All credit respective owners and such.
P.S. Reviews are appreciated.
P.P.S. Virtual respects if you can find the reference to a star wars game!
-Y.A.R.N.
Cal stared up the ramp of the ship — apparently named the Mercenary Star —that was all set for a vacation to Felucia. Part of him was uneasy due to the fact that he wasn't sure that leaving the force disruptive area of Dantooine would be a good idea. Paranoia that Darth Vader would sense them and a fleet of Star Destroyers would surround them was nerve wracking enough to cause their entire group a good bout of maybe they should ignore Shaak Ti's apparent survival. Another thing, Cal hadn't disclosed his worries about the apprentice — yes she was learning under Shaak Ti — but he had a particularly bad feeling about the zabrak. He shook his head, he would cross that bridge when he came to it; right now, meeting Shaak Ti was more important and it was necessary. He turned to Cere and Merrin and even Greeze who are all shifting uneasily at the fact he's about to leave.
The only thing that made this less worrisome was that it wasn't like the time he was captured by bounty hunters and tossed into the fight pits. He had a clear idea of what needed to be done and had the best help he could manage in that situation (being a former stormtrooper who was apparently force sensitive and a droid). The worry was that if Darth Vader or any of the inquisitors happened upon him, he might not be able to evade them and get out without a scratch. Granted, it was only him and Xavier heading over, but they could never be too careful when it came to the Empire. He just hoped that it didn't happen, he didn't need to bring the might of the empire down on Felucia.
"So I don't know how long I'll be gone." Cal said as he shouldered his pack and faced his friends, "It'll probably be a while."
Merrin bit her lip, conflict clear, "I don't like the idea of separating. We won't be able to know if something happens to you or Xavier. What if Shaak Ti thinks of you as a threat and tries to kill you?"
Cere shook, "Master Shaak Ti may be a traditionalist, but she is no fool. Attacking any jedi — no matter how unorthodox — is something she would never do. With how few jedi are left, she would never kill another if she can avoid it."
Cal nodded, "Plus, I won't be looking for a fight and will do my best to make sure she knows I am not with the Empire."
Xavier walked out of the ship, "Well, it looks like we're all set to go. All the credit chips are gathered, the fuel is topped off, and the ship is in great shape. Anything else we need to know about the planet or dangers?"
Cere pulled out a datapad and handed it to Cal, "Here's everything I managed to gather on Felucia and the native wildlife and inhabitants. Some from the general public, and a some from the Empire's knowledge; it's a good thing they don't seem to have any particular interest in Felucia because they probably don't know Shaak Ti is on that planet. The only information there was aside from whatever battles happened during the clone wars and what were the biggest hazards. Either way it was pretty useful in helping identify and deal with the creatures that might attack you."
Cal took the datapad and smiled, "Thanks Cere."
Greeze crossed his arms, "Look after yourself kid, you don't the best pilot in the galaxy watching your back."
Cal laughed, "That'll be tough to go without, but I'll manage."
Cal turned to Merrin only for the nightsister to grab him in a hug, holding just as tightly as after he woke up from Nur, her head nestled against his shoulder. BD-1 deftly moved lower on Cal's bakc to give the nightsister some space while he clung to Cal. This time, Cal was able to smile softly and hug her back just as tightly, gently resting his cheek against the top of her head. For a moment the two just drank in the sense of peace and tranquility before Cal sighed and broke the silence.
"Hey, don't worry about me." He said soothingly, patting her back, "I'll be fine and be back soon."
She stepped back, smiling softly, "I know you will be, but that doesn't I can't and won't worry about you."
Cal grinned brightly and DB-1 beeped out a goodbye before Cal nodded and made his way up the ramp for Xavier to clap him on the back and nod at the group before he turned away and the ramp hissed closed.
The Mercenary Star lifted into the air and blasted off into the sky till it wasn't visible anymore.
Cal checked the light-speed coordinates and prepped the systems, "We're pretty much set."
The system had been tweaked and modified slightly to fit Jek's preferences and habits, but the overall controls were pretty standard for a ship, which came as something of a relief. The navi-computer was standard as was the control system matched a general starfighter. Cal had seen practically every type of ship that was in the galaxy while scrapping on Bracca and Prauf had pointed out most of the systems functions on most of them and how they worked thanks to his time as an engineer. All of the scrappers on Bracca had at least a rudimentary knowledge when it came to piloting and Xavier training on Kamino was also useful in helping him pilot the ship.
