This is a stand in file. I decided to remove the chapters I'd previously written because of some problems I had with them. But I need at least one chapter submitted to keep the story while I write the new chapters. However feel free to read it while it's there.
Authors Note:
Like many fans of any story, I always imagine being a part of the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes and this is my way of making myself a part of both of them in the same story. So the main character in this is pretty much based off me, but changed in a way to fit the story. And he is probably cooler.
For those of you who understand what I mean by this, this story will be following the Legends timeline of the Star Wars universe, however it takes a lot of inspiration from Cannon later in the story. Also you may find that in some places, I have slightly changed some of the plot lines of the two stories to fit my own ideas and characters.
For the people who know me in real life, this is a way of showing you what is usually going on in my head most of the time which is quite difficult to do.
Anyway, those were just a few points I wanted to talk about before you read this, so with all that in mind, enjoy!
Chapter One: Ok let's get the introduction over and done with
For as long as they can remember, or at least from a suitable age, Jedi younglings and brothers Magnus and Cadell Lloyd have done nothing but study combat. Besides the other stuff they study during their training of course. Mainly politics and using the force. But during their free time, well yeah, I just said it.
A lot of this has included studying the history of galactic warfare, dating all the way back to 200,000 BBY. They would spend hours in the Jedi Archives (basically the temple library, a very big one), studying the key tactics and strategies of all different factions and leaders through all those years in all the battles they took part in. Ok maybe not all of them, just the key ones, the ones that made a difference in whatever conflict it was. They would look at what went well, what went badly, what could have happened in alternative outcomes, and also think about how they would have done it had they been in charge. By doing all this, although they haven't realised this yet, they have become very good strategists.
Besides looking at history, they have been training heavily in one of the key practices of a Jedi; Lightsaber combat. It's kind of a bonus that this is done in class anyway because, well, it's just really fun.
The brothers live in the Jedi temple on Coruscant which is the headquarters of the Jedi Order (mainly because Coruscant is the capital of the Galactic Republic - if anyone refers to the Jedi temple, this is usually the one they mean). Despite what you might think, growing up as a Jedi is very limiting. As a youngling you are mainly restricted to whichever temple you grow up in.
This means training is limited to the spaces provided within the temple. That is either the classrooms where you are taught, or the holographic training area which simulates realistic battle scenarios using the projectors. This gives a better feel of what you may be faced with and it simulates other enemies.
There are a few different things Magnus and Cadell practice. As they can practice lightsaber combat with their fellow younglings, the two brothers use the holographic training room mainly for practicing fighting multiple enemies who usually have blasters. This is to prepare for situations in which the peacekeeping part doesn't go to plan and people start drawing weapons. Jedi are meant to avoid this the best they can. It's also good for dealing with pirates and smugglers who prefer to attack rather than co-operate.
When in the normal classrooms Magnus and Cadell use the Marksman-H Training remote, which is a kind of floating ball that shoots blaster bolts. A Jedi must use their lightsaber to either block these bolts by putting their lightsaber in the way, or if you are very skilled, you can swing your lightsaber into it in a way that causes it to rebound in another direction, and you have to try to hit a target. You can even try to hit the remote itself. This helps improve a Jedi's force sense abilities to predict incoming blaster fire, even more so when you use a blinding helmet, which covers your eyes. For safety reasons the training remote is usually kept on sting.
However, the main thing Magnus and Cadell focus on is lightsaber duelling, which is, for the majority of younglings, the most fun thing you get to do. Being able to block and attack with such precision, skill and speed is extremely satisfying and it does help when facing any enemies, even ones without lightsabers (which is most of the time).
Now, there is one problem with a Jedi focusing so much time on all of this, especially the battle strategy part; Jedi aren't warriors, or military leaders, and while it is important to train in lightsaber combat, the Jedi code states that it is only to be used for peacekeeping and defence, not war. And sadly both Magnus and Cadell, and Jedi Master Mavra Zane who is their instructor have come to realise that all of this has led the two brothers to actually wanting the chance to put all of this to use, including their knowledge in battle strategy. As in, if they had the chance to lead an army into battle, they would.
What's worse is that there is a growing threat in the galaxy that is looking more and more likely to give them that chance; the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) or their more commonly used name, the Separatist Alliance, led by Count Dooku – a former Jedi Master. This movement is made up of thousands of star systems that wish to leave the Republic because they have become fed up with its corruption, political turmoil and bankruptcy which has led to increased taxation. They have been gaining more and more popularity over the last few years, and they have been pushing for independence, which the Republic has denied, leading to increasing tension between the two factions and a growing possibility of war.
Because of this the Republic senate has been planning a vote for a Military Creation Act. Magnus and Cadell both know that should this act be successful, they would both want to lead whatever army is created from it.
That is why, one evening as they are once again, practicing lightsaber duelling, they are approached by none other than Grand Master Yoda, and their current teacher Mavra Zane, to discuss what could be one of the most important changes in both their lives.
Authors Note:
Thanks so much for getting to the end of this chapter. I know it took a while, I just wanted to get some things out the way before I started.
Any reviews are welcome, either positive or negative (or both if you want).
Also I've uploaded the first four chapters all in one go to give you something to start off with. After that I'll be releasing them one at a time.
Thanks again for reading and I'll hopefully see you in the next chapter.
Authors Note:
Just kidding! Enjoy Chapter Two.
Chapter Two: Right, now on to the actual story
Now, when a fellow Jedi enters a room, most Jedi would bow to them in greeting, especially to a Master, or in this case a Grand Master, even more important. However the two brothers were so caught up in their duel that they had no idea anyone was there, let alone the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, so they just carried on. Neither was prepared to stop until they had bested the other.
But as their fight moved around the room, Cadell caught sight of Master Yoda and Master Zane by the door. Upon seeing them he stopped mid duel as Magnus brought his lightsaber round his right side in a heavy swing, aiming to hit Cadell on the left shoulder. Seeing that Cadell had hesitated, without even thinking he redirected his swing and caught Cadell's hand, disarming him. Magnus then brought his lightsaber back round, did a bunch of cool spins with it, and then swung it and slashed his brother across the chest.
Now try to imagine all of that in one swift, fast flowing motion. It was a pretty spectacular move. It wasn't exactly necessary. He could have just hit Cadell on the shoulder and he would have won anyway, but that wouldn't have been as fun, or as cool.
Also I forgot to mention that, like the training remote, the lightsabers are set to a low power mode for practice, which is lucky for us because it means Cadell isn't actually dead, so don't panic, he just got a slight shock, literally.
Magnus then broke out into a celebration, which mostly consisted of cheering and doing more lightsaber spins. However this was all cut short when he finally realised what caused Cadell to hesitate.
Upon seeing Yoda and Master Zane, he let out a short but strange noise which sounded somewhere between a scream and a hiccup. More like a hiccup actually, a loud hiccup that went from low to high in less than a second.
