A/N: After months of splitting time between this and my other two stories, plus work and looking at grad school, I've finally finished this chapter. It was a labor of love to get everything to sound and come across right, and around the middle is where there were quite a few changes made before I sent it off to be betad (beta'ed?).
Big S/O to LucDragoon for giving this a beta read and making sure everything came out OK.
Disclaimer: I take no credit for the creation of the characters or setting in this FF.
Roughly 1.9 meters tall, whatever was standing and howling above Jun was an odd creature. Its head was covered in a helmet made out of a leathery material, with its face obscured by a mask with built-in goggles and what appeared to be a breathing apparatus. Its entire body was covered in wrappings and cloaks that didn't show any of its skin; the only part of its body that was uncovered were its clawed-hands.
The creature, now flanked by several more just like it, let out another throaty warble as it raised its club high in the air. The club appeared to be made of either rock or some kind of wood, and a long metal cleaver was attached at the end raised high in the air, with a spike made out of the butt-end of the weapon.
The creature swung the weapon downward with great speed, much quicker than a normal human could. But the SPARTAN was faster. He deftly let go of his SRS and caught the weapon as it was descending and gripped it tightly, not letting it move any closer.
The creature, surprised by the unexpected quickness and strength of Jun, tried to wrench away the club for another attack. But Jun's grip was too strong, too resilient, and no matter how hard it tried the creature could not take back its weapon.
Jun decided to go on the offensive and forced the melee-weapon forward, sending the assailant back and causing it to lose it footing. Jun then grabbed hold of the weapon with his other hand and used his immense strength to lift the creature high into the air and slam it into the earth behind him.
Dust and rock kicked up as the creature impacted the ground, and Jun twirled the weaponized staff around so that the spiked end was pointing down and thrust the sharpened butt-end deep into the abdomen of the creature, impaling itself deep into the rocky surface. It let out a pained wail as it tried to pull the staff out from it, but the weapon wouldn't move, and the creature slowly and painfully died embedded in the soil.
One of the remaining creatures leveled a long-barreled rifle and opened fire on Jun as he turned back to face the trio. An angry-red bolt of plasma erupted from the barrel of the weapon and splashed against Jun's chest, dropping his shields a quarter and signaling a warning from his helmet.
As three more red bolts left the barrels of the alien rifles, Jun's adrenaline began to pump furiously throughout his body. Combined with the augmentations he received from Project CHRYSANTHEMUM and the processing matrix of the MJOLNIR Mark V power armor, time slowed down for Jun.
He had entered Spartan Time.
Those under the effects of Spartan Time had been known to dodge never-ending streams of plasma fire, go toe-to-toe with the walking gun-batteries accurately called Hunters, and even disarm a sword-wielding Elite at close range. Legend has it Master Chief SPARTAN-117, the most well-known and well-publicized of the SPARTAN-IIs, was able to backhand an incoming Scorpion anti-tank missile fired from a SkyHawk jump-jet during a training exercise.
Jun moved through the air as if it were a thick, sticky syrup. By the time Jun was within striking distance, the energy bolts were only halfway between himself and the creature that fired it. The supersoldier effortlessly sidestepped each bolt, watching as they lazily drifted by and impact with the rock wall behind him, leaving blackened craters in the brown sediment.
Time returned to normal as Jun grabbed the M6G Magnum from his hip clamp and opened fire, sending the assailants scrambling for cover behind a grouping of large boulders. Several of the 12.7mm x 40mm Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds burrowed their way into the bodies of the attackers, dropping them hard to the ground as dark liquid oozed from the bullet wounds while the rest took potshots from behind protection.
Aside from a few bolts that came within at least a foot in Jun's direction, most of the shots were taken in a blind-fire manner and went every which way. As he calmly advanced forward, Jun deduced that these were not military-trained individuals; if they were, they would at least be able to showcase basic firing techniques instead of the spray-and-pray methods used by the untrained and undisciplined.
