Hello again everyone.
Imageviewer here, bringing you a whole new update on my Star Wars Fic Return of the Old ways.
No news to give you other then the issue with me uploading stories back onto fanfiction is now resolved, and I hope to give more updates on all my works very soon.
I hope you all enjoy it.
Return of the Old Ways Ch 7
A daring assault.
Today I was feeling really good.
Not just good, but really, really good.
Not long after helping the chancellor himself did I finally get the recognition I deserved.
Finally I was being allowed to leave this planet all together, that was the good news.
…the bad news… I was assigned under my master.
Don't get me wrong, I was honestly pleased that I getting off-world and doing something really important for the war effort such as fighting the seperatists.
Also I respected my master despite our… standings over my abilities.
First chance he got, he laid down the ground rules over what I can and cannot do.
Number one: Always do as he commands.
Number two: Never leave his sight.
And Finally number three:...The unacceptable use of force lightening and the darkside.
Honestly, I thought I had left the contraints of the jedi council behind me, but...I knew that I was still being watched because of my unknown qualities.
My chains had not been loosened...only switched hands.
Still...I accepted what freedom that came with it as I sat at the helm of my cockpit.
The dazzling light of the bright blue tunnel swallowed up everything before me as we jumped through hyperspace.
Our destination was Balmorra.
Dispite my best efforts, in light of senator Rosa's corruption and affiliation with criminal trafficking, the Balmorran government was overthrown in coup orchestrated by a rival separatist political party that used the Senator's crime's and close connections with the ruling government officials to stages riots and chaos to eliminate both the ruling officials and anyone they chose to pin the blame on.
Balmorra had seceded from the Republic and was now under separatists' control, already they had begun to manufacture weapons and droids for the CIS, which made it a vital strategic position as it sat right within the boundaries of the core worlds.
Although the real fighting was happening within the outer rim and within the boundaries of the mid-rim, planets directly within the core, presented a great risk that the Republic cannot ignore. As these planets can be used to stage an attack directly upon coruscant itself, thus ending the war for the separatist league.
Balmorra was a key industrial manufacture, with every second the planet wasn't in the firm hands of the republic, the planet was producing terrible weapons and new battle droids for the Separatists.
Still, enough about that, as our travel was about end thanks to announcement by my ever trustworthy protocol droid K4. "Sir. We are about to exit hyperspace momentarily." he said as he turned to me, looking away from the Nav computer that indicated the proximity, and the remaining parsecs the ship had before it exited out of Hyperspace.
"thanks for the head's up K4. I can't wait to get into some real action!" I would soon regret those words, as the dazzling lights of the hyperlane disappeared and what greeted me was a flurry of lasers being exchanged.
I didn't enter the battle, I was in the middle of it!
My ship exited directly in the middle of the fierce space battle between republic warships and Separatist cruisers!
"Holy Shi-!" I quickly took control, throwing the ship into a violently spin to the right to avoid a head on collision with a few concussion missiles!
"SITH SPIT! We've entered into the heart of the fight!" I cursed the idiot that gave me the coordinates to jump to...realising only after this hellish battle who that idiot was, but at this time that didn't come to mind!
As I put my ship to the maximum that it could go to as we went full throttle "Oh MY!" Screamed the protocol droid, as he saw the flashes and explosions directly at our screen.
A few straw shots rocked the ship as I did my damndest to manoeuvre through this hell that would've destroyed an ordinary freighter, however my ship was made to take a beating...just not that much of a beating as a few more laser blasts collided against my shields.
Alarms blared as my ship indicated that it was taking damage despite my effort to avoid the exchange of turbo lasers from both sides.
"R7! Get up here NOW!" I shouted out, throwing my ship into a series of manoeuvres as I evaded everything!
The little astromech rolled in, beeping frantically and with great terror as he sees the chaos we are in!
"R7! Connect to ship's communication and Contact the Republic fleet!" I screamed out, unable to dodge the turbo laser that impacted against us as the force of the blast nearly sent us into a spiral. The screams of the other Droids including K4 resounded within the ship, almost drowning out the thundering blasts of the battle outside.
Thankfully the shields were holding as I made a direct beeline towards the republic ships.
A bright light from the corner of my eye, notified me that I was immediately connected with whoever R7 opened the channel with. But I didn't turn to look at the holoprojection of the clone officer as I directed all of my focus to the battle raging around me "This is Padawan Thorton of the Jedi Order! Hailing Republic ships! Watch your blasted fire!" I screamed out to them, swerving to avoid a turbo laser, this time from the Acclamator cruiser that I was heading towards.
"This is the peacekeeper to padawan Thorton. We read your signal, make your way to us, we'll cover you." They responded back, the guns on the ship ceasing its barrage of fire, clearing the space for me to get clear of their zone of fire.
