Enemy Territory

Havolian waited for Wrath to give his answer. He'd just told his friend how he'd found the location of the crystal caves and how now was a perfect opportunity to go and get them. He figured Wrath would be all for it. So he was confused by the Zabrak's teen strange hesitance.

"Something wrong Wrath?" he asked.

"Wrong? Nah. It's just...maybe we should hold up a little?"

Havolian furrowed his brow in confusion. "What? You were all for it a few months ago," Havo reminded him. The Zabrak blushed, giving Havo a clue as to why he was suddenly reluctant to go. "This is because of Saphine, isn't it?"

Wrath flinched and flushed some more. "What...no," he said with an awkward laugh. But Havolian stared him down with narrowed eyes. "There's a living flesh and blood girl who for some reason actually likes kissing me. It's kind of awesome," he said in his defense. The poor Zabrak couldn't even get a glance from his own kind. "She wanted to hang out during the festivities."

"Dude. Are you a Jedi or not?" Havo challenged.

"Well yeah."

"And is a lightsaber not a Jedi's life?"

Wrath sighed. "Yes."

"So are we doing this or not?"

Wrath sighed again and gave a groan. "Alright," he relented.

Havolian smirked. "Cool. Start packing up some supplies for a few days. We'll tell Thrush we're going on a camping trip."

"What about the others?" Wrath asked. Havo arched a brow. "Wouldn't hurt to have some backup in case something goes wrong," Wrath offered with a shrug.

"Good point. I'll let Wally and Nemo know. See if they want to tag along."

"What about the girls?"

Havolian just smirked. "Sucks for them," he said with a shrug. With that he left Wrath to pack, but as he walked out of the room he walked right by a figure standing outside the door. The figure stared after the boy with yellow eyes, finding what she'd heard very interesting.


"Aw man. Now Saphine totally hates me," Wrath whined as he and the other guys trekked through the forest. Their excuse to Thrush had worked, satisfying the Kinnaran into letting them go camping on their own for a few days. She'd be reluctant if it were any other group of children but four Jedi in training. With the plan set Wrath just had to tell his girlfriend that he couldn't hang out with her.

The look of disappointment in Saphine's eyes almost made him back out of the trip altogether. But he bore with it as she accepted his decision with a sad nod.

"Probably," Havo said from the front of the group unhelpfully. Wrath frowned and muttered to himself. He really hoped he'd still have a girlfriend by the time this was over.

Havolian lead the way, following the map he'd brought along as he led the group west to the borders of Kinnaran territory. Wally and Nemo had decided to join them, though Nemo felt a little guilty at not telling the girls. They walked for hours straight, moving through the brush while occasionally stopping to rest and drink from their canteens. They'd brought swords for self defense and always kept on the lookout for any jungle predator that could be lurking in the trees.

After a few minutes of resting Havo stood up, prompting the others to do the same. They were about to start out again when Wally's acute hearing detected movement in the tree line.

He tensed up, releasing a low growl as he glared at the trees. His comrades drew their swords in preparation for whatever may jump out at them. They extended their Force powers to see if they could sense what was following them. Only for them all too flinch as they felt all too familiar presences.

"What the heck are you guys doing here?" Havolian cried out loud. The foliage rustled as four figures emerged.

It was the girls. They had bags of their own and they all smile sheepishly at having been discovered.

"Nothing," Claire tried to say innocently.

"You were following us," Havolian stated with a scowl.

"Well did you think we'd just let you guys go off and get your crystals without us?" Emma replied defiantly.

"How do you even know about that?" Havo asked.

"Nuna heard you," Emma responded. The Pantoran girl kept a blank face but nodded in confirmation.

Havolian groaned. But what was done was done. They were here now and they weren't likely to turn back.

"Fine whatever. Just don't slow us down," he replied as he turned to lead the way again. The girl frowned in indignation as they trekked after the boys.

There unfortunately wasn't much to do as they walked besides look around, making the trip rather boring. And though they dressed lightly they all soon became drenched in sweat due to the humidity of the jungle. Bu they made their way, occasionally stopping to pick at some edible fruits to keep their energy up.

The sun went down as they were a few miles away from the Kinnaran border. They decided to make camp. They set up their tents and decided who would keep watch as they prepared supper. Soon they all sat around the fire enjoying some jerky and each other's company as they talked and asked Havolian about the crystal caves. He said he knew where they were. But getting to them would prove to be tricky. If possible he said they should try to avoid the Kinnarans' enemy who inhabited that section of the jungle.

