The New Jedi Knights: Fate of the Force

Chapter 9: The Final Jedi Knight

By MagicMansion

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, or Yoda. My characters are Jarrod, Josh, Kyle, Victor, Shawn, Mary, Abby, and Rebecca.

The Jedi reported to the Republic Council, which eliminated the planet from a list of growing allies. The Republic Council also reported that the clones were ready.

"Good," Luke said. "I'll be a general, and I assign Kyle and Jarrod as generals as well."

"Only three armies," Kyle asked.

"That's all we have thus far. But the Separatist Empire won't be attacking often enough to bring the need for more yet. Now, as you probably know, I will have to split you all up. Shawn and Rebecca, you will come with me. Kyle, you take Victor with you. Jarrod, you take Josh and Mary. Is everyone ok with these arrangements?"

They all bowed. "Yes Master."

"Good. Now, let us go back to the Jedi Temple. I'm sure you all need some rest after our battle."

When they got back to the Jedi Temple, Luke allowed the couples to stay together, and he soon saw they had all fallen asleep. Luke went to his own quarters, and called for Yoda.

"Ah, young Skywalker. How are you?"

"I'm fine Master Yoda."

"Concerns do you have?"

"Yes. For the Sith."

"Hm. Arisen has the Sith?"

"Yes. Me and the rest of the Jedi met him earlier today. He almost seemed like an expert in the ways of the Force."

"Hm. Travel in pairs, the Sith do: master and apprentice. Alone, he most likely is not. Master or apprentice, do you feel he is?"

"I'm not sure. He's young, about my age, so I would have to guess apprentice."

"Ah, guides you correctly the Force does, but assume you must not. Matter age does not. Jedi Master, you are, and young you are."

"I suppose you're right Master." Luke got up, and saw Shawn standing at the door.

"Uh, sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Yoda laughed. "Interrupt you do not young Padawan. Enter you may."

Shawn came in and stood in the corner.

"Something on your mind, young Padawan," Yoda asked.

"Well, I was wondering if I could take the trials now Master Skywalker. I feel ready for them now, especially after that battle."

Luke started to say yes, but Yoda laughed. Both of the Jedi looked at him.

"Ready you for the Sith, trials cannot. Dueling an ally, get you nowhere will it. Duel firsthand you must."

"But Master Yoda," Luke said. "The Sith won't just come out and ask for a lightsaber duel."

"Not ask will they? Ask for a duel did not this Sith you met today?"

"Well… yes, but…"

"Ah, so, speak not the truth do you?"

"But Master Yoda."

Yoda laughed.

"Young Skywalker, relax you must. Too much on your mind I feel. Test your Padawan I will. Dueling you, do him no good it will. Relax you must, and allow the Force to calm you, you must."

Luke lay down on his bed. "I guess you're right Master Yoda."

Shawn and Yoda left for the trial room.

"Master Yoda," Shawn said as the two walked. "Luke said he had to search for us after you told him about us. Did you know who we were?"

"Ah, know I did young Padawan. But, good for young Skywalker, it was. Trained him in sensing the Force it did."

"I suppose. Master Yoda, when we fought the Sith this morning, he said something to Victor about all Jedi training with a double lightsaber became Sith. Is that true?"

"Worry too much; you do, just as your Master. A distraction this was, for the Sith to escape. True, it is not. Used a double lightsaber, great Jedi Masters have in the past. Become Sith, they have not."

"So he was lying?"

Yoda nodded.

"Master, I never really understood something."

"Speak your mind then, young Padawan."

"Well, it's about Anakin. What really caused him to go to the Dark Side? I mean, the pain he felt after leaving his mother, killing all of those Sand People, his love for Padme, that wasn't everything was it?"

"Hm, involved were those factors, but did most of the work, Lord Sidious did as Paplpatine. Controlled Anakin's feelings, Palpatine did. Young was Anakin still, and susceptible to anything he was. Trust Palpatine he did. Give him anything, Palpatine would have."

"So Palpatine was mostly behind it?"

