Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Mandalorian Wars
Chapter 4

The council wasn't going to do anything. As far as they were concerned Avner had died on Tarnith. Alek growled. He restrained the urge to punch the closest wall. It took more restraint than he cared to admit to not punch the wall. Why did it have to be Avner? Why the hell did it have to be him?

"Damn it," Alek muttered and fell back into a chair. He was completely alone in this hall. He turned his gaze on the window. The sun was peeking over the buildings, staining the sky red and gold.

"Alek?" a voice tore Alek from his frustrations.

Alek looked to his left. A Jedi knight around his age stood before him. His long brown hair was pulled back and he looked at Alek with kind, brown eyes. Just behind him was a lanky boy who looked nervously at Alek then at the other Jedi and back.

"I thought I'd find you here when I heard you were back on Coruscant." He sat down beside Alek without asking. "The Jedi on Tarnith, it's Avner, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Alek confirmed, his frustration coming out as a breath. "What's with the kid, Darious?" Alek tried to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about Avner being trapped where no one could help him.

"This is my padawan, Jasper Kane," Darious introduced the boy. His dark eyes didn't move from Alek. "You know, Avner will escape, right?"

"I – wait, since when did you have a padawan?!" Alek demanded. Out of the three of them Avner should've been the first to receive a padawan. Both Alek and Darious knew this. The two of them had agreed on it years ago before they'd been separated on becoming padawans themselves.

Darious sighed. "Since a year ago," Darious stated. "And you just changed the subject, old friend."

Alek grunted in reply. No matter how good Avner was, mastery of the force might not be enough for him to make it out alive. "He will," Alek stated with a glance at the boy. He had short, curly, sandy hair. A long braid hung loosely down the right side of his face.

The boy moved a little way from the two of them and was speaking with a woman. She too wore a padawan braid, but was older and looked as if she was about to become a knight. Her light brown hair was worn short and her blue eyes shown with laughter as she spoke with the younger padawan.

Darious followed Alek's gaze. "Have you ever thought about becoming a master to a padawan, Alek?"

"Not really," Alek confessed. "That seems something Avner would like."

"Perhaps, if he stopped antagonizing most of the Jedi Masters, then it would happen," Darious gave a small smile. "Though asking Avner to stop speaking his mind would be like asking you to throw away your lightsaber."

Alek scowled. "You'd have better luck moving a mountain." He kept his gaze on the two padawans. "Who's the girl your padawan's talking with?"

"Meetra, I believe that's her name. She's here for a time with her master before returning to Dantooine."

"She seems a little old to still be a padawan." Alek sighed and looked away from the two padawans, he returned his gaze to the rising sun. "How long are you here for?"

"Until assigned to another mission," Darious confessed. "Just remember the code, Alek. I know Avner's like a brother to you." Darious clapped Alek's shoulder as he stood. He left Alek sitting there and walked off with his padawan.

Alek glanced in the direction they'd gone. "The code won't do much to help Avner."

xxx

Avner looked out the window. The harsh scent of fire flowed in to him. In the distance the sound of blaster fire rang. Each bolt shot, each life forever changed, sent a jolt of pain straight through Avner. He could feel it. Their lives held by a thin thread of the force before snuffing out in the blink of an eye.

The tools trembled in Avner's hand. He'd worked through the night on the droids, but now – now his mind was distracted by the cries which echoed through the force to him. There was so much pain, so much lose; he couldn't cut himself from it. Even here, safe behind the walls of the rebel base, Avner couldn't pull his thoughts from the battle raging in the city below.

"Master Jedi?"

Avner straightened. The tool slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor before it rolled out of sight. "Yes?" Avner asked. His voice was calm, none of pain he shared with those dying below could be heard.

It was Susan. "I was just coming to see if you needed any help." She picked up the tool and passed it back to Avner.

"I'm almost done," Avner confessed and gestured so she could see most of the droids were gone. "Thank you for the offer." Avner bent over the droid and he'd been working on. He forced himself to clear his mind. The task was far harder than he cared to admit.

