-The Second Arm of the Force-

-Part II - Eye of the Storm-

The final war of the Jedi and Dark Jedi has begun; however, Ben had thought that his training would be further along before being thrust into it all. Now, if he wishes to take those steps from student to knight, he must finally learn to trust himself.

After staring at the ships for a few more moments, I looked back at Tallah and said, "Master Skywalker wants me gather up all of the younger students and get them to the docking bay to evacuate the system. I need your help."

Tallah nodded. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Go up to the top levels and get the older students," I replied. "I'll go down to the lower levels to get the younger students. We'll meet in the docking bay."

"Right." With that, we both took off back into the Academy. Once we reached the stairs, we separated as she went up and I went down.

Once I was at the lowest level, I looked around someone. Anyone. But I was alone. Oh no...please don't tell me I'm too late! "Hello?" I called out. "Is there anyone here? Hello? Anyone!"

Shortly thereafter, I heard just the smallest hint of a breath. I looked around, but saw no one. Wait a minute...there's a false wall down here somewhere, maybe they're hiding in there. I felt around a wall looking for the right stone. I know that one of these stones will move the fake wall.

After feeling around for a while, I finally found it and pushed it. A door opened and I ran through it. I saw a dim room with about a dozen very young students of all races. The oldest one, a Twi'lek who couldn't have been more than eight looked at me and said, "Master Tionne put us in here and said that someone would be coming for us. That we had to wait here until they came. Are you him?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, I am. Follow me and I'll get you to your ship to leave."

A small human boy that looked about four—the youngest of the lot was all huddled up, hugging his legs. He looked at me and unblinkingly asked, "We're all going to die, aren't we?"

A small gasp and rush of fear rippled through the group of children. If I wasn't in control of it, I likely would've cried at that. Just a small child and already willing to accept death...

Not really knowing what else to say I said, "I promise that I will not let that happen to you. Any of you. Just stay close to me and hold hands. Nothing bad is going to happen."

---------------------------------------------

The Jedi children and I ran through the hallways of the Jedi Academy. It was slow, because I wouldn't let the group run faster than the slowest of us. I had the four year old boy in one arm and he clung both of his arms around my neck. Every once in a while an explosion from outside would rattle the floors and walls of the Academy. What the hell is happening out there?

I heard footsteps running through the hallway in front of us and I quickly ignited my lightsaber and got all of the children behind me. A Dark Jedi turned the corner with a large blaster rifle and started firing at us. I blocked the shots with my lightsaber, careful to make sure that my blade and the bolts never touched the children.

Trying to get the fight away from them, I began to inch forward all the while, still deflecting the rapid-fire shots. When I was finally close enough, I swung the blade through the barrel of the rifle and it cut in half.

The Dark Jedi instantly dropped what remained of his weapon and swung his right fist at me. I leaned back, dodging the swing. Once he was off balance from hitting pure air, I hit him square in the jaw with the pommel of my lightsaber. As the went back a couple of steps, I threw my left foot into his gut. Once he was hunched over, I gave him a roundhouse kick with my other foot and he crashed into a wall unconscious.

I extinguished my lightsaber and turned around to the Jedi children. "Come on. The docking bay is just up here at the end of the hallway."

Shortly after the entrance to the docking bay was in sight, the silent alarms in my mind flared. All of the rumblings of the Academy began to take their toll. I hollered for the children to stop just as stones and supporter beams came down from the ceiling. I turned around and poured all of my concentration into an invisible shield of the Force around the children.

Since I had used all of my concentration on them, I had no idea that stones were about to fall on top of me. My legs were buried by large stones that I couldn't budge. And it was more weight than I had ever moved with the Force. Luckily, I could tell that I was only pinched down by the weight and nothing was broken.

I looked up at the kids standing there, trying to pick up the stones off of me. "Don't waste your time on this! The docking bay is right there. Everybody run there and get to your ship."

The youngest child made a frown and said, "No! Jedi leave no one behind!"

All of the children closed their eyes and concentrated. Most of them had their eyes clenched very tight. A few had their lips puckered up in furious concentration. Trying so hard to move the large pile of stones. It touches me that they're so motivated to try and save me, but we're talking about hundreds of pounds of stone here—

My thought was interrupted as I felt the stones slowly start to lift off of me. My god! They're doing it! I added myself to their mind meld and the stones came up off of me. I rolled out away from the rubble and it fell back to the ground after I was clear away.

I got to my feet and smiled at all of them. "Thank you. Come on, your ship is waiting for you."

---------------------------------------------

As the Jedi children and I finally made our way into the docking bay, I saw a large ship with the doors open and a man waiting by it. I ran up to him and all of the children kept up behind me. When I reached the man, I asked, "Is this the ship for the Jedi children?"

Looking relieved, the man replied, "Yes, it is. The rest of the young ones are inside waiting." The children began filing up the ramp into the ship. "Come on, we have to go." After the last of the children were up the ramp, the man looked back to me and said, "Thank you for getting them here safely."

We shook hands and I replied, "I'm only doing my duty."

Across the other side of the docking bay, a similar ship had older students filing into it. At the back of the line, I saw Tallah with Guild and Ryndell. I quickly ran and reached them, just as they reached the ramp. The four of us stood there, not knowing quite what to say.

Biting her lower lip, Tallah said, "So this is it..."

"This isn't the end," Guild replied, trying to stay strong. "I swear to both of you that I'm going to train even harder now to make sure I'm on the battlefield to fight right alongside both you."

Getting teary-eyed, Ryndell nodded and said, "I'm going to do the same thing. You two better make sure that you survive."

We all hugged and I said, "You two just concentrate on your training. And there's no one I'd rather have watching my back on the battlefield than you two."

Our good-byes over, Guild and Ryndell turned around and walked up the ramp and out of sight. When alone, Tallah turned to me and said, "So...are you ready to get outside?"

I gazed into Tallah's eyes for what felt like a white eon, but could have only logically been a couple of seconds, before I made a decision. "I'm sorry Tallah, but there's something that I have to do and I hope someday, you'll understand why."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know I'm disobeying Master Skywalker's orders, but I'll make it up to him. I'll fight enough for two. I'm sorry for this."

