A Cause Lost, A Cause Found

by mutedisciple

Six years after Endor, Wedge Antilles and a few pilots were invited to the warrior world of Adumar. However, many of the nations had already opted for less bloody games. Why? Because years ago, two lone Jedi escaped Order 66 and found themselves on Adumar

1A Cause Lost, A Cause Found

By Jay Lovelady

That night Arka couldn't sleep. Something's gone wrong, somewhere. To be completely honest, he did quite trust his own instincts, Jedi though he was. For nine months Arka had been in joint command of a clone army, one assigned with an assault on a Confederate fortress world. Initially, it had been almost impossible to crack their defenses and to land and establish a base. Then about two months the other Jedi assigned to the mission, Ryia Erroi, had suggested that instead of a siege of the planet they instead set up two, smaller bases two miles apart as a sort of flanking maneuver. The plan had worked wonderfully, and in the ensuing months the Confederation had been completely destroyed. Arka and Ryia had also gotten reports of similar victories all throughout the galaxy.

So why do I have this uneasy feeling of danger? Finally he decided to go see Ryia about it. She's a Miriluka, maybe she'll have an idea.

The Miriluka were a Force-sensitive species who had both a natural and powerful connection with the living Force and as well as the gift of attunement. He put on his robes, grabbed a glow-lamp, his lightsaber, and headed for the door. He was about to open the door when he felt two hostile presences in the hallway. He quickly killed the glow-lamp and hid between the dresser and the corner just as the door opened.

Clonetroopers! Arka couldn't believe it. The two clones scanned the room and didn't see him, so they began to carefully look through the room. Even though he could clearly sense that their intent was ill, he couldn't bring himself to fight the very soldiers he'd fought alongside with for years. Moving very quietly, he slipped through the door while their backs were turned and headed down the corridor.

I have to find Ryia. Unfortunately, she was two kilometers away at Blue base. He opened the door at the end of the corridor just as two blaster shots rang out behind him and hit the ceiling right above him. He turned to see the two clones that had been in his bedroom running down the corridor after him. He ran through the door at the end of the hallway only to encounter another squad of clones who instantly raised their rifles at him. He back-flipped onto the roof of the complex and took off towards the vehicle maintenance bay.

What the Sith is going on?

The camp had come fully awake now, with troopers running to assigned stations, flood lights panning the grounds, and sirens wailing. It looked as though the base was preparing for an attack.

But the threat is on the inside, Arka thought as he traveled in the shadows of the narrow alleys between the buildings. He arrived at the vehicle bay, only to find it guarded by a dozen clonetroopers.

Well, so much for the easy way. He circled around to the back of the building, entered through a heat vent, and crawled onto the central support beam near the ceiling. From here, he had a good view of the entire bay and could plan what to do next. There were no troopers on the inside of the bay, so he quietly dropped to the floor and entered one of the light recon skiffs. A minute later the skiff out of the bay, knocking two troopers down and sending the rest diving out the way. The transport roared out of the base, heading through the canyon arch that led to Blue Base. The response was instant; every guard grabbed a speeder bike and speed off after the transport. In the excitement, nobody noticed the one lone speeder bike slip out of the hanger two minutes later. While the main road was the one Arka usually used because it was big enough for even the largest Republic vehicles, there were countless riverbeds, small canyons and ravines that spread for miles. If you could keep your bearings, and had good enough reflexes, you could get almost anywhere on-planet faster. He had a scanner that could lead him directly to Blue Base and Force-honed reflexes. Smiling, he hit the afterburners.

A few minutes later he arrived at Blue Base to find it completely dark, but then he noticed that he could hear clones shouting, yelling, and generally just staying in state of consistent chaos.

It's like somebody switched off all the lights. He was in the middle of deciding how to proceed when he sensed Ryia off to his right approaching him. He started to head over to her and ran smack into a rock wall. He heard her laugh quietly as he stood there rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, only my dignity is injured. Where are you?"

"I'm two feet in front of you and to your right; I wore my black robes so they couldn't see me."

Arka suddenly understood: she'd cut the power at the base, essentially blinding everyone else and therefore, since she could use the Force to see, had no trouble escaping.

"Do you know what's happening?" Ryia asked.

Arka looked over at her. Ryia was a Jedi healer and one of the bravest people he'd ever met. In the two years that he'd known her, she'd time and time again risked her life to save that of a fellow soldier, in the last nine months they'd worked side-by-side here on Torran, and had become very close. But while she did venture onto the battlefield, she abhorred violence and the way the clone troopers were acting had obviously shaken her. "No, I have no idea. But I think we should get off planet."

Ryia was shaking. So many things didn't make sense anymore. Why did they attack us? She had come to see these soldiers not as expendable clones, but as family. She'd even recognized some of the men that had tried to kill her as soldiers whose life she'd saved. The galaxy had suddenly become a very hostile place. Fortunately, she'd found Arka who apparently was the same as he'd been this morning. Over the next hour Arka and Ryia carefully circled the base to the landing pads. Once there Arka selected a two-crew long-range fighter and quietly began the pre-flight checklist.