However a series of alarms rang out through the ship, one was a lock on warning indicating that an enemy fighter had lock on my ship, the other was the ship's sensor warning that was showing that several droids were hot on my tail.
Cursing my luck, I knew I couldn't manoeuvre my ship to take all of them on, as they had better agility and manoeuvrability compared to my ship that was a relic from the old republic and only had a tune up, but nothing serious to make it on pair with the current fighters of this day and age.
The only advantage I had, was the shielding and weapons. But those were pretty damn useless if I couldn't use them!
The missile alarm blared as the ship picked up missiles that were inbound.
*BOOM!* my ship jerked as I barely had any time to dodge them before they made contact with my ship, the impact had taken a blow to my shields, reducing them to a 3rd of their current strength.
Gritting in my teeth in anger, I swerved and tried to dodge the fighters that hounded me like a swarm of angry wasp worms. I couldn't shake them!
"I need one of you on those guns! NOW!" I ordered, as the lasers from those droid fighters began to barrage my ship, I quickly diverted the power to the shielding, trying to reinforce it and get the shields to regenerate faster.
I couldn't count on the republic to reinforce me, as I could see from quick fly bys and twists that the Republic was in no shape to give me aid, considering they were being decimated by the greater droid numbers.
I could hear R6 in the back of the ship, beeping that he's got it as he connected to the Dorsal turret on the spine of the Defender.
I could hear the familiar blaster hum of the turrets firing.
The sensor display showing that my tailer's were being thinned out one after the other...who knew that little astromech was such a crack shot! "Nice work R6!" I called out the little hero that was saving our hides.
The droid fighters scattered as to avoid being shot by the turret...Big mistake, as I finally had the breathing room I needed to turn around and become the hunter.
Bringing the nose of the defender on the first droid target I could find, the first shot from the defender's cannon's completely destroyed it, there was barely anything to salvage from it as it become nothing but little vaporised parts in the vacuum of space.
I gave chase to another Droid fighter, R6 was already racking up the score as he shot the droids where ever he saw them.
This little buzzard was a bit more slippery as it evaded my shots to some degree before one of my laser bolts connected with its wing, blowing the entire metal limb off as it spiraled into the expanse, never to be seen again.
Despite this personal advantage, I could see that the Battle was far from winnable much less salvageable. Several of the republic's Acclamators and along with much of the escorted Corellian Corvettes and Pelta-class frigates were dead hulks, drifting lifelessly in void and venting what compress air and bodies still remained within their hulls.
It was clear that continuing this battle would only lead to utter defeat, it was time to cut our losses and return when we had a solid plan.
Re-opening the communication channel once more to the Peacekeeper, I gave them my orders. "This is Padawan Thorton. The battle is lost, sound the retreat and withdraw all available forces to a nearby republic outpost!"
"Commander, with all due respect, you are not in charge of this operation-"
"This isn't a suggestion. This is a direct order!" I screamed in the face of the projected clone, who flinched back from my seething expression of rage "I do not know who is in charge here, but the battle is clearly lost! Continuing will only ensure the destruction of all remaining forces. We need to come up with a new strategy to overcome this foe!"
I did not know if they accepted my orders out of chain of command, or seeing the futility of keeping this fight going, but they at least saw reason and called this battle a loss "Attention all units!" the voice of a different officer blared through the open communications "This is the peacekeeper. We are withdrawing from the battle. All pilots are to return immediately!"
The order was given, every ship we had begun to turn around in the direction of the nearest of the military sector.
"R7, get me those coordinates!" I called out the astromech that was still currently connected the ship's computer.
The cylinder shaped droid beeped and booped in its binary language, a quick translation indicated that the little guy was downloading the coordinates from the republic network that was transmitting to all sanctioned ships.
Smiling, I turned my ship in the opposite direction of where the Cruser's were facing "This is Padawan Thorton. I'll cover you, get you carriers as fast as you can." All of the squadrons that were still alive were zipping past me, trying to get to their ships with hundreds of droids fighters right after them.
I angled the deflectors to the frontal portion of the Defender as I met them head on.
A full onslaught of laser bolts bounced and passed the ship as my view port became obscured with the swarm of Droid fighters that shot past me in all directions.
I knew I had become their new target, because of their programming to evade and intercept attacking fighters, with their limit programming running on the basic commands to attack republic ships, ranging from priority rather then common sense.
Enemy fighters were low on the priority list, with the droid fighters only attacking them unless more important targets were on the field or their orders were changed.
Landing craft and bombers were above fighters, the separatists labelled them as a must to destroy, as these groups were dangerous to separatist's ships and forces. Both these sets of ships can destroy or cripple an enemy force by delivering devastating armaments against armies or fleets, or deploying soldiers within the hulls of the cruisers or directly into unprotected sectors of a planet.
