-The Second Arm of the Force-

-Part One - Battle Dawn-

It is one month later and Ben is being sent out with other Jedi Knights on his first real mission ever. This is a very special mission that's intentions are known only to those going out. If anything leaks out, it could give birth to great chaos among the Jedi of an adolescent Order.

A sound one late night in my quarters made me sit up. I heard the sound, but at first couldn't identify it. I sat there and waited to see if it would return. A few seconds later, I heard a knocking on my door.

I got to my feet and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I staggered my way to the door. When I opened it, I saw a protocol droid standing there. In a hushed voice, it said, "I beg your pardon for the interruption during your slumber, but your presence is requested for a private meeting in the Throne Room as soon as possible."

"Oh." I wonder what this is all about. "I'll be down as soon as I get dressed. Thank you."

The protocol droid tilted its head in what looked like confusion. This droid was obviously not accustomed to having people thank him. "Your welcome." After that, it began to walk away down the hall.

I shut my door again and turned on the light. I got dressed, but didn't bother to comb my hair or strap on my lightsaber. Well, let's see what's going on now...

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When I got into the Throne Room, I saw only four other Jedi at the far end. I felt a little out of place, because they were: Master Jade-Skywalker, Master Durron, Jacen Solo, and Tenel Ka. Of the five of us, I was the only apprentice in the room. To say that I felt out of place would be like saying that an ocean feels wet. What am I doing here?

Jacen smiled at me and said, "Hello, Ben. You seem to have been making a name for yourself in the past several months."

I shrugged and smiled back, "Well, to some anyway. Do you know what this is all about?"

Jacen shook his head and said, "No, none of us do. The only one who does is Uncle Luke. We're still waiting for him."

Soon afterwards, Master Skywalker stepped into the room and approached us. He told us that we could all sit down and after we did, he gave his speech. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. If I am correct in what I am thinking, then the galaxy may be turned upside down very soon. But until we know for sure, I will not needlessly upset the Academy."

Master Skywalker paused for a moment as he looked at all of us. "I have sensed a powerful darkness from far away. It first hit my senses nearly eight months ago and I have been trying to trace it ever since then."

Master Durron spoke up. "Since you have called us together, can we then assume that you've traced it to its source?"

Master Skywalker nodded. "Yes, I have Kyp. I've traced it to the Onderon system. More specifically, the moon of Dxun."

I felt my heart skip a beat along with everyone else's in the room. Oh, my god! That's where Darth Bane stationed and hid the last Order of the Sith after the Great Sith War!

Master Skywalker continued. "The large presence of the power of the Dark Side and where it is coming from allows me to come to only one conclusion. The Sith have indeed endured and are growing stronger. I believe we may finally have the final battle of the Jedi and the Sith."

Tenel Ka asked, "So where do we come in?"

Master Skywalker replied, "We are all going to take three ships onto Dxun. Each ship will have a Jedi Master and a Jedi Knight. We will keep each other on constant communication. We will leave in the morning. And remember, all that we are telling the rest of the Academy is that we are going on a mission. The details of what we are doing are strictly on a must-know basis. Go on and get some sleep. We'll all need it. And believe me, no one is hoping that I am wrong more than I."

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That morning, I woke up and got dressed in the earth-colored clothes Master Skywalker gave me. I put on my new utility belt, a small blaster into its holster and a large dagger with its scabbard on my right thigh. I flung a tan backpack over my shoulders and finally hooked my lightsaber to my belt. Now that I was all set, I took two running steps at my open door, but was stopped before I reached it.

Tallah stood in the doorway, with tears welling up in her eyes. She whispered, "You see? This is what I was afraid of."

Tallah...I can't believe I forgot about her in all of this. "I'll be coming back, Tallah, I promise. I'm sure I won't be going into any danger anyway." That was a lie. I was sure that Tallah wouldn't believe it. She was way too smart for that.

Tallah looked down at all the weapons I had strapped to me and she gave me a look that said that she clearly didn't believe any of that. "Then why are you bringing so many weapons with you?"