"Sorry for what?"

"This." I raised a hand and with the Force, as gently as I could, lifted Tallah and pushed her over the ramp and into the ship. Before she could get up and reach the doorway, I was up the ramp and closed the door.

I heard her banging on the door and shouting, as the ship slowly rose into the air and through the opening out into the atmosphere of Yavin IV. With the ship gone, I breathed a sigh of relief and unclipped my lightsaber from my belt. I then sprinted out of the docking bay, out to face the Dark Jedi.

---------------------------------------------

I ran outside and was surprised at what I saw: no Dark Jedi, no battle, no duels, nothing. What I did see were dozens and dozens of more Dxun tomb beasts laying dead on the ground. Some Jedi were nursing wounds to arms or legs.

Several Jedi, though thankfully not many, were on the ground and had sustained more severe wounds. They each had a few Jedi wrapping their wounds in bandages. Most of them were helped to their feet and able to walk with minimal assistance.

Looking around a little puzzled, I saw Master Durron nearby and jogged up to him. He was cleaning blood off of his shoulder when I asked, "What's going on? Where's the battle?"

Master Durron looked up from his bloody shoulder to me and replied, "There is none. Several ships came down into the atmosphere and began to drop the tomb beasts down. Then another ship dropped bombs onto the Academy. After that, the ships disappeared. We don't know why yet."

"But I just encountered a Dark Jedi in the hallway."

Master Durron asked, "Where is he now?"

"He's unconscious in the hallway near the docking bay. It wasn't too difficult. He didn't even have a lightsaber, just a blaster rifle."

"Did you encounter any others?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, he was the only one. He looked kind of young too, so I think he was also just a student. But why would they bring down just Dark Jedi students?"

"Because the students are more expendable. If they have any casualties, they'd rather lose students than their best warriors. That's how a dark-sider would think."

I nodded and took a deep breath, then let it out. "Well, the last ship of students just left Yavin IV, so they're safe, at least."

It looked as if something just sparked in Master Durron's head and he asked, "What?"

Still not understanding what was wrong, I answered, "Master Skywalker asked me to make sure all of the Jedi students got to the ships so they could evacuate—" That's when I began to understand.

Master Durron's face seemed to pale. "We were never the Dark Jedi's target. The Dxun tomb beasts...the bombs on the Academy...just diversions to keep us busy."

"...They're after the students! Where's Master Skywalker?!"

After that, we took off to find Master Skywalker to tell him what we had just discovered. If they catch Tallah, after I forced her onto that ship, I'll never forgive myself! How can I be so damned stupid?

---------------------------------------------

"Shuttle Kenobi! Shuttle Forcesabre! This is the Academy. Are you there?" Master Jade-Skywalker called through the intercom. The Jedi had been rounded up and stood waiting in the control room of the docking bay, anxious to hear a response to the two ships. "Kenobi! Forcesabre! Do you copy?"

A few seconds later, the static through the intercom stopped and we heard a voice say, "Shuttle Kenobi, responding."

There was a moment of relief through all of our minds for a moment. Master Jade-Skywalker asked, "What is your situation now?"

"I'm here at the rendezvous point, still waiting for Shuttle Forcesabre to arrive, but they aren't here yet. I'm not sure what the hold up is. They took off before we did."

I felt a freezing chill in my stomach that worked its way through my veins. Then my stomach began to roil until I swear I could almost taste blood. Oh, no...they have the students...my friends...Tallah...

"Is there something else here that I don't know? Is something wrong?"

Master Jade-Skywalker began to fill him in on what was happening, without going into too many details. If the Dark Jedi were listening in on our system, it was best if they didn't know how much we knew.

---------------------------------------------

In an enclosed room, the Dark Jedi I encountered was being kept guarded. The Jedi keeping watch allowed me through and the moment the door was open, I lunged at him. I threw a fist into his gut, then shoved him against the wall and pinned him there. "Where are they taking them?! What did they do with the other students?! Answer me!"

The Dark Jedi grinned and said, "They will do with them exactly what you did to us the first time."

I pulled my lightsaber from my belt and pointed the emitter against his stomach and said, "Tell me or I'll cook your insides and serve them to you!"

I never even had a chance to think about if I would've really done it, because right after I said it, a voice said from behind me, "Ben!" I turned my head around, still keeping my hands on the Dark Jedi student and saw Master Skywalker standing there, I could tell, doing his best to not look upset. "That is not a way to get answers."

"But he's—"

"I don't want to hear any excuses. We all want the students back, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with those issues. The rest of us will deal with this matter, Ben. You can go."

I let go of the Dark Jedi and reluctantly nodded. "Of course, Master. I am sorry."

"Perhaps you should apologize to him," Master Skywalker replied, motioning to the Dark Jedi student.

Shocked, I looked back at Master Skywalker and for the first time, was furious at him. "I would sooner apologize to a Dxun tomb beast." Thinking back on our mission to Dxun and the one we encountered, I added, "At least when they attack, it is out of protection." I didn't wait for Master Skywalker to reply.

I walked past him and started down the hall, when Jacen stopped me. He was one of the few Jedi who had not sustained any injuries at all during the small attack. "Nobody blames you for being upset. The possibility of losing someone you care about can be can bring a lot of anger. There's nothing wrong with a Jedi being angry, but if not careful, it can be a dangerous step into the Dark Side. Nobody doubts your abilities, but it would be best to let cooler heads deal with the interrogation process. Why don't you go to your quarters for a while and meditate? You'll find out everything, once we all know. There's nothing to do now, besides wait anyway."

I breathed a sigh and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you're probably right."

---------------------------------------------

I sat in my quarters and tried to concentrate my breaths, so that I could slip into the arms of the Force and find strength in meditation. Calm...remain calm...find peace...peace in courage...wisdom...faith...friendship...love...love of Tallah...Tallah...They have her! The Dark Jedi have Tallah! If they bring any harm to her, I'm gonna—

Out of frustration, I pounded my fist onto the stone floor and screamed into the air. I lowered my head and covered it with my hands. As I sat there, it slowly began to dawn on me that there was someone in my doorway. I looked up and saw Jacen standing there.

