the craftsmanship. Dark stone stairs ascended to lend stability to a three tiered structure. It occurred to me that the material used may have come from off world of another, far away, part of Yavin IV. Nothing I had seen on our way was dark enough for the building.

Resolute in my decision to find the others, I hopped into the water. I drew in a sharp breath at the sting in my injuries. I was itching for some bacta to numb the pain.

Rounding the temple and on dry land, I was able to more closely inspect the stonework. Each tier had a work of art carved into it – that is if you called depictions of suffering and lording power over others art.

Movement caught my eye and I made a hasty retreat behind the corner I had turned, In my mind, the only logical course of action was to climb a level of the stairs and investigate what my intuition was telling me was dangerous.

I did just that, ascending the steps with a cat like grace and silence learned from years of trying to avoid the attention of those around me.

I leaned out of cover to spy on who was at the temple. What I did not expect was to see a woman dressed in dark pants and what equated a scrap of cloth for a top, flanked by two men dressed similarly to the man Rosh and I had defeated. What kept my attention was not the tinges of purple on her face and arms or the useless pauldrons covering her shoulders, it was the large glowing, two-pronged, scepter in her hand. It seemed to me that energy was being drawn into it.

The woman's head snapped toward me, and the beam of energy soon followed. Before the world disappeared, I felt a rush of emotions. Fear. Anger. Despair.

When I awoke, there was an uncomfortable buzzing in my head. It felt as thought there was something pressing on my mind, filling it and making it too large. My eyes fluttered open, blurry at first and settling on a figure standing above me. I groaned, trusting my intuition that the danger had passed.

"Who are you?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Kyle Katarn at your service," he outstretched a hand and I took it, "Welcome to a day in the life of a Jedi."

Kyle began to pull me up but the pressure in my head protested. I settled for sitting up with my hands gingerly resting at the base of my headtails.

"What happened?" I asked.

Kyle shared a concerned with Rosh whom was standing off to the side, "We were kind of hoping you could tell us." He admitted. A soft smile touched his lips, which clashed with his rugged appearance. That wasn't to say he looked bad, he didn't. He sported black pants, boots, and a light tan shirt accented with leather. There was a lightsaber and blaster at his hip. His face was good looking for a human. Chiseled jaw accented by a neatly trimmed beard and short cropped hair. What made him rugged was the way he held himself. There was an obvious history behind his stiff and proper posture, relaxed only at the shoulders. I could tell he had served some time in a military of some sort but had, obviously, left that life behind. Something from his past still weighed heavily on his mind, however; apparent in the way he tried to look relaxed and nonchalant. I pulled my eyes from his with a shrug.

"I saw a huge flash of light and ran to find you just laying unconscious." Rosh put in. There was worry in his voice which I appreciated.

I looked toward the sound of something heavy being dragged. A pale Twi'lek and Rodian had pulled over the body of one of the armor clad men I had seen. I wondered who had killed him and if he had been anything like the man Rosh and I had faced in the forest.

"Do you recall anything?" It was a voice I vaguely recognized.

Luke was dressed in all black. The material clung to him snugly and made him stick out in the small group around us. His hair was the color of bark and eyes as blue as the sky. I remembered him as part of Grakkus' collection. He had been worried then, as he was now.

"I saw three people," I started, thinking back. I thrust my thumb at the armored body, "Another like him, and a woman. She was holding some sort of scepter."

"Scepter? That sounds bad." Kyle said off hand.

"Can you describe her, or the scepter?" Luke pressed.

I thought back again and fought the growing nausea in my stomach. The more I thought, the more ill I felt. "That's all I remember." I mumbled apologetically.

Luke nodded and stepped away, head raised to the sky. I felt disappointment shoot through me. I shouldn't have expected him to remember me but his business like demeanor felt too cold for the Luke I remembered.

"Are you able to stand?" Kyle's hand was once again offered to me.

I nodded, "I'm okay." He pulled me up, not letting go until he was sure I wouldn't fall. "Just take it easy." He advised before joining Luke.

Rosh was at my side as soon as Kyle left. His eyes swept over my body, pausing on my scraped arm and bruised head. "I should have come with you." he blurted out, "I took too long and you got hurt."

"Rosh," I said sternly. I didn't want another rambling session with him, especially if he was only going to beat himself up, "Even if you were here, we'd both have been on the ground. Maybe even dead."

"Yeah. I guess so."

Everyone turned to Luke when he called for our attention. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, only partially facing us. "Everyone follow me to the shuttle." Then he walked off, the others following close behind. Rosh and I kept some distance. I wasn't ready for more questions that the other students would no doubt have.

"I think that's Luke Skywalker," Rosh said quietly, "I can't believe it."

"He is." I said simply. I offered no other conversation on the way to the shuttle, instead I thought about what had happened. The feeling of the flowing force around me, guiding me, tingled across my skin. I wanted to feel that kind of exhilaration again.

I will, I'm sure of it. I thought as I climbed aboard our ride.