Ships and cruisers were high on the ranking depending on their class and if their holding any important cargo or individuals.
Finally, there were Jedi star fighters and ships. The separatists had put jedi and any jedi utilised craft as top on their list of targets to destroy.
The jedi were leading the war against the separatists, they were generals and admirals of the grand army of the republic. Liberating and securing separatist controlled worlds.
Killing any of us would cripple any republic force, within this war.
So it was only natural that I became the most shootable object in the system, my proximity senser was screaming as it became obscured in the tsunami of fighters that passed over head and quickly re-calibrated their processors to target me as they Maneuvered around and began to chase me.
I adjusted the shielding towards the rear of the defender, putting powers towards the shielding protecting the engines and the hyperdrive unit.
Evading most the laser bolts that was being fired at me as I pulled hard on the steering mechanism, angling my ship in a sharp turns. Momentarily losing the majority of my pursuers before they rebounded around and joined in on the rest of the fighters that I could not lose.
"R7, do you have those coordinates yet!" I called out, as I thew the ship into a spiralling spin downwards, avoiding a few missiles that were launched.
I was able to see that the last of the republic star fighters was able to enter into the Accumulator before the ships jumped into Hyperspace.
"Beepbeepbeep,booop!" the droid beep back, which in a quick translation stated that he got it.
The coordinates flashed on my computer screen, indicating that the ship nav-unit was sync in with the new found, before I grabbed the lever that activated the hyperdrive and thrusted it forward. The hyperdrive activated and my ship shot into hyper speed, the dark void of space was resplaced by an seemingly endless tunnel of pure light that swallowed up the stars of the galaxy.
For the first time today...I relaxed, my hand that was previously choking the steering handles let go and I allowed the ship to assume its assigned course to the Coordinates received from the republic fleet.
I fell back into my chair, letting out a great puff of air as my tense muscles started to relax.
The hum of the engines in the background had never sounded so good until now. The thunderous boom of explosions and the panging dings of laser bolts bouncing off from the shields certainly was a huge wake up call for my body to spring into action.
The battle was far more intense then I originally imagined it would be, but that was only because I had exited right into the middle of that heated battle.
Turning my head to the side so I could see my little astromech who remained connected to the ship by his cylindrical tool that twisted and turned the slot ring to the ship's cockpit computer. Multitasking between running routine diagnostic of the ships main systems to determine if anything was damaged in the skirmish, as well as ensuring that the ship was jumping towards the coordinates he received from the republic.
"Nice work back there R7." I congratulated little mech on his job well done.
The droid beeped back in grateful tone before I called out to the other droid that was a huge help in all of this "R6, nice work on the guns! You were a real crack shot!"
The other droid located near the aft of the ship, beeped in acknowledgement, followed by a series of other noises that brought a smirk to my lips as the droid responded with a witty remark.
"Is that so R6? Well, next time. We'll see who gets highest kill count next time!" I retorted back, that cocky little droid brought me some mirth that I needed in this solemn hour.
Exhaling heavily, I could not extinguish the immense frustration and stress I had accumulated in that destressing moment.
I stared out into that bright swirling void for the lengthy amount of time it took before I was welcomed to the sight of the Republic fleet, docked and amassed at the republic outpost.
The sight of heavy damage and fires spewing forth from the wounds on the metal skins of the great fleet was a sobering sight and a reminder that the Republic wasn't as powerful as it pertained itself to be before the start of the war.
The great fleet of the clones wasn't the mighty weapon many had dreamed it would be and victory wouldn't be as decisive as the politicians had claimed it would be.
I once more took control and steer the ship towards the orbital station where the command ship had docked.
As I got closer, I couldn't stop the surge of anger that came to me as I greatly desired to give a beating to the fool who made me into a moving target.
-a few minutes later-
Storming into the bridge, I was not happy. Any positive emotion I recently had was ejected into space the moment my ship became target practice for every ship over the planet.
I didn't bother to hide or calm my anger as I stormed right in, prepared to tear apart the man who made me dodge every turbo laser bolt in space "Alright! Who is the idiot that supply me those coordinates!?" I demanded to know, who led me right in the middle of space battle.
All of the officers looked at each other, faces pale and mouths gawped at my blatant remark. I did not know if they were shocked by my attitude, as Jedi were suppose to be calm and collect, not roaring like an angry rancor.
But I soon knew the true reason why.
My foot was in my mouth before I realised too late just who it was, that supplied me those coordinates "I did." spoke the voice that stilled my anger and frustration, and implanted fear and regret for my choice of words.
I turned my head robotically to the side, where the very man who spoke...was my master.
His stern and impassive poker faced expression, hid what I could only assume as anger under the surface for my earlier remark.