He had obviously been standing there long enough to have seen me scream. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

I let out a loud sigh and replied, "I can't find my center." I lifted my hands in front of me, as if to strangle someone's neck. "Every time I try, I see Tallah in the hands of the Dark Jedi and I just want to—"

"Your anger is getting dangerously close to the Dark Side, Ben. You need to remain calm."

"What do you think I've been trying to do? I can't! They have Tallah!"

"They also have your other friends; as well as dozens of other students. Don't you care about them?"

"Of course I care! I just..." I didn't know what else to say.

"Perhaps it would've been better if you had refrained from beginning a relationship with Tallah. You're clearly not ready to distinguish between doing what's in the best interest of others and what's in the best interest of yourself."

"What the hell do you know about it? You've never been in the same situation as I am!"

Jacen shook his head at me and said, "I came up here to let you know that we've been able to get a little information out of the Dark Jedi student and we're planning our next move. But it would probably be a good idea for you to stay out of the plans until you're ready to start acting like an adult again."

Jacen turned around and left my room. I got up from the floor and chased him into the hallway. I grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Wait! What do we know now? Where are they taking them?"

Jacen looked at me for a few moments and answered, "They're being taken to Ord Mantell. Where exactly, is still unknown. But we're planning an all out search for them. The plans and teams are still being discussed."

I nodded and sighed, looking down at the floor. I lifted my head back up at Jacen's. "Uh, Jacen...I'm sorry."

Jacen nodded. "Come on. If you're going or not is up to Master Skywalker, but all Jedi here need to be in on the meeting."

---------------------------------------------

All of the Jedi sat or stood in the crowded debriefing room. The same room where the strategy for the attack on the Deathstar was planned. If I were to guess how many of us there were, I'd say about eighty-five. I sat on a Bench near a couple of other high level students that were all talking to each other. Actually, most of the Jedi in the room were talking amongst themselves.

I sat quietly, looking at the floor; unable to take my thoughts off of Tallah. What might be happening to her. If she was in pain. If she was even alive...No! She has to still be alive! I'm sure that if she were dead, I would know it! I think...

Master Skywalker came into the room, along with several other Jedi Masters. It quieted down not much longer after that. I took myself away from my thoughts to listen to what he had to say.

He held his face in a way that showed hardened strength. Confidence. The face of a true leader. "For those of you who do not know yet," Master Skywalker began, "we have gotten from the captured Dark Jedi student that the students are being taken to a secret location on Ord Mantell. We have gotten no hints that the Dark Jedi is lying, so we are preparing to get into teams and retrieve our students."

A male Twi'lek named Plook Rhendor that I only vaguely knew of stood up said, "Master Skywalker, Ord Mantell is a large and populated planet. How are we to find them? It would take—"

Master Durron interrupted him. "Do you have pressing matters elsewhere? These are our students and our future. What else would you have us do?"

Plook bowed his head for a moment, before lifting it again. "Forgive me, but I must say what I feel. Though it is an uneasy decision, perhaps we must consider the notion of forgetting about the students for now. The Dark Jedi outnumber our order by too many for us to focus on search parties. Perhaps we should fight them and if we discover and rescue the students in the process, all the better."

Master Skywalker folded his arms and asked, "And if we don't find our students, what then do you suggest?"

Plook paused for a few seconds before saying, "I know it is hard, but if we do not find them, they may have to be cut as loses. Terrible loses, of course, but acceptable compared to the lose of our full Jedi Knights."

I lose my temper again and jumped to my feet. "That's exactly what the Dark Jedi did! They risked the lives of their students at the attack on the Academy, because they considered themselves above their students!"

Master Skywalker tried to jump in. "Ben—"

"Are we no better than them?"

"Ben—"

"Would you be willing to cut yourself as a lose if you were on that ship?"

"Ben!"

I finally stopped and looked at Master Skywalker. He continued, "We will not leave our students behind. That is no worry. You can sit down."

I sat down again, still fuming. Leave them behind...How could a Jedi even think of wanting to leave students behind? Children, even!

Master Skywalker continued with our plans and began to form groups of people to do searches on Ord Mantell for the other students.

---------------------------------------------

When the meeting was let out and all of the Jedi began to file out of the room, I began my fight through the crowd to try and reach Master Skywalker. Why is he doing this? Haven't I already proved myself more capable than some of the other Jedi he had assigned?

I reached Master Skywalker outside the room in the docking bay. "What's wrong, Master? Why didn't you assign me to a team? Practically every other Jedi is going along to Ord Mantell. After everything I've already done, what more do I have to prove to you?"

Master Skywalker studied my face for a few seconds, then asked, "Ben, tell me. If it came down to a choice of rescuing Tallah or the rest of the captured students, which would you choose?"

I thought for a moment and then fluttered for an answer, "Uh...the, uh, students. Of course."

Master Skywalker shook his head and replied, "You're lying."

I shook my head in defense. "I'm not, Master! I know that a dozen other students is more important that one. It's the only logical thing to do."

"You may know that that's the correct thing to do, but you hesitated way too long before you decided what the right thing to do was." Master Skywalker stopped another Jedi walking by and asked, "If it came down to saving one student's life or all of the others, which would you save?"

Without hesitation, the Jedi replied, "The lives of all of the other students, of course." The Jedi was puzzled at having been asked a question with such an obvious answer. "Why?"

Master Skywalker shook his head. "Nothing. That's all I needed from you, Phrent. Thank you."

Phrent nodded and walked away.

Master Skywalker looked back at me. "That's the kind of Jedi I need with me. We all want the students back, but we must do what's in the greater good for the entire order. Right now, your compassion for Tallah is clouding your judgment. Your case is an example of why the old order didn't allow marriage. That's not a perfect rule, either. But it had its merits. You have a lot of power, Ben. And there will be plenty of battles in this war. You will have to sit them out until I know you can re-focus."