"Because...there's always the possibility of danger. Master Skywalker doesn't want us walking in, unable to defend ourselves."

Tallah finally got upset and yelled, "Ben, do not lie to me!" She calmed down after that and said in a quieter voice, "I know that you're walking into danger. That much I can tell. Just be honest with me."

I sighed and said, "All right. The truth is yes; I may be walking into danger. And there is the possibility that I may not come back—but I will. I swear that no matter what happens there, I will come back to you. But I can't tell you where we're going or what we're doing. I'm sworn to secrecy."

I walked up to her and we embraced. After a few minutes, I leaned downed and kissed her good-bye. Not a thing in this galaxy will be strong enough to keep me from coming back to you. Finally, reluctantly, I let her go and ran off on my way to the docking bay. I could feel her eyes on me as I ran. I knew that she never took her eyes off me until I was out of sight.

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As I sprinted into the docking bay, I could see that I was the last person to arrive. Perfect. The last one to arrive again. I'm just making a great impression with the rest of the Jedi.

When I reached the group, Master Skywalker began his debriefing of the situation. "All right. The plan is that we will all go on three separate ships: a Jedi Master, a Knight, and a pilot. We will land down onto Dxun in three different coordinates of the planet. We will scope out for any unusual activity in the Force and meet at the rendezvous three days from when we land. We will share our findings at that time, if any. And of course, we will all have our com-links on at all times in case of any danger. The pilots will be waiting for us at the rendezvous to take us home. Are there any questions?"

We all said no, so Master Skywalker concluded with, "All right then. Tenel Ka, you'll be flying with Mara. Jacen, you'll be flying with Kyp. And Ben, you'll be flying with me."

I was more than a little surprised by that. Considering their connection, I naturally assumed that Jacen would be paired up with Master Skywalker and I would be with Master Durron. But I decided not to say anything at that time. Whatever his reasons, I'm sure that Master Skywalker knows what he's doing.

Within the hour, we were off in hyperspace to Dxun. And off on my first real mission as a Jedi. True, still just a Padawan, but that didn't make any difference to me.

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It was a long flight from Yavin IV all the way to the Onderon system. About one week. On the last day of the trip there, I was sitting in the back of the ship by myself. The quiet, calm feeling I had over me was long gone. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from shaking. And I felt as if I were going to throw up.

Just then Master Skywalker came in and said, "We have 30 minutes before landing."

Doing my best to hide my nervousness I smiled and nodded to him. However, anyone who knows anything about Jedi knows that it's futile to try and hide your emotions from a Jedi Master. Especially when you're only a Padawan.

Master Skywalker stepped closer and asked, "Ben, are you all right?"

Trying to think of a way to pass it off without actually lying, I replied, "My stomach just feels a little funny. I'll be all right by the time we land." I looked back at his face, praying that he would believe me.

Master Skywalker looked back and said after a moment, "You're doubting yourself about this mission, aren't you?"

Damn! I exhaled and said, "I feel out of place. No one else here is a Padawan. Three Jedi Masters: you, Master Jade-Skywalker, and Master Durron. Two Jedi Knights: Jacen and Tenel Ka. And me...just a Padawan."

"A Padawan who—just between the two of us for the time being—exceeds the talents of many Jedi Knights."

"But why am I here? There has to be other Jedi Knights who could take my place. Who know as much or more than I do. Or have more experience than me. Especially on as important a mission as this."

"Possibly. But if the prophecy is true and you are the Second Arm of the Force, then I want you here at the beginning. I want you to learn all that you can about them now. That is why you are here."

I nodded uneasily and told him what I had never said out loud before. Not even to Tallah, though I probably never had to tell her for her to know. "I'm afraid to fail."

Master Skywalker nodded and said, "Believe me, I understand the feeling. You still doubt yourself. That is something that will be corrected only with time. You haven't had the chance to see your true potential for yourself. But I see it in you. Once you learn to trust yourself; your judgment and your confidence, then you will no longer fear failure."