The S-III quietly climbed the boulder, launched himself high in the air and landed behind the two remaining creatures. The one with the laser rifle turned to face him, but Jun grabbed it and bent the barrel upwards, rendering it useless.
Jun delivered a powerful front-kick the creature square in the chest, shattering bones and rupturing whatever internal organs were inside it as the enemy flew back into the boulder, collapsed to the ground and remained motionless. The other alien, perhaps driven by fear or anger, let out a loud war cry and raised its staff, charging the SPARTAN with great zeal. It swung the weapon at Jun, but he effortlessly sidestepped it and swept its legs out beneath it.
In one motion, Jun spun, unsheathed his combat knife and sunk it deep into the creature's chest, sending it crashing hard into the earth. Jun twisted the knife, putting the final adversary out of its misery.
When the dust settled and Jun cleaned off the blood from his knife, all four attacking creatures were either incapacitated or dead, while nary a scratch appeared on Jun's dark-green armor.
Jun waited a moment to collect himself as he observed the grizzly carnage around him. He couldn't believe these creatures could sneak up on him. For whatever reason, he hadn't even thought to keep a close watch on his motion tracker. Jun would have to be more careful in this new environment if he wanted to live to see Reach or the UNSC ever again.
Before he could closer inspect the dead aliens, a thought pinged and Jun looked around for the boy. He couldn't see him anywhere, nor could he see any of the other assailants who attacked their position.
Jun jogged over to his SRS and quickly swiped it to scan the surrounding area. While both of the mammoth-looking creatures remained where Jun last saw them, he couldn't see any other life forms. And without any UNSC neural implants to register and recognize friendly from foe, his motion tracker was just about useless.
He continued to pan back and forth, eyes never leaving the view from the sniper rifle, when he saw another gathering of the masked creatures mulling around the speeder they arrived in. Jun was hesitant to open fire and give away his position when he saw the Skywalker boy lying in the open, not moving. Aside from a few welts and bruises, it didn't appear that he was too badly wounded.
Jun flipped the reticle of his SRS back and forth between each of the three creatures until he was confident that he could hit them all with three bullets perfectly. When he had their heads lined up perfectly and their motions down pat, Jun took several deep breaths to slow his breathing and flicked the safety of his SRS to off.
His finger hovered just centimeters off the trigger when he heard another, more high-pitched wail coming from a far right side of the valley. Jun's view was slightly obscured by a towering formation of stalagmites, but he did see the scavengers scurry in fear as their throaty wails echoed off the rock walls.
Jun grabbed his DMR and started to head down towards Skywalker to check for any injuries when he saw a cloaked figure slowly approaching from the west. It stood over the motionless Skywalker and put a hand over the boy's face.
"Stop," Jun ordered as he slid down the rocky decline, aiming the long-barreled rifle at the figure. "Stop right where you are, and put your hands where I can see them."
The figure turned to Jun and slowly rose. Its hands moved upwards, but instead of straight up, they went for the hood obscuring its face.
"I said stop! Stop or I will fire!"
The figure removed the hood, revealing a grey-haired and grey-bearded man with piercing blue eyes and wise look about him. While Jun was surprised to see a human underneath the cloak, he kept himself steeled and ready for any tricks.
"Fear not," said the old man. "I mean no harm to you or your companion here."
"I'm ordering you to identify yourself," Jun ordered, aiming the barrel of the rifle at the old man's head.
"I'm a friend of the boy. I saw he was in trouble and rushed to his assistance."
"Then step away from him and put your hands above your head or I will be forced to take you down."
Rather than listen to the towering supersoldier, a sly grin appeared on the old man's face as he subtly waved his fingers.
"You will not fire upon me."
Jun felt a strange influence come over his mind, lowering the rifle slightly, but he shook it off and raised the rifle again.
"I said," Jun ordered, patience waning thin. "Step away from the boy and put your hands in the air!"