Cadell just stood there and watched all this happen with amusement, waiting for his brother to settle down. When they finally did they both turned and bowed to the two masters who then returned the greeting.
Because Magnus was still in a bit of shock and slightly embarrassed, Cadell was first to speak.
"Master Yoda, Master Zane, a pleasure as always".
Not fully thinking, Magnus just said the first few words that came to his head.
"Yeah…. Hi…. what he said" gesturing to his brother.
Yoda just smiled and said "most impressive, that was. However, overconfident you must not become, or provide an opening for your opponent you will".
"Yes master", they both replied.
Magnus had finally recovered and gained focus, and was now able to form a proper sentence.
"So, what brings you here to witness me beat my bro for the tenth time this week?-"
"-Ninth time-"
"-Ok whatever ninth time-"
Cadell elbowed him slightly, although Magnus wasn't sure whether it was in retaliation or to signal that he should be more respectful in what he was saying.
Master Zane luckily didn't seem to notice anything, instead she just answered the question normally.
"The council and I have been discussing both of your performances over the past few years and the current situation going on right now with the separatists. Despite our best efforts and as much as it pains us, we believe that war is inevitable, sooner or later. With your battle skills, strategic knowledge and Jedi abilities, we think that with the right guidance and training, you could be invaluable against the separatists."
The two brothers said nothing. They didn't really know what to say at this point.
Yoda then took over.
"That is why, promote you from initiate to padawan, we will, and under my instruction, you will be."
Magnus asked "is that 'you will be' as in - we don't have a choice in this?" It was a bit of an accusing question but at the same time, there were a few things Magnus wasn't sure about.
"Trouble you, this does?"
Cadell looked round at him with a face as if to say 'well go on then'. So he continued.
"I was just thinking that if we were to be trained in military leadership, it should be by someone who has had experience in that area."
Master Zane took this one.
"You already have the skills and training you need to lead an army, you have given that to yourselves, but you are still young, and you may only be padawans when the war begins, assuming it does. All you need is someone to keep track of you and be there to make sure you are doing the right thing with this role. And admittedly, we don't actually have anyone else to do that."
Magnus thought about this for a second;
"Ok, well first of all fair enough that makes sense, but the other problem is we don't have an army to lead. The military creation act hasn't been passed through by the senate."
Master Zane reassured him.
"Yes but it is very likely to, and if it does, and Chancellor Palpatine creates an army, then he will need leaders, and that's where you two come in."
Cadell then asked "Masters, we are Jedi, this goes against one of the main rules we must follow. I understand your reasons and I'm definitely ok with it but are you? Is the situation that serious?"
"Afraid it is, I am" Master Yoda replied. "Our best hope, you two are".
"Sounds good for us! Right Cadell?" Magnus was starting to get excited.
"Definitely" Cadell said, but much calmer than his brother.
"So would we actually be your apprentices, Master Yoda? Is that even allowed?"
"We believe the bond you share brings you so close to one another, and makes you so much like each other, that there isn't any difference in the teaching methods required for you. What one of you learns, the other learns exactly the same. So yes, you would be his apprentices" Master Zane explained.
"Ok then" said Magnus, "great." He then realised something.
"Hang on, what does that mean in terms of the rest of our group? Will we still see them?"
Jedi younglings live together within their groups (In this case Magnus and Cadell are in a group of 17, led by Master Mavra Zane). Each one has their own individual room, but their dormitories are all located in the same area of the Jedi Temple, and the initiates spend a lot of time with each other there, as well as sharing the same classes. This means they grow a strong bond and friendship with one another and Magnus wasn't sure he liked the idea of leaving them so suddenly.
Although on the other hand, telling people that they were going to be trained by Grand Master Yoda would look pretty impressive in front of the others, and perhaps he could make a big exit. Maybe he'd attract the attention of Sen Kuro, a female Twi'lek in his group for whom he had developed feelings, despite the Jedi code. Maybe when they tell them he might get a dramatic hug from her or something. If only life was that simple.
Anyway, back to the story.
"Relocated within the Jedi Temple you will be, however see them during free time you may. Though try not to get too attached you must".
"Yeah ok, I guess that's fine". Looks like it's not much of an exit then, Magnus thought to himself.
"We will give you two some time to get ready and say goodbye to your clanmates. Then once you are ready, we will show you to your new quarters, you will be made Jedi padawans, and may the force be with you", Master Zane finished with an encouraging smile.
"Yes Master", said both Magnus and Cadell, trying hard not to grin. It was a dream come true for both of them.
With that, the two masters bowed and exited the room.
Magnus and Cadell followed suit and left to go tell the rest of their group the news.
Authors Notes:
Authors Notes:
Well surprisingly there isn't much to say other than like before, any reviews are welcome and thank you so much for reading.
Chapter Three: How dramatic do you think they can make this exit?
It was a very strange walk back to their dormitories. Neither of them were really sure what to think or say. Magnus decided to try and break the silence.
"Well then. This is it. This is our moment."
"What you mean like - right now telling the others, or the fact that the fate of the entire galaxy might rest upon our hands in the future?" Cadell had relaxed a bit now that the two masters had gone.
"Wow. You got to the point quickly. I had a whole speech prepared." (He didn't actually have a speech.) "Both I guess."
"Is it bad that I'm this excited right now? I mean, we got what we wanted, but what we want is basically to go to war which is also what we don't want." Cadell wasn't sure that fully made sense, but Magnus understood it anyway.
"Well on the other hand, if we didn't want this to happen, but it happened anyway, then what do we do? You heard Master Yoda, 'our only hope, you are' (he couldn't resist attempting an impression), they don't have anyone else. Besides it's not like we have actually started a war by wanting one, well, not yet anyway. Who knows what could happen in the next few years? Maybe we'll be the ones who prevent it!" Magnus was thinking into it too much now. He did make a good point though.
They had reached the hallway leading to the initiate dormitory and continued down it to their quarters. Magnus and Cadell shared the same dorm room. It was bigger than a single room so it was where their friends would hang out in their spare time.
Because Magnus and Cadell had advanced through their training so quickly they had joined an older and more experienced group so they were two years younger than the other padawans. Now they were about to overtake them.
As they came closer to their room, they could see their friends waiting at the doorway.
Ok, let's do a (hopefully) quick run through of who we have here. Besides Magnus and Cadell, there are a total of 15 other initiates in their group. Nine of them are human, although they are all from different planets. There is Tren Avlar, Fenella Druce, Zeetara Maan, Kai Rees, Kasi Sha'Rhil, Rem Vatro, Maverik Saul, Emrick Argyll, and Aneurin Mendes. Then there are two Twi'leks; Ara Barotta and Sen Kuro, one Mon Calamari; Othael Latharn, one Togruta; Calloma Zamarrass, one Zabrak; Dar Singe and finally, one Bith; Cho Zeh'Bra.
