Mandalorian Jedi Assassin: A Star Wars and Assassin's Creed crossover

Chapter 4

After some hours of much needed sleep, we were called to the cockpit by our current benefactor.

"Hey, guys! While you were were both sleeping, I hailed the New Republic base on Sullust. They haven't shown much interest in our little smuggling problem in the past, but now that they know Remnant forces are behind it, they're eager to pitch in. A strike team should be arriving on Bespin within a few hours-"

Kyle, whose sleep had been plagued with nightmares about Jan, interrupted harshly. "No! They'll tip off Desann!" He finished, overriding Lando's accompanying argument.

Lando shrugged. "Then we'll catch him later. Getting Desann isn't as important as clearing the city-"

Kyle cut in again. "Jan's dead, Lando. Desann and his minion killed her."

There was a short pause, as a shocked Lando glanced at me, and I gave him a nod. Lando sighed.

"Grife, I'm sorry, Kyle."

After some thought, Lando spoke again. "Okay, okay, here's what we'll do: I'll drop you off on the lower levels. They've probably been overrun by Remnant troops, so watch out. Chances are that Desann's operating from one of the loading bays above level ten, but you'll never get in without the proper access codes. Try to find Carbonite Chamber # 17. I've hidden an old R5 unit there with codes to every loading bay in the city."

Kyle nodded grimly. "You always did plan for the worst."

Lando nodded. "Ever since that run-in with Vader."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan!"

Lando turned to me. "You're not going with Kyle. There's not enough room to fit three beings down there. I'll drop you and that droid of yours up top, and you're going to clean my streets for me. To help you with that, you'll need the security forces, so gather as much as you can before going to work on the scum in my city. By the time you're done, Kyle will likely meet up with you, and you can rejoin him."

I wanted to protest, but Kyle laid a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Kid, I've got this. I won't be long."

I nodded, and looked down at Lando. "Let's do it, then."

Lando grinned. "Great! After I drop you both off, I'll rally my men, and make my way down to you guys."

With that, Kyle and I left the cockpit to prepare for battle.

While the both of us were getting ready, I looked at Kyle. "I've got a bad feeling that Reelo's remaining thugs aren't the only guys we're going to run into. The Reborn and their Remnant friends will probably turn up."

Kyle nodded. "If we're lucky, yes."

I sighed. "If you do find Desann, I need some information that he might have."

Kyle grunted, loading his blaster. "I'm not promising anything, so don't be too disappointed if I do kill him."

"Kyle, I'm not just in this for Jan. Desann might be the only person who knows about Shira Brie-"

Kyle cut me off. "Are you with me, or not?"

I sighed. "Kriff, yeah! I'm with you until the end."

Kyle nodded. "I knew I could count on you. I'll see you soon."

And then, he was gone.

"That went well," I muttered, then turned to Sev. "Ready to kill something?"

The droid saluted. "Ecstatic Exclamation: Nothing would make me happier, Master. This is going to be fun!"

When Lando put me down, he happened to land on the pad that I had used when I had came here in my shuttle, and who should be waiting for me than Drax himself!

He didn't look as polished as usual: his uniform dirty and ripped, and he looked tired.

"Drax, good to see you. As you can see, I'm here to help."

He smiled, shaking my hand. "I'm kriffing glad to see you! So, I guess our chief's going for help?" He continued, pointing to the departing Lady Luck.

I nodded. "Yeah, he's going for reinforcements. Guess who he put in charge of the streets?"

Drax shrugged. "I've no objections, in case you were wondering. Everything's gone straight to hell, and we need all the help we can get."

I nodded. "Just point me in the right direction. We need to gather together whatever forces we have availiable if we're going to do some meaningful cleaning."

Drax nodded. "Then I'm your man. Follow me!"

It took us only a few minutes to find trouble, coming to a door with Trip Mines strewn all over it.

Drax turned to me. "Beyond this door is a catwalk that is parallel to a drop and a high wall, where enemy snipers are waiting. After that is a door that opens onto the main streets. We've tried to get rid of the mines, but there were too many for us, so we left it alone. The streets are a war zone, so be prepared to fight."

I grinned. "Well, Trip Mines aren't as difficult to get rid off as you think they are." I showed him why by simply using my blaster to dismantle them.

Drax, looking chagrined, scratched his head. "I probably should've though of that."

I shrugged, grinning. "Yeah, well, you've got a lot on your mind!"