"Prepare the jump to light-speed." Xavier replied as he pushed the lever forward and the stars became streaks of light before fully blasting into light-speed.
Cal took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat, the full reality that he was about to go to meet a surviving jedi master who had been on the council. He briefly recalled Cere telling him the council was wiped out, he had been horrified that the best and wisest Jedi had fallen and they weren't just in hiding. Now knowing that wasn't the case was a relief, but now he had to somehow gain her approval to change the jedi; to convince her that the traditions that the order clung to were what led to their destruction.
But there was no way to sugarcoat the situation or ease into it.
The jedi needed to change, they needed to learn and adapt to the galaxy and not remain rigid and rooted in a time where they were victorious.
Cal closed his eyes and breathed out long sigh.
Maybe he could start constructing a decent explanation after some sleep.
Deep in the forests of Felucia, Former Councilor member, surviving Jedi Master Shaak Ti sat in crossed legged meditation in front of the great pit, eyes closed and expression calm. Her apprentice, Maris Brood was currently sparring against some of the Felucian warriors as she clashed against them (as she had been for most of the day), sabertonfas sizzling. To be honest, Shaak Ti was worried about taking on Maris Brood as and apprentice; she had an alarming amount of anger and pain radiating through her presence in the force and her orange sabertonfas were a clear sign of the struggle the padawan was having in regards to her alignment. Shaak didn't have much in the way of a choice though, she needed someone to keep the lessons of the Jedi alive should assassins sent by the sith come for her and kill her. She had no intention of dying but the force had been shrouded in darkness since the fall of The Republic and no matter how hard she meditated, there was no hint to what the future held.
Shaak Ti's hands clenched into fist in anger before she let her emotions flow into the force, so many lost Jedi, a millennia of history gone almost overnight.
In truth, she had wanted to build the order once again, but she hadn't been blind that the fact she was alive would be leaked if she wasn't careful. And while she could try, she had no idea where she could build an order without lighting a beacon for the emperor to find and annihilate. Trying to hop from planet to planet in search of younglings was a foolish idea, if she made the wrong move, the people would call out for the Empire to kill her. Each day was another squandered opportunity for a chance to fight back and that irked more than anything else.
If Shaak Ti were honest, she was afraid of the galaxy outside of Felucia would be if she decided to leave. Her narrow escape from the clone troops and desperate flight from the temple to hide had been nothing less than a miracle. After that, she had done whatever she could to help the people of Felucia become stronger and protect what they had. Felucia was unique in that some of the creatures here had lightsaber resistant bones that carried trace amount of a crystalline shard that were remarkably similar to khyber crystals. The people had the limited ability to tap into the force and their shamans and warriors used that to great effect, which she refined into a skill that could be used for battle.
"Maris." She called.
Maris disengaged and panted, "Yes master?"
"Enough for today." She said as she got to her feet, "We should rest."
Maris frowned but sighed and clipped her tonfas back to her belt, untensing and allowing the exhaustion she had been feeling finally settle in full. The Force may have been able to keep her going for quite a ways yet, but no force-wielder was invincible and everyone needed rest sooner or later. Shaak Ti moved to steady her apprentice and smiled fondly at the girl's reluctance to show weakness. Maris hadn't been an easy choice for an apprentice, but she was Shaak Ti's apprentice all the same, and Shaak Ti wouldn't abandon her. She could only teach her and subtly push her towards the light and hope that when the time came, Maris would be able to let go of all the hatred and pain. The force hummed in not-quite-warning and Shaak Ti looked to the sky, eyes narrowed as she expected to see something that wasn't natural.
"Master?" Maris queried, also scanning the sky, "Is something wrong?"
"No." Shaak Ti replied after seeing nothing amiss, "Just my imagination. Come, it's time we rested."
"Yes master."