"We have to hurry." Ryia said, "I only cut the power lines, it shouldn't take too long to replace them."

"Don't worry, I just finished. The clones aren't a problem anymore." As if on queue, all the light to the bas snapped back on, flooding the entire landing pad with light.

"Oops." He hit the ignition and roared off into the night sky.

"There are four fighters coming in fast."

"Are you sure? There's nothing on the scopes."

"Trust me." Five seconds later, four blips appeared at the edge of his sensor's range.

"They must have sent them up earlier for a better view in the canyons." He opened the S-foils and powered up the laser cannons. "Strap in and hold on."

Arka switched to proton torpedoes and waited until he got a lock on one of the fighters. He heard the soft trill of a missile lock, fired and immediately threw the craft into a roll. He came out the roll and took a look at his screen. Out of the original four fighters there were only three left and one of them was trailing smoke. As they turned around to make another pass, Arka turned towards them and waited. When they got within range, he got another lock. Expecting the same tactic as before, the fighters split, the damaged one to port and the other two to starboard. He expected this though and immediately switched to lasers and went after the damaged fighter. He turned in towards it and immediately began peppering it with laser fire. The damaged fighter couldn't outmaneuver Arka and was quickly shredded to bits. Unfortunately it had given the other two fighters time to circle around behind Arka, and they were now trying to get a missile lock so Arka cut his speed and turned into a sharp climb. The two fighters managed to match him, but couldn't get a lock. Arka pulled to starboard again, rolling downward at an angle that the inertial compensator couldn't quite balance out and he felt the blood draining into his head. Then at the last moment he reversed his thrusters and angled his fighter to port, cause one of the clones to overshoot and fall right within his brackets. Instantly he started firing, the first salvo was too soon but the second and third caught the fighter right in the engine causing it to explode into a brilliant ball of debris. The last starfighter wasn't so easily fooled though and even as Arka leveled out laser fire splashed against their back shields. Arka began to juke back and fourth, trying to shake their pursuer.

I've got to get this over with, he thought, before more fighters show up.

He pulled up into a steep climb, inviting the clone to follow him. It did and just as it began to fire at the Jedi again, Arka pulled back on the stick again turning them into the stream of laserfire. As the two starfighters closed in on each other, Arka felt Ryia reach out to him through the Force, lending him her instincts as well. Just before the two starfighters passed, Arka pulled the trigger and was rewarded with the sight of the enemy fighter exploding. Even as the glare faded from the cockpit, six more blips rose from Blue base.

"We've got to leave." Ryia said, in an anxious tone.

"I know." Arka was frustrated. Why had the clones attack them? He'd hoped to possibly stay and find some answers, but with both bases looking for them, answers would have to be found elsewhere.

Two days later, they arrived in the Sakuri system. "I have a friend who owns an orbiting repair dock. He'll be able to tell us what's going on."

When Arka and Ryia jumped out of the fighter, there was a Bothan there to meet them. Even though Ryia didn't have normal vision, her species could use the Force to create a sort of 'sonar image' of here surroundings. And standing before here, was the largest, most jovial Bothan she had ever met.

"Arka!" his voice boomed, "My friend, it's been too long." Arka walked up and shook his hand. "What brings you to my humble station?"

"Information. Specifically, any recent activity and changes in the Republic Senate or military structure." J'yar's fur flattened and his expression became sober.

"When was the last time you got news from the Core?"

"About three days ago."

J'yar grimaced, "You'd better come with me."

He led the way to the top level of the station and his office. Here, instead of metal bulwarks for the walls, he'd installed transparisteel giving him a 360o view of the stars and Sakuri.

"Very nice J'yar, this is new isn't it?"

"Yes," he gazed out the window wistfully, "it reminds me of simpler times…"

"J'yar, what going on? What's happened?"

J'yar exhaled with frustration, "This is one of the reasons I don't follow the law; it never means what it's supposed to. As of forty-eight hours ago, the Jedi were declared enemies of the Galactic Republic, all clone units and militia were ordered to hunt down and exterminate all Jedi, and Palpatine declared that the Republic is now an Empire."

Neither Jedi spoke for a full five seconds as the shock of what J'yar told them sunk in.

"That's not possible," Ryia whispered. Arka tried to mentally refocus, I have to think right now, there'll be time to grieve later.

"J'yar, I need to know exactly what happened, where's the Jedi Council?"

J'yar hesitated for a second, reluctant to talk about it. "I've gotten several reports of Jedi bodies found, including Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aalaya Secura, I've also gotten confirmations of destroyed ships that Jedi were on, such as General Plo Kloon. A few Jedi are missing, such as Master Kenobi and Yoda." He pulled a datacard out a desk drawer and handed it to them. "Here, this is everything I have on it."