We crept throw the blaster-scorched door and paused, our backs against the wall.

Ahead of us was a roofed hallway, and when I peeked around the wall, I caught a glimpse of several snipers waiting for us several feet to the east, and above our position.

I had to duck to avoid a volley of blaster fire and Tonless bolts. "This might take some time," I told Drax.

Sev spoke then. "Correction: it will only take me less than thirty seconds of Rapid Fire, Master."

I looked at Sev. "You're not going to do what I think you're going to-" By then, Sev had already passed me, blasting away with cold efficency, enemy fire be damned. It took less than a minute, then silence.

"I want that droid. I'll give you whatever you want," Drax said, as we walked the catwalk at a leisurely pace.

"Sorry, Drax, but he's not for sale. He wouldn't obey you, and imagine how much damage he could cause without me to stop him," I said, patting Sev on the shoulder as he joined us.

"Sometimes, life isn't kriffing fair!" Drax grunted.

I chuckled. "Not most of the time, no. Now, let's go save your city!" I said, as we opened the last door to the Bespin streets.

The streets of Bespin were a mess, as I opened the door, we were inundated with scenes of chaos. Blasterfire, Toneless bolts, and other kinds of projectiles, were flying everywhere, fired from two main groups of fighters: Reelo's thugs, and Bespin authorities.

The latter were hiding behind walls, vehicles, anything they could use for cover, while Reelo's pirates fired from rooftops and stolen sentry guns about a hundred yards to the south of our position.

We joined the struggle, engaging in a fierce battle with Cloud City at stake. The battle was even, with mass casualties on both sides, up until Sev and I set up shop!

Braving withering fire, I charged forward, lightsabers whirling as they deflected bolt after bolt back at their shooters.

Beside me, Sev laid waste with his Sniper scope, killing anything that came into his sensors that wasn't wearing a Bespin uniform, or carrying a weapon.

Behind me, the authorities spread out, looking for more targets, and helping their injured comrades, as our enemies retreated into the alleyways.

I followed one group, as they rushed through a large door, and into a bigger complex of sorts.

Before I could get to the doors, a blue hooded figure jumped from a ledge above me, landing in a crouch.

"That's far enough, Jedi!" He snarled, his crimson-bladed lightsaber blazing to life in his hands.

I stopped short, swearing as the door closed behind him.

"I don't think so," I replied, raising my guard, my own lightsaber coming to life. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that to stop me. You must be a Reborn. I killed one of your brothers on Alzoc III, which wasn't all that hard. I hope you'll be more of a challenge."

I didn't get any farther, our lightsabers crashing together.

"You will die!" He growled, as he attacked my legs with his saber.

I blocked his strikes, shaking my head in mock disgust. "That's all the threats you have? I guess whoever gave you the Force took away any origional thought you might have had."

He snarled, our lightsabers locked as we pushed against each other. "It was not a man who gave me the Force. It was a Valley of untapped power on the planet Ruusan. My master found it, and hundreds of my brothers are being reborn in the glory of the Force."

My eyes widened in horror, and my guard slipped from shock, allowing him time to lift me into a Force Grip, choking me breathless. Using the Force, I shoved him back, and the back of his head collided with the closed door, and he lay stunned.

I raised one of my lightsabers, and pointed it into his face. "Start talking! Who is your master, and how did you find the Valley?"

When he didn't answer, I cut open his left cheek, ignoring Obi-Wan's warnings. "Talk, or I'll cut off your nose next! Talk, damn you!"

He howled in pain. "Please don't kill me! Lord Desann is my master! He led me and other Remnant soldiers there."

I didn't lower my blade, but I stopped cutting him. "How does he know about the Valley? Who told him about it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. Argh!" He cried, as I started cutting again. "I don't know! He never told us!"

I lowered my lightsaber, sensing he was telling the truth.

Only three people knew of the Valley's location: me, Kyle, and Jan. Jan was dead, or so Kyle said, and I hadn't told anybody else except Mara. That left only Kyle or Jan.

But why would Kyle have told Desann, of all people?

No, Jan had to be alive!

I heard a shout. and I turned back to the Reborn charging at me, lightsaber raised, only to see his head blown away by a blaster bolt. I turned to see Sev standing behind me, blaster barrel smoking.

"Good timing, Sev," I called distractedly. We were in deep trouble now, and we needed to get to Desann, and fast.

