Chapter 4

Jazz

Jazz checked the bags of groceries that they were taking up to the hotel Jof was in. They had bought a portable stove, some pots and pans, fruits like tomatoes, apples, strawberries, peaches, and grapes, vegetables like cabbage, turnips, onions, leeks, and celery, utensils for preparing them, and some beef jerky along with bottled water, and powdered milk. Luckily, Sam's family owned the old hotel, she had discreetly arranged for water to be turned on at the place tomorrow, and power was already on there. Once Jazz, Danny, Tucker, and Sam got there they saw a delivery up front with a fridge. "You really can do anything with enough money," Danny said. "Yeah, everything but keep mouths shut. Danny, you'll need to go Ghost and carry the fridge up," Sam told him.

Danny looked nervous as he said, "But what about keeping that a secret? What if Jof finds out about me?" "Dude, she's an alien trapped on Earth, who knows how many light years away from anyone she knows. Who is she gonna tell?" Tucker said. "Yeah…I uh, didn't think of that," Danny said as the teens got out of Jazz's car. The delivery man had Sam sign for the fridge and drove off. As soon as he was gone Danny went Ghost and picked up the fridge. "Ghost power, never leave home without it," Danny said as he flew up while Jazz, Sam, and Tucker took the elevator. As they ascended, Jazz's thoughts began to wonder, What is the Galactic Empire? Is Jof some kind of criminal? Could the Galactic Empire come looking for her? For some reason that she couldn't explain, Jazz felt that Jof wasn't a criminal, that she could be trusted.

When they got to the right floor they went into Jof's room and saw her sitting on her mattress in a meditative position, her broken leg was straight in front of her while the other was folded in and her hands lay on her knees. Jof opened her eyes and said, "Ah, finally. It has been a long time since I've had a proper meal." "We can make one for you, but that will take a while. We have some beef jerky for you while you wait," Jazz said, ignoring the disgusted look Sam had at the mention of the jerky. "What is beef jerky?" Jof asked as Jazz pulled out the bag. Danny flew in just then and put the fridge down near a power outlet and plugged it in. "Thank you, Danny," Jof said, and everyone looked at her.

"How…" "I will explain later, after I have something to eat," Jof said. Jazz handed her the jerky while Sam and Tucker put the perishables in the fridge and explained, "Beef jerky is meat from a bovine animal called a cow that has been salted and dried. It's pretty salty, or smoky depending on the brand, but it lasts forever practically." Jof took out a strip of jerky and smelled it then bit a piece off. After some tough chewing and swallowing it she said, "Delicious," and took another bite. Jazz gave her bottled water and asked, "Do you need anything else?" "No, this beef jerky and water are sufficient," Jof told her between bites. "Alright, well, a deal's a deal, we gave you some food, now you can tell us about the Galactic Empire," Sam said, "And why they're after you," Tucker said, "And how you knew I was me," Danny finished.

Jof finished her water and put the bottle down before saying, "Very well. But you must understand, this is a long story, so I have to condense it down. Thousands of years of history I have to tell you in the span of a day." "We don't have anywhere else to be," Jazz said as she sat down. "Alright," Jof said, and began her story.

"I will answer Danny's question first. I am a member of the Jedi Order, or at least I was. The Jedi were once the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic. For over a thousand generations we fought as hard as we were able to maintain the peace, to bring criminals, warlords, and tyrants to justice. A Jedi is special, for we have the power of the Force on our side." Jazz felt an electric tingle in her spine at the mention of the Force. "The Force is what gives us our power, you can think of it as an energy field created by all living things. The Force surrounds us, flows through us, and binds all things of the Galaxy together. The Force can give Jedi knowledge of events that others would not know, to manipulate objects if we so wish, and heighten our physical performance beyond most.

"That is how I knew your secret Danny, the Force informed me that you were the same dark haired boy I saw before," Jof explained. "As for your question, Sam, the Galactic Empire is a perversion of the Galactic Republic. Thousands of years ago, when the Jedi Order first formed, some Jedi believed that the power of the Force gave them the right to rule over others. These heretics were defeated by the Jedi and forced to flee to the outer edges of the galaxy, where they came across a species known as the Sith. The heretic Jedi used their power to subjugate the Sith, and after generations returned, calling themselves the Dark Lords of the Sith. For thousands of years afterwards, the Jedi and the rechristened Sith fought numerous wars and battles throughout the Galaxy. A thousand years ago, at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, the Sith made their final stand, and destroyed themselves with their perverse power, killing 100 Jedi with them. We believed that that was the end of the Sith…how wrong we were."

