It was a peaceful trip back to the Academy. Despite the anxiety placed on them from being crash landed on Blenjeel with man-eating Sand Burrowers and narrowly foiling a terrorist attack by the Remnant Imperials on Bakura, the pair had much to look forward to. The two had definitely had matured just a bit more, bonding both in and out of conflict, finding common ground and things to empathize with each other.
While Rosh yearned for adventure since being regaled about the legacy of the Jedi since he was young, Jaden was saved by the Force in her darkest moments in her own crowded slab of living space. One sought to be acknowledged and become a Jedi Knight quickly, the other wanted to take each day at a time to get used to her new life. But above all else they shared things together far more endearing than simply a common hatred of Imperials.
Exploring new worlds or areas of places unknown and familiar. The action in exploration itself and discovering new things hiding behind layers of age and overgrowth, lost to time itself. Seeing new species of sentient and non-sentient life intrigued the pair, always wanting to be the first to see an alien or beast none had bore witness to previously. Combat training gave a new kind of discipline and each enjoyed the exercise and ample growth in controlling the Force with every action; even simply sensing things was becoming as common as breathing to them.
But above all else, the one thing geared in the back of their minds was Jaden's proposal of helping Rosh start work on a lightsaber. It was a rare chance that she felt something unusual about the batch of refined Cortosis, its crystals usually resistant to the laser swords of the Jedi and were used as an antagonist deterrent to ward off their blades of light. But, in finding an ore that possessed a single crystal one uses for as a focus for a lightsaber?
It felt like an uncanny hand of fate was driving this to be made happen, she knew it!
Once they arrived back, she took him straight to her room and they both began to make a daily routine of it. Since this was a more delicate matter she decided it best to keep away from her tent-overlapped bed and worked on the workbench installed by Republic resources near the right side of the room. Using the materials she found, she got a few tools she remembered using when crafting her own elegant weapon and brought it to him.
"Now, make sure you install the focus crystal last," She said, pointing to the Force imbued cortosis crystal. "Crafting it from that point on can create power surges to the rest of the mechanisms. Creating the dampeners with the hilt's battery pack will help distribute the energy the crystal produces, and sends it past the coils to form a steady charge. Then, when you have your lenses fastened correctly, the beam will align in the proper length this construct is designed to make."
"Okay," He tried to fathom, smacking his lips as his eyes tried to focus on the parts surrounding the crystal. Furrowing his brow intensely, he popped his mouth and looked at her with a pleading look. "Uh, could you show me how to get to Point A? Maintenance on a pistol is different from this..."
"Sure," She answered enthusiastically, her grin practically beaming at being asked to show how a machine worked. Leaning over she grasped the tools set in front of him, and began crafting a basic outline of the interior, grasping what looked like proper materials for coiling and some wires to connect to the battery. Placing the tools in hand, she gestured to him. "Solder these pieces together, then apply the micro-adhesive to ensure the wiring doesn't get loose. Once that's done, apply some to the exterior of the wiring to form an exterior to keep it from sparking out of control and causing it to short out before even connecting to the rest of the parts."
"Alright, I think I got that," He nodded again, licking his lips as he went about to work on the delicate process she ascribed. Truth be told, she knew it could take awhile if he was careful and making mistakes would multiply that timeline. Even if everything were to go smoothly, she thought construction would be optimally achieved in several days at least of straight work with little rest, and more than likely over a week with moderate attention. This is what she mentally planned out as her eyes watched his hands, analyzing his movements and keeping his movements in check without speaking.
An hour passed and he made steady progress, much to her pleasure. When the soldered pieces were cooled enough for him to apply the wiring he only made a few errors in using the wrong angle and had to dish out more material. Correctly applying adhesive to one point and the other, she was enamored by his precision at following her instructions without any dialogue from him. This was so unlike him she was almost shocked, taking moments to subtly glance at his focused visage constrewed in nothing but attention to his work.
The coils came next, being the power distributors of the weapon. Looping them from the battery, she instructed they had to form a conduit to fasten them within the eventual shell they'd be forming around it. He did have a question, though, regarding this step.
"Why don't we just build the lightsaber then fit the insides into it?" Rosh asked with furrowed and raised pair of brows.
"Good question, to which I answer with my own," Jaden grinned, her platinum brow raising quizzidly as she raised a circling finger for emphasis. "How would you be able to perform maintenance on your blaster's cell depositor if the handle was already in place?"
"Uh, carefully?" He asked in a sheepish rhetorical manner.
"I'm sure older models of blasters had worked like that, but I know mechanisms are more efficient and also more delicate in this era of technology," She explained, taking special care to point to the wiring attached to the battery, now sporting a molded bonding agent thanks to the micro-adhesive they utilized. "It's harder to ensure wiring goes into place when there's a shell of plastic placed over it, right? So we add that later, so it's far easier and saves you the effort of mangling the hardware of your machine."
"Ah, good point," The spiky haired man chuckled awkwardly. "I'm surprised you were never scouted by the Empire with that kind of talent. Are you sure you never got an offer or two by some ritzy corporation?"
