Chapter 1
"Alright! Here is the plan. Alpha Team will cover for Beta Team. Beta will infiltrate the command post through the front entrance, and while they create a diversion, Tyler and Colton will take Charlie Team to cut off the transport vehicles. Grace and Victor will proceed to the power supply area and shut it down so we can access most terminals and doors. John and I will take possession of the control bridge. Everyone whose name I have not mentioned will help with beta squad. Understood?"
Ethan had taken over this operation due to the Sith Lord that had been discovered. Clone commander Dante had relinquished his command due to the personal nature of this mission.
Everyone shouted, "SIR YES SIR!"
"To your stations," Ethan responded, "Be prepared, we leave in three hours."
The leaders of the operation, a collection of Jedi Knights and bounty hunters who had grown up together, went to their room to ready for battle. They began checking their gear and discussing the events to come. Colton made sure his medical bag was supplied (although he knew how to heal most injuries with the Force), Will and Victor loaded their guns and checked their ammo, several others made sure their light sabers were in working order, and anyone that also had a blaster made sure to have them fully loaded. Victor had a small discharge from his wrist mounted flamethrowers. William was careful not to activate his rocket launcher, although it was set to disperse gas and not a large explosion.
The thin, quiet bounty hunter pulled their commander aside for a moment, looking worried. "You know he is waiting for us right?" Victor asked.
"Yes," Ethan replied, "We can sense each other. He knows we are here, and he knows we know he is here." The curly-haired young man did not look up from his weapon of choice, a dual-bladed saber.
"Then you know what we have to do?" Victor continued. Victor knew that this mission was personal.
"Of course," Ethan assured his friend, "I won't let him kill any more of us. This stops today."
"Why can't this be like the good old days?" Victor retorted.
Ethan began to slip into what now seemed like a far-off fantasy, but truly were memories of not more than fifteen years ago….
...
"Wake up young ones!" A tall man with a brown braid going down the center of his back and a small goatee shouted. "Today is just the beginning. It is time to start your training... and the rest of your lives."
"I think it's too early," joked one of the children, who seemed taller than the other children, who all looked to be between the ages of nine and eleven.
"No one asked you," exclaimed another student.
"Quiet now, we must begin." The brown-haired instructor insisted. "I am know as Tignor. I will teach you until you are padawans. Now, take time to introduce yourselves to one another, you should learn to get along as you will be training for several years."
The tallest and most muscular of the children turned to face the class, smoothing out the buzz cut on his head. "Hi, I'm Cameron. Where'd he find you losers? I see we even have a set twins. Do you guys have the same birthday or something?"
The twin wearing lighter clothes glared at him. "I think you're saying that to be stupid, so I refuse to answer. I am Malakia, and this is my brother-"
He was interrupted by a swift smack to the back if the head delivered by his duplicate. "Stop confusing people! I'm Malakia. This idiot is Ethan." The black robed twin rolled his eyes.
"Hey! You always ruin my fun." Ethan replied with a pout.
Both twins had green eyes and matching curly brown hair, although Ethan's was slightly more disheveled. They looked practically alike, with only a few minor differences such as a freckle on Ethan and slightly thicker neck on the other.
"You guys are a handful huh?" Another student chimed in. "My name's Colton. Does anyone want to hear some music? I can also do MAGIC TRICKS!" He had a bright, charismatic expression, and almost jet black hair slicked back on his skull.
"No thanks." A softer voice than the rest piped up from the background. "Guys are weird, why am I always the only girl?"
Everyone turned to see a short female with wavy brownish blonde hair and a sarcastic smile.
"Well someone needs to be second prettiest," sneered a lanky pale boy. "After all, I'm obviously the most good looking."
"Can you not?" Replied a tall, shaggy haired child who had been looking down from on top of one of the eight-foot tall pillars in the classroom.
"Sorry, bad joke." The pale kid hurriedly covered up his mistake. "I'm John, but you can call me Ryan."
"No." the twins groaned simultaneously.
