Star Wars Book One: Force

Chapter 8: Roadblocks

Anchorhead, Tatooine

"I don't believe this!" Korra shouted, pacing back and forth by the door.

They had moved outside after Fixer dropped his bombshell. Luke had tried to calm her but to no avail. He had found out the hard way how stubborn she could be.

"He'll be fine Korra." Luke started. "From what you've told me he can handle himself."

"I know he can handle himself!" she said, looking off into the distance. Tatooine's twin suns were now starting to set, casting long shadows as they fell below the horizon. "I just wish he hadn't run off like that!"

Luke was about to try once again to reassure her when he heard the distinctive warble of a speeder bike. Korra heard it as well, turning towards the source. Sure enough, Tenzin was finally making his way back. Korra stormed off towards him, not waiting for him to stop and power down the bike. Luke decided it was best to stay put. He didn't know the man, so he had no right to say anything.

Tenzin stood down from the vehicle, gathering his cloak around himself. Noticing his padawan making her way towards him, not looking pleased at his disappearance, he braced himself for her wrath.

"I can explain." He said, seeing the rage on Korra's face.

"You better Tenzin!" she yelled. "Leaving me here for six hours without a word would need a damned good one!"

Choosing his words carefully, Tenzin told his student of his experience in the cave. He simply explained how he had felt the disturbance, and how he thought it necessary to investigate without her. His words seemed to calm her somewhat, though he could still sense the anger within her. She still had much to learn about controlling her feelings.

Something that he knew needed to be rectified soon.

Korra was still processing all that he had told her when Tenzin turned his attention to Luke. The farm boy was standing by the doorway to the station, his arms folded across his chest. Tenzin smiled, having seen him and Korra standing together as he arrived.

"I see you've made a friend." He said to his padawan. Korra jumped from her thoughts, turning to the object of his gaze.

"Yeah that's Luke. His uncle owns a moisture farm not far from here. He said they might be hiring a few new hands."

Tenzin nodded. "We may have to see about taking him up on that. For now we should be getting back to the ship. I don't like the thought of travelling after dark on this world. Tell Luke that we'll be back this way tomorrow if his offer still stands."

"Ok. I'll just be a minute." Korra said, turning back to her new friend. Luke saw her making her way towards him, pushing himself off the wall to face her.

"Glad your friend made it back in one piece." He said with a smirk. "Hope you didn't tear him up too badly."

Korra smiled at his quip. "Oh trust me he's not out of it yet. We've got to get going, but we'll be back tomorrow, if you still need help on your farm."

Luke's eyes brightened. "I'll tell my uncle about you then. I'm sure he'll want to meet you as well. Speaking of which I should get going to, or he'll throw me to the rancor."

"Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow" she replied, laughing at his joke. Waving goodbye, she turned back to Tenzin, who was already mounting up on the speederbike. Making her way towards him, she climbed on the back and braced herself for the acceleration. Tenzin gunned the throttle, whisking them off back towards their shelter.

Struggling to make himself heard over the bike's engine, Tenzin addressed his concerns to his student.

"Tomorrow your training will begin in earnest. I believe it is time that we begin your training in the use of the Force."

Korra nearly fell off the bike because of how much she started. "Are you sure? I don't know if I'm up to that yet." The memory of what happened in the hanger back on Kurlik was still fresh in her mind.

"You will do fine Korra." Tenzin reassured. "You will have me there to keep things under control this time."

Korra relaxed a little, but the thought of losing control again made her anxious. It had been on her mind ever since they had made their escape two days ago. The thoughts had only made her more determined to master her abilities, and use them to protect her family. She cleared her mind of her misgivings, steeling herself for the hardships to come.

Tenzin sensed the change in his padawan's demeanour, smiling at how well she was adjusting. Only a few days before she was living on the streets of a backwater world, isolated from the greater galaxy, completely unaware of her own potential. Had she been born decades before Tenzin had no doubt Korra would have become a great Jedi, standing among such legends as the great Obi wan Kenobi and Mace Windu. Today however, Tenzin feared that the trials she would face could end in disaster. The Empire would stop at nothing to find them, especially now that Amon knew that she was in the presence of a trained Jedi Master. The risk to their order was too great for them to ignore. Tenzin knew that Tatooine was only a temporary stop. They would need to keep moving from system to system, keeping their heads down and never staying in the same place for too long.

The Empire made too good use of bounty hunters, and the bounty they had surely placed on them would no doubt capture the interest of the Hutts.

They made it back to the ship just as the last rays of Tatooine's binary sunset crested the horizon. Having heard the commotion from the bike's repulsorlift drive, Lin came down the gangplank to meet them, her arms folded across her chest.