"...Did I say idiot?...I mean t- You know what... I don't want to dig a bigger hole for myself." I sigh, knowing that trying to weasel my way out of my unintentional insult to him would only increase my punishment more then it would eventually be.
Forcing a smile to my lips as I put on a front to hide the nervousness I felt towards him "its good to see you again master."
He simply nodded "likewise, though I wish we'd have this meeting after the battle."
"So, what are we up against? I thought we had broken the blockade?"
"we did, initially destroyed their commander in the first battle. However reinforcements appeared and backed up the remaining forces for the blockade." "If we don't break this siege now. Our forces on the ground will stand no chance against them."
" it appears they have two Lucrehulk battleships. Those things carry up to a sector full of fighters and bombers. Escorted by a few Munificent star frigates."
"i see you've keeping up with your studies." Master Windu commented. Never betraying that concentrated expression he always had, as he continued to stare at the screen. Seeing my simulated assessment of the two bulwark ships that blocked us from the planet.
"i had a lot of free time on my hands. I needed to be prepared in case I was ever called out." I answered, which wasn't a lie, as it became part of my routine training and mediation, I followed up on the battle and strategies of the jedi on the outter rim.
Being a Jedi afforded me access to the battle reports and records that wasn't privy to the public or much of the senate.
Deciding to use this as my entrance to demonstrate my knowledge on the enemy force that prevents us from laying seige to the planet.
"ok, the Lucrehulk battleships are huge fighter carriers. Capable of holding an army of fighters and bombers within their hold. They're huge frames allows them to soak up damage should their immensely strong shields fail. They're entire bulk is littered with turbo lasers, and they're capable of fending off a fleet of ships."
"I've learned from my studying, that the centre of their entire body is their command structure, taking it out would cripple their entire defensive fleet."
Whether he looked impressed, it was hard to tell with that control expression of his, but his tone gave some assurence that he was amazed by my information. "An accurate assessment. However our current forces are not enough to take them on."
"Maybe not. But I think I have an idea how we can break through this blockade." I uttered, getting all of the attention focused on me.
I moved over to the controls and began to create a simulation by punching the respective keys and buttons on the console that controlled the table. "Externally their indestructible. But internally, they are vulnerable. If one or two ships can breach their inner shell through the hangers. A direct shot at one of their reactors will set off a chain reaction and destroy the ship entirely." I narriated, as they all looked at the simulated battle plan and the red 3 dimensional arrows that represented their fighter and bombers.
They watched as two of these arrows flew directly into the arms of the Lucrehulk and navigated through the hull of the battleship until they reached the rear and then series of climatic explosions ruptured through the simlulated hull of the Lucrehulk until eventurally it exploded.
"That's a bold plan commander." said one of the clone officers as he and everyone else looked at the simulation that I had conjured on the terminal "how can we be sure that this will work?" he inquired.
"Skywalker was the one who found this weakness before he was a Jedi. At the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, he personally flew directly into the hanger of the command ship and did just that. The end result disabled the entire droid force on the planet." I reminded them of how the trade federation was defeated at the battle of Naboo before the outbreak of this war.
"While the current droid series do not rely on a sole command base to keep them active. It will be enough to sunder their defence and give us the opportunity to destroy their fleet." I finished, allowing my plan to soak into their heads. Giving them the vulnerability and the actions we should take to break through the blockade.
"So we agree, take out the command ships and the battle is ours."
"there's just one problem. Those cruser's possess tractor beam's. If we try enter any of our ships directly into their hangers, they'll be caught in the tractor beam." The captain said, expressing his worries over a simple detail that could jeopardise their operation.
"that's why we're not going to send our fighters and bombers first." I said.
"...What?"
"let me explain"
The republic launch a daring offensive as fighters and bombers launched once more from the mouth of the Acclamator crusiers.
They amassed and charged in a spear tip formation towards their direct targets.
...but there no other ships, differing from the standard Y-wings and V-19's.
In fact the, the defender type starship that had previously entered into the conflict was still grounded within the endeavour.
But this wasn't part of tarion's initial plan but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to be left out of this.
-A few minutes earlier, back inside the orbital station.-
"What?!" Was the sound of my master and the captain's disbelief and shock at my proposal for the plan.
"I know it may sound crazy, but this the only way we can punch through their defence." I assured him, my confidence wasn't misdirected but assurance that my plan would succeed.
"Absolutely not! We will not sacrifice one of our ships in a desperate bid to this plan of yours." my master shut down my plan that I proposed.
"We don't have many choices in this master." I refuted, every part of me wanted to shout out that I knew what I was doing. But talks like that would only strengthen my master's refusal and hasten my return back to coruscant "With every second we spend thinking up new battleplans or continuing this space battle, is another second we and the people down there on that planet lose any ground we hope to recover."
