Entry 39

We were extremely careful in our approach to Dantooine. We didn't want to run into the Imperial Force seen orbiting the planet less than a week earlier. I gave a deep sigh of relief when we exited hyperspace to a serene green-blue planet no longer under siege.

We moved carefully though. Dantooine has two moons and it is not uncommon for the enemy to leave a frigate behind just in case a rescue mission is launched…like we were doing now. We kept scanners operational and had programed an escape route into the navigation computer, just in case.

Den looked over the flight deck monitors and grimaced. He turned to me with his big, black eyes wide. "Jax our sensors are picking up a lot of destruction where the former Jedi Temple is located. I can't be sure, but it looks like at least one nearby village was completely destroyed, possibly from orbital bombardment. We won't know until we get down there."

I turned to I-Five who was manning the navigation system. "Can we land safely within walking distance of the temple?"

The human replicate droid's brow furrowed in concentration. I know I-Five had incorporated some of the original human gesture and facial expression programing from the HRD into his droid brain, but I wonder if he is purposely activating those subroutines or is he frowning reflexively? I-Five is sentient and has a conscious…does that mean he has a subconscious also? I should ask him on the return trip home.

I-Five turned to me. "There is a clearing approximately two hundred meters from the Temple. The destroyed village is approximately one kilometer from the Temple. I could find a place to put down there if you desire."

I shook my head. "The Temple will be fine. I want to see if anything remains."

He nodded and entered the coordinates. Magash and Sacha came up behind me to gaze out at the planet through the flight deck viewport.

Sacha put a hand on my shoulder as her eyes lingered on planet. "Any sign of the rebels?"

"There's no distress signal, but that's not odd. If they survived they'll want to keep that fact from the Imperials. We'll have to go down and do a visual assessment of the situation." I turned to face the two women. "Let's get into our crash webbing and ready for landing."

~ ~ ~ ~

We successfully set down near the Temple despite low visibility. I thought it was fog at first, but I-Five said air samples confirm it was smoke from the smoldering village a kilometer away.

I-Five had switched from his HRD body to his police droid chassis. He is very protective of his HRD chassis. I don't blame him. If he loses his head in a regular droid body, that can be repaired readily. Even when we had to scavenge parts from various droid models, nobody really gave him a second look when it came to his patchwork body. If he lost his HRD head though, it would be near impossible to return him to a condition where he could pass as human. He'd probably end up looking like one of those undead creatures found in horror holos where the mad scientist sews together body parts to create new life.

We all strapped on blasters. Sacha and I also had our lightsabers tucked away in interior pockets of our jackets. Walking around with a dangling lightsaber is no longer an option after Flame Night. We walked down the boarding ramp, blaster's ready. Den had a handheld sensor that scanned for life forms. He turned to me and gave me thumbs up gesture indicating all was clear.

I could see the ruins of the temple through the smoky haze. I sniffed the air, noticing a peculiar smell. I turned to the others. "Do you smell somebody grilling?"

Sacha blanched and then dried gagged. "Jax, I hope that's a naïve comment and that's not an attempt at a horribly inappropriate joke."

I looked at her confused. "What?"

Her irritated expression turned to one of sadness. She dropped her head, shaking it slowly. "I've smelled this before while working with the Rangers. It's the odor of bodies burning."

My stomach lurched at the thought. "Oh," was all I managed to say. I know hundreds of Jedi burned on Coruscant when the temple was destroyed, but any smell of burning flesh was intermixed with the stench of scorching oil, insulation, wood, drywall and everything else burning within the structure along with the ever-present pollution on the City Planet. Here on pastoral Dantooine there wasn't the oppressive smog of a million vehicles to mask the smell. I looked into the distance and saw smoke curling up from the location of the devastated village. Either it was still burning from the Imperial bombardment or somebody was alive and burning the bodies.

I gave a slight shudder before I squared my shoulders and marched forward toward the Temple. We didn't have to walk too far before we saw bodies scattered around the area. There was nothing we could do for these men and women other than record their facial images and properly dispose of the bodies. As I came up to the first corpse I pulled out my handheld imager and snapped a photo of the young man's face. I doubt anybody could identify the remains with the image. The body was bloated and a brownish fluid was leaking from around the eyes, nose and mouth. Maggots and flies crawled over the remains, making a horrible sight even worse. I brought my arm up and pressed my sleeve against my nose in an attempt to block out the stench. I turned when I heard the sound of someone running. It was Den moving away from the bodies before he came to a sudden stop, bent over and deposited the contents of his stomach on the ground. I don't blame him. My gut was also protesting. Magash and Sacha skirted around the bodies, both looking ill.

I turned to I-Five and gave him an apologetic look. "Would you mind taking images of the remains?"

"I don't mind." He reached out a metal hand and took the imager from me. "My olfactory sensors detect the odor I realize most sentients find putrid. Fortunately, I lack a digestive system to be upset by the stench."

I-Five went from body to body capturing an image of each corpse. I went upwind to where Den, Magash and Sacha were now standing. I-Five flipped over one body and stared at it for a long moment. He looked to me and motioned for me to join him. "Jax, this man is dressed differently." He bent down and picked up a metallic cylinder. "And this was in his possession."