I shook my head, deciding to get this whole Bespin figured out first. Finding the door locked, I shook my head, and burnt a hole with my lightsabers large enough for me and Sev to get through.

Just as I entered the hanger, I had to dive to avoid the blasterfire coming my way, gritting my teeth as I hit the unyielding floor, my five or so assailants only twenty yards ahead of me.

Drawing a blaster, I fired from the prone position, killing two of them before the rest were mowed down by the charging Sev.

A few seconds later, I was pulled to my feet by Drax, who had just appeared from a corridor beside me.

I looked around, seeing that we were in a large room, a garage, if the spare parts around us were anything to go by. To the east and north of us stood two small doors.

Drax pointed to the latter door, as several of his comrades flooded into the garage. "A vital security corridor is through that door. We'll take care of that, so you take the other door."

I nodded, gesturing to Sev to follow me. I could feel the Dark Side presence from some ways off, on the other side of the door. "Sounds like a plan. Good luck."

I went through the door, blasters in hand, which was lucky, because I was met by Remnant Stormtroopers. It was only after Sev and I blew the dozen Bucket heads away that I wondered why there were Stormtroopers troopers on Bespin.

"Desann's here, or at least his damned apprentice is."

I turned to see Kyle emerging from a nearby Turbolift, a dark look on his face.

"Wait, Kyle. Jan-"

He cut me off. "Jan is dead because of them."

He pointed down the left corridor, which ended in a large hanger door. The Dark Side presence was stronger there, whatever was on the other side of it.

But I could also sense it in Kyle too. "I can sense her, and so can you, and I saw her using my Micro-Binoculars some time ago."

I moved in front of him. "Wait, Kyle. You need to here this!"

He shoved his hand out, and the Force sent me flying back against the wall behind me, knocking me instantly unconscious.

Kyle only had the presence of mind to shut Sev off, using the Force to flip the switch at the bottom of Sev's skull, where it met the spine, before continuing on his grim mission of revenge.

Opening the door, he approached the provactivatly-dressed young woman, standing in front of a cargo hauler. "Ah, the Prodigal Jedi. Have you come seeking vengeance? Oh, that's not very Jedi-like!" She purred, her voice sultry but dangerous.

"Where's your master, Apprentice?" Kyle snarled, confronting her.

"Desann sends his regards, but he is far too busy in the Valley of the Jedi to personally dispose of his pawns."

"What!?"

She smiled. "You still don't know, do you? Desann followed you to the Valley of the Jedi. Even now, hundreds of Desann's loyal followers are drinking deeply from the Valley's power, becoming Reborn in the glory of the Force. And we owe it all to you and your Mandalorian friend."

They circled each other, Kyle's anger growing. "Then, you killed Jan!"

She grinned broadly. "That's right. We killed your woman to make you angry: angry enough to cast aside your promises, and rashly seek out the power of the Valley. Just think of it: her death and your failure will be celebrated for eons to come as the events that brought about the Era of Desaan. Congratulations!"

Kyle ignited his lightsaber, and charged at her. "Stop talking!"

Seconds later, the battle was joined.

It was a long fight, but in the end Kyle battered Desann's apprentice to her knees.

"D-don't...mercy!" She whimpered, as Kyle put her into a Force Choke, moving so that her form hung over a seemingly-bottomless drop off the landing platform.

"The same mercy you showed Jan?" Kyle seethed.

"She lives. I can tell you where she is!" The woman gasped out.

"Liar! I saw her die!" Kyle roared.

She shook her head. "Th-think! What did you really see? What did you really hear? Do you really think we'd risk killing one of the only three people who knew the location of the Valley of the Jedi?"

Kyle snorted. "Where is she?"

She looked relieved. "That...cough...hauler will take you to our base at the Lenico Belt. That's where Galak's ship, the Doomgiver, is docked; it's also where he's keeping your woman for interrogations."

Kyle paused a brief second, before Force Throwing her back onto the platform in a crumpled heap.

"Ah, get out of my sight!" Kyle told her, after another pause.

"What?" She asked.

"Go, and pray that I find your master before he finds you."

She didn't need any more encouragement, disappearing in less than a minute, leaving Kyle to board the ship.

I came to, and it took me a few seconds to realize what I happened. "Oh, blast me!" I groaned, charging into the landing bay only to see the hauler lift off, the woman nowhere in sight.

