Chapter 3 (REVISED)

I winced as Jan poured bacta out of a handheld container, waking up at her prodding. "You're fortunate that was only the meat of your shoulder. It missed a major artery by an inch." Jan commented.

I shrugged. "I've had worse, trust me. I pay the price for my lapse in judgment."

She fixed me with a measuring gaze. "Yeah, you seem to a kid who's seen too much for his age."

I colored briefly at her scrutiny, and was distracted by the refueling station appearing in our view.

I reloaded my blasters, and we jumped from the ship, and made our way through the dark corridors.

I felt a strange disturbance in the Force, and I notified Kyle, who replied that he felt it too.


After a long search, we found the droid's shuttle in a hanger, and the droid sitting in a chair in an adjacent room.

"At last." I muttered, although something didn't seem right.

Kyle pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the droid, his voice echoing across the dark room. "Come on, 8t88. I've been waiting for this moment for days, and don't try playing dead on me!"

The droid didn't move, and my stomach went cold as the droid's head bounced to the floor.

"The droid got his reward!" A deep scratchy voice intoned from behind us, and I turned to see a gargantuan alien wearing a helmet and body armor, a red lightsaber almost as tall as myself glowing in one of his huge hands.

"Gorc has been here, hidden within the shadows and the Dark Side. You wanted the droid's destruction, so I will let you see its face one more time. It is the last sight you will ever see." The huge beast continued.

Kyle sneered. "I've been threatened by your kind before."

Gorc shrugged. "You've defeated him in combat, but we are better than Yun."

I glanced at Kyle, and he was almost laughing at Gorc's stupidity. "But not smarter!" I replied, and a millisecond later, Kyle shot him in the face.

In a flash, a small creature hared from the darkness, jumped onto Kyle's back with a scream. "You killed Gorc, die!"

I dragged the little creature off of him, but he was ready. I saw a dagger appear in his hand, and I leaned back, barely avoiding getting my throat cut by the dagger as it whizzed by me.

I lost my balance, and he leaped for Kyle again.

Using the Force to keep me upright, I speedily drew my blaster and fired, hitting the creature in the back.

It howled, and Kyle used the distraction to finish the little bastard with his lightsaber.

We both breathed heavily, happy to be still alive. "Good timing, kid." Kyle said, helping me to my feet, and retrieving the head of the droid that had caused so much trouble.

Kyle called Jan for a pickup, but we had to fight our way through many stormtroopers to get to her.


"It seems like we overstayed our welcome." Kyle said as we boarded the Crow.

"You have that effect on some people." Jan agreed, and Kyle laughed. "You don't seem to mind."

Jan shrugged. "I'm the exception. Who's the friend?" She asked, pointing to the droid's head.

"Jan, meet what is left of 8t88. 88, meet Jan. She can be a little cranky, but she's got a good heart, and very good-looking, something you couldn't relate to."

Jan colored instantly, and I looked away with an eye-roll, watching Fuel Station explode in a ball of fire.

Then, I saw TIE fighters streaking toward us.

"As charming as you two are, we are being followed." I called to the couple.

What followed was a chase along several rocky canyons on Sulon in which all of the enemy fighters were destroyed, the last of them by an excellent shot from Kyle's blaster, which left me awed.

I knew that it had something to do with the Force, but it still was amazing.


We landed at Kyle's farm, and used the head of 8t88 to get the digital copy of the map.

In celebration, Kyle accidentally knocked Jan over, and in trying to help her up, they ended up kissing.

I walked outside to give them privacy, and watched an X-Wing land next to the Crow. At my shout, Kyle came charging out, blaster raised as Luke Skywalker walked toward us.

Jan explained that Luke had been sent to check up on them, and Kyle glared. "Jan, you took the disk from me when I was unconscious, didn't you? They sent you to spy on me!"

Jan straightened defiantly. "Yes, they did, and I did it willingly! I love you, Kyle Katarn, but I love freedom more. And the Valley of the Jedi is too important, too dangerous for you and the kid to handle by yourselves."

Kyle shook his head, pained. "And to think I trusted you." He said, and I opened my mouth to speak, but Skywalker shook his head, and I stayed silent.

"Did you?" Jan exploded. "Is that why you kept everything to yourself? Asked me to risk my life for something I didn't know about, and treating me like a convenience? You ignored the chain of command, acting like you were smarter than everyone else!"

