Chapter Four: Telos IV

When the group started coming to they saw three figures. The first one of them that Qui-Gon noticed was a female Twi'lek no more than twenty years of age wearing a black uniform that had a large X in the center and armed with two blaster pistols and a blaster rifle.

Qinn'Tarra was similar. When she looked up she saw a metallic arm attached to a large Zabrak in a dark green shirt, black pants, brown military suspenders, and military boots.

Obi-Wan however jumped out startled at what he woke up to. Obi-Wan woke up to a larger Black and gold armored man with his hair pulled back into a pony tail, putting away two heavy blasters, holding a blaster rifle that pointed right at him and a sword attached to his side.

"Put that thing away." Obi-wan said quickly as he backed up a bit.

The man looked up and over at Obi-Wan, clearly showing his goatee and sideburns. "Oh I'm sorry, Padawan. Thought you were still dreaming of blond female padawans." The man said. "General Joseph Dickson…retired" he introduced.

As Dickson shook hands with Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon showed signs of recognition. He was soon though pulled from his thoughts by Dickson again. "This is my apprentice Mission Vao, and…"

"Bao Bur?" Qinn'Tarra asked as she pushed herself up to her feet.

"Yes, General. I'm surprised you recognized me." The Zabrak told her in his usual monotone voice.

"Why wouldn't I recognize you. We were a team during those last days." She told him with a smile.

"I suppose we were, General." Bao replied as he helped steady her.

While the group was talking none of them seemed to notice that Kreia and Dickson had gone off to the side for a conversation.

"So you're telling me that my ship and my droids are now in possession of a rogue Jedi and you, the most influential Force user since Revan are having second thoughts about your role in this party." Dickson said quietly.

Kreia nodded. "Yes. It seems that seeing my daughter again has given me a change of heart. Make no mistake however, I will do what I must to get the desired outcome." she told him.

"Sure. But I want to know who crashed that transport because there is no way I am letting them fly the Hawk." Dickson told Kreia causing her to smile a bit.

Kreia only pointed at Atton.

"The scoundrel. Damn. Bastard needs to learn how to fly." Dickson responded.

"His name is Rand, and he is but a fool. Then too even a fool has his uses." Kreia replied evenly.

"Agreed. But flying my ship is not one of them." Dickson responded before motioning for Kreia to come with him back to the group.

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When Dickson and Kreia got back to the group Dickson decided to speak up. "Ladies and gentlemen my name is Joseph Dickson and I will be your tour guide as we try to find the Ebon Hawk. As you look around you will see Czerka and Exchange mercenaries combing the area. We will fight through them only to encounter more of them. In the end it will be a game of kill or be killed. Any questions?" he announced.

"Why exactly will you three be here?" Atton asked skeptically.

"Bao knows the shield systems, Mission knows the computers, and I own the Ebon Hawk. Any other questions." Dickson answered keeping his hands behind his back.

"Wait a minute. You're telling me you own that ship we came in on?" Atton asked incredulously.

Kreia was the one to jump in next. "Yes he does; and I suggest you keep your snide comments to yourself or thistly lose your tongue." she defended.

"Now Kreia let's not be too harsh. I would just cut off a testicle. You don't need those to communicate." Dickson responded evenly. "Anymore questions?" he concluded.

When nobody spoke up Dickson, Bao, and Mission led the group into the Czerka infested area.

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After fighting through several areas the group finally came to a rest point. Qui-Gon decided to take the opportunity to get to know his new group-mates.

"Interesting looking sword you have there. I don't believe I have ever seen anything of the kind." Qui-Gon said as he sat down beside Dickson.

"You wouldn't have. She was made by my brother-in-law as a thank you for all the pain and suffering I put up with during his training." Dickson answered picking up the sword and holding it for Qui-Gon to see. "I call her Deliverance. She is enriched with all of my power and knowledge. After the Great War they melded this for me. She has an inner shield cell to deflect blaster bolts and the ability to enhance personal shielding." he concluded as he looked at the sword.

"Intriguing. The technology to meld the mind to an inanimate object must be immensely scarce." Qui-Gon replied not sure what to make of the sword.

