Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN et al. own Buffy. George Lucas, Lucasfilm, LucasArts and others own Star Wars. Michael A Stackpole owns the X-Wing and I, Jedi novels. I do not.

Title: Xander the Jedi: Chapter 10

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: Same as before.

Pairing: Err… Xander/Other characters (mine)

Feedback: Please, I beg.

Thanks: All my reviewers. You know who you are. Also, everyone who made suggestions. They will probably appear somewhere along the line…

Continuity: General season 5 (Dawn)

Crossover: Buffy/ Star Wars. Old Republic.

*

Xander stepped off the transport and onto Coruscant's landing pads. Yoda alone was there to greet his student.

"Recovered from your vision, have you?" he asked, voice concerned.

Xander bowed. "Yes, Master. I have more disturbing news, however."

Yoda looked intrigued. "Sense your emotional turbulence, I can, a little. What was it that happened?"

"I think that might be better discussed in private, Master." Xander bowed again, and stilled while Yoda leapt onto his shoulder. He set off for the Jedi Archives with Yoda on for the ride.

*

When Xander reached the Jedi Archives, the chief Archivist, Ood Bnar, took one look at his expression and ushered the few people in the archives out of the door. Xander let Yoda jump off his shoulder onto the main floor of the archive.

"What is it you wished to discuss, Xander?" Yoda was unnerved by the seriousness the normally easy going Jedi was currently swathed in.

"The transport that was supposed to take me back here, took me to Sullust."

Yoda's eyes bugged.

"And… Dooku was there, with his master."

Yoda would have fallen in shock if he had not had his gimmer stick to lean on. "You are sure?"

Xander nodded. "Yes. I 'remembered' Dooku from your memories."

Yoda sighed. Memories he hadn't wanted Xander to get had slipped through after all.

Finally, he asked. "What was this unknown master? Was he human?"

Xander nodded. "He was. But I couldn't see much more than that. He was heavily robed, after all."

Yoda accepted this.

"He asked me to join them. When I said no, Dooku attacked."

"How did you win? Dooku is the best fencer the Order has ever trained."

Xander shook his head. "I didn't. He had me beaten, at his master's feet. His master asked a final time, and while he did that, I aimed the light-saber he was holding at Dooku's chest. My light-saber…"

"The one that was lost?" Yoda queried.

"Yes. The one I lost. How could he have gotten it? It fell miles into Coruscant's lower levels. Anyway. The only way I escaped was by luck, mainly. I punched the activation stud with the Force. Dooku was dead before the blade finished extending… went straight through the heart. I pushed his master away… but too strongly… he went over a cliff…"

"It matters not, Xander. Sith, they were. Signed their death warrant, they did, by submitting to the dark side. Nevertheless, I feel that the Sith have not been finished…" Yoda tailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"Dead, Dooku's master is not. Lives yet, he does. Now he will be looking for a new apprentice. Gained some time, we have, but not much."

Xander nodded.

Yoda continued. "To keep you and Anakin safe, our priority must be. Send you on another mission; I must, to keep the council away from you. Take one of the prototype star-fighters. Join one of my friends; you shall, on a contact mission. Past the outer rim, it is. Safe, you should be."

"Yes, Master. I shall leave as soon as the ship is ready."

"Xander!" Yoda called over the archive floor.

Xander turned back.

"Here are the coordinates…" a small computer disk floated across the gap. Xander nodded, grabbed the disk and grinned sheepishly.

"Yes, Master." He bowed and left. Yoda was left standing, wandering at the boy's ability to attract trouble. The 'simple' contact mission was about to get very complicated…

*

Hitting the hyperspace engine release switch, Xander watched as the circular hyperspace engines detached with their housing. Pointing the nose of the ship to pass between the engines and the support strut which held them a safe distance from the fighter, Xander eased forward the thrust until he could feel the acceleration pushing him gently back in his seat.

He had never flown a fighter before, only piloted a larger, semi automated transport. He knew that inertial compensators stopped him from feeling the g-forces exerted on the ship as he pulled the slightest manoeuvre. Ordering his astromech to dial the compensator down to point 95 allowed him to feel exactly what was happening enough to predict how the ship would react. The Force gave all other forms of early warning.

His astromech, one of the new R3 models whistled indignantly at him as he pulled the ship around violently. Yumfla, that was the name of the almost unpopulated world on which a rogue group of Force users had been discovered. Three Jedi had been dispatched as a contact force. When they encountered resistance, they radioed for backup from the Jedi Temple at Coruscant, but the message never got through. As far as the temple was concerned, everything was fine.

The reality was about to be displayed by Xander.

*

As he set down the fighter in the camp that had been set up by the three Jedi, Xander noticed one thing. The camp was deserted. He could feel a few humans about ten miles away, and an alien essence that he couldn't decide on.

There were carvings on the pillars surrounding the camp. They seemed to writhe as Xander looked at them, whispering in his mind things forbidden and unclean. Sith teachings engraved onto solid rock. Xander shuddered at the evil he felt from the pieces of stone and gazed round the camp. A large tent, big enough for far more than three people, sat to the left, facing the centre of the camp: a massive fire, still smouldering. Water and waste reclamation equipment sat near the tent. A few crates, one cracked open sat the other side, opposite the tent.

Sliding off the fighter, Xander stepped into the tent. Nothing. The beds were all unmade and dishevelled, as if they exited the camp in a hurry.

"Well," said Xander to himself, "what can I do but wait?" he sat on the floor in the main area of the tent, away from the partitions of the sleeping area. Taking a breath, Xander let it out slowly, and freed his mind of the constraints of his body. In the freedom of the Force, Xander revelled, amazed at the sheer power at his fingertips, and the care that must be taken lest he Fall.

After having seen Dooku and his Master, it deserved the capital letter.

Time passed…

*

A small transport touched down just outside the camp. In the transport were the Jedi Xander had been waiting for. Nejaa Halcyon, Ylenic It'Kla and their Jedi General, Owain Vurne: two humans, and one Camaasi.

Xander stood, and moved out of the tent as the three approached. They reacted with surprise as an unknown person stepped out of their tent, but not with drawn light-sabers, which Xander had almost expected.

"Who are you?" asked Owain.

"My name is Xander. Master Yoda sent me."

He seemed sceptical, but asked, "So our reinforcements have arrived then? Where are the rest?"

"What reinforcements? Master Yoda sent me because he considered this a 'blue milk run' I'm not very popular with the council, and he wants me out of harms way." Xander was very surprised.

Owain looked shocked. "Our message never got through then?"

Now Xander was genuinely confused. "What message?"

Nejaa took over. "We have encountered several dark Jedi here. They do not follow the Sith teachings exactly, and they do not fully understand what they are doing, so the dark side has not corrupted them completely. Nevertheless, they do not wish to go back to Coruscant, and we cannot allow them to continue using Sith teachings, so we sent a message to the Temple requesting assistance. Evidently the message never got through."

Xander sighed. "So much for the blue milk run."

Nejaa nodded. "Indeed. We must make the best of a bad situation. Can you give us some more information about you and your training?"

Xander nodded. "Certainly. I'm a Jedi Knight, have been for about, oh… two months including a week unconscious from visions… and falling off a balcony… I'm a bit of a black sheep because I killed a Sith assassin, and I recently faced down Dooku and his Sith Master. Dooku's now dead, and his Master went over a cliff. Anything else?"

The three Jedi stared, until the Camaasi recovered his poise and asked, "Who trained you, and how long have you been in training? I don't remember seeing you at the Temple."

Xander slapped his forehead. "How could I forget? Yoda trained me. Solo. On Dagoba. One on one tuition. I was a Jedi Knight inside six months. Yoda even made me make my own light-sabers…"

Owain cut in. "Light-sabers? Plural?"

"Yes. Sabers. Plural. Two of them. Dual phase as well."

The three continued to stare, open-mouthed.

Xander waved a hand in front of their faces, then turned and walked inside the tent. His voice floated out. "Hey! Can I make another cot up or are one of you sleeping on the floor?"

*

In the two days since Xander arrived, the three Jedi Masters found continuing the assignment at last possible. While Owain had remained distant, Xander had made friends with Nejaa and Ylenic. Both had an open and easygoing attitude that was easy to like. Xander found himself spilling his lifestory over the campfire that night, after the General had retired for the night, and neither Ylenic or Nejaa argued or made light of his predicament. He needed to return to Dawn…

In a token of friendship and trust, Nejaa gave Xander a medallion. He explained that it was a Corellian Jedi custom. When a Jedi became a Master, he would have a dozen or so minted and give them to close friends and family. His son, Valin, whom Xander had been shown a picture of, had one, as well as his wife, and other friends on Corellia. The Jedi to own one were Yoda himself and Ylenic. And now Xander. After Xander asked about how he could have a wife, he smiled enigmatically. "The medallions are no the only difference between Corellian and Temple Jedi, my friend."

Ylenic gave Xander a far more special present, in his way. The Camaasi were a very long-lived race, and he had been the final student to be trained solo by Yoda, at least before Xander came falling out of a dimensional portal. Ylenic explained that Camaasi stored memories differently to humans, and their memories were far more vivid, almost real, in living breathing colour, with touch and sound built in as well. After Xander confided in him his failure at the dark side cave on Dagoba, he showed Xander his own memory of his time at that place. He had 'failed' as well.

*

The next morning, Owain announced that they were going to eradicate the dark Force users. The news did not sit well with either Nejaa or Xander, both of whom felt that if they did not wish to come, that was their concern, and that they should only be removed if they became a danger to others. The general was not pleased.

"If we remove them now, we can eradicate them before they harm anyone. This far out in the rim, do you really think anyone is going to give two credits about the people that get killed before we find out? The Temple probably wouldn't even allow us to come back here ourselves." He was adamant.

While Nejaa could see the logic, he wasn't happy with the decision, and remained vocal throughout the flight to the Jensaarai homestead. Xander backed up his friend. While on the flight, Ylenic took the time to inform Xander of a few useful pieces of information.

"The Jensaarai are basically Jedi, but they have no understanding of dark or light. The name itself, comes from the Sith language, meaning 'hidden followers of truth' their leader, a Saarai-kaar means 'keeper of truth'"

Owain's voice cut in. "Hang on! We're going in!" the transport glided smoothly to a halt on the ground. Through the side view port, Xander could see several people running from the transport, and several running toward it. As he watched, light-sabers flashed in their hands.

*

Owain, Nejaa and Ylenic stood at the ramp control.

"Come on!" called Owain. "Stop day dreaming and help us!" He punched the ramp release and stepped back as the light streamed in, temporarily blinding him. The four descended the ramp slowly.

The Jensaarai kept a respectful distance, staying between the Jedi and their homes. One of them stepped forward. He was not human. You could tell that by the two proboscises that curled out of each cheek.

"Come again to terrorise us, Jedi?" he asked. "We do not wish your 'help'. Return to your ship and fly away! Or we will despatch your souls to the Force!"

Owain stepped forward. "We do not wish harm upon you, but we cannot let you fall to the dark side! A final request, join us! Come back with us! Please…"

The Ansati… the name popped freely into Xander's mind… curled his lips back in a sneer. "No!" His brought his saber up in an odd guard Xander had never seen before. He held his saber at chin height, left hand gripping close to the blade emitter, and his right hand resting on the pommel. It would allow for whip attacks to the head, with swift swipes at the legs.

As soon as an attacking stance appeared, the three Master were prepared. Owain held his blade at a high guard; level with his face, vertically. Ylenic held his blade loosely, with just enough grip to stop from losing the blade, but gently enough to allow the blade to go where it wished. That made it deadly. It was a style that made the user dodge and parry a lot, for a direct block would tear the blade out of his hand. Nejaa held his blade in a traditional guard, diagonally from hip to shoulder.

Xander was only a fraction of a second behind the three Jedi Masters. Both his blades were free and the snap hiss of his blades joined his compatriots.

At a stamp feint from the Ansati, the Jensaarai started forward. Six in all, against four Jedi. Owain paired against a brown haired youth, Ylenic against a red headed woman and Nejaa took the Ansati. That left three for Xander.

Spinning away from his allies, Xander used the distance to create enough space to use both his blades without fear of friendly 'fire'. As the three Jensaarai closed and attacked he blocked one, spun away from a second and stopped the third before it came by splitting the person in half across the waist.

The body exploded in a shower as the dark side took its toll. Switching the first saber to its second phase, Xander smiled grimly as surprise showed plainly on the Jensaarai's faces. He used the opportunity for a quick attack, whipping across to quickly to aim, and mostly by luck taking off one of the Jensaarai's arms at the elbow. Dodging away from the wounded enemy, he focused on the final Jensaarai. He was a far better sword fighter than the previous two, as he managed to block, parry or duck several attacks until he stared to tire. Xander was relentless, and two blades with a three metre reach is a significant advantage when your opponent has one barely one metre long blade.

Xander despatched his final opponent in time to see Ylenic and Owain finishing theirs, and the bodies exploding in a catastrophic release of dark side Force energy.

Nejaa had not fared so well, however. The Ansati he faced was standing over him, gloating. Nejaa's light-saber was metres away, unreachable. The other Jedi; Xander, Ylenic and Owain were all too far away to be of any help either. Xander was too far away to hear what they were saying properly, and enhanced his hearing using the Force.

"…so it is true what they say about the Halcyon line… you are all wing clipped mynocks!" the Ansati was contemptuous.

Nejaa was just as cool in the face of death as he had been in any other situation. "We have our strengths." He smiled.

"Really? Better summon one quickly then!" The Ansati stabbed down with his blade as Nejaa made a dive for his light-saber. The red beam of light burned through Nejaa's chest, vaporising the heart and the bone protecting it. As the sickly sweet smell rose, Nejaa smiled again, and the saber embedded in his chest flickered once… twice… and went out.

The Ansati backed off in fear as he looked at Nejaa. Suddenly, he was plucked from the air, as if by a massive fist, and convulsed spastically as his body imploded under an incredible Force grip. He flew off into the Sith ruins, the echoes of his Force scream reverberating in the Jedi's minds. The structure collapsed as the dark side energies exploded from his dead body.

Xander, Ylenic and Owain were gathered round Nejaa as soon as he flung the dark Jedi away.

Ylenic looked up to Xander and Owain. "We must take his body back to Corellia for burial."

Xander nodded, Owain tried to look impassive. "To have survived so much, only to die here… It's such a waste."

Ylenic inclined his head. "But to die for good, and what you believe in, is to be celebrated and remembered, surely?"

Xander looked about to cry. "It will be a sadder day still when such sacrifice is forgotten…"

"Or feared…"

"Worse yet. Yes…"

"Nejaa's family will know he died a hero!" said Owain.

Ylenic picked up Nejaa's body, showing surprising strength for such a slight creature, and the three living Jedi returned to their transport.

"Could you drop me off at the camp?" asked Xander, "I don't want to let the Jensaarai get that star-fighter. I will follow you to Corellia, then return to the Temple. Master Yoda will want to know what happened." Ylenic nodded, downy fur rippling gently in sorrow for his lost friend.

*

Sidious sat on his throne hidden deep within the bowels of Coruscant. He was still seething at the death of Dooku, but all Sith were but pawns for the dark side. One death mattered little. Only the total eradication of the Jedi mattered at all.

A new apprentice kneeled before him. One few people would ever suspect of being a Sith.

"So, you wish to become a Sith?" Sidious asked.

"Yes, my Master." Came the response.

Sidious leaned back. "You think you have the ability, do you?" he asked.

"Yes, my Master."

"Good. Your training will begin now. Rise."

"Yes, my Master." The apprentice stood.

"Second lesson, Palpatine. How to call your anger…"

*

Xander sat in the cockpit of the Jedi star-fighter prototype; flicking the Medallion that Nejaa had given him wondering what would happen next. The vision he had had felt very important. He could not leave without completing it, or something major would happen. Then again, if Xander weren't there, would Anakin Fall?

It was a question that was impossible to answer, even with the Force.

Xander sighed, pocketed the medallion, and set the nav computer for Corellia. The persona that Yoda had worked so hard to overcome, the 'failure' part of his mind, sprung again to the fore, berating him for being unable to stop the death of another friend.

Jesse…

Jenny Calendar…

Faith's coma…

Buffy…

And now Nejaa…

He needed to make sure no one else died for his mistakes and stupidity. He needed to return to Dawn. Make sure she was OK. He had been gone for nearly a year…

Dawn…

Xander vowed that as soon as he returned to the Jedi Temple, he would ask Yoda for access to the Holocrons. Oh yes, he knew of the Holocrons. Even Xander and his strange arrival, which meant he had few friends among the Jedi, had heard the reason for the Archives being closed.

The Holocrons held the answers.

Looking at the nav computer screens, Xander realised that the flight to Corellia would be the better part of 22 hours, even at point 7 past light-speed, which the fighter was capable of doing.

Xander settled into a meditating mindset, preparing for the long flight.

*

Wheeee…

Xander was snapped out of his Force meditation by the fighter's emergency alarms. The R3 unit on the side of the fighter was going mental. In the hyperspace flight, something had gone wrong and the safety interlocks had cut off the hyper-drive engines. It had pulled him out right in the middle of a nebula. Screens flashed red with warnings and information.

Wheeee… WHEEEEEEEE…

Xander winced as the warning alarm stepped up a notch. "R3, could you cut the warning alarm? I am aware we're in trouble…"

As the horrific screech of the alarm cut out Xander sighed. "Thanks."

He examined the warning lights, and took a look out of the cockpit. Nebula gas swirled around him. "I think we took a wrong turn somewhere…"

At this sleight of its navigational ability, the R3 tooted indignantly.

"No, R3 I didn't mean that." Xander read the readouts. "Hyperdrives shot, energy from a nearby neutron star will fry all the electronics in about an hour, not to mention kill me in about ten minutes… wait… there seems to be some sort of disturbance in the fabric of space here…"

The ship shuddered as a wave of nebula gas rolled over it, followed by a concussion blast.

"Where did that come from?" asked Xander turning to look about. Another light lit on the fighters damage screens. "Great. Structural integrity failing… looks like were both goners R3…"

As the ship began to disintegrate, Xander fell unconscious from the lack of air and the sheer volume of radiation that was getting pumped into him…

*

Dawn stood in the same place she had when the portal snapped shut. Debating what to do, she decided to stand and stare at the air for a bit longer. Angel would arrive just as fast as he could when she called him, so it could wait for a while.

Standing, almost catatonic with shock from what she had done, Dawn stared at the spot where Xander had disappeared.

As she stood, the portal opened again, and the body of the person who had just gone through came falling back out. Dawn snapped to action as Xander landed with a thud on the floor. Xander looked as if he were years older, mostly because his hair and beard were long and unkempt, as if only a bare minimum of time had been spent looking after himself. He was dressed strangely, in a short flowing tan robe, with black calf-length boots and two strange metallic cylinders, one on each hip attached to his belt. The fabric had a cut in it on his thigh. What shocked Dawn the most were the many small cuts on his face and arms, as if something had exploded around him. The radiation burns present on all exposed skin came a close second.

How did he get radiation burns? Dawn wondered.

As Dawn watched, his burns and cuts healed themselves slowly, although still far quicker than normal.

What happened to him?

Xander moaned and started to talk. "I'm glad that someone found me. I didn't think I could keep a healing trance going for that long at that level of power." He opened his eyes slowly, afraid of the light.

"Dawn?" he asked, before shutting his eyes again and mouthing, "I must be dead… I can't be back here… I haven't found a way yet…"

"No! Xand… It's me… you fell back through the portal almost as soon as it closed! You're back home!"

Xander opened his eyes again. "Dawn… how long have I been gone?"

Dawn looked confused. "I don't know… one, maybe two minutes? Why?"

Xander swallowed hard. "Dawn… as far as I was concerned… it was nearly a year…"

The two looked at each other.

Nearly a year…

*

*

End for now.

*

Xander's adventures as a Jedi will continue in Sunnydale. For all the people who reviewed, a big thank you. For everyone who enjoyed this, more thanks. This will continue when I have more episodes of 'The Mark of Kayn' series done. I also want to rewrite Journey of Discovery, but that's not a priority.

Again, a big thanks to all my reviewers. And Luis for all the ideas… they ensure the continuation of this story.

On looking back over this, I feel that I brushed over the process of becoming a Jedi, so I will try to go over it and flesh it out, also the assassination attempt on Xander could have more impact, so that will be expanded as well. But I've got no time until holidays, so if you want more, please, just wait. Thank you.

Finally, again, I am really, really sorry that I have not updated in ages. As an e-mail I received said, real life gets in the way. Well, its got in the way a lot recently. Therefore, Xander the Jedi may be considered on indefinite hold, along with all the other stories I'm writing. I've posted what I have, but until I find time to write more, au revoir.