DEATH OF THE JEDI
The story of Beteen Jedana.
My name's Beteen Jedana, this is a recount of my past. The following chapter is the end of the Republic and dawn of the Empire. Soon to be known as Empire day.
Panic. The masters told us not to. But, in this situation I found it hard to resist. We ran and ran, but there was no where to hide, we had to fight. But when one of us fought, one of us died. The clonetroopers had marched into the temple, killing whatever moved. I was only 12 at the time, I was combat trained. But the problem was, I'd left my lightsaber in the training room... in situations like these, you realize the importance of the weapon
I stepped lightly, making no sound but a light thud with my boots. And then I saw HIM, he wore the face of the hero, hero of the clone wars, Anakin Skywalker. But, he was different, his eyes were yellow, fierce, and a wall of darkness surrounded him. I stood there for a few seconds, not sure what to do. He activated his lightsaber and muttered 'I'm sorry...' and then, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, letting the force carry me faster than a normal human could run. I made no notice of the corpses behind me, or the clone troopers muttering curses about my speed, nor the fallen Jedi chasing me. All that mattered was survival.
I started to lose speed, slowly but surely. The fallen Jedi was gaining on me, and then, someone jumped out of the darkness. I had to wipe sweat that had dripped into my eyes away to see clearly who it was. And then I gasped, It was my master. Shalaen Tajael, he was badly wounded, his black hair stained red with blood and burns all over his body. He was angry, engulfed in rage. 'Be a good boy and run Beteen!' he said angrily, with a hint of confidence 'I'll hold them back'. I nodded and stumbled into a run. I needed to find a way off the planet, but what planet would I go to? Would anywhere be safe? I had an idea, I could sto-away on a cargo ship. I smiled and nodded to my self.
Chapter 2: New beginnings.
I walked through the streets of lower Coruscant. It was a sad place, poverty reeked here. I heard a voice and peeked over somebodies shoulder. It was a patrol of clone troopers, I ducked. Oh dang, I thought to myself. I masked the sound of my steps underneath the bustling cities vehicles and loud voices, as I sneaked into an alley way I felt a cold hand go over my mouth and me being pulled behind a trash disposal unit. I struggled to get free, then the stranger said, "Shut up! I'm a friend." The voice seemed friendly enough. Turning around I saw the face of a Zabrak, he looked battle weary. I looked down at his robes, they were the robes of a Jedi. He released his grip from my face, I gasped 'You're a Jedi!'. 'Shut up!' he whispered harshly. 'They might hear us..' I stared at him and asked 'Who are you anyway?' He smiled and said, 'A friend..'
We ran, Coruscant's bright lights that spread across the vast planet illuminated the night. 'I found an empty apartment in the old galactic market.' Said the Zabrak, 'We stay there tonight.' I nodded and asked 'How do you suppose we get off this planet?' The Zabrak sighed. 'At the moment I'm not sure.' He said wearily 'What about you? Your young fresh mind got any ideas?' I nodded and replied 'Yeah, I had an idea of hiding in the back of a shipping freighte-' He interrupted me and said 'Won't work, the so called Republic is on high scale security checks.' He sighed and then continued, 'They'd find us in a matter of minutes, stop the freighter. Then kill us.' I frowned.
We arrived at the apartment, it was old, very old. The door slid open and I was then introduced to conditions worse than those of lower Coruscant. Spider webs covered the walls and dust was spread everywhere. I then smelt what I believed to be the flesh of a rotting animal, I gagged. 'This is horrible!' I exclaimed. He grunted. 'Discipline yourself Padawan! If you are to survive these times you must become adaptable to new environments.' I tried to say something else but words just didn't come out. I dropped my head and said. 'Sorry...' There was a thump on the door, 'Open up!' Said a voice. 'Echuta...' muttered the Zabrak, (Echuta is a curse word in Huttese and is very insulting.)
The Zabrak put on a husky voice and said 'What'ya want good sirs?' The unseen voices replied. 'Don't put on this act, we're soldiers of the Grand Republic and hereby put you under arrest for crimes against the republic.' The now known as clones troopers continued. 'Do not resist, we WILL fire.' We stayed silent. Thump, Thump, Thump. BANG. They'd kicked down the door. A cloud of dust rose, making the clone troopers appear only as shadows. The Zabrak activated his lightsaber, the bright blue blade crackled, illuminating the dust, at the same time the Clone troopers opened fire. It was a frenzy of flashing lights, making the scene incomprehensible to the naked eye. But I could make out one scene, the Zabrak falling to the ground. His face in shock, and blaster bolts shooting through him. I opened my mouth to scream but no sounds came out. This man, this man who had taken me into his care, who I had gathered an attachment to, even though I had known him for only one day. He was like a great friend to me... no.. A father. He was like a father to me, was dead. Lying on the ground, the same look of shock on his face.
This was it, nothing mattered anymore, I let it all out. I reached into the depths of my inner being, and I took it. Power, the power that I always had, and always will have. I didn't let the force flow through me, I controlled it. I smiled, 'And now... you die.' I said, power crackled in my fingers, and I shot it at one of the Clone Troopers. Their body went into a spasm and then fell to the ground. The clone troopers stopped for a second, confused. And finally one said 'Blast em!' I force pushed one against the wall. The remaining clone trooper opened fire. I stuck out my hand and absorbed the shots. I then channeled my anger and used the force to choke them. The force was my hand and I gripped the clone trooper with it. They struggled to breath, and then they stopped moving. I let go.
I breathed heavily and my anger faded. I ran over to the Zabrak's corpse and said. 'I never knew your name. And yet I allowed myself to form such an attachment.' I laughed while tears streamed down my eyes. 'I have avenged you, but it doesn't stop here. I will destroy this republic and build it back up from the ashes.' I wiped my eyes. 'I will restore peace and justice to the galaxy.' I saw his lightsaber and picked it up. I tried to turn it on but it just sparked and died. I groaned. 'Too bad, I guess I can fix it...' I clipped it to my belt.