"I was self employed," She proudly boasted, nudging him to continue his work as she leaned back to watch him from a more distant perspective. Materials were strewn in a semi-circle near the back of the wall-bolted bench and by the sides, giving him just enough space to work with the desired affects he needed. A wall mounted lamp was highlighting his task, allowing the natural light of her room to be dimmed to a satisfying luminosity.
"My guardian warned me of the Empire when I was very young. He said that, unlike the Republic where you had to only watch out for some key factions within the confusing hierarchy, it was all about a power struggle. Far more vicious, and something I could easily be caught in if I entangled myself with them," She continued to talk, crossing her arms around her chest, watching Rosh continue to tinker without responding from his current process. "If I kept myself independent, then I could hire myself out to anybody the Imperials ignored or were too pricey for them to handle within a reasonable demand. I would research discreetly what their going markets were on the top level, but I'd never go up there myself."
"It explains why you're so pale. You never see much Sun in lower levels of ecumenopolises," He joked, suddenly stopping as he was aware of how rude it sounded. Jolting around, he turned to meekly apologize only for him to be met with a surprising snorting smirk. "Uh..."
"Bad joke, Rosh, and you're not the first person to use it," She stuck her tongue out at him, pointing demandingly back at his desk. As he rolled his eyes and went back to tinkering, she resumed her cross-armed stance, leaning on one jutting hip while the other bent forward slightly. "I'm Echani; well, partly, I think. My guardian never explained why I looked the way I did but someone within the community pointed out and Meelik helped me find some genealogy material. I didn't have the credits to do a DNA tracking or look through the galactic database to find out where my parents were, but I think I kind of tuned it out.
"The only thing that mattered to me is that the Echani are a race of near-humans that all possess a sterling color of white hair and silver eyes with pale skin, only slightly varying from family to family. If I had siblings from the same parent, I'd be nearly indistinguishable from the rest, which is a little weird to me. They seem to be a Matriarchal led confederacy that was allied to the Republic and, consequently, became tied to the Empire after the change of government was made. Martial mastery seems to be what they live for and while I've never been shy to conflicts in the lower levels, I've been more of a tinkerer as you can see."
"So, you never tried contacting them?" Rosh asked, still busy with his current task of aligning coils with the wiring circuitry.
"What's the point?" She asked back rhetorically, expressively waving her hands to embellish her dismissal. "I never had a real family connection other than the community and I barely knew more than a handful of their names. Apart from Meelik, I didn't have a real friend beyond my guardian and when he passed away, I was pretty much on my own."
"But, you said you were partly Echani?" He asked, turning slightly to look at her up and down, checking her sleeveless jacketed, pants wearing person of black fatigue with the hood drawn back -the first outfit she shown him since arriving-. Her hands wore their telltale finger-less gloves and she was still wearing her boots. With her lightsaber hooked idly on her left hip, she arched a brow quizzidly at him, a mirthful smirk armed on her face. "It's not like there's more room for any other genes than human, right?"
"Couldn't figure it out myself," Jaden shrugged, smiling a bit toothily at him in a tease. "Maybe I'm a Wookie that never grew my fur out."
"Har-Har," Rosh barked back in jest, going back to work on his task. It didn't take long for him to press again, even as he finished the third lining of the coils. "I've always taken pride in my ancestry, tying back to the Old Republic and the Jedi. I just didn't think you'd be so quick to just ignore what got you here in the first place, you know?"
"It's not like I have much recollection at all," She admitted, raising a gloved hand and curling her exposed fingers to inspect the peerless pale nails of soft almost glass-like texture. "I think if I knew more I'd care, but since I don't, there's no point on dwelling what I don't have. All I know is that miserable little spot in Coruscant and the only friend in my world is Meelik. My parents could be drunks for all I care cause it doesn't change who I am now."
"But they're still family!" He insisted, finally turning to look at her from the desk with his hands balling the tools in his grip. "You talk alot about Meelik for somebody who doesn't give a care about where you came from! Wouldn't you be happy if you found out your parents were alive?! Wouldn't you be sad if they were dead?!"
"Whoa, Rosh!" She raised her hands up, surprised at the sudden outburst he had. She could feel the energy around him seethe in outrage, like steam from a boiling pot. His eyes shined with incredulity and his voice echoed something akin to pain, confusion and perhaps even sorrow. Lowering them slowly, she asked pointedly. "I-I'm sorry, but I have no memory of who my family was. I had a guardian whom was detached but I was relatively alone in a crowded slab of permacrete and ferrocrete, one of just hundreds on the level I lived on. Why does this matter to you so much?"
Gritting his teeth, Rosh recoiled, as if realizing how he must have looked. Sighing through his nostrils, he turned away, tools at his side and began to talk softly, "My grandfather was a war hero during the Clone Wars. Before that, he galavanted around and explored much of the greater world beyond our boring, peaceful planet. But, when he returned, my mother and father said it looked like he saw ghosts. It wasn't long after that they were told that the Jedi were traitors to the Empire -not the Republic they fought alongside- but the Empire!"
Seething in place, Jaden remained silent as Rosh was stewing in a bubbling cauldron of bitterness. It was something she didn't have a comprehension, due to her smattering of memories of being raised in such a poor, desperate and dangerous environment. Imperials made rounds, sure, but they never bothered staying too long. It was next to lawless with only the local community keeping outsiders out and crime committed against them kept to a minimum. The closest she ever truly witnessed of the Empire's oppression was when she journeyed to the higher levels or lower levels, where authorities had more business there.
