AN: I'm back with another chapter, I hope you all enjoy
Disclaimer: I own nothing and all that good stuff
Addendum: this chapter has a song from the cartoon adaptation of the hobbit the song can be found on YouTube I recommend that you check it out, it's called "The Greatest Adventure" yep I did that :P.
Addendum addendum: this has been edited with the help of my good friend Jacob Sailer I recommend you check his stories out for now I hope you enjoyed the superior draft of this chapter.
Chapter 3 - The Greatest Adventure
Viridian felt the rays of the sun hit his face as he stirred. He opened his eyes and sat up; digging through his pocket and pulling out his Datapad. He looked at it for a moment then his eyes widened, "You're kidding me!" he nearly shouted in disbelief. He heard a knock at the door.
"Viridian," Celebion's voice called, "is everything alright?" he asked concerned.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Viridian sighed in exasperation as he press the stop record button 'I can't believe I forgot to stop the recording.' he thought to himself. Then he picked himself up and got himself dressed; making his way to the dining hall where the Dwarves and Celebion were all eating breakfast. He took a seat with Celebion, and Fili and Kili, "Does anyone know where Gandalf is?" he asked as he pulled himself a bowl of something.
"He had to go take care of some business. He'll be here to meet us momentarily." Balin answered the boy.
Kili looked like he was about to burst and Viridian sensed he wanted to ask him something, so he told him to do so.
Kili sighed in relief, "...What are your friends like?" Kili inquired curiously.
Viridian smiled fondly and answered, "Well I travel with a group of eight. Most of whom are Jedi like myself, and one of them is a Mandalorian."
"What are their names?"
"Well there's Jak, he's the oldest. He is a warrior and a good man to know. Then there is Ulra, she is a Jedi like myself but her talents lie in healing. Then there is Du, he is perhaps my best friend who I know is still alive… somehow," Viridian swallowed a lump in his throat but kept going, "next is Kes. She practically loves maps and codes. You name it, she'll decipher it. Then there is Jasmine, our hunter and scout. I bet she'd give you a run for your money, Celebion," Viridian grinned, the older man smiled and chuckled. Viridian continued:
"Then there is Xey. She's a fine warrior herself and is definitely a better swordsman than me. But… well, despite that, I see her as my younger sister. And last, but not least, there's Janus. He's perhaps the most passionate warrior scholar you'll know. He actually managed to utilise his Jedi powers without any formal training, but given the fact that his home has been subjugated twice now… well, it's understandable." Viridian sighed, "and those are my companions. Any questions?"
"Are they all fighters?" Kili asked.
"Aye, we fought in the same wars together. Though the first one, Jak was on the enemy's side for a while. Janus didn't actually participate in that war either."
"This Jak... was your enemy?" Thorin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He made bad decisions and got involved with a group of extremist who wished to overthrow the government… you know what. He can tell you the story himself when you meet him."
"That seems unlikely." Thorin pointed out.
"You never know." Viridian smiled. Thorin couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"You say you fought in two wars. What were they called?" Dwalin asked curiously.
"The first one was called the Clone Wars, and the other one... well, we don't have a name for it." Viridian answered sheepishly, "The first one was the bloodiest war in our history. It's sad really, all our enemy wanted was to secede from the Republic. Well, I did support that... at first. But when they started to commit such heinous war crimes... I lost all sympathy for them."
"What kind of war crimes?"
"They butchered countless amounts of people. People who couldn't defend themselves or too weak to fight them." Viridian growled, his eyes narrowed with a stern gaze.
"Wait these were other humans? I would expect that from Orcs but humans?" Ori asked surprised. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for a human to be ruthless killers but it was rare.
"They didn't use humans in their military, they used machines. Droids that don't feel, only do what they are told and they will follow it without question. They have no free will only programing."
"Programming?" Nori asked.
Viridian winced slightly. It was going to be tough trying to explain certain things to these people. But he would certainly try, "Okay, are you familiar with a Golem?" Viridian asked. The group all nodded, "Well, that's basically what a droid is. Golems are created to carry out the will of their creator. That's what programing is."he tried to explain.
"I see." Thorin commented with a nod, "it sounds very similar to what the first dark lord did to his creatures. They have no free will. None. They're just monsters that need to be destroyed."