Yeah, there are a lot of them. Luckily, Mavra Zane is very skilled and is able to teach all of them at once, and they have all been together so long that everyone knows everyone's names. Although they can be difficult to pronounce, especially if you're trying to talk quickly.
"Ok which of us do you think should tell them" Magnus asked, with the hope that Cadell would let him do it. He preferred to do that rather than ask directly, otherwise he felt kind of selfish.
Cadell knew what Magnus was really asking so to wind him up he replied saying "Well I don't mind doing it".
Dammit, Magnus thought. He gave up and just said "Ok, let me rephrase that. Can I tell them?"
"Oh did you want to? You should have said something. Of course you can my little brother. Thanks for asking so nicely".
"Hey, I'm like - 14 minutes younger than you."
"Well I've known some twins to be 5 minutes apart."
Magnus ignored him and addressed the rest of the group.
"Alright everyone? Make way please, my brother has had a long and tiring day of being beaten by me at like - everything."
Before you get worried, this is only friendly rivalry, there is no hate involved. Just slight irritation. They are best friends really and it has never escalated into anything serious. But at the same time it is hard spending your entire life with the same person.
As Magnus approached the door, he couldn't help but look round to see if Sen was with them. It didn't take that long to find her. The most notable feature of a Twi'lek, either male or female, is their two head tails and their strong (French, except it isn't French, its Twi'lek but, well, it's French. You know what I mean) accent. There are many different colour skins a Twi'lek can have, as in, be born with. Sen had all these features and had blue skin and light and dark brown robes.
As he looked over at her, they both made eye contact for a split second, but Magnus panicked and looked away almost instantly, hiding his discomfort by walking through the door.
It's not like he doesn't talk to her, they see each other all the time, but she has no idea he has feelings for her. No one does, not even Cadell, and Magnus would like to keep it that way because of the Jedi code, which forbids any emotional attachment to anyone. And no matter how much he hated it, ok maybe not "hated" it because hate is also against the Jedi code, no matter how much he disapproved of it, there wasn't anything he could do. To act upon his feelings would risk expulsion from the Jedi order, and where do you go from there? Can you see where I'm heading with this? Jedi have no choice in what they do. Even if it is for a good cause, which it definitely is, it is kind of sick the way they go about it. Nevertheless Magnus still couldn't help trying to show off in front of Sen, even though he knew he wouldn't get anywhere with it.
When you enter Magnus and Cadell's room you're faced with a very wide space which extends round to the left from the door.
The wall on the far side of the room is divided by 3 long windows and the window opposite the door has a desk below it. That way you can do work and have a great view of Coruscant, especially at this time of day (evening) when the sun is setting - which is kind of a surprise for a massive skyscraper planet with a population of one trillion. Coruscant sunsets are one of the most beautiful things Magnus has ever seen. He has spent so much time listening to calming music and staring out the window, just watching it, completely lost in thought….
In front of each of the other two windows are beds built into the wall with recessed lights surrounding them. The window has shutters for - well, whenever you want to use them for really. The rest of the walls are filled with cupboards and shelves to store books, clothes and other equipment. Cadell's bed was beside the middle window, and Magnus's was on the very end.
In the middle of the room is a low table with a holo-projector on it, and surrounding the table are a dozen or so chairs with red cushions. It was made this way at the request of the brothers, so they could use it as basically a living room for their group, and it is where they spend most evenings together, either talking or doing work. Actually it is mostly talking. Sometimes talking whilst doing work, other times they talk about the work while they do it, sometimes they even talk about not doing work. I really have no idea where I'm going with this.
Everyone made their way in and took a seat on either the beds, the floor or the chairs. Despite it being a big room, you have to remember that there are 17 of them trying to fit in one dormitory.
Once everyone was settled down, Magnus spoke.
"So, me and Cadell just spoke to Master Yoda and Master Zane, actually they spoke to us. But we listened to them."
Cadell shook his head at him slightly, reminding him to keep it relevant.
"Sorry" Magnus said. "Anyway, they said because of our performance over the last year or so, and because of what is going on with the separatists, Yoda wants to make us his padawans."
There were a few murmurs like 'wow', 'seriously?' and 'that's great'.
Kai Rees spoke up first;
"What for then? How does that even work?"
Cadell then took over from his brother. He told them about the military creation act, how the Masters thought that he and his brother were the galaxies best hope and that if an army was to be created they would be the ones to lead it, under Yoda's supervision. Magnus sat and listened, every now and then looking around to see their reactions, which, not to his surprise were pretty positive. Although he wasn't sure that's what he wanted, what with the so called 'dramatic exit'.
"So that means you'll be leaving the group?" asked Dar Singe.
"We won't be studying with you guys anymore. But we can still see each other, we're still going to be living here on Coruscant, although we will be relocated to a different room outside the initiate's area, sorry guys." Magnus said in a joking away, trying to ease the tension, if there was any. He couldn't tell.
Cadell then continued from there.
"We may also be off world some of the time, and our schedules will be different to yours. To be completely honest, we don't really know what's in store for us yet, but we'll keep you updated. I know we will be able to find time."
"What we do know is that we will be moving rooms tomorrow, so make the most of this while you can. Our new room probably won't be as big as this. So if we do still meet up, someone else will have to take the burden of playing host to our gatherings." Magnus tried to make that sound more formal than it needed to be.
"Well then" Dar replied, "here's to our last night here, and to Magnus and Cadell: the saviours of the galaxy".
The group spent the rest of the evening discussing what Magnus and Cadell could end up doing under Master Yoda's guidance and coming up with ideas for the army they could be leading, some were sensible ones and others were pretty ambitious and very unlikely. They also looked back on what they had all done together up to this point.
Eventually, the sun set and the lights of the many vehicles passing by in endless lines of traffic shone into the room and Cadell switched on the lights. As people started to get tired, the rest of the group said goodbye and wished the two of them good luck, and then left to go to their own dormitories.
Magnus and Cadell stayed up for a bit longer talking about everything that had happened today and again, what could happen in the future, but finally they also turned in for the night.
Authors Note:
If you have ever played the game Kinect Star Wars, you may have noticed that besides Magnus and Cadell, the padawans in this are actually from that game, as well as Mavra Zane. I realised that besides that game, none of those characters are mentioned. It hasn't been said what happens to them, so I thought I'd come up with my own version and put it into this story.
Also here are two lines I had to take out because they didn't work but were really funny for some reason:
"They had reached the initiate dormitory hallway." This sentence just had too many words in it. If you put emphasis on the word 'dormitory', it just sounds really funny.
"Single person room." This sounded like it was a room that people who didn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend had to stay in. So in a way, if they all stick to the code, every Jedi will have one of these.
As always, any reviews are welcome and thanks for reading.
Chapter Four: Meanwhile, far away in the Unknown Regions….
Meanwhile, far away in the Unknown Regions, a Baleen-Class Heavy Freighter was making its way to the entrance of a hyperspace lane, not far from the planet Ilum.