X-1 grinned a feral smile as his lightsaber painted the air with red lightning, deflecting blaster bolts from the insurgents on the space station. When he cut down the last insurgent and his squad of stormtroopers secured the hanger he noticed someone cowering in a ball. One of the dock workers was whimpering in fear as he had hidden behind a crate when the blaster bolts started flying. Everyone else had vacated the hangar when the fight started but he had been left behind. X-1 walked forward, lightsaber tip sizzling a black line in the floor as he approached the terrified man. Using the force, he dragged the man out and made him kneel in front of him.
"So..." X-1 said in a conversational tone, "You are the last of the insurgents correct?"
"No!" The man yelped, "I was just fueling ships when the fight started, I was just too far to get out."
"Do you have any proof?" X-1 inquired silkily.
The man nodded and fumbled for his credit case as he pulled out a small card, "It's my worker identification!"
X-1 lifted the card and tilted it in the light, sighing in disappointment at it authenticity, "I see. Well, if you could point me in the direction of the insurgents, I would appreciate it very much."
The man swallowed before quietly replying, "I didn't even know they were insurgents until the blasters started firing sir."
X-1 glared and the man squeezed his eyes shut, mentally preparing himself to be cut in half by the red saber before he was roughly tossed by the force into the crate he was previously hiding behind. He slumped against it and locked the groan of pain behind his teeth before stumbling away from X-1.
"Tch." X-1 clicked his tongue, "How useless. Just like X-2... Shame he could've probably been better in this situation."
He frowned as he thought of his brother, wondering if he had tried harder he may have been able to convince him to return. He sighed, why was his brother was always to rigid in accepting that there might be casualties when it came to war? Sure he may not have needed to kill those villagers, but everyone knew harboring a Jedi was a death sentence. So what if they didn't know? They were guilty of a crime which judgement was death.
He turned to briefly glance a the stars before a trooper approached him, "General?"
X-1 turned, "Yes?"
"The hangar is cleared, we should move to corner the insurgents." The stormtrooper reported.
X-1's feral glee welled up and he ignited his lightsaber, "Well let's get to it then."
Xavier saw Cal close his eyes and slump in his seat, his breathing even out and BD-1 shift to rest on Cal's chest and look at Xavier.
Xavier grinned at the little droid, "Let him sleep. We've got time before we reach Felucia, he should get the most rest he can, I am sure you can handle piloting."
BD-1 beeped an affirmative to the clone and Xavier stretched out before relaxing in his seat as well. Thank god Jek had been a fan of the finer things in life and he didn't skimp on the quality of his furniture, the chair's plush and soft make made it ludicrously easy to fall asleep in.
If he wasn't so nervous he may have well have joined Cal in sleeping.
He wasn't exactly optimistic about meeting the Jedi Master as Cal was, in fact he was downright afraid. Cal had been a padawan and was raised as a jedi since he was a child, Xavier didn't have the ability to claim the same. He already knew Cal and Cere were powerful in the force and their skill with a lightsaber was only getting more and more incredible. Even Merrin could claim to be trained in a variant of Force abilities in her night-sister magics and was only growing stronger and stronger. Everyone had been trained and ready to use their power for years to fight the Empire.
Instead, he was a clone of a jedi and that too he had no formal training in lightsaber combat until very recently. While he had been very skilled in the use of a force pike and vibrosword from his time as a clone and stormtrooper, his force training was definitely lacking in comparison to the rest of the group he had unconsciously but willingly become a part of. What would a Jedi Master of the former Council think of him when they met? She probably thought all clones were jedi killers just waiting for a command before killing any jedi (granted since he was a clone test from Falon Grey and not really sanctioned, he didn't have the inhibitor chip in his skull). He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
As Cal sometimes said.
He could only trust in the Force.
X-1 knelt as he plucked a data-chip from the dead insurgent's leader, turning it over in his palm before pulling out a holo and inserting the chip. Immediately the projector lit up and data files containing a communication between the group of insurgents and...
"The cloning centers in Kamino?!" X-1 snarled in disbelief.
The reports read of the growing anger of the Empire and that a rogue group of cloners were growing an army of clones that were to be used to fight the Empire. The forces already had squads ready for use and that they were to be brought into the service of the rebellion! Several squads had already been prepped and were ready to be a part of the Rebel Alliance!
He needed to get this information to Vader and the Emperor immediately, this needed to be stopped before those clones got sent out.