"Exactly," Viridian said, "wait, what?" he asked surprised about that last part Thorin mentioned.
"It sounds a lot like indoctrination. That is what Morgoth did to the Orcs." Balin told him.
"Indoctrination is another word for programming, except golems can't offer any resistance. They are built by men to fulfill a purpose." Viridian explained. 'Morgoth sounds very similar to the kaminoans in how they treated their creations,' he thought to himself. He quickly shook that thought away.
"We should get moving. We can talk more on the road." Thorin announced. With that everyone stood up and grabbed the final things they needed and loaded them onto their steeds.
"That battle armor is strange." Ori said upon seeing the armor beneath Viridian's robes.
"Indeed. It belonged to the Vong warrior that we interrogated." Celebion informed him.
"It does?" the young dwarf asked as Viridian came by.
"Yeah, it is interesting piece of equipment. It's some kind of crab they use. Their shells were strong enough to stop my lightsaber." Viridian told him, much to the Dwarves surprise.
"I thought you said your weapon could cut through anything!?" Thorin scowled.
"I said most anything. There are some minerals that my weapon can't cut." Viridian informed him, and Thorin calmed down a bit.
"I'm sorry I misheard you." he apologised.
"It's alright. I do know of some materials that my weapon cannot cut nor penetrate. The ones I do know of are Beskar or Mandalorian Iron, Phyric, Song Steel, and Crotosis." Viridian counted off the fingers of his hand. At this, Thorin's brows furrowed.
"I have never heard of any of those metals in Middle Earth." Thorin stated.
"Well I would be surprised if you did find Beskar on this world. So far the only world it has been discovered on is Mandalore. Kind of contributed to the Mandalorians prowess in combat. They used to forge their armor and swords out of it... well, for the higher rankers anyway." Viridian explained, "it is possible that some of these minerals exist here but you call them something else."
"The laddie is correct, but that hardly matters now." Balin cut in.
"Are we ready?" Thorin asked, receiving several ayes, "Good. We leave now. Gandalf will meet us-"
"I'm here Thorin." the wizard called.
"-Here." Thorin finished, "so, did you go to see our burglar?" he asked him.
"I'll wager that he'll show up." Gandalf said.
"How much?" Nori asked smirking, with that nearly all of the Dwarves except Balin and Thorin making bets on whether or not Bilbo would arrive. Kili, Fili, Gandalf and Bofur bet that he would show up.
"Damn, if I had any money I'd bet on Bilbo coming with us." Viridian said, "I'll bet a portion of my share that he'll come." He said after a moment of thought.
"As you wish." Gloin called.
Viridian turned to Celebion, "What about you?" he asked.
"I don't gamble. I see no point in it, though I believe he will come." Celebion told him.
"Fair enough." with that they started to make their way out of the Shire. After some time they heard someone shouting behind him. Viridian smiled. He recognised the voice.
"Wait!" the company stopped and turned to see Bilbo running after them with a piece of paper in hand. He ran up to Balin, panting like he was going to puke, "I signed it." he told him and handed the contract to the Dwarf.
Balin inspected it with a monocle, "Everything appears to be in order. Bilbo Baggins, welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." He said welcomingly and most of the other Dwarves cheered in welcome.
Thorin just sighed and began to move forward again, grumbling, "Give him a pony."
"Uh no, that won't be necessary! I can do just fine on foot." Bilbo tried to explain only for two of the Dwarves to pick him up and plumb him onto one of the spare ponies.
As the group rode on, Bilbo saw that the Dwarves were throwing small sacks at each other he turned to Gandalf, "What are they doing?" he asked.
"They took wagers on whether you would show up." The Wizard answered with a humored smile.
The hobbit didn't know how to respond to that but nodded in understanding, "And what did you bet on?" Bilbo found himself asking.
Less than a second after the question was asked, Gandalf caught a sack of Gold and chuckled, "My dear Bilbo, I never doubted you for a moment."
Bilbo then turned to the humans, "and what about you two?" He asked them.
Viridian then held up his hand and a sack of coins came into it, "What do you think?" He asked him with a smirk.
Celebion however didn't and Bilbo began to think he didn't think he would come. But Celebion shook his head, "I didn't bet, Bilbo. Didn't see the need to swindle these fine Dwarves out of their money." He answered with a smile. Some of the Dwarves grumbled but didn't object.
