I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.
STAR WARS REBELS
The New Spectres
An Awakening
NEW YORK
"That better not be who I think it is." Darius said at lunch when he saw another student walk into the Mess Hall.
"Who?" Josh asked.
"Steven Abernathy. Put me on the floor last year. Wonder what he did to end up here."
"According to Dad, Sabine Wren caught him vandalizing school property for what Dobbs said was the fourth time. Dad also told me about when he attacked you last year." Lucy told him as R9-D2 placed himself between Darius and Lucy as Steven made his way over to their table.
"Hello, Carpenter. No Bridger around to protect you this time." Steven said with a cocky attitude and then shoved Darius out of his chair before dumping Darius' tray on him. Feeling confident that he got away with his behavior, Steven looked up from Darius to find a pair of blasters and the hilt of a Lightsaber pointed at him followed by a pair of Stormtroopers and Captain Fanes.
"What happened here and pretend that Commander Bridger didn't tell me about the last incident?" She asked.
"He came over, made a Josh-like remark, pushed Darius out of his chair, and dumped that tray on Darius." Noah said.
"Hook him." Fanes said to the Stormtroopers who placed Steven in handcuffs as Josh helped Darius to his feet.
"I'll get you later when your friends aren't around to save you." Steven sneered at Darius.
"How you intend to do that from the inside of a jail cell? If you want to have an attitude problem here, Colonel Markem's staff gets paid extra to have them. You painted gang graffiti at your old school, that means you in a gang, that means you get put in Solitary." Fanes told Steven as the Stormtroopers took him away. After lunch, three of the four teens returned to class along with BB-8 while Darius went to get a clean shirt followed by R9.
"Where's Darius?" Staff Sgt. Sloane asked as she walked into the classroom.
"Right here." Darius said as he walked in followed by R9.
"Okay, you changed your shirt. I know all about what happened at Lunch and Commander Bridger told me about the prior history between you and that other kid."
"General Syndulla's adding my other shirt to the load of laundry she gave Jacen to do. This shirt was on the Ghost" Darius explained causing Josh to chuckle.
"Something funny Joshua?"
"Jacen Syndulla doing laundry. Dropping for ten." Josh said and did ten push-ups after Sloane gave him a look.
"Does she know who's getting us this afternoon?" Noah asked Darius.
"I didn't ask her. Who did yesterday's run since it was a Work Day for me? Jacen took me to work while they were loading supplies onto the Ghost for the Vican Run."
"We were split up. Dad had me and R9 take a bus to the office while they went to Vica." Lucy told him.
"You know he assigns picking us up from here at random when it isn't Jacen. It could be anyone today if Jacen's doing laundry. He did have Thrawn come down and pick us up a couple of weeks ago." Josh added.
"Only because Captain Syndulla was mad at you for that little stunt you pulled on the Megaship." Sloane said as she handed out papers and books.
"That was actually DECA's idea. We just went along because it was a good way of getting Sleeping Beauty's attention."
"Dad always called him Sergeant Schultz because that guy sees nothing, hears nothing, and knows nothing. Nothing." Noah told Josh.
"Guys, I'm trying to teach." Sloane said to the four Spectres as she began writing on the whiteboard.
That night, Darius was walking along a Bronx street alone when a gang of people approached and surrounded him.
"What's this?" Darius asked.
"Payback for what you did to our homies last year." One of them said and pulled out a knife followed by two others puling out their own knives. Darius drew his blaster and switched on his comlink while he was at it.
"You do know the President said your gang is a terrorist organization." One of the gang members charged at Darius with a machete. Darius ducked the attack and managed to get a shot off striking the gang member in the shoulder.
"Darius, was that blaster fire I just heard?" Tevin Felth called over the comlink.
"Yeah, one of them came at me with a machete." Another gang member picked up the machete and charged at Darius who put his hands up in a defensive manner despite holding the blaster in one of them. Instead of a machete in his arms, Darius soon found the gang members flying backwards into a couple of parked cars as sirens rang out in the distance.
"What the hell did I just do?" He asked himself as both NYPD Officers and Stormtroopers arrived.
"He shot me." The gang member that Darius had shot said.
"Shut up. General Felth heard the whole thing and that camera saw it." A Remnant Officer said and pointed at a camera before turning to a Stormtrooper.
