Star Wars: Heroes of the Jedi Order
Well, here's chapter 1. Or, chapter 2 if you consider the prologue. Anyway, I've been proofreading and correcting and improving nearly all night, so I think it's turned out pretty good. But, if you haven't played the game yet, turn back because there are major spoilers later on. Although, that's only if you don't want spoilers. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Blah blah, BioWare and Lucas own all the settings and most of the characters, although Jarek, Galnar, Alora, and anything new is MINE!
Part I: Alora Danis of the Hidden Beks
When I find out who hit me in the head... he thought. It felt like someone had driven a nail into his skull, or a piece of wreckage from the pod landed on his head. Where am I? What happened? And why am I asking myself? He didn't know at this point. Everything was black, he couldn't move, and it was silent. Once he remembered how to function and move his body, he opened his eyes slightly. It was still very dark, although he could still see. He looked around without moving his head, and saw Bastila lying in the dirt next to him. Was she alive? She wasn't moving, and Jarek couldn't see her pulse from where he was. He couldn't see anything else except a fragment of the crater in the ground. Then, everything came back to him. He had crash-landed on Taris, and apparently he survived. He had escaped from a ship...what ship? The Endar Spire, wasn't it? Yes, that's right. He had escaped in one of the last escape pods.
Jarek saw Bastila move slightly. She stayed still for several more seconds, then moved again. She turned her head and saw Jarek. Her face was bruised and scratched, and her hair had filth in it. She didn't say anything, or even smile.
But at this point, Jarek remembered he and Bastila weren't the only ones who took the escape pod. He looked around for Galnar, though he wasn't anywhere in sight. He could have been somewhere behind the escape pod, or he could have been inside of it. Oh no, he thought. If Galnar was inside the pod, his chances for survival would have been much smaller. Bastila, who appeared to have realize who was missing as well, looked around, but to no avail. Jarek heard her sigh and rest her head again. He couldn't gather enough strength to push himself up, so he just stayed there on the ground.
As he was lying in the dirt, he recalled everything that happened aboard the Endar Spire. How the Jedi died, how they made it to the escape pods, and how Carth said he had to stay behind. He was waiting for another crewmember to come, the only remaining person--apart from themselves--to survive the attack. Jarek wondered who they were.
Suddenly, he heard a blaster firing behind him. It didn't sound very far away. Mere seconds after that, someone grabbed him roughly by the foot and started dragging him along. He reached for his lightsaber, but it wasn't on him. He remembered holding it in the pod, and it must have fallen when they crashed. As he was being dragged, he looked up and saw Bastila. She was in the same situation, it seemed. She was feeling around her waist for a lightsaber, but hers was lost as well. He saw a Rodian dragging her by the foot too, and a dark-skinned man with a blaster rifle walking along with them, darting his eyes to Jarek and Bastila from time to time.
Jarek looked back to the crash site, and saw the pod deep in a large crater not far from where he was before, and several people searching the pod. Jarek couldn't see Galnar anywhere.
He was so tired and bruised that he couldn't work up the strength to try and escape, so he just let himself be dragged along, and closed his eyes again. He didn't want to go to sleep; he couldn't. But he also couldn't stand up either, so he just rested, wondering (with a panic) where he was being taken.
Occasionally, Jarek heard blaster fire and saw some men blasting away at small, silvery-white creatures, with incredibly large mouths, hairy backs, and no visible signs of eyes. What were they?
He heard a gate opening a few minutes after that, and heard some people murmuring amongst each other. He was too tired to open his eyes and see who they were, but they sounded slightly worried.
He could hear a door opening and felt his body being dragged over icy- cold metal. Moments after that, the door closed and he felt himself being lifted up. He was in an elevator. But before they even reached the top, Jarek drifted off to sleep again, too tired to do anything.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw an electrical field surrounding him. He stood up and looked around. The room was empty besides the two other cells beside him. In one, Bastila Shan stood dazed, her eyelids drooping. In the other, he saw Galnar Kasra, alert and ready.
"Where...where are we?" Jarek said sleepily.
"We've been captured," Galnar replied quickly and quietly. "Someone took us from the crash site and to here."
"Define 'here'."
"The Lower City."
"The Lower City?" Jarek repeated, curious.
"That's what I said, didn't I? The Lower City is where all of Taris' gangs make their safe havens. I don't know which one of these gangs caught us, but they don't seem too eager to let us go."
"We've...we've been captured?" came Bastila's tired voice. Suddenly, somebody entered the room. The dark-skinned man Jarek had seen before. He was still clutching his rifle, and was wearing heavy armor, a kind Jarek would have thought the military would wear.
"Hello, you three," he said maliciously. "I expect you know where you are by now?"
Jarek forced a nod, which was harder than he expected it to be. He couldn't even open his eyes all the way.
"Good. I am Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkars." Jarek sensed a hint of selfish pride in Brejik's voice as he said this. "And you are Jedi."
"You realize that just now?" Jarek slurred.
Brejik gave a hollow laugh. "Don't get too full of yourself, kid," he said. "You might regret it."
"We'll...we'll get out of here, Brejik!" Jarek said.
"No, you won't. You've all been sedated, and my men have been kind enough to place neural disruptors on all of you, which prevent you from using the Force to do anything I won't like." Jarek raised his hand, and touched what felt like a halo around his head. "So, in other words, you won't be escaping any time soon."
"Why have you brought us here?" Galnar said.
"I was originally going to offer you as a prize in the swoop race. Of course, then I found out you were Jedi. Now, I obviously can't sell Jedi to just anyone, right? Well, I've thought about that. I've decided to sell you. Jedi are very valuable these days. I can put you up for a fine price. That is, if you don't mind?" Jarek didn't answer. He knew better. "Good. Now, I need to know your names."
"You don't know by now?" Jarek said coldly. "I figured someone as intelligent as yourself would have found some way of identifying us?" Brejik acted as if he hadn't heard these words.
"You first, then," he said. "What's your name?" Jarek looked at him, and saw he was standing at a console.
"You seem to be in a dilemma here, Brejik. If you think I'll tell you, you're highly mistaken. You'd have to kill me before I tell you my name, you piece of slime! But that leaves one more problem. If I'm dead, how would you get the information from me?"
Before the words were out of his mouth, Jarek was experiencing pain beyond anything he had ever felt. It wasn't stopping, and he couldn't move. The pain was so horrible, he couldn't even tell him to stop, no matter how much he wanted to. He was twitching like mad; he could feel it. But he could do nothing about it. Then it miraculously stopped. He looked up to see Brejik with his finger over a button on the console.
"Never talk back to me!" he said, fuming.
Jarek didn't answer. "Fine. I will come back to you later." He walked up to Bastila. "Hello, gorgeous," he said. "What is your name?"
She, too, knew not to answer him. "I said, what is your name?" he repeated
"I won't give you the satisfaction of an answer, Brejik." Her voice sounded very menacing indeed; something Jarek had never heard from her before.
Brejik walked back over to the console, anger all over his face, and raised his hand. "I hate to do this to you, beautiful, but even women like you need a lesson in manners!" He threw his fist down on the console and the next thing Jarek heard were Bastila's screams. He knew what was happening, but he couldn't look. He shut his eyes tight, turning his head away from her cell. Her screams alone couldn't describe the pain she was experiencing. Jarek knew how it felt. But the screams nearly made him relive it.
After a few moments, the screaming stopped. There was a slight pause, in which the only sounds heard were the buzz of the force fields holding them in the cells and Bastila's panting, then Brejik spoke once more.
"Will no one give me their name?" he said. "Fine. I will come back later, you three, and you better hope I'm in a good mood when I do." He turned around and left, leaving the three of them in silence.
"We...we have to get out of here," Bastila panted. "What if he finds out who I am?" Jarek knew that was a bad thing. If Brejik and his Vulkars found out who they really were--especially Bastila, they were in trouble. Bastila is the key to winning this war and defeating the Sith, and if they knew she was in the hands of the Vulkars...
"How can we?" Jarek said. "The Sith might be working with these Vulkars and--"
"Don't be silly," Galnar said. "The Sith work with someone? They're too independent to ally themselves with anybody, let alone some gang."
Jarek knew he was right. So he sat down in his cell and the three of them discussed escape plans, since nobody came in and they didn't see any surveillance cameras. Every plan they thought of, however, had at least one flaw. Eventually, several of the Black Vulkars took Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar out of their cells and to a dormitory at another end of the base. They violently pushed the three of them in there, and shut and locked the door.
There were three beds in this room; one for each of them.
"Why not?" Galnar said, and he fell onto one of the beds, yawned, and closed his eyes. Bastila and Jarek both did the same, and fell asleep almost instantly due to their exhaustion.
When Jarek woke up, the harsh memory of the previous day came back to his mind. He was still wearing his neural disruptor, which he couldn't take off no matter how hard he tried, and in the morning more Vulkars escorted them all to the prison cells again. After that, Brejik returned, the usual selfish smirk on his face, and greeted them in a fake friendly manner.
"I think you'll all be very interested in what I've found out about the three of you," he said. "Or will you? Because you already know this, don't you?" The three of them just glared at him. He approached Bastila's cell. "Hello, Bastila." He was silent for a few moments to let this sink in. "Yes, that's right. We have the identities of all three of you. You were unmistakably survivors of the space battle overhead, yes? We found a couple other pods as well, but everyone in them were useless to us. So we killed them all. But you...I could tell there was something special about you three. You, gorgeous, are the beloved Bastila Shan, with the rare gift called Battle Meditation. How charming. Is that why your love life is so dry?"
"My 'love life,' Brejik, is 'dry' because the Jedi do not believe in love. Passion can lead to anger and hate and the dark side."
"How frightening," he said blankly. "But you two; you were assigned to protect Bastila, right?"
"And we will protect her as long as we live!" Galnar said.
"Fortunately, that won't be a problem much longer. I have arrived at an impasse here, you see. Should I sell you two as well? You may not be as expensive as Bastila over here, but very profitable nonetheless. Or, should I just kill you both and leave it at that?"
"I have a feeling you're too greedy to let so many credits get away like that," Jarek said.
"Not 'greedy,' my friend. I simply see an opportunity here that I cannot afford to pass up. So, here's what I'll do. I'll tell everyone Bastila will be the prize for whomever wins the annual swoop race coming up, and you two will be sold separately for a small price. But then, heh- heh-heh, I'll tell all the fools what you really are--Jedi. Oh, the looks on their faces will be priceless!" Brejik closed his eyes and laughed. "After you three have been withdrawn, we'll be going to a little, black market...." Brejik laughed maliciously. "I hope you don't mind going home with the highest bidder?" Nobody spoke. "You should be happy I am even telling you of your fate! Well, you ungrateful slimes, I'll be leaving now, and leave you three in silence to think it over, and maybe think about who you'd like to go home with. Too bad you won't have a choice." Brejik turned to leave, and sealed the door behind him when he did.
"We're doomed," Galnar said.
"Don't say that! We'll find a way to get out of this! Remember what Carth Onasi said aboard the Endar Spire? He was going to wait for the other survivor?"
"Brejik said he killed the others he found," said Bastila. "Remember? It's highly unlikely that anyone else would have escaped him."
"But what if someone did?"
"If they did, how would they even make it into the Lower City? The planet is overrun by the Sith. And even if they did make it that far, how would they ally themselves with one of these gangs? And after that--"
"Bastila, I think we know what you're getting at," Galnar interrupted.
"So let's just wait for the big swoop race. It's all we can do."
Over the next few days, Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar spent their time in the cells or in their dormitory. As usual, they discussed flawed plans for escaping, which were all thrown away when they found any sort of impassable obstacle. At long last, three heavily armed Vulkars escorted them into Brejik's office, where he sat writing something on a piece of paper.
"The race is this afternoon," he said. "You are to be brought up to the swoop track now, and will remain there until the race is over and I tell the fools what you really are. You need to know no more." The three of them were escorted out again, neural bands still strapped tight to their heads, to the swoop track. This time, there were nearly a dozen Vulkars escorting them out, and Jarek had to ask why.
"There was a break-in yesterday," replied one of the Vulkars. "Someone stole the swoop accelerator and killed Brejik's assistant."
"Swoop accelerator? That's cheating!" The Vulkar laughed.
"So?" He shook his head, and they were placed in three separate cages at the track. These cages did not have electrical fields around them, though. They were actual cages with bars. This might make it easier for them to escape. After the Vulkars secured them inside their cages, they waited for a couple hours, and then the racers and the spectators flooded in. Jarek was very nervous; what would happen?
Then, the door opened again and a tall, thin woman with brown hair entered. Jarek's jaw dropped.
"No," he whispered. "It can't--Bastila! It's--it's her!" Bastila looked over to the entrance, and saw her too.
"Oh, my," she said. "It can't be! She survived?"
"I told you someone would come for us!"
The woman approached the desk where the announcer stood, and spoke to him. But before anything else happened, all sound faded. Jarek couldn't hear her talking to the announcer. He couldn't hear the crowd murmuring and talking excitedly about the race. He couldn't hear the swoop bikes zooming past in the distance. All he could hear was silence. His eyelids drooped, his feet felt weak, and his brain emptied.
Brejik sat--though Jarek could not see it--over in the corner, adjusting the neural disruptors and amplifying them.
"And your name is?" said the announcer.
"Alora Danis," replied the woman.
"Okay, and you're with...the Hidden Beks, is that right?"
"Yes," she said quickly.
"Okay, good. Now, you'll have to wait a moment while the other racers do their runs first, and then you can get out there and hit the track! Figuratively, of course." The announcer handed Alora a piece of paper, and she sat down next to the other racers, nervously looking at the prisoners occasionally.
Redros, the Black Vulkar champion for three years, went first. Alora watched him on the view screen floating in the air. He was swerving in and out, dodging all of the obstacles and trying to hit as many accelerator pads as he could. She was studying his piloting, trying to possibly improve her own skills. Soon he had finished with a time of 0:35:52. Alora could beat that. She had a secret, if you could call it that. Almost all of the racers knew the Beks had the prototype swoop accelerator, but they couldn't do anything about it, fortunately.
After several more racers completed the course, Alora's name was heard over the P.A. She stood up and walked into the next chamber and to the actual track. She got into her swoop bike she got from Gadon Thek, the Hidden Bek leader, and put on her helmet. The track seemed much longer and dangerous than it did when she watched the others racing. She felt intimidated sitting in the cockpit, looking at the other professional racers, sharp and experienced. She ignored the feeling and prepped the bike. Some of the other racers and spectators gave Alora the thumbs-up (those who had thumbs, at least), while others made rude signs with their hands and booed her. She didn't care. She had to get Bastila and the other Jedi Brejik had captured.
She looked up at the light floating in midair. It glowed red...yellow...green! She sped off. Instantly, she was dodging in and out, avoiding the obstacles, but still trying to hit the accelerator pads. Every time she would fly over one, it would give her a small boost. She zoomed past obstacles left and right, constantly fearing slamming into one and flying throw the glass, even though she knew it wouldn't happen.