Yoda nodded. "But, involved was Anakin's past too."

"So, I've been wondering…"

"Yes young Padawan?"

"What about Josh, Kyle, and I?"

"Ah, worried about your love for the girls you are?"

"Yes. Would that affect us? I don't want any of us to the Dark Side if it could affect us that way."

Yoda nodded. "Affect you it could, but strong is your bond with your significant other. Affect you it could to see her die, but affect you more to lose her under your power it would."

Shawn looked at Yoda. "What do you mean Master?"

"Ah, many meanings that could have. Ponder on this, I think you will."

"Yeah. I suppose."

"Now, begin the trials, you may," Yoda said as they got to the entrance of the trials.

Shawn went through the trials for the second time, and passed easily this time. Yoda had put some storm troopers in the last room this time instead of Luke fighting.

"Very good young Jedi. Tell Master Skywalker of your success, I will tomorrow. Rest you must get now."

"Yes Master Yoda." Shawn bowed to Yoda, who disappeared shortly afterward. Shawn went to bed.

The next morning, another ceremony was held for Shawn, who redid his selection of his silver crystal for his lightsaber. After the ceremony, he and Rebecca went out to celebrate on their own.

"Good job sweetie. I knew you'd pass."

"Well yeah. To tell you the truth, I liked being a Padawan. But I guess everyone has to move on after a while."

"So, you weren't anxious to become a Knight," she asked.

"No, not really. But, if Luke is taking you and me with him, we can still learn a lot from him."

"Yeah."

The two walked down a street to go to a restaurant, and turned to the door. Then they stopped because the crowd around them seemed uneasy.

"Shawn, do you…"

"Yeah, I feel it."

Shawn ignited his lightsaber and deflected a shot aimed at them from the top of a building. The two looked up, and saw a man with a sniper blaster on a ledge.

"I'm taking care of him," Shawn said. He threw off his robes, and ran towards the building. Rebecca followed.

"Shawn, we should call Master Skywalker. He might want him alive."

"Call him. I'll make sure this guy stays alive as long as I can."

Shawn ran into the building, and Rebecca stood under an overhang where she couldn't be shot at. She took out her comlink.

"Master Skywalker," she said. "Shawn and I were just attacked by a sniper on the west side of town."

A short silence followed, then, "Where is Shawn now?"

"Heading up to catch the sniper."

"Stay where you are. I'll be right over."

Shawn took the elevator up to the twentieth floor. It stopped, and Shawn got out. He did not ignite his lightsaber, but walked through the halls. He went to a window, and stepped out onto the ledge. He moved over to about the corner. He ignited his lightsaber, and stabbed up through the ledge above him. He heard a shout, and a second later a blaster reached over the edge.

"Oh boy, not good."

The blaster fired at random places, the owner not exactly knowing where Shawn was. Shawn deflected the shots that got close, and rolled along the wall to avoid others. The blaster continued firing, and Shawn deflected another shot before stabbing his lightsaber up through the ledge again. The blaster went back up, and Shawn saw a laser blast fire down through the hole he had just made. He narrowly avoided it.

On the ground, Luke had arrived with Kyle for back-up. Rebecca walked over to them.

"Shawn went up to get the guy Master."

"How's he doing?"

"I haven't checked yet."

"He seems to be doing fine," Kyle said, pointing up at the building.

They all looked up and saw Shawn's silver lightsaber moving around, laser blasts firing at him. The man one ledge up wasn't exactly looking for Shawn, but firing at random spots below him.

"Let's go Jedi," Luke said. They ran to the building, and called for the elevator.

Shawn rolled to avoid another laser blast, and deflected another. It seemed the longer he fought this guy, the more accurate his shots got. In fact, most of them seemed to be aimed at Shawn right now.

Shawn got an idea of why this was, and hoped he was right. He turned off his lightsaber, and rolled down the wall. The blaster fired at his previous position, but began firing wildly again. Shawn walked around the corner of the ledge, and backed up to the edge. He jumped up, and pulled himself onto the next ledge, the blaster still firing where he had been a minute earlier.