Before it could make the jump, four ships appeared out of hyperspace - three small starfighters and one much larger ship, although they were all of a similar design. They had long cockpits and even longer wings which rotated around the ships as they flew, as if they had a mind of their own.
As soon as they appeared, they headed straight for the back of the freighter, firing at the engines, crippling the ship - it wasn't going anywhere now. Surprisingly, the freighter did have weapons on it. It had rotating double cannons above and below the front section of the ship. The gunners returned fire but their targets easily evaded them. As one of the starfighters flew close to the bridge of the freighter, the captain understood why their attackers were such good pilots. She caught a glimpse of the badge on the side of the ship – the symbol of a shriek hawk, kind of like an 'H' with an extra 'I' in the middle. It was the symbol of Death Watch, a rogue group of Mandalorian warriors who hadn't been seen in over a decade. Mandalorians are known for their long history of war, and have produced some of the best soldiers in the galaxy. Some have even been known to make a stand against a Jedi in one on one combat. The captain had no idea why they had suddenly appeared, let alone why they were attacking a civilian frigate.
The aggressors made quick work of the defending turrets, destroying them in one pass. Now the ship was completely defenceless. Or so it seemed. The larger ship flew above the freighter and hovered there. A hatch opened up underneath where it lowered a rack of seats, carrying 23 warriors who deployed onto the hull of the freighter. These Mandalorians have vacuum sealed suits, which means they can survive in space. They also have jetpacks, which are a common accessory for a Mandalorian solider. They made their way to the observation deck which was a dome sticking out on the top of the freighter. They used blasters to destroy the glass, creating an entry into the ship. They forced their way through the hole in the glass and eventually they reached a door that lead out of the observation deck and into a walkway overlooking the main hangar.
Unfortunately for them, there were more people on board than they expected. There were a dozen or so security guards on the ground who immediately opened fire catching them off guard for a second. One of the jetpacks was hit, causing it to ignite and take off with the Mandalorian soldier still attached. It flew out of control and exploded into a wall, killing the soldier instantly. Another soldier was hit in the chest, fell from the balcony and landed on the ground with a fatal burst of flames. Jetpacks can be very useful but also very dangerous. Any heavy impact will cause the fuel to ignite and explode.
The rest of the Mandalorians responded by launching into the air and swooping down on the security personnel, easily picking them off as they passed. One guard took cover behind a crate, out of site for now. He grabbed a communicator and warned the bridge "They have breached the main hangar. They're taking us out one by one. We don't stand a chance."
A Mandalorian soldier spotted him and fired – there was nothing more he could do, the rocket locked on and sped towards him, killing him on impact. The transmission went silent.
The captain's voice was heard throughout the ship. "All hands, prepare to repel the enemy. Do everything you can to protect the cargo. They cannot find what we are holding."
This wasn't the cleverest thing to say on a ship wide broadcast, because Death Watch heard it as well. But they already knew their target, this just confirmed that it was there.
One of them made their way to a control panel and accessed the ships schematics, finding the location of the bridge on the side of the main hangar. Not wasting any time, they made their way there.
In an attempt to hold them off, the captain closed the doors and locked them, activating the shield on both sides of it. However she knew it wouldn't hold for long. She and the rest of the bridge crew armed themselves and took cover behind the control panels and against the wall next to the door.
Getting in was as simple as blowing a hole in the wall, which is what the Mandalorians did. They planted a charge, stood back a few metres, and detonated it. They threw a smoke grenade through the opening into the room. With that, the bridge crew opened fire, hoping to hit anyone who came through the hole. The crew didn't want to stop firing, not when they didn't know what was out there. But Death Watch knew better, and just waited until the weapons eventually overheated.
As soon as they did, Death Watch moved in, blanketing the room with their fire. In a matter of seconds, all of the bridge crew were wiped out.
One of the Mandalorians made his way to a data pad that had the list of the cargo stored on board. He scrolled through until he found what they were looking for – what the captain had given the order to protect. It was two modules away from the entrance to the storage compartments, which were located behind the main hangar. Another soldier opened the external doors of the main hangar so that the rest of their ships could enter.
As they progressed to the cargo hold, they encountered more resistance from the crew but took care of them with ease and in no time at all they had reached the container.
However, before they could open it, two hooded figures with lightsabers leapt out of nowhere, beheading two Mandalorians. They removed their cloaks to reveal a Jedi master; a Male Twi'lek called Tal'erukh and his padawan; a female human called Jeris Vyrra. Slowly they moved towards the Mandalorians, blocking their path to the cargo. Given what they were trying to retrieve, Death Watch weren't surprised to encounter Jedi on board the ship although it did make things more difficult.
Because they were in a narrow hallway, the Mandalorians didn't have much room to fly around. Instead they slowly moved backwards, waiting for an opening. One of them fired a cable at Jeris, who easily cut through it with her lightsaber. Tal'erukh then moved forward, lunging at the Mandalorian who had fired the cable, but the warrior dodged past him and kicked him in the back causing the Jedi to fall. The Mandalorian drew his blaster and fired, but Tal'erukh blocked it in time. With lightning speed, Jeris ran up behind the Mandalorian and stabbed him in the back but another warrior fired his flamethrower at the two Jedi in retaliation. Back on his feet now, Tal'erukh used the force to block it but two Mandalorians came charging at him and before he could react, they had knocked his lightsaber from his hand. He fell to the ground again and a Mandalorian soldier had his blaster ready to fire, but Tal'erukh forced the soldier's aim upwards just before he fired, causing him to shoot his companion. Tal'erukh then seized the blaster, force pushed him away and shot him. He discarded the blaster and used the force to retrieve his lightsaber just as the rest of the soldiers opened fire on him and Jeris. The Jedi easily deflected the fire but then the Death Watch soldiers who had just landed their ships in the hangar bay appeared from the other direction - they were trapped.
Tal'erukh and Jeris went back to back, doing their best to stop the incoming fire. However Tal'erukh realised that they couldn't hold them off much longer.
"Stay with me. I have an idea" he said "Don't turn your back, but walk backwards slowly with me. We're going to try and reach the junction at the end of the hallway".
They were now deflecting blaster fire so quickly that they had ended up just doing a figure of eight with their lightsabers, so that they were creating an impenetrable barrier.
They moved towards where the two corridors crossed over and Tal'erukh used the force to lift up the hatch in the centre of the floor.
"Climb in here and make your way to the bridge as quick as you can, contact the Jedi temple and tell them what has happened" he said, both of them still deflecting the blaster fire.
"I'm not leaving you mast-"
"There's no time. The council must know about this. Then find somewhere to hide while they send help".
Death Watch was slowly closing in on them from either side.
"What about you?"
"I'll stay here and hold them off the best I can."
"But-"
"Go now!"
Without another word, Jeris jumped into the hatch, closed it above her and moved along the air vent leading back to the main hangar.