"Hmm," the old man whispered, a curious look quickly appearing on his face as quickly as it disappeared.
The old man subtlety waved his fingers again at Jun and the supersoldier felt a weird presence try to take over his mind. "You will not fire upon me."
Jun once again felt a presence attempt to influence his actions, this time much stronger than the last. He tried to shake it off like the last time, but this time the influence grew stronger, more resistant.
"I… will not…" Jun felt a sense of vertigo and nausea as he fought against the influence and stared back at the stranger. "What hell are you doing to me," Jun demanded, stepping closer to the stranger.
Before the old man could answer, Luke stirred as he tried to pick himself up from the dirt. The stranger and Jun hurried over to him and made sure he was OK to sit up.
"Rest easy, son," the old man said. "You've had a busy day. And fortunate to be in one piece."
Luke rubbed the back of his head and then his eyes before looking up and seeing who was standing over him. A mixture of surprise, relief and amazement came over his face as he realized who the stranger was.
"Ben," Luke said, half questioning to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Ben Kenobi? Boy am I glad to see you!"
"How do you know this man," Jun asked, still wary of this 'Ben Kenobi'.
"He's an old friend. I haven't seen him in ages."
"The Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly," Kenobi said, picking himself up before helping Luke off the ground.
Jun heard the familiar beeping of the smaller droid as it slowly wheeled itself out from a small cave.
"Tell me young Luke, what brought you out this far," the old man continued, helping Luke over to his speeder. Luke must've still felt woozy from the attack, as he stumbled a bit before Jun and Ben helped him sit on a rock.
"This little droid over here," Luke said, rubbing his head and pointing to R2. "He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi, is there any chance he's a relative of yours?"
Whatever significance that name had to the old man caused him to widen his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"That is a name I have not heard in a long time," he said, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "A long time."
Jun remained silent, still skeptical of this stranger and whatever his intentions were.
"I think my uncle must've known him," Luke replied, having recovered enough to sit upright on his own. "But he said he was dead."
"Oh he's not dead… not yet, anyway."
"So you do know him," Luke said, perking up when hearing that Obi-Wan might still be alive.
"Of course I do," Ben said with a mysterious smile. "He's me."
The blue robot – who wandered over from its hiding spot – let out a surprised whistle at the revelation. While it appeared that Skywalker understood why Ben had changed his identity, Jun was at a loss. Why hide one's identity for so long? Unless there was something larger at play that he wasn't aware of, Jun saw no reason to keep up a false identity for a 'a long time'.
There was information the old man was hiding, information Jun wanted to get to the bottom of. He didn't trust the old man, but he would play along for the moment and see where it took him.
A whiney growl echoed throughout the canyon as Luke jumped up from his seated position and Jun raised his DMR to meet whatever opposition came their way.
"I suggest we get indoors," Kenobi said with great alertness. "The Sand People are easily startled, but they will soon be back. And in greater numbers."
After retrieving the gold robot, damaged in the scuffle with the nomads, the group followed Kenobi along the path to his home high in the canyon. Although these 'sand people' didn't pose much of a threat to Jun, he understood there was no sense in staying behind to fight them off. With limited ammunition and little idea of what kind of reinforcements they would bring, the SPARTAN sighed and followed along.
Jun kept his rifle at his side, sitting by a window and scanning the valley down below for any signs of hostiles as the two spoke about the boy's father.
While hearing the old man mention something called the Clone Wars and Jedi, Jun remained highly skeptical of this Obi-Wan. While Luke vouched for him as a long-time friend, something still didn't sit right. Who were these Jedi? What was a Jedi? How long ago was this Clone Wars conflict?
Kenobi calmly left his seat to look for something in an old chest. The man sifted through various trinkets and other items of his former life until he found what he was looking for.
"Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough," said Kenobi, fishing something out of a chest. "But your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you would follow old Obi-Wan on some damn foolish idealistic crusade… like your father did."