That, and the horror that was the slab of the highest level careening down past theirs in a molten rain of screams and death.
"Grandfather kept to himself after that, staying with my mother and father way after when I was born. When I exhibited talents in the Force, my grandpa practically wept with joy, telling me that one day I'd be part of the new generation. It's when I learned of all the wonders of the Jedi in the Old Republic, and the horrors of the Empire," Rosh deflated, feeling a bit melancholic as he idly stood there in front of the workbench. Slowly he raised the tools up and returned to busying himself with the tools and the tasks that Jaden instructed him on. "We were questioned at times, by Imperials that descended year to year, checking to see if there were any signs of insurrection. I was worried for my grandfather and the possibility he'd do something stupid or if the Stormtroopers would find our hidden legacy of the Jedi. Every time they appeared, it wore him down and I could see just how bad the betrayal had been for him."
"Is he alright? Your family?" Jaden asked, feeling obliged to inquire despite how sensitive her friend was appearing to be.
"They're still alive," He muttered out, attaching the next ring of the coil together as was necessary. "Grandfather passed away a year ago. He was old, even back when he was in active volunteer duty for the Republic in the Clone Wars. But I honestly think it took too much light out of him, you know? Still, I cherish every moment I had with him. If I forgot him one day, I don't know what I'd do with myself."
Stopping for a moment, Rosh seemed to ponder something.
"Jaden, we should find your parents."
"I told you-"
"But it matters to me," Rosh turned, looking with a half smile at her. "Because I want you to have the same memories that I did. It's not too late to make new ones either. And, even if they're not alive, it'd be a nice thing to give you some closure."
It was something she didn't consider. The disquiet in her heart formed of paranoia, loneliness and fear that crept in around her during the fallout of the Siege of Coruscant weighed heavily on her soul. Had it not been for her sudden fascination with the Force, her construction of the lightsaber and her current journey to become a Jedi, she didn't know what she could've ended up alone in her isolated corner of the galaxy.
Could this give her some peace she ached for? Perhaps, but she knew this wasn't the proper time for it. Maybe, when things have settled and she completed her training, then she could cross the bridge as it came to her.
"Maybe later," She finally resigned, making her spiky-haired companion grin almost childishly as he returned back to his work. "If this Sith Cult means anything its that I have too much on my hands on top of training to add that to the pile. When one of those are resolved, I'll...consider it."
He didn't answer, already busying himself in his work in crafting his future lightsaber. Smiling ruefully, she walked back towards him and continued to observe closely on his given task. She could tell that this friendship, however odd, was perhaps the best thing to happen to her since discovering her destiny at this Academy.
It had been several days since she returned to the Academy.
Returning back to a more normal pattern of behavior, she'd ascribe to better herself across multiple fields as efficiently as possible. Focusing on the training course, she'd practice lightsaber forms she picked up on holo-pads and paper inscribed texts the Academy had retained. Her timing was becoming more and more sharp, instinctual even. She could start to anticipate the remotes' varying patterns and their shots, no matter their numbers of placement. Taking some moments to breathe in between she'd let in the Force in specific areas, becoming attuned to them and gaining more clarity so she could summon its strength easier in new environments.
While Rosh seemed to dominate her work space -large in part to fit her demands to keep track of his progress and correct his mistakes easier- she took it upon herself to enter her Peace Dome placed bed to tinker whether he was there or not. Occasionally they'd be visited by their fellow Kel Dor student of Master Jade's, Dars Razz. This inevitably led to some bantering interaction when the other two fellow students, Ral Theron and Cale V'eel, as they'd make jeering comments to the both of them -though more or less aimed mostly at Rosh- for pure jest. It was a pleasant enough ritual and improvement could already be seen in Rosh's careful creation thanks to her constant supervision.
A pleasant warmth was replacing the gnawing aches that had festered within her soul. Bit by bit, she was starting to become accustomed to life here at the Academy and finding it difficult to long for her old home. The only thing she wished now was for Meelik to be here, to experience this new wonderful life; at the very least, she wished to thank him for pushing her to do what she lacked the strength to do on her own.
As the fourth day rose up, she had almost forgotten that she left Rosh unattended. Tumbling out of her tent-erect bed with a clumsy thud, she scrambled on all fours to see that he was still at it, though having sat on a stool instead of standing up like he usually did. She wondered if he got any sleep as she meandered her way over to her room's workbench.
"That's a nice exterior you got going," She complimented, working past an encroaching yawn as her eyes blinked in the faint light shining on the desk. Hearing no response, she looked over and saw him intently fixated on the task. Poking his cheek, she saw him jerk in place, twitching almost erratically with surprise; one that turned into deflation as Jaden couldn't suppress a giggle at his lack of awareness. "Morning, Rosh."
"Ah-!" He gasped, suddenly glancing at his holo-pad lying face down next to the discarded scrap. Flipping it up, he groaned as he faceplanted onto the desk with a rattling thud, parts vibrating ever-so slightly along with the saber he was constructing. "I didn't sleep the whole night."
"I told you to take it easy," Jaden tsk-tsk'd with her tongue as she shook her head. Placing hands on her hips, she turned her neck to the side while giving him a fascitious grin. "That's not a very Jedi thing, you know? To lose yourself in your work that you lose awareness of your surroundings."
"You're sound like the other teachers," He mumbled from the desk, finally raising up to look at his current hilt. It was halfway built from what he considered, with part of the exterior wrapped finely around the lower half of the blade's handle. He was struggling what -if any- kind of grip he'd make from the handle without comprising the structural integrity of the components inside? It was his stumped point that led him to stare for hours after achieving so much progress...
"Want my advice?" She asked pointedly.
Blowing a raspberry, he looked over with an arm leaning on the bench, waving the other with exasperation, "Sure, why not?"
"Your saber's exterior is shaping up to be something that is easier to grip for your choice of sleeves, wrapping around your palms to buffet strain. I suggest you make it out of some sort of plasteel, to ensure it's both flexible to join in segments and durable when molded together," She explained with a few twists of her hands.
"I'll give it a shot," He nodded with thanks.
A knock at the door caused Jaden to almost lurch. The guttural suave tone, however, let her know whom was behind the entrance before she even sought the muted grey signature that lied beyond sight.
"Hey Jaden. You free today?"
"Uh, sure," She mulled aloud, looking down at herself and realizing she slept in her own clothes instead of changing; she knew they needed a wash, but she felt distancing herself from Rosh could help them both. The tension of this project was wearing on them and they both needed some inspirational change of pace.
Exiting the door with a flick of her wrist off the mechanism, Kyle smiled almost wryly at the sight of Rosh busying himself at the workbench. She just rolled her eyes and elbowed his shoulder, causing him to chuckle with a grimace. Leaving it with a whooshing motion, she looked back at him with a curious raise of her brow.
"So, what mission did you need help with?"
"What? Can't I take you somewhere that isn't official business?" He asked coyly.
"It's been two weeks, practically, so I've come to expect it's always about the mission," She assured him without skipping as much as a beat.
"Well, you're not wrong," Kyle sighed, scratching his beard with an upraised gloved hand. "We got tipped off by numerous eyewitness accounts of the Disciples of Ragnos active within Corellia's major city, Coronet. It's a glittering gem that not even the Empire could taint on the surface but its underworld has left a much to be desired aftertaste. Because of the scale of sightings and conflicts the Republic to the Jedi Order has had with the Remnant and their mutual allies, this may just be paranoia gripping relatively safe citizens of Coronet City. But if its not..."
"Better be safe than sorry," She finished his trailing thoughts, already smiling mirthfully back at him. "I'm piloting."
"Oh no you don't," He jocularly sneered, thumbing towards his bearded face cheekily. "We're flying in my ship, not that airbus you call a starship."
"Your ship?" The Echani-blooded student questioned almost incredulously.
"Don't give me that look," He dismissed with a visible expression of displeasure. "I'm not some nerfherder who won a hunk of junk in a game of Pazaak. I got this baby with my wife after we took down Jerec, though that's a story for another time-"
"YOU'RE MARRIED?!"
"Indoor voice, Jaden!" Kyle rebuked as he lurched back at his wholly surprised student's reaction. As she sheepishly turned to see some distant students give her looks, she hunched her head forward and squeaked out a meek apology that Kyle just rolled his eyes at. "Yeah, I'm married. I don't like broadcasting my relationship due to it getting in the way of me teaching either of you. Besides, we only get to see each other on occasion, as we are very much married to our careers as we are to each other."
"Is...is that who you were with that whole time?" Jaden asked with bewilderment.
"How about I tell you all about that once we take off?" He inquired, leading her to the hangar of the Academy in a few minutes of swift walking. Reaching the old space where the Alliance's fleet of fighters were once parked -now full of transports and miscellaneous fighters lent by the New Republic- they'd see it stick out.
It was a light courier, with an angular nose that was almost blade-shaped as it jutted back to a pair of small extensions that housed enormous engines, whose thrusters were easily as large as the cockpit's head. With X-wing like flight wings branching off the port and starboard thrusters, its black tinted palatte with a red accent running under the main body to the ship's nose made it very distinct and quite perhaps the more 'attitude' kind of starship she's seen. Even the Falcon didn't have this kind of personality; though she wondered if that was a fair comparison, either way.
"Yeah, she's a beaut', ain't she?" He asked with a sigh of pride, hands on his hips as he took in his ship's appearance. He took notice in his periphery a telltale twitch at her fingers and the spark in her eyes. Pursing his lips and furrowing his brows, he jabbed his gloved hand towards her face and said in a quiet, clear voice. "Don't dismantle it."
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiine," She groaned out, joining him in the upward climb to the ship's canopy, where it was unfastened back to front and allowed them to seat properly. Once the ship thrummed to life, a jolt of exhilaration took hold of her from the legs up her chest. The momentum quickly kicked up as the ship's engines, the flames turning blue along the front and back of the powered ion mechanisms, propelling them along the treetops till they penetrated the sky into the vacuum of space.
It was a significant jump necessary to move from the Outer Rim to the Core, thus giving Kyle ample time to embellish his clandestine adventure with his aforementioned wife. He started with introduction to who they were in a simple layout; he was a mercenary, hired on by the Rebel Alliance through their handler of one Jan Ors, who helped him see the necessity of allying with these people. Once he helped strike some critical blows against the secret war effort of the Empire, he had been stuck with Jan and the Alliance ever since.
After alluding that some time passed that led to them getting married, the pair had met up in a joint operation of the two, tailing some lead on a gangster that got it in his head that he could absorb the warring rival factions while they were squabbling. It wouldn't have mattered had it not be investing in the scraps of one said former Hutt's properties and investments falling into their hands, thus being ferried back to an unthinkable amount of others in the broader underworld that'd infest themselves in the Republic's citizens' lives. They finally pulled the sting, cornering the gangster back with a large mob of thugs, and they had to fight back to back, with a particular minion aiming to hit him from behind.
By this point in the story, they had already reached their destination. Corellia was a beautiful terrestrial world, with green continents and vast oceans, making it a highly desirable place to not only live but for vacations by those of a more expensive root in society. In the Empire's case, it also held the strategic importance of having lunar-like rings of massive shipyard docks that singlehandedly pumped out a massive percentage of the Imperial fleets' starships. Once it had been reclaimed by the New Republic, it now served the purpose of creating more vessels for planets needing individual protection from the Remnant, rival factions like pirates and mobs, to even unknown interstellar menaces.
The spot of such toursim -and their destination- lied in the glowing city of Coronet. Practically alight even from space with its industrialized splendor and majestic architecture, they had to unfortunately descend when a storm front had encompassed the skyline of the beautiful city. Reminding her of the surface of Coruscant's own cityscape, in a way, she felt a tinge of nostalgia among her viewing of spires of metal and glass rose up, passing them by at an acceptable pace within aerial traffic. The sheets of rain pelted the Raven's Claw, bombarding the canopy in front and over their heads as Kyle continued to regale his tale, approaching the clincher as he currently allowed the auto-pilot to circumnavigate the bustling metropolis of Coronet.
"And then," He continued, pulling back a gloved fist before making a mock jab with a cheeky grin. "He punched the Weequay right in the-!"
"Can anyone hear me?!" A voice crackled to life over the open-comm of the courier's cockpit, causing both Kyle and Jaden to exchange a look as they heard the broadcast in full. "You've got to inform Coronet security! Somebody is trying to blow up the tram!"
It took a few seconds to notice the fluctuations within the fast pace momentum her senses took place to notice something they were strafing nearby. Of the more convenient modes of travel and transportation of goods, the light-trams were carrying dozens of cars along cobalt lit lines that the vehicle was suspended off of. Even from this distance, they could tell the outlines of all-too familiar mercenary ships, seemingly dropping improvised explosives to rattle and shake the durable freight transport with bombing runs. Others had dropped off men in the same uniforms as the ships she saw, and now made it clear that the sightings were indeed authentic.
"It looks like the light-tram is under attack," Kyle stated the obvious, bending the ship around in an arching swerve towards the back of the train. Opening the canopy, the whipping wind lapped over their faces and the feel of pelting rain made her feel a lurch in her stomach of discomfort; the howl of the train's momentum didn't add any encouragement either. Looking to Jaden, he spoke with authority like she hadn't seen until now. "I'm going to do what I can to stop those merc ships from making anymore attacks or drops! You clear this train out of mercs or cultists you see! Do you understand?!"
"Yeah, I understand you want me to fight on a moving train that may explode!" She exclaimed, her eyes widened to emphasize her alarm. The platinum haired woman felt her plait soak in the exposed wave of rain and wind, tumultuously impacting her with the force of what she assumed could've been a hurricane. Briefly flashing her eyes at the rear car and then back at Kyle, she saw him flash a toothy grin, urging her to cry out indignantly. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"Did you know I singlehandedly stormed an Imperial superstructure that held the Death Star codes? Without the Force?" He asked back over the roar of the speeding train and the high velocity propelled rain. Shaking his head, he patted her with a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Just take it one step at a time, kid. You'll do fine. Just make sure you don't let the train blow up, kay?"
Letting out an unintelligible growl loose from her lips, Jaden stood up and steadied herself. Even from this distance she could feel a careless misstep could send her careening off into the steel metropolis below. Closing her eyes, she inhaled, ignoring the soaking rain and biting wind that clawed at her nerves. The warmth she was familiar with filled her up, like a gourd taking in a river's water or a bottle filled up with warm wine. Then, she exhaled, as she leaped from the Raven Claw's cockpit seat and aerodynamically flipped in a graceful twirl to land in an angled crouch.
She heard the roaring thuum of Kyle's ship take off, already busy engaging the merc transports. Standing upright, she saw the metal-slits of an over-cap of a burgundy-brown dressed mercenary, the same uniform the other humans wore back at the hangar of the Mos Eisley dock. Walking up to the door, she noted it didn't open automatically as intended. Taking a look at the obvious lever through the door, she looked back at the merc.
He raised his rifle expectantly.
Without batting an eye, Jaden blankly stared at him and waved her hand in a curling motion back to her face. The arching gesture compelled the Force to yank the man by his weapon, causing him to stumble towards the sealed entry. Making another swift clawing thrust, she telekinetically pushed the lever back, disabling the lock. By the time the man stopped himself from running into the door, the entrance opened and allowed a swift kick to his bent head to be landed.
She watched him soar back, having forgotten she was freely using the Force when acting, as his neck was snapped back and his body pinwheeled across a luminescent lit corridor of the rear car. Crashing with a cracking thud, the weapon clacked noisily to the side, causing her to bend down and pick it up. Apart from her DL-44 pistol, she had forgotten to bring any other armaments; she hoped she could scavenge some equipment on the way, if the mercs are generous enough to do so.
Walking up some stairs, she passed through another doorway, this time in a more dimly lit vaulted car where it looked like droids were stored in enclosed angular grated casings. In between the spaces of these leaped out a pair of uniform human mercs, also armed with E-11's. They must have heard the noise as they readily opened fire at her, as she stepped side to side in anticipation of their attacks.
Firing a triage of blasts from her rifle, she watched them howl in agony as their death throes left them clumping onto the floor. Passing the scorched chests, she picked up what Energy Cells she could to keep for ammunition, rushing past a pair of concealed droids that were active and very confused by the breach of protocol. Ignoring them, she pressed on, exiting the car and back into the pelting rain.
A Weequay and a Rodian began firing at her from the opposite car, on an upper level beyond her ability to reach. Backing into the doorway, she used the automatic sliding plating to absorb shots before returning back. The exchange lasted longer than she'd like, as her shots weren't as accurate from this distance and the added momentum of the train with the coupled wind's velocity. Blaster fire scorched the surface of the train, sizzling in the moisture that cooled the super-heat of plasma and ion burns.
Watching one of her shots finally hit the Weequay in the shoulder before striking his leathery grey face, his scream was sent hurtling into the skyline of the passing towers of Coronet. Then the Rodian got shot in the knees, forcing him to tumble and also fall shrieking to an eventual if not quick impact. Seeing no one else take shots, she came back out and raised an arm to shield her face from the rain. Seeing a pair of energy rods connect one car to the other, she knew she'd have to balance herself on them if she was to make it across.
"This! Is! The! Worst!" She bit out, steadily bolting across while wholly relying on the Force to not let her slip up and fall to her own demise.
Passing beneath the two-story car, she ducked and weaved passed more mercenaries, relying on subtlety to escape attention. The chaos of Kyle's passing Courier taking pot shots at the rotund shuttles seemed to have them all in a buzz. If she was lucky, she'd not have to fight through all of them, and find a way to possibly stop the train to help deal with them better before something got seriously damaged.
Getting past the pair that were on the other side -somehow unaware of the firefight made not more than twenty meters behind them-, she stowed away her E-11 and withdrew her lightsaber. There was a merc that was trying to listen to his mask-attuned comm, tilting away to look at the speeding blurs that was the ships overhead and the Raven Claw. Muttering something low, she made a quick running leap and ignited her blade.
Just in time to see his shocked expression before she plunged the alabaster beam sword deep into his chest cavity and out the other side. Choking on blood, he'd fall back from the bodily impact she had on him, dropping with a clanking thud too small of a decibel to be heard over the thunderous cracks of energy ribbons cascading around them. She hadn't noticed until now, but the storm seemed to siphon onto the energy rods that propelled the beam-tram, absorbing it into the metal and defusing it before it could surge into the cars themselves.
Shuddering about how quick she was to be electrocuted earlier, she looked around and saw no discernible way to move around or through this particularly large car. Seeing a couple of ledges she huffed and leaped up, grabbing one by a hand and throttled herself up with a burst of Force Jump.
Somersaulting onto the top of the car, she'd suddenly feel an eerily familiar cold sensation sweep over her pores. The cracking hiss of a saber being charged was heard before she'd see its red blade, oozing vapor with the rain touching his energy weapon. Clothed in the same robed materials as the last two acolytes she dealt with, she felt as if the pattern of their outfits and weapons were mainstreamed if only because they were a cult.
"Stand aside!" She yelled out, as per her custom to give one chance to every foe who didn't outright attack her. "I don't want to fight you, but I will if you stand in my way!"
"I felt you coming, Jedi," The Cultist replied with a curled grin behind his soaked veil, his eyes knitting as he raised his weapon in an upright grip of both hands. "In the name of Ragnos, I will stain my body in the blood of your Order!"
Without wasting time talking to a lunatic, she hurled herself forward, igniting her weapon once again to combat the Force User.
In the time she spent in between her missions, she had begun to take into the action of fighting like a Jedi, adopting the basic sequences in known Lightsaber Forms. Emphasizing her upgrade of skill, she locked her saber in a series of parries and swerving arcs, all aimed to help her gauge the level of skill or intent of her enemy. This was Form I, Shii-Cho, and it was the most basic, something she had unintentionally leaned into using when she had first called upon the Force to fight the first cultist and the Jedi Training Droid.
Her peerless white blade cracked and snapped in hasty repetition, frustrating the acolyte visibly as his own momentum was rebutted by her balanced choice of combat. Instead of taking advantage of her charge into a full assault, she had stopped just when he'd lean in and began to lock him in place. He could neither back away, nor press further, as she was fully encompassing the space they were standing upon as her field of effect.
Letting out a howl, he shouted a curse as he backed up a meter before forward flipping in the air, intending to land a passing slash towards her at the risk of his own injury. Without any real mastery, he had entered using Form IV, Ataru and clumsily at that. In his anger to enhance his prowess of motion and aim through the Dark Side, he had blinded himself to the effect he telegraphed himself not only through body language but his intent in the Force itself.
Thus, Jaden shifted to Form II, Makashi, and leaned her body's weight to her left knee while keeping her right extended from her original point. Lifting her blade up with both hands, she blocked his shoulder aimed stroke, gliding the laser sword across his in a shower of sparks and crackling plasma. And, when he had all but was parallel to her veering form, she altered the emitter just enough to phase her weapon past his and land a killing stroke across his throat. From the momentum itself, she'd not even get a chance to see his head separate from the cauterized stump, as both body and skull flew with his saber off the car to tumble down into the rapidly disappearing ground of Coronet City below.
"Somehow I doubt it'd be this easy, if I found one so soon," She thought, defusing her blade as she braved the top of the glass surfaced car. Indeed, as she continued her movement from car to car, she had to engage and sneak past a number of foes. They were all the same motley selection she dealt with back at Mos Eisley, so none of them truly surprised her. Weapons were just dangerous enough to be cautious but their lack of order and proper armor made them easy to deal with in isolation.
Even as she traversed from one car to the next, she saw a violent explosion of a shuttle being torn to shreds by the Raven's Claw, echoing with Kyle's laughter over her personal comm.
"Too easy!"
"Glad one of us is having fun," She remarked back, only earning more guffaws from her master.
Barreling down a walkway, she cursed aloud as she'd reignited her blade once more, releasing beautiful swift arcs of white to be painted in the space around her. A Rodian, a Weequay and a Human had exited the entrance of the opposite car, all releasing a barrage of shots ranging from bowcaster slugs, E-11 bolts and Disruptor beams. She had to use her instinctual, though admittedly not as practiced, Form III Soresu. It was a simple effect, where one used their reflexes -swift and accurate- to reflect and deflect incoming blaster fire and repel anything that couldn't be by a saber through the Force.
Redirecting the bowcaster's shots into the Disruptor armed Rodian, the wiry thin body of his pale jumpsuit form was quickly ricocheted by the force of the emerald rotating chakrams of light. Using the same firepower against the Human merc, the Weequay panicked, attempting to head back inside to escape death. This only ended in him being shot in the back as Jaden quickly unholstered her DL-44, hitting him four times in the span of a two seconds from the skull down his spine.
Blowing the vanishing vapor exuding from the wet gun's barrel, she holstered it, smirking a little to herself of how proud she was that the Force allowed her to make those kinds of shots from this distance.
With her blade still lit, she made a cautious hop from the end of the descending ramp of the train car to the next, finding a very well lit open chamber that seemed to be power generators -not much different from the rear most car- that helped keep the beam-tram moving pumping with luminous cobalt light thrumming around broad coils. They passed along flooring in thick tubes, descending along yellow-black cautionary painted lines over a floor-lit pathway that led from the car out to the others.
The thing that stood out was at the center where two particular power cables presided, was an alarmingly familiar explosive device, rigged with a simple crank mechanism and three jugs of volatile pale yellow liquid. Even from here, she could tell it was primed and possibly near ready to be detonated at a moment's notice.
Gritting her teeth, she rushed in, only to be blindsided by a sudden blast of Force that sent her bodily crashing into the base of the back-most power generator.
"You were a fool coming here!" The Acolyte cried out, twirling the hilt of his blade before igniting it with a single deliberate jab of his thumb to the switch.
"You're the fool, trying to stop me," She muttered back brusquely, turning her face from the indention her body had made against the metal and power coils. Her black sleeveless, leather robed frame flickered a brief emerald, signifying her impulse to activate Protection, cushioning the impact to a mitigating bruise on her right side. Rising up, she raised her still active weapon, casting a white halo in the artificial gleam of their surroundings.
Tossing the blade in a horizontal arc, the acolyte laughed as Jaden swung her blade around in a defensive arc, making a thrashing contact. Twisting around he'd hurtle bolts of lightning from his hand, forcing her to raise her weapon in defense, coiling currents rushing into the Force fed light and defusing the Dark Side ability. With his weapon back in hand, the cultist leaped up in the air, Force-fully clinging to the ceiling before forward flipping around and sending the saber spiraling back down at her again.
Seeing his intention, she was prompted to use one hand to deflect it from her upper body before twisting around to lance an arm towards his dexterous motion. The sudden push he felt made him tumble into the power generator's face, the flying laser sword defusing in mid-air as a response to a lack of tether connecting it from its master; all the while he howled with agony as his defenses were nullified and he was being electrocuted in the sparking and arcing bolts of blue and white from the coils. Not relenting a moment, Jaden utilized her own emotions to intensify the push, folding the generator in and around him as more power was diverted from the car into scorching him into ash, his howls turning into pain ridden shrieks.
As the power dampeners kicked in, breaking power off from the damaged conduit, she heaved and lowered a shaking hand, seeing nothing remaining other than burnt meat and blackened cloth.
"Jaden, update?"
"There's a bomb on here," She replied, recuperating while she could as she staggered over to the bomb proper. Grasping the crank, she pulled the lever up and heard the familiar tonal drop of the whirring mechanisms. Seeing the chemicals cease bubbling, she sighed in relief, tapping the comm once again to help confirm with Kyle. "Huh, that wasn't so bad, all things considered. Mission accomplished."
A sudden lurch in the car and the cars behind her, suddenly made her stomach drop for numerous reasons.
"Bad news, Jaden," He rang, confirming her fears as her heart sank. "The Cultists are speeding the beam-tram. At this pace, I won't be able to catch up to them myself before they ram it into the upcoming station. You'll need to slow it down before that happens."
"Back to work I suppose!" She cried out, waving her arms exasperatedly with her still-lit lightsaber in hand.
The next several cars had Weequay, Rodian and Human mercs all working in pairs with each other. In more uniform terms, they were actually cooperating and making it more hazardous for Jaden to simply take it easy. As the speed was amplified, she threw out some Force pushes and sent them tumbling off the edge when she could while deflecting and slashing the rest as she quickly moved up to the last car. She didn't keep count, but if she had to guess it was nearly a dozen goons before she finally caught sight.
This time, she caught sight of the last remaining set of enemies. Normal mercs had hauled out weapons, one of which was an Imperial Repeater and another an E-11, lying at ground level. Standing defiantly at the top of the opening to the car was the last Acolyte, staring downward with a cognizant malicious intent. As she took care of the last pair of minions, she flipped over to the car, watching the Sith Cultist hop down with lightsaber activated and crashing down on top of hers.
Cracking and slashing, hissing and sparking, the pair's weapons made a chaotic weave of movements within the space of the car's outside and near interior. The rain and wind was all but unnoticed as the Force compelled them to fight unabated, filled with a supernatural surge of stamina, strength and vigor. The amount of times their weapons struck was far faster than common soldiers could manage, and even masters of swordsmanship would stare in awe at the most basic of sequences exchanged.
Still, the urgency of the matter took precedence in the platinum haired Echani's mind. Deciding to gamble, she swiftly altered the length of her weapon in an aggressive lurch forward. Parrying while moving to tackle, she inverted the grip before twisting around, pulling back with a broad twist of the emitter's length from small to maximum length. The white light painted an arc through the air, cutting through the thick metal plating of the train's entry in a howling crunch and sudden hiss, blocking out the sizzle of meat and dismemberment of her shocked foe.
As he tumbled face first to the ground, she was wondering if any of these acolytes knew how to use the Force like Jedi. If it wasn't for that fearful memory of their leader striking her with the raw potency of the Dark Side, she would underestimate them. But low, not only had they the effect of concealing their presence until the last moment but also had just enough skill to perfect a single ability to at least obstruct her own progress.
Pushing aside thoughts of the greater scheme of things, she finally disengaged her weapon's power and hooked it onto her belt. Walking in a fast paced jog inside the cockpit -for lack of a better word for her limited knowledge of beam-trams- and yanked back on the accelerator throttle. Already she could feel the transport whir in deceleration, moving slowly back to a normal momentum and apart from the deadly velocity.
"That was too close," She confirmed over the comm, seeing the outline of the Raven's Claw as it caught quickly back to her view.
"Nice work, Jaden. I took out those ships so I think we're in the clear."
"I hope this trend of terrorism isn't going to be a regular thing for these cultists," She shuddered, remembering already back to the recent mission she had with Rosh on Bakura. "At this rate, I'm not sure if we can stop all of these attempts of sabotage and slaughter."
"Leave worrying like that to us masters," He reassured her, angling his craft to be just within reach for her to leap back on. Once she summoned up the will to do so, she jumped back onto the seat and basked in the relief of being out of the rain once the canopy closed over them both. As Kyle issued out the proper reports and making an obligatory sweep to ensure that was the last attempt, she attentively turned back and looked back at him expectantly.
Then, Kyle smiled wryly and returned to tell the end of his story.
A/N: And that is Chapter Nine! I know officially it's Chapter 10 if we include the Prologue, but I like counting chapters that have actual story stuff in them as opposed to me inserting what is just world building and character development that didn't exist in the Academy game. Don't get me wrong, I love the Dark Forces saga, but Academy was probably by far the weakest written of the games (Yes, even Outcast has better writing).
I liked writing the beginning where Jaden and Rosh hash out some more feelings about themselves, their past and what they intend to do in the future. With Jaden's lineage being a mystery and Rosh's being cemented in the legacy of the Jedi, it's pretty clear why they act so differently. Still, their bond is growing and the progress on Rosh's lightsaber is improving every step of the way. A nice break from that came in the best mission set in my opinion in terms of difficulty and best pacing, the Coronet City Train Mission.
Not one, not two, but three Acolytes on top of a slew of mercs gunning for you, blocking your path and forcing you to keep track of their fire while precariously hopping from one spot to another that could end in certain doom? Hell yes! Also, the fun you can have by knocking them off the edge and hear their dying screams as their bodies fall off was its own reward enough. Very fun level, and it was trimmed just enough so you all got the taste of that same urgency (without the puzzle solving that the game put in to pad the level out).
Come in next time to see the next stage of the game's progress, as Luke makes an important discovery and all the students are required to participate. What is this epiphany, and how will Jaden fair on her own this time? Find out, in the next chapter of Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Temptations!