Chapter 5: Sidetracked – Sam Mina

            Arrusth Ingst Acks pulled back on his stick and brought the Z-95 around in a tight loop, bringing him into position for another flyby. An odd sight greeted him.

            Are they insane? Don't they have astromechs to do surface repairs? The pilot thought, as he brought the Republic cruiser into his crosshairs.

            Back to back, master and apprentice opened themselves to the power of the Force and brought their minds into perfect synchronization with its harmonics. Blue and green blades sprung from the hilts of Oon and Kurn's Jedi weapons. The usual snap-hiss that accompanies lightsaber ignition was absent in the hard vacuum of outer space.

            The fighters began their attack run.

            The Jedi leaped into action, moving with what should be impossible speed. Becoming a blur, they moved like wraiths across the length of the ship, deflecting as many laser-blasts as possible with their energy blades. The cruiser was still getting hit, hull fragments getting blown off and slag, melted metal, freezing back into a solid in twisted and distorted forms. With the Jedi working, those hits were few, laser shots bouncing wild off their lightsabers, harmlessly into the void. Oon, being the master, was able to gain more precision and control then his apprentice. Angling the deflected shots he managed to reduce the 6 enemy fighters to 4.

            Arrusth Ingst Acks swore loudly in his tiny cockpit. Jedi? He thought. Extreme circumstances require extreme measures. With a flick of his switch he armed his warheads and began acquiring a target lock.

            "Master! Incoming missile!" Vor'en Kurn yelled into his comm.

            Combining their strength, the 2 Jedi began to Force-push on the missile's nose. The missile continued towards the cruiser. As it got closer it began to shift. At first it was subtle, but as more distance was covered, the more the deviation became obvious. The missile passed overhead, missing, and arced upwards into space going right into another Z-95.

            The detonation was brilliant. The fighter blossomed into a fiery cloud of debris and light.

            Kurn was elated. Adrenaline pumping through his youthful body, he began tapping into his baser emotions. Reaching out with the Force, he grabbed the control stick of one of the fighters and forced it into a collision course with another fighter.

            They collided with tremendous force, tearing each other.

            Oon continued deflecting the laser-fire, now coming from the only remaining fighter. He couldn't help sense that there was something wrong with his apprentice.

            Kurn was now pumped. He would have foolishly taken on the whole galaxy if the opportunity showed. Converting his raw power, he pushed off the ship in a powerful jump and soared off into the dark abyss of space. Flying gracefully he landed right on the canopy of the Z-95, gravimetric boots locking on to the surface.

            Arrusth Ingst Acks was nearly startled out of his flight suit when the Jedi landed on top of his craft. Looking up in horror, he saw the suited youth standing above him lightsaber held high, ready to strike down in a swift spell of doom. With, what was possibly the quickest reaction of his life; he activated his emergency atmospheric containment field and drew his blaster just as his canopy was blown off. He didn't get a chance to fire, his gun leapt out of his hand and into Kurn's. The Jedi looked at the blaster with mild amusement for a moment, than casually tossed it away into space, returning his attention to the pilot.

            Cowering underneath Kurn, Arrusth Ingst Acks whimpered. "Please don't kill me….."