Abruptly Bilbo sneezed, "Agh, it's all this horse hair. I'm having a reaction." He laughed it off as he fiddled around looking for something. His eyes widened in horror, "Wait stop we have to turn around!" Bilbo exclaimed.
"Oh Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked exasperated. Viridian waited for the answer.
"Forgot my handkerchief." Bilbo answered. Viridian honestly felt the urge to smack the hobbit silly but restrained himself knowing that this kind of expedition was unusual for most hobbits.
Bofur had a solution and ripped a piece of clothing and threw it at the hobbit. Bilbo caught it and looked at it as if to say 'really'.
Thorin ordered the company to keep moving and they did so at a reasonable pace, "You'll have to do without handkerchiefs and a good many other comforts Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. Home is now behind you and the world is ahead." Gandalf told him as they rode on.
After some time Bilbo was getting a little bored, "Uh, does anyone know any traveling songs?" He asked curiously.
Celebion chuckled "I know one." He stated.
"Well please, good sir, let's hear it." Bofur encouraged, and the other Dwarves cheered for him to sing as did Gandalf.
Celebion smiled, "Very well." He cleared his throat.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead,
Today and Tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.
The greatest adventure is there if you're bold
Let go of the moment that life makes you hold
To measure the meaning can make you delay
It's time you stop thinking and wasting the day.
A man who's a dreamer and never takes leave
Who thinks of a world that is just make believe
Will never know passion
Will never know pain
Who sits by the window
Will one day see rain.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to me said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.
The company enjoyed it so much that they practically begged Celebion to teach them the song so that they all could sing it too.
(Location Bree)
Janus woke with a start a thin sheet of sweat covering his forehead "We need to get out of here!" He urged, causing Du to spring awake in alarm.
"What's the matter!?" Du asked worried.
"Something draws near." Janus stated.
Du didn't bother asking what it was. He sprang into action and got the others. In seconds, they were up, getting their gear stored in their packs and ready to get out of town, and hopefully avoid whatever was coming. Little did they know that it was approaching the gate at that moment.
A knock came from the gate and the gatekeeper opened the small door to see seven men all dressed in white armor with one marked with blue stripes. It was in the same style as one of the guests from last night. The lead man wore a bulkier set than the others. They all held what the keeper assumed were weapons. But these were of the like he had never seen before. Then again, so did the others, "Good morning, sirs. Can I help you?" the keeper asked politely.
"Yes, my good sir. I'm Captain Jane Mallory, and we're looking for a group of six individuals we think they may have passed through here."
The keeper nodded, "Your man there," he stated pointing at Jaing, "the lead man from last night had armor very similar except it was grey and black." the keeper explained.
"What would a Mandalorian be doing all the way out here?" one of the troopers asked, prompting another to shrug.
"One of his companions also had a similar set of armor. They said that they were attacked on the road."
Jane nodded, "I see. Can you tell us where they are now We have a few questions for them."
"Are they a danger?" the keeper asked concerned.
"That is yet to be determined." Jane told him.
"They are at the inn of the Prancing Pony," the keeper replied and opened the door.
"Thank you, good sir. Have a good day." Jane bid the man farewell and led the troopers to the Prancing Pony. As they approached, they saw the group exit with a man in Mandalorian armor leading them. "Stop right there!" Jane shouted, raising his weapon into a ready stance. The group of six looked over at them, eyes wide and then ran in the other direction. The Imperials gave chase.
"They must be insurrectionist." Jaing suggested in their comm.'s as they ran. One of the troopers took aim and fired. Suddenly, a boy with short black hair grabbed the hilt of a lightsaber. He activated its cyan blade and deflected the bolt, sending it upward. "Jedi!" the Trooper shouted in disbelief.
Jane cursed, "Perfect. This just got complicated." he sighed. They ran till they had them cornered. The six of them all turned to face the Imps, their weapons drawn. A crowd gathered and they all stared at Jasmine and Du who had pulled their hoods down to reveal their less than human appearance, and their lightsaber blades also drew their attention. "There is nowhere to run! Lay down your arms and I promise no harm will come to you." Jane commanded. The human boy snorted.
