Disclaimer: I, Jairus, do not own Star Wars or any of its characters. Although, apart from Jaden Korr who's off the Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy game, all the other characters were created by me. ;D. Hey I'd love some reviews. lol. please.
Chapter three
About a kilometre away a cloud of dust trailed behind five or so full grown male Banthas, all packed to the brim with Tuskan Raiders.
"They've finally decided to force us," Brag groaned in the house doorway. The settlement's occupants rushed out of their houses.
"All of you who have a weapon get them," Saha shouted. "Woman and children get any sort of shield you can. Boxes, loose metal, and anything else you have to make a barricade."
They hesitated, looking to Brag for conformation.
"Don't look at me," he yelled angrily. "She's the leader now!"
"Go!" the apprentice roared. They ran around, following her orders. Men came back out with an assortment of blasters and rifles while the woman set up a small barricade of cargo boxes and scrap, metal sheets.
"Every person with a blaster, crouch behind the blockade and wait on my command! People with rifles go up into the second levels of your houses and aim through the windows."
The Banthas were only half of a kilometre away by the time they were ready.
"Jaden," the apprentice said, gesturing the boy to her. She grabbed his hand. "Reach out your hand to the Banthas. Imagine you're touching them."
The Tattooinian closed his eyes and tried his hardest to feel the Banthas.
I don't even know where to start, he thought in frustration.
Reach out with your feelings Jaden. Use your calm and confidence. Saha's Force message shed new light onto the problem.
Reaching out with his hand again he focussed on the calm deep inside him that was being over shadowed by his fear and anxiety. But as he concentrated it slowly grew. He could sense Saha and his energy meld together as one. Suddenly an image of the giant creatures flashed before his closed eyes. He could feel their thought patterns, the loyalty to their owners.
That's it Jaden, Saha thought to him. Speak to them. Change their direction.
And he did. It was only a single word.
Turn. Immediately he felt the change in their thinking. An inner instinct inside of them suddenly arose and they spun round. Jaden opened his eyes. The Tuskan Raiders had been thrown off the giant desert animals and left watching them shrink away into the distance.
Saha looked down at him and smiled in approval. He almost burst with pride.
"What happened?" one of the farmers beside her asked.
"Let's just say we sent them new coordinates," she replied.
"Look!" Jaden shouted, pointing over the blockade.
Teka suddenly came into view on her speeder. The Raiders fired at her but she quickly activated her lightsaber in a flash of green and deflected the energy bolts away from her as she flew past. In seconds she arrived at the settlement. Jumping off the speeder she checked the set up then nodded at Saha in approval.
Meanwhile the Tuskan Raiders continued to advance towards the small group of fighters.
"What are we going to do?" someone cried anxiously.
"We are going to stay calm," Teka replied firmly. "I want every farmer here to fire a warning shot at the ground a couple metres in front of them. If they continue to come," she paused. Jaden could sense she obviously didn't want to kill them. But he also knew they had no other choice. The Jedi Knight looked each one of them in the eye. "Protect the village." No other words were needed.
Blasters were set on top of the barricade, the owners crouching behind them, while the men with rifles, including Trosa Brag tried to get her into the shelter with the other woman and children but she would have none of it poked their weapons through the house's second level windows. Jaden tried to convince Saha to let him stay but she told him to go down into the shelter.
"No!" he replied firmly. The Jedi apprentice knelt down in front of him and looked him in the eye.
"I know you feel you should help protect your home but believe me, you'll do much better to stay alive. One so young and with so much potential cannot run the risk of dieing now."
"But I don't want you to die."
"I won't die. I promise."
Jaden searched her feelings for any doubt, something he'd always been able to do, but there was only determination.
"Look, take this," she pressed a tiny blaster, big enough to fit in her pocket, into his hand. "If anything happens use it. Can I trust you?"
Jaden looked at the blaster. Tearfully he put it into his pocket and forced a smile. "I thought Jedi only used lightsabers."
"Yeah," Saha replied. "But I always thought it was good to have a backup. Now go."
"Ready warning shot," Teka shouted. The rifles and blaster were steaded and locked into firing position.
Just before Jaden went into the shelter he looked back. The last thing he saw before descending down the stairs was Teka activating her lightsaber and a stream of laser fire flying towards the advancing Sand People.
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Saha watched as the laser bolts hit the ground with a thud only two feet in front of the Raiders. But still they advanced.