I was on the verge of breaking down, but I held it back and replied, "Master...you don't understand. Tallah is my focus. She is my strength. If it weren't for our love, I would have died on Dxun. I was about to, when I remembered Tallah and all I could think of was surviving so I could come home to her. She's the source of my power. I have to be there to rescue the students. No other Jedi will have the drive I will to rescue them, I know it! Please let me go. Even if I'm just there as someone else's assistant, doing the tedious crap work, I don't care! I just have to be there...please."

Master Skywalker looked at me for a long time. Finally, he slowly nodded. "All right. I'll put you in a ship under Master Durron and Kyle Katarn's watch. They'll make sure that everything is in the interest of saving all of the students. I'll make sure of that."

I nodded, relieved. "Whatever you want, Master. If that's what I have to do, to come along on the search, that's what I'll do." I'm on a ship with Master Durron and Kyle Katarn...that can't be a coincidence. All three of us have had brushes with the Dark Side. If he's trying to be subtle, then he failed pretty badly.

Master Skywalker nodded. "I'm sure you will. I know it's hard to be a Jedi in training and have attachments to people. To have to make choices where it's one or the other and wanting to follow your heart. But when you have a power that burns as brightly as it does inside of you, you must remember: if you fall to the Dark Side in order to save someone you love, what kind of universe are you creating for that person?"

I looked at Master Skywalker in awe. I had never looked at it that way before. Not that it had occurred to me, on a conscious level at least, to go to the Dark Side to save Tallah, but it was a good thing to remember, if I ever got desperate enough to ponder it.

---------------------------------------------

Sitting in the lounge area of the large ship I was traveling in, I looked at the floor in quiet contemplation. I raised my head when I heard footsteps entering the lounge. It was Plook Rhendor; the same Twi'lek Jedi from the meeting. After a moment's glance at him, I went back to looking at the floor. I'm on the same ship as him? Perfect. I'll bet Master Skywalker did this intentionally.

Plook began to walk slowly in my direction. Oh, no...keep walking...keep walking...He stopped and stood in front of me. Damn!

"I would like to clear up something."

I lifted my head up look at his face. "What's that?"

"That I, too, care about the welfare of the students."

I nodded and looked down. "Yeah, I know you do."

"I do not wish them to be in harm's way anymore than anyone else."

"So why did you suggest that we do nothing?"

"Because it was a thought that had occurred to me and I knew that it was on the minds of other Jedi as well. Nobody was willing to say it, for fear of being thought of as cruel. Is that not what you felt about me?"

"I suppose. But still, even if no one wanted to say it, so what? That would say to me that people knew that it was wrong to think that."

"Because it had also occurred to me that if everyone felt this way, but no one said anything, then we might all do this without wanting to. And how would a half-hearted rescue attempt benefit the students?"

I thought about that for a while before answering. "I suppose that it wouldn't be very effective. We may not have been able to find them."

"And aside from that, not being there to prevent other attacks of the Dark Jedi, because we are too busy trying to do something that our hearts aren't in."

I slowly nodded. "I see what you mean." God, I'm saying this a lot today... "I'm sorry for how I acted. I just never looked at it from that angle."

We shook hands and Plook departed from the lounge. Okay, now I see why Master Skywalker put me in this ship. So I could have a chance to talk things over with him and not have that coldness between us. And so that I could learn that there's always another side to everything. It was at that moment that I realized that I really did still have a long way to go before I became a Jedi Knight.

---------------------------------------------

In a docking bay on Ord Mantell, I sat alone in the bridge to the ship. All of the Jedi had left on in teams to make their runs through their assigned search areas. I sat slumped down in a chair, studying a monitor; making sure that any enemies we wanted to remain unseen to didn't spot our location. When I said 'tedious crap work,' I didn't know that 'mind numbing' fell under that category.

On the ride through hyperspace here, Master Durron took me through a lesson in how to use some of the various equipment in the bridge: the intercom, monitors, holomaps, and if it came down to it, the piloting controls.

I was about to nod off from watching the monitoring screen when the com-link nearby came to life. "Shuttle Nadine, this Kyle Katarn. Do you copy?"

I got up and when over to the intercom. I turned it on and replied, "Kyle, this is Shuttle Nadine speaking."

"We believe we've found a lead. I need you to go to the interactive map of Ord Mantell and put in these coordinates I'm going to give you. Tell me what you see. The coordinates are 4EB-1138-THX."

Hmm...even when Lucas doesn't write the story, the references are still there. I typed in the coordinates and the map of Ord Mantell began to zoom in on a single area. I was expecting to see some buildings or something. But there wasn't anything. I spoke into the intercom, "I don't see anything Kyle. Just a bunch of piles of rubble. Most likely old buildings that have fallen and haven't been cleaned up or built over."

"Well, looks can be deceiving. We're going to check it out. Make sure you stay near the intercom, in case we need anything."

"You got it, Kyle."

Confused, Kyle asked, "What do I have?"

Ignoring the question, I answered, "Nevermind. I'll make sure to stay close to the com-link."

After I shut off the com-link, I slouched back in seat and sighed. How am I supposed to prove to Master Skywalker that I can separate my actions from my head and my heart, if I can't get back out there and fight? I can't help but wonder if this is partly because of this father? How loving Padme was part of Anakin's downfall and this is his way of trying to be overly protective of me? Trying to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to me?

To hell with this, I'm going outside for a while. I punched up some buttons and connected a com-link to the intercom so that if Kyle or anyone else tried to contact the shuttle, it would go directly to my com-link. I lowered the door to the shuttle and stepped out onto the duracrete floor of the outside docking bay.

It was early evening and only a bit of the sun remained over the horizon. The cool wind over the warm night made things very comfortable and relaxing outside. It was quiet, except for the sounds of various speeders and ships flying through the sky. Really, Ord Mantell was very similar to Coruscant in that way. It just wasn't as heavily populated.

I took a deep breath and let it out. I could feel some of the stress leave my body. I looked up and watched as more and more ships flew through the sky. They were all so different. And things I had never seen in the movies. Until one that did look vaguely familiar. I think I've seen one like that before. I thought as I continued to watch it. My heart practically jumped into my throat when I remembered. That ship is just like the one Darth Maul flew! It's a Sith spacecraft!