"this is only the way. If we send an unmanned arquitens light cruiser directly into the arms of that cruiser. It will have no choice but to use its tractor beam, least it continue on its course towards the head of the ship."
"This will give our fighters and bombers the opportunity to deal a decisive blow against the cruisers if they were to exit directly out of hyperspace right ontop of the droid ship."
"..."
"sir. As crazy as the commander's plan is. He is right. Our y and V-wings possess hyperdrives, they can jump directly into the droids faces."
My master at first looked like he wanted to argue. To strike down my idea but...he seemed to consider it...though to be fair, there really wasn't a lot of options to pick from, considering the dire urgency to break through the blockade.
With no other plans or strategies to fall back on, he accepted my plan "...Alright. We'll go with your plan. Inform the cruiser, the Dauntless, to abandon ship and set the ship on autopilot towards the captial ship." he ordered the bridge ensign, who was a clone trained to migrate and manage the command of the bridge. His duties second only to the captain of the ship, with the authority to rule everything below the neck of the bridge.
"yes Sir!" he stood at attention, before leaving to go do as he was commanded.
Believing this was my chance to take charge and show that I was capable to aid in the war, I began to move to leave the bridge "Right then, I'll lead the attac-"
"No." A firm and authoritian command that halted me as I was just metre's away form the door.
Turning sharping, I stared back at my master, my eye's meeting his as I stared at him in surprise rather then shock "what!?" I asked, not sure of I heard him correctly.
But I did..."you will not be leading this attack." he affirmed his position and his order.
Dumbstruck, I tried to understand why he denied me from leading the planned attack...my planned attack! "B-B-But why? Its my plan, I should at least see it through!" I argued, it was my idea, I researched everything and even pointed out all of the strengths and flaws of the capital ship.
I'll admit...pride made me argue against his discission, but the majority of its was solely based on concern, as I wanted to ensure that my plan fell through without a hitch. I wasn't trying to prove that I was capable and didn't need to be watched like a hawk.
Master windu...still denied my request and asserted his authority "It may be your plan. But I decide what happens in this battle. And I command you, to stay here, on the endeavour." I tried not scowl and bit my tongue to hold back the fury that wanted to erupt out of me.
Knowing that arguing wasn't going to help...and it will only just hasten my return back to Coruscant...with great reluctance...I accepted my place, but still...I wasn't going to sit idly by and allow my plan to be destroyed. "...Fine. but can I at least help out in another way?" I asked, hoping he'd at least humour my request to aid a bit more then planning.
"How?" he asked, curious to know what I had in mind.
One thought came to mind and it brought a smile to my face, and yet... I knew that it would bite me in the end "My battle meditation." I suggested, I knew that he'd didn't have an inkling as to know what it was. Spending time long enough in the Jedi temple, I got to know that much of the ancient techniques was lost and forgotten, figuratively gathering dust in the temple records.
"Battle Meditation?" he questioned, his tone and expression clearly displaying his confusion to one of the greatest and most powerful force techniques to have ever existed. It had made its presence known throughout notable and galaxy changing wars that have altered the course of history of the entire galactic system.
For the jedi to forget about this most powerful and highly regarded technique...was just sad for a better lack of a word of how they forgot so much about their history and lore.
"Its a jedi ability. One that can easily turn the tide of battle by connecting with our men out there and in here. I can effectively boost our moral, stamina and prowess. While at the same time making everyone act like a single entity and demoralising the enemy if I'm successful." I explained the basic context of the ability that turns the tides of war so swiftly.
It was a complex and incredible rare technique that few were able to master. Due to both the level of mastery and concentration it would take to even manage a few seconds within a small controlled group. But for those who mastered it, can become an invaluable battle winning weapon.
I had only managed to muster this technique in small instances back home.
Such occasions involved area's were the chances were either fair or stacked against others.
I often successfully rigged games and events, sometimes sports and even gambling tournements to change the outcome in my favour.
...And sometimes I made some winnings off of my success of performing the technique...of course, I couldn't win all of the time...intentionally that is, without incurring some suspicions on my daily dose of luck.
The captain of the endeavour was unsure about this far fetched power...and who could blame him, as even those trained the force were werery of the success much less the authenticity of this power. "I...I don't know sir. I know you jedi are something else. But such an ability seems a bit too...far stretched to be real." he voice his concerns not at me, but rather to my master, who also shared in the wereniess of this claim.
"I agree. Such a power is not easily maintained, or even conjured." he said, but I wasn't going to let him shut down this opportunity to win us this despreate battle.
"Master, with all due respect. I have trained myself in this force technique, prior to my presence here. I know how to use it and will it." I said before walking away as I moved up the helm of the bridge towards the front where I could see out of the thick window the battle ahead.
