Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own Star Wars! I wish I did, but that's not the point.

AN: This was really posted to make up for the fact that I have severe writers' block on The Lightsaber. This is complete, so updates will be frequent.

I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed The Lightsaber even though I probably won't work on it for some time.

Now read, review, and enjoy!

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CHAPTER ONE

Del-Mon Wesia looked sadly over the war-torn planet of Crixxin. He fought to hide his emotions.

Crixxin had once been a beautiful planet, called the Jewel of the Core. Its cities had been centers for learning and trade. There were never battles.

Many of those who weren't tradesmen or intellectuals in the fine universities of the planet were peaceful farmers. They lived in quaint little cottages in the outskirts of the cities growing vinesilk and juju fruit.

Despite all the industry of the planet, the inhabitants refused to let it ruin their precious and beautiful environment. The forests, rivers, and the clear blue sky never saw a drop of pollution. The wildlife flourished as it had in the days before civilization.

The capital city, Crixx, had been possibly the most wonderful of all cities on the planet. The buildings were very old and had elaborate architecture, with sculptures and carvings on every street corner and every arch.

The people were usually fair-skinned with bright eyes and light colored hair to match, but ones who did not look this way were accepted without hesitation.

The planet was run by the Crixxian religion. Any laws passed were made as they believed their many gods would wish for them to do. Most of Crixxin's important politicians were also strong church leaders.

But after a while, the planet's citizens had begun to question the religion. The Prime Ministers had grown angry with them, and had used their strong influence over the government to have many of those opposed exiled.

After a while, the King and Queen had no power, finding that they had been cheated out of it by the Prime Ministers. Yet they did not have any of them killed or exiled, knowing that they would not receive their Reward when they died if they did such a thing.

Rebellions were sprouting up all over the planet. There were so many that finally, about half the population did not believe in Crixxian anymore. The Prime Ministers had recruited armies, and now began to wipe out the Atheists.

The Atheists had weapons too, however, and soon the entire planet was in a bloody religious war.

Del-Mon had previously been instructed to go to the planet with his apprentice Aro-Ken Rumos, and then return to the Jedi Council with news of the situation, which they had done.

They had both felt compelled to return to the planet, and they were now approaching it. This time they were going to meet with the king and queen and possibly the leader of the Atheists.

Aro-Ken sat next to him in the copilot's seat. He was a strong boy who was almost seventeen. He still had many of his boyish features. His brown hair was traditionally cut, short all over his head except for a long braid over his right shoulder and the short ponytail in the back of his head. His eyes were an icy blue color.

Del-Mon, on the other hand, had very light brown hair. It was about halfway down his neck, and he kept it tied back in a short ponytail. His eyes were green, and he was in his mid-thirties. He had a tall, powerful build.

In the past three years that the two had known each other, they had done many things. Among them, they had been captured by some Sith warlords and Aro-Ken had been tempted dangerously close to the Dark side. They had saved the royal family of Temmeck and solved a mysterious assassin of a major crime lord on Enron. They had rescued a large ship full of planetary diplomats when a computer virus seized it. The two had even saved the planet Thekken when a warlord had held it hostage with her huge fleet.

They quietly sat next to each other at the moment, neither saying a work as they looked sadly at the planet they were nearing.

"We're landing now," Del-Mon said, finally breaking the silence.

Aro-Ken only nodded. He had been thinking about the recent battle they had been involved in on the planet surface.

Recently the king and queen of Crixxin had asked the Jedi Council to send someone to help resolve the conflict. Del-Mon and Aro-Ken had been instructed by the Jedi Council to go to Crixxin as guardians of peace. They were simply to observe their surroundings and report back to the Council, who would then decide what to do. But they had immediately been met with conflict. They had seen both sides of the story, and had wound up caught in the middle of the two warring groups.

The Atheists saw the Prime Ministers and Crixxians as barbarians and oppressors who wanted to stamp out all freedom on the planet, and kill all who opposed them.

The Prime Ministers and Crixxians saw the Atheists as bloodthirsty savages who wished to kill anyone who opposed them and plunge their world into chaos by destroying the Crixxian religion.

There were some, like the king and queen, who tried to remain neutral, but it often did not work.

This time, on their journey to Crixx, the Jedi Council had arranged for Aro- Ken and Del-Mon to meet with the rulers of the planet, King Anjos and Queen Leckura. From within the palace, they hoped to resolve the horrible conflict this time.

Their ship slowly descended into the atmosphere. They landed a distance from the capital city itself, knowing that both groups could mistake them for the other and open fire, as had happened last time they landed on Crixxin.

"Come Padawan," Del-Mon beckoned for Aro-Ken to follow, and he did.