"Get him something for his wound so he stops whining and put them in the Wagon whenever it gets here."
"He attacked us." Another gang member said.
"Shut up goes for you too. In fact you all have the right to shut up and I suggest you use it because any stupid things you say or do are going to be repeated in court later. You also have the right to a shyster who will parade your family members into court and have them say what good children you are. If the IRS seizes all your money, an overworked and underpaid Public Defender will be assigned to you." The officer said before going over to Darius.
"I'm Lieutenant Alex Mackey with the 501st. Why did they come after you and how exactly did they end up in those positions?"
"I have no idea. I put my hands out and the next thing I knew they went flying. They're part of the gang that my ex-mother's last boyfriend was a part of. They blame me for bringing you guys down on them." Darius replied.
"That might be above my pay grade or something that I don't know. Where were you headed?"
"Home from the subway."
"Give me a few minutes." Alex said and went over to the arriving prisoner transport van.
"The charge on all of them for now is assault with a deadly as the primary and we'll probably add some more when their sheets come back. Bag this machete and tag it for Mrs. Myers to take prints off of it. We can amend the complaints further when those come back."
"Yes, Sir." A Stormtrooper replied as Alex's phone rang.
"Yes, General. He came off the subway and was heading home. Understood, there's probably video of the whole thing. Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. There's a couple of other details, he held out his hands and my suspects went flying across the street and one of the suspects has a GSW from a blaster. Yes, Sir." Alex ended the call and put his phone away before turning to another Stormtrooper.
"I have to talk to the counterman at this bodega about getting the video of this whole thing before I take Darius home. Come with me." He said while Darius took out his phone after hearing his own ringtone and finding that the call was from Darnell Hollister.
"Hello. How did you hear about this? Not really, I just like pushed four people across a stret like it was nothing and I don't understand it. There's a Lieutenant Mackey here, he hasn't taken it yet. I work tomorrow, but I might call out. You know where I'll be tomorrow. I gotta go." Alex came over to Darius.
"That better be somebody important."
"Colonel Hollister."
"I'll talk to him after I get you home and get your statement. I guess he's planning to follow up on that once he gets it." Alex said and led Darius to his car. George Carpenter looked confused when he saw Alex follow Darius in.
"His mother's boyfriend's gang tried to attack him with knives and a machete. They're all in Remnant custody and won't be getting bail. I have to take Darius' statement." Alex explained.
"He doesn't look hurt." George said.
"He isn't or not to the extent they are. One of them got shot and then they all got thrown across the street somehow." Once Alex took Darius' statement, explained the next step in the process, and left Darius went to bed still wondering what he had done.
The next morning, Tevin reviewed the video of the incident along with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"What do you make of that?" Tevin asked Obi-Wan.
"Explains some of the interest that Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger have taken in Darius Carpenter. Some Force sensitive beings don't realize they have it until something happens that causes it to awaken. Michael had it for ten years before he found out he had it. Ezra Bridger was in his early teens when he found out. Luke Skywalker in his late teens when I told him. Leia Organa in her 20s when Luke told her. Anakin himself didn't know until he was 9 when Qui-Gon found him. On top of that, narcotics such as death sticks can hinder a person's connection to The Force if not downright sever it. I would have to use a screening technique on Darius to confirm that he is in fact Force sensitive and to what degree. What do we know about his father and the family on that side?" Obi-Wan replied.
"There's a cousin in our Boot Camp with a serious attitude problem. The father's been in and out of prison since Darius was a baby. It would take some digging to find all the people and places on that side of his family and as you know, I also don't really have the manpower for this kind of Jedi Fishing Expedition into birth records. Except Darnell probably broke Rule Number 10 and is doing it anyway since he probably saw the video and everything else."
"I do have Galen and Anakin's grandchildren to do this if you prefer that this Jedi business be handled by the Jedi. I just wonder why Jacen Syndulla never picked up on this given the amount of time he spends around Darius."
"Usually if he's around Darius, he's around Josh. The real question would be why didn't Ezra tell anyone." Obi-Wan thought about it as he waved Tevin's door shut.
"I would have to suspect that someone wanted it kept hidden which given the previous plots by Anakin's former Sith Master I can understand why. It's no longer a secret now." Tevin looked at something on his computer.