"You must've worked through the night to finish all those droids." Susan sat down beside Avner. She looked out the window and shook her head. "I would state you're crazy but I think I'd do the same thing in the long run."

"Why aren't you fighting? If you don't mind me asking?" Avner didn't look at her.

"I'm a medical officer. I was on assignment to help the lieutenant's squad when the call came in to retreat. We left several good men to die that day."

Avner lowered his tools and stared at the droid before him. "More people will die before this ends," he whispered. And there wasn't a thing he could do to stop it. A small sigh escaped him. "How are the injured?"

"Better now," Susan replied and leaned against the nearby beam. "I've seen Jedi healers before. I must admit, I wish I could heal like you do."

"I'm not a healer," Avner stated bluntly. "My first master was and she taught me the basics of it." That was as far as he wanted to go into this matter. He didn't deny the fact Master Arren Kae had been a great master, but they'd argued more than anything else.

"If you're not a healer, what would you say you are?"

Avner shrugged. "Among the order there are different professions just like outside of it. A Jedi can specialize in any aspect of the force from healing to mastery of the 'saber to a deeper understanding of the living Force."

"Yeah… so which are you?"

"I seek to understand all aspects of the force." Avner kept working on the droid before him. It wasn't a really good explanation. Truthfully Avner wasn't really any profession seen among the Order. Most of the masters deemed what Avner did as dangerous. He'd been told many times he was walking a thin line between the light and dark side of the force. That a small push would send him over the end into the darkness and there would be no return.

Avner tended to disagree, which was just another reason he avoided taking the trials to becoming a master. With most of the masters on the high council against him, there was no point in even trying to become a master.

A silence fell between the two of them. Avner didn't want to continue on with the conversation and give away too much of the Order's culture to an outsider. Most people didn't understand Jedi or the ways of the Jedi Order.

"About yesterday," Susan started, "I wanted to thank you. Even if the lieutenant never admits it, we would've been dead now without you."

Avner shook his head. "Don't underestimate yourselves. I'm certain the four of you would've thought of someway to survive." Once more, it was in the nature of all species to fight for survival.

"Perhaps you should take your words to heart," Susan said.

Avner looked at her. A frown pulled at his lips. What did she mean by that? True he would push himself, but that couldn't be her meaning.

"I know you want to be out there with the soldiers. I saw you watching them last night," she confessed with a shrug. "The lieutenant let all of us know you were only asked to help with the healing and repairs. He seemed…" she trailed, glancing at him with a worried look in her eye.

"Grateful I wasn't given more to do?" Avner finished in her stead. "I wasn't planning on waiting here all day for the injured." He continued working on the droid.

"So that's the reason you were working through the night, then?" she asked.

Avner smiled. "In a sense."

"You're not really one for chatter, are you?"

"You want a Jedi to talk a lot?" Avner raised both eyebrows at her. "You'll be disappointed in that." He returned to working on the droid. "I've already spoken more than most of the Jedi masters do."

There was a pause before she asked, "You're not a master?"

"You thought I was? Masters aren't sent this far from the core worlds or temples. Not unless the situation absolutely demands their attention." No, he was a knight and would rather stay a knight where he could be of use to the people of the Republic.

Avner set down the tools and reactivated the droid. It came to life and stood. After a few seconds the droid moved off to do as its programing dictated.

Standing, Avner continued, "You were right, though. I don't plan on standing back and watching as people die." He would never do so. Not as long as he had breath in this body. Until the Force claimed him he wouldn't turn his back on those who needed his help. "Thank you," he bowed his head to her before he started towards the main level.

"For what?" Susan asked as she stood.

"For the chat," Avner stated, with a glance over his shoulder at her. He moved down to the main floor and through the crowd of civilians who were taking shelter here. He looked at each face, taking in their emotions as he passed. Fear, sorrow, pain, and more was mixed into the air with the feeling of death.

"The supplies are running a bit low," the sound of the prime minister's voice came through the open door of his office.

"We'll need to take some from the bucket heads then," the head of security said. "What do you think, Lieutenant?"

"We should head around their main base and enter from two sides. Cut them off in order to take the supplies."

