Sixty Nine

Stoyan felt him before he saw him.

Moving fast he grabbed the light sabre and activated it. The menacing hum amplified in the confined space.

"Easy there lad." The captain's voice was low and quiet.

Stoyan didn't say a word, the gold light from his sword illuminating the small sleeping quarters.

"I'm not your enemy here, but others will be when they wake and find their friend dead." He squinted and turned his head away from the light emanating from the ancient weapon.

Stoyan closed it down.

The captain sought a spot at the end of a bunk and sat.

"We've all committed some sort of crime on board this ship. None of us here are innocent."

Stoyan relaxed a little and looked at the man seated.

He liked the captain of this ship. He had met a few on his travels, but this one appeared genuine, he had felt that, the minute they had met.

"Listen, we don't have much time. I know who you are and about the bounty on your head. It'll only be a matter of time when the others put two and three together, but unlike the other men on this crew, I knew your brother."

Stoyan sat back, startled at what he was hearing.

'A brother, is that what he said? I have a brother?'

The captain continued to talk but Stoyan was distracted at the revelation. Yoda had never mentioned a family. He knew nothing other than that he was originally from Concord Dawn.

The captain could clearly see the confusion cross the younger man's face.

"I was in a spot of trouble on Tatooine once and your brother helped me out of a nasty situation. I swore from then on I would return the favour." His voice softened, "I have a debt to repay Stoyan. Smee has stocked an escape pod with rations that will get you through a week."

"I have money Sir."

"Hide you money in this part of the universe. As soon as you use it, you'll wake with it gone and your throat cut, Jedi or not."

"My brother, you said – "

The captain smiled and stood. "Talking of the dead only haunts the thoughts of the living. You're a Jedi. Your family would be proud. Come, we're passing Scillal, you should go before I lose half my crew to that fancy sword of yours."

Stoyan grabbed his meagre kit and followed the captain to the escape pod. Throwing his bag in he turned and extended his hand, "I won't forget this."

The captain clasped the outstretched limb, "keep your head down and your wits about you. You've a bounty hunter on your tail thanks to that Jedi Master on Coruscant."

Stoyan straightened and smiled, "he's been after me for fourteen years, I don't plan on getting caught now."

"You're just lucky the war is still raging, and that the Jedi are too invested in the outcome against Dooku. Good luck Stoyan."

Stoyan had nothing to offer other than words, "may the Force be with you captain."

The captain just smiled and nodded,'where you're headed, you'll need it more than me,' he thought to himself.

Thirty seven years earlier...

They came knocking on the door in the early hours of the morning.

She was exhausted from the delivery.

It was cold. Bitterly cold, and the fire had been kept burning by her husband constantly feeding the dying embers with more wood, desperately trying to find dry pieces to replace the burned out ones in the hearth.

Her mother had helped during the labour. Twin boys to add to the daughter she had already. They lived on a farmstead on Concord Dawn, a happy existence until the night they turned up.

Cloaked in long, brown, hooded robes, they came, with their soft voices and mesmerising words.

"We have reason to believe that one of the boys is gifted."

She was horrified of course.

That one was wanted by the esteemed religious order known as Jedi.

They explained how difficult it would be to raise such a talented child; not being able to control his ability and how they alone knew how to harness his power. He would grow to be revered and respected throughout the universe.

Four days.

That's all she had to decide.

Ekat held the small boy close during that time, feeding him, and committing every part of his small body to memory.

She had named him Stoyan.

The other twin had avoided the 'curse' as she referred to it, and spent those days being partly ignored, wailing into the night hungry and neglected until the other child was taken.

They were identical, the boys.

The one they took was calm, settling well at night while the other screamed, his pink face scrunched as he shrieked, not taking to the breast as the other had. He was a difficult child, but he had something special about him.

He might not have been chosen by the Jedi, but he too, was destined to be great – in one form or another.

The Order nurtured the young child. Given to a human wet nurse, he was conditioned to become more than the average Jedi – Yoda would see to that.

His midicholorine levels were high, unusually high.

Was he the one?

Yoda had invested everything in the small boy from Concord Dawn. He would see to his training personally, conditioning him to be one of the best, if not, the best.

And he was.

Stoyan learnt from an early age to 'feel' the power of the Force. It flowed through him effortlessly and many were in awe of the young human that Yoda had found. He was gifted with speed like no other and his ability to read other people's emotions and thoughts unsettled the echelon of Knights.

But then he began to ask questions, difficult questions.

He demanded a deeper understanding of his Faith. He had outgrown the starry eyed boy and had developed into an intellectual; interrogating the Order for answers, disputing their very existence and hierarchy.

Stoyan pushed the boundaries like no other Jedi before him until one day, he simply disappeared.

He was twenty three when he abandoned the only world he had ever known.

Yoda had told him nothing about who he was, only where he had come from, but he knew that meant nothing to the young man.

He just wanted to escape from the Order he was expected to maintain, at all costs.

Stoyan knew it was coming; it was in his DNA after all.

.

He felt the surge as the small pod was jettisoned off into deep space and the second rush as the engines engaged and directed the small craft to the planet coming into view.

Scillal.

A planet in the Outer Rim Territories. It's inhabitants included humans and it was important for its aeronautical engineering corporation, Scillal Industries.

It attracted all sorts of drifters from around the universe. The industry needed workers and more often than not, would pay reasonable credits for anyone wanting to work hard and remain tight lipped.

Stoyan would fit in well.

The pod landed with a thump which winded the lone Jedi. He sat and regained his breath before he dared open the hatch and peer around at his new home, for however long that would be.

With a gentle Force push, he opened the cabin door.

Yes, this would do nicely.

Stoyan alighted and stretched his neck a few times, rotating it and releasing the tension as he took in a long, deep breath, closing his eyes and concentrating.

With little effort, the Jedi lifted the escape pod and wedged it in between two boulders. The entrance faced north, to capture the morning sun. He then began to camouflage the shiny silver exterior with branches, his light sabre making easy work of slashing the lush foliage.

Satisfied that it was well hidden, he crept back inside and grabbed his rations.

He had enough to last a week the captain had said.

That would be two weeks for the disciplined Jedi.

Then he would need to explore the area and eventually gain a job of any sort to survive once his credits ran out.

It was what he did.

Relocating all the time, Stoyan had become a master of his own destiny.

The Jedi had taught him well.

He was one of the best, after all.

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