Kyle considered this, and deflated. "Jan, I'm sorry, but I thought it was my fight."

She sighed, and pain crept into her voice. "Your fights are my fights too."

They hugged, and Luke and I glanced at each other with relief.

Luke introduced himself, and Kyle updated him on the latest news. Jerec had the map but so did we, and we had to stop him.

"A knight shall come, a battle will be fought, and the prisoners go free. If you can't do it, no one can." Luke reminded us, and Kyle nodded silently.

I could sense the end of the battle, but I didn't know what would happen. I decided to lighten the mood with a dose of sarcasm. "No pressure on you, Kyle. It's not like the entire universe depends on you." I succeeded, but I didn't expect them to laugh that hard.


On the New Hope, the flagship of the Alliance, a plan was formulated to get past the heavy security that Jerec had instituted. I volunteered to play the part of a false officer that had just gotten out of a huge fight against the rebels, carrying many Proton Torpedos with us. While there, I met Leia Organa Solo, a great honor, indeed.

Unbeknownst to the Imperials, the Torpedos were set to detonate when they were being used. The plan went as we hoped it would, and we got past the Star Destroyer Vengeance, and flew on to the planet of Ruusan.

The planet was bare, desolate, and rock and sand permeated everywhere. We found that the colony that Kyle's father had been destroyed, and I knew that every person was dead just by looking at the carnage.

We also found the remains of an ancient battle-field. A droid guided us to a plateau, and we landed and exited the aircraft, leaving Weegee behind.

The air was dry and very warm, and the three of us watched a man with a three-day's growth of beard come forward, gave his name as Grif Grawley, and Kyle grinned in recognition of his fellow Sulonists, about a dozen in all. "Grif Grawley? It's great to see you again!"

Grif cleared his throat. "We know which side your dad's on, but not you, the girl, or the kid. Drop the blasters and the lightsabers, including the young lady...until we sort things out."

Ignoring the blasters pointing at my chest, I locked eyes with the man, then after a moment handed over my weapons.

"That's better. How's your father?" Grif asked Kyle, who explained everything relating to his father's death.

Grif swore, and ordered his men to cover the Crow with netting, then told us to follow him.

I felt naked without my weapons, and I was not pleased about getting menaced by a bunch of miserable louts, whom I could kill without breaking a sweat.


Grif led us up the stairs and through an enormous entryway. The temple's interior was surprisingly well lit thanks to an ancient system of skylights and mirrors. A dozen shafts of light, each arriving from a different angle, converged on the likeness of the man, who leaned forward, his chin supported by a fist.

Grif gestured around the cavern. "Welcome to our temporary home. Those fortunate enough to survive the attack on Fort Nowhere banded together, collected what they could, and came here. Take a load off and tell us the story."

Kyle took a seat and explained everything that happened since he went to the Academy, and finished with why we were here.

I thought the story was accurate, but there was one who disagreed. A massive man with an underthrust jaw and strong shoulders who wore Kyle's weapons as if they were his. "It makes a nice story, boy, but why should we believe it? All this Jedi stuff sounds like an enemy spy's story."

I stepped slowly forward, and my voice cut through the air like a knife. "Listen, friend. We have a duty to preform and we are not here to waste time with the likes of you."

"You listen to me, you little brat, I've killed bigger womp-rats than you!" The ugly bastard snarled.

I snorted. "Were they trussed and hooded? Only then could you hope to even come close to getting the courage to even look at them, let alone shoot at them!"

The big man stepped toward me, and then Kyle stood up.

We both reached out our hands and the lightsabers flew into them, the three sabers popped and hummed to life, and Grif laughed. "Well, Pardy, no more questions? I didn't think so. Guess you'd better return those blasters. Welcome to Ruusan, you three. Tell us about the Valley and what we can do to help."


There was no specifically safe time to move around the planet's surface, but night offered some protection and was the only time when the bouncers ventured out.

It had been Grif's idea to meet these locals and seek their council, as they knew the planet inside out.

Grif, us three agents, and six of the most able-bodied colonists were in a fortress of stone, and I listened as Kyle and Grif discussed the bouncers. "They are shaped like balls, have retractable tentacles, and rely on the wind for propulsion. They have big eyes for gathering light, and love to roll in front of the wind. That's when they look for obstacles, steer for them, and bounce into the air."

I chuckled, and Grif grinned before saying that Kyle's father met them. "They called him 'the Knight That Never Was.'"