I swore again, shaking my head, as I sensed Kyle was the only occupant of the hauler. "Damn it, Kyle!"

Before I could do anything else, Drax and his comrades came jogging into view. "Well, that's the last of them." He said to me.

I nodded. "Good work. It's been quite a day, but I need to return home."

He nodded. "I understand. Thanks for the help," he said, shaking my hand.

When they had left, I looked up into the sky again, watching the hauler depart to wherever the kriff Kyle was taking it.

In the hauler, Kyle he plotted the coordinates. Before leaving, he sent Lando to Yavin Four to warn Luke and Mara about the Valley.

Nonplussed, he agreed, wishing Kyle luck.

As he entered Hyperspace, Kyle sighed, cursing himself. He had maimed his only brother before, and only had just stopped himself from falling to the Dark Side, and now he had left said brother on Bespin.

He had been too angry to do anything else.

It was not one of his finer days.

There was still hope, though. Jan was alive. Jan was alive!

It was enough to keep himself from giving into the Darkness within.

From now on, he needed rescue Jan, and then to protect the only family he had left, if not for himself, then for their mother. And that could only be done if the kid was left out of this fight.

Besides, Kyle was better off on his own.

It only took a few seconds to get Sev working again. "Alarmed Statement: Master, are you well? That meatbag assaulted you!"

I grimaced, holding my aching head, noting his concern with affection. "Well enough, thanks. That kriffer is gone, but I don't know where."

I was going to say more, but the Lady Luck appeared in the sky, and landed on the pad a short time later. "I was wondering where you were, Buddy. My scanners didn't pick you up in that hauler that Kyle was using."

I shook my head. "I was...preoccupied with something else. Where did he go?"

Lando explained that Kyle had gone to the Lenico Belt to search for Desann, and to look for Jan, whom he had just found out was alive.

I grunted. "If that Zakkeg-head had given me time to explain, I could have helped him. Damn that man!"

Lando shrugged. "Kyle was always kind of a loner, Kid. Don't take it too hard."

I shook my head. "I thought that he understood that his fights are my fights too. Guess I was wrong."

Lando clapped me on the shoulder. "Maybe next time, Buddy. Now, let's get you home to that Academy of yours. They need to hear that Desann knows where the Valley is."

I nodded heavily. "Yeah, I know. I got one of those Reborn freaks to talk, and he was nice enough to give me the whole story."

Lando nodded. "Well, regardless, you need to rest and relaxation before going back into the fight. I owe you that much, and much more besides!"

After I got to the Academy, I got everyone up to speed concerning the Valley, and Kyle's status.

Luke swore sharply, causing Mara and I to look at him, surprised that he even knew how to curse. "We need to get the Reborn out of the Valley. The sooner, the better."

Mara nodded. "I'll contact Mon Mothma and ask her for a strike team."

Luke nodded. "I'll assemble a team of our best Jedi as well."

I grinned. "Sounds like fun!"

Mara snorted, and raised her hand in my face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I blinked hard, trying to get said fingers into focus. "Four."

She snorted again. "Two. It's the infirmary for you, Flyboy. That's a concussion, if I ever saw one."

I shook my head. "Bantha fodder! I'm not going to be kept out of a fight because of some kriffing head-ache!"

She raised an eyebrow, and turned to Sev. "Stun him!"

I opened my mouth, turning to Sev as well. "Don't even think about it, you-"

I didn't finish the sentence, the stun blast hitting me squarely in the chest.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in the Academy's infirmary.

"Sorry about earlier, but you needed a quick swim in the Bacta before continuing the fight." I looked up to see Mara leaning against the wall nearby.

"You shot me!" I said accusingly.

She nodded. "Yes, I did. Well, I told Sev to stun you before you did anything stupid."

I stood, sighing. "I'm sure you enjoyed the look on my face. Now, let's get serious: how is the battle going?"

She smiled. "For the past day or two, we've been able to chase the Reborn and Desann's thugs out of the Valley. They are running back to their financier, Admiral Fyyar. I need you to follow Kyle to the Lennico Belt, and join him to take down Fyyar."

I snorted. "I'd sooner break his damned jaw than help him now!"

She shook her head. "Stop being so childish. You've got a job to do, so do it!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Childish? I'm not the one who ignored me, gave me a concussion, and left me stranded on a kriffing floating city! If he wasn't my brother, I'd put a blaster bolt through his face!"