"And what good is that? The word of an Imp, especially of the Jedi Killer Corps?" he shouted. Jane sighed with resignation. The Corps was the Empire's response to the still rampant Jedi threat: soldiers trained to kill force users. They worked in conjunction with the Inquisition, the Emperor's personal cadre of Dark Side warriors. Jane had qualified for it and was drafted into the Corps despite not wanting to for personal reasons.
"I'm a soldier, not an assassin. I have no wish to harm you. I have orders to find out how you got here and why you abandoned ship." Jane explained.
The Mandalorian spoke up all the while keeping his guns trained on the Imperials, "We were attacked by a species called the Yuuzhan Vong, heard of them?" he asked.
Jane shook his head, "No I haven't," he started, then he had a thought, "do they use molten rock as their projectiles?" he asked. He could tell Jaing wanted nothing more than to blast the Jedi away, and while technically that was what they were supposed to do, Jane didn't give a damn about that particular order.
"Yes they do." Jak answered.
"Well, now we have a name at least." Jane muttered to himself, "Look, we need to take you back to base for further questioning. Please, lower your weapons."
"Not going to happen, buckethead!" the boy growled. One didn't need to be force sensitive to tell he absolutely hated them, and he would never trust them.
"Sir, Order 66 says that we must use lethal force. It's impossible to capture a Jedi, and even if you do, they're almost guaranteed to escape." Jaing snarled as he kept his blaster pointed at the group.
"Jaing, I don't care what Order 66 says. They have information on the Far Outsiders and that would prove beneficial to us." Jane said in a tone that left no room for arguments.
Jak turned to Janus and gave a subtle nod. Janus than called upon the Force. Janus had a talent for an ability called 'Alter Environment' which allowed him to alter the whether in the area. The practical benefits allowed the user to create a gale, a rain storm and even summon a lightning bolt. Masters of the ability could summon a pillar of fire but Janus wasn't that good yet.
In less than a second, a bolt of lightning crashed right in the center of the Imperial formation. Their armor protected them from the electrical discharge but because lightning bolts tend to displace the air, the loud boom that followed as the air rapidly rushed back into the area knocked the Imperials off their feet and disorientated them. With that the group of six bolted and ran past the troopers.
"Split up! We'll meet up outside of town!" Jak ordered, and the group branched off in their own directions.
Jane shook his head to get his bearings, "Is everyone alright?" he asked the men under his command.
A chorus of 'Yes sirs' came from other the six men, "Alright then, let's get going. Capture them if able. Kill them only if you must." Jane said, the last part with a heavy heart.
"You heard him, men! Go get 'em!" Jaing bellowed as he and the others stood up to chase them down. Jane meanwhile made his way to the main entrance of the town to block off their escape.
Janus ran through the town, vaulting over carts and dodging any civilians that happened to come in his path. He looked behind him and saw a stormtrooper following him. He stopped running and turned to face him. Activating his cyan blade, the trooper fired at the young Jedi, and he deflected the bolts away harmlessly. He then reached out with his telekinesis and seized the trooper and pulled him onto his his blade. Impaled, he let out a grunt of pain.
The noise deeply disturbed Janus. As he deactivated his blade and put the trooper down gently, he then removed his helmet. The trooper wasn't a clone of Fett, that much he could tell. He was looking at Janus eyes wide with fear and breathing heavily, "I only saw your helmet and rifle." Janus said gently he looked at the utility belt and saw a holo device.
He removed it and activated it. The trooper feebly tried to stop him, "Calm down, save your strength." Janus urged. The picture was of a woman with and a young boy... she was obviously with child. Janus closed his eyes in sadness, "I'm sorry."
The Trooper tried to speak, but instead he only coughed up blood.
"What's your name?" Janus asked.
"C-cyrus K-kkane." the trooper answered.
"Janus Lynn." the Jedi answered. The man nodded feebly and began losing consciousness. As he died in his arms, Janus pursed his lips and closed the man's eyes and bowed his head, "May you find peace, Cyrus Kane." Janus stated.
He looked up and saw a group of civilians looking at him and the dead trooper. With that, Janus stood up and casted one more look at Cyrus's face. Another face to plague his nightmares. He activated the man's emergency beacon and took off running.
