"Do you understand what you must do, Benda." Drexel announced making sure the teacher understood. The entire council waited for Benda's response, they were discussing a very important subject.
"Yes." Benda said bowing slightly displaying his respect. "I understand perfectly."
"Remember, you are to escort both of them along the path. And at each and every site, have them study and train. That will unleash both of their potentials in a way that shall benefit us." Kay said. She brushed back her brown hair and kept her soft yet sad gaze on Benda.
"I, understand perfectly. Miss Sensus." Benda said softly. They remained visually connected until Drexel spoke once again.
"Remember, you are working with him. If the Sith don't come looking for him, he will quickly feel the Dark sides influence. Prevent that at all cost, no matter what the risk." His voice grew darker near the end expressing the reason behind what he said.
Benda nodded and continued his conversation with the council. His two students were taken away by Vorak and led to prepare for their journey. They were inside the Room of Knights or a storage room for all Jedi equipment at the moment.
"You see, with this kind of crystal. The blade can become even more heated but it becomes unstable. You'll cut through things faster but if its activated for to long the blades length may shift." Vorak said trying to educate Anya in sabers. Occasionaly he would glance up at Riax and attempt to get his attention with something interesting. None of it worked and he guessed he'd learn on his own.
"What's this?" Riax said holding up a blaster pistol with both hands. He raised it up and looked through the scope.
"Put that down." Vorak shouted at Riax. He knew exactly what it was, a Mandalorian DC-17 blaster pistol that belonged to a Sith legend.
"Why, I like it. It's perfectly balanced." Riax said being arrogant. To him it felt like another pistol. But to the Jedi Master, it was a weapon that killed countless amounts of his allies.
Vorak raised one hand and connected with the force pulling the pistol to him. Riax reached for it as it flew away but by the time he jumped, it was gone. Anya stepped back letting the pistol fly into her instructor's hands.
"Do not touch anything, understand." Vorak boomed. Neither of the younger students understood why he was acting so cruel to Riax. He placed the pistol inside his robes and rolled his eyes displaying his annoyance. "Get your things, Benda will return and you'll begin the mission."
The Twi'lek put his hands in his sleeves and walked out of the room quickly. His heavy, loud steps proved how easy it was to irritate him. A Jedi was meant to control their emotions but Anya didn't seem to notice. She waited until the teacher was out of range to speak.
"What's wrong with you?" She said grabbing a green lightsaber and placed it under her belt.
"What, I asked a question and he got pissed. Not my fault." Riax said taking two other blaster pistols and placing them under his red belt. He grabbed a green knight saber and hooked that on his belt also.
"How are you supposed to be a Jedi with that kind of attiude?" Anya said losing her temper. She calmed down but watched Riax intently waiting to hear his response.
"It would've been easier if I could remember if I ever wanted to be a Jedi." He said activating the blade and swirled it around. The blade itself was weightless but the hilt had at least a pound on it. Handling the weapon came naturally.
The room grew quiet as the subject of his amnesia came up. The room was a fairly large area with one table in the middle holding all of the things Vorak took out of the closet for them to use.
"I'm positive that you'll remember soon." Anya said reassuring Riax. He walked over to the door and leaned against the wall next to it waiting.
"I'm not worried about it, so hurry up and grab your stuff. I, just don't like it here." Riax said listening to the feeling that seemed stressed out. He felt like he had to be on edge at all times around here.
"You're only saying that because you keep angering the Jedi. Maybe if you paid more attention during Master Halo's explanation of our code you'd like it here." She said.
It's been two weeks since Anya found Riax in her room. Two weeks since that dark presence flew in then suddenly disappeared. Anya and Riax became close friends since then; they've formed a stereotypical partnership. The calm intelligent girl, the wild powerful boy, and the always-happy teacher.
But this partnership also raised multiple issues among the people outside of it. Some began to believe that Riax and Anya have become more than friends, which is strictly forbidden but no proof has been seen. Riax also became the target for other students because of how quickly he mastered the saber and force. Anya's become a slight teachers-pet because of how often she studies within the jedi archives.
There were also rumors that the two were to be sent on an ancient quest to unlock their true potential. Most of the residents didn't believe them, until the day they were called to leave dantooine and begin.
"Remember, the best way to defeat an enemy is by…" Anya started her educational lecture and waited for Riax to fill in the blanks.