"I agree, JOHN." The child on the pillar said. "I'm Tyler. Colton and I came here together."
"What's going on?" Yawned one of the children who had been sleeping the whole time. This one was very thin and pale, and did not seem to care for the banter he had been trying to nap through.
"I don't really know." Said another pupil who had seemed to enter from the restroom. "But hey Victor, I think class started while you were asleep again."
"Drat, sorry." he replied sheepishly.
"It's Ok guys, we haven't done anything but establish that John has some sort of identity crisis and can't decide what his name is," Grace said, slightly irritated with the earlier remarks.
"Well, my name is William, you can call me Will." The boy offered a friendly handshake while at the same time appearing to carefully study everyone in the room.
"Why does he get a nickname and I don't?" John began to whine.
"Because his is actually a shortened version of his real name and doesn't sound like he wants to be a Tomboy." Malakia had replied, jokingly poking john in the forehead.
"Alright, since we all know each other's names, let's get started" Tignor, hoping to avoid an argument between the adolescents, cut short the conversation and opened the doors to the classrooms training room.
...
"Ethan!" The now fifteen-year-old Malakia yelled right next to his meditating twin. Ethan jumped up, almost over Malakia's head.
"Don't do that!" he scolded his brother, punching his arm playfully, "You know you aren't supposed to do that when I meditate!"
"I needed your attention," Malakia shrugged. "That old hag has called everyone to the sparring room. Apparently she has a special training exercise for you and I. Personally, I do NOT want to take part. She gives me the creeps."
Shiva A'landvi was a ruthless, mean spirited person. Ever since their old instructor had died mysteriously, she had taken over their education. Instructor A'landvi made the teens battle each other constantly, and if she was harsh on the other students, she absolutely loathed the twins. It could be that they almost refused to fight each other, teaming up whenever possible. She had been especially grumpy since the last training session, when the twins dropped their training sabers and sat in the middle of the room for an hour rather than turn against each other. Their friends had tried to persuade them to at least make an effort, since it was just for practice, but to no avail.
When the pair entered the main chamber, they immediately noticed a change. The lights had dimmed all around the large dome, and there were temporary pillars everywhere, presumably to provide cover. As they walked in, their instructor silently handed them training sabers. Although non-lethal, the weapons could definitely cause burns and bruises.
"Alright you degenerates, you leftovers of the primordial soup! Consider this as much a punishment as it is a test," Shiva hissed. "You get to team up today. Against any and all opponents." Her voice was a mix between a snake and a chalkboard. "Consider it an honor to train before ME, a descendant of the glorious Arkanians!" The twins stood in uncertainty for a moment before hearing the words "Begin training" snarled from an unknown location.
The twins went back to back and activated their lightsabers. The only thing they could hear was the hum of their blades. Then, all around them, their friends appeared from the shadows.
"We don't want to do this, but she said she will do the same to all of us if we don't. We will make this quick. Just submit quickly ok?" Cameron called out shakily. The twins were horribly outnumbered.
"Let's stop talking. If I go down I'm gonna make it a show." Malakia announced, taking a Djem So saber stance to counter any comers. Everyone knew Malakia practiced with his saber the most, with almost unmatched skill. Cameron was the closest to him, with his physical strength making him difficult to beat. He was seconded by Ethan and John.
"Suit yourself," John said. He was the first to run up and attack Ethan. While not quite as skilled at swordplay as his brother, Ethan's nature was more attuned to the force. He ducked as Malakia blocked Johns saber, the blade stopping a centimeter above Ethan's head. Then, as Cameron charged in to hit Malakia's back, Ethan rolled back and blocked Cameron so the opponents were face to face. Then, both twins kicked their attackers away back into the circle.
Suddenly, all of the students charged at Ethan and Malakia. All they could see were blurs of light and faces of regret.
Their arms, legs, chest, and faces burned from the bombardment of attacks. Seeing their pain, everyone let up for a moment. Malakia picked Ethan up from a kneeling position. They both were breathing heavily.
