Entry # 11 - A Turn for the Worst

Our first coordinated patrol took place last evening. With nearly fifty volunteers, we split into four groups, each patrolling the boarders of the farming community. Huff Darklighter led the first group and Sanderson the second, while Owen and I led the last two. Each man rode a swoop and came armed with rifle blasters, macrobinoculars, and a comlink set to an encrypted channel previously used only by the Jedi. Since we were using them at a lower frequency, the chances of the Empire intercepting the chatter would be limited, as the range was within a fifty kilometer radius.

"All groups, report your positions," I called after an hour of patrolling.

"Group Alpha is on the eastern parameter, no signs of life," Darklighter replied.

"Group Bravo is on the southeastern parameter. We could see a few banthas in the distance but no sign of sand people," Sanderson reported.

"Group Charlie is on the western border near the Dell homestead. I can see a light out in the distance, too far to tell what it is. We will continue to monitor it."

"Owen, you would do well to keep a man or two in a secure location near the Dell farm, for scouting purposes. I have a feeling that if any of the farms see trouble tonight, the Dell farm will be the first to receive a visit. That light could be nothing; it could also pose as a decoy to draw your eyes off of any real danger approaching."

I knew that the hutt's overconfidence could very well likely mean his men made no attempt to conceal their approach during an attack. But years of war have taught me to be weary of such obvious and sloppy ambushes. Danger usually strikes when your attention is diverted elsewhere.

"Will do Ben," Owen confirmed. He paused before continuing. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"As do I, though let's try to keep the comm open for only necessary dialog," I instructed, again my years of military experience coming to surface.

"Whatever," he barked. "Lars out."

I smiled and shook my head. I turned to my own scouts. "Anything?"

"Nothing that we can detect."

I closed my eyes and stretched out with the force. I felt nothing that would cause alarm.

"Keep scanning," I instructed. Turning to the rest of the men, I nodded to three farmers closest to me. "Come with me, I have a feeling group Charlie might need our assistance. The rest of you men stay here and inform me should you spot anything unusual, no matter how unimportant it may seem."

Reaching for my comm, I called for Sanderson. "Send half your men to the western border. If Charlie group is ambushed they will need all the help they can get."

"Will do," he replied. "They are on their way."

"Very good," I replied. As we headed in the direction of the Dell homestead, Darklighter came onto the com.

"Alpha group is under attack! They came out of nowhere!"

"Blast," I cursed under my breath. My military and Jedi instincts had failed me. I had already stated that the light Owen spotted could be a diversion to take attention off the real attack. By sending men to help Owen, I had left Darklighter's group alone to defend themselves.

"How many are there?" I asked in the calm tone that comes from years of experience in battle.

"Five, no six skiffs with half a dozen men a piece. We intercepted them on the way to the Lars homestead."

"I'm on my way!" Owen's voice called. "I'm bringing all my men to help!"

"No!" I called. "You cannot leave the western border unattended. Leave half your men; take the rest to defend your family. I will do the same."

"Dammit Kenobi, we're going to need all the men we can get, and leaving half of them here…"

Static began to cut through the transmission.

"Owen!" I called. "Group Charlie, come in!"

Static was the only reply.

"Darklighter! Anyone!"

"Hello Jedi," greeted the familiar voice of the Abyssin. "Nice frequency you're using. Did you really think we could not intercept your transmissions? The Empire is desperate to find all the remaining Jedi. This means reaching out to the Hutts and other controlling organizations of the outrim that may help locate any of you for a nominal fee. They have provided us will all the codes and frequency Jedi may use in an attempt to communicate with each other."

"Of course they did," I frowned.

They abysinn laughed. "Frankly I'm a little disappointed you tried using such an obvious scheme. I had assumed, when you refused the might Jabba's offer, you had a surprise up your sleeve. Instead, you're doing exactly what you said you were going to do."

"Well you know me," I barked, "I do like to take the direct approach."

Our swoops were closing in on Darklighter's position. I could see flashes of blaster fire lighting up the distance.

"Give yourself up Jedi and we will end this nonsense. Your farmers are putting up a good fight, but it is not good enough. They do not need to die needlessly. If you give yourself up, they will see this fight as hopeless without their fearless Jedi leader and will give into might Jabba's demands. He is willing to overlook this tiny rebellion, but only if you agree to come with us quietly."

"And just what does your boss intend to do with me?" I asked.