Tal'erukh then slowly backed into the same corridor, soaking up all the blaster fire. The Mandalorians followed him.
As they did, Jeris had another idea. Instead of taking the obvious route to the bridge, she turned round and headed back through the air vent the way she had come, towards the fight. She hoped that Death Watch would be too distracted to see her, and they were. As she passed underneath the fight, she paused for a moment. She wanted to say something, anything that could somehow help her master. She wanted to climb back out and help him, but he saw her out of the corner of his eye, and shook his head ever so slightly so the enemy didn't see. Knowing he wouldn't change his mind (and it's very difficult to have a silent argument without looking at each other) she carried on the other way, as quickly and as quietly as she could. The first turn she reached, she took it. Then, once she was out of sight, she exited through another hatch, first checking that the way was clear. She then made her way down a different corridor to the front of the ship. It was a longer way to go but with any luck, Death Watch would think she had taken the other path, meaning Jeris had a better chance of evading them.
Back at the main fight, Tal'erukh was slowly getting more and more tired. Eventually, his guard failed him and he took a hit to the leg. As he fell to the floor, the Mandalorians continued to fire, not giving him a chance. And then, they stopped. Tal'erukh's body wasn't moving.
The leader of Death Watch addressed her warriors.
"Search every inch of the ship. Find that padawan, and kill her. No one must know we are here. Then get to work on repairing the engines. We need this ship intact if we are to deliver the cargo to our employers."
With that, they split off into groups, to search for the last surviving person on the ship; Jeris.
In the back of her mind, Jeris knew that her master would not have survived the firepower of the Death Watch soldiers surrounding him. She could not think about that now though. She had a job to do. There would be time for grief later.
Authors Note:
Here is a line from the first draft I kept just to show you here. You can probably guess what's wrong with it...
"The Mandalorian drew his blaster and fired, but Tal'erukh blocked it in time. Jeris then moved up behind him and stabbed him in the chest."
As always, any reviews are welcome and thanks for reading. (That's all I'm gonna say if I don't have anything else.)
Authors Note:
Happy Star Wars day everyone! That is if you are reading this on the day it's released. Or if you're reading it precisely a year after its release. Or two years or…. Any time you read it on May the fourth.
I'm sorry it has taken so long to release the next chapter(s). Despite "everything going on at the moment" if you take my meaning for it (if you're reading this far in the future then just ask someone old, they'll tell you what I mean), I've ended up having a ton of work to do because it can all be done at home, so I've had to mainly focus on that. However, I have been wanting to carry on writing this whole time and I thought what better time to do it than on Star Wars day, so here we are.
On that note, thanks for coming back, or thanks for joining me if you've only just seen this story and enjoy.
Chapter Five: Calling Interna- Oh wait, wrong franchise
Magnus and Cadell had the rest of the day off, so they just continued their own training routine. Cadell was very eager to get back at his brother for their duel two days ago. Most of their duels are very balanced. Of course, there is bound to be a loser in the end but their abilities are well matched.
The following day brought their first lesson with Master Yoda. He had dedicated the whole day to training the brothers, as an introduction. He told them most days wouldn't be like this, they would be more broken up so he can train the younglings as well, which was fine with Magnus and Cadell.
Their lesson included a lot of force training. Master Yoda introduced an exercise they had never done before. They had to balance on one hand with their feet up in the air and had use the force to stack crates and chairs (anything in the room really) whilst Yoda sat on their feet.
Later that day, Yoda tested their lightsaber skills against his own – both of them at once. A lot of people, including Jedi, underestimate Yoda in his skill because of his size, something they always regret afterwards. Magnus and Cadell knew better than that, but it didn't change the fact that Yoda was able to beat them in about a third of the time it took them to finish a duel themselves. However he was still impressed with their skill.
By the time their lesson had finished, they were too tired to do anything else so they decided to just have some food and go to bed early.
It was a good thing they did, because they were awoken by a knock on their door, at four in the morning (days on Coruscant were 24 standard hours long). Cadell got up and answered it. It was a temple worker. He seemed out of breath, as if he'd been hurrying.
"Master Yoda wants you in the communications centre immediately – there is an emergency" he said.
"Did he say why- OW!" Magnus (almost) asked as he fell out of bed in a hurry to get up.
"He didn't tell me anything, but he will tell you when you get there".
"Tell him we're on our way" Cadell replied.
"Yes sir" he said with a slight nod, and ran back to the comms room.
This may have been the quickest that Magnus and Cadell had ever got ready. They were dressed and out in about five minutes.
They tried not to run on their way. It always looks strange if you see people running round the temple, if you don't know why they are doing it. Instead they just walked very quickly and it wasn't long before they arrived.
The communication centre was a small room with a central dias surrounded by tiered standing positions for briefings. There was a holo-table in the middle, which was projecting an image of some sort of freighter, as well as a picture of a female Jedi padawan neither of the brothers recognised. The tiers were empty but standing immediately around the holo-table was Master Yoda, Master Plo Koon (Kel Dor), Master Aayla Secura (Twi'lek), Master Kit Fisto (Nautolan), and Master Saesse Tin (Iktoch). Why there this many Jedi Masters Magnus did not know, but he guessed it must be serious.
The brothers approached the table and bowed.
"What's going on?" Magnus asked in a slightly worried tone, which was unusual for him.
"A mission we have for you" Yoda replied.
"Already? That was quick! What's the situation?" asked Cadell and then let out a slight yawn by accident.
"Two days ago, a Baleen class freighter traveling in the Unknown Regions was attacked and hijacked by a Death Watch splinter group" explained Master Plo. "On board this ship were two Jedi, Master Tal'erukh, and Padawan Jeris Vyrra. Master Tal'erukh was killed but Jeris was able to escape detection and transmit a distress signal to us. We have used that signal to locate the ship. It is still in the Unknown Regions. We are going to recover the ship and rescue Jeris, before the attackers flee and we lose track of the ship."
"What were two Jedi doing on a civilian freighter?" asked Magnus.
"On a mission from the planet Ilum, they were" answered Master Yoda.
"What mission?"
"No time to explain, there is. Go now, we must." Magnus could tell they were trying to hide something, but for now he didn't pursue the matter.
Instead he just said "Let's get going then" and with that, they all left for the hangar.
"How are we getting there?" Cadell asked.
"We have designed a new ship, in preparation for the possible war with the separatists" Master Plo told them.
"The one docked to the spaceport, right?" Magnus guessed.
"Correct. It is a prototype refit of the consular class cruiser, this will be its first test in combat. You will be in command of it, under Master Yoda's guidance. Master Aayla Secura will go with you as well. I, Master Fisto and Master Tin will fly fighter escort. We can expect heavy resistance from Death Watch."
Once they arrived, Magnus, Cadell, Master Yoda and Master Secura boarded a shuttle to take them to the Jedi spaceport, while Master Plo, Master Fisto and Master Tin each entered their own Delta-7 starfighters. They all headed into space straight away to await in orbit, while the shuttle left for the spaceport.