They agreed, not wanting to get into an unnecessary fight. After a bit more discussion everyone save Wally and Ella turned in for the night.

The initiates switched watched every couple of hours before the sun rose, prompting them all to rise and continue their way to the border. Within an hour and a half they reached it.

They all stopped as they saw what they believed was the 'official' border of the territories. They couldn't help but stare grimly at the skulls hanging from trees and perched upon spears planted in the ground. They couldn't help but noticed how the skulls looked very humanoid like. Almost like the skull of a Kinnaran.

"Anybody want to turn back, now the time," Havolian said as he exchanged a glance with all of them. They all remained where they were. "Well alright then," he said with a smile. With a breath they all steeled themselves as they crossed over the borders and into enemy territory.

The jungle didn't change much in terrain as they went. But their was a strange feeling of danger all around them. They kept darting their eyes back and forth, scanning the trees for any signs of the enemy. From the gaps in the trees they spied a distant mountain peak. Havolian pointed it out, saying that was where the crystal caves were.

They all smiled and were about to continue when Wally came to a sudden stop.

He glanced around, canid ears turning back and forth. He narrowed his eyes as he looked into the foliage. "Anyone hear that?" he asked lowly.

The others all listened closely, not detecting anything out of the ordinary. It was quiet.

"I don't hear anything," Emma said.

"Exactly," Ella said, understanding what Wally was getting at. There were no birds chirping. No animals rustling about. It was too eerily quiet.

Wally took in a whiff of air through his nose before tensing up. He growled, finger twitching and hair standing on end as he looked up into the trees. "I smell something," he said in warning. The initiates drew their swords and huddled together in preparation, keeping an eye on the tree tops. They all began to sense danger and aggressive feeling. Coming from all around them.

And then from the treeline an object flew at them. Raising her sword up Nuna blocked with the flat of the blade, deflecting the object away. They all looked to see a spear lying on the ground.

"Ambush!" Havo called out. More spears flew from the trees and at them. But the initiates had trained for this. it was just like lightsaber practice and deflecting blaster bolts. Their swords whistled through the air as they swatted and batted the spears out of the air from all directions. They kept it up, covering for each other as the assault suddenly stopped.

They paused, waiting for more. And then with a battle cry several figure leapt from the tree to pounce on them. The initiates rolled out of the way as the figures landed. They wore wooden masks with carved and painted faces for intimidation. They weren't overly big, about as tall as the initiates themselves and thin with hunching statues.

They were armed with rusty jagged daggers and spiked clubs. Strips of cloth were draped sloppily over their body in what the initiates assumed was their attempt at clothing.

They charged them with battle cries, weapons poised in the air. The initiates spread out to gain room as they met them in battle.

The warriors lacked the skilled technique of the Kinnaran people, going instead for brute strength and wild attacks that had the initiates staggering back from every blow. But with tier training and Force enhanced reflexes they were able to dodge and weave away from their attacks.

Havolian spun under a powerful swing as the enemy's club sailed over his head to imbed in a tree. As he tried to yank it out Havo delivered a powerful kick to his chin, causing him to stagger back with a pained howl.

Wrath parried a strike from a dagger before kicking his opponent in the chest. He went rolling away with a shout.

Lan Wu leapt over a low sweep at her legs and twirled around a downward sing. With a well placed high kick she had the enemy staggering to the side from the her powerful blow.

Nemo parried a side swing from another's club and as he tried to swing at him again he grabbed his wrist with his metal hand. With a hard squeeze the enemy cried out in pain, dropping his weapon as Nem rammed his elbow into his face to knock him unconscious.

With a thrust of their palm Emma, Nuna, and Claire threw several of them into the trees painfully.

With frustrated cried and howls the enemy climbed back into the trees. The initiates waited, weapons still up and on alert.

"Oooh ah, oooh. Fight like Kinnarans. But are not Kinnarans," one of them said from the trees.

"What are they?!"

"What are you!?"

"You not Kinnarans!"

The figures shouted down at them in angry confusion. Clearly recognizing the influence of their enemy in the initiates' fighting styles.

"What are you!?"

"We're Jedi," Wrath called out.

Then it was silent as the enemy seemed to take this in.

"AHHHHHHHH!" they all shrieked at once.

"Jedi!" one them screamed. Their shouts began to fade into the distance as they retreated.

The initiates waited for a few more moments, remaining on alert. But soon enough they sensed no danger and relaxed.

"That wasn't so bad," Nemo commented with a shrug. He looked down at the unconscious enemy still at his feet. The other exchanged a glance, surrounding him as Nemo knelt down. He reached out with his robotic hand and grabbed the edge of the mask before lifting it up and off of him.

