Well, on the one hand, no reviews. But on the other hand, that makes for a shorter author's intro for the next chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-One: Jedi Wannabes
3 Parsecs North of the Solar Ecliptic, Hebridan System
The fabric of space and time explodes in a torrential shower of Cronau radiation as three monsters break through the barriers of the higher dimensions and re-enter real space.
Immediately one of the three ships, over 8000 meters in length, begins to spin heel over stern as its massive array of engines flare and explode. The explosions spread down the whole length of the ship, until the hypermatter reactor that is its heart breaks open and the massive ship shatters with energy enough to crack a small moon in half.
A second ship also begins to spin, and suffers a lesser but still catastrophic explosion in the engineering section, but slowly is able to arrest the spinning motion with prolonged sprays from the manual maneuvering thrusters. Moments later, every light on its surface dims as it loses all power.
The third ship shudders under the damage wrought by hyper-accelerating into a hyperspace window, and within it all systems automatically shut down, but nothing explodes.
Eventually, the systems restore themselves. From the center of the massive ship, a strong, ancient voice says: "Report!"
"The hyperdrive motivators are completely destroyed," the Chagrian, Darth Wyyrlock, reports. "Sublight drives are also completely destroyed and will have to be replaced. The Star's End exploded upon reversion to real space. All hands lost. The Revenge has suffered catastrophic system failures. Their hypermatter reactor is venting badly and is likely beyond repair. However, we may be able to use the ship for salvage."
"Weapons?" Darth Krayt asks.
"We have lost our main batteries at the moment, but all point defense turbolasers appear functional, and our crew chief states the main guns are repairable given sufficient time."
"Our location?"
"We are determining that now, but it appears that we are in the same galaxy as the Jedi who fled us."
Wyyrlock bows his head as he listens to a report on his sub-dermal com patch. "Master, ships are approaching. We are bringing up a holograph now."
Krayt leans forward on his throne and studies the alien ship. They are tiny ships, barely a hundred meters in length, but bristling with armaments of unfamiliar design.
"They are hailing us, but in no known language," the Chagrian states.
Krayt nods. "Not surprising. Destroy two of the vessels and tractor the third into the main cargo hold. Have soldiers board it and capture as many of the occupants as possible. I shall learn their language myself."
"As you wish, Master."
The Hebridans stand no chance even against the point defense weapons of a Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, Monday, January 21, 2002, 12:35 p.m. MST
In the Rec Room of Stargate Command, Max, Michael, Isabel and Liz sat cross-legged in a semi-circle facing Siana. All five of them had their eyes closed. In the focal point of their bodies, a bag of chips floated in mid-air. Maria Deluca sat in a couch, reading a trashy romance novel while glancing up occasionally at what the five of them were doing.
A moment later, Katarn stepped in with Teal'c at his side. The two warriors had become inseparable over the weekend.
The bag flew from the middle of the group of teenagers into Katarn's waiting hand. He held it to Teal'c, who opened it. "Barbecue is an especially pleasing flavor," the Jaffa noted.
Kyle popped one into his mouth and nodded. "Indeed." He moved until he stood between Siana and Isabel, and then plopped down into a cross-legged position. Teal'c moved to the other side but did not sit.
"So, I was walking down the hall with Teal'c here," the Jedi master began, "when I felt a flux in the Force. It felt very much like four initiates trying to levitate something. Now, I told myself there were no initiates around here, and my little girl Blue was much too smart to try and introduce anyone on this planet to the Force. So, since I know that can't be true, want to tell me what was really happening here just now?"
Siana blushed and stared down at her lap.
"It's my fault," Max said. "It was something she told Isabel when we were running from that Sith man. That we could touch the Force. I asked her to show us how."
"That's all very good and nice, King Max," Katarn said, unconsciously copying O'Neill's term for the young man, "but I was actually talking to my ward there. Siana, care to answer?"
She took a deep breath and stared right back at him. "After Max asked me, I meditated on it. It felt like the right thing to do, Master."