As they approached the port, Magnus got a clear view of the new ship. Its main body was quite long, and at the back, it widened into three massive engines. On either side of the ship, there were two double cannons, one on the top and one underneath, and at the front there was another one the roof of the main bridge. Underneath the bridge was a salon pod that housed 16 people for an easy detachment from the main ship in an emergency.
The shuttle entered a landing bay underneath the main docking ports, and the four Jedi made their way to the boarding hatch. As they entered the ship, they found about ten soldiers waiting, stood at attention, and Magnus recognised them as some of the temple security team. Master Yoda told them they would be joining the mission, and would be a part of the boarding party.
The bridge was a small room with two chairs surrounded by many different controls, leavers and switches. The chairs sat just behind the viewport. The pilot (left) and co-pilot (right) were already running pre-flight checks ("Engine sequence activated, guidance systems are green"). When the pilots saw them enter they stood up in greeting. The main pilot spoke first.
"Welcome aboard sir. I'm Bayce Garec, this is my co-pilot Gallo Marryn. Please have a seat."
He gestured to two chairs that were behind the pilot seats and Magnus and Cadell…. well they sat in them.
"How goes preparations Captain?" Cadell asked.
"All systems green sir."
"Prepare for immediate launch."
"Yes sir. Launch sequence; Initiated."
There was a loud clunk as the ship detached form the docking ramp, and pulled away from the tower, climbing higher and higher until it left Coruscants atmosphere. It met with the three Jedi starfighters, which were each connected to a hyperdrive booster ring.
"Launch sequence complete sir. Coordinates are locked in."
"Make the jump Captain". Magnus got a lot of joy from saying that. He and his brother were finally in command.
There was a high pitch, winding up noise, and then a bang, like the sound of a cannon, as the ship entered hyperspace, in a tunnel of blue, white and black light. They were on their way to a mission that the brothers didn't fully understand and knew would be dangerous, yet they could barely contain their excitement.
Authors Note:
For the people who have already read my previous chapters before I released this one, I have added something new to chapter three. Just to make it easy for you I'll put the paragraph here so you don't have to go back and find it:
"Because Magnus and Cadell had advanced through their training so quickly they had joined an older and more experienced group so they were two years younger than the other padawans. Now they were about to overtake them."
I'm not going to say why I've made this change at the moment but it'll all come together eventually (probably). This will most likely happen a few times seeing as my story has changed so much from what I originally planned, but I'll tell you if it does happen.
Also I decided to release the next chapter at the same time as this one, so if you haven't got bored yet then you can carry on straight away.
Besides that, thank you so much for reading, Happy Star Wars day (for the people…. oh never mind, you know what I mean), and may the force be with you…. always.
Chapter Six: Junior mission
The Unknown Regions were given that name for a reason. Hyperspace lanes are the roads and motorways of space. They are routes that are mapped out and are safe to travel on and they cover most of the galaxy (probably), making it easy to travel between planets. To go outside of these lanes is risky because you never know what you will run into. You could end up crashing into a planet or an asteroid field, you could be sucked into a black hole – basically; you will most likely crash.
Anyway the point is, the Unknown Regions don't have many hyperlanes, and are full of dangerous, unknown entities. To navigate your way around it, you need very precise calculations and must enter and exit hyperspace multiple times. For this reason, it took several hours for the Jedi to arrive at their destination.
As they dropped out of hyperspace, they saw the freighter instantly. The engines were on fire which explained why the ship hadn't gone into hyperspace yet. Death Watch have had to clean up their own mess. Unfortunately for them, they weren't quick enough, and now they were (hopefully) about to pay for that mistake (not literally of course, would be nice though). There was also a hole in the top of the main body, as well as what looked like several destroyed turrets, which also may have been a mistake on Death Watches part. It meant one less defence to worry about.
Master Plo, Fisto and Master Tin moved into formation with Magnus and Cadell's ship, Master Tin and Fisto either side and Master Plo behind. They moved towards the freighter.
When they got closer, the four Mandalorian starfighters saw them and sped towards them opening fire as soon as they were in range.
The Jedi starfighters instantly broke away from the formation, engaging the enemy in a dogfight. Mandalorians are very skilled pilots, but these Jedi were better, and with the combined firepower of them and the cruiser they were able to destroy one of Death Watch's ships. The battle continued around the cruiser, with the pilots unsuccessfully trying to get a lock on to each other.
On board the cruiser there was a lot of shaking as the Mandalorians did passes, opening fire on the ship. It was a bigger and slower target than the starfighters meaning it was easier to hit, but it was also robust and well armed so was able to withstand some of the firepower and dish out some of its own. It continued towards the freighter and prepared to dock with it, still firing on the Mandalorian ships.
The cruiser flew round to the right side of the freighter and adjusted its speed to line up both docking ports.
"We are level sir" said Bayce.
"Very good, initiate docking sequence."
"Docking sequence initiated."
Magnus spoke into the ship-wide communicator.
"All personnel, prepare for boarding."
A siren sounded around the cruiser and the soldiers loaded their gear and weapons, making their way to the docking ring. The cruiser slowly inched closer and closer towards the freighter.
"Keep her steady Captain. The Mandalorians may try to alter speed at any point, be ready to adjust your own if they do. Once the docks connect, it could be very dangerous if they were to split under the pressure of the two ships trying to separate."
"Don't worry sir, we have it under control. It's just like the simulations" Bayce replied.
"We're coming in; 3…. 2….1."
There was a loud clunk, as the docking rings connected, and everyone in the bridge lurched to one side slightly.
"We're locked on! Good luck in there" said Gallo encouragingly.
The four Jedi left the bridge and joined the rest of the crew waiting at the docking hatch. Magnus addressed them:
"We face a formidable enemy, Death Watch won't surrender and will fight to their last solider to stop us, we need to be ready for that."
He then turned to the door and opened it only to find another door, which was on the freighter's side, (well, not on the freighter's side; doors aren't really known to choose sides but - you know what I meant!). Magnus cut along the outline of the door using his lightsaber and force pushed it off its hinge. Perhaps the door did have feelings because it made a strange grunt as it fell, but then Magnus realised he must have hit one of the Mandalorians on the other side with it.
With the door gone, they were met with a very sudden wave of blaster fire which the Jedi had to react quickly to block. As the Jedi recovered from this (still deflecting blaster fire), they saw two Mandalorians, going in and out of cover to take more shots at them. They were positioned in front of a barricade which was made up of stacked crates. There was a third Mandalorian lying unconscious underneath the door. Magnus could tell there were several more soldiers behind the barrier because he could see multiple blasters shooting through the gaps between the crates. This made it harder to get close enough to take it down, but the Jedi started off by advancing on the first two Mandalorians, and cutting them down. Although it didn't occur to him at the time, Magnus would later come to realise this was the first time he had taken someone's life.