She shifted into second gear. Then third.... Then fourth.... She was swerving around like crazy to avoid the many obstacles. Her eyes widened then shut tight as she ran right into one of them. It did not stop her, though; she only slowed down, and whatever it was she ran into was sent flying into the wall. She hit a couple more accelerator pads to gain back her speed, and finally saw the end of the track. Many people were cheering and waving their hands or booing, and a floating droid held up a checkered flag.
As she crossed the finish line, she heard a horn blow and a crowd cheering all around her. As she got out, she saw the crowd in the stands standing up and cheering, while some others booed her.
She did it. She won. It was that easy. Or, she hoped it was. She returned to Brejik and the other racers. The Beks cheered her again, while the Vulkars merely scowled at her or ignored her.
"Yes, yes, congratulations," came Brejik's whiny voice from behind. Alora turned around and saw him in front of her. "I bet you're very proud of yourself." He cleared his throat. "People," he said to the crowd, "I'm sure you are all very amazed by this record-breaking time Alora just performed--" the crowd cheered even louder, "--and I'm sure you'd love to see her take home the prize, but.... I'm sorry to say that I must withdraw the victory prize."
"What?" came a few angry voices from the crowd. Alora heard many things like "You can't do that!" or "You piece of filth, Brejik!"
"I know you are all disappointed, but I have discovered something extraordinary about these prisoners--they are no ordinary soldiers. They are all, in fact, Jedi from the battle above that occurred recently. Seeing as they are so dangerous, I must withdraw the prize."
"Just give them to me," Alora said angrily. "Now."
Jarek could hear this. Her voice was very distant, but he could hear it. He could hear the crowd booing and yelling, and Brejik trying to calm them. He was able to regain his strength; enough to stand straight and open his eyes all the way. He saw Brejik looking nervous, and Alora standing and glaring at him.
"I will sell them, and there's nothing you can do about it, silly girl!"
"Maybe not," Jarek heard himself say, "But I can." He summoned the Force and used it to push away the guard in front of his cage and open it. He jogged over to the other cages and opened them both, freeing Bastila and Galnar.
"What? But--but--the neural disruptors--"
"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik," said Bastila, removing her halo. "A mistake I'm afraid you won't live to regret."
"I think not! Vulkars! Kill them! Kill them all--the Jedi, the swoop racer--all of them!"
Jarek summoned his lightsaber with the Force, drew it, and killed a Black Vulkar who came charging at him. He did a front flip over another Vulkar, backstabbed him as he was running, and charged at Brejik. Brejik, though, was prepared. He whipped out his double-bladed vibroblade and parried Jarek's attack. Fortunately, Jarek wasn't alone in fighting him. Alora came running up to attack, but Brejik pushed away from Jarek and blocked it.
Galnar and Bastila, meanwhile, were finishing off the Vulkar racers, and told all the spectators to get out.
Alora, who had been thrown back by Brejik, started charging at him again, and Jarek swung his lightsaber high. Brejik spun around, cut Alora deep in her side, and blocked Jarek's attack. Their blades became locked together, both of them pushing against each other with all their might, trying to free themselves.
"You see?" Brejik said, full of pride and anger. "I can't even lose to a Jedi!"
"We'll just see about that, Brejik," Alora grunted. Jarek, taking advantage of Brejik's momentary distraction, used the Force to push Brejik away, flipped over him, and stabbed him before he hit the ground. Brejik had dropped his vibroblade, which landed beyond his reach.
Jarek silenced his lightsaber and approached him.
"So," Jarek said. "You can be defeated. Look how far your selfishness and anger has gotten you. It only leads to--"
But Brejik spat in his face. "How...dare you...spew that Jedi...rubbish...at me!" he said weakly.
"I'm sorry, Brejik. This was your choice." Brejik scowled at Jarek for one more moment, then grunted softly, and his eyes became empty, his body motionless. Jarek looked into his eyes and knew he was dead. For a moment he wished he hadn't died, but it wouldn't have done any good; Brejik was too spoiled to be turned now.
Jarek removed a double-bladed lightsaber from his corpse, which he knew was Bastila's. But there was something else he found on the corpse--a vibroblade with a red hilt. This was his father's vibroblade! He had taken that sword from his father's cold hands after he had died. It was his most prized possession, and he dared not use it in combat, for the fear of losing it was too great. It was all he had to remember his father by.
"I believe this is yours," he said, handing the double-bladed lightsaber to Bastila. She took it without a word, and her, Jarek, and Galnar approached Alora and helped her up.
"We have to get out of here," she said. "I'll take you to my hideout. I had planned on going there after I rescued you."
"Rescued?" Bastila said arrogantly. "I don't know if you noticed, but we managed to free ourselves. You--"
"Bastila," Galnar said. "I think that's enough. Alora, are you the only one from the Endar Spire to survive?"
"Apart from yourselves? No. Carth Onasi made it as well."
"Carth is alive?" Galnar said, sounding extremely relieved.
"Good," said Bastila. "This is very good news. With Carth, maybe we can find a way to get off this planet." "Come on, I'll take you there." Something had finally worked out for once, Jarek thought.