"During this meditation of yours, did you actually bother to ask your master?"
"My master is dead," she said hotly. Immediately, she bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Master Katarn. No, I did not ask your permission. I realize I should have."
Max looked fit to explode with the need to speak. Kyle continued to ignore him. "Siana, this is not our world, or even our Galaxy. And we have all seen over the years how just a little Force training is enough to cause untold damage. Unless these four were ready and willing to forsake all other things and become Jedi, even to the extent of following us back to our galaxy, they should not be shown anything."
"It felt like the right thing to do, Master Katarn," Siana said again. "Look at their Force Signatures."
"I see them, Padawan. What I also see is that these are children from a primitive planet divided by warring nation-states in a galaxy on the other side of the universe from ours. Will their allegiance be to the Force, or to their country? Will they participate in the wars of this planet? Will they use the Force to become rulers of this planet? Max was a king once; how do you know that with the additional powers provided by the Force, he may not wish to be a king again? Did you consider any of these things?"
"I did not," Siana admitted, though she refused to let her gaze wander from his again. "I asked the Force to guide me, and this is what it told me to do. It felt like the right thing to do."
Suddenly Kyle exploded into motion so fast, none could follow. For one second, he was sitting peacefully talking. The next he was on his feet, his lightsaber swinging toward Max.
No mere human should have been able to respond. And yet, when the saber came down, it met a blue-green field of energy emanating from Max's hand.
Kyle retracted his saber and looked from Max back to Siana, then back again. "Max Evans, do you have any idea what it means to be a Jedi?"
"Only what Siana has told me," Max said. "It means to be a protector. I've never taken a life, but I have saved many. Including Siana's on two occasions. I've never used my power for personal gain, and I have no desire to be a king of anything."
From behind Kyle, Siana said: "Do you see, Master Katarn?"
Kyle resumed his seat and looked at all of them. "In the Old Republic of our galaxy, Jedi potentials were removed from their families as infants and trained since earliest childhood to be a Jedi. Those that were not strong enough in the Force to be a true knight were still kept within the order, serving in other capacities. It was believed that a person with even minor training was a danger to the galaxy until that training was completed. The Jedi acted as guardians of the galaxy, stepping in to preserve the peace by any method necessary, including diplomacy or strength of arms if necessary. They owed their allegiance to no specific government, no specific person, but followed the will of the Force itself.
"After the purges of the Empire, that tradition changed. Now people of all ages are accepted for training. Even so, the New Jedi Order has discovered that there are certain ages that are better than others. All of you are old to begin the training. And it is a lifetime commitment. If we decide to train you in the ways of the Force, will you use it as Americans? As Humans? Or as Jedi?"
"We're technically not humans or Americans," Max said with a wry smile. "We're outsiders here and among our own people. So even if we wanted to be different, I would have to say that we would use any powers learned as Jedi."
"And you, Liz Parker? You are both human and American."
"It doesn't matter. I would use any abilities as a Jedi."
"And you, Isabel Evans?"
"As Jedi."
"And you, Michael Guerin?"
"I guess as a Jedi. But I should tell you, I have a problem finishing things. I still don't know if I'm going to be able to finish high school, much less this."
"If you start," Katarn said, "you will finish."
"Then as a Jedi," Michael said.
Kyle looked from each face. "You act as if you have been thinking about this for some time. More than just a few days."
"Master Katarn, it's difficult to explain," Max said. "None of us ever belonged here. For most of our lives we didn't even know what we were, much less where we came from. We only knew we were different. Even after we found out, it never felt right. I've only acted in my capacity as King of Antar once, and the whole experience felt wrong. But when I healed Siana the first time, I caught flashes of her life. Not just at the end when the Sith came to Ossus, but also of her life before then. I envied her feelings of belonging and of being a part of something greater than herself. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to be a part of it. And the more we talked, the more I wanted to be what she was. What you are."
Kyle nodded as he listened. "And the rest of you?"
"Well, we definitely never belonged anywhere," Michael said.