Shawn looked around the corner, and saw the man pointing his blaster at the ledge below, still firing it. Shawn turned the corner, and the man saw him. He stood up, and fired a blast at Shawn, who ignited his lightsaber and deflected it. He continued to walk towards the man, deflecting each shot away. He cut the man's blaster, kicked the sniper blaster off the ledge.

"Please, don't kill me. I was just doing my job. I was hired."

Shawn pushed him against the building wall. "By who?"

"He didn't give his name. He just told me who to take out, and what the payment would be."

"Well, it doesn't seem you'll be receiving your payment, will you."

The man smiled. "Oh no, I think I will."

He fired a small blaster hidden under his wrist. It hit Shawn in the leg, and he fell to his knees. The man pushed him off, and Shawn grabbed hold of the ledge.

"Lucky for you, I don't have a blaster anymore. But you're still in a bad position."

"Quite unfortunate for you," Luke said as he stepped out of a window, "that he has some friends."

Kyle and Rebecca stepped out of another window. The man looked at them, and stepped on Shawn's hand before jumping off of the building.

"No!" the three Jedi shouted.

The man and Shawn both fell, and Shawn quickly threw his grappling line around an overhang. It snapped into place, and Shawn stopped falling at the eighth floor. The man kept falling, but was caught by a small ship just before hitting the ground. The pilot flew away with the man in the passenger side. The ship didn't make it far though, because a crimson lightsaber slashed the engines.

Josh and Jarrod grabbed the two, and disarmed them of all their weapons. Luke and Kyle helped Shawn up, and then they went down with Rebecca to join the other two Jedi.

"Okay," Luke said as he walked up to the two men. "Who are you two working for?"

"He wouldn't tell us his name," the sniper said. "He only told us to take out you guys, and told us the payment."

Luke looked at them suspiciously. "You're both under arrest by the Jedi Order for crimes against a Jedi. I don't think your employer will be letting you out either."

The Jedi were seated around a table, save for Shawn and Rebecca.

"This isn't good," Luke said. "There are too many enemies that want to get rid of us. I shouldn't have brought you into this kids."

"But if you hadn't," Mary said. "You might already be dead. Then who would be defending the Republic?"

Luke looked at her and smiled. She was right. If he would still be the only Jedi, well, he wouldn't be the only Jedi. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I'm lucky to have all of you as my students."

All of the Jedi smiled.

"Ow!"

"Relax," Rebecca said as she rubbed Shawn's laser wound. "This stuff can't be as bad as rubbing alcohol."

"No, it's worse," Shawn said as he winced.

"Come on, you're a Jedi Knight. You have more than rubbing alcohol to worry about."

"Yeah. I guess. Ow."

Rebecca looked at him. "Just be lucky this is all you got away with. It could've been worse."

"Yeah. But it wasn't."

Rebecca looked unconvincingly at him. "Don't say that. You'll jinx yourself."

"No I won't." Shawn smiled at her, and she smiled back.

She stood up, and gave Shawn a kiss on the cheek. "Now relax. Master Skywalker said it shouldn't take too long to heal, especially with this stuff."

"I hope not, it burns like crazy."

"See ya later sweetie," Rebecca said, putting the tip of her finger in the stuff, and dripping it on Shawn's wound.

"Ow!"

She smiled as she left.

"Brat," Shawn yelled as she left.

Rebecca entered the room with the rest of the Jedi.

"So," Kyle asked. "Is that stuff worse than rubbing alcohol?"

Rebecca smiled. "Apparently. Shawn says it burns like crazy."

"He would," Victor said, leaning back. "He's a wuss."

"Guys," Luke said. "It's not polite to talk about your fellow classmate like that. Besides, we can give you a laser wound, and we'll see how you like this stuff."

Victor sat up, and looked serious again.

"Okay then," Luke said.

Well guys, that's it for this chapter. I'll keep going; this'll be one of the longest stories I've ever written. Anyway, please review.