As I neared I realized I-Five was holding a lightsaber. I grasped the weapon in my hand looking for some form of identification that could lead me to the identity of the deceased. I turned the weapon over analyzing the various designed engraved on the pommel; unfortunately it was not a design I recognized. I squatted down next to the decaying body and tried to visualize what the man might have looked like when alive. He was tall, about two meters in height, light skin, with brown hair and eyes. He wore a black tunic and trousers with a dark gray cloak over it. I rummaged through his pockets but found no form of identification.

"Do you recognize him?" I-Five asked as I stood and went back to examining the lightsaber.

"No, but he looks much older than me. He probably was knighted and out fighting in the Clone War while I was still a padawan. I let out a sorrowful breath. "That's another Jedi killed by the Empire." I activated the weapon and a blue blade sizzled into existence. "Blue. That's the color of a Jedi Guardian." I deactivated the blade and walked over to Magash, holding out the weapon for her. "Eventually I will teach you and Sacha to build your own weapons, but until then this one is for you."

Magash took the weapon, cradling it in her hand. "I will use it to strike down our enemies."

I barely heard her words. At that moment I felt the presence of others in the distance and my sense of danger flared. I grabbed my lightsaber and activated just as I heard the report of a long-range blaster firing. I ran until I stood between my friends and the enemy and began deflecting a barrage of blaster bolts aimed in our direction.

I could hear the sound of two lightsabers activating behind me. "Sacha, turn off your red blade. I don't want to give these guys the impression that we're Sith."

"You got it." I could hear her deactivate her weapon and then the sound of a blaster leaving a holster.

There was a pause in the firing and I could feel a jumble of emotions coming from our attackers. I had the distinct impression that they were firing on us because they thought we were imperials. Eventually I saw a head poke out from behind a rock outcrop on a nearby hill. "Who are you?"

I wasn't sure what answer would be welcome. These people could be Imperials left behind to perform wipe-up operations. They could be rebels or villagers angry with the rebels for drawing Imperials to their planet. I realized there was no reason to lie since the lightsabers were a dead giveaway as to our identity. "We're Jedi."

The head disappeared behind the rocks for a moment but soon returned. "One of you had a red lightsaber. That's Sith."

I deactivated my weapon so to hear him better. Magash did the same. "It came from a dead Sith."

The head disappeared. He was obviously discussing the situation with his sniper. The man stood again and this time walked out from his concealed position. "What do you want?"

I motioned to the dead bodies. "We heard about the attack and were looking for survivors."

"There are no survivors!" the man said angrily.

I took a step towards the man. "Can you come down and talk to us, or can I come up there?"

He turned and talked to his comrade before shuffling down the hill toward us. As he neared I could see he was an old human male probably in his early seventies. He wore farmer's clothing and had the hands of a farmer. I couldn't see his companion but I doubt he is a farmhand. He shot with the proficiency of a soldier.

The elderly stranger looked at us warily. "Why are you really here?"

"I'm telling you the truth. We were hoping some to find survivors of the rebel group stationed here."

He shook his head slowly. "The rebels are dead. They left the village and came here to draw the Imperials away, but it didn't work. The Emperor's ships destroyed everything. I was away visiting my sick grandson in a village about fifty kilometers from here when it happened. I returned to find everyone dead."

I motioned my head in the direction where the shots were fired. "If all of the villagers and rebels died, who was shooting at us?"

I felt a momentary spike of panic from the man and an identical surge of emotion from his concealed companion. I found that interesting because outwardly the man did not so much as flinch…so how did his friend know I said something to upset him? "He's a friend from the other village." The man was clearly lying, but I didn't pursue the subject. I think there was a very good chance that up on the hill was another Jedi or at least a Force user. I remembered how Obi-Wan Kenobi ran and hid. I assume I have another cowardly Jedi on the planet. I turned to the deceased Jedi on the ground behind me. "Do you know the identity of the Jedi Knight we found?"

He nodded slightly. "His name was Falon Grey. He came to our village a year ago. He worked as a farmer, hiding from the Empire. He's the reason the Imperials came here."

I shiver ran down my spine. "They didn't come for the rebels?"

The old man scoffed. "The Imperials didn't know there was a Rebel contingent on the planet. They came for the Jedi and the Jedi alone." He waved his hands about. "All of this is for one Jedi!"

I swallowed hard. "If you were away at the time, how do you know the Imperials came for the Jedi only?" I looked up in the direction of his hidden companion. Now I was beginning to wonder if a deserting Force sensitive Stormtrooper was sitting up on that hill. That would explain how this man knew the Imperials had no knowledge of the Rebels and their target was a Jedi.

He gritted his teeth and glowered at me. "If you excuse me, I have more bodies to burn in my village. I just finished cremating my wife and oldest son." A tear fell from the corner of his eyes. "Go away before you draw the Imperials back to Dantooine. Don't worry about these people. I'll make sure they are properly disposed of." He then turned and walked back up the hill to where his companion lurked.

I turned back to my friends. "The Imperials came all the way out to a rimworld planet with a fleet of ships to kill one Jedi Knight?" I felt my chest tighten as a feeling of panic enveloped me. How in the galaxy did the Imperials find one Jedi Knight working as a farmer on a backwards planet? I turned to my friends. "If the Imperials will do this much damage to kill one Jedi…what is going to happen when they find the three of us?"

Magash stepped forward, her newly acquired lightsaber in her hand. A look of determination crossed her face as she ignited the blade. "I will tell you what will happen when the Imperials find the three of us. The Imperials will die."