Resting in the old man's hands was a sleek, metallic-looking cylinder. Black material offset the metallic sheen of the device, which the old man gently held in the palms of his hands. While it didn't look like much, Jun sensed that there was more to it than its appearance gave off.
"What is it," Luke asked, mesmerized by the metallic handle.
"It was your father's lightsaber," Kenobi said, handing it to Luke. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster…"
In an image that Jun would never forget, Luke pressed a red button and a blade of pure light erupted from the base of the device. The blade – approximately a meter long of electric-blue energy – gave off a deep hum as the boy maneuvered the weapon in lazy patterns
While energy swords existed where Jun was from, the ones wielded by the Sangheili looked nothing like that. The hilt of the Covenant energy sword was horizontal and had twin blades of magnetically-contained plasma, while this one had a vertical handle and contained just one blade. While they looked radically different, Jun surmised that the blade Luke was holding was as equally devastating when used offensively.
"An elegant weapon," Kenobi finished, taking a seat as he observed Luke handle the weapon. "For a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice throughout the Old Republic."
The look on Kenobi's face shifted to a much sadder, somber look. "Before the dark times… before the Empire."
The boy deactivated the weapon and sat next to Kenobi, curious for more information. They spoke about how Skywalker's father was killed by a former pupil of Kenobi's who then hunted down and slaughtered many of Kenobi's people, driving them into extinction. They then discussed something called the Force, 'a mystical field of energy that bound the Galaxy together.'
Luke might've bought into the idea of an all-encompassing web of energy, but Jun simply snorted at it. To him, it sounded more like ridiculous superstitions and bullshit religious babble, something Jun had long ago forgone. Because what kind of God or mystical bubble of energy would allow the extermination of the entire human race without any kind of divine intervention?
"Now, let's see if we can't figure out who you are, my little friend. And where you've come from." Kenobi strolled over to the R2 unit and pressed a number of buttons on the top of the droid. A blue projection of static appeared on a table in between the two of them and the droid.
"I could only see part of the message," Luke started, working on repairing the gold droid. "But it was too–"
"I seem to have found it," the old man said with a wide grin of satisfaction.
Skywalker and Jun both stopped what they were doing to listen to the full, unrepeating message contained within the R2 unit.
Once again, the holographic form of the elegantly-dressed woman from before was present on a table in front of them. This time, however, it seemed that the recording began from the very start of the message, rather than picking up from a random point as it did before.
"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father during the Clone Wars, and now he begs you to help in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person; my ship has come under attack and my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed."
Jun was drawn to the pleading of the mysterious woman, the genuine sincerity bleeding from her every word. Jun could see that Luke was drawn to the recording, too, but in a different way. The way he stared with great wonder at the video holograph, particularly the woman, did not go unnoticed.
"I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2-unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. General Kenobi, you must see this droid safely to Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour! Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi… you're my only hope!"
The recording ended, and the hologram disappeared. An unsettling silence fell upon the room that lasted for quite some time. Normally Jun wouldn't want to tie himself up in affairs that had nothing to do with him, but for whatever odd reason he know felt responsible for this woman's assistance. Jun at the very least understood the plight that this woman was describing. Any government that went by an Empire had to be bad news.
But at the same time, Jun's feint desire to help her and her cause clashed with his primary objective of finding a way back to UNSC-controlled space. And while he felt sorrow for the woman, the mentioning of a rebellion reminded Jun of the very beginnings of the preceding SPARTAN-II Program during the height of the Insurrection. Jun wanted nothing to do with a group of rebels whose sole purpose was to wreak havoc among the stars for the government, not until he at least had any information on their supposed wrongdoings.
Kenobi looked over at Skywalker with a wiry smile. "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you are to come with me to Alderaan."
"Alderaan," Luke asked with a short laugh before leaving his seat. "I'm not going to Alderaan! I've got to get home, it's late. I'm already in trouble as it is!"