Du bolted for the main exit and saw the Jedi Killer in the way. He activated his blade and moved in to strike him down. Jane activated his own white blade and parried the blow. Du knew that if he didn't get past the man, another Imp would come up behind him and shoot him. However just before that could happen the man was thrown out of the way by the arrival of his friend, Janus, who used the force to pin Jane to the wall.
With that, Du held his ground and defended Janus while they waited for the others. It didn't take long, the group all ran towards them. One by one till they were all out. Janus was about to kill Jane, but he was hit by a vision of this man and Viridian standing side by side ready for battle. This caused him to hesitate, then a bolt whizzed by and Janus dropped the man and ran out the town gate. The Jedi then used their powers and slammed the gate shut.
One of the troopers turned to Jane, "Captain, you have the authority to initiate order 37. We can use it to get these Jedi." one of the troopers suggested.
Jane clenched his fist so tight that if he didn't have his gloves on, it would have caused him to bleed, "If you ever suggest something like that again trooper, I will personally execute you!" Jane barked.
One of the troopers looked around, "Where's Cyrus?" he asked. Jaing got on the comm.
"Trooper, report." Jaig ordered, static answering him, "his emergency beacon is on."
"Let's go check on him." Jane ordered as they ran to the beacon's location. They found him on the ground his eyes closed and unmoving, a lightsaber wound in his chest.
Jaing's hands clenched his blaster tightly. He then turned to the civilians, "What happened here?" he demanded.
"...The lad with the blue blade pulled him onto his sword." a hobbit said fearfully.
Jaing rounded on Jane, "It's thanks to you that one of our men is dead!" he shouted.
Jane just nodded, "You're right. It's my responsibility that Cyrus is dead. I will contact base and have them send speeders and reclaim his body. We're going after them." Jane stated and did as he said he would.
Another civilian, a woman approached the troopers, "s...sirs?" she started nervously. Jane turned to face her.
"Yes ma'am?"
"The boy? He stayed with him till he passed on, and he closed his eyes." she told him. Jane nodded in understanding. Jaing appreciate the sentiment but still wanted to blast the Jedi.
"Alright, anything else you can tell me?" Jane asked.
"The boy said that his name was Janus, Janus Lynn." she added.
"Thank you, you can go about your business." he told her. She nodded and left the area as did the others but the people of Bree all kept their eyes on them.
Meanwhile, the five Jedi and and one Mandalorian ran through the wilds as fast as they could, trying to put a much distance between them and Bree as possible. Jak could tell that they were heading east. Du told them that as they crashed he saw a ruined tower some ways away from the settlement. After some time, they came to a stop in a clearing.
"What is... the Empire doing here?" Kes panted out as she supported herself on a tree.
"I'm not sure." Jak said, he too was breathing heavy.
"We should keep moving." Jasmine stated, "how far is the tower? We'll make camp there and if we need to, hold out." With that they group nodded in agreement and they continued their trek to the ruins.
(Location: the Ford of Bruine)
Xey followed the Sons of Elrond for a while now. They had to take a more indirect route because of some enemies blocking the direct route. She heard the sound of flowing water, "Are we close?" she asked curiously.
"Aye my lady, we are very close." Elrohir answered, "we need to cross the river here and we'll be in the valley."
Xey looked nervous, "River, as in water?" she asked. Being blind, she was nervous when it came to bodies of water.
"The water will barely reach your knees." Elladan assured her.
Xey swallowed nervously, "If you say so." However, she placed a steadying hand on Elladan's shoulder. He didn't protest and led her through the river.
After about half an hour of walking, they came to an open area. Xey could feel water droplets touch her face, and the Force resonated strongly here. She felt at peace, the same feeling she had at the temple before the war started.
"My lady, welcome to Imladris, the last homely house east of the sea." Elrohir said.
"Isn't that a bit redundant?" Xey asked, "also I can't see it." she added.
"A thousand pardons, perhaps father can help restore your sight." Elrohir apologise. Xey's breath caught.
"Can he?" she asked hopefully.
"Our father is a great healer. Of course he can help you." Elladan answered.
Xey nodded vigorously, "I would like that."
"Alright then, follow us, but be careful. The pass here is a bit narrow." Elrohir warned. She nodded and placed her hand on Elladan again and carefully followed them into the realm of the Noldor.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed
