James was double checking his gear and making sure there are no defects when he heard a voice called him. One that he thought he would never hear from again.
"Ja'ika?"
"Mom?" James teared up at the sight of his mother. Standing there is a young redheaded Mandalorian Jedi.
"Hey, Sweetie. As much as I wish this is a reunion, I came to warn you. The Blockade of Naboo is a set up by the Sith."
"How is this possible?"
"I don't know ketyahulye, but just know this. What you do on the planet will forever change the future. The Force wants to prevent a dark one."
"What would happen if I don't?" James asked.
"Naboo will still be freed, but at the cost of a Jedi by the revelation of the current Sith. The Jedi searched for his master, but failed because of the outset of a great war. Finally, the last Sith will kill the vast majority of the Jedi by using their own troops and a powerful former Jedi against them.."
"I see..." The Force Ghost approached the soldier and stroked his face.
"Mom? I miss you."
"I know. But I'm so proud of you even if I had to see you and your vod's accomplishments in the afterlife. You also have a special woman who cares deeply for you James. Even though she is a trained Sith, in many ways she's a Jedi and I approve of my vencuyot ad o'r nadetr."
"Yes, Lana is one of a kind." James chuckled.
"Well goodbye ad'ika. Just know I'll always be there for you."
"Re'turcye mhi"
With those final words, the mother left. But it was not even a second before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Master Qui-Gon Jinn entered the room to check on the Major since they were fifteen minutes away from the blockade and wanted to see if he was ready.
"So, who were you talking to?"
"My mother." The look on the Jedi's face went from questioning to disbelief.
"But she was killed five years before the Treaty of Coruscant. That's impossible."
"Nope, she appeared as a Force Ghost."
"Impossible. Force Ghosts do not exist." The master smugly stated, making the trooper angry.
"Master Jinn. I don't know what they teach Jedi nowadays, but the idea of a Force Ghost is to warn about what lies ahead and they do exist. It wasn't the first time I encountered one..." Thoughts about encountering Master Orgus with Daniel on Rishi coming to mind. "And it won't be the last. The current Order, from what I can tell has lost its way."
"How so? Because the Order has always been the way I have been taught and those who preceded us."
James had the look of a Kath hound who got a piece of Nerf Steak. "I can name some: Jedi are now forbidden to marry is one. Kidnapping toddlers and infants is another."
"Love can lead to the Darkside." The Jedi retorted to the first argument in the 'debate'.
"Master Jinn, I will tell you what my ancestor, Carth Onasi and the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik said to the Prodigal Knight Revan: 'You want love, you've got to fight for it. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you and the one you love simply aren't meant to be. The trick is to know when that is, to know when it's time to fight and when it's time to part ways. Love causes pain, certainly. Inevitably, love is going to lead to as much sorrow and regret as it does joy. How you deal with the bad part of love determines your character, what determines the dark side's hold over you. Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled... But passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware. But love itself will save you... not condemn you.' If love leads to the Darkside then how can Lana be compassionate? Compassion is a form of love."
The Jedi rubbed his chin in thought before speaking out."Alight then. You made a convincing argument and I'll grant you that one. But on the other matter, the Jedi recruit at a young age."
"In my day, and in the Orders long history it is absolutely forbidden to recruit anyone under the age of sixteen unless they have their parents permission or are are orphans so you are wrong with both accounts."
The Maverick of the Order had to think about the statements by this nonsensitive soldier. Qui-Gon had always questioned the Order on various topics, but to learn that what he was taught is wrong is a whole new huttball game for him.
The Jedi Master sighed. "I guess the Jedi of Old are right about you. You do not know the Force yet you have the insight to know that it exists and you made a compelling case. In some ways I agree with you because I've been questioning the Council's decisions from time to time."
" A bit of a maverick I see?" James smirked. "Well, in any case, I'm glad that we can at least see eye to eye on some issues."
"Agreed...Look I apologize for doubting you and I know that losing your parents at a young age is devastating."
"That's okay Qui-Gon. You just doubted me and I guess I can understand since as you say 'Force Ghosts don't exist'.
"Yes. But if she did appear as you claimed, what did she say?" He asked.
"She basically said that if we weren't here, Naboo will still be freed, but at the cost of one Jedi and the future will be dark." James didn't want to say Sith because most of the Jedi believed that they're extinct and in the cases of Grandmaster Yoda, Masters Windu and Jinn, and Padawan Kenobi there is only one. But can Lana truly still be considered Sith? Or can she be more of a Dark Jedi?
Master Jinn nodded at the soldier's explanation. "I had a Force Vision similar to what you described. I saw a planet freed because of the efforts of a young boy. That young boy will become a hero to the Republic and admired for his courage in a war. That's where my vision ends."
Could the young boy be the one his mother told him about? The Jedi Knight who led troops against his former comrades. He doesn't know but if the trooper could do anything about it, he will change the future for the better.
"Come on Major. The negotiations are about to start."
James then put his new DL-44 in his holster and grabbed his new DC-15A Longblaster and followed the rouge to his destiny.
Dantooine.
Two Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Three Years Earlier...
There was smoke coming from a house. Multiple carcasses of livestock lay dead. A group of soldiers surrounded a man in a cape holding a red blade. The leader extended his left arm towards a farmer who is lying down, a dropped blaster at his side.
"Mom! Dad!" Two boys shouted, dropping their catches, rushing towards the scene with one of them brandishing a rifle.
"James. Daniel. Ruuuun!" The father managed to say to his sons as he was floating in the air, choking before he was thrown to the ground… dead.
The mysterious man then turned to face the youngest of the two boys.
"The Force is strong in you, young one."He began. "You'll make a fine apprentice. You may call me Darth Angral."
"Daniel, get behind me." The oldest motioned to his younger sibling before he turned to face the Sith while holding a hunting blaster. "If you want my brother, you have to go through me!"
"You are very brave. Or are you foolish?"Darth Angral asked tauntingly before turning to face a military officer. "Captain, you may kill the oldest brat, but capture the youngest one alive."
"Yes, my lord." The Captain acknowledge before he gave the orders. "Men! Open fire!"
Man, my parents are gone, I'm going to die and my brother is going to become a weapon. James thought to himself as he kneeled, aiming his blaster at the Dark Lord before closing his eyes for maybe the final time in his short life.
Then something astonishing happened...
James watched as his younger sibling extended his hands past his shoulder and Daniel made a thin blue sphere, blocking the blaster bolts.
James, I got a plan... Daniel said through their force bond. Pick up some pebbles so I can throw them with the Force, then we run.
"Good thinking little brother, they won't know what hit them," James whispered. "On the count of three. One...two...three...Throw."
James reached down and threw some pebbles up into the air and Daniel used the force to push the tiny shards towards the Imperials and the lone Sith. The Imps took cover from the hail of pebbles, but the Sith look beyond annoyed.
"Daniel! Run as fast as you can. I'll hold this bastard off, but I want you to take the first shuttle out of here to Coruscant and go find Satele!" James screamed quickly to his sibling as he shot at the Sith, who deflected every bolt he fired.
"I'm not leaving without you."
"Daniel, there is no time...You need to go..." Before James could finish his sentence, another miracle occurred, one that will impact the future of these two brothers and the galaxy as a whole.
Satele Shan of the renowned Jedi Order had leap over a stone fence and she was leading a counter-offensive of Republic Troops and the local Militia. Satele engaged Angral in a duel and the Dark Lord knew when he is put at a disadvantage and ordered a retreat. The Republic troops kept up the fire at the retreating Imperials and Satele rushed over to the pair.
"James! Daniel! I'm glad to see you both safe." She greeted before asked the obvious "Where are your parents?"
"Dead... F-father was killed right in front of us and we haven't seen our mother, B-but I heard screams coming from our home." James answered for the pair, tears running past their cheeks.
"I'm so sorry." Satele consoled before hugging them and she then asks Daniel. "How would you like to start your Jedi training a month early?"
"I'll be honored too." Daniel stated, accepting her offer, but still upset. "This offer would've made our parents proud."
"Sorry to interrupt Master Satele, but what about his brother?" A Republic Lieutenant asked the obvious question.
"Tavus, how would you like to have a son?"
"I-I don't know..." Tavus responded, knowing full well where this is heading.
"Look, I'm not going to order you to take care of James, but I can't take him due to attachments."Satele pressed, making it seem like a suggestion, but in reality is an order. "Besides, it will be a great experience when you start a family one day."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Does this mean I'll never see my brother again? He is all the family I have left." James asked with a lump in his throat.
"No, of course not. You will get to see him at the temple."
"Thank you..." James said before Satele stood up and announced to Tavus.
"Now we better get going before the Empire comes back."
"I'll start the preparations right away."Tavus responded before turning to the troops "Let's move out people."
Mando'a dictionary
ketyahulye - Precious
Vod- Brother or Sister; Sibling
vencuyot ad o'r nadetrn - Future Daughter in Law
ad'ika - Term of endearment for a child or offspring
Re'turcye mhi - Until we meet again