I nodded and breathed a little easier. I did feel better. "Thank you, Master Skywalker. I'm ready now."

"Good. Come on. Let's go to the bridge. We have to be ready for the mission before we land."

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As the ramp to our ship opened up onto Dxun, Master Skywalker and I walked down the ramp and stopped there for a moment, looking around. As the ship rose up into the air and took off, we looked up and watched it until it was out of sight. Master Skywalker looked at me and said, "Come on. Time to get started."

We spent all day following paths, looking for any signs that someone might have been there recently. Keeping our senses open, we also tried to feel for any signs of the Dark Side. It wasn't hard to feel it.

How are we going to find the source of the Dark Side here? It's laying so thick all over the place. It's coming from all directions.

I was about ready to tell this to Master Skywalker when he stopped abruptly and threw an arm out across my chest to stop me. I started to ask, "Master, what is—"

He shushed me quiet and we waited there in silence. A rustling in a brush of vines began to get louder and soon, we were in front of a knee high animal with a long tail, sharp teeth and claws, and dark fur. It looked somewhat like a giant rat. It began to growl.

Neither Master Skywalker nor I moved for a while. Minimizing movement as much as I could, I whispered, "A Dxun tomb beast."

Master Skywalker nodded slowly and whispered back, "Yes..."

Before we could say anything. The tomb beast lunged forward at my chest. I caught its front arms and fell backward onto my back. It was at that moment that I heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting. As I wrestled with the tomb beast, trying to keep its teeth and claws at bay, a small shower of hot, black blood splashed onto my face and chest.

I threw the remains of the tomb beast onto the ground and jumped to my feet, still in shock. Using one of my sleeves, I wiped the black blood off my face, making sure not to get any into my mouth.

Master Skywalker extinguished his lightsaber stepped close to me, concerned. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so. I haven't had much of a chance to feel pain yet." I looked down and saw that my right sleeve was almost completely torn off. After I ripped it the rest of the way off, I saw that there were three long streaks of bleeding cuts starting from the bottom of my shoulder all the way down to my elbow. I started using the sleeve in my hand to wipe away the blood.

Master Skywalker slipped his backpack off of his shoulders and opened it up. He pulled out some antibacterial medication and bandage strips. After he cleaned and bandaged the wound, he said, "I think we'll rest here for a while. I'll contact the others to let them know that we're stopping for a little while. We'll catch up later."

I nodded and sat down on the ground. Great. He's needed so much more up front with the others and instead, he has to stay back here just because an animal was too fast for me. How the hell am I going to be the 'saving grace' for the Jedi? I can't even save myself.

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Later on that night while trying to sleep, I woke up, sensing something. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was something that made me feel sick to my stomach. I got up to my feet and opened myself up to the Force as I looked around at our environment. About fifteen feet away from the campsite, hidden by a web of thick vines, I found what I was sensing. And the sight of it put a huge ball of weight into my stomach. I wanted to throw up. Instead I called out, "Master?"

After Master Skywalker woke up and began walking towards me, he asked, "What is it, Ben?"

"Look at what I found." I pointed to the ground.

He looked and saw a large nest of eggs. Tomb beast eggs. Master Skywalker let out a sigh of sadness and said, "It's too bad."

He turned around and started walking away. He hadn't gotten far away before I asked, trying to control my anger, "How can you say that? 'It's too bad?' That's it? That tomb beast we encountered was a mother! She just saw us as a possible danger to her children! She was only trying to protect her family! Now she's dead! And her babies will be next!"

Master Skywalker turned around and replied, "I'm aware of that, Ben. Believe me, I wish that it didn't have to be so." He stepped closer to me and his voice got a little stern. "But that tomb beast attacked us. Not the other way around. There was no choice in the matter. If I had not killed it, you would be dead right now. And hope for victory in the future war of the Jedi and the Sith could have possibly gone with you."

I looked down at the ground and muttered, "I still don't like it."