"What the hell took you two so long?" she asked, the irritation clear in her tone.

"Well, mister spiritual here took it upon himself to do a little exploring without telling me." Korra answered, half teasing and half angry.

Lin raised an eyebrow at her remark, looking back at the Jedi. "What could there possibly be out in that waste that you found so important?"

"I'll tell you everything later Lin." Tenzin said, making his way up the ramp. "Right now we should all get some rest."

Lin's eyes bore into him, and then she shrugged, shaking her head and making her way back to her quarters. Tenzin and Korra followed, splitting off towards their own bunks. Walking down the corridor towards her room, Korra thought back over the events of the past day. Arriving on this world was a huge relief, finally being away from the threat of the Empire. Tenzin had slightly soured her good mood with his little stunt, but overall she felt good. Opening the door to her room, she threw herself down on her bunk, for the first time in weeks allowing herself to lower her guard.

For the first time in a long while, Korra truly had some hope for the future.

The following day, Korra found herself out on the mesa, the sun beating down on her. In the early hours of the morning Tenzin had cleared an area for the two of them to train in, and a few objects of various sizes to that end. He had been true to his word about training. Ever since dawn Korra had been toiling away, starting with the familiar 'block the shots' exercise she had practiced while in hyperspace. She had gotten quite good at it, blocking everything that came her way with Tenzin's lightsaber. She couldn't remember the last time a shot got past her. After a few hours of that, Tenzin had moved her onto something a little more advanced, namely deflecting the bolts from the probe into a set target. Much to Tenzin's surprise, she turned out to be a natural with a lightsaber, picking up on the technique after only a few misses. It had taken Tenzin weeks to get to the point that she had reached in a few hours. Korra truly was gifted.

Now however, the real training had started.

An hour ago Tenzin had moved her onto meditation exercises, feeling that she had gotten the hang of blocking blaster bolts. Just like getting her to listen to him in the cargo hold however, Korra was proving difficult to focus. While he had done his best to guide her to connect with the Force, she had been fidgeting and shifting the entire time.

After a while, Korra let out a sigh, having had enough of her lack of progress.

"This isn't working Tenzin." She said, her eyes downcast.

Tenzin opened his eyes. "Patience Korra." He began. "This isn't something that just comes to you."

"I'm trying my best, I really am! I don't know why I can't do this again!" she said exasperated.

Tenzin stood from his sitting position, moving towards his student. "I think I know what your problem is."

Korra's eyes shot up, fixing on her teachers. "What is it? Why can't I do something that you say is so easy?"

"You're afraid." He said. "I can sense it in you. You think that if you connect to the Force like you did back on Kurlik, you will lose control and hurt those around you."

He sat down next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Korra shifted, clearly he had hit a nerve.

"What happened back there was a result of your desperation. You lashed out against Amon because you were afraid of what he would do to your friends if he got past me."

Korra looked away, feeling ashamed that Tenzin could read her so easily. He was absolutely right though. Ever since they had made their escape she hadn't been herself. She felt like if she so much as looked at someone the wrong way she would toss them across the room. It was exhausting. She wanted to learn how to control her power, but she was afraid of what may happen while she did just that.

"Like I said yesterday, you do not need to fear. It's just us here now, and I'm here to guide you." Tenzin finished.

Korra sighed, nodding her head in acceptance. Tenzin was right. She could do this. She had to.

"Alright. Let's try this again." She said brightening up, her signature lopsided grin adorning her features.

Tenzin smiled, returning to his position opposite her.

"Remember what I taught you yesterday Korra." he began. "Empty your mind of everything. Focus on the energy of the Force around you."

Korra closed her eyes. She had done this before, she just had to do it again. Taking a deep breath, she focused as best she could, tuning out her surroundings, searching for the semi familiar ebb and flow of the Force.

"Relax." Tenzin instructed. "Do not search for the Force, allow it to come to you."

Korra let out the breath she had been holding, easing herself into a state of calm. With plenty of guidance from Tenzin, she managed to finally connect with the Force once again. This time however it felt different, stronger and more nourishing. Tenzin had told her that her connection would become more powerful as she trained, but she hadn't expected it to happen so fast.

"Excellent Korra." She heard him praise. "Now, I want you to imagine moving the rock I just set next to you. Focus on the image of it hanging in the air in front of you."

And so she did. Keeping the image in her mind, she raised her hand and willed the Force to act on her thoughts. Nothing seemed to happen. She didn't feel any different, there was no sound to denote anything. There was just the breeze blowing sand and dust across the mesa, and the sound of her own heartbeat. Risking a break in her concentration, she opened her eyes to survey her handiwork.