"I just haven't done it at this large of a scale." I murmured out of earshot, before I sat down in a cross legged position and prepared to centre myself with the energies of the force.
"Ok Tarion, remember your training." I said, recollecting my training under such masters who were experienced master's of this technique. "Breath. Inhale..." I sucked in a deep breath of air, while the universal energies of the force drew into me like the air filling my lungs "Exhale... Centre your thoughts and clear your mind."
I began to remanence on the words of Traya whose teachings and philosophies became the foundation of my knowledge and skills with the force and its mysteries.
Her words echoed into my mind 'Through deep concentration, a Jedi can connect to things greater then themselves. They can influence others by their mere presence. But through sheer will, they can turn the tide of a battle.' she spoke, like a ghostly phantom haunting my memories as I re-emersed myself back to the day when I first started this training.
'This technique is called Battle Meditation. Through meditation, a Jedi can assert his will over others. To encourage and connect their allies to one and another...or to demoralise and disorganise their foes. It is a power technique that can change the outcome of events, depending on who uses it.'
Like the first time, I once more became a student, following the steps as I learned under a master of the force. My initial thoughts and feelings going back to such promient users who taught me this force ability.
Naga Sadow and Darth Traya.
Both ancient lords of the sith and both masters of the force. 'First close your eye's and reach out through the force.' the world around me became nothing but darkness as my eyelids closed shut. I blinded myself to every distraction such as the battle before me and opened myself up to the energies swirling around me.
The energies of the force were a chaotic storm of raw emotions and death, the Darkside had began to shadow this system, from the planet below to the space battle before me. Death, pain and anger became a surging tide of raw energies that flowed with the powers of the Darkside.
It was hard to filter out the energies of the lightside and the force from it all as I call upon the force entirely. Feeling the rush of the mystical energy flow into me like a rushing river that could not be stopped or obstructed as my strength and power increased.
'Feel the presences of those around you and those that you feel outside of your proximity.' I could feel their emotions.
From the bridge, I felt many things.
Anger.
Fear
Calm
Anxitity.
Doubt.
determination
All of these whirlwind of emotions raged around me like a maelstrom of confliction and disturbing thoughts that were a chaotic mess that it almost hard to concentrate.
The darkside of the force hovered over us all, like a dark thundercloud, the gathering storm of raw energy eagerly awaited to be unleashed.
But I forced myself to focus on Trayra's teachings as her words spoke in my mind. 'Reach out to them. Feel their emotions. Their passions, their fears, their conflictions. Put those at ease as you connect to them. Extend your hand in support and guide them to victory'.
Centring myself, I opened my senses and with the force, I reached out in all directions, extending my will to all who were open and unprotected from the reach of the force.
Like thousand trendils, I felt myself connect to each and everyone of the clone troopers and personnel as the battle commenced.
The raw powers of the force came at me like rushing river, the impact was staggering at first, but I adjusted and became he catalyst that channelled and shaped the force to my design.
-Outside in the void of space-
Meanwhile, outside in the vastness of space, the fighters and bomber pilots of the V-19's and Y-wings gathered outside of their respective ships as they prepared for the second offensive against the separatist blockade.
Hyperdrive rings were deployed for the V-19's as the star fighters unlike the Y-wings did not possess the same hyperdrive functionality as their BTL-B Y-wing bomber counterparts.
There was no astromech attached to these fighters, so the pilots relied on skills and computer relayed instructions to attach themselves to the rings.
A full armada of what these star ships amassed from what was left of Mace windu's fleet, from both the accumulator and Venator crusiers, while one of the light venitor cruisers was being evacuated with transport shuttles dispersing them to all other ships that could hold the crew from the hollowed out ship that was being prepared for the operation.
As the assault was being nearly prepared, the pilots began to feel...an odd sensation that coursed through them.
"Hey, do any of you guys feel that?" a clone pilot asked from one of the many squadrons, with many other's echoing his question on their own channels.
"Yeah...what is it?" another voiced, his helmeted head twisted and turning in every direction as he tried to find the source of these strange yet pleasant wave of what he could only describe as a gentle breeze, yet in the vasteness of space, wind and air were non-existent.
Could there have been a leak in the air tank, his computer registered that there was no such beach in his ship as he ran a few quick diagnostic scans through his ship.
Another clone called over the comns, his spirit recently downtrodden from the failure of the first assault felt himself renewed with new found energy and confidence "I don't know...I feel...good. Like I can take on the whole clanker army myself!"
This was shared with many other as well, who felt a boost in both their confidence and will "Not alone you're not. I want some of that action!"