I looked around, not sure quite what to do. Until my head stopped, looking at a swoop bike parked near our ship. I looked around, to see if anyone was close by. But I was also trying to decide if I should. In a moment I made my decision. I made sure my lightsaber and com-link were firmly attached to my belt and I jumped onto the bike.

I pushed it into what I thought was reverse, but it was first gear and flew a couple of inches into the wall it was parked in front of. My forehead slammed into the front shield and left a small lump. I rubbed it as I looked down again and put the bike correctly into reverse this time. It went back far enough for a turn away from the building and I put it into first gear. I stomped on the accelerator and before I could blink I was in the sky above Ord Mantell, with the ship getting smaller behind me.

I scanned the sky ahead of me for the Sith spacecraft for several minutes, before it came back into my sight. I let off on the accelerator a little bit to stay far enough behind that they wouldn't spot me.

A beeping started going off on my belt and I looked down to see my com-link flashing. I unclipped it and turned it on. Careful to hold onto it without losing control of the swoop bike. "This is Ben."

"Ben, this Kyle. I need you to do a mechanics scan of the coordinates I gave you. To see if there are any bases or anything hidden."

Uh-oh. I think I'm in trouble. "Well, Kyle...that's going to be a bit of a problem."

"Why? What's wrong...and what's with all the wind sounds coming through the intercom? What's happening with the ship?"

"Well...I'm not in the ship?"

Kyle's voice started to get slow and angry. "Where are you?"

"I'm on a swoop bike, following a Sith spacecraft."

I heard some arguing on the other side of com-link and suddenly, Master Durron's voice came through. "What do you mean you're on a swoop bike? Why did you leave the ship when you were given explicit orders from Master Skywalker and myself to stay there?"

"Because I had to follow the Sith spacecraft!"

There was silence for a moment as I heard Master Durron sigh exasperatedly, then say, "Could you start from the beginning, please?"

"I wanted to go outside for a few minutes, so I hooked up my com-link to the intercom so that I wouldn't miss a call. When I got outside, I saw a Sith spacecraft flying through the air. There wasn't much time, because we could've lost it. I jumped on a swoop bike near the ship, which leads us here. Whoa! Wait a sec—"

I put both hands back on the controls again and pulled up in just enough time to fly over the top of another ship to avoid a collision with it, while it was flying through the wrong lane against traffic. When I was out of the way, I turned around and shouted at the pilot of the other ship, "Drunk asshole!"

Back through the com-link, I heard Master Durron call out, "Ben!"

"I'm back, Master Durron. Sorry, there was a—"

"Forget about that. First, how do you know it's a Sith spacecraft?"

"Because I saw it in 'The Phantom Men'—uh, no! That's not what I meant!"

"The Phantom what? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I studied it in my Old Republic history class. One of the last Dark Lords of the Sith before Vader, Darth Maul, flew this very same kind of ship."

"Describe it for me."

"Well, it's shaped a lot like a TIE fighter, except that it's larger and the bridge goes out to more of a point, like an x-wing, instead of in a sphere."

"Okay. Look, just keep following him. The swoop bike you're on has a tracker. We'll know right where you're going. He may take you right to their hidden base."

"So...I did good?"

"We'll see about that. I don't know about Master Skywalker, but as far as I'm concerned, you're still in a lot of trouble."

I nodded and replied, "I understand. I'm out." I clicked off my com-link and put it back on my belt. Keeping my eyes on the ship, I followed it through the night skies of Ord Mantell.

---------------------------------------------

It was hard to tell how long exactly I was following the ship. It felt like maybe a little over an hour, but it just as likely have only been about half an hour. Off in the distance I saw an area that looked familiar. I think these are the coordinates from the interactive map.

The gap between the Sith spacecraft and me started to slowly get smaller. Oh, it's slowing down! Maybe those coordinates were right, after all! I let my foot off of the accelerator as the spacecraft began to lower down. It would've been too risky to lower my swoop bike at the same time, so I continued to go with the traffic of other ships for a little ways beyond the lowering ship, keeping an eye on where it was going.

When I was beyond eyeshot of the ship, I lowered down and hid the swoop bike about half a mile from the ship. I pulled a pair of electrobinoculars out of a compartment of the swoop bike and focused them on the ship. The compartment slowly opened and a few Dark Jedi came out.

I pulled out my com-link and turned it on. "Master Durron? Katarn? Are you there? This is Ben."

Kyle's voice came out the other end after a few seconds of static. "Ben? What's the situation? Have they landed?"

"Yeah. I'm looking at them through my electrobinoculars right now. I'd say that I'm about ¾ of a kilometer away from them." Jesus, it took me a while to get used to the metric system...it's so stupid!

"All right. Our tracker says that you're not too far from us. A little over a kilometer and a half away. We'll be there in about ten minutes. Definitely not anymore than twenty. Keep an eye on them."

"Okay." I turned off my com-link and put it away, back on my belt. I continued to watch the Dark Jedi outside of the ship. It looked as if they were talking to each other. Come on, you assholes. Show me where your base is.

---------------------------------------------

Continuing my watch of the Dark Jedi and the ship, I felt a hand on my shoulder. My head spun around quickly and I saw Master Durron, Kyle, Plook, and a couple others that I really didn't know all that well.

Master Durron got down on one knee at my level and asked, "Have they done anything yet to reveal their base?

I shook my head and replied, "No. They just stand there. It looks as if they're waiting for something."

Kyle nodded slowly. "Could be. If they are waiting, it's probably for more Dark Jedi."

Plook added, "Or they're waiting for a 'shipment' of our students."

I looked back through my electrobinoculars and saw another ship lowering down. "Master Durron," I said, handing the binoculars to him, "here, you should take a look at this."

Master Durron took them from my hand and look through them at the new ship. "Looks like we found what we're looking for. I'll get Master Skywalker on the com-link to let him know we've found them."