I looked at Kyle, noting his shock that Morgan could have been a Jedi Knight. The bouncers came bouncing into view, but with my advanced sight and hearing, I noticed a skimmer with two bikes as escorts.

"Comrades, look over yonder!" I shouted, pointing.

Kyle swore, and Grif swore as well.

"We've got to warn the bouncers!" Jan shouted as the speeder bikes opened fire, making them cluster.

"They are making them cluster so they can slaughter them." I narrated, as I pulled out two blasters, going to a higher perch.

Jan joined me, giving me a pat on the head. "Not while I'm alive!"

I could sense Kyle grin, and heard him say to Grif: "If your people want to even the score, here's their chance. Prisoners are fine, but nobody gets away."


Both me and Jan took out each of the speeders, and the skimmer lowered to the ground, stormtroopers pouring out.

I ran forward, attacking from the rear, and Kyle joined me with the rest of the Rebel contingent.

At the tail end of the column, I dispatched a stormtrooper with my hidden blade, while the rest of the Rebels took care of the rest of them. Even a few bouncers got some action.

When all was said and done, no Imperial escaped us. We took a few prisoners, but also lost a few men and bouncers in the battle.

We collected our gear, loaded our weapons, buried the dead, and commandeered the skimmer. We met with the bouncers, who decided to give us a guide named Floater.

We headed back to our base, and rested for a while. I slept lightly, and was the first to sight the Imperial patrol heading toward our position.

After waking up the Rebel colonists, I woke up Kyle, who was less than pleased at being woken up, but he became wide awake when I told him of the patrol.

Kyle approached Jan's sleeping body, and looked down at her for a long moment, then said, "Hey, Jan, time to wake up."

She opened her eyes, rubbed them, and looked at her watch. "What's the deal? I thought we agreed to sleep for a change?"

Kyle agreed. "A nice thought, except that our resident Assassin spotted an Imperial patrol. An AT-ST and an AT-AT, both going north."

Jan got up, waving away my apologies. I turned away modestly, but I noticed Kyle did not.

"Lecher." Jan snapped at Kyle, who shrugged. "Only for you."

Jan nodded, buckling her blaster to her waist. "Good, because I'd sure hate to fill out a whole bunch of reports explaining your untimely death."

Kyle tried to look terrified, and I laughed as we joined Grif in the skimmer.


Making sure we kept a low profile, Grawley kept to the shadows. About fifteen minutes later, we came to a mesa, and watched the patrol. I felt the Force erode near the Imperials, and I whispered to Kyle: "They have a Dark Jedi with them."

Kyle bit his lip as I continued. "If we can sense him, then he can sense us."

Jan heard me, and looked at us in alarm. "Why aren't they attacking?"

I shook my head while Kyle shrugged. "I have no idea."

Jan frowned. "So we go in?"

Kyle nodded. "We might as well."

We put the Crow down about five klicks from our target. It was dark, and Jan was one of the few people who could fly the ship, something that I pointed out with a smile.

Jan reddened when Kyle agreed.


It was a long way from the Valley, but as close as we could get. The area was crawling with enemy troops and droids, and we landed in a canyon to avoid detection.

Weegee was left with the ship, while Jan, Kyle, Grif, me, and Floater struck out. We set out in a southerly direction, and Floater's ease in navigation did not surprise me, and in climbing the mountain terrain.

The darkness forced the others to wear night-vision goggles, but I received strange looks from Grif and the rest when I refused them.


All went well, too well.

Half a klick from the Valley, Grif tangled with a battle droid. Grif and the droid engaged in a hand to hand combat, the old man stabbing it with a knife, screaming his hatred as he stabbed the droid again and again.

I ran forward, but was too late. I watched as the droid accelerated into a canyon wall and exploded, and I bowed my head and wished the brave man well. Kyle looked gloomy, and Jan bit her lip.

Common sense encouraged us to go back, but we knew we wouldn't get another shot at the Valley, and we were so close. "There's no way to know if the droid sent some kind of report, but we should assume so." Kyle said, and Jan shrugged. "We've got a mission to carry out, so let's go."

I pointed up at Floater, who was still climbing above us. "Sometimes actions speak louder than words." I said, and we followed Floater as he led us into an ancient aqueduct, which was built in a way that hid us from prying eyes.

We were on our way to the Valley, and would be there soon.