They then turned to the barricade and all at once, they used the force to try and push the crates to topple them onto the enemy, but the crates were so tightly packed they weren't going anywhere. On realising this, the Jedi took whatever cover they could find as the rest of their infantry filed through, doing the same. They needed a new plan of action.
However before they could come up with anything, the Mandalorians stopped firing in their direction. Magnus could still hear shouting and blaster fire coming from the other side of the barricade and chanced a glance round his cover. He didn't need to look to know what was going on, because all of a sudden he heard the whooshing and humming of a lightsaber. A slight grin spread over his face, knowing who it was. He didn't know Jeris that well but he was just glad they could save someone from the original attack. He knew Jeris had survived long enough to send the distress call, but he wasn't sure if she would have been able to hold out for long after that. He wasn't sure if she would survive this fight. Actually that is a good point, why was he still here when he could be helping?
"What are we waiting for? Let's help her!" he ordered his team.
He and Cadell approached the crates and slashed through them revealing the fight going on behind. It was part melee and part ranged. Jeris was (literally) cutting through the Mandalorians as she approached them, dodging their punches and deflecting blaster fire and she had already taken out two of them. It was quite an impressive sight but Magnus and Cadell didn't have a lot of time to admire it, they snuck up behind the remaining three and took them out with their lightsabers. The entrance was now clear; Stage one; complete. Casualties: 0 (That's the only time I'm gonna do that).
Jeris approached the two of them and bowed.
"Glad you could finally join us" Magnus said.
"What do you mean? I was here long before you" she replied.
The team moved down the corridor and entered the main hangar.
"So what's the situation?"
"Well, there were originally 23 Mandalorians that attacked us, and we have brought that number down to 8 now, but I don't know where they are. Probably guarding the cargo hold and the bridge".
"We'll split into two groups then. Cadell, take ten of the soldiers and go with Master Secura to... well, secure the bridge, while Master Yoda and I take the others with Jeris so she can lead us to the cargo. Keep your comlinks on at all times. Use the bridge's camera feed to try and find the remaining Mandalorians and direct us to them if you do. Is everyone clear?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"Ok then. Good luck."
They split up with Cadell's group crossing the hangar towards the bridge, while Magnus went left, exiting the hangar and entering the cargo hold. Behind him, he could already hear blaster fire and explosions, as Cadell engaged the Mandalorians guarding the bridge.
The complex was split into two levels. It was in a grid formation where the lines were the inspection hallways and the squares were where the cargo was stored. The team made their way up to the top level and headed to the back-right of the ship where the cargo was located. They met no resistance on the way which made Magnus suspicious but they continued nevertheless. They approached a turning down a new corridor and Jeris told them the mystery cargo was at the very end of it.
In his eagerness to figure out what was going on, Magnus speed-walked down to the end. Just as he arrived, a security shield activated behind him, separating him from the rest of his group and at the same time, Cadell spoke through the comlink.
"Magnus, we've secured the bridge. There were only two Mandalorians. They've taken out all the cameras and disabled the sensors so we aren't able to find the rest of them from here."
As Cadell spoke, Magnus looked through the shield to see the rest of Death Watch open fire on Yoda and Jeris and then retreat down another corridor, in an attempt to draw them away. It succeeded. There wasn't anything Magnus's team could do here. He then sensed something behind him, and turned round to find another Mandalorian with a blaster pointed at him in one hand, and a detonator in the other. They were also wearing a black shoulder pauldron, which led Magnus to believe this was the leader of the group.
He replied to Cadell in a very calm and almost joking voice trying to hide his fear. "It's ok, I'm pretty sure I've found the rest of them."
Authors Notes
(This only applies to people reading this on the day of release. I mean if you want to read it anyway then be my guest). I'm going to try to get chapter seven done and released today as well if I can. If I do it will be later on in the day, possibly in the evening. I've got a whole day of Star Wars binge watching planned today. But hopefully I can find the time to write as well. I definitely want to so, keep an eye out.
Also I had to pretty much immediately re-upload this chapter because I had proof read and edited this chapter on word but didn't save it so when I submitted it on here I actually submitted the draft so sorry about that. This is now the right one.
But other than that, thanks for reading and…. yeah, see ya.
Authors Notes:
So at the end of the last chapter I said I'd try and get chapter seven done and released on the same day... Yeah that didn't go to plan. Although in my defence I did say I'd try so I didn't make any promises. Plus I spent basically the whole day watching Star Wars because it was May 4th, so that makes it ok right?
Anyway, after that I had a sudden overload of college work when all the deadlines were brought forward due to a certain pandemic happening at the moment. And I was also working out some storylines in my head.
So here we are, thanks for coming back or for showing up if you're new and I hope you enjoy it. If not then sorry for the long wait... and if so, then sorry for the long wait anyway.
Chapter Seven: Disaster button
"Oh, good. Where are they so I can send back up?" Cadell casually replied not knowing the full situation his brother was in.
Magnus had only answered his brother like that to keep them both calm, but he might have done it a bit too well. He was about to enlighten him and say that he was in a pretty bad situation, but then curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know what was going on, what was in the container and why it was so important, and he felt like Cadell could prevent him from doing that. So instead he said:
"They headed back down the hallway we came in. Jeris and Yoda are already taking care of them. Start loading the prisoners you have onto the cruiser and have Aayla stay and guard the bridge."
"Copy that. And what about the cargo? Is it secure?"
"I'm with it right now. Don't worry I've got things under control down here". I mean, I'm not lying Magnus thought to himself…. hopefully. And then he turned his attention to the Mandalorian.
"You didn't call for back up" she said in a deceptively calming voice.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan. Now I just need to make sure it pays off. Unfortunately for you it means you'll have to die. Or- you know you could... surrender I guess but I'm pretty sure as a Mandalorian that isn't really your thing". Magnus replied, trying to sound threatening, although it sounded like more of a joke than a threat and the Mandalorian didn't seem affected by it.
Instead she replied and said "You say that like you've already beaten me, but I have rigged this cargo bay with explosives. Make a wrong move and I'll detonate it. As far as I can tell, I hold all the cards here."
"Yeah... you really don't. Sure detonating it will kill me and you but everyone else will survive. Your friends will go on to be interrogated – they won't stand a chance. The Jedi will uncover everything. All that you have worked towards will blow up in your face. Well not in your face I guess, because you'll already be dead because... ok let's just agree that was a poor choice of words."
"You're forgetting one thing. You and your Jedi will lose your prize. After all isn't that why you are here?"
"We came here to save Jeris. As in... the Jedi you failed to kill" Magnus added, realising she probably doesn't know who Jeris is.
"You don't even know what the cargo is do you?" she replied (ok her actual name is Vakotai Qingh, I just couldn't figure out a way to have it come up in conversation, but hopefully this makes it easier).
"Uh - no" Magnus admitted.
"See for yourself" Vakotai said, gesturing to a panel next to the container.