"Why are they doing that?" Someone asked. "It's suicidal." Suddenly half of them dropped to the ground and began firing. A man screamed in pain as a laser bolt hit his shoulder. Saha activated her lightsaber and, deflecting the shots with one hand, dragged the wounded farmer behind the blockade.
The other half of the Raiders ran forwards then. After five metres, they dropped to the ground and the ones who were doing the firing switched positions and began running.
"They're covering each other," Teka shouted as she shielded herself from their rifle's bolts. The farmers fired back but rarely made a hit because the runners were continuously jumping right and left.
"At this rate they'll be here in less than a minute," Saha shouted to here master.
The rocks to your right, Teka Force messaged her, I'll cover you while you throw them at the runners.
Saha deactivated her weapon and grabbed the arm full of the rocks she was using for her Force exercises that morning. She then stood behind Teka and placed them on the ground. In seconds all five of them were lined up above her.
Push. The command sent one of them flying over the blockade and into the chest of one of the Raiders. He hit the ground with a scream, dropping his rifle. After ten more seconds all five had been Force pushed towards the desert creatures. Every single one found its mark. But still they came.
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Jaden tried to use the Force to see what was going on outside of the shelter but he was too scared to be able to focus. With Saha beside him there was a degree of security but there was none inside the small room. Eight woman and four children trembled in fear. But it wasn't just the thought that a Tuskan Raider might open that door at any moment. As soon as he had put his foot into the shelter the dream he had had two nights ago kept on replaying in his mind. The only thing was he didn't understand it. The Twi Lek with the glowing blue arm was obviously Saha with her lightsaber and the dark shadows attacking them were the Tuskan Raiders but what about the monster.
Suddenly Jaden's eyes widened in horror. In the dream the monster was coming from behind while the Twi Lek was fighting off all the other warriors in front of her, he thought.
"They're going to come up behind us while we're focussed on the front!" The ten year old rushed up the stairs.
"Jaden!" one of the mothers shouted after him but made no effort to bring him back. He smashed open the door and looked out. Saha was Force pushing rocks at the now very close Tuskan Raiders as her Master deflected their laser bolts. One of the farmers was lying on the ground holding his shoulder. Jaden turned his head from the blockade and looked to the back of the settlement. That's when he saw it. A female Zabrak walked slowly towards the settlement, eyes pinned on the two Jedi. As soon as he laid eyes on her a wave of hatred and evil hit him. He couldn't move.
NO! screamed but his mouth wouldn't open. He closed his eyes and tried calling on the Force for calm but as soon as he did a glowing red ball of fear began burning in his minds eye.
Calm, Calm! CALM! Feeling came back to his body. The red ball became smaller. Saha filled his mind. But now the Zabrak was only twenty feet away.
What can I do? The boy thought. Then he remembered the Blaster. He reached into his pocket and took it out.
Use your calm and confidence. Saha's words rang through his head. He breathed in and out. The Zabrak suddenly activated a red lightsaber.
She's a Jedi! Wait, don't get distracted. Concentrate. He fired. The laser bolt was sure to hit when suddenly the lightsaber flashed to the side and deflected it. Everything froze. Seconds seemed like minutes. Jaden saw the laser bolt coming back towards him at walking speed.
You stupid body, he mentally yelled at himself. Jump right! Everything sped up. The laser bolt missed him by centre metres. He landed heavily on the ground. The Zabrak eye's widened in surprise.
"Now isn't that interesting." She held out her hand and flicked a finger. To Jaden's astonishment the blaster shot out of his hand and flew across the fifteen metre gap and into her hand. She deactivated her lightsaber and aimed the weapon at Saha.
Saha behind you! Jaden shouted through the Force. The Zabrak fired. Saha spun round, grabbed her lightsaber from her belt and activated it all in one move. The laser bolt parried off the energy blade and slammed right back into the gun. The Dark Jedi dropped it just before it blew up.
"Allora!" Saha growled in surprise. "So you're behind all of this. What do you want with this place?"
The Zabrak's face twisted in a sneer. "You should know I'm not going to tell you anything!" The two Jedi sprinted towards each other, lightsabers raised. Jaden watched in awe and horror as the blue and red weapons connected with a snap and a crackle. Allora pressed forwards, raining attack after attack on Saha. The apprentice was obviously tired out from the fight against the Raiders and barely held her own against the Dark Jedi.