"And I just belong with Max," Liz said. "Siana said we are bonded."
"Yeah, I can see that," Kyle said. "You two are as bad as Luke and Mara were. I could almost hang clothes to dry on that link of yours." He stood and stepped away for a moment. "If we were in my galaxy, it would be a simple matter. But this isn't my galaxy. I am a guest here, with no immediate means of getting home. While here, I must abide by the laws of this world. And from what I understand, there are limits on what I can do with minors without your parents' consent."
"We'll get it," Max said without hesitation.
"And then there is the greater question of the government here. From what I have heard, they are meeting in mere minutes to decide what to do with the whole lot of us."
"My dad's a lawyer," Max said. "We can always sue them if they try to get in the way."
Suddenly Kyle laughed. "There are lawyers everywhere, aren't there?" He paced around them. "I will meditate on this. In the meantime, Siana, no more lessons. Training must be done by a knight or a master, and as talented and skilled as you are, Padawan, you are neither of those."
"I understand, Master."
Kyle left. Teal'c stood and looked down at them. "I believe he will say yes. I wish you all success in your endeavors."
Then he left too.
Everyone stared at Siana. "You think he will say yes?"
"Kyle is legendary for doing the right thing," she said. "This is the right thing to do. I know it."
Villa Reynaldo, 45 minutes south of Mexico City, Mexico, Monday, January 21, 2002, 1:05 p.m. MST
The village of 200 was deserted. Where an adobe building once served as the administrative center for the dying village, a large tent now stood over the cleared foundation.
Within this tent sat a man still wearing the insignia and uniform of a United States Army colonel. Ordinarily, a member of a foreign military on Mexican soil would be arrested immediately. However, not this time.
Across a folding table from the colonel sat two men in expensive three-piece suits, and an attractive young woman, also wearing a brand-new business dress. A few feet away, a baby lay in a stroller, playing with a mobile.
"I still don't understand why I should be talking to you," Colonel Phillip Green said to the young lady.
"Because I speak for your benefactor," Tess Harding said. "And your benefactor wants to know what happened at Rogers, and why the situation was not contained."
"There were two aliens on the ship, not just one," Colonel Green said with a sneer. "Your super soldiers weren't able to contain either of them. In fact, they made a whole bloody mess of it. I even dropped a fuel-air bomb on a town to take one out, and it didn't work. And that stupid plant of yours—Tennenbaum—just kept getting in the way. Now the Air Force has the whole lot of them—the alien on the shuttle, the shuttle itself, and those kids from Roswell that you were supposed to take care of last year."
Beside her, one of Kivar's recently hybridized supersoldiers said: "The aliens were more dangerous than anyone could imagine. We dispatched fifty of our best men with 150 of your soldiers to contain them in Santa Fe. From what I understand, almost all are dead, and the only reason one of the two aliens in question died was because a third arrived and killed him. Now we have two alien beings on Earth in talks with high level government officials, only one of whom is under our direct control."
"So what do we do?"
The two figures looked at each other, then down at Tess. "Your benefactor is considering direct intervention," she said at last.
"Meaning?"
"He is coming here."
"I thought he wasn't coming for another ten years. 2012, he said."
"He felt he no longer had the luxury of that time. And he's not coming alone."
Green stared across the table at her. Around the deserted village, those few men loyal directly to him continued to scavenge for supplies. "And me?"
"Your time may still come," Tess said. "But not right now. Your benefactor recommends you disappear, Colonel Green. We'll provide you funds to ensure your comfort, and the comfort of your men. But we need you out of sight for now."
Green stood slowly, an array of emotions sweeping across his otherwise-handsome face. "I'm not going away forever. I will be back. And one day, history will remember Colonel Green."
"Of that I have no doubt," Tess said.
The colonel got up and left. When he was gone, Tess turned to her two handlers. "What are your instructions after this?"
"To kill the Royal Four," they said. "Yourself excluded."
"That's a relief," Tess muttered. "Well, there's only one way to find out where they are."
Thank you for reading. DM