"Does it matter? As a Jedi, I think you should be willing to give yourself up for the greater good. Or do you really want to see these farmers die while you make your pitiful stand?"

"I think I'm willing to take my chances," I said. This was the exact type of ploy I knew we would face before we started. I had a feeling the 'pitiful stand' was beginning the rattle their right cages.

"So be it Jedi," he laughed. "Their blood is now on your hands."

As I reached Darklighter I could see they were holed up in a cluster of rocks. In the distance Owen Lars was approaching from the opposite direction. He had brought only half his men. Despite his farm being in danger, he could not bring himself to leave the western perimeter completely abandoned. I could feel my respect for him growing.

I turned to my men and pointed towards the closest skiff. They nodded and headed towards it, opening fire. I turned towards the skiff nearest the cluster of rocks and leapt off my swoop, landing in the mists of five angry thugs.

"Hello there," I smiled, drawing their attention. Igniting my lightsaber, I moved into action, my lightsaber removing the arms of the two closest henchmen before spinning to deflect the blaster fire of a man behind me. Raising my hand I force pushed him off the skiff before turning to the other two thugs; an angry weequay, and a surprisingly agile dug who managed to grab my lightsaber with one of his feet. I struggled as a tug-o-war ensued. The weequay charged, swinging a long rifle at my head. I stopped pulling on the weapon and dove forward, causing the dug to fall back in surprise as I flew overhead, the weequay's rifle missing me by inches. As I landed on the other side of the dug, the weapon tore loose from our grips and tumbled off the skiff into the sand below.

"Of course," I muttered as I jumped to my feet. The weequay was back in action, swinging towards my gut. Through the force, I called one of the rifles that my armless opponents had dropped. I just managed to block the blow, taking a forced step back, before swinging my rifle towards his head. He barely managed to block it as we proceeded in a sort of mock lightsaber battle like two clumsy padawans. What he lacked in skill he made up in strength. His next swing knocked me off balance and nearly off the side of the skiff. I was about to swing again when a blaster bolt hit his chest, knocking him down.

"Is that how Jedi handle firearms?" Owen asked, his blaster still smoking from the kill shot. He was piloting a now abandoned skiff with two of his men. "No wonder they play with swords."

I smiled curtly and turned my attention to the dug; he had recovered from his fall and was approaching me with a large dagger. I turned to rifle towards him and fired, blasting the dagger from his hand. He looked at me in surprise and turned to run, jumping off the skiff. His two armless companions followed suit. I turned to Owen who nodded.

"That's better. I guess you can teach and old Jedi new tricks," he smirked.

I tossed the weapon aside and turned to the skiffs controls. Scanning the battle I could see Owen's men were taking on another skiff while Darklighter's men battled the other two. I began to pilot it towards the skiffs at a high rate of speed. With the collision course set, I put it on autopilot and leapt to the shelter of the rock formation.

"Everyone, get down!" I instructed. The men turned to see my abandoned skiff heading straight for the other two. They instinctively took cover a moment before the skiff crashed into the nearest one, resulting in a violent explosion that damaged the third skiff's propulsion unit. The skiff fell to the sand below, throwing its men out in all directions. The farmers surrounded the surviving henchmen, who reluctantly surrendered. I could see the dug and the two armless skiff guards were in the group.

"We take no prisoners," Owen instructed. "They wouldn't pay us the same courtesy, I assure you. And I don't want any argument from you Jedi," he warned, turning towards me. "We've lost five good men here today, many of them with families."

I began to protest when the farmers opened fire, killing the henchmen where they stood. I could only hang my head in shame. Even the separatists had shown mercy to their captives. I could sense the quilt and anxiety in the farmers as well as the realization of what they had done began to sink in.

"It was necessary," Owen justified.

"Yes, we needed to send them a message," Darklighter agreed. "Now they know that we are not going to just stand by while they take our farms and kill our families."

"I'm afraid all you've done," I said with a hint of controlled anger, "is to earn the rage of not only Jabba, but his men as well. You've made this personal for them and now they will come at you with everything they've got."

I looked each of them in the eye and they looked down in shame.

"What's done is done," I sighed. "All we can do now is bury the dead and increase our perimeter guards."

I knew that no matter how many men we gathered it would not be enough. This had gone from an insignificant rebellion to a personal feud with one of the galaxy's most ruthless gangsters. I had to put an end to this before it got any worse. The Abyssin was right. The only way to protect them was to turn myself in.