"No one ever said that you had to, Ben. But sometimes lives have to end to serve life as a whole." Master Skywalker's face and voice softened again. "And I do appreciate the fact that you don't like it. I wish that all of the Jedi valued life as much as you do. One of your greatest strengths is your heart. The capacity for compassion that I see in you is the main reason I took you into the Order. But you will have to learn, especially with a war coming, that sometimes, killing is serving life."

I understood what Master Skywalker was saying. Actually, it was something that I already knew. It was just so hard for me to comprehend the idea of killing someone or something. So hard.

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It wasn't until after three days that Master Skywalker and I managed to catch back up with where we should have been. And it was three of the most exhausting days that I care to remember.

Not long after Master Skywalker finished talking to Master Durron on the com-link, telling him that we were caught up to our appointed location, he stopped instantly in his tracks.

I started to ask, "What is it, Master Skywalker?" But I didn't get halfway through before I stopped and understood. A thick wave of darkness and cold came over me. I shuddered and asked, "Do you feel that?"

Master Skywalker nodded and said, "I think we've found what we were looking for. This is nothing short of the Dark Side of the Force. I'm going to get Mara and Kyp back on the com-link and give them our co-ordinates so that they can meet us here. We'll wait here until then. If everything goes right, we'll continue our inspection of Dxun by morning."

I nodded, putting on a relaxed face, but inside I could feel my nervous tension and anxiety building up in me again. I was praying that I would not be a disappointment to the whole Order and especially, Master Skywalker.

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That morning, the six of us concentrated through the Force and found the point; the exact center of where the wave of the Dark Side was coming from. We soon realized that it was coming from a large crater. After that, we separated into six locations, surrounding the crater. Crawling on the ground, we all made our way up to the edge.

As I peered my head over the edge, my heart sank and I felt all the rest of them do the same. I saw hundreds and hundreds of Dark Jedi doing a variety of exercises. Some were sparing with lightsabers. Others were in meditation. Or practicing hand to hand combat. A few of them were even practicing with shooting Force Lightning. Oh, my god...they've done it. They've created another Dark Jedi army. And they have to outnumber us at least...four to one.

It was at that time that I noticed that there weren't just Dark Jedi down there. At least half of them were from the ancient race of the Sith. The red and black tattooing and horns gave them away. They looked just like Darth Maul.

I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and lost my balance. Before I could regain, my body began to slide down the angled wall of the crater. Shit, shit, shit, shit! They're gong to find us out! We're dead!

When I reached the bottom, I felt a large hand grab my shoulder and yank me to my feet. Before I could say anything, a large human man, obviously one of the Dark Jedi Masters yelled, "What are you doing, running around during training practice?" The Dark Jedi motioned down at my lightsaber hanging from my belt and pointed to where other students were practicing with training remote.

Not knowing quite what else to do, I quieting muttered, "Yes...Master." As I jogged towards the other students, I felt like puking at calling that man 'Master.'

I stood in the like of Dark Jedi students waiting for my turn with the practice remote. What the hell am I going to do? Sooner or later, they're going to realize that nobody has ever seen me before. And I can't just run away, because then they will know right now that something is up.

Suddenly I heard a Dark Jedi bark an order and realized that they were talking to me. "You! Get up here!"

I walked up to the Dark Jedi and unclipped my lightsaber from my belt. As I was igniting it, I realized something important that could give me away. The Dark Jedi stared at my white-bladed lightsaber and asked, "Where did you get that?"

Stammering to think of something; anything, I said, "I...uh, I...made it."

The Dark Jedi looked at me for a second then nodded. He obviously had more things to think and worry about than the color of one more 'student's' lightsaber blade. He turned the training remote on. It was rapid-fire right off the bat.

I had practiced on rapid-fire before, but never instantly. It was always gradually. I took a few bolts in my left arm before I started to deflect them. A few seconds later, the Dark Jedi stopped the remote and yelled, "What do you think you are doing? You must always be prepared! If these were full strength bolts, you would be dead! Use your hatred! Your anger! Have you forgotten everything you have learned?!"

I haven't forgotten anything. That's why I didn't use them. But I knew that they would feel if I was refusing to use those emotions. As hard to see as the Dark Side may be, it was much easier to distinguish it from the Light Side. Having little choice in the matter, I replied, "Yes, Master."

With a shudder, I let myself go from my mind and let in emotions that I had denied since I had confronted my anger all those months ago on Dagobah, after hearing the prophecy made by Master Roshko Grimbete.

The remote began on rapid-fire again; this time, not letting any bolts hit me. This continued until an alarm began to flare. My heart began to thump harder, thinking that they had realized that I was a Jedi Padawan and not one of them. Or that the others had been discovered.

As everyone began to leave, I realized that it was an alarm to end for a while. What we were going to do next, I had no idea. I was led down a long hallway and taken to a door. I didn't know what to do next, but another student walking by me looked at me while continuing down the hallway and said, "Well, go ahead and go inside! Meditate when you have the chance!"

Deciding not to reply to them, I opened the door and walked inside. I was surprised at what I saw. "Jacen! Tenel Ka! What are you two doing here? Did you get caught?" A sudden thought occurred to me. "Have I been caught too?"

Tenel Ka raised her arm at me and said, "Calm yourself, Ben. After you fell, we were ordered to follow after you."

Jacen nodded and said, "The others would've come too, but we're the only ones who can pass for students. Once we get the opportunity, we'll escape. Then we can contact the pilots and meet us at the rendezvous and get out of here. We've certainly found what we came here looking for."

I lowered my head and said, "We'd be able to leave now with virtually no chance of danger, if I hadn't been so damned stupid and fallen."

Tenel Ka replied, "There is no point in blaming yourself, Ben. Jacen and I know a thing or two about escaping from a Dark Side academy."

Jacen looked at her and smiled. "Oh, right. I forgot all about that."

I took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, let's hope that it can be done for a second time."

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The three of us spent an entire, miserable week at the Dark Jedi Academy. We all had no choice but to use the power of the Dark Side, to keep from being found out. At the end of every day, we would get together into a mind meld to cleanse ourselves from the Dark Side. A "Force-bath," as we decided to call it.

After the cleansing that night, I sighed and leaned back on the floor. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. When are we going to get the hell out of here?"

Tenel Ka looked as tired as I did. "We cannot hope to escape until an appropriate opportunity presents itself."

"And just when the hell is that? Once the Dark Side has completely seduced us? Or when we all leave with the rest of the Dark Jedi to wipe out the Jedi Order?"

Jacen remained calm and said, "Ben, you need to calm yourself down. This isn't helping matters at all."

"And this is? Just hanging out here when we need to get off this planet to warn the Republic and the other Jedi? We have to get out of here right now!"

"And what do you suggest, Ben?" Tenel Ka asked, "What plan have you devised for us to leave here undetected?"

After thinking for a few minutes, I replied, "Well, every morning at the Jedi Academy I would go for a run. Maybe we can do the same here. We can all go out for a 'morning run,' but never come back. We can get back with the Jedi Masters and get out of here."

As Jacen thought about that, he took a deep breath and let it out. "It could work. But there's a lot that could go wrong. We may not be allowed to leave for one thing. And we may be followed. Or have to go with other Dark Jedi students. The plan has a lot of unknowns."

"I do not like to admit it, Jacen," Tenel Ka started, "but Ben does have a point. We cannot stay here forever. And it is a plan that could work."

Jacen looked at the both of us and after a resigned sigh and nod, he said, "All right. I'd like a stronger of a plan than this, but we can't wait around here much longer. We'll leave in the morning. I just hope that Uncle Luke, Aunt Mara, and Kyp are still okay. It can't be easy hiding from Dark Jedi in a wild jungle for an entire week."

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We got up early in the morning. It was still dark outside and we reached a large doorway, leading outside into the jungle. We were stopped by a large Sith who stepped in front of us. "Where are you going?"