"Defeating their anger, but I still think that's stupid. What if they're not mad?" Riax blurted out. Anya rolled her eyes and sighed, she doubted he'd ever understand.
"That's why were on this mission, so you'll understand and I'll be better than you." She giggled at the end and ran towards the door. Riax playfully ran after her outside into the landing pad.
They dashed outside running until they were face to face with a ship in front of them. It was about twenty-four meters in length and silver with a brown stripe. It was obviously a custom light-freighter but those types of ships never came to Dantooine.
"What in the world?" Anya said brushing away her hair to get a clear view. Her Force-sight let her see that the ship has carried a good amount of Jedi inside. It radiated an aura that most jedi have which is strange because machines can't use the Force.
"Wow, what's this doing here of all places." Riax said in awe afterwards. He stepped forward next to Anya and looked at her. She was too focused on the first star ship she's ever seen.
"Like it, it's a piece of history." A light skinned human male said in front of them. He spun around on one heel and looked at the two Jedi padawan.
His brown hair was brushed down to his shoulders directly above his orange leather vest. By his clothing, he looked like an average pilot except for the blaster pistol on his hip. His eyes were a light brown and had a happy look to them.
"A piece of history?" Anya said in amazement, she let her mouth hang open as her eyes shined. Not only was this her first time seeing a ship but it was historical. Riax gave the guy a mean look not trusting his words, or liking the perverted look he was giving Anya.
"Yep, this is the one and only Ebon Hawk Mark VII. Best ship in the galaxy." The man turned around and raised both hands to the ship as if he was about to bow down to it. Anya was in shock but Riax didn't like the guy that introduced them to the ship, he seemed suspicious.
"Why's it so special and what makes it number VII?" Riax asked acting like he was intrigued.
"This ship carried Revan and his crew on their adventure and was also there during the defeat of the star forge. That was a long time ago and the ship was passed down through my family until it reached me." The man turned around and lost his happy mood but it was replaced with an averagely normal expression. "It was upgraded seven times to keep it at the best so here it is."
"I've heard of the Ebon Hawk, but it was given to the Onasi family. So how do you have it?" Anya asked picking up on Riax's suspicion. The man noticed this and laughed, he's been through the lying routine multiple times.
"I'm Carth Onasi, named after the relative of mine that originally owned it." Carth said. He looked around nervously then back at the two. "I'm supposed to be picking up some people and taking them on a trip, do you know who that might be. I'm not exactly supposed to talk about it but I'm confused." He said quietly.
"Sorry, I don't know. But they'll be here soon." Anya said being polite. Carth leaned back and gave her a strange look.
"Well, I could give you a personal tour of my ship." Carth said with a hint of what he meant in his voice. Anya stepped back in surprise but Riax took action.
He pulled a blaster out of his belt and shot four blasts at his feet. Carth jumped back and fell on his back before standing up and pulling out his personal gun. Before he raised it, the humming of countless sabers sounded off as every Jedi became ready to protect the students.
"Relax, relax. It was a joke, I know you Jedi have that honor code or whatever and it says you can't love or make love or something but it says you can take a joke…. Right?" Carth slid away his gun and raised both hands showing that he meant no harm. After a moment Riax figured he was done and lowered his blaster. "What kind of jedi has a blaster anyway?"
"The kind that shoots first then cuts you down." Riax said scaring Carth. He was surprised that a Jedi would say something like that. But what scared him the most was the army of Jedi that was now watching him secretly.
"You know what, you two have got me in a enough trouble so just run along. I'm still waiting for those important people that I'm flying." Carth said becoming annoyed. He turned around and folded his arms to play off that the padawan were bothering him.
"Carth Onasi, I presume." Benda said from behind Riax and Anya. They looked back, surprised by their master's sudden appearance. His permanent smile brought a good feel to the situation but something about it seemed off.
"Yeah, are you the one I'm waiting for?" Carth asked trying to sound professional. He failed, miserably. Carth looked at Benda from the corner of his eye and waited for a response. But he wouldn't like it.
"Yes, I'll be going. But these two students here are the real V.I.P's." Benda smiled and placed his large yet soft hands on their shoulders.
"What, sorry man but I was expecting some hot Jedi chicks or something." He saw the confused look in Benda's eyes and the dark glance from Riax. He quickly analyzed the group and placed each person in a category.
