Part 2: Hunting Jedi
~12BBY
Chapter 4: The Purge Trooper
With a press of a button, a flashing indicator light and the low beeping that accompanied it were replaced with the face of an intelligence officer glowing from the small cockpit holo display.
"PT-152, report with all haste to the exonium mines on Rishi. The intelligence report is on its way to you now," the officer said mechanically then abruptly ended the communication.
After a year of grueling training the girl had received her new resignation as an active member of the Purge Trooper Division and was sent out into the galaxy to search for remnants of the Jedi order. Most of the leads, however, turned out to be nothing more than exaggerations and rumors. Some were especially skilled fighters or odd circumstances at best but no Jedi and only occasionally someone who was force sensitive.
This latest call came in as her shuttle left the atmosphere of yet another dead-end planet. She made the hyperspace calculations for Rishi and as soon as the communications panel emitted a single ping indicating that the report had been received she initiated the hyperspace jump. It would be a couple of days until she arrived so there was plenty of time to read the report in detail later. She left the cockpit and stripped out of the clothes that had almost fit in with the local population.
Why they insisted on issuing a disguise every time she went undercover for one of these investigations was always a mystery to her. The Empire was notoriously uninterested in the details of any given planet's culture, which resulted in costume-like clothes that were always slightly off kilter to what the locals actually wore. However, since she was never issued more credits than were necessary for refueling and basic survival, she had no choice but to make due with what they gave her.
She dropped the clothes unceremoniously in a pile outside of the refresher and cleaned herself up.
Despite the fruitlessness of the majority of her assignments, her meticulous work and nearly unmatched combat skills had earned her the trust of the Inquisitors and with that the best opportunities to encounter a Jedi. She tried not to imagine how ridiculous the leads must be that other seekers were assigned if these were, in fact, the best.
After cleaning up and putting on the black body glove troopers wore under their armor, she returned to the cockpit. It was unusual to receive new orders when she still had three open leads to investigate, even more unusual to be sent a report rather than return to headquarters for briefing.
She opened this report with more curiosity than usual and the first words to catch her eye were 'known rebel' and 'Jedi'. Excitement lept in her chest and she skimmed the rest of the report, then read it in close detail several times to convince herself she was not imagining it.
She could hardly believe what she was reading. The Inquisitors had set a trap for a Jedi and chosen her to be the one to capture them!
The intelligence operatives in this sector had carefully spread misinformation hoping to draw a Jedi here to the soon-to-be-defunct exonium mines of Rishi. Her orders are simple, to be present if or when this Jedi shows up and capture or kill them.
As uneventful days turned into uneventful weeks, her initial excitement waned and she grew more and more frustrated with the Inquisitorius' reliance on the Imperial Security Bureau. She paced through the same mines and patrolled the same wide metal walkways that traversed the same gaping chasms that felt like just another dead end while her thoughts kept circling back to her other leads that were growing colder by the minute.
The intelligence operatives must have failed to sow convincing rumors.
She passed a squad of stormtroopers in their plain white armor. A few come to attention but she continues without acknowledging them at all. It has been a while since she spent time around regular stormtroopers and she'd almost forgotten that most were almost as afraid of Purge Troopers as they were the Inquisitors. The black armor, designed to actually stand a chance against a Jedi's lightsaber, and dark red eyes of the helmet were particularly imposing and caused most stormtroopers to withdraw from her. None spoke to her unless relaying information or commands. She preferred it that way, of course, as she had no more desire to be social with them as they did with her. Once or twice over the years she had considered taking one of her supposed comrades back to her quarters but the thought of sharing a bed, even for a single night, with someone who would willingly join the Empire disgusted her. Instead she slept alone, ate alone, and kept others as far away from her as possible. Now she wished she was back on her shuttle, alone.
Why would a Jedi come here? These mines had been in the process of shutting down for months. Even at the height of activity the only things they produced were exonium and some basic ores. Nothing notable. What rumors could they have spread that a Jedi would find valuable enough to come here?
The echo of her boots reverberated off the metal walls of the service tunnel as stepped out of this particular tunnel into this particular cavern for what felt like the hundredth time when something finally changed. Chatter arose over the comms in her helmet with reports of an intruder in the lower levels followed shortly after by reports of fatalities.
Excitement bloomed in her chest again.
Finally! Is this the Jedi? She has walked these halls so many times that she knew their twists and turns in excruciating detail. Now, as the reports came in, she could see the intruder's path in her mind.
Level twelve corridor C: he entered the lift to level ten.
'He.' She takes note. The intruder is a man.
Fatalities are reported on level ten.
Is he leaving the mines? No one spotted him on the way down.
The lift to level six; the level she is on. Finally, someone identifies him explicitly as a Jedi.
He is in corridor 13B.
Now he is in corridor 12A.
He was coming from the section directly ahead of her. A unit of stormtroopers rush past and hold position, at the ready, halfway across the chasm. She stands completely still staring ahead, hardly able to believe that there is actually a Jedi here and more than that he was coming straight for her!