He handed the binoculars back to me as he got out his com-link. I looked back through them and saw that the much larger ship had lowered and line of the students began to file out. Once they were all out, I saw Tallah, Guild, and Ryndell standing next to each other as they were searched for weapons. "Yeah, it's the students all right. They've just been filed out of the ship."

One of the Dark Jedi stopped in front of Tallah and took her lightsaber away. I saw him stroke her cheek, just before he went down the line. I started to hear some crackling noises and it took me a few seconds to realize I was squeezing the binoculars and had stopped breathing.

I lowered the binoculars and shut my eyes. Under controlled breathing, I used the Force to retain my calm. Stay calm...it's okay...he didn't really do anything to her. Of harm, anyway.

Master Durron got off the com-link. "All right. We're moving in, as soon as Master Skywalker and his team gets here. Ben, you're to stay behind with one of the speeders. We'll send a group of the students with you. Once they get there, you fly them back to the ship, got it?"

"But I thought—"

"The decision is made. Your first duty is to insure that the students get back to the ship safely. That's a lot more responsibility than you were given when we came here. You're not going in this fight."

I exhaled loudly and reluctantly nodded and replied, "Yes, Master."

Master Durron said, "Good. Wait here for them. The speeder is about a quarter of a kilometer South of here."

---------------------------------------------

I sat on the ground looking through my electrobinoculars, trying to see something of a fight going on. It was probably about half an hour later when a terrible pain hit my chest. Then again. And again. I fell flat to the ground. It felt as if pieces of my heart were ripping their way out of my chest. Finally the pains stopped. I hadn't had time to get up off the ground and figure out what happened before there was an explosion. I jumped to my feet and began to search furiously through my binoculars for something.

Soon, the Sith spacecraft that I had followed here was rising through into the sky and taking off. In the distance, I saw two figures running towards me. Once they were close enough for me to focus on, I saw that it was Guild and Ryndell. We hugged once they got to me.

I looked into their faces and saw a hollow coldness. Something terrible has happened. "What is it? What's wrong?" It felt as if my heart stopped beating. "Where's Tallah?"

Ryndell's face was red and streaked with tears. "They just—they just started...killing students!" She buried her face into Guild's shoulder and began sobbing again.

Guild looked at me, a little more in control of his emotions. "They split us up into groups. Just absolutely random. One of the groups...they just started hacking at with their lightsabers...and the rest of us just had to stand there and watch. They gave no thought at all to age or species or gender. There was nothing we could do about it. There were only five of us left when they got done hacking."

On the verge of tears, I grabbed Guild's shirt and yelled, "Where's Tallah?"

Guild sighed and said, "I don't know why, but I guess because of her lightsaber, they decided on something different with her. She was taken in that ship for some lightsaber duel." He shook his head, "But she doesn't stand a chance, this guy is huge. As they said, one of their best."

"Okay. You two take the speeder South of here and get on the com-link. The rest of the Jedi on Ord Mantell will give you directions back to the ships. I'm going after Tallah."

I began to get back on my swoop bike when Guild grabbed my arm. "No! We're coming with you!"

"No, you're not! This is personal and you're not ready for this."

Ryndell wiped her face and said, "Tallah is our friend too and just because we're students, doesn't mean that we have any less to lose from this war. Why can't we fight for our friends?"

I lowered my head in thought. "All right. But we won't all fit on the bike. Come on, we have to get to the speeder as fast as we can. When I get there, I'm leaving, whether you two are there or not. Ryndell, if you make it, you're driving."

---------------------------------------------

I had never seen Guild or especially Ryndell run as fast as they did on our way to the speeder. I was moving my legs as hard as I could, using the Force to aid in the run, but they kept right at my heals.

Once we reached the speeder, I jumped into the passenger side seat and Guild jumped in the back. Ryndell jumped onto the hood of the speeder and into the driver's seat. She roared the speeder to life and took off through the air.

As Ryndell dodged and weaved through the other ships flying around, I opened myself up to the Force to try and find Tallah. I heard Tallah yell out through the Force. Ben! Help, please!

I opened my eyes and pointed at the top of an old abandoned building not too far away. "Land here! On the roof! She's close!"

Ryndell didn't answer, but brought the ship down on the roof within a matter of minutes. I jumped out and looked around. I looked over the edge and heard the faint sounds of lightsabers. Tallah...I'm coming!

I waved Guild and Ryndell over to me and said, "Come on!" I grabbed onto a pole near the ledge and swung down to the ground. I looked up to Guild and Ryndell doing the same.

Guild shouted down at me, "Go, we'll catch up to you!"

I nodded and sprinted off toward the sounds of lightsabers. I peaked around a corner and saw a Dark Jedi lunging at Tallah. She had her blue-bladed lightsaber ignited and held it defensively, but looked scared. The Dark Jedi would charge at her and she'd jump out of the way. By the looks of the wounds on her right arm, she was beginning to lose.

I reached out through the Force and put an invisible grip on the emitter of the Dark Jedi's lightsaber. I began to squeeze and squeeze. The Dark Jedi looked down at his lightsaber, surprised to watch it slowly crush like a soda can.

Finally, it exploded and sparks flew into his eyes, temporarily blinding him. I ran forward and jumped into air, putting a boot square into his face. He flew back, then ran off into another alley. It was just then that Guild and Ryndell came around the corner. "Come on, he's getting away!"

I ran after him, followed by everyone else. When we got through the alley, we were surprised to see a large open area filled with people. "Great...how are we going to find him now?"

We worked our way through the people, trying to find him. Once we reached an area where fewer people were, we stopped to think. It was then that it finally dawned on me...I had Tallah back! I put my arms around her and we clung together.

She whispered in my ear, "I want to talk to you about something. Away from Guild and Ryndell."

I nodded and we walked away to a secluded area. "What is it Tallah?"

"This is...very hard for me to say. But—" She stopped in mid-sentence; both of our senses started to tingle.

Careful, I asked, "Do you feel that?"

She nodded and I turned around quickly igniting my lightsaber in time to block laser bolts. "Tallah, get down!" The Dark Jedi had gotten into a smaller, enclosed ship. He was standing up from an open roof in the canopy.