Dickson put the sword back on the ground beside him before commenting. "Indeed. Biotechnology is quite rare and rarely successful. However my hope is that one day Deliverance will not be needed. I want to be a businessman. I recently purchased rights to mass produce the Dynamic Class Freighter from Core Galaxy Systems and bought a small ship building platform on Naboo to do it." he told Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon now looked fully intrigued by the man before him. "If your people are setting up on Naboo may I ask what you are doing here." he asked.

"I was asked by Admiral Onasi to watch over the restoration project for a few months. The admiral and I fought together during the Jedi Civil War. Yesterday was my last day. I was going to stay throughout the week but after dealing with the Exchange I decided to let the Ithorians do their jobs." Dickson said causing Qui-Gon's ears to perk a bit. "Besides, my sister-in-law slash psychiatrist Kriona Rikimaru and youngest son Yoshi are looking after construction." he concluded.

So he was responsible for the explosions in those compounds. Qui-Gon thought. "How did you know we were looking for the Ebon Hawk?" he asked Dickson.

Dickson grinned before answering. "I have my ways." he answered.

"Interesting. What about your apprentice?" Qui-Gon asked of Mission who was talking with Obi-Wan.

A small smile came onto Dickson's face at the mention of Mission. "Mission is a spark plug. Very skilled, sharp in body and mind. Between myself and Bastila she has become a fine young woman. I'm proud of her. She is to date one of my two finest students." he told Qui-Gon.

"Who was the other?" Qui-Gon asked wondering what else Dickson would share.

"He is known as the God of Destruction. I was known as the Angel of Death. Together we could bring peace to endless galaxies, or we could bring untold destruction. In the end we brought peace. Now he is a highly respected Starfleet Admiral and I am retired with hopes of moving on with my life. He is also my Brother in Law." Dickson informed with a grin.

The way Dickson talked about his past did not sit well with Qui-Gon but it seemed as if he was talking more about glory days than anything else.

"So you have children?" Qui-Gon asked changing the subject.

Dickson's smile seemed to grow tremendously when mentioning his children. "Two girls, and two boys. Destany is the leader of our planet, taking over for me when I left. Jacquie is the lead archeologist for the Black knights Academy on Mercury. Kevin is in in charge of computer programming for Black Knights Command. Then we have Yoshi; the fighter pilot. He is as reckless as I was in my youth. The boy is good though, very good. Best Star-pilot in the galaxy." he told Qui-Gon happily. "If only Tarra could see them now." Dickson concluded quietly.

"Tarra?" Qui-Gon asked slowly.

"My recently deceased wife. The ship we were on answered a distress call. Qinn'Tarra led the away team to see if they could fix the problem. She saved twenty children and most of their parents that day. Unfortunately a warp core breach took her life, along with another engineer that went with her." Dickson told the old master. "She died a hero. I have been getting therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome ever since. It has been almost a year and I have never really recovered. However when you are with someone for as long as we were to be expected. I have Kriona to thank for my progress in the matter." he concluded looking to the sky.

Qui-Gon looked sad for a moment before speaking. "I am sorry for your loss." he told Dickson. I remember my second Padawan, Xanatos. He committed suicide by jumping into a pool of acid. It was a difficult time, I always thought it was my failings that sent him to the Dark Side and to his death. After a time I realized what happened could not be prevented." he concluded.

"You are wise beyond your years Master Jinn. Wise indeed." Dickson said to the sky leaving them both to think.

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Meanwhile Mission and Obi-Wan were having an equally interesting conversation.

"They found me on Taris; you know, before the bombardment by Darth Malak. I was good at surviving there, me and Big Z." Mission told Obi-Wan. "I was there when they killed Malak. Got the Cross of Glory too. I miss those times. Now it's all Soresu this, battle meditation that, and heal this, and meditate that." She said with a sigh.

"So, you're almost a master of Soresu?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yep. What my masters tell me. They say I'm a natural. Once we get back to Naboo Bastila is going to teach me more about Battle Meditation. Until then Joe is working with me on my galactic history and katas." Mission told Obi-Wan calmly.

"So why won't he let you become a Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked.

"The Jedi of this time are stogy, arrogant, and they aren't allowed to have families. Joe wanted me to have as normal a life as possible. Now that the Jedi Civil War is over and the purge has killed all the Jedi I'm glad he didn't let me become one." she explained to the quiet Obi-Wan.