Anya was the hot, innoccent, Jedi girl. Benda was the optimistic, always smiling teacher. Riax, was the brutal, dream crushing, defensive, Jedi guy. This led Carth into a problem.
For some reason unknown to him, Carth has a strange Jedi girl fetish. He didn't know why and didn't care enough to figure out. But now, he wondered if his little obsession might get him killed by Riax.
"What, does he mean by Jedi chicks?" Anya looked at Benda for answers but he was just as confused. Carth rolled his eyes at their stupid expressions and noticed Riax didn't seem to be paying attention.
"You know what, never mind. Just tell me when you guys are done with you're Jedi business and we'll go." Carth said leaving onto his ship. He was being paid to pilot the hawk and go on this holy tour, not deal with Jedi idiots.
He walkled onto the ship and plopped down on the couch within the main hold. He examined his excellent ship and relaxed knowing this may be his last chance. His eyes closed slowly as the sleep took him away and he began to dream.
"Carth, Carth, those things. They killed the entire Titan unit. We were sent to find them not shoot them." A Twi'lek man said next to him. The room was dark, he couldn't see anything but they knew what was outside. The screeches of whatever killed the unit echoed inside the building, the groans of the supposed 'survivors' carved itself into his mind. "We're dead, all of us are dead."
"Shut up Tek. We have to think of a way to get out of here." Carth said.
"They got me, one of them. It did something to me." The green Twi'lek rambled on. His lekku was slashed open but bandaged up. It was a vital spot on all Twi'lek.
"I said shut up Tek. Your fine, like the rest of us." Carth continued. He put his face in his hands and thought. This nightmare felt so real.
"I feel it in my head." Tek shouted then doubled over on the ground holding his head. Carth looked up at his partner and friend and was about to check if he was alright until… He snapped back into reality.
"Ah, shit." Carth said sitting up rubbing his forehead. It was drenched in sweat, he had been dreaming again.
The doors slid open as Veslu walked into the room. His original irritated expression left, most likely, he was relieved to hear that Riax was leaving. He paced over to Carth and stood in front of him with his arms folded behing his back. He acted more like an alliance general than anything else.
"I gave myself the liberty of uploading the coordinates into your oversized toy." Veslu said. He seemed nice to only his most favored students. To anyone else he was a straight forward official person. People that enjoy their freedom leave him as a stuck-up Twi'lek.
"Now who gave you the liberty to give yourself the liberty to invade my personal and better-than-you ship." Carth said with a large smile. He chuckled at the end thinking that he confused the Jedi. Veslu simply smiled and watched as this pilot thought he outsmarted a council member.
"The contract you signed gave me the liberty to go inside and shoot down this toy whenever I decide the action should be taken." Veslu said blankly.
"Was I drunk when I signed that, honestly, that's ridiculous?" Carth said remaining on the couch. It was more of a statement than a question.
"You were perfectly sober at the time Mr. Onasi."
"It must've been some weird Jedi mind trick then."
"There was no need, I easily could've called a alliance pilot but I decided they needed all the help." Veslu finished. There was a moment of silence as the insults sank in. "Are you ready to listen, Mr. Onasi."
Carth sat up straight and waited to hear a lecture. He was young, a good pilot, and was pretty good with a blaster. Countless amount of recruiters came to his door trying to bring him to the Alliance. A Sith recruiter tried once but he was arrested once Carth rejected. He's used to lectures.
"Protect them at all cost, if you lose them to Sith. It will cost the Jedi and the Alliance greatly." The silence afterwards proved the importance and seriousness of what he just said.
"Wait a minute, this is an escort job. I'm not putting this ship up against the Sith fleet, they're known to have weapons that can strip planets bare of life." Carth said sitting up and getting ready to reach for his pistol. His hand lowered slightly just above the holster to be ready.
"I know. That is why we called you specifically. The Ebon Hawk has been against countless Sith vessels and helped in the defeat of the Star Forge. We hoped your family could save the us once more." The Twi'lek waited silently. He wasn't going to beg him but Carth was almost essential to the mission.
"Fine, but only because it'll keep my family in history, that's it. So we got a deal Jedi." Carth said stubbornly. He extended one hand out towards the Master and waited for his reaction. After a moment Carth decided to speak up. "I know a handshake isn't against you code." Carth said attempting to make friends.