"Is that all? I expected more from you two." Shiva called out. "I guess that's what I get for training trash like you! It's no wonder you didn't have a father, he would be disappointed in you." Shiva hit low. Her words stung in the twins minds. The abuse flowed through their thoughts and into their anger was channeled into their sabers, making them a whirlwind of pain. Their friends pleaded with them to stop and calm down but it did nothing to cease the rage that boiled within them.
In the midst of the chaos, Ethan felt a light touch on his arm. He knew it must be Grace, as there was only one of the group small and quiet enough to enter his defenses undetected.
"No." Ethan heard the girl's firm, yet kind voice piercing through the red curtain over his mind, and slowed slightly.
"Give me your sword. Let it go." Somehow, Grace's whisper was louder than the roar inside him. "Trust me."
Smoothly, without a break in the fighting, Ethan handed off his saber to Grace and moved so he would be shielded between her and his twin. He knelt down with shaking hands, trying desperately to get a hold on his dark emotions.
When he looked up, he was astonished to see that the girl was holding her own saber in her right hand and his in her left, fending off the boys with twice the efficiency.
After a small break in the fighting Malakia almost smacked her to the ground. His eyes a strange yellow color, he looked at his brother, then back at the girl helping him. For a moment, the two locked blades, but after the next wave of attacks he managed to turn around and fight with her in the same manner he had alongside his brother.
"What is this?!" Shiva shrieked, coming down from an observation area and entering the arena. "Did I say you could rest? Did I say, wench, that you could help the bastard twins?"
The rest of the pupils stopped fighting in disbelief. Shiva hardly ever came down.
"Why would you do this?" the teacher continued, "you have no relation to them! I order you to continue as their opponent! And use one of my approved fighting styles, where did you even learn that?!" She approached the group, leaning in close.
Slowly, Grace lowered her sabers. She looked around the room, defiantly meeting the eye of each student.
"How can you say that we have no relation? We have been training together for five years!" The girl seemed to be speaking as much to her friends as to her instructor. "WE ARE ALL BROTHERS! It is YOU that is our enemy!"
"I refuse to fight my friends, this is tearing us apart!" Colton said as he turned his saber off.
"You are no trainer, just a drill Sergeant that needs a nap." Cameron was now trying to get under her skin. No one really liked his jokes, but Shiva hated them the most.
Since Grace had said something to her, everyone's courage was bolstered. They all talked bad behind her back, few had ever said something to her face. Until now.
Shiva's eyes gleamed with rage, and with an almost inhuman strength, she ripped the training sabers out of Grace's hands and kicked her to the floor.
"You WORMS!" Shiva spun back to the twins. "I was right about you, you can't even fight without the help of a girl. ALL OF YOU, YOU ARE WEAK!"
Whatever control the twins had gotten back snapped, and anger grew in the other boys as well.
"WE'LL SEE WHO'S WEAK!" Ethan yelled and lunged at Shiva. Some of the other students followed suit.
"STOP!" A voice called out suddenly. The lights turned on all the way, and everyone stopped moving. The voice sounded weird and gravely, almost like a popping candy.
"Wrong, this is. Hate, you used. Not the way of Jedi it is." A small figure on what appeared to be hover chair approached them.
"Shiva, Meet with council, you will. Pushed these young ones too much you have. New master will train."
He bowed his head and left the room with Shiva following obediently after him.
"What. Was. That?" Asked Colton, everyone taking a step back from the duo.
"I… I don't really know." Ethan replied. "She mentioned our dad and called us weak. I guess we couldn't take it." Looking at his hands, he regretted how much he just let go if the control he had been working so hard to achieve.
"We need to get a lid on this I believe." Malakia replied, "That was not supposed to happen, and if she can make us go crazy by just bringing up dad, then we seriously need a better why to channel that."
"Well, that was horrible," Will announced.
"Yeah," Grace stood up and dusted herself off. "But at least Shiva's gone."
...
