20 BBY, Onderon Highlands
"Xemreth hurry up! We are almost there," his father called to him from a few yards ahead.
"You better hurry up Lucky Xem. Your dad will need your eyes. Droids are everywhere." That was Alisali. Xemreth has been friends with her for years. She even nursed him back to health a few weeks before they left their village. He was caught taking down a poster for the fake king Sanjay Rash. The guards then proceeded to beat on him with their shock whips. He was left there bleeding from the lashes as well as steaming from the shocks. He was lucky she lived nearby. Otherwise he might have died and he would never have gotten that nickname. He quickly went up to his father who was on Xemreth's old speeder. He had tied up a trailer to it in order to give the kids and elderly an easier ride. They were heading to Saw Gerrera's rebel camp. Hoping to gain safe haven and in the case of Xemreth, join in their fight against the Separatists.
"How are you holding up son?" His father asked him. He was genuinely concerned and knew how Xemreth wanted more than anything to fight the, as he called them, invaders and false king. But after his mother passed his father was more than ever concerned with keeping his son alive, As well as any other families that were under the threat of death from self appointed King Sanjay Rash. Even Xemreth hasn't gotten over his mother's death.
She had tried going into Malgan Market in order to buy him a new pair of blasters for his birthday. But separatist tanks had rolled into the city that day. She tried to get out of the way….but she ran into a few guards knocking over one. They didn't take too kindly to an older woman disturbing the peace as they claimed. So they jailed her for weeks. Xemreth and his father only found out from a family friend who happened to escape. They said she was thrown in prisoner on charges of disturbing the peace and illegal ownership of weaponry. By the time they got to Iziz they were too late.
"I am doing okay. I just….I don't like using this path father. It is too open for an ambush."
"I know son. Bu it is the only easy path to avoid the main droid patrols as well as easy enough to get the sick and malnourished to the Onderon Rebels in sector S-11."
Xem stayed quiet knowing his father was right. But he was itching to repay the guards and those damn droids what they dealt to him. He still had the scars from his unjustified beating. He probably will for the rest of his life. So he readjusted his rifle and and double bladed vibroblade on his back. He kept an eye out on the raised Purple king's crown. A type of shrub native to Onderon. He swore he saw something move.
"Father...did you?"
His father nodded and held up a hand to tell the convoy to stop. He made a series of hand signals telling the men and women who were guarding the convoy to get those unable to fight to safety. Xemreth readied his blaster. He prefered his twin blasters but knew he would need the extra range.
Everything was tensely quiet, nobody wanting to make a move or a sound. As of one sharp intake of breath, one slight disturbance of rock would bring death on them all. This stand off lasted several seconds. Until suddenly three thermal detonators flew towards them.
"Get down!" Yelled Xemreth as he took aim. He exhaled and squeezed the trigger blasting two of the three detonators out of the air. The third rolled to his feet and Xemreth kicked it away and dove to the side. The explosion rocked him and threw him to the side. His ears ringing he was yanked up by his father. He watched as blaster fire flew at them. Xemreth shook off his disorientation and returned fire.
"Fire! Get those rebel scum," yelled a droid commander as tens of tens B1 Battle droids charged into battle. Xemreth fired as often as his rifle could take. But no matter how many he destroyed more took it's place. Xemreth could feel his anger rising with every one of his friends that fell. Soon it was just him his father and Alisali as well as three others.
"AH!" Alisali cried out falling after taking a blaster bolt to the side. Xemreth yelled, "Alisali!" cried out Xemreth. He looked at the droids and felt the anger get the better of him. He felt some kind of…..power surge through him. A kind of power he never had felt before. He has had enough. First these damn droids invade his home. Then their puppet king's men imprison his mother and killed her. He will NOT lose Alisali too.
When asked what he remembered about that day in the later years. Xemreth could only reply with he didn't really know. He said he was just consumed with rage. He basically saw red and charged the droids with his double bladed vibroblade. Ripping through droids left and right. He remembered screaming and….pushing droids without touching them. Lifting them in the air and crushing them. And the slight numbing pain of blaster fire hitting his body. The last thing he remembers was a young man with light brown hair and blue eyes staring over him concerned. He had a scar on his right eye and seemed to look at someone else. As he laid there drifting into unconsciousness he heard him say into a communicator,"Obi-Wan we may have a situation here." Then blackness as he passed out.