Magnus went to the data pad next to the container. He opened it up to find a holographic display of a crystal with a bunch of numbers and readings surrounding it. He didn't need to read them to know what the cargo was; Kyber crystals, the things that power lightsabers. Why the Jedi were transporting them off world Magnus had no idea. Usually they were left in the ice caves of Ilum where they grow, and Jedi would travel there to look for one to build their lightsaber.
"I will do it!" Vakotai said bringing her thumb dangerously close to the trigger.
"If you do this, you'll be remembered by everyone including your own as a coward, as the Mandalorian who died in fear, hiding behind a weak threat. How do you feel about that?"
"And what do you suppose I should do instead?"
"Resort to Mandalorian tradition. Fight me in 1v1 combat. Whoever loses surrenders. Whoever wins, well... doesn't surrender" Magnus was begging that this plan would work.
"You're very brave, but also very foolish. I don't think you realise what you're getting yourself into."
"In that case, how could you refuse? When the odds are in your favour?"
Vakotai was silent for a moment, and then:
"I accept."
A wave of relief, but also terror went through Magnus. He was still alive, for now. But the mission was far from over.
Authors notes:
Hello again. I'm pretty sure that at the end of chapter four I said I'd be releasing the chapters one at a time. That's slightly changed. I think I'll usually aim to end on a chapter with action, or a sense of completion in that part of the story or something like that. That's why, again, I've released chapter eight at the same time as this one. So if you are reading this upon release and you're feeling generous then you can go straight on to the next chapter.
Chapter Eight: The first choice
As soon as she accepted his challenge, Magnus activated his lightsaber. Nothing happened to begin with, as both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move. This is something you learn in Jedi training; never attack first. That's not what the Jedi are about. But Magnus had found another use from it in the fact that you will always see the first move coming and be ready to defend against it.
Eventually, Magnus got bored and said "quite a fighter you are then", which angered Vakotai and she drew her blasters and fired several shots at him. This was exactly what he wanted because he did a single figure of eight with his lightsaber and blocked them all, deflecting some of the shots back at her which she dodged. Magnus took this opportunity to leap forward swinging his lightsaber down to strike her head. She raised her arm up in reaction to it. Magnus ignored it, knowing it wouldn't stop his blade... except it did and there was a metallic clang as sparks sprayed off the contact point. The impact caused Magnus' lightsaber to fall out of his hands.
Upon seeing Magnus disarmed, Vakotai pushed him away and kicked him into a wall. She laughed and said "I told you, you don't know what you're getting into".
Magnus ignored this. For some reason, in this moment of life and death, the only thing he could think of was to try and make a disarming joke. He couldn't come up with anything. It probably wouldn't have helped anyway.
He snapped back into focus as Vakotai fired another shot at him which narrowly missed his head as he dodged it. Vakotai didn't stop there though and she carried on firing. Magnus did his best to dodge the shots and he did a pretty good job of it but eventually she broke through his guard and one of the shots hit him on his left shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.
As he did so, he spotted his lightsaber on the floor behind Vakotai and used the force to pull it towards him, allowing it to hit her on the shoulder. It didn't injure her but it pushed her to the side giving Magnus a chance to stand up. He racked his brains to remember the most likely armour she would be wearing to counter a lightsaber. Aha! Beskar (as in, that's what it's called)! Great... how does that help exactly?
Vakotai was about to fire again, but Magnus force pushed her against a wall, moved forward and cut her blasters in half. That's one problem out of the way. He then swung his lightsaber, aiming for her neck, one of the weak spots in any armour, but she was able to duck under it and move out of the way. But as she did so, she turned her back on him and Magnus instinctively struck her jetpack causing it to leak fuel.
Realising the danger, Vakotai immediately struggled to take it off and threw it towards him but Magnus knew what was coming and had already dived out of the way. He used the force to push it as close to her as he could before it ignited.
It wasn't close enough to kill her but she was caught in the blast and was now on the ground, clearly injured. Magnus however, remained relatively unscathed. With all his energy he leaped forward with his lightsaber at the ready. Vakotai once again raised her arms, this time as a defensive instinct rather than an actual move. But either way, Magnus had learned his lesson and aimed for the gaps in her armour where her elbows were and cut through them both in a single move. Now she really was disarmed. Magnus had won.
With that he activated his comlink and was about to contact his brother to tell him what had happened, but once again, something stopped him. He didn't know what it was, but somehow, he had a feeling that whatever the Jedi were planning, it was wrong, especially if they were trying to hide it. If Magnus could stop anything bad from happening because of it, he would. He needed to destroy the crystals.
Vakotai seemed to read his mind, and spoke in a pained voice "Looks like someone is having a change of heart. If you're going to do it, then do it, and leave me here."
Magnus could hear the desperation in her voice. He could tell she would give anything not to be put on trial before the Jedi council, perhaps in front of the rest of her group. With that, he moved towards the crate and cut it open. He knew that one strike from a lightsaber on the crystals would make them unstable and start to build up until they overload and destroy the ship. Hopefully that would give him enough time to get off the ship and away from the impact radius. He ignited his lightsaber and stabbed it into one of the crystals. He then activated his comlink:
"Cadell come in".
"Magnus? You've been gone for ages what happened?" Magnus was relieved to hear his brother's voice.
"No time to explain! We need to get of this ship. The crystals are destabilising and are gonna blow. Deactivate the ray shield on my position... well, near me anyway."
The shield disappeared in front of him and he ran through without another word, leaving Vakotai to her own desired fate.
Magnus was beginning to tire and the pain in his left shoulder wasn't helping, but he managed to reach the docking port and board the cruiser. The ship undocked and pulled away, with a few seconds to spare before the freighter exploded in a colourful pattern, caused by the crystals.
After they jumped back into hyperspace, The Jedi Masters debriefed Magnus on what happened. Of course, he didn't tell them everything. He had been thinking about what to say up until this point and had a good story planned, so he was ready for their questions. To be honest, looking at it, it wasn't actually that different to the true version of events. But he told the Jedi Masters that Vakotai was able to detonate the charges before he could stop her.
Magnus then tried asking them about why they were smuggling Kyber crystals, but at that moment, Jeris came along to thank Magnus for extracting her from the ship and they were able to avoid the question.
Overall, everyone saw this mission as a success, all things considered, although Magnus felt like the council were putting on an act. But he didn't pursue it any further... for now anyway.
Authors Note:
I decided to do this mission very close to when I released the first four chapters, because I didn't want to go straight into the main story. I wanted to explore Magnus' (and Cadell's but not as much) character a bit more, show what he is like in these situations, to build up to later missions and battles.
Hopefully (though I'm not certain) this was the reason it took me a while to get this part done, because I hadn't thought about it as much and needed time to come up with something.
With any luck I'll have a better idea of what happens next and will be able to release chapters more often.
Thanks for sticking around so far and I'll hopefully see you next time.