Well, here's chapter 1. Or, chapter 2 if you consider the prologue. Anyway, I've been proofreading and correcting and improving nearly all night, so I think it's turned out pretty good. But, if you haven't played the game yet, turn back because there are major spoilers later on. Although, that's only if you don't want spoilers. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Blah blah, BioWare and Lucas own all the settings and most of the characters, although Jarek, Galnar, Alora, and anything new is MINE!
Part I: Alora Danis of the Hidden Beks
When I find out who hit me in the head... he thought. It felt like someone had driven a nail into his skull, or a piece of wreckage from the pod landed on his head. Where am I? What happened? And why am I asking myself? He didn't know at this point. Everything was black, he couldn't move, and it was silent. Once he remembered how to function and move his body, he opened his eyes slightly. It was still very dark, although he could still see. He looked around without moving his head, and saw Bastila lying in the dirt next to him. Was she alive? She wasn't moving, and Jarek couldn't see her pulse from where he was. He couldn't see anything else except a fragment of the crater in the ground. Then, everything came back to him. He had crash-landed on Taris, and apparently he survived. He had escaped from a ship...what ship? The Endar Spire, wasn't it? Yes, that's right. He had escaped in one of the last escape pods.
Jarek saw Bastila move slightly. She stayed still for several more seconds, then moved again. She turned her head and saw Jarek. Her face was bruised and scratched, and her hair had filth in it. She didn't say anything, or even smile.
But at this point, Jarek remembered he and Bastila weren't the only ones who took the escape pod. He looked around for Galnar, though he wasn't anywhere in sight. He could have been somewhere behind the escape pod, or he could have been inside of it. Oh no, he thought. If Galnar was inside the pod, his chances for survival would have been much smaller. Bastila, who appeared to have realize who was missing as well, looked around, but to no avail. Jarek heard her sigh and rest her head again. He couldn't gather enough strength to push himself up, so he just stayed there on the ground.
As he was lying in the dirt, he recalled everything that happened aboard the Endar Spire. How the Jedi died, how they made it to the escape pods, and how Carth said he had to stay behind. He was waiting for another crewmember to come, the only remaining person--apart from themselves--to survive the attack. Jarek wondered who they were.
Suddenly, he heard a blaster firing behind him. It didn't sound very far away. Mere seconds after that, someone grabbed him roughly by the foot and started dragging him along. He reached for his lightsaber, but it wasn't on him. He remembered holding it in the pod, and it must have fallen when they crashed. As he was being dragged, he looked up and saw Bastila. She was in the same situation, it seemed. She was feeling around her waist for a lightsaber, but hers was lost as well. He saw a Rodian dragging her by the foot too, and a dark-skinned man with a blaster rifle walking along with them, darting his eyes to Jarek and Bastila from time to time.
Jarek looked back to the crash site, and saw the pod deep in a large crater not far from where he was before, and several people searching the pod. Jarek couldn't see Galnar anywhere.
He was so tired and bruised that he couldn't work up the strength to try and escape, so he just let himself be dragged along, and closed his eyes again. He didn't want to go to sleep; he couldn't. But he also couldn't stand up either, so he just rested, wondering (with a panic) where he was being taken.
Occasionally, Jarek heard blaster fire and saw some men blasting away at small, silvery-white creatures, with incredibly large mouths, hairy backs, and no visible signs of eyes. What were they?
He heard a gate opening a few minutes after that, and heard some people murmuring amongst each other. He was too tired to open his eyes and see who they were, but they sounded slightly worried.
He could hear a door opening and felt his body being dragged over icy- cold metal. Moments after that, the door closed and he felt himself being lifted up. He was in an elevator. But before they even reached the top, Jarek drifted off to sleep again, too tired to do anything.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw an electrical field surrounding him. He stood up and looked around. The room was empty besides the two other cells beside him. In one, Bastila Shan stood dazed, her eyelids drooping. In the other, he saw Galnar Kasra, alert and ready.
"Where...where are we?" Jarek said sleepily.
"We've been captured," Galnar replied quickly and quietly. "Someone took us from the crash site and to here."
"Define 'here'."
"The Lower City."
"The Lower City?" Jarek repeated, curious.
"That's what I said, didn't I? The Lower City is where all of Taris' gangs make their safe havens. I don't know which one of these gangs caught us, but they don't seem too eager to let us go."
"We've...we've been captured?" came Bastila's tired voice. Suddenly, somebody entered the room. The dark-skinned man Jarek had seen before. He was still clutching his rifle, and was wearing heavy armor, a kind Jarek would have thought the military would wear.
"Hello, you three," he said maliciously. "I expect you know where you are by now?"
Jarek forced a nod, which was harder than he expected it to be. He couldn't even open his eyes all the way.
"Good. I am Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkars." Jarek sensed a hint of selfish pride in Brejik's voice as he said this. "And you are Jedi."
"You realize that just now?" Jarek slurred.
Brejik gave a hollow laugh. "Don't get too full of yourself, kid," he said. "You might regret it."
"We'll...we'll get out of here, Brejik!" Jarek said.
"No, you won't. You've all been sedated, and my men have been kind enough to place neural disruptors on all of you, which prevent you from using the Force to do anything I won't like." Jarek raised his hand, and touched what felt like a halo around his head. "So, in other words, you won't be escaping any time soon."
"Why have you brought us here?" Galnar said.
"I was originally going to offer you as a prize in the swoop race. Of course, then I found out you were Jedi. Now, I obviously can't sell Jedi to just anyone, right? Well, I've thought about that. I've decided to sell you. Jedi are very valuable these days. I can put you up for a fine price. That is, if you don't mind?" Jarek didn't answer. He knew better. "Good. Now, I need to know your names."
"You don't know by now?" Jarek said coldly. "I figured someone as intelligent as yourself would have found some way of identifying us?" Brejik acted as if he hadn't heard these words.
"You first, then," he said. "What's your name?" Jarek looked at him, and saw he was standing at a console.
"You seem to be in a dilemma here, Brejik. If you think I'll tell you, you're highly mistaken. You'd have to kill me before I tell you my name, you piece of slime! But that leaves one more problem. If I'm dead, how would you get the information from me?"
Before the words were out of his mouth, Jarek was experiencing pain beyond anything he had ever felt. It wasn't stopping, and he couldn't move. The pain was so horrible, he couldn't even tell him to stop, no matter how much he wanted to. He was twitching like mad; he could feel it. But he could do nothing about it. Then it miraculously stopped. He looked up to see Brejik with his finger over a button on the console.
"Never talk back to me!" he said, fuming.
Jarek didn't answer. "Fine. I will come back to you later." He walked up to Bastila. "Hello, gorgeous," he said. "What is your name?"
She, too, knew not to answer him. "I said, what is your name?" he repeated
"I won't give you the satisfaction of an answer, Brejik." Her voice sounded very menacing indeed; something Jarek had never heard from her before.
Brejik walked back over to the console, anger all over his face, and raised his hand. "I hate to do this to you, beautiful, but even women like you need a lesson in manners!" He threw his fist down on the console and the next thing Jarek heard were Bastila's screams. He knew what was happening, but he couldn't look. He shut his eyes tight, turning his head away from her cell. Her screams alone couldn't describe the pain she was experiencing. Jarek knew how it felt. But the screams nearly made him relive it.
After a few moments, the screaming stopped. There was a slight pause, in which the only sounds heard were the buzz of the force fields holding them in the cells and Bastila's panting, then Brejik spoke once more.
"Will no one give me their name?" he said. "Fine. I will come back later, you three, and you better hope I'm in a good mood when I do." He turned around and left, leaving the three of them in silence.
"We...we have to get out of here," Bastila panted. "What if he finds out who I am?" Jarek knew that was a bad thing. If Brejik and his Vulkars found out who they really were--especially Bastila, they were in trouble. Bastila is the key to winning this war and defeating the Sith, and if they knew she was in the hands of the Vulkars...
"How can we?" Jarek said. "The Sith might be working with these Vulkars and--"
"Don't be silly," Galnar said. "The Sith work with someone? They're too independent to ally themselves with anybody, let alone some gang."
Jarek knew he was right. So he sat down in his cell and the three of them discussed escape plans, since nobody came in and they didn't see any surveillance cameras. Every plan they thought of, however, had at least one flaw. Eventually, several of the Black Vulkars took Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar out of their cells and to a dormitory at another end of the base. They violently pushed the three of them in there, and shut and locked the door.
There were three beds in this room; one for each of them.
"Why not?" Galnar said, and he fell onto one of the beds, yawned, and closed his eyes. Bastila and Jarek both did the same, and fell asleep almost instantly due to their exhaustion.
When Jarek woke up, the harsh memory of the previous day came back to his mind. He was still wearing his neural disruptor, which he couldn't take off no matter how hard he tried, and in the morning more Vulkars escorted them all to the prison cells again. After that, Brejik returned, the usual selfish smirk on his face, and greeted them in a fake friendly manner.
"I think you'll all be very interested in what I've found out about the three of you," he said. "Or will you? Because you already know this, don't you?" The three of them just glared at him. He approached Bastila's cell. "Hello, Bastila." He was silent for a few moments to let this sink in. "Yes, that's right. We have the identities of all three of you. You were unmistakably survivors of the space battle overhead, yes? We found a couple other pods as well, but everyone in them were useless to us. So we killed them all. But you...I could tell there was something special about you three. You, gorgeous, are the beloved Bastila Shan, with the rare gift called Battle Meditation. How charming. Is that why your love life is so dry?"
"My 'love life,' Brejik, is 'dry' because the Jedi do not believe in love. Passion can lead to anger and hate and the dark side."
"How frightening," he said blankly. "But you two; you were assigned to protect Bastila, right?"
"And we will protect her as long as we live!" Galnar said.
"Fortunately, that won't be a problem much longer. I have arrived at an impasse here, you see. Should I sell you two as well? You may not be as expensive as Bastila over here, but very profitable nonetheless. Or, should I just kill you both and leave it at that?"
"I have a feeling you're too greedy to let so many credits get away like that," Jarek said.
"Not 'greedy,' my friend. I simply see an opportunity here that I cannot afford to pass up. So, here's what I'll do. I'll tell everyone Bastila will be the prize for whomever wins the annual swoop race coming up, and you two will be sold separately for a small price. But then, heh- heh-heh, I'll tell all the fools what you really are--Jedi. Oh, the looks on their faces will be priceless!" Brejik closed his eyes and laughed. "After you three have been withdrawn, we'll be going to a little, black market...." Brejik laughed maliciously. "I hope you don't mind going home with the highest bidder?" Nobody spoke. "You should be happy I am even telling you of your fate! Well, you ungrateful slimes, I'll be leaving now, and leave you three in silence to think it over, and maybe think about who you'd like to go home with. Too bad you won't have a choice." Brejik turned to leave, and sealed the door behind him when he did.
"We're doomed," Galnar said.
"Don't say that! We'll find a way to get out of this! Remember what Carth Onasi said aboard the Endar Spire? He was going to wait for the other survivor?"
"Brejik said he killed the others he found," said Bastila. "Remember? It's highly unlikely that anyone else would have escaped him."
"But what if someone did?"
"If they did, how would they even make it into the Lower City? The planet is overrun by the Sith. And even if they did make it that far, how would they ally themselves with one of these gangs? And after that--"
"Bastila, I think we know what you're getting at," Galnar interrupted.
"So let's just wait for the big swoop race. It's all we can do."
Over the next few days, Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar spent their time in the cells or in their dormitory. As usual, they discussed flawed plans for escaping, which were all thrown away when they found any sort of impassable obstacle. At long last, three heavily armed Vulkars escorted them into Brejik's office, where he sat writing something on a piece of paper.
"The race is this afternoon," he said. "You are to be brought up to the swoop track now, and will remain there until the race is over and I tell the fools what you really are. You need to know no more." The three of them were escorted out again, neural bands still strapped tight to their heads, to the swoop track. This time, there were nearly a dozen Vulkars escorting them out, and Jarek had to ask why.
"There was a break-in yesterday," replied one of the Vulkars. "Someone stole the swoop accelerator and killed Brejik's assistant."
"Swoop accelerator? That's cheating!" The Vulkar laughed.
"So?" He shook his head, and they were placed in three separate cages at the track. These cages did not have electrical fields around them, though. They were actual cages with bars. This might make it easier for them to escape. After the Vulkars secured them inside their cages, they waited for a couple hours, and then the racers and the spectators flooded in. Jarek was very nervous; what would happen?
Then, the door opened again and a tall, thin woman with brown hair entered. Jarek's jaw dropped.
"No," he whispered. "It can't--Bastila! It's--it's her!" Bastila looked over to the entrance, and saw her too.
"Oh, my," she said. "It can't be! She survived?"
"I told you someone would come for us!"
The woman approached the desk where the announcer stood, and spoke to him. But before anything else happened, all sound faded. Jarek couldn't hear her talking to the announcer. He couldn't hear the crowd murmuring and talking excitedly about the race. He couldn't hear the swoop bikes zooming past in the distance. All he could hear was silence. His eyelids drooped, his feet felt weak, and his brain emptied.
Brejik sat--though Jarek could not see it--over in the corner, adjusting the neural disruptors and amplifying them.
"And your name is?" said the announcer.
"Alora Danis," replied the woman.
"Okay, and you're with...the Hidden Beks, is that right?"
"Yes," she said quickly.
"Okay, good. Now, you'll have to wait a moment while the other racers do their runs first, and then you can get out there and hit the track! Figuratively, of course." The announcer handed Alora a piece of paper, and she sat down next to the other racers, nervously looking at the prisoners occasionally.
Redros, the Black Vulkar champion for three years, went first. Alora watched him on the view screen floating in the air. He was swerving in and out, dodging all of the obstacles and trying to hit as many accelerator pads as he could. She was studying his piloting, trying to possibly improve her own skills. Soon he had finished with a time of 0:35:52. Alora could beat that. She had a secret, if you could call it that. Almost all of the racers knew the Beks had the prototype swoop accelerator, but they couldn't do anything about it, fortunately.
After several more racers completed the course, Alora's name was heard over the P.A. She stood up and walked into the next chamber and to the actual track. She got into her swoop bike she got from Gadon Thek, the Hidden Bek leader, and put on her helmet. The track seemed much longer and dangerous than it did when she watched the others racing. She felt intimidated sitting in the cockpit, looking at the other professional racers, sharp and experienced. She ignored the feeling and prepped the bike. Some of the other racers and spectators gave Alora the thumbs-up (those who had thumbs, at least), while others made rude signs with their hands and booed her. She didn't care. She had to get Bastila and the other Jedi Brejik had captured.
She looked up at the light floating in midair. It glowed red...yellow...green! She sped off. Instantly, she was dodging in and out, avoiding the obstacles, but still trying to hit the accelerator pads. Every time she would fly over one, it would give her a small boost. She zoomed past obstacles left and right, constantly fearing slamming into one and flying throw the glass, even though she knew it wouldn't happen.