Jof's head-tails…lekku moved in a way that looked saddened before she continued. "Nine Galactic Standard years ago, the Sith re-emerged, two this time. They manipulated the Galactic Republic from the shadows, and fractured it, starting the Clone Wars, pitting the loyal members of the Republic with the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems. After a grueling three year war, the Sith revealed themselves, and placed the blame for the Clone Wars on the Jedi Order. The clone troopers we commanded turned out to be loyal only to the Emperor and almost the entire Order was killed by their own troops. Other clone troopers under the command of Darth Vader attacked the Jedi Temple, slaughtering all they came across.

"I only managed to survive because my own troops had been wiped out on Dantooine. Words cannot describe the pain that ripped through the Force as thousands of Jedi were killed almost all at once," Jof stopped and shed a tear, and her lekku moved even more mournfully than before. "For six years I ran and hid from the Empire, trying to find out how this tragedy could have happened. Now, I will answer your question, Tucker. One year ago, I discovered that the Emperor, Palpatine, was the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and how he had gained power. One Sith Lord, Darth Bane, survived the Seventh Battle of Ruusan and formed a new Order, consisting of two, the Master and the Apprentice. For a thousand years they had trained and manipulated the Galaxy in the shadows, distracting the Order from them. Palpatine was the latest of their line, and had used his Sith name, Darth Sidious, to form the Separatist movement and act as their leader, while using the identity as Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, to trick the Galactic Senate into granting him more and more emergency powers to fight the war. Because of him, billions have suffered and died, and the Jedi are no more. If I could only show this information to the right people, the Empire would be finished. But everywhere I have been hounded by the Empire's forces, and unable to tell anyone."

The four teenagers stared at her in stunned silence. So much, and this is just the condensed version…Jazz thought in amazement. She wanted to learn more, much more. The history of an entire Galaxy, she knew she couldn't know all of it, but her curiosity was still peaked. "That's….wow, just…wow," Danny said in amazement. "Could the Empire track you here?" Tucker asked; the fear in his voice loud and clear. "I don't know. Only the will of the Force brought me to your planet, if I made it in my barely held together starfighter, the Empire's soldiers could make it in their own undamaged Star Destroyer," Jof told him. Jazz, Tucker, Sam, and Danny all gulped at this. "I think it's about time we go," Danny said, and he and his friends stood up. "Can you take Sam and Tucker yourself Danny?" Jazz asked him. She felt like she needed to stay a little longer. "Yeah," Danny said, and grabbed Sam and Tucker and phased through the wall.

Jof and Jazz looked at each other when Jof finally said, "You feel it, don't you. A 'feeling' about what you should be doing." Jazz stared at her before answering, "Yes. I felt it when I saw your ship crash, and since then too." "Have you had these 'feelings' before?" Jof questioned. Jazz nodded her head, "Yes, whenever I was in danger I would sometimes get a feeling about what I should do before I even knew what I was doing. What could it be?" Jof smiled and said, "It is the Force speaking to you. I sense that you have great potential within you Jazz. Had you been born in a planet within the Republic you would have been found sooner and made a member of the Jedi Order. Even now I feel that that is where your destiny lies." "I need to think about this," Jazz said as she stood up to leave. "Search your feelings, and you will know the truth," Jof told her as she left.

Thal

Thal sipped the drink his new partner had given him from a small china cup. The 'tea' was good he had to admit, but much sweeter than the plain fare he was used to. He and Vlad Masters were sitting in front of a fire place in Vlad Masters' Mansion. Thal had just finished explaining his mission to him, as well as a brief history of the greater Galaxy. Vlad asked him, "So, what forces have you brought with you?" "I have an entire crew of a Star Destroyer, minus the 20 stormtroopers and three pilots she has killed during her last escape, so I would say about 37,527 ground troops in all, with enough starfighters and guns on the Star Destroyer itself to simply reduce a significant portion of this planet to slag," Thal told him. Vlad nodded at this and said, "But you, being a gentleman of course, dislike needless loss of life when you could instead conquer and subjugate the people instead."

"I did not know the level of technology of your planet, I felt that discretion was the wiser course," Thal told him. "Thank you for your control. Now, about our deal, I am the Mayor of this city you know. Aside from that I have a lot of pull in the less savory elements of this nation. I could make arrangements that would greatly help your search. In exchange for this, I would like to join your Galactic Empire, as the ruler of Earth," Vlad told him. "That can be arranged, my friend, but how can you help me?" Thal asked, wondering if he shouldn't just slag the whole nation and sort through the ruins. After all, no sentient being, even a Jedi, was a match for a Star Destroyer. "We have upholders of the law on this planet called the Police. With the right legislation I can make you a police officer, this would allow you to travel around Amity Park unhindered, as long as you don't go along needlessly killing anyone you should be fine," Vlad told him. "What do you say?" he then said, offering Thal his hand. "We will try your plan, but if I do not have the Jedi within a month, I will slag this city and look through the ruins," Thal told him. "Then we have an agreement," Vlad told him, and they shook on it.