"But I need your help, Luke," Kenobi responded. "She needs your help! I'm getting too old for this sort of thing to do it alone."
Luke looked between Kenobi, Jun, and the ground, fighting between his obvious desire to leave this rock and help Kenobi and his responsibilities to his Uncle.
"I can't get involved," a pained Luke said, disappointment lacing his voice. "I've got work to do."
Kenobi looked away from Skywalker momentarily, obviously disappointed in the boy's decision.
"It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it," Luke said, trying to explain his decision. "But there's nothing I can do about it right now. And Alderaan is so far away."
"That is your Uncle talking," Kenobi said at the last point Luke made.
"I can take you as far as Anchorhead," Luke reasoned, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I'm sure you can find a transport to Mos Eisley or wherever it is you need to go."
"I'll join you," Jun said, speaking for the first time since they arrived here. "It might as well be my only way off this rock."
"Thank you, stranger," Kenobi said with a smile. "At least someone answers the call that has been thrust upon them."
Luke stared refused to look at Kenobi the entire time it took to load up the droids, ashamed that he let an old friend down while a man he had just met had the courage to join Kenobi on his journey.
The farm boy remained quiet for the entire journey to Anchorhead, clueless to the direction he was currently taking in the galactic events.
It had been miles of nothing but sand and desert until a billowing cloud of smoke appear in the middle of nowhere. As the speeder moved closer and closer to the source of the smoke, what they saw sent shivers up their spines.
A titanic vessel with tank-like treads was resting in the middle of the desert, smoke billowing and sparks flying from the lifeless husk. Pieces of machinery and armor of the vehicle itself littered the surrounding area, along with bodies of what Jun perceived to be the occupants of the vehicle.
Disembarking from the sand-speeder, the scene around the wreck was even more gruesome. Miniscule bodies laid scattered throughout the sand and dried dirt surrounding the vehicle, still smoldering from the recent raid.
Jun was the first to dismount the hovercraft to inspect the bodies. The strange, rodent-like creatures were completely obscured by a brown robe and hood except for the tiny hands. All Jun could see of their faces were large, glowing yellow eyes. Compared to the extraterrestrials he was used to seeing, the non-humans on this planet were startlingly different.
"Well, it certainly looks like Sand People did this," Luke said, making his own observations. "Look, there's gaffey sticks, Bantha tracks. It's just that I've never heard of them hitting anything this big before."
"Because they didn't," Kenobi responded. "We are only meant to think they did." Kenobi knelt down to the sand and pointed at the grouping of footprints. "These tracks are side-by-side, Sand People always ride single-file to hide their numbers."
Something clicked for Luke, as he recognized the Sandcrawler. "These were the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio."
"And these blast-points," Kenobi continued, moving over to the destroyed Sandcrawler. "Far too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."
Luke shook his head in confusion. "But why would Imperial Stormtroopers want to slaughter Jawas?"
Suddenly, as he looked over at R2 and 3PO a feeling of dread came over Luke. The Jawas, the Sandcrawler, the information stored on R2, they were all connected. Whatever it was that the woman in the recording stored on the little droid, the Empire badly wanted it back… by any means necessary.
"If they traced the robots here, they could've learned who they sold them to. At that would lead them…"
Skywalker's voice trailed off as he sprinted to the speeder as fast as he could. Kenobi called out to him, but the boy ignored him. A great cloud of dirt kicked up behind the speeder as it rushed off beyond the canyon.
"Where's he off to in such a hurry," Jun asked, watching the dirt kick up behind the speeder.
"To discover the push towards his greater purpose in the Galaxy," the old man cryptically replied. Jun tried to make heads or tails of it, but it was a lost cause.
Jun pushed this confusing talk out of his mind and instead focused on the carnage in front of him. The massive vehicle before him, smoldering and featuring a multitude of scorch marks and other types of visible damage. Huge chunks were missing from the base and the treads, exposing electronics and the inner workings of the giant vehicle.