She draws her electrostaff and ignites it as the comms go silent. The only sound is the faint drip of water coming from somewhere off in the cavern. Then the large, heavy metal doors at the far end of the walkway open with a groan and a crash. The stormtroopers jump slightly at the sound and shift their weight from one foot to the other. The Purge Trooper stands completely still.
The dim corridor on the far side of the doors suddenly blazes blue as the Jedi ignites his lightsaber with a whoosh of energy and steps out into the open. The troopers open fire but he uses the blade to deflect the blaster bolts back on them, eliminating all the ranged troopers in an instant while others with batons charge.
With his free hand he uses the force to lift one trooper off their feet and throw them over the edge of the walkway into the abyss. He raises another trooper into the air and pulls them directly into the end of his lightsaber just before the other troopers finally reach him. He parries and returns their strikes with such skill that it looks almost casual and one after another each stormtrooper is defeated. In only a few moments all twelve had fallen.
PT-152 watched the spectacle with both surprise and fascination. He looked like just another human, a young man with fiery red hair. She had not known what she expected of a Jedi but this was not it. Other than the lightsaber, he wore no glamorous armor or symbols that proclaim him a Jedi. In fact, she thought he looked more like the average smuggler than anything else. There was nothing grandiose about him apart from his abilities. If not for those she may never have suspected him to be a Jedi at all.
But his skill with both the lightsaber and the Force were undeniable. He could even be a match for any Inquisitor. The only difference she saw between the Jedi and the Inquisitors was that he did not wear the same pleased look on his face when he killed that the Inquisitors always do. Instead, his face conveyed that killing is something he has to do rather than something he wants to do. A small spark of hope flickers inside of her but is quickly replaced by caution as the Jedi turns his attention to her.
"Impressive," she says.
This is it. This is the moment. The thoughts rush through her as he approaches.
"That won't be necessary," she says, deactivating her electrostaff and placing it at her feet.
The Jedi stops advancing but does not lower his weapon.
Will he listen or will he simply strike me down and move on?
"I have no intention of fighting you," she continues, raising her hands in a sign of surrender. "I have a proposition for you."
"What kind of proposition?" He asks, suspiciously as PT-152 slowly removes her helmet, careful to not make any sudden movements that might cause him to attack.
"You are the Jedi Cal Kestis are you not?" She asks, the helmet hanging by her side. "I recognize you from intelligence reports. You once sought to rebuild the Jedi order by gathering and training the force sensitive children listed on a Jedi holocron."
"I am," he confirms while taking careful steps forward, his lightsaber still raised in front of him.
He's closing the distance while he has the opportunity.
"Would information concerning the location of possible Jedi and force sensitives still be valuable to you?"
He comes to an abrupt halt and straightens up a bit. "I'm listening," he says, lowering his lightsaber slightly but remaining alert.
Again hope rises in her.
"I am a Purge Trooper Seeker," she continues. "It is my job to investigate rumors of possible Jedi or other force sensitive individuals throughout the galaxy. I currently have four leads assigned to me, including you. The information is yours in exchange for my extraction from the Empire's service."
"Extraction?" Cal replies with both surprise and suspicion. "You're a high level trooper. You could leave on your own. Why would you need my help?"
"It's a long story and I will tell it to you in full if take me with you but right now we don't have much time," she says, turning her helmet toward him and the faint sound of voices coming over the comms, "These troopers were able to call for backup before you defeated them. However, the short version is this," she extends her free hand out in front of her and uses the force to raise the electrostaff to her hand, "I have questions that I need a Jedi to answer."
"You're a Force user!" Cal says, his eyes wide with surprise, "How are you not an Inquisitor?"
"As I said, it's a long story," she answers, allowing the staff to fall gently back to the floor, "and we're short on time. If you accept my proposal I will explain it all once we have left this place."
"How can I trust you?"
"You can't but I will do everything I can to earn your trust."
Cal pauses for a moment, considering the offer before deactivating his lightsaber. "Okay, I accept," he says, relaxing slightly, "but know if you do anything that threatens me or my people I will not hesitate to kill you."
"Of course."
"Okay, let's get back to my ship."
He begins walking toward her and the exit behind her but she raises her hand indicating he should stop.
"It's too late," she says, listening to the voices coming over the comms.. "Reinforcements are here."
At that moment the door behind her whooshes and another squad of troopers pours out onto the walkway. Cal reactivates his lightsaber but PT-152 uses the force to push him back, away from the troopers yet not hard enough to make him lose his footing. With her other hand she retrieves her staff from the floor and activates it, bright purple arcs of electricity engulfing both ends. The stormtroopers are so focused on the Jedi that they do not notice the Purge Trooper in front of them using the Force so when they open fire on him they are completely caught off guard by her.
"What are you do…" a trooper begins to exclaim but is cut short when she turns on them instead and deflects their blaster bolts harmlessly into the cavern with the electric tips of the staff. She knocks him down then unleashes the full fury of her training on them until the entire squad is neutralized. Cal keeps his guard up but watches the spectacle from the sidelines. When the last trooper falls, he deactivates his lightsaber and steps forward to stand next to PT-152.
"Well that's a start," he says with his hands on his hips, looking over all the fallen troopers.