AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Firstly, it's been good to write again after so long.
Now, some of the older fans here may remember that moment in 2003, episode 20 of "Star Wars: Clone Wars" when a whole new villain was introduced to the Star Wars universe in a fashion unrivaled by any ever since.
That to me, (and the one in this story) is the TRUE General Grievous-mesmerizing, spectacular and utterly frightening unlike the sorry, unforgivable excuse of a Saturday morning cartoon villain they had condemned him to be...
Reviews are much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy - DG
**shoutout to SupernalGodzilla for calling my attention to a small but vital detail.
PREY
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
I
Master Vaun Ardann had gone to many worlds during his time as Jedi.
A consummate adventurer at heart—his being a Zeltron notwithstanding—he would often volunteer for frontier or dangerous expeditionary missions when most others frequently had second thoughts.
Such is the path the Force has laid for me.
For him, his study of the Force was one learned through experience.
Or as he would say to the disagreement of more orthodox Jedi—through living.
Though he had his detractors, for him, the will of the Force spoke clearer to him through his mingling with the countless denizens and worlds of the galaxy.
It was something he never truly experienced back in the Jedi Temple Coruscant, certainly not when he had been a learner and even less so during his subsequent promotions to Knight and eventual Mastery.
While he made it a point to truly learn from his experiences in the worlds he had visited, he was still guilty to a certain partiality—there were simply some worlds he loved more than he did others.
The one which he was currently en route to was definitely not on the list of worlds he would have liked to come back to again.
A beeping from the intercom signalled that their transport had entered realspace, and out of a viewport, Ardann beheld the grim visage of Raxus Prime.
Deep within the heart of territory controlled by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Raxus Prime was a rust-colored corpse of a planet covered in mountains of scrap, oceans of sludge, and an atmosphere so caustic that it presented a health hazard to any who dared breathe it.
Ardann knew though that was more to it than meets the eye.
He had been to the so-called "Graveyard of Machines"—a moniker the planet had attained over the centuries—twice for reconnaissance in the years prior the Separatist Crisis and he had found both visits exquisitely unpleasant.
But those same experiences had made him indispensable for the success of the mission at hand.
Covert and dangerous, he could not afford such a large crew lest they risk detection.
So with Master Ardann came just a single battalion of clones, 20 strong, led by a former clone engineer who answered to the sobriquet Wrench.
Had it been up to Ardann, the clones would have been enough—he had already fought alongside Commander Wrench on the frontline on three occasions before and both men had earned the others' trust and respect.
But the Council insisted – more like commanded, he thought irritably—that due to the gravity of the mission, he must be accompanied by fellow Jedi.
So when his objections for their safety—and truly he was concerned for that—were set aside, the Council had asked for four volunteers to accompany him.
The towering Wookiee knight Warrgo, famed for his martial skills and his distinguished actions as a Padawan during the Battle of Geonosis, was conversing with a clone trooper at the aft side of the holding chamber.
Rodian Jedi Master Orvid and his Padawan, a female Mirialan named Shasta Orsin, were looking out of viewports opposite him in silence.
"Master Ardann? Are you well?" the voice of his last Jedi companion broke him out of his contemplation.
He turned and beheld the tall and slender form of the recently knighted human Azaleé Myrra.
Ardann forced a smile, "Yes, I'm quite alright, Myrra."
"It's just not like you to be so...silent," the dark haired female human replied.
The Zeltron sighed, "I would not have asked for any of you to come here, Myrra. No, don't take it as offense please...I value the company of my fellow Jedi. Truly I do. It's just that something about this mission makes me uneasy. I can't put my finger on exactly why."
"The Vaun Ardann, uneasy?" Myrra smirked, "that's sure to be a hot topic in the Temple once we get back."
She has nerve, that's good, Ardann thought with a sad smile, but will that be enough to get her—us—all back in one piece?
There was a silence, and Myrra began to think that she had inadvertently insulted the famously boisterous Jedi Master and so she piped up honestly and somewhat apologetically.
"If I may, Master Ardann, we volunteered because we want to help. We knew what we were getting into, and by the Force, we believe in you. I apologize if my words had struck a nerve."
Ardann knew that none of his companions had ever gone down onto the wasteland of rust and smog that they were fast approaching. They still went anyway.
That knowledge was a needed touch to his heart.
May with the Force be with us all, then, he thought, laying a reassuring hand on the younger human's shoulder.