Del-Mon did not speak as they made their way to the city. In the years before, it had been free and out in the open. Now there were thick durasteel walls surrounding it.

They approached the nearest gate, on their guard. Neither's hands were straying for their lightsabers, but every muscle in both their bodies was tense and ready for anything.

They came to the gate, and a small viewscreen to their right flickered and came on.

"Are you familiar with the customs routine of Crixxin?" asked the woman who sat there. She was neither old nor young. She had very dark hair, and light blue eyes.

"No, we're not," Del-Mon said.

"Put your passcard in the slot under the viewscreen. Once we match you with your identity, you will be cleared to enter the city," the woman said, seemingly bored with her task.

"We have no passcards," Del-Mon said.

"No passcards? I am afraid you cannot enter the city. Please return to where ever you came from," the woman said.

"With all due respect, we are not leaving. We are Jedis. We have been summoned here by King Anjos and Queen Leckura. We have appointments in the palace," Del-Mon explained.

"I am afraid no one gets in without a passcard. You will have to leave immediately or I shall have to summon security," said the woman.

"I repeat, we are not leaving. We have royal appointments in the palace. You have to believe me," Del-Mon said.

"Fine. I shall open the gate. We shall see who is lying and who is doing the right thing momentarily."

"Finally," sighed Aro-Ken, who had chosen to remain silent.

The gate squeaked open on rusty hinges.

As they walked forward, master and apprentice, blue energy bars suddenly shot up from the ground on all sides.

Aro-Ken spun around in disbelief, and Del-Mon had immediately unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ignited the emerald blade in one swift movement.

Spotting his master's move, Aro-Ken fumbled to do the same.

"What a warm welcome," he muttered under his breath.

"Be ready, Aro-Ken," Del-Mon simply said.

All of the sudden, the ground dropped open.

Del-Mon spotted Aro-Ken as he tried to spring aside, but to no avail. He fell down after Del-Mon, turning off his lightsaber as he did so.

They tumbled down a metal chute, rolling head over heels. The tunnel was dented and rocks and dirt was scattered about.

As Del-Mon fell, he tried to get his feet in front of him to slow his fall, but his efforts were in vain.

His head, arms, and the rest of his body knocked against the sides of the chute, and he finally came out the end. Shortly after, Aro-Ken tumbled out and landed on Del-Mon's legs.

There was a clacking and banging from within the chute, and the boy's lightsaber emerged a moment later, landing in his lap.

Del-Mon was all ready pacing the interior of the chamber they had landed in as Aro-Ken got to his feet.

"What are you doing, Master?" he asked, noticing Del-Mon was pacing the interior of the room, examining the walls. His lightsaber was activated, and it cast a faint green glow about the small room.

"There must be another way out of here. Others have been down the chute before us, it is dented and there is dirt in it. There aren't any bones in here, so they must have gotten out somehow," Del-Mon said without looking away from the wall.

Aro-Ken joined his master in his search. They looked at every inch of the walls.

"Over here!" Del-Mon suddenly called.

Aro-Ken was at his side in an instant, and just barely saw the hairline crack in the wall that his master was pointing at.

"How do we get out?" Aro-Ken asked.

"Like this," Del-Mon simply said.

He brought his lightsaber down over his head, and it began to cut through the metal easily.

Aro-Ken joined. Shortly after, they had made a narrow hole. Aro-Ken slipped through, and Del-Mon followed him.

"There is no one ahead. Come," said Del-Mon, darting down the long hallway they found themselves in.

Aro-Ken ran after him. Del-Mon switched off his lightsaber, and Aro-Ken did the same.

As they suddenly rounded the corner, Del-Mon halted abruptly, and Aro-Ken skidded forward on his heels.

They found themselves at a huge room, the air thick with the smell of smoke and ale. There were several long tables, and men crowded around them shouting and laughing.

All of the sudden, Aro-Ken gave a quick cry and crumpled to the ground next to Del-Mon. He immediately saw that the boy was unconscious

The Jedi turned around, finding a very large man behind them. In his hand he held a thick metal pole.

Del-Mon's eyebrows rose and his hand flashed for his lightsaber. He was too slow. As he had turned around, another man had snuck up behind him and grabbed his arms and held them behind his back. The stronger man held him up in the air.

Del-Mon struggled, but it was no use against the burly man.

"Looks like we found a few Atheist spies!" cried one man.

"The Prime Minister must be alerted!" cried a voice.

"Of course," said the man with the pole. He turned away, and then abruptly spun back around, slamming the pole into Del-Mon's head.

The man who was holding Del-Mon dropped him, and the world was completely black before he hit the ground.

*****

Well, what did you think? Please review! Flames, like, no-like, I don't care! I'm a review freak, I'll read anything!