"I am going to meditate brother. Please don't overwork yourself training and don't hurt Cameron this time." Ethan told Malakia, concerned for both of them after the previous day's events.
"I'll try. It's Cameron and William together today so it should be fun." Malakia left to practice some more.
Then, a group of friends approached Ethan.
"Hey Ethan, me and Grace and Colton wanted to ask you something." Tyler said, with the other two standing next to him.
"Yeah what do you need?" Ethan wondered, setting aside his training gear to meditate.
"Can we... join you?"
Ethan turned to look at them. He tried to stare at them to see if they were sincere. Not only was meditating a personal thing for Ethan, but he had never meditated with someone else, let alone three others.
"Sure I guess. We will need to sit in a square and be quiet. Have any of you meditated before?"
"I have. I told them what to do before hand." Grace chimed in. Ethan could feel an odd feeling from her, like not good or bad. Neutral. Colton had not been too interested, he mostly was just hanging out with Tyler.
"Can group meditation even work? I have heard of the council doing that but can we?" Colton asked. He had strangely healed quicker than the rest from the trading session. He seemed more refreshed and stable as well.
"It should. Come, let's begin." Ethan was eager to start.
...
"OW! That hurt! Let up will y'a?" Cameron began to whine. After about an hour of sparring he was starting to get sore. Even when John had joined in he thought some of the injury would be directed at the other boy, but no. He still got hit by everyone.
"Sorry, I couldn't hit Malakia because William was in the way." John retorted.
"Quit being a baby." Cameron the proceeded to smack John in between his eyes with the stick sword they were using.
"Y'all quit arguing. I beat William again. You should train a little more dude. I think you value blasters more than a saber." Malakia said picking William off the ground and dusting him off.
It was sunny outside. The training ground they were at had a beautiful view of Coruscant. The ground was grass and dirt, which reminded the group of Naboo. Most of them came from the beautiful planet.
"Yeah, I don't like being close to people, blaster would fix that." William replied.
"Agreed. Do you have to be so loud?" Victor said, as he emerged from a bush reading a holocron.
"Sorry, we can try. I think I'm done for the day anyways." Malakia said, slowly walking from the group.
"You should try to meditate a little dude. I heard it can help with your anger issu-" John started.
Malakia turned to John and pushed him onto the ground with the force. "I don't need you to tell me what to do. I'll go and find some other way, I don't need your opinion." Malakia was now glaring at them, malice filling the air.
"Ok, sheesh, I was only trying to help." John replied picking himself up.
"Don't." Malakia said as he turned around to stalk away.
"Wait, I may have an idea," William interjected. "There is a saber style card Juyo. It's said to use a well of emotions to make a serious of fast, unchained attacks to not give your opponent time for defense. Consequently it provides no defense at all."
"There is also Vaapad." A figure came up to them from around the corner. The brown skinned, bald man with a deep, melodious voice easily held everyone's attention. "But I have never found anyone able to stay sane with that method. All my pupils have gone to the dark side using it. I urge you, be careful using Juyo. It can be devastating."
"And who the heck are you?" John asked asked sarcastically.
"For your information, I, am Mace Windu. I have been chosen as your new instructor."
...
"Ethan?" Ethan had almost completely tuned out. If it weren't for Grace grabbing his arm and slightly shaking him he wouldn't have noticed they were getting ready to board the transport ship to enter the separatist base.
"I'm good, thanks." He replied to her. The last thing he needed was people worrying about him. They all knew that he would not be the same after this mission. None of them would. They have already lost two of their original group to this Sith Lord.
"You ready? This is probably the biggest assignment we have ever had." Tyler asked them as the sat down on the transport. Ethan was standing with Victor and John holding on the railing.
"Yep, let's go." Ethan replied, with the usual smile he gave when he was about to do something difficult but wanted everyone to think he was confident still.
"Hey how much do I get paid after this?" Victor asked Ethan jokingly.
"Live, and you set the terms." Ethan told him with a chuckle.
"NOW WE ARE TALKING!" Victor began fist pumping out of joy. This was going to be a long night.