She stepped forward. "Okay, you're right. He did all of that, but you've got to make up with him, and do it quick! You are in the middle of a war, and we don't have time for family squabbles. Are you up for the job?"

I sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, but I'm still going to let him have it for leaving me behind!"

She nodded. "I bet you are. Since that place will be crawling with Dark Jedi, Sev probably will be best left behind for now."

I nodded, expecting such a request. "Yeah, that's probably true."

Mara returned the nod. "Yeah. Listen, about those people that Kyle found on Kejim: with the Artusian Crystals. Well, with the power of the Valley coursing through them, Desann's been able to infuse his boys with the power of the Force."

I swore, and she nodded again. "Yeah, that's about right. Luckily, while you were sleeping, we were able to kick the scum out of the Valley. The problem is that there's no telling how many of Desann's goons got empowered. It could be dozens or thousands."

I shook my head. "Great! Nothing like good news to brighten my day."

She chuckled, and kissed me on the cheek. "You'll do fine, Bantha Cub. Now, go and kill some Bucket-heads for me!"

A short time later, I boarded a captured TIE Fighter, and made our way to the Lennico Belt.

Somehow, the incompetent idiots in charge of the landing bay let me in with very few questions asked. It also helped that the TIE Fighter's confirmation codes were written on the craft's controls!

I was able to sneak from the landing pad into a thin corridor, probably the passageway between the three separate landing bays, one of which I had docked in. I sneaked up behind a trooper, grabbed his helmet, and broke his neck in one smooth motion.

Kyle just happened to come into sight seconds later. "What the Kessel?"

I materialized in front of him. "Surprise!" And then I punched him in the face as hard as I could.

"Sith spit!" Kyle swore, staggering a step back, holding his throbbing jaw.

"That's for ignoring me!" I said, and then punched him again. "That's for giving me a concussion!"

I was going to punch him a third time, but he caught my fist. "Settle down, or I'll put you down!" He growled.

I shoved him away. "Try it, and see what happens! You think you can just kick me to the side, and walk away?"

Kyle sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I did that. I was just caught up in getting to Desann. I didn't mean to hurt you."

I snorted, removing my mask and hood to confront him fully. "You left me behind on that stinking floating city without a second thought!"

Kyle shook his head. "That's not true. I was going to go back for you, but I left you behind because I was trying to protect you."

I let out another snort. "Bantha fodder! You were just too damned stubborn to let me help! Well, I've got news for you, pal: I'm not going anywhere, and that's that!"

Kyle took a long breath, and then nodded tiredly. "Okay, fine. Where's Sev?"

I grimaced. "I didn't want the poor rust-bucket to get chopped up by Reborn, so I left him behind."

Kyle grimaced. "That's probably a good idea. I've run into at least two Reborn already, and they weren't so easy to kill. Speaking of which, did you get my message to the Academy?"

I nodded, grimacing. "Yeah, Kyle. When we went to the Valley, that Monkey Lizard followed us."

Kyle groaned, as we made our way to one of the docks, where a Lambda Shuttle was docked. I could tell through the Force that it was Desann's. "So I've heard. Does this mean we have a new Emperor on our hands?"

I sighed, putting my mask and hood back on. "Actually, it could be worse than that." I proceeded to tell him what Mara had told me.

Kyle swore. "Those were the guys we ran into on Bespin! So there could be thousands of those guys with Force powers?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but those idiots aren't exactly the best trained in the galaxy...look out!" I had sensed trouble coming long before I even finished the sentence, as half a dozen Reborn flooded into the landing bay from the balconey above us, and the doors on either side of us.

"For kriff's sake!" I swore, drawing two pistols and firing each once, taking down two before igniting my lightsabers after holstering the pistols.

Two more Reborn came at me, crimson blades whirring and crashing against mine. I ducked below one slash from one Reborn, and sliced the other in half by sliding past him on my knees.

The other Reborn hacked down at me, and I flicked my other lightsaber, removing both his legs at the knees. Gaping in disbelief, he sank to his knees, howling in pain.

"Oh, shut up!" I put a stop to his screaming by beheading him.

I turned to help Kyle, but he had already taken care of his attackers. "Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted: most of these Imps don't know anything about fighting with lightsabers. The problem begins when we get to the better ones."

Kyle nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

I turned to him, noting that something was different about him. "You seem less dark and moody than you did on Bespin. I don't know what it is, but any time you aren't trying to take my head off is an improvement, that's for sure!"