Arka took it, "Thanks." His voice was hollow, as if he was somewhere else. Has the Jedi Order died?

This whole time Ryia had been quiet. Now she spoke up, "Not to be ungrateful, but how can we trust you? What reason do you have for not turning us in?"

J'yar gave her an amused smile, "Three reasons: First, I have no reason to. I've never worked for the Republic and have no inclination to start now. Second, I owe Arka. A few years ago Arka saved both my life and my organization, and I always repay my debts. And third, trying to kill or keep to Jedi captive is not nearly worth the trouble and expense."

A faint smile crossed Ryia's lips, "Just a businessman, J'yar?"

"Just a businessman."

Arka looked out to Sakuri and the stars beyond it. "Any ideas on where to go?"

"Well, if the entire known galaxy was after me, I'd try the unknown galaxy. Now that the Empire's in charge, I doubt there'll be any doubt that there'll be any mapping expeditions in the near future."

"Anywhere specific?" J'yar thought for a moment. "No, not right off hand. I'll send you down to Navigation and they can give you our list."

"Thank you J'yar." Arka and Ryia got up and headed towards the turbolift shaft. "One more thing, it's rumored that Anakin Skywalker is working for Palpatine. Whatever that means in addition to everything else, I don't know, but be careful."

Arka smiled, "We will."

Down at Navigation, Arka and Ryia met a young human, with hazy blue eyes that showed a lack of interest.

"Hey…my name is Talon Karrde. J'yar sent you down here for an Unknown Regions map?"

"That's right." Karrde handed him a datapad.

"Here's all the information we have. By the way, do you know exactly why the Jedi were outlawed?" It sounded like an innocent question, but Arka sensed that Karrde was fishing for more information that J'ayr might have told him.

"No, supposedly Palpatine was attack by some Jedi, but I don't believe it."

"Oh, okay, just wondering…" Karrde smiled and pointed them in the direction back to the landing bay. When they got there, J'yar was waiting for him.

"I wanted to give you these to you as a gift before you go, you might find them useful in a galaxy without Jedi." He reached into his pocket and pulled two fake ID's out and handed one to both Arka and Ryia. "A little going away present Arka, never hurts to be too careful."

Arka smiled, "Agreed J'yar. Oh, and by the way, I'd keep an eye on Karrde. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty good at this type of operation someday."

J'yar just chuckled, "Sure thing."

Three days later, Arka and Ryia came across the first planet listed.

"Adumar," Arka read out loud as the information scrolled across his screen, "Native species: humans. Populated about 1000 years ago by a group of dissident Republic citizens and has grown into a military-based structure since. Only local space orbit achieved, care for a closer look?"

"Sure..." She sounded distracted, as if doing something else.

Arka turned around and looked at here, "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yes, it's just...this planet, I get the feeling we need to do something here."

"You mean besides hide?"

She gave him an annoyed smile, "Yes, beside hide."

"Alright then, let's see if we can figure out what that is."

An hour later, after landing in some foothills and covering the fighter with camouflage, they entered the nearest city.

"I'm glad our robes look similar to the local dress. It makes looking around that much easier."

"True. Arka, can we go into this tapcafe?"

"Sure." He was curious about what she was after, but he'd known her for long enough to be polite and wait. The first thing he noticed when they entered was a large crowd, in the center of which were to men.

A third man climbed up onto a table and shouted, "Lord Vek challenges Captain Brath to a title dual and for honor."

"For honor!" the crowd echoed. The two dualists saluted and began fighting. Arka and Ryia worked their way to the front of the crowd.

Arka turned to the man standing next to him. "What's happening?"

"Well, you know how Captain Brath's clothing always annoyed Lord Vek?"

Arka didn't but he nodded anyway.

"Well, Lord Vek finally challenged him to a match today!"

Arka was dumbfounded, "They're fighting over clothing?"

"That and honor."

Akra didn't ask anything else after that as they watched the dual unfold. After a few minutes Captain Brath, the older swordsman, defeated the younger with a stab to the stomach. A few of his companions tried to stop the bleeding but it was obvious that it was too late. Arka and Ryia left and walked through out the city, observing over and over again Adumar's thirst for blood, all in the name of pointless "honor".

After two days, they headed back to the ship for supplies.

"Here you are." Arka said as he pushed his way though the last grove of bushes. Ryia was standing at the top of a small hill overlooking the city. "Ryia, I think it's time to leave and find somewhere else."

"No." her voice was soft, but strong and resolute.

Arka blinked in surprise, "What?"

"I can't leave Arka, these people need help. They've completely forgotten their humanity and they need healing."

He took her hand in hers. "Ok, then, we'll do this together, you and me." For a long time they stayed that way, hand in hand, and Arka thought about what had happened in the last few days. The Republic is dying, our cause lost…but I'm not alone and thanks to Ryia I've been reminded that there's always a cause for the Jedi.

THE END