"We're just going out for a run this morning," Jacen said, doing his best to sound like a Dark Jedi. "Is there something wrong with that?"

The large Sith grunted, "The day is plenty filled with training. Why do you need to add to it?"

I looked at him and said, "That kind of thinking may be good enough for the Jedi, but we need to be a cut above them. If we are to one day have our revenge."

The Sith looked as if he were thinking, then replied, "All right. Go ahead and get out of here." As we began to walk past him, he stopped us and added to me, "By the way, if you ever compare me to one of those Jedi, it will be your last day."

Biting down on my anger, I simply replied. "Forgive me, Master."

He nodded once and motioned for us to go.

As we jogged away, I thought, there might come a time someday when we'll have to see if you really could.

After we climbed our way out of the crater, we started our search for the Jedi Masters. It didn't take long, since actually they came across us. They must have been watching for us. They looked a little tired and their hair was messed up. Master Skywalker and Durron had one-week beards.

"We're sorry to keep you all waiting for so long," Jacen started, "but we had to make sure that we could get out of there without being tracked or followed." Only a moment later, an alarm began to blare.

From our vantage point, we could see ten Dark Jedi run out of the Academy. The one in the lead was the one we encountered on our way out. They all began pulling out their lightsaber and ignited them. The area filled with the bright aura of scarlet red.

"We clearly did not do a good enough job clearing out tracks." Tenel Ka said, "We should get out of here now."

We were all thinking on the same plane and turned around, all taking off in a Force Sprint. Out in the lead, Master Skywalker pulled out his com-link and said, "This is Master Skywalker! Have all of the ships together on the ground 300 kilometers Northeast of the original rendezvous!"

Master Durron risked a turn of his head to look behind us. The Dark Jedi were within sight of us. "It's no good just running from them! We'll have to confront them eventually, once we make it to the ships! We have to stop to fight!"

"These aren't very good odds!" Master Jade-Skywalker said between breaths. "If they were regular men, 10 against 6 would be about right! But these are Dark Jedi! They have power equal to ours!"

Master Skywalker shook head and said, "There's not much choice! Ben, fight if you have to, but stay behind the rest of us!"

"But—"

"This is not subject to debate, Ben! You are to only fight if you engaged! That's an order!"

They all stopped and stood our ground, igniting their lightsabers. I kept going and stopped about twenty feet behind them. Even though I would most likely not need it, I pulled my lightsaber from my belt.

Within a matter of seconds, the Dark Jedi were among the others. Master Skywalker and Jacen managed to time their first strike in just a way so that they put the point of their lightsabers straight through the chests of two Dark Jedi. As they fell to the ground, I cringed at the blood and gore of the scene. After counting, I thought, well, two down seven to go...wait a second, two down and seven still fighting? That's only nine. There were ten before, where's the other—

I never finished my thought, but it was answered for me anyway as I received a kick straight into the middle of my back and I flew forward. My lightsaber rolled away from me. Fighting the pain and struggling to get a breath, I rolled over and saw the very same Sith who we met before.

"So, Jedi...you think that you can come and infiltrate us and leave without being noticed? Well, you all will not be making it home to warn the others. When we finally leave this place, all that you have will be destroyed...as you did to us."

I glared at him and said, "The Jedi didn't destroy you. You destroyed yourselves. You fought amongst yourselves for power and glory, while the Jedi united, making them stronger. That's why you lost the war."

The Dark Jedi only grinned and replied, "You Jedi are so naïve. When we return to your home, I will be sure to say hello to your friends." He raised his lightsaber up over his head, as if to stab down onto me.

I watched as he began to stab down. Watching the events of death beginning to unfold, everything went into slow motion. That is when I remembered something important. Too important to let this happen.

"You see? This is what I was afraid of."

"I swear that no matter what happens there, I will come back to you. Not a thing in this galaxy will be strong enough to keep me from coming back to you."