"Has anything good happened in this era of galactic history?" Obi-Wan asked not knowing if he actually wanted an answer.

"Bastila and Revan had their babies, Revan killed Malak, Trask was promoted to Captain last year, and Carth was promoted to Admiral. Put that together with Joe being here to stay and we are all happy." Mission answered with a shrug.

"I see." Obi-Wan said thinking over the situation.

"Joe and I have been through a lot. The war, the death of his wife, and the destruction of Taris to name a few. It's about time we found some peace." Mission told the padawan.

"So even though everything seems normal for all of you it's not?" he asked the young twi'lek.

"Just remember, Obi-Wan. The Jedi Order I not perfect and the council is far from always right." Mission told him before standing up and walking toward Dickson who had just stood up and leaving Obi-Wan to think over what he was told.

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About an hour later the group stood on a hill overlooking a large platform. All around the platform were mercenaries waiting to gun down whoever set foot around the platform or nearby Telos Military Base.

"They never learn do they Bao?" Dickson said as the group approached.

Bao just shook his head as he answered. "No sir they don't."

"Well. Boa, take back. Mission take top. I'll go strait in. Everyone else…try not to shoot me." Dickson instructed sending Boa-Dur the long way around and Mission to the top of one of the buildings as a sniper.

Qui-Gon was a bit concerned after seeing Mission Force Jump onto a building due to her training outside the Jedi. Obi-Wan however was surprised at the power that Mission showed for her young age.

"Master did you see her jump?" Obi-Wan asked after Dickson started down the hill.

"Yes. She is quite powerful. I wonder if she has yet to be tempted by the dark side?" Qui-Gon mused.

"I don't think so, Master. She spoke very highly of her mentor's teachings and against the Jedi. I believe without some intervention she may fall." Obi-Wan told his master.

"I don't think so Obi-Wan. I sense that there is more to her training than meets the eye. Either way; it is not our place to get involved in the events of the past." Qui-Gon responded while keeping his eyes on Dickson.

It was at about that moment blaster shots were heard going off.

"They are efficient at killing aren't they, Master." Obi-Wan told Qui-Gon as they watched the mercenaries fall to blaster fire from the three pronged attack.

"Why shouldn't they, Obi-Wan. The galaxy they come from is filled with war; wars in which they were all involved." Qui-Gon explained. "Our best course is to watch and learn from them." he concluded to Obi-Wan.

"Yes master." Obi-Wan replied before looking down where the fighting was beginning to end.

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After the brief yet deadly fight Bao-Dur waved for the rest of the group to join him over a few meters in front of the ramp that led to the computer terminal they needed to get to.

"The terminal we need to get to is being protected by two turrets…" Boa started before he was cut off by an explosion. "Correction, due to my rather loud friends that terminal up there is no longer protected. We should get moving before any more mercenaries decide to show up." he concluded calmly after Dickson and Mission blew up the turrets.

Seconds later Bao was at the terminal cycling through a series of commands before getting to the section he needed. Finally after several moments Bao pointed at a distortion in the shield barrier.

"There. In the Polar Regions. A small distortion in the shield frequency. I imagine that is where you will find your ship." Dickson looked at the distorted area before swearing.

Boa looked at Dickson and spoke. "There is an old ship in the military base we could take." he told Dickson.

"We should get going. If the military base's old defenses are still operable we could be in for a long fight." Dickson said before heading off with the others behind him.

When they got to the opening of the military base Dickson turned around to look at the group.

"The transport we will be taking is small. So we can only take up to four people with us. The rest of you will wait for us to pick you up in the Hawk. Any questions?" Dickson said to the group.

"Yea. Why are you giving the orders? Atton blurted out.

"Alright; Bao give the orders." Dickson replied stepping backward a step.

Boa stepped forward and spoke. "The General, Mr. Dickson, Kreia, and I will be traveling to the Polar Regions. The rest of you will guard this complex until we return." the Zabrak told the group getting a series of nods from the group.

Dickson then stepped forward. "Satisfied Atton?" he asked the scoundrel.

Atton just scowled as everyone else went along with their assignments.

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Note: Splitting up Telos. This was the start of my dialog filled story. I hope you all enjoyed this.