"Do you think you could get our people back to the mandies' base?"

"Of course."

"There's one matter you've over looked," Avner said, standing in the door. "The mandalorians are a nomadic people. The likelihood they'll still be in the sewers is highly unlikely."

"Avner?" the prime minister looked up from the map he'd been going over. "I thought you had droids to repair?"

"Just finished." Avner moved further into the room. "Prime minister, I understand you don't want to trust a Jedi, especially when it was my former master you asked for and not me. But I can be of use to your people." And he wasn't a healer for the force's sake!

The prime minister looked at Avner with a thoughtful gaze. "You're right, I did ask for Master Arren Kae and the council sent you instead, a knight." There was no resentment in his voice. "Your master was healer, so I assumed you were as well."

"I know very little about healing." Avner looked from one person to the next. "If you're planning on going after the mandalorians' food supplies, you'll need a far more solid plan than that. Mandalorians are a war loving people."

"Since when did you become an expert on the mandalorians?" Carvan demanded, glaring at Avner.

"Look, I get the fact you don't like me, lieutenant, but right now personal feelings shouldn't be getting in the way of what the people need."

Before any of them could speak, a man came racing into the room. "Sir, the mandalorians have breached the barricades!"

Avner didn't wait for the others to act. He turned and raced from the room. His long robes whipped out behind him. There was no way he would let all these people be killed. There was just no way.

"Damn Jedi, wait up!" Carvan shouted. His metal boots stuck the ground as he raced after Avner.

Avner could sense several others following close behind. He raced out into the city, following the cries of the dying. He didn't know if he was heading in the right direction. He didn't even know if this was wise. The life force shattering around was all that drove Avner forward.

Before too long, the scent of burning flesh filled the air. Avner skidded to a halt. Ahead he could just make out the signs of battle. There was no time to lose. He raced towards the fighting.

Grabbing his lightsaber, Avner rounded the bend and slid to avoid blaster fire. The purple blade hummed to life. Several shots bounced off his blade into the enemies who had fired.

Avner raced towards the frontline. The force flowed through him. Rubble was lifted from the ground. With a flick of his hand he sent a piece of the fallen building towards the mandalorians. Shouts sounded. The Mandalorians leapt aside. A few weren't so lucky. Avner could feel their pain through the force. It cried around him and sent waves of pain through his mind.

There was no way. Avner blocked a vibroblade. Sparks flew in every direction. There was no way he was going to let the mandalorians make it passed this line. He shoved his hand forward. A wave of force shot from Avner. It slammed into the mandalorians.

Blasters fired behind Avner. Each shot slammed into the disoriented mandalorians. The ones who hadn't died just straightened and started to fire on Avner and the other rebels. There was no end to them.

Several mandalorians charged Avner. Avner leapt back. The silver vibroblade whooshed through the air. The tip came within an inch of his nose. His 'saber greeted the second blade as it was swung towards his neck. Avner skidded back several feet.

Rocks and metal flew towards the two mandalorians. They were flown back several feet into several of their comrades. Avner raced forward. He aimed to sever the mandalorian's arm. Instead his blade slashed across the man's chest. The mandalorian's body seemed to fall in slow motion. Avner stood there. He'd just – but – how?

A mandalorian leapt at Avner from above. Without turning, Avner sent a wave of the force at the mandalorian. It sent him flying.

"Enough," Avner whispered.

The mandalorians were surrounding him.

"Enough!" Avner leapt into the air. The force swelled around him. He held to it, curling into a ball with his blade held out before him. "Enough!" he repeated as if crying this one word to the stars. The energy exploded from him. It swept through the crowd. The mandalorians were sent in every direction.

The few who remained scrambled to their feet. The commander barked orders and the group raced off into the city.

Avner stood there, looking at the bodies around him. He'd killed. He'd not only killed, but killed with the force several times this day. His stomach churned. At the same time he couldn't bring himself to regret what he'd done. It'd been for the people who called this place home. If he hadn't killed these people, those who needed the protection of Avner and the rebellion would've died instead.