My jawbone flexed and I felt strength come back into me. No! I will not leave Tallah alone! I rolled on the ground and out of the way, just as the lightsaber punctured into the ground. Leaping to my feet, I spun into a roundhouse kick as the Dark Jedi pulled his lightsaber out of the ground. My foot made contact with the hilt and the lightsaber when spinning away.

The Dark Jedi glared at me and said, "Impressive move...boy." He leapt into the air, bringing his right leg out to kick me in the face. I had no idea where I got the strength,

but I caught his leg with both of my arms and spun him around 360 degrees and let go. His body went flying into the base of a tree and he fell to the ground.

He slowly got back to his feet, furious. Screaming, he charged at me. I grabbed his arms as he reached me. Then, rolling onto my back, I placed my feet into his chest and kicked up and back, sending him flailing over me back to the other Jedi. When I got to me feet, I saw that the other Dark Jedi laid on the ground, dead.

He was suddenly surrounded, hopelessly outnumbered. His jaw set, he yelled, "The day will soon come when you will be destroyed forever!" With that he turned around and ran back for the Dark Jedi Academy.

Master Skywalker had just placed his lightsaber back onto his belt and said, "We don't have much time. We have to get out of here now and prepare the Jedi and the New Republic for this war." He sighed. "War...always a war."

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As we sailed through hyperspace, Master Skywalker began to explain to me what he wanted me to do. "Ben, it's important that we get all of the young Jedi to a safer place. I hate to do it, but I have to be stricter on what students we will evacuate. Every student with capable lightsaber training must stay. All other students will be leaving. The Dark Jedi outnumber us to a point where we need every Jedi that we can spare."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Obviously, I will be needing you to fight. But before you even think about that, I want you to help in getting the other students to safety aboard the ships. Where they go will have to be decided later. Do you understand?"

I nodded firmly and replied, "You can count on me, Master Skywalker." As another thought, I added, "I would lay down my life for you."

Master Skywalker looked at me in quiet for several moments before saying, "I would hope that you never have to make that decision."

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Several days later, we finally came out of hyperspace in the Yavin system. I felt so relieved to be getting back to Yavin IV. To be getting back to Tallah. But I also knew that I wouldn't be resting easy until I got her on the ships out of there and to someplace much safer.

The ship lowered to the floor of the docking bay and I didn't even wait for the ramp to finish lowering. I leaped out and went into a dead sprint to where I knew that Tallah would be. She was always in the same place at this time of day. I ran outside to one of the back entrances to the Academy.

I saw Tallah sitting on the stone floor in meditation. She came out of meditation very quickly as she felt me approach her. She jumped to her feet and began to run to me too. "Ben! I knew you'd be coming back! We've already heard about—"

"There's no time for that!" I grabbed her arms and said, "You have to grab your things and get ready to evacuate the planet. All younger students have to leave."

She looked at me and said, "No."

"You don't understand! This is not a choice! I don't want to leave you either, but this is out of both of our hands! You have to stay safe! You aren't ready for this war, yet!"

"But I am ready—"

"Maybe you feel ready, but you still don't understand—"

"You're the one who doesn't understand, Ben." She looked at me with a sad, yet solid expression. She motioned down, and when I looked, a terrible ache filled my heart.

I wanted to close my eyes and think, if I just think hard enough, when I open my eyes it won't be there anymore. But I knew that was pointless. Right there; hanging from her belt...a lightsaber.

I just stared at it and asked, "How long have you had it?"

"A couple of weeks now. Master Streen told me that Master Skywalker would've helped me, but he had to go on that mission. So, I will be fighting in the war. We'll both have to risk our lives and whatever is meant to happen will happen."

I heard a loud noise in the sky and looked up. What's that noise? But I already knew. "They're already here. It's time."

I looked at Tallah and took her hand in mine. I kissed her gently on the lips. We then both looked up at the ships gathering in the sky. I should have been scared. But I wasn't. Because I knew that Tallah was right. Whatever would happen would happen. And at least now, we would be there to face it together.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Coming up next is...The Second Arm of the Force II: Eye of the Storm