Kyle nodded, ignoring the playful verbal prod. "Jan may be still alive. That woman said that Jan is being interrogated here."

I shrugged. "There's nothing like hope to keep the darkness away."

Kyle raised his eyebrows. "You've been spending too much time with Skywalker, little brother."

I shrugged. "Yeah, that's probably true. So, how are we going to get out of this mess?"

Kyle grimaced. "Well, did you happen to get a look where those guys came from?"

I pointed to the catwalk above us. There were doors at either end, but when we Force Jumped up, we found that they were locked.

"Sith spit!" Kyle swore.

I was already looking further up, to where a rickety panel in the wall around twenty feet above us. I drew my blaster, and blasted the panel, leaving a hole large enough for a man to enter.

"After you," I said, nodding to the hole.

"Nice, but I would've found that sooner or later," Kyle said, holstering his blaster.

I smirked. "Sure, big brother, keep telling yourself that. Now, up you go. Age before beauty."

Kyle glowered playfully at me. "You'll pay for that later."

I snorted. "I'll be waiting, then. Now, up you get, or I'll use the Force to help you."

One way or another, we got up there, but realized the opening revealed a shaft that could only be traversed by us belly-crawling the whole way.

"Sith spit! Why do we always have to do things the hard way?" Kyle asked, shaking his head.

I shrugged, gesturing to the small hole. "It's either that, or going back and dealing with the Imps in the landing bay where we came in. And can't you come up with better invectives?"

"I'm not the one who spent time with Mandalorians." Kyle sighed. Said Imps were guarding the docks where we came in, and there were dozens of them, along with several blaster cannons. "The things I do for the galaxy!"

I grinned, patting him on the shoulder before hoisting him into the small space in front of us. "It's not as bad as the smelly mess we had to wade through to get 8t88's arm that was holding your old man's disk."

Kyle let out a bark of laughter. "That's true. Force, you've gotten strong! Where has the time gone?"

I reddened behind my mask. "I really hope that you aren't going to talk about how you are getting too old for all of this, because that would be complete bantha fodder!"

Kyle snorted. "Yeah, you're right, it would be! Now shut up, and get in here!"

I obeyed him. "So, where do we go? As much as I like killing Imps, I'd prefer not having an army of Reborn on our tails."

I sensed Kyle grimace. "We're trying to find the Doomgiver, which I guess is Fyyar's flagship. If there's anything I know about Imperial higher-ups, it's that they love to give off a spectacle. The bigger the ship, the happier they are. Other then that, your guess is as good as mine."

I smirked. "And you'd know all about Imps, wouldn't you, Cadet?"

I let out a curse as his boot struck my visor, volting me slightly. "One more comment like that, and I'll shove my lightsaber some place that would really hurt!"

I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. By the way, when was the last time you've been in a refresher, by the way?"

Kyle ignored me. "Let's just get moving."

Still chuckling, I followed him as we began to crawl forward.

I was kind of worried that we would make noise loud enough to be detected by the people below, as we passed above several grates that showed dozens of heavily-armed guards on patrol throughout the station, rooms upon rooms of them. Whatever this place was, it was crawling with Remnant troops.

"Thank the Force this vent is here, eh?" I hissed to him.

He grunted. "Yeah, this thing saved us a lot of trouble, but I wish it could be a little more welcoming," he said, continuing his belly-crawling.

A short time later, we came to the end of the tunnel, near which another grate lay.

"How fitting," Kyle grunted, after peering through the gate. "And there's no Imp in sight," he said.

"I don't think I like the sound of that. For all we know, they probably have Reborn waiting in the shadows."

Kyle shrugged. "You can always go back to the last grate, and deal with four Imps with Proton Missile Launchers. Make your pick, little brother."

I sighed. "Fine, we'll do it your way, you old Nerf."

Once we had kicked through the grate, and descended into the large room, we took stock of our surroundings. It was a room decorated with skin-tight black suits of armor kept behind panes of glance.

"This looks familiar," Kyle said, perusing one of the suits. "Black armor? Not again!"

I shrugged. "The Empire was never one for thinking up new colors for their pets."

My attention was caught by a green circular crystal at the center of every suit's chest. "Kyle, are those what I think they are?" I asked, pointing at the crystals.

Kyle took a few seconds to look at the indicated crystals before swearing. "Shavit! Those are Force Crystals!"