"Darius is scheduled to work after his classes today, but Lucy said this morning that he might call out after last night's events. She said he was shaken up by what he did which means that Ezra Bridger has no clue about this. I have to imagine that if Ezra knew Darius could be a potential Jedi, he would have told him. Jacen told me that Ezra was the one who told Darius about how to summon the purrgil and what isn't in the Galactic History textbooks regarding Grand Admiral Thrawn."
"Kanan Jarrus kept that boy alive until Ezra was able to rescue him from that nightmare he was living in. Why did Ezra wait so long before making that house call?"
"According to Darnell, Reggie Dobbs called that so-called home like he was a bill collector. After the second day, Dobbs had the police send a sector car out to the home and those officers got no answer. That was procedure for Dobbs. We need to talk to Ezra and Jacen." Tevin said as Darnell knocked on the door.
"Come in, Colonel Hollister." Obi-Wan said.
"Kelsey found this tracing Darius Carpenter's heritage. Boss asked her to do it." Darnell said and gave Tevin a paper.
"This explains quite a lot about everything."
"What?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Darius Carpenter's paternal family tree traces back to a Jedi Master from the Old Order that you and Anakin might be familiar with." Tevin gave the paper to Obi-Wan who read it with a look of shock.
"Oh my. This really does explain a lot and Anakin is going to flip when he finds out."
"You guys seem to know about this person, I don't. By the way, he had her check that I wasn't related to Darius myself. I'm not and neither is President Houston or Lando Calrissian for that matter."
"One of the most dangerous and powerful Jedi Masters we had back then. Darius Carpenter is desecended from a Windu."
"Whoa! Windu as in Mace Windu?" Tevin asked.
"One in the same. I need to meditate on this entire thing." Obi-Wan replied and left the office.
"How do you want to tell Darius about this?" Darnell asked.
"I'm going to tell him right now. By the way, there will be no more breaking of Rule Number 10 regarding you and Darius." Tevin replied.
"I didn't break it. I was the Officer on-call last night. Yes, Sir."
"Dismissed."
"Darius, who is that and is it someone important?" Sloane asked as Darius fiddled with his phone in class.
"General Felth, Ma'am. It's about last night." Darius replied.
"That's important. Who would want to get court-martialed, shot, and sent to Iran for ignoring a call or text from him? Hey, that wasn't nice." Josh said as Noah smacked him on the head.
"What did Dad want with you?" Lucy asked Darius.
"I'll tell you guys at lunch? I don't feel like doing push-ups for disrupting class."
"Is it something you can share?" Sloane asked.
"Some of it is and it's really sad to know this given what I know about my father's criminal record. My paternity traces back to a Jedi Master named Mace Windu. The belief now is that I'm able to use The Force. Master Kenobi wants to do a couple of tests to make sure, but the evidence from last night speaks for itself." Darius explained.
"Changes nothing to us." Noah told him.
"What he said. Now, who wants to tell Jacen?" Josh asked.
"He's taking me to work after lunch. I'll tell him then unless he's already been told by someone."
"Are we happy, sad, or conflicted?" Lucy asked as the PA System crackled.
"Attention all personnel, due to events beyond our control. Lunch is now being served to the Academies."
"Conflicted, but it explains a lot of things now."
"Class, Lunch." Sloane said. At lunch, the four discussed Darius' newly discovered famous ancestor.
"The Archives are incomplete, but the books suggest that if you joined the Order. You'd have some big shoes to fill." Lucy told him.
"Then demand your money back the next day after the shoes broke because you exceeded the two-ton weight limit on them." Josh quipped.
"Eat your lunch. Here comes that idiot from yesterday." Noah said as Steven made himself known.
"So,what are you wearing for lunch today Carpenter?" He asked with a sneer.
"I wouldn't try it if I were you." Lucy warned Steven as R9 and BB-8 moved between Steven and the four.
"Who asked you?" Steven sneered at Lucy and threw a spoonful of mashed potatoes towards Darius, except that it landed on Lucy.
"I guess you are as stupid as we thought." Josh said.
"Screw you." Steven told Josh and threw more food at the four before he began choking out of nowhere and fell to the floor. Fanes and a pair of Stormtroopers soon arrived followed by Jacen and Sloane as Steven regained his breath.
"Joshua, is choking people out on the list we were given?" Sloane asked.
"Steven did throw food first again. As for the choking, I think that was me." Darius replied.