When it was gone they all looked into the face of a strange monkey like species. He had muddy brown fur noticeable lower canines.

"Ugly little thing," Claire said with a shudder. It suddenly sprang to life, prompting them all to scream in surprise before it leapt up into the trees and fled.

They all took deep breaths to slow their racing hearts as they let the rush of adrenaline fade.

But after they had calmed they all smiled and laughed. That had been their first real battle since their training. Not practice, not sparring, but against real enemies that had tried to kill them. And they'd won. They all cheered and gave a high five.

"Alright, let's keep going. But remembers guys, stealth mode," Havolian reminded them. They all nodded as they sheathed their swords and attempted to continue forward as quietly as they could. They reached a place that looked good to set up camp and tied up their stuff off the ground before they continued on. Soon they reached the mountains.

They crouched down peering through the vegetation for any signs of the enemy. When it looked like there was none they approached, eventually reaching the cliff face before they began to climb. They needed to find an entrance. A way in.

With his sharp claws Wally took the lead. He came upon a ledge with a small opening just big enough to squeeze through. He smiled to himself before peeking over the edge and down at his friends to wave them up. Soon they clambered into the ledge before squeezing through the crack and inside the mountain.

It was dark, but they could spy light coming from further in. They tip toed in slowly, peeking downward into the bowels of the mountain. They made out torches along the walls along with rope bridges. They spied no one but could hear the sound of metal on stone echoing from somewhere.

With his better hearing Wally too point, dropping down to land on a lower edge and following the sounds. The other trailed behind, looking around. It looked as if this chamber had been all mined out. But after going through a tunnel they soon entered another. The looked down to see more of the strange monkey people carrying pickaxes as they hacked into the walls.

Nuna looked around before her eyes landed on their prize. She gave Emma's arm a tug to grab her attention. When Emma looked at her she pointed downward to a large wooden container filled to the brim with different colored crystals.

"Havolian," Emma whispered just loud enough for him to hear. When he looked to her she pointed out the crystals. Glancing around he saw that every miner had a small basket near them to deposits any crystals they mined from the stone wall. he guessed when they'd gathered a sufficient amount they dumped it into the central container. Havolian gave a nod. He scanned the room, taking count of at least 20 miners.

Havolian ushered everyone close as he told them his plan, to split up and mind trick everyone into leaving the room. They all nodded and prepared, and when he gave the signal they split up. They caught the miners completely off guard, waiting for the the right moment when they'd drop down and mind trick them. They told them that they shouldn't be here and that they should be mining in another part of the mountain. One by one the miners' eyes glazed over and they picked up their tools and left the room.

The initiates exchanged a glance proudly as they made their way to the center of the room to the large pile of crystals. There were so many colors to choose from.

"Me first," Havo said as he raised his arm up. He reached his hand out, only to have Emma swat it away. He reeled his hand back with a yelp before glaring at her.

"Ladies first, if you please," she said smugly. Havolian rolled his eyes but took a step back. Emma scanned the pile before grabbing a small handful of blue crystals. When the others looked at her in question she shrugged. "A few spare wouldn't hurt right?"

The other hummed, seeing a good point. One by one everyone stepped up, grabbing a few crystals in their preferred color before stuffing them in their pockets. After everyone had a turn they exchanged a glance, with nods all around they decided it was time to go.

Wally's ears twitched as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked to everyone and mouthed 'hide'. The initiates all leapt ran from the center of the room to leap up and hide in the crevices, cracks, and indentations along the wall. They all watched as the miners returned, tools in hand and rushing back to their previous positions.

And following after them was the biggest one they'd seen yet. He towered over the others, standing at nearly eight feet in height. He walked with his feet and knuckled, wearing a long fur cape and a pointed metal hat. He was broad shoulder and the initiates could tell he was without a doubt strong.

"Work! All you! Work! Dig! Find more pretties!" he shouted to all of the miners. The miners all double timed it, digging away in obvious fear. The big monkey gave a growl before smiling in satisfaction. He walked over to the big pile, staring at them with a greedy smile.

"Pretties...my pretties...all mine," he murmured to himself. As he stared at the crystals he suddenly smelled something peculiar. He breathed deeply, detecting a strange odor of salt and seawater. He pressed his nose to the ground taking in more scents. Metal, fruit, flowers, and...