"Keep it together guys. Remember the plan." their assault commander reeled them in, knowing from experience that arrogance was a sure fire way to failing quickly. Seeing that all the pilots from every surviving squadron was now amassed, he called for all squadrons for their final checks "All wings report in."
The communications rang alive with the voices of each squadron leader that confirmed the status of their pilots "Red leader standing by./ Grey leader standing by./ Blue Leader standing by./ Green leader standing by."
Red and Grey squardons were the fighters and vanguard of the assault, their objective was to intercept any fighter they come across that would heading for their bombers.
Blue and Green squardrons were the bombers. The goal was to inflict as much damage to the carriers as possible, with their targets being the reactors of the (name) capital ships.
Then another voice rang through the ears of the pilots as their general relayed the details of their mission "This is master Mace Windu. The dauntless will has been set on autopilot to drive straight into the heart of the capital ship. When it is caught in the tractor beam, that is when you'll strike. Fighters, protect the bombers."
"alright, prepare to jump to hyperspace on my mark...Mark!" all at once, starships, crusiers and frigates shot towards the vastness of space at speed that bypassed the laws of light.
Exiting one star system and re-entering back into Balmorrian space.
The separatists were completely cut off guard by the re-emergence of the same republic fleet
The republic fleet launched a second offensive, this time a full onslaught of fighters and bombers exited directly into the face of the separatist armada from hyperspace. Caught by surprise, the separatist commanders were unprepared and so could not issue the command's fast enough to bring the turbo batteries to bare when the V-19s detached from their hyperdrive rings and speeded towards the nearest Lucrehulk captial ship ahead of the slower Y-wing bombers.
"Lock s-Foils in attack position's." the V-19's locked their wing foils into attack position, reducing their speed to attack vectors for the battle ahead.
Like a disturbed hornet's nest, droid fighters swarmed out of the mouths of all the hanger bays on the capital ship, however before the two groups could clash. Several republic ships exited out of Hyperspace at long a long distance to keep out of range of the (name) turbo batteries.
However one of the ships exited far closer to the main Lucrehulk the republic was engaging, speeding through the mouth of the capital ship's arms as it was on a direct intercourse with the command centre.
It had passing through the gap in-between the arms when it suddenly halted.
Its Ion engines still burning with power and yet it was frozen in place as the (name) tractor beam had caught it.
This was the opportunity the republic was hoping for, as in the midst of the fierce clash of fighters, several bombers from Green squardon broke off from the squabble, and made for a direct shot towards the main hanger on the right arm of the (name).
With perfect precision, the squadron made precise and coordinated hail of laser shots that penetrated through the thin layer of shielding around the Hanger bay's shield generator.
The shielding was disrupted, allowing the air inside to be sucked out into the vaccum of space, sending an untold number of droids and equipment flying out. The automated magnetic doors began to shut, it was here that two of the closest bombers directed all of the power to the engines and speeded off.
Flying directly into the mouth of the closing hangers as they infiltrated within the bowls of the ship's unprotected inside, while the rest of their squadron broke off the attack to join the other squardons in the dogfight.
Inside, the two successful bombers speeded through the layers of each hanger and chamber as they shot past the maintenance and battle droids below, who were unscrupulously slow to react to the clear threat that buzzed through their ship.
The two bombers were successful in their fly through that they made it to the heart of the ships's secondary reactor that sat in the back of the ship's main body.
There was no shielding around the stable reaction of the many active large reactor cores, as the entire frame of the ship made up for protection they would need as no one could foresee the reactors needing any additional defence with the thick hull and the army of droids within its bowls to prevent any boarding parties from making it this far into the ship.
However it was this oversight that allowed the bombers to exploit this vulnerability, as within sight, the two bombers let loose a payload of two by two shots of proton torpedo's that flew towards the stable reactors.
The two pilots flied right past the reactors just before the torpedo's connected and set off a critical chain reaction that caused a devastating explosion that followed in their wake as they flew with great speed and expert piloting through the hull of the (name) towards the hanger opposite the one they entered in.
A tsunami of fire chased after them, consuming every thing in its path, and just as they reach the main hanger, the shielding around it failed and they shot out from the mouth of the exploding giant. Joining what was left of the fierce dog fight that saw a massive decrease in droid fighters then before.
Cheers and cries of joy went out through the republic comns went out as all witness the imploding fireball that was the Lucrehulk as miniature explosions penetrated and popped through the skin of the dying titan like raging zits.
And it all culminated in a one massive explosion as entire sections of the Lucrehulk broke apart, much of its internal parts were scattered in all directions like shrapnel from a fragmentation genade.
Some of its pieces had pierced into the hull of the 2nd Lucrehulk, not enough to cause serious damage, as the Lucrehulk was protected with several layers of metal that made up the frame of the massive cruiser. The only damage to it, was the short disruption in its shielding and the punctured holes in its body with bits of debris sticking out from its frame.
