Star Wars: Journey of a Jedi
Book 1: The Imperial Trap
Chapter 1
Balthazar Nyl looked at his chrono. 8 am. There sure was a lot one could think about out in the jungle of Naboo.
Looking back on it all, the Rebellion was just the newest adventure in his life.
For Balthazar, life always held some surprise. No matter what he ended up doing, life held something. And being the son of a Jedi, life was always different.
Everything was always uncertain, and as he looked back, that realization was ever truer. Closing his eyes, he let the flashbacks overtake him
Age: 3; Milestone: First friend
Balthazar looked at the building with fear. Mom had told him he would be fine at "Day Care" the place was surrounded by a fence, and had a gate surrounding a playground. However, no one else was in the play area.
"Where is everyone?" Balthazar asked. "They're probably inside the building." Mom answered. She took his hand and led him in.
She was right, everyone was inside. There were a lot of other kids, as well as plenty to do.
Mom had told him it would be fine, and in a few minutes, she told him he could go play now, and that she would pick him up at 5.
Balthazar spotted his favorite thing, the toy light saber's. He walked over to one, picked it up, and started playing with it.
After a few minutes, the toy shut off. It seems to have run out of power in the battery.
Balthazar looked around. It seems that there was a building toy table. Balthazar went up to it and started to make something. .
A few minutes later, Balthazar had something. Balthazar then felt something tap on his shoulder.
He turned around. This red haired girl was standing behind him, and shifting balance on her feet.
"Watcha buildin' ?" she asked. Balthazar looked at his creation. It seemed to resemble nothing.
"I don't know." He replied. The girl had a puzzled look on her face, then she had a smile again.
"Wanna see somethin' cool?" she asked. Balthazar answered "Sure."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out two crystal charms.
"What's that?" Balthazar asked. "They're crystal charms. " She replied.
"My Mommy told me that they are supposed to bring good luck to two friends who each wear one. " She continued.
"Do you want to be my friend?" she asked. Balthazar answered: "Sure."
"I'm Mara," The girl introduced.
"I'm Balthazar" he replied.
"They're gonna let us onto the playground in a little bit, I know this really cool spot…
Balthazar had opened his eyes, and looked at his chrono. 8:05. The flashback had been really short.
Thanks to the power of the Force, he could look back on any of his memories at any time.
Balthazar thought back. That day had been a big milestone. From then on, he and Mara had been inseparable. If the loading of the ship was taking forever..
However, when things were to be finished and the task force would rendezvous with the fleet, and him and Red would get their special orders.
As if he wasn't special already. He had an "Uncle" who was a clone commander.
True that he was given the longer life span with the help of Force healing that his father had carried out,
Father. Even in his own head the word sounded weird. True, his father had been killed by Darth Vader, and that he was only ten when that happened.
Balthazar could remember clearly where he was that day.
Closing his eyes, he let the flashback overtake him once again.
Age: 10; Milestone: Father's death
Balthazar and Mara were on the trail that they took everyday. It led to a tree that had a climbable hollowing in it. He and Mara had discovered it last year, and after climbing the tube, they reached a large opening that was at the top of the trunk. Branches went out like the walls of an arena, and there was enough open space that you essentially had a club house.
Over the last three months, he and Mara had brought several items into the club house that made it a true one. They brought a few coolers and a bunch of snacks, as well as a Holo-projector that allowed them to watch their favorite shows while they were there. That was just 2 of the 75 things that they had managed to get in there. They walked through some bushes and reached the bottom of the tree. On it, it had roots a half meter in diameter. Walking just a few feet, they reached the hole that was the entrance to the climb.
He and Mara had gone in, and up. It took about ten minutes of crawling through the tunnel to reach the club house, yet when they did, it was well worth it.
The place was a normal child's clubhouse, with objects arranged in spaces, and items placed in a spot with easy access and planned simply.
Lately, He and Mara had been playing this game called "Truth or Dare" and were playing a game one day, and sometimes resuming the same game the next.
They sat down on a pair of bumps that had been growing lately and relaxed.
"You go first." Balthazar said to Mara. The game was simple, the person who went asked the other person the question "Truth or Dare?" and the other person would answer either "Truth" or "Dare". This turn, Balthazar had answered: "Dare."
Mara thought for a minute, for she must have been expecting a "truth" answer. She then came up with a dare.
"Kiss me on the lips" she answered.
Usually stuff like this happened mid-game, and Balthazar had not been expecting that.
"You loose the game if you don't do it." She said. "Just 2 seconds."
