Hello readers! It's Bluesaber3 here. I know that you've all been waiting very long and very patiently for updates to Emblem Star and A Not-So-Normal Week 4, and I sincerely apologize that it has been so long. Things have been busy, and I've had a lot of writer's block. We've also misplaced the document to Emblem Star, so Liv and I are unable to work on that until it's found.
In the meantime, I've decided to begin another project, to spark my creative skills and pull me out of writer's block. As soon as I can, I will still be working on NSNW4 and Emblem Star, but just for the moment, both of them are on temporary hold.
Disclaimers and "claimers": I do not own Star Wars, or any of the characters, planets, species, technology, etc. belonging to the Star Wars universe. However, this fanfiction is based almost entirely around OC's that are of my own creation, though I may not own their type (species, occupation, etc.). I'm pretty sure you're all smart enough to distinguish between stuff such as that, but if you're ever unsure, just look up the character on the Star Wars wiki. If the character comes up on there, I don't own them. If they don't, then most likely it's an OC. If you're STILL unsure (xDD) just ask me! :)
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM FACEBOOK PAGE: Liv and I are holding a cover photo/profile picture contest on our facebook page. While I know not all of you have access to facebook, we will totally accept entries over private message. If you're interested, feel free to PM us for details (it's too long to post here).
Now, without further ado, I introduce you to the first chapter of this new story! (update note: Thanks to Count Mallet for the correction on the spelling of "midi-chlorians"; it has been fixed. c: )
Sableflame: Jedi Exile
Written by: Bluesaber3
Chapter 1: Regrets
Three months.
Had it really already been three months? Three months since everyone I ever loved or cared about was wrenched out of my hands, so brutally that my very soul began to bleed?
Yes. It had been three months since Order 66 was executed. The memories of that day are so strong, it is every time like watching the event play out in front of me.
The mission, my troops, my partner; one second they were there, and the next, they were gone. One second they were friends, and the next, ruthless killers. One moment my partner, my best friend, was there and the next… nothing but a heap of flesh and a pool of crimson blood.
That was my life as a Jedi Knight. This is my life as a broken Jedi exile who was lucky enough to scrape her way out of the battlefield, into the dark shadows of the forgotten world. It would not have mattered whether I escaped unscathed, or nearly dead, because it doesn't matter now. The wounds that pierced my heart on that day will never heal.
I'm scarred for life.
My name is Ebony. Ebony Sableflame. Yoda had always said that my name held dark meanings, and yet he still let me become a Jedi. These last three months of my life, I regretted ever leaving my home planet to join the Jedi back when I was so young. But then, I didn't really have a choice. Midi-chlorians are a blessing as much as they are a curse. The Jedi life is the life you're supposed to choose, and there is not another option. To leave the Jedi Order is to ostracize yourself from the Jedi way of life. Shunned every time you're spotted by another Jedi. It's like you've become some sort of outlaw.
Now, however, there was no choice. To choose not to hide at this point would be to whisper your death wish; or rather, proclaim it on the holonet. My Jedi years are behind me. And I've got nothing ahead.
…
Atop the roof of the weather alert station was my place every morning at sunrise. The grief rooted deep in my heart was calmed at nothing day in and day out; but the amethyst, magenta, and gold colors of the sunrises on Terrelia seemed to have a soothing effect on me. There wasn't anything else to do at that time in the morning anyway.
After the Purge, I had fled to Terrelia, because it was a place that I felt I could safely hide. When I was very young, my father used to go on business trips to Terrelia, and he would always take me with him. I got to see everything he did at his job as a weather scientist.
My eyes drifted from the early morning sky colors down to the shingled rooftop of the weather station. Yes, this was the same building where my father used to work. As young as I had been when he took me there, I still remember every vivid detail. You could say I have a good memory; I don't believe it's a good thing in most instances. Pain is impossible to forget, and the good times that you do remember only become a prison of remorse that you didn't embrace them further, or simply that those times are no longer existent.
I haven't left Terrelia since the day I arrived. I wanted nothing more than to run to my very old home and pick up life as if I never left.
But I can't.
Several years back, the Clone War hit my planet. And I was too late. My entire village is long gone. Even if I could go back, I wouldn't. There's nothing for me there now.
There's nothing for me anywhere.
…
Though this region of Terrelia was a good three or four weeks into it's autumn season, the weather there was spontaneous, and at the moment, considerably warm. This made staying atop the weather station unpleasant after the sun rose higher in the sky; so I slid to the edge of the roof and began my descent by leaping from fire escape to fire escape down the back wall.
The second my feet touched the ground, my ears picked up faint footsteps nearby. In a back alley such as this, there generally wasn't any foot traffic. Immediately I was suspicious; and something in my mind told me that the suspicions were not ill-placed.
Darting silently to the wall of the building opposite the weather station, I crept along the wall until I could peer around the corner. The sight before my eyes struck me so deep, my initial reaction was to leap from the shadows and tackle this person alive. Standing in the alleyway was a clone trooper.
My hand fell to my lightsaber hilt reflexively and I watched as this mysterious clone looked up from whatever he was doing and turned in the direction facing me. After the Purge, I knew what they were capable of. I couldn't risk it, so I stayed where I was.
The clone began to approach, as if somehow he was certain there was someone there. I listened intently to his footsteps, and the second he was around the corner, I whipped my lightsaber from my belt and ignited it in one fell swoop. Before the trooper could even figure out what was happening, he was pinned against the wall with my bronze blade to his neck.
His reaction was less than what I had expected.
"You've got a lot of guts pulling a stunt like that," he stated. His voice low and rather melancholy. At the moment, though, I didn't care to notice.
"You've got a lot of guts going through with whosever order it was to murder all the Jedi alive!" The flame inside my soul had been kindled much stronger after seeing this trooper. I wasn't about to let him go before he knew that.
The trooper's response began with his blaster pressing into my stomach. I inched my lightsaber closer, but let him speak. "I'm sure all you Jedi thought the same way. Did any of you ever think that some of us didn't want to go through with it?"
I let myself experience the brief moment of sympathy for this trooper, and in that moment I was able to see the sincere pain and regret that clouded his eyes. I dropped my lightsaber to my side and deactivated it. The second I did so, he lowered his blaster.
There was a period of silence between the two of us, and I studied his physical appearance. His hair was red at the tips but brown at the roots, suggesting that he had once dyed it but it had grown out. His eyes were the same brown as any other clone trooper, only the stress of the war and whatever else was on his mind had a bit of an aging effect. Old scars littered his face and parts of his lips; lines and scratches etched into his face permanently.
My eyes fell to my feet. "Why are you here?"
"I left after Order 66. My armor is conspicuous. I'm getting rid of it." He picked up a satchel filled with his white armor and tossed it into the waste receptacle in the alleyway. "They won't stop 'till all the Jedi are dead. You'd best be on your way." He began to exit the alley.
"Wait," I started, watching him stop and turn as I spoke. "Won't they be looking for you, too? A rogue troop could potentially ruin them by knowing inside secrets, battle plans, access codes…"
"Point made, now what is it you want?" he approached me again and looked straight at me. He was considerably taller than me, by six or seven inches at least.
"We could work together… we could stop them." The thought of trying to stop them had never come into my mind. It was always overshadowed by grief. Hope was refreshing.
"I'm over with war, ma'am. Stopping them isn't worth it," he turned around again, unable to face me. "It's impossible."
Thank you for reading the first chapter of "Sableflame: Jedi Exile"! I do hope that you will review this chapter and click "story alert" so that you can always be on top of things when a new chapter is posted! If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave them in your review, or send us a PM. :)
Stay tuned!
~Bluesaber