I have to help her some how, Jaden thought. He looked around.
What can I use? His gaze swept the pebble littered ground
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Saha deflected and parried blow after blow. She was too tired. The apprentice's connection with the Force was weakening.
Allora flinched. Saha saw a pebbled bounce off her cheek, leaving a red welt. Without questioning her good fortune she took advantage of the Dark Jedi's lack of concentration, swiping at her opposition's abdomen. The attack was blocked but Allora didn't have time to counter attack before Saha was slashing down to her forehead. The Zabrak deflected it but now she was caught off guard.
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Jaden shouted triumphantly as Saha's heel slammed into the dark Jedi's chest. There was a scream behind him. He spun round to see the remaining Tuskan Raiders twelve in all jumping over the blockade and fire into the retreating farmer's backs. If it wasn't for Teka blocking the laser bolts within ten feet of her they would have all died.
A discarded blaster lay on the ground a couple feet away. Without thinking Jaden rushed over and grabbed it, aimed and fired. A Raider fell to the ground. Teka slashed through a Tuskan's stomach that got too close then reached out her hand and Force pushed another into a house, knocking him out. She was getting surrounded by five of them, firing at her. Jaden turned back to Saha who had cornered the Zabrak up against a house wall. He struggled to tear himself away from her. Teka needed more help.
"Mum, Dad," he shouted up to his parents in the house above him. They looked down in surprise but he didn't give them time to say anything. "Teka is surrounded. Aim your blasters at them!" They looked at the Jedi Master and fired at the circle of Raiders. Jaden fired with them. In three seconds two more had fallen. The Jedi master jumped into the air and landed behind the remaining three. In a single swipe the trio were cut in half. She then rushed after the last five who were having a showdown with the other farmers.
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Saha slashed down, clipping Allora's shoulder. The Zabrak winced in pain. Her concentration flickered. The apprentice dropped to the ground and lashed out with her leg. Allora's legs were swept out from under her and her lightsaber went flying into the air. Saha placed her weapon half an inch from the Zabrak's neck.
"Give up," She growled. "You are defeated." The Dark Jedi chuckled.
"No I'm not." Suddenly a remote appeared from a pouch at her hip and began firing. Saha jumped to the side, dodging the deadly laser bolts by millimetres. With that the Zabrak jumped up and, as she ran toward her speeder, Force pulled her lightsaber to her and jumped onto the vehicle.
Saha deflected another of the remote's laser bolts and came up under it, cutting it in half. Two smouldering sections of wires and metal hit the ground.
Jaden stood up from where he'd been sheltered, sighing in relief. Three Tuskan Raiders stood in the middle of a ring of villagers, hands raised in surrender. At the east side of the settlement Saha deactivated her lightsaber, looking at a small cloud of dust disappearing on the horizon.
"Saha," Jaden yelled, running up to her. "Are you ok?" She looked down at him, smiling slightly.
"Physically yes." She looked back up at the dwindling speeder. "But mentally I am deeply troubled."
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The next day Teka released the Raiders. It had taken a while but eventually they had confessed to Allora paying them off to attack the land. They didn't know what she wanted with it.
Afterwards Jaden got ready to leave. He and his parents had agreed after a long talk with the Jedi that he should go to the Academy, after all Saha knew in his heart the ten year old deeply wanted to.
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Saha strapped down another bag onto the speeder. She looked up to where Jaden was saying goodbye to his parents.
I remember when I said goodbye to my parents, she thought to herself. Although I knew I could never see them again. The Jedi apprentice felt old feelings surfacing and quickly shook away the memories.
Jaden escaped from his mother's embrace and talked briefly with Brag. After a pat on the shoulder the Tattooine boy turned round and slowly walked towards the two Jedi.
"Are you ready?" Teka asked. He nodded. "Then let's go."
With Master in front of him and Apprentice sitting behind, the future Initiate waved goodbye to the village and people he'd known his entire life as they shrank into the distance.
REVEIWS: Hmmm yes reviews would be undoubtedly appreciated. Just so I know you guys actually like my story. So far I've had about 34 hit's and no reviews. So please say something. It's only a click away. C ya.
P.s. This story gets better. I wrote these first chapters a while ago but I hope I will have improved by about…..chapter four or five cause I wrote them just now. Man there is heaps of editing to do though that's for sure.