Balthazar did not want to loose the game, and something in his heart had been telling him to do it. Plus this strange feeling inside of him said that it is something he wants. True, he had lately started to like Mara as more than just a friend.
Puckering up, they had started to slide forward, and they met in the middle. The feeling was strange, and they soon went back to how they were sitting.
All of a sudden the ground started to shake, and blasting sounds as well as shouts could be heard.
They got up and ran to the telescopes. They looked through them. With the telescopes, they could clearly see their houses. They did after all live right down the street from each other on the outskirts of Theed.
They looked at the source, which was Balthazar's house. There in the yard, was a black armored figure with a red bladed light saber fighting Balthazar's dad. Balthazar was confused as to why anyone would fight his dad.
Then it dawned on him. Balthazar's father was a Jedi, and the Empire had supposedly hunted down the order.
For four hours the battle went, until his father was impaled with the red light saber's blade. After a flash of blue energy, Balthazar's father was dead.
He and Mara chose to spend the night in the fort, as Balthazar wasn't quite ready to head home…
Balthazar opened his eyes. He then looked at his Chrono. 11 am. Unlike the last flashback, this one had taken a very long time. Knowing how at age 17, the fact that he was officially leaving the house meant that he was grown.
He wondered how his mother was doing back home. When Balthazar was 11, Mara had gone off with the Emperor. And soon after, He moved with his mom and Red into the city proper.
His mother was probably doing fine. She was a Mistryl after all. She was a former member of an elite group of warrior women called the Mistryl. Renowned for their hand to hand combat skills, they were of no equal.
His mother had taught him everything she knew, and if anything, Balthazar would be fine too. He would also train in the old ware house his Jedi skills, and as a result had become quite the Jedi.
With a Force-enhanced jump, he could leap 20 ft, with relative ease, and a real test of skill were the 40 footers. With his father's Lightsaber and Red's remote, he really could handle gunmen.
Red was out on the north ridge, most likely in his clone armor.
Looking back, the week that he left home to join was probably the most varied he'd ever had.
Naboo law stated that a person was an adult at the age of 17. He could remember what had happened. That was the day he'd grown up.
Closing his eyes and looking back, he realized that the summer before that were the best days of his life, yet the last summer was the biggest milestone. He'd signed up three days after graduation.
Graduation, how the night after had been big, and was the week he'd started. Unfortunately, he could remember his drunken night.
Relaxing, he let the flashback over take him once again.
Age: 17; Milestone: Maturation
Balthazar was just out of his graduation outfit. He had just changed into his Aihwha-leather jacket and jeans, and putting on the old shirt underneath the jacket.
Red had wanted him to go to the gun club and get his own gun. He was planning a hunting trip and it would have been a surprise if he hadn't of had it in his head for the last month.
However, his band; Balthazar and the Burn-trail Band were doing a gig at Stinger's house, and after 1 hour the booking was up, and they got to party.
Balthazar grabbed his Krazoro and after telling Mom where he would be, he latched his Krazoro-case to the speeder bike and after mounting the vehicle, he sped off into the night.
The Krazoro was unlike any other instrument. Instead of being blown into, beaten on, turned, or even had buttons to press, this instrument was way different.
It had strings and was operated by either strumming or picking at the strings. The model Balthazar had was a newer variant, his had a bar on the side where after strumming a note, he could move the bar up or down and it would allow him to "bend" the notes. His band had two Krazoro's in it, except that the other one was lacking a bar.
Turning on Amidala Street, he was soon at his friend's house. This concert was going to be his last, and after tomorrow his band would break up.
He checked his jacket's inside pocket. In it was his good-luck charm and personal defense; his father's Lightsaber. That was his good luck charm and if he got too drunk, he would forget which button turned the thing on, due to the fact that it had buttons that looked the same, and he was an impatient drunk.
He turned to the drive way, which had a sign that said: Band Parking Only, in basic letters.
He grabbed his Krazoro and entered the house. Stinger's folks were loaded, yet kept a suburban house for tax reasons, though they sure did decorate.
Usually the house had Alderaanian artwork galore, and would have fancy furniture, the best Holo-Net viewer money could buy, and would have normal white lighting.
Tonight, the only thing that was in the living room was a small stage, and they rigged the sound system so you can hear it any where in the house.
They had arrived with ten minutes until the party offically started.
Balthazar got on stage and he and the band warmed up.
Within five minutes the place was packed, and Balthazar's band were playing their songs that badmouthed the Empire.
About halfway through the show, Balthazar told the story of how his band played for the Emperor at his retreat in the lake country, and how he had continually swore at the old man in between songs.
After that, he sang his band's classics, and the people had packed into the living room. In the end, Balthazar yelled: "Up your's Palpatine!"
After they got off the stage, Balthazar noticed a pair of women's underwear on the end of his instrument.
Picking up the item with two fingers, he threw it away on his way off the stage. He then put his instrument back in the case and started to mingle.
He finally made his way to the Kitchen and noticed that some girl was serving everyone drinks.
Making his way up to the table, he sat down in one of the chairs. "Anything for the musician?" She asked, eyeing the case.
"Got any Gungan rum?" Balthazar asked.
The girl was confused for a second, then reaching into the cabinet, she pulled out the bottle that was defiantly what Balthazar was looking for.
"That was a pretty impressive concert you just gave back there." She said before pausing, then grinning. "Did you like the present I gave you during your last song, because I had it land on your instrument."
Balthazar had just finished the shot that she had served him. He looked up. "Those were yours!" Balthazar exclaimed.
She nodded, and smiled. Balthazar had a look of surprise.
They had been patterned in the style of desert camo. The fact that he had thrown the pair away that belonged to such an attractive fan said a lot.
"Got another shot?" Balthazar asked her. She took out two more shot glasses and poured them both.
"How about a little drinking game?" She proposed.
"what does it entail?" Balthazar wondered. This girl was attractive, and for some strange reason, Balthazar knew what he was doing when he was drunk, yet had little control. If this girl was going to take advantage of him, he'd at least have them both be wasted.
"It's really simple," She said. "It involves us taking a shot whenever we hear 'Death to the Empire'"
Interesting Balthazar thought. "I'm in."
"Great, here you go" She handed him a shot glass, and poured him a shot of the rum. She then poured herself one.
"Now what?" He asked. Before she had time to answer, someone had yelled "Death to the Empire."
"You know what to do." She said, and reached for her glass. Balthazar did the same. And seventeen times later, it happened.
Someone had knocked on the door, and for some reason, Balthazar was compelled to open it.
There, in the doorway, was Red, and he was mad. "I had told you that you couldn't go to this party, now come home. You were supposed to come with me to the gun club."
What he said next were not of his own doing "Completely forgot, and to be honest, you're stupid"
"And you're drunk. Now come home."
"Alright, alright, just let me get my stuff." Balthazar had started to walk back into the party, when he blacked out.
The next morning, he woke up in his bed, and was still wearing his stuff, minus his jacket, which hung on the bedpost.
He looked around, and then it hit him. It was the worst hangover he'd had yet. It felt like a bottle had been smashed against his head. Running his fingers through his hair, he noticed small pieces of glass came out.
If he had been hit with a bottle, then he had an idea who it was. Red was probably most likely. The Ex-Commander had a very short temper, and had his own style of discipline that focused on corporal punishment.
Getting up, he got out of bed and went into the kitchen. Mom was there, cooking some Nerf strips. Red was there too, sitting at the counter, reading something on a datapad.
"What's for breakfast?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. "Nerf Strips" she replied "because it's the one thing that you and Red can agree on that I know how to cook."
Balthazar sat down. "Guess what your son did last night Zhara." Red announced.
"What," She replied
"He went to the party."
"I told him he could go to the party though. It was his band's last concert. He just couldn't get drunk." She was right. Balthazar wasn't allowed to drink at the parties.
"Oh, but he did." Red looked at him, smirking. The felinx was out of the bag. Balthazar was in for it.
"Fine by me." His mom replied. It seemed that she didn't even care. The smirk vanished from Red's face. "Balthazar's 17. If he wants to get drunk, who am I to stop him. I'd prefer it if he didn't because I set up a meeting with Lieutenant Page today."
"Who's Lieutenant Page?" Balthazar asked. His mom replied. "He's a member of the Rebellion. I met him at the Market. He seemed to know who I was and was very interested in you and Red. He's coming over this afternoon."
Red gave Balthazar a look he'd never seen before. "It's about time to get back behind a gun. I've got a few surprises for you that are gonna be perfect."
Later that day, Page arrived. He looked non-descript, like he's the person you notice out of the corner of your eye on the street. He also spoke with an accent that Balthazar couldn't place. From that day on, Balthazar was a Jedi for the Rebellion.
The flashback ended. Looking at his chrono, he noticed it was 12:45. That flashback was long. He'd had enough of the past for now. Stretching out with the Force, he noticed a lambda-class shuttle land in the clearing, and felt a familiar presence aboard.
8