She shifted into second gear. Then third.... Then fourth.... She was swerving around like crazy to avoid the many obstacles. Her eyes widened then shut tight as she ran right into one of them. It did not stop her, though; she only slowed down, and whatever it was she ran into was sent flying into the wall. She hit a couple more accelerator pads to gain back her speed, and finally saw the end of the track. Many people were cheering and waving their hands or booing, and a floating droid held up a checkered flag.
As she crossed the finish line, she heard a horn blow and a crowd cheering all around her. As she got out, she saw the crowd in the stands standing up and cheering, while some others booed her.
She did it. She won. It was that easy. Or, she hoped it was. She returned to Brejik and the other racers. The Beks cheered her again, while the Vulkars merely scowled at her or ignored her.
"Yes, yes, congratulations," came Brejik's whiny voice from behind. Alora turned around and saw him in front of her. "I bet you're very proud of yourself." He cleared his throat. "People," he said to the crowd, "I'm sure you are all very amazed by this record-breaking time Alora just performed--" the crowd cheered even louder, "--and I'm sure you'd love to see her take home the prize, but.... I'm sorry to say that I must withdraw the victory prize."
"What?" came a few angry voices from the crowd. Alora heard many things like "You can't do that!" or "You piece of filth, Brejik!"
"I know you are all disappointed, but I have discovered something extraordinary about these prisoners--they are no ordinary soldiers. They are all, in fact, Jedi from the battle above that occurred recently. Seeing as they are so dangerous, I must withdraw the prize."
"Just give them to me," Alora said angrily. "Now."
Jarek could hear this. Her voice was very distant, but he could hear it. He could hear the crowd booing and yelling, and Brejik trying to calm them. He was able to regain his strength; enough to stand straight and open his eyes all the way. He saw Brejik looking nervous, and Alora standing and glaring at him.
"I will sell them, and there's nothing you can do about it, silly girl!"
"Maybe not," Jarek heard himself say, "But I can." He summoned the Force and used it to push away the guard in front of his cage and open it. He jogged over to the other cages and opened them both, freeing Bastila and Galnar.
"What? But--but--the neural disruptors--"
"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik," said Bastila, removing her halo. "A mistake I'm afraid you won't live to regret."
"I think not! Vulkars! Kill them! Kill them all--the Jedi, the swoop racer--all of them!"
Jarek summoned his lightsaber with the Force, drew it, and killed a Black Vulkar who came charging at him. He did a front flip over another Vulkar, backstabbed him as he was running, and charged at Brejik. Brejik, though, was prepared. He whipped out his double-bladed vibroblade and parried Jarek's attack. Fortunately, Jarek wasn't alone in fighting him. Alora came running up to attack, but Brejik pushed away from Jarek and blocked it.
Galnar and Bastila, meanwhile, were finishing off the Vulkar racers, and told all the spectators to get out.
Alora, who had been thrown back by Brejik, started charging at him again, and Jarek swung his lightsaber high. Brejik spun around, cut Alora deep in her side, and blocked Jarek's attack. Their blades became locked together, both of them pushing against each other with all their might, trying to free themselves.
"You see?" Brejik said, full of pride and anger. "I can't even lose to a Jedi!"
"We'll just see about that, Brejik," Alora grunted. Jarek, taking advantage of Brejik's momentary distraction, used the Force to push Brejik away, flipped over him, and stabbed him before he hit the ground. Brejik had dropped his vibroblade, which landed beyond his reach.
Jarek silenced his lightsaber and approached him.
"So," Jarek said. "You can be defeated. Look how far your selfishness and anger has gotten you. It only leads to--"
But Brejik spat in his face. "How...dare you...spew that Jedi...rubbish...at me!" he said weakly.
"I'm sorry, Brejik. This was your choice." Brejik scowled at Jarek for one more moment, then grunted softly, and his eyes became empty, his body motionless. Jarek looked into his eyes and knew he was dead. For a moment he wished he hadn't died, but it wouldn't have done any good; Brejik was too spoiled to be turned now.
Jarek removed a double-bladed lightsaber from his corpse, which he knew was Bastila's. But there was something else he found on the corpse--a vibroblade with a red hilt. This was his father's vibroblade! He had taken that sword from his father's cold hands after he had died. It was his most prized possession, and he dared not use it in combat, for the fear of losing it was too great. It was all he had to remember his father by.
"I believe this is yours," he said, handing the double-bladed lightsaber to Bastila. She took it without a word, and her, Jarek, and Galnar approached Alora and helped her up.
"We have to get out of here," she said. "I'll take you to my hideout. I had planned on going there after I rescued you."
"Rescued?" Bastila said arrogantly. "I don't know if you noticed, but we managed to free ourselves. You--"
"Bastila," Galnar said. "I think that's enough. Alora, are you the only one from the Endar Spire to survive?"
"Apart from yourselves? No. Carth Onasi made it as well."
"Carth is alive?" Galnar said, sounding extremely relieved.
"Good," said Bastila. "This is very good news. With Carth, maybe we can find a way to get off this planet." "Come on, I'll take you there." Something had finally worked out for once, Jarek thought.