"If you don't mind me asking," Jun asked Kenobi, finished observing the damage to the large vehicle and surrounding area. "But why have you hidden your identity for so long?"
"Well, to be a Jedi during the end of the Old Republic and the beginning of the Empire was an offense punishable by death. For with the Jedi out of the way, the Empire's reign of tyranny and evil could spread unimpeded throughout the Galaxy, ruling with an iron fist with fear and terror as its greatest weapons."
"And what of the other Jedi? Couldn't they form together and take on this Empire?"
A weary sigh preceded the grim news. "When the Old Republic fell, Darth Vader and his allies led a great genocide against the Jedi Order. At its highest point, the members of the Order numbered in the hundreds. Following the first night of the Great Purge, less than a quarter of the Order was left alive. And since then, all but myself and perhaps only a handful more remain to this day, spread out far amongst the stars."
The old man paused to let that sink in for Jun. To have almost the entire membership of your organization wiped out in less than a day… everyone you loved and cared about… gone in one fell swoop. To some, it was unimaginable. To Jun, it reminded him of Alpha Company and the rest of the SPARTAN-IIIs. It reminded him of what was left of Noble Team, of the UNSC, of Reach. Did Noble Team accomplish their mission and get off world in time? Had the Covenant whittled down the number of human worlds until they found Earth?
Was he the last of humanity left alive?
"I assume that, with so few of the Order remaining," Kenobi resumed. "The ways of the Jedi are now but a memory, repressed by the Empire."
The old man saw Jun stand silently, body eerily still. Rather than be alarmed, this caused a short laugh from the old Jedi. "I apologize, I didn't mean to trouble you with that which does not concern you. Come, help me give these poor souls a proper burial."
It would be quite some time later after Kenobi and Jun had buried the bodies of the Jawas that Luke returned. Jun noticed right away that something was wrong. His shoulders were slouched, his demeanor much less livelier than it was before. He slowly walked to the two, and when he picked his head up from his chest Jun could see puffy redeyes and tear-stained cheeks.
It was a look Jun had seen dozens of times when liberating worlds or rescuing civilians, the look of knowing your entire family and everything you loved was taken from you by an unstoppable enemy. The soul-crushing sadness of being the last one left alive that followed. It was a feeling Jun knew all too well; it was the reason why he and so many of his Alpha Company brothers and sisters joined the SPARTAN-III Program. Because deep down, underneath the sworn oath of protection to humanity and the hundreds of mission details, all Jun really wanted was revenge against those that took his family from him.
"There was nothing you could have done," Kenobi said, putting a consoling hand on the boy's shoulder. "You would have been killed, too. And the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."
In an instant, something changed in Luke. His shoulders stiffened, his fists clenched, and his posture straightened. There was a steely look is pale-blue eyes as he looked up to at Kenobi.
"I want to come with you to Alderaan," the boy confidently said. "There's nothing left for me here. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father."
A thin smile came over Kenobi, and the group continued to travel through the desert. With Kenobi piloting, Skywalker sitting shotgun, and Jun and the two droids wedged tightly in the back, the speeder rushed through the emptiness of the sandy wastelands.
Roughly an hour later, the sand-speeder made it to the top of a cliff overlooking a great valley. Kenobi shut down the speeder and disembarked. The group quickly followed him, stopping just at the edge of the cliff. Jun looked in the distance and saw what looked like a village. Looking through the scope of his sniper rifle, Jun saw what appeared to be a large settlement of odd-looking buildings, destroyed spaceships and other stone structures haphazardly constructed without a thought of civil engineering.
"Mos Eisley Spaceport," Kenobi announced to the group. "You will never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
Please don't forget to favorite, follow, and review! Don't forget to also check out my other crossover story on here, Halo Infinite.
Also, to everyone who's been PMing me about when I'm going to continue Spartan Lost, stop it right now. It's not going to happen. That ship sailed a long time ago, and I have absolutely zero interest in returning to that story.