"You're pushing it, Pilot" Vorak said with a smirk and walked out. His heavy steps were the last sound Carth heard before he dropped to the couch once again lazily.
"I didn't ask for this. But, it's all in the Onasi name." Carth thought wondering if he just made the right decision. He let the thought go knowing it was too late to change anything.
"All right, let's go." Benda shouted in front of the room. He was excited to leave this rock and get a chance to see the existence around him. "Come on Anya, your taking too long." He whined.
"Yeah, hurry up we have to go now." Riax whined next to him. Both of them were eager and enthusiatic but Anya wasn't as happy. She took this more like a mission than a completion of their training. And it didn't help that her teacher was acting younger than her.
"Don't you two see the dangers in this?" She said packing medical equipment into her pack. She put in a load of mini-medpacs, a large amount of both bacta and kolto even though only one was needed.
"Not really, what could go wrong." Riax said trying not to just take off and run to the Ebon Hawk. Apparently, Benda was going through the same feeling. He constantly glanced out the door then back at her.
"The ship could malfunction or we get attacked by sith then, if we're lucky, we'll crashland on a planet. Then it might be Sith territory or inhabited by vicious creatures." She said quickly in one breath. With one look at her two companions she realized that they were nothing but confused.
"I'm sorry Anya but your imagination is going to jinx us and get us killed." Benda said folding his arms and looking away ashamed. Riax leaped onto her bed and sat crouched down like a frog behind her looking over her shoulder.
"If you don't hurry up we'll leave you." He whispered in her ear. She snapped towards Benda and saw the eager look on his face and wondered if he'd really do it. Most likely, he would.
"Fine, let's go." Anya said painfully. The other cheered and dashed out of the door and around the corner then stopped waiting. She walked over to them and compared them to two small animals eager to explore.
"This way." Benda said speed walking towards the ship. He attempted to keep his formal status but Riax didn't care. He remembered exactly where the Ebon Hawk was and ran directly to it.
Anya and her teacher walked quickly in silence. It was late so the halls were mostly empty except for the occasional person. She thought about the trip they were going on and the pilot that was taking them.
"I don't trust Carth. He's not the best person in the world." Anya said directly to her teacher softly.
"No one trusts Mr. Onasi, the council only hired him because he has a republic military record. And a valuable ship." He said without even looking back at his student. He didn't trust Carth himself but there was nothing he could do about it.
"He could endanger the mission?"
"Anya, this isn't a mission. The council knows of your abilities and they decided that this would improve them. This is more like a, gift, than a order." He continued. She accepted her masters reasoning and continued to the hawk in silence.
"Anya." Benda said in a serious deep tone.
"Yes, what is it?" She became nervous slowly.
"Watch out for Riax. He came to us with no memory so who knows what his connections were to the rest of the universe." He knew exactly what dangers they might be up against. If everything went according to plan, there was a high chance that the Temple Wars would end.
"Is he the one that was on the ship with you? Who was the Dark Jedi on the ship?" She was remaining persistent with her questions and wanted answers. He couldn't give her those answers yet. He stood there quietly and she was beginning to wonder until Riax changed her mind.
"Hey, come on hurry up. I'm not going to wait all day." Riax shouted coming around the corner not caring for any other Jedi. All ideas about Riax being a Sith left Anya's mind as she ran over to catch Riax.
"There still young, I can't blame them. Or is it just me." The teacher joked. He knew emotions could fuel the Force but they could also lead to the Dark Side. In response, he decided to teach his students how to control their emotions while allowing positive ones. In most cases, it worked but some students took enjoyment in the wrong things.
Once Anya and Riax reached the Ebon Hawk, the two ran into the main hold and started scanning the place. Riax dropped onto the couch and relaxed while Anya looked for a place to put her belongings. Carth was sitting in the pilots seat; he was expecting them to show up around this time.
"So are you guys ready." He said trying to sound happy. It wasn't working, the two students took it as an annoyed sarcasm.
"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Benda said walking on to the ship his self. The students nodded at their teacher and he responded to the pilot.
"All right, take us to our first stop. The Jedi ruins on Mustafar." Benda said excitedly.
"What?" Both students shouted. Apparently, neither knew the first stop was going to be at the lava planet.
Please review and tell me if I need to raised the rating now. Because I might have to later.