I continued to block bolts, until I managed to spin into one and swing like a baseball bat; bring the bolt back at the blaster rifle. The gun flew out of his hands, but suddenly I felt a ripple through the Force. A metal object went through the air and grazed my ear, into the hands of the Dark Jedi. He just stole Tallah's lightsaber!

He ducked back into the ship, closing the canopy. As I extinguished my lightsaber and put it back on my belt, through the corner of my eye, I saw Guild at a dead sprint for the ship. Just as it rose into the air, he jumped up and grabbed onto the side and slowly started climbing up as it rose further into the air.

Ryndell caught up with Tallah and I and shouted, "Guild, come back!" She looked at me and said, "Stop him!" I must have revealed it through my eyes, because when she looked at me, she said, "Oh, no! Don't tell me you're gonna—"

I started running for the ship and yelled behind me, "Get to the ship and follow us!" The ship was so high off the ground by now that I had to use a Force jump just to grab onto the bottom of the ship with one hand. I slowly started climbing up and looked down to see Tallah and Ryndell still standing there. I shouted as loud as I could, "Get back to the ship!"

They finally turned around sprinted back for the ship. I looked back up and continued to climb up to the top of the ship.

Guild looked down and saw me. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, you know...just...hanging around. You?"

"Pretty much the same!"

All of a sudden, the ship started speeding up. Guild and I both almost lost our grips, but got them back. Guild made it to the top of the ship and helped pull me up, too. The entire time, I wasn't able to have a grip any less than as tightly as I could. Somehow, Obi-Wan made this all look a lot easier in 'Attack of the Clones.'

As I was firming my grip on top of the ship, I saw Ryndell and Tallah catching up with us in the speeder. By the time Guild and I were working on trying to get through the door on the roof, Ryndell and Tallah had caught up with us and slowly pulled in on the left side of us.

The ship suddenly jerked and moved to the left. The Dark Jedi was ramming the speeder. Everything shook and made balance harder to keep. With another quick move of the ship there was another collision. Guild had lost his grip and started to slide backward off of the ship.

I dove and slid on my stomach towards Guild, hooked my foot under a rung of the back ladder and grabbed hold of Guild's right hand. His hand in mine, we formed an ironclad grip and I pulled him back as I could, until he was close enough to grab the ladder with his other hand.

Finally back on top of the ship, I shouted out to Ryndell, "Keep some distance between us! Follow us, but keep your distance!"

Ryndell slowed down the speeder so that it was behind and to the left of the ship. Guild asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"You jumped up here before I did! Didn't you have a plan beyond that?"

"I guess not!"

"Well, that may be part of why you don't have a lightsaber yet!"

That seemed to bother Guild, but he put it aside. "Just help me get this roof open, huh?"

We each pried at the door with a hand, but it wouldn't budge. Wait a minute...what am I doing? I have a lightsaber!

"Guild, back up a bit, I'll cut a hole open with my lightsaber."

He nodded and slid back a few inches. I pulled my lightsaber from my belt and ignited it into the roof, creating a whole with a diameter about a foot long. Once the whole was complete, laser bolts began to shoot out from it. I began to slip, but grabbed onto an edge of the hole and clung to it. How many weapons does this asshole have?

I threw my arm into the hole that had my lightsaber and slashed at the controls. Things began to spark, smoke, and explode. I pulled my arm out and put my lightsaber back on my belt. I motioned for Ryndell and Tallah to come back up for us.

"You jump first, Guild! I'll help you." A little nervous, he nodded. "Okay...jump!" He leaped into the air, I used to the Force to insure that he landed in the speeder. I could tell that the ship was starting to descend, so I got up ready to jump.

Then I noticed through the canopy, Tallah's lightsaber was sitting there. I reached in and grabbed the lightsaber. I tried to pull my arm out, but the Dark Jedi had a hard grip on it. As hard as I tried, I couldn't break free of it.

I heard a voice from the ship yell, "If I'm crashing, you're crashing with me!" Then he began to laugh.

Getting more panicky, I pulled and pulled again. Then I got an idea. I ignited the lightsaber in my hand. I didn't know if I got him with it or if it was just the shock of the blade coming to life, but my arm was free.

I quickly pulled my arm out, extinguished the blade, and jumped from the ship. But the Dark Jedi was still in shock and just as I jumped, there was a sudden turn that took me off balance and off course.

I landed on the back of the speeder flat on my back and rolled off, down through the hundreds of feet in the air. My body kept just narrowly missing other ships flying around. The air whipping through my hair and clothes and my eyes, half blinded me and it was difficult to see. Most of the fall, I wasn't even sure if my eyes were open or closed.

Suddenly, through the corner of my eye a familiar speeder came into sight below me and in the distance. The edge of the ship came underneath me just as I was level with it and I grabbed onto the ledge it as the speeder began to shoot back up. Guild and Tallah's heads popped over the edge as they grabbed my arms and pulled me up into the ship.

My head hit the floor of the speeder as I tried to pull my feet inside. I heard Ryndell ask me, "Are you all right, Ben?"

Ignoring the question, I yelled, "Follow him! Just keep following him!"

As I sat upright, Guild sat next to me and said, "I don't think we have to worry about following him. The damage you did to that ship made him crash. It shouldn't be long before the rest of the Jedi make it to the crash site."

"Okay, let's get there."

---------------------------------------------

When we landed near the crash site, Master Skywalker and Master Durron were already there, inspecting things. Once we got out of our ship, I stood face to face with Tallah and raised the lightsaber in my hand close to her. "I got your lightsaber back from that Dark Jedi."

Tallah's eyes filled with tears and she clung on to me with both arms. "Do you really think that that lightsaber means as much to me as you do? You didn't have to risk your life to bring that back."

Putting both my arms around her, I quietly replied, "If people only did what they had to, not much would get done."

We stood there in silence for a while longer before Tallah looked back up at me. "I haven't got a chance to talk to you about a decision I've made."

I looked over at the crash site for a few seconds, then looked back at Tallah. "Bring it up again soon. We can talk later, I promise." I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and walked over to Master Skywalker.