The rock hadn't budged an inch.

Groaning in frustration, she threw herself backwards onto the hard, sun baked earth.

"Well, at least you connected with the Force again." Tenzin said, trying to make light of the situation.

Korra didn't respond. Sitting back up, she ran a hand through her hair, her eyes fixed on the rock she had been so focused on.

"I think I'm done with training for today." She said, standing up and walking back towards the ship.

Tenzin called after her, but she did listen. Making her way up the gangplank, she couldn't help but feel like something was still wrong. She had connected to the Force just fine, but what good was that to her if she couldn't do anything with it?

She was so deep in her despair that she almost ran right into Mako.

"Woah! You ok Korra?" he asked, narrowly avoiding an embarrassing collision.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Korra started at her clumsiness. "Yeah, I'm fine." She stuttered, trying to push past him.

Mako didn't buy it. "Training not going well huh?"

Sighing in defeat, she turned to face him. Nothing ever got past him. She swore were it not for his criminal past he would have ended up with the Imperial Security Bureau.

"Not especially, no." she said.

"Don't worry about it, you've only been at it for a few days." Mako comforted her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it. You're not one to give up so easily."

Korra smiled. Mako had always been supportive of her. Sure, they had gotten off to a rocky start when he and Bolin found her all those years ago, but he had become like a brother to her, always being the rock of their little band of misfits.

"I know I'll get it. It's just frustrating." She said.

Mako smiled, glad that he had gotten through to her. "You need a rest. Bolin and Asami are having a rematch in the rec room, fancy cheering the big lug on?" he said with a smirk.

Korra returned the gesture. "He'll need all the encouragement we can muster to stand a chance against her."

Laughing, the two of them made their way to what promised to be quite the spectacle. Mako silently gave thanks the Bolin wasn't a Wookie, or Asami would be in serious trouble after the coming curbstomp.

Star Destroyer Equaliser, Orbiting Planet Kurlik

Amon stood on the bridge of the mighty warship, gazing into the void. The Jedi had escaped his grasp, and they had no way of tracking them through hyperspace. However, he was not without means of locating them. After his report to Lord Vader he had begun his investigation into the identities of the rebels. The two young men were of no concern to him, finding them to be simple street urchins. However, he had found that one of the women with the group was none other than Asami Sato, the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, the CEO of Seinar Fleet Systems. Amon was well acquainted with the man, seeing as Seinar provided the Imperial Fleet with their entire starfighter complement, as well as the drive cores that powered the great Imperial class Star Destroyers. He had met the man before on multiple occasions, and formed a close working relationship. He would surely be distraught that his daughter had been caught up in a rebel plot, and be willing to do anything to see her return home, as well as see the ones who had 'kidnapped' her pay for their transgressions.

Such emotion would make the man easy to bring into his plans.

"My lord, Mr Sato is on the holocom for you." the bridge communication officer said.

"Patch it through to my private quarters." Amon replied, turning towards the turbolift. Arriving in his quarters, he activated the holoprojector. Humming to life, the pudgy image of Hiroshi Sato appeared before him. He looked flustered, no doubt fretting over the safety of his only child.

"Inquisitor." He began. "You may be my only hope now."

Amon bowed his head, "These rebels are cunning Mr Sato. This attack is only the latest in a long list of injustices they have committed. They have evaded us for far too long. It is time that they finally face justice for their crimes."

Sato seemed to relax, a smile creeping onto his features.

"How do you plan to find them? From what your navigation officer sent me it looks like they fled on a random course. They could be anywhere in the galaxy right now."

"I can assure you that they are still in the outer rim Hiroshi." Amon said. "It is the only region of the galaxy that rebels would find some form of safe haven. We have already sent out bounty notices over the holonet. The rebel scum can no longer hide from us, and your daughter will soon be on her way home to you."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sato nodded his approval. "Thank you Inquisitor. I will be forever in your debt if you can return Asami unharmed." His expression darkened. "The other rebels I don't care how you plan to deal with."

Amon smirked under his mask. "Oh I assure you, they shall all meet ends fitting for traitors."

Sato sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his hand. "The Empire has done so much for my family. If there is anything that I can do to assist your efforts, do not hesitate to contact me."

"Our agents are already in the field. I will be sure to keep you updated on our progress." Amon said before cutting the link. Entering the code for one of his most trusted contacts, the holoterminal buzzed to life once again.

"We have a new assignment for you, if you are interested."

"That depends." The man said, his three companions visible in the background.

"Who is the target?"