I jumped off the cruiser before it landed. My lightsaber was in my hand and my feet were moving. I had to find Fay, before the Sith killed her, or worse…
"Wait for us, Zett!" Master Saa called. I slowed, but did not stop. I sensed Fay. The Sith's ship was becoming visible.
I didn't even know what planet I was on. I just knew that it was a cold planet, that it had little vegetation, and Fay was here somewhere. Master Shanti would swat me.
The ship was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was a strange combination of a shrunken separatist cruiser and a gunship. I sliced a door and let Master Saa and Master Secura go in first. Olee and Master Ha ended up behind me.
"Why isn't Shanti and Luminara here?" A voice said from the roof. Bultar dropped from where she had been clinging like a spider.
"Shanti is wounded, and we left Luminara and Shaak to take care of her and the children," Master Saa said patiently. Bultar's lightsaber hissed as she extended it.
"Fine. You will have to do, then." She jumped and Master Saa ducked under her swipe. I pushed Master Saa away, trying to maintain a distance between the ancient Neti and the deadly blue beam. I jumped and spun, trying to gain momentum. I didn't want to kill her, and I was pretty sure she was too strong for me anyway. But I had no desire to die at her hands either, so I would fight seriously. Master Saa settled into a meditation pose. I felt just a little more energy trickle into my body.
"I'll take her from the right!" Master Secura said. I didn't think Swan could keep up with the both of us. She went on the defensive, parrying my stroke at her head with a diagonal block and rolling backwards when Master Secura kicked her. Where was Master Ha?
Then I felt another dark presence. Sinoccus had arrived.
"Zatt…Jikussa, correct?" he asked, looking at me with those painfully clear eyes.
"Actually, it's Zett Jukassa," I corrected him. Bultar was standing back up, looking a little tired, but not as much as I would have liked. Master Secura engaged Sinoccus, their duel fast paced and involving a lot of spinning. I had never seen a battle with that much spinning, ever. But it was so fast, I guess they needed to keep up the momentum.
"I would keep your eyes on your own opponent, or else something bad might happen," Bultar said. I spun around, tearing my eyes from Master Secura and Sinoccus' deadly dance. She stood between me and Master Saa.
"I wouldn't dream of taking my eyes anywhere else," I responded. She snorted.
"Don't you already have a girl?"
"Yup." I started walking around her in a circle, prepared for anything. I felt that it was important to get between Swan and Master Saa.
"He battle meditation sure is something. It's making things difficult. With that behind her, Secura might actually beat my master."
"He let you be his apprentice, even though Master Shanti defeated you?" I sneered. "You failed your 'final test', Bultar. Nice new hands, by the way."
"Dun Möch," the black haired woman said. "How very un-Jedi like of you."
"I wasn't attempting Dun Möch," I responded. "I was stating the facts. I failed the first time I took the knight trials and Master Shanti didn't let me become a knight just because I tried as hard as I could. She let me become a knight when I passed."
Bultar's smirk fell off her face. Ha!
"You will regret saying that," she said. Suddenly she jumped, but not at me. She was jumping away from me. Towards Master Saa. Where in the name of the force had Master Ha gone?
I moved as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough. Master Saa stopped the tip of Bultar's green beam of energy centimeters before it made contact with the skin between her shoulder blades.
"Just because my eyes are closed doesn't mean that I am asleep, young one," Master Saa said. Bultar gritted her teeth and shoved the lightsaber forward with all her strength. I rushed forward, intending to push her away from the ancient Jedi, but she snapped her knee up and kicked me in the chin without even looking away. I was dazed for a moment, and could barely see the battle of peace and anger going on before me.
Suddenly a small new presence entered my awareness and I redoubled my efforts to orient myself. I got to my feet just as Fay ran into the room, her lightsaber ignited. With her was a male Omwati who was probably the same age. He had a red lightsaber. Behind the both of them was Master Ha.
"Master Saa!" Fay yelled. Master Saa's eyes snapped open, the shock of Fay's sudden arrival breaking her focus. I lunged, but I wasn't fast enough to stop the green blade from impaling her straight through.
"MASTER SAA!" Kina Ha yelled, and she and the Omwati boy both jumped at Bultar with Fay right behind them. She flung them back with the force, letting Master Saa's body drop to the ground. I used this opportunity to attempt to stab her, but her reflexes were fast than mine. I started using Ataru in its fullest form, because I was truly angry. I had seen Master Saa get killed, right in front of me. Bultar Swan was beyond saving. She had to die.
A powerful force closed around my neck and lifted me in the air.
"A noble effort, but utterly fruitless," Swan said. I couldn't breathe. I was panicking.
She dropped me and I collapsed, trying to fill my lungs. I saw Master Ha engage Bultar, and was flung backwards. I understood why few kaminoans became Jedi. They were fragile.
My lightsaber clattered to the floor. I looked up, gasping, as she used the force to drag Fay over to her.
Suddenly I felt Master Secura's energy spike. She was losing. Sinoccus had her pinned against a wall and had been punching her in the face, until she fell to the ground, out cold. He seized his lightsaber and turned to me.
"You are the only one left," he said. "Will you surrender?"
"No," I said. I jumped at him. He didn't move, just lifted one hand and unleashed a bout of pure white lightning at Fay. She flew to the other side of the room and crashed into the wall.
I ran to her, the Omwati right behind me. She was out and not looking good. I needed to get her out of here, but I couldn't leave Master Secura and Master Ha…I turned and ran back down to the twi'lek, only to be caught myself with that horrible lightning.
"You are far too young and inexperienced to win against me," he said. "You were trained well, but training can only go so far." He unleashed more lightning. When this bout ended, my body smoking and my nerves feeling fried, I saw Master Secura's eyes open.
Go, I told her through the force. Take Fay and go. She's at the end of the corridor. Take Master Ha too.
Her blue eyes blinked in painful understanding. She grabbed her lightsaber and took off down the corridor. Swan started to follow her, but I called the last of my strength and flung her backwards. Sinoccus dropped me and I fell to the ground, unable to move.
And then I blacked out.