I grimaced. "Which means that whoever wears this suit gets the Force flowing through his pipes. And that's only one thing about these suits that might cause a problem."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Would you mind elaborating?"

I shrugged. "I can't make any specifics. Something's off about them to me, that's all."

Kyle returned the shrug. "Well, until we run into them, we won't worry about it."

He pointed to the door in front of us. "Now, let's see what's on the other side of that door."

Well, it turned out that Kyle would eat his words a short time later. The instant the door opened, I realized that it was some sort of fighting pit.

Before either of us could stop it, the door shut behind us. "How stupid do you feel now, huh?" I growled, trying to open the damn thing.

"How was I suppose to know that-oh, sith spit!" I turned to see Kyle reaching for his light saber, his other hand pointing to the center of the room, which opened to reveal...nothing.

"Well, that was dramatic!" Was all I could get out, before the Dark Side hit me, emanating from two Force signatures. But, I couldn't see where...I heard the telltale snap-hiss of the igniting of lightsabers before two men dressed in the suits we had been looking at less than a minute ago appear as though they were shadows, both carrying crimson lightsabers.

I gave Kyle a flat look, telling him we would discuss this later, igniting my own lightsabers. 'We won't worry about it, huh?'

"Nice suits, boys, but your new suits won't save you from us. Eat plasma!" I called, before the two troopers charged.

As mine came at me, I switched on my own camoflauge, using his surprise to decapitate him.

I turned to help Kyle, and threw one my lightsabers into the trooper's back, impaling him.

"You still haven't answered my question?" I said, retreiving my lightsaber using the Force, unable to resist a brotherly dig.

"Oh, shut up! You could have killed me, you know," Kyle shot back.

"I hardly ever miss," I pointed out.

To Kyle's amusement, that is what I did a minute later, as Stormtroopers piled out of the door on the other side of the room. However, this was due to the fact that Kyle had shot the trooper I was aiming at before I could fire.

"That was on you," I said, pointing at him, as we stepped over the bodies of half a dozen Stormtroopers and an Officer. This same Officer had wasted his opportunity to get a shot off by telling us to surrender. He had paid for that for that mistake my taking a shot to the bridge of his nose, killing him instantly.

"You keep telling yourself that, kid. As for me, I'm going to enjoy this victory while I can."

"I hate you."

"I know you do."

We proceeded into the room that the Stormtroopers had came from, and found ourselves looking over an enourmous landing bay, holding the biggest ship I had ever seen.

To make things even worse, more Stormtroopers were patrolling around the ship than any I'd seen in Lennico yet, and that was saying something!

Kyle swore. "There's too many of them. We'll never get through this using firepower. Stealth may be a wiser choice here."

I nodded. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Holy Boma Beast, we have to get in that whaladon of a ship!"

Kyle nodded. "And we'll probably have to bring it down too!"

I looked around, and saw a lift nearby. "No problem. Let's get started."

The lift took us down to the entrance of the landing bay, and the door hissed open to reveal a few officers and a Reborn waiting for us.

"Jedi!" The Reborn snarled. He wore blue robes instead of the orange ones I had seen earlier.

As Kyle engaged the Reborn, one of the officers turned to another. "Call security!"

The other officer ran for a large device that I recognized as a security alert system, having encountered ones like it on Dxun.

"Too slow, Lazer-brain!" I said, blowing him away with a blaster with one hand, while using a Thermal Detonator to take out the other officers with my other hand.

Kyle took a minute to finish off the Reborn, before turning to me. "That wasn't too bad, and we don't seem to have attracted any other attention."

I nodded, and turned to him. "Speaking of stealth, it'll be best to split up to try and find her way onto that flying planet," I said, gesturing to the beast of a ship.

Kyle was about to protest, but he knew I was right. "Fine. Stay low, and stay out of trouble." He said, patting me gruffly on the shoulder.

Kyle wasn't the type of person to get all affectionate, after all.

"You too, big brother. If you find Desann, please wait to kill him until I get the info that I need from him concerning that Sith shutta, all right?"

Kyle nodded, albiet somewhat reluctantly. "Sure, kid. I'll see you on that ship." With that, he crawled into a small space to my right, and dissapeared from sight.

Turning on my cloaking device, I weaved my way through cargo boxes and Remnant troopers, thanking the Force that I had sound-resistant boots. As I did so, I came to the realization that Desann or Fyyar were planning some type of invasion, but I couldn't figure out where they were going.

