CHAPTER THREE

ESCAPE FROM NAFTAR IV

They got into orbit.

"Uh, Per'l, I think we've got a problem."

There were no rear turrets on these ships, it was a scout-ship, essentially just a transport, rapidly becoming the more popular methods of transport for the Jedi, given their small signature for detection.

They saw it on the detection scanner. A small fighter, in rapid approach.

"Bounty hunter." "Interceptor." Was their first guesses.

"Dodge these, Jedi."

Spaced several metres of either side of the ship were singlet cannon lasers behind a powerful deflector shield. Per'l deployed counter-measures and weaved among the rocks, but it was no good, the combat navigational systems on that fighter must have been insane, he had only his Jedi skills to keep him ahead of a positronic computer.

Machines are no match to one with the Force. This, he knew, now he just had to make good on it.

In the enemy fighter, the pilot was gauging the success of his attack.

"Herm. He dodged them. Not bad. But a Jedi without firepower is like a Jedi without a weapon. Easy bait. Be a nice look on my wall." he patted his wall panel – he kept mild hologram inflections stored there like tattoos of all the marks he had killed.

Of course, you just uploaded your kills, tagged and credited, that sort of thing, but he enjoyed being surrounded by his work. He breathed out the methane atmosphere, and inhaled from the mask. The lights on his spotter panel lit up as the Jedi's fighter came into target reticule.

Two more TIE fighters had joined the attacker in pursuit. Even a Jedi had his limits.

Per'l had escaped each attack, just barely – the hunter seemed to be attempting to slow him down, his attacks were constant and steady – he suspected the tactic was to wound his ship bit by bit until he was completely defenceless. Even a Jedi couldn't escape in a vacuum.

That's actually a saying out here, although I think it's Pyara birds. I'm definitely the target of an experience hunter, who knows how to run his prey to ground.

But he's up against a Jedi, we are no ordinary prey.

He had to out-think him, out-manoeuvre him. Not easy.

And as he saw something on his spectroscope, an idea occurred to him.

The double gas pocket exploded, and when it cleared, his attacker was gone. But not for long. The two TIE fighters had evaded the trap and were coming around for a different approach. They fired the boosters and tried to get some distance.

"I thought we took care of those fighters on the surface!"

"They must have more!"

"Hang on," Kell said suddenly, "I'm getting a signature here..."

Something approached out of warp. And space around them was instantly filled with firing lasers.

"What is that?!"

"A Jedi assault ship."

"I didn't even know Jedi had assault ships!"

Just in time, Macron. Per'l thought to himself.

The TIE fighters had turned in formation, but it was too late, they were almost immediately destroyed by the concentrated bombardment.

"Glad we could arrive on time, boys." Came the voice.

"Me too." He transmitted back.

The Jedi ship Crescent.

Pearlescent and shining in the void, with its quadruple attack banks, and curving silhouette thrusters.

It must be one of the first ever produced off the world of Yavin IV, where the Jedi temple was. He didn't realise they had put together those space port assemblers. Either that or it was constructed off world. It had just been a fanciful image, a dream, before this time.

It was an oddly practical looking beast at the same time, its underside studded with retro thrusters like a freighter.

The paradoxical thing about knowledge is that you have to be wise enough to use it. Luke said that after one of their meditation rituals. His odd sayings popped up in his mind at odd times. Off-world as he was, he couldn't blame Luke for it.

A holo image popped up of Macron. "Hello master" she said. Waving her tentacles at him.

"Don't call me master, I'm just your instructor while we're in the field – Luke is our proper Jedi master."

"Isn't it the same thing?"

Not even close. "Just call me by name, its okay, nobody out here knows it, and it wouldn't matter."

He had been entrusted with several padawan from time to time, as he was simply older and more advanced in training, although he was not yet a knight himself.

Slowly, their craft was drawn in by tractor beam, and they had docked with the ship.

He breathed a sigh of relief when they were on board. Macron met him at the transfer port.

"We have to get out of here fast – one of the Imperial cruisers is gaining on our position."

"Imperial Cruiser?"

"Several of them warped in just a few minutes ago."

"Alright, get us out of here."

They were reunited with clasps and hugs and good gestures. It was good to be reunited with company, he realised he had been missing it today. Quickly they briefed each other on what had been happening.

Per'l had been out here on a different mission entirely, but had stopped to make time for one of Luke's. Although it was urgent and vital to the New Republic, his thoughts were elsewhere. Someone he had not yet found.

In all the time they had spent together, he had never mentioned what he himself was doing out here. He was just performing some missions for Skywalker and the new Jedi Order, but there was a very personal search he had ventured out here for. He was looking for a woman he knew, Maron.

He paused a second. He saw it again, just out of the corner of his eye, before disappearing through an open door.

"You have too many weaknesses. Too many secrets." And the dark figure disappeared the way he had came. In shadows.

Me? He thought. He thought he had been pretty good at both those things, what an odd paradox. He supposed that among the Jedi the standards were much higher, but so was the training. In a sense, it what everything you wanted if you wished for something great – but it tested you by taking the things you loved. At least, it seemed to. He didn't believe that something loved didn't return by some way.

It may not have been Jedi wisdom, but he imagined it would be if it was right.

He shivered. It had been so close this time. And looking around, he knew no-one else had seen it.

Quickly, they relayed their information. Their tactical team had already been recovered from the satellite.

With the Empire gone, the fervour had gone out of the large amount of their storm-trooper armies, and everywhere, on every world, rebellion arose, so that the remains of the Empire found themselves quite outdone by local militia everywhere. There were many surrenders.

But there was new force arising out here, something the Jedi and those in the New Republic, were calling the "Remnant". They were apparently gathering the dissident and scattered forces, and re-uniting them into a surviving faction of the Empire.

It wasn't clear what their goals were, but they were now in the ironic position of hunting down what could almost be called a rebel contingent of this new order.

Strange to think. He himself had fought in the Rebellion, albeit not Luke Skywalker's group, but a sympathetic revolt army, and now what was rapidly becoming called the splinter wars.

Even then, he hadn't known of his burgeoning Jedi talents, and it had taken meeting Luke to awaken them in him. Luke had looked at him with those eyes, and he had felt the strangest sensation of recognition.

And Luke had said nothing for a moment, and then with a smile. "You will be one of my new Jedi."

He knew now that the Jedi master was having one of his premonitions. It was a strange thing to be a part of, but he couldn't have asked for a greater calling that he never knew he had. It was then that they discovered their unusual passenger. On the gang-plank, he was astonished as she was revealed out of one of their cargo crate cylinders.

"What is she doing here?"

"What are you asking me for? It's your cargo."

"Well I didn't pick her up, for stars' sake!"

It was the Basshan girl, peeking out of one of the barrels with her large eyes. They argued for a moment, and then one of the crew-members suddenly approached them in a rush, his face a strange picture of fear.

"What is it?"

"Kell is gone."

And so was one of the pods. Launched without an alert.