"Something going on that I don't know yet?" Fanes asked.
"We found out about a half-hour ago from General Felth that Darius is descended from a Jedi Master and clearly has the same powers as Josh." Sloane explained.
"I'l talk to General Felth about this later. Mr. Abernathy goes back to jail for tonight and if this keeps up, I will see to it that he stays in jail until he sees a judge." Fanes told the two Stormtroopers who took Steven away. Jacen looked at the four teens confused as Fanes left to fill out another incident report.
"Nobody tells me anything." He finally said.
"We just found out from General Felth ourselves." Noah told him.
"We were talking about it when lunch was announced." Sloane added.
"I'm just here to take Darius to work as soon as he's ready."
"Who picks us up later?" Lucy asked.
"I think I got that job today." Jacen replied.
"They told me that it tends to be a random assignment. I've had both of Bryan Khayman's kids come pick them up and Grand Admiral Thrawn picked them up once too." Sloane said to Jacen.
"Surprisingly, Thrawn likes them and does his pal Eli Vanto."
"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." Darius told them as he got his stuff and left with Jacen as Josh began snickering.
"What's funny?" Sloane asked.
"Jacen ends up having to show Darius how to control his powers. The ultimate torture for him after three months with me. Should I do the ten now or later?"
"You are going to clean this mess up as soon as I get the stuff to do it. Lucy, do you have another shirt or should I get one for you from Supply?"
"I think I have one on the Ghost. Come on, R9." She replied.
That night was a rare night when the Felths were able to eat as a family. The dinner table discussion of course was about Darius.
"So our possible future Son-in-law is going to be a Jedi now?" Kelly asked.
"Master Kenobi said that Master Windu was held in high regard and that he really has no choice now given what's happened lately." Tevin replied.
"Who did he assign Darius to for training?" Lucy asked.
"He's thinking of either Ezra or Jacen and leaning more towards Ezra for the same reason Josh was assigned to Ezra. Unless, Master Skywalker decides to train Darius himself because of how powerful Darius has shown himself to be already. Late blooming Force sensitives are not uncommon, especially on this planet." Tevin explained.
"You think he'll be able to control those powers?" Chris asked.
"We already know that he's no Josh." Justin replied.
"That's true. Darius has only used his Force powers for defense. Josh has used them for pranks, annoying people, avoiding physical labor, and personal amusement that I know of. I know Master Kenobi made up a list of what Josh is and is not allowed to use them for. Because he gave me a copy and sent a copy of it down to Captain Fanes after Jacen told me about how he floated pizzas across the Mess Hall." Tevin added.
"That wouldn't happen if Sergeant Schultz was taken off the front gate down there so Sylvia can't get in there and steal food from the Mess Hall and the Kitchen." Kelly told him.
"Then she starts stealing food from the office and meeting deliveries in the lobby. She's done that several times." Tevin said as the phone rang.
"That better not be Darnell or Max calling about a body somewhere." C-3PO answered it and turned to the family.
"Master Tevin, it is for you." Tevin got up and took the phone from the droid.
"What do you want, Hollister? Why is he there? Fine, I'll be there and he better have an explanation for me. Next time, drag Walertin out of bed unless he's drunk. I'm leaving now. Anyone moves anything, they'll be spending the next year in Iran." He hung up and turned to Kelly and the kids.
"Darnell caught a multiple homicide in The Bronx and for some reason Major Hochster is up there throwing his weight around along with one of his screaming fits. I have to go throw mine around and make sure his people don't contaminate a crime scene."
"Why is Remnant Security interested in a crime scene?" Justin asked.
"Maybe the Major had his men shoot the victims and now he wants to cover it up." Kelly replied.
"Or the Major is a bigot in a closet and Darnell is the wrong skin color for him. No offense intended, I'm just throwing out the suggestion." Chris added.
"The Major will be in trouble if I find out he had something to do with this." Tevin told them.
"I think I'm going to text Darius and see how he's doing." Lucy said.
"Good idea. Tell him we said hi." Chris told her. Later that night, Darius told Lucy that he had talked to Ezra who was also surprised by the news, but that everything was now making some sort of sense to Ezra. Lucy told him that her brothers said hi which seemed to have boosted his spirits. Tevin came home and said he thinks that Remnant Security has a few loose cannons in its ranks and that he was going to weed them out.