"KINNARAN!" the monkey suddenly roared in outrage. He threw his hands up and howled in rage as he recognized the scent of his people's sworn enemies. The miners all stopped working, staring at their leader as he howled and beat the ground in anger.

"Kinnaran! Here!" he shouted out. His eyes suddenly fell to the floor as he spied a trail of crystal, leading to the cave wall. The initiates followed the trail before their eyes landed on Wally's hiding spot. Wally checked his pockets, only to find he'd made a hole at the bottom.

Well when you have claws on the ends of your fingers these things tend to happen every so often. The big monkey stared at the ground as he began following the trail of crystals. Wally tensed up and cursed to himself. The others' hearts all hammered anxiously, Wally was in trouble. He'd be caught for sure.

Seeing no particular choice one of them leapt into action.

Havolian leapt to his feet, drawing attention of one of the miners.

"Intruder!" the miner shouted as he pointed at him. The others all caught sight of him. They began to shout and cry out angrily.

"Get intruder! Get!" the big monkey shouted. The other monkeys all roared, shrieked, and shouted as they started scaling the wall and at him. The first one to reach him swung their pick axe at him. But Havo drew his sword and sliced through the handle before kicking him over the edge.

Without relaying a plan he leapt from the ledge and ran out of the room.

"Get intruder!" the big monkey shouted as he and his followers ran after him. Soon the room was empty. The initiates exchanged a panicked glance.

"Everyone else get out of here. I'm heading after them to help Havo," Wrath said. He leapt down before following the mob in pursuit.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded. No way were they running and leaving the other behind. They all drew their swords and leapt down to pursue. Right as they were about to run out of the tunnel another mob of monkey people ran by to join the chase. Unfortunately one of them happened to stop and notice the others just standing there.

"Intruders!" he shouted to alert his comrades. The monkeys all started filing into the room. With the numbers starting to shift out of their favor the initiates opted for retreat. They began making their way back to the crack they'd come in at with the monkeys still very much in pursuit.

They ran along a rope bridge, when they reached the other side Lan Wu and Nemp turned around and thrst their hands forward. The monkeys were shoved back and off the bridge, allowing them to slice through the ropes and let it fall away. But the monkeys weren't so easily deterred as they scaled the wall, all screaming and chittering away.

The initiates were almost home free when from out of the wall more monkeys sprang out from seemingly nowhere. One pounced on Nuna, tackling her to the floor. She rolled with it before kicking it off of her. Another one took its place, fangs bared and prepared to bite into her. But its fangs broke on metal as Nemo punched it away.

He tried to help Nuna up, only for the rest of the horde to catch up and leap onto them.

"Guys run!" Nemo called back.

Lan Wu, Emma, Ella, Claire, and Wally were all hesitant to go, but seeing the armed horde closing in and armed they retreated. The mob began to tie up Nuna and Nemo while some split off to continue the chase.

Nemo and Nuna exchanged a glance. This was probably bad.


Meanwhile, though they'd put up one hell of a fight and had given them a hell of a chase Havolian and Wrath had been caught. Their hands were bound behind their backs and they were roughly shoved to their knees before the big monkey.

"You intruders. Come to steal crystal?" he seemed to ask. Havo and Wrath exchanged a glance and remained silent. The big monkey glared at them before leaning down and taking a whiff of their scent. He suddenly reeled back with wide eyes. "Kinnaran!" he roared aloud. The other monkeys shrieked in anger, teeth and jaws snapping. The big monkey beat his chest and slammed his heavy hands against the ground.

"You belong to Monkey King now," the big monkey said. "You dig. Be slaves. Find pretties. Forever," he said with finality. Havo and Wrath set their jaws and looked him dead in the eyes. "Cage. Put them in cages!" the king called out. They were hauled to their feet before being dragged and shoved harshly along. His minions showed him Nemo and Nuna as well.

His declaration was the same for Nemo as it was for Wrath and Havolian. He was now a slave and would serve forever in the mines. Nuna however he seemed to take a particular interest in. Calling her a 'pretty'. She was deemed worthy to be his pet.

He kept her in a hanging cage in his throne room.

He was informed of the initiates who had fled and escaped. He ordered them captured and brought back to be added as slaves as wells.

Havo and Wrath sat in hanging metal cages.

"I bet I'd be making out with my girlfriend right about now," he muttered sourly. "For the record, I blame you for this Havolian."

Havolian kept his face blank as he began thinking of a plan.

"Noted."


things never go as planned.

And if anyone wonders why these crystal created o distubance iin the Force it's becuase they are devoid of Force, no natural attunment like Kyber and Adegan crystal most Jedi use.