It was some time before I found a ramp leading into the bowels of the ship. It was good timing, since the engines of the enormous craft were starting to sound off. I started my way over to the ship, thankful there were no Reborn around to sense my-

"Greg, drop!"

I ducked at Obi-Wan's order, and heard the familiar hum of a lightsaber go over my head, but this particular lightsaber was crimson. If Obi-Wan hadn't intervened, I would have lost my head!

Igniting my own two lightsabers, I turned to meet my foe. Although I was just under two meters tall, the creature dressed in ornate armor was still a head taller than me, and was impressively built. He had a lizard-like face, sizeable fangs, and in his clawed hands, he held his lightsaber. It didn't take long to tell who it was.

"Desann," I observed calmly, wondering how the kriff he managed to sneak up on me. After all, he was a big guy, and he almost stank of the Dark Side. He did not feel as powerfull as C'baoth, but I wasn't about to underestimate him.

"Ah, the infamous Mandalorian Jedi, Gregory Jade. At last we meet." His voice was thrummingly deep and gravely. A thoroughly, if chillingly, impressive sound that seemed to come from his chest.

"That I am, but your plans end here," I returned, bowing mockingly. "Nice ship you have here. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were going hunting."

He laughed. "I am, in more ways than one. My master, Lumiya, has told me of you."

I frowned. "Who?"

He laughed again. "Has Skywalker not told you? Perhaps you know her by her other name, Shira Brie? I suggest you ask him about her the next time you see him. He has not told you, has he?" He finished, as I tensed.

"I'll ask him about it." I wrasped out, my mind reeling. Luke had kept things from me?

Desann grinned grotesquely. "How does it feel to know that your beloved master has betrayed you? As for my earlier comment, I misspoke. I meant to say that you should talk to him...if you live to do so!" With a grunt, he jumped forward, and our lightsabers clashed together.

Kyle, having just gotten on board, tensed in alarm as he heard the clash of lightsabers. He rushed to the closest viewport, and swore as Desann and his little brother went at it with their lightsabers.

He noted to his pride that Greg was holding his own, but it also seemed like something was helping him. Kyle could feel the Force flow through his little half-brother, who was using a mixture of spectacular Soresu and stunning Ataru. It was, for lack of a better word, beautiful.

Just when Greg seemed to gain the upper hand, Desann thrust out a hand, throwing the younger man back.

"Spast!" Kyle swore, as Greg's head slammed against the wall behind him. Desann sadistically added to that, throwing his lightsaber in an arc, sending the wall above his half-brother crashing down on top of the young Jedi.

Kyle snarled helplessly as Desann laughed, and walked away. Kyle was about to make for the door that he had come through, but realized that he could sense that the kid was still alive. Some time afterwards, he had time to see the youth make his way out of the rubble before the ship started moving.

"What the...we're moving!"

"Oh, for kriff's sake!" I snarled, as the huge ship flew out of the hanger.

"You did well. You're going stronger in the Force. That creature had to resort to cheating to win this battle," Obi-Wan intoned.

"But he won, and I lost," I noted, sure that I had another concussion.

"Yes, well, your ego is the worst of your injuries, so you should be thankful for that." Obi-Wan said dryly.

Before I could answer, Kyle's voice came from my comlink. "Kid, you there?"

I reached for the comlink. "Yeah, I'm here. Let me guess: you got on before I could?"

Kyle's reply sounded relieved, but teasing. "Yeah, I did. That was quite some display, up until the last part! How's the head?"

I grimaced. "I'll live, thank you very much. Listen, Kyle, I saw evidence that Desann and Fyyar are planning on invasion of some sort, and it sounds like you've got yourself a front-row seat on the action. Seeing as I'm indisposed, I hope you won't mind taking care of that, and finding Jan. As for bringing down the ship, I'd suggest getting to the Center Comm, and broadcasting the signal to any friendly guys that can hear you."

Kyle's voice was grim but confident. "Will do. Stay safe, Kid. I'd go back to the Academy if I were you. There's nothing you can do for me right now."

I nodded. "I'm on it. Be careful, Katarn, and give Jan a hug for me when you find her."

Putting my comlink on my belt again, I looked around the hanger, spotting a few TIE fighters off to the side.

"Perfect!" I said, grinning.

I had some questions for Master Skywalker!