He looked at me grimly and asked, "What did we decide on before we left the Academy?"

I lowered my head and started with, "I know I disobeyed you, Master—"

"Yes, you knowingly and deliberately disobeyed a direct and clear order that I gave you."

"But there wasn't any—"

"You endangered your well-being, as well as everyone else you went into contact with when you left the ship."

"But if I hadn't left the ship for a few minutes, no one would've spotted that ship and no one would've found where the students were taken."

"Then you decided to disobey orders again, given to you by Kyp. You were to take the students directly to the ship. You chose not to do that. You took them with you to rescue Tallah. You did the very thing that was my reason to not want to bring you; you risked the life of two students to save Tallah."

I lowered my head and simply replied, "Yes I did, Master."

Behind us, there was a loud crash as the canopy to the ship was finally opened. Plook called to us, "There's no one in here! He must've escaped before the crash!"

Master Durron asked, "Do you think we should look for him, Master?"

Master Skywalker shook his head. "No. We came here to get our students and that's what we did...the ones that we could saved."

Master Skywalker knows about the dead students. They'll pay. They will pay for what they did to those children.

---------------------------------------------

Guild agreed to go back with me in the speeder to get the swoop bike. I'd drive the swoop bike back and he'd follow behind in the speeder. He lowered the speeder down near the bike and I jumped out. When I got the swoop bike out of its hiding spot, I noticed that the engine was gone. "Oh, damn it! Guild, I think this bike is a lost cause. Let's just get out of here."

I turned back to the speeder, but saw that Guild sat in the driver's seat unconscious. I ran to him and checked for vital signs. He was still alive, but there was a wound on the back of his head that seeped blood. He must've been knocked unconscious. But who—

That's all I could think before I was knocked to the ground from behind. On the ground, I looked up and saw that it was the very same Dark Jedi who we'd been chasing earlier. "You..."

He smiled as he looked down at me. "I will enjoy this immensely." A red lightsaber blade appeared from his dark cloak.

I groaned. "Another weapon? What, do these things come off an assembly line for you?"

The Dark Jedi grinned and nodded once. "In a way. We do not attach ourselves to a single weapon the way you Jedi do."

I got to my feet and ignited my white-bladed lightsaber. "You cannot kill me. I have too much reason to live for you to be able to kill me."

The Dark Jedi lunged at me from high, trying to take my head off. I blocked the attack and shoved his blade away, while going in a low arc to take out his legs. We went back and forth like, neither one of us becoming the attacker or the defender. After, I don't know how long, he finally made a mistake and left his body open, so I kicked him in the body, which forced him to drop his lightsaber. I stabbed at the fallen lightsaber's hilt and it flickered out.

I kicked the Dark Jedi again in the stomach, then flattened him on the ground with a kick to the face. I brought my lightsaber up high to stab him through and finally kill him. But when I was about to bring it down...I froze.

What...what's going on? I tried again to stab down, but my arms refused to work. Oh, no...I can't kill him. I've never done anything like that before...I can't kill him.

That began to dawn on the Dark Jedi, as well. Because he smiled and got back up to his feet. All the while I kept trying to swing my lightsaber at him. Casually, he raised a hand at my chest and threw my through the air with the Force. I fell flat on my back and had the wind knocked out of me.

The Dark Jedi walked to the speeder and threw Guild out of it. He stepped inside and brought the engines to life. "So long, boy. Call me for a re-match once you become a man." He laughed as he flew off. All the while, I could still hear his mocking laughter.

I went to Guild and picked him up as he began to wake. Mumbling, he asked what happened. "Nothing," I answered. Which was true from a certain point of view. "Nothing at all."

I got out my com-link to call for help and a ride back to the ship.

---------------------------------------------

Traveling through hyperspace back to the Academy, I sat in my small quarters, talking with Tallah. "I had him. He was right there. I had beaten him. All I had to do was bring my lightsaber down and that would've been it. But I didn't."

Tallah sat beside me and took my hand. "It's your compassion. You couldn't do it, because you don't really hate him."

I shrugged as I continued to stare at the floor. "Did Master Skywalker hate everyone on the Deathstar that he blew up? Did he hate all of Jabba's gangsters when freeing Han? Did he hate all of those Yuuzhan Vong?"

"No. I don't think that he did."

I nodded. "I don't think he did, either. I was selfish."

Tallah snapped at me. "You were not! Just because you didn't kill him?"

"I was," I insisted. "I see it now. I didn't freeze because of any compassion. Or doubt. I knew that he was a Dark Sider who would never turn back to the light. And I knew that the only thing I could do—what my responsibility was, was to kill him. But I wouldn't. Because I didn't want that burden of ending a life on my shoulders. That's part of what being a Jedi is. Shouldering the responsibilities that other people aren't able to. I failed that time. I wasn't wise enough or strong enough to see it."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and fall onto my lap. Tallah kissed me on the cheek and I looked in her eyes. "But not anymore. I will not fail again. I can swear to that. I will never...fail in that way again."

Tallah squeezed my hand a little tighter and brought her mouth close to my ear. She whispered, "I want to talk to you now. About the decision that I've made."

---------------------------------------------

Finally back at the Academy, Tallah had to brief Master Skywalker and the rest of the Jedi Council on her encounters in captivity. I sat in her quarters alone. Thinking about what she had told me. I was so nervous that I felt sick to my stomach. But at the same time, I knew that she was right. The doors opened and she stood there. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

We smiled nervously at each other as she came over and sat next to me on the bed. Fumbling for something to say, I asked in all seriousness, "Are you sure that this is what you want?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."

We smiled again and I went in and slowly kissed her lips. The kiss kept going and going, until she began to lean back and her head rested on her pillow. I leaned over her and smiled down at her as my hand caressed her cheek and neck. Then went slowly down the length of her body. I looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you."

She smiled again and whispered back, "I love you, too."

I laid down next to her and we began to kiss again. Using the Force, I shut off the lights to her quarters. There were still many battles to be fought. Much blood to spill. But for that one night, all of that faded away. It was the night where two Forces...became one.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Coming up next is... SAOTF 5.5 United We Stand