"That's it. First target is down!"
-meanwhile on the peacekeeper-
At the same time, on the bridge of the peacekeeper its officers and technicians were seeing what seemed to be unbeatable battle, turn into a heroic victory as the republic star fighters were running rings around the separatist forces without so much as looking behind them as every time one droid fighter got within targeting parametres for a kill shot, they would be snuffed out by a republic fighter that seemed to sense their comrade's imminent demise, they would swoop in and save them.
"I don't believe it. It actually working!" one officer exclaimed, his face nearly pressing towards the holographic display of the battle right outside the bridges view port.
"General. Are you seeing this!? Our pilots are winning, not even a reported casualty!" reported another officer, with excitement and amazement at the unprecedented turn in the battle that seemed unwinnable without additional reinforcements and some serious fire power to take on those gargantuan monsters.
"They move and act almost like a like hive mind. Every time some buzzard get behind one our fighters, another takes them out with pin point accuracy!" spoke a clone analyst, who was managing the statics of the battle such as munitions of the ship and the shields, and integrity of the vessel.
Master windu said nothing, he looked at the detailed projection of the battle before him that he could see just out the view port at the head of the bridge.
The blinking dots of green and red that symbolised their pilots and the enemy fighters on the battle over the planet. The green dots remained consistent, not dwindling at all like the red dots that at the beginning outnumbered them.
Windu looked away from the projection table, his eye's falling on upon the form of his padawan.
Tarion had never once moved since he entered into his meditative state, Windu could feel the force shifting around him. Moving like a river that had changed its course, the force seemed to converge on to him and flow out to his will.
Windu could not describe such an event...nor hear of such a feat, as the force seem to sing at his padawan's presence.
He knew first hand of what connecting to the force feels like, of calling upon it as an ally but this...he didn't know why the force came so strongly to Tarion then it did to any other jedi he knew...not even master yoda commanded the force so greatly.
...Just who and what was Tarion?
He didn't dare believe...that Tarion was the chosen one.
That title belonged to one, judged by the council so many years ago. He wasn't a firm believer in the prophecy, after all how could he know for a fact if the young padawan brought by Qui-gon Jinn all those years ago was the one destined to bring balance to the force.
All they had to go on were the facts, that skywalker had the biggest midiclorian count in recorded history of the jedi. He was born supposedly without copulation with his mother, his natural abilities with the force were unparalleled when not overshadowed by his own arrogance.
Skywalker has the protentional to become a great Jedi...but his willful disregard for command, the principles of the Jedi code and his emotions made him unpredictable and dangerous.. Those qualities often had him dancing dangerously close to the darkside.
While his padawan...Tarion was a natural with the force, he'd dare to admit it but his padawan was gifted with the force. He didn't know the first thing about him, only his name, his origins as an off-worlder and that he was trained by holocrons.
Mace didn't trust his pupil's words about being trained by a Jedi Holocron, no Jedi would allow the the instruction of the darkside, unless they knew their pupil was ready to learn or it was a necessity.
Windu didn't know Master Archahler, he only knew the legend of one of the many heroes during the old republic.
Everything after that, his teachings and techniques were lost to time and war. Only references to his powers and prowess with the force were the only thing that were archived until now.
His padawan's admission into the order brought the lost knowledge that was still being compiled and judged by the council to see if it contained any information they deemed too corrupting or dangerous to be taught to younglings and jedi too young to resist the temptations of the darkside.
So far the council of first knowledge had not reported on any knowledge that was deemed to be a danger to any jedi seeking to learn from one of the greatest Jedi of the old Republic. Either due to length of the knowledge stored within or the on going war that is currently taking many jedi away from their tasks and teachings to fight in the war effort.
Still...it meant that there was a lot about his student that Mace didn't know about, Tarion was an enigma. An unknown blank that only seemed to prove more suspicious as time went by, with his questionable actions and knowledge about the force that some of his fellow jedi have voice their distrust in allowing him to teach the younglings.
Only master Yoda had spoken highly of the young force acolyte, he had taken it upon himself to watch the young force adapt and monitor his interaction with the younglings.
So far, Master Yoda has noted Tarion's exceptional knowledge of the force and the history of the Jedi Order, with such claims going as far back as the Force Wars and the great Schesim where much of their history is still lost.
Then after that, Master Sinbue commented on his padawan's prowess and skills in dealing with the criminal elements. Noting how Tarion stuck with the principles of their Order's doctrines in his own way, never endangering the lives of the civilians in the process.
Then came the recommendations of the supreme Chancellor himself. Although he was the voice of the galactic republic, the very political government that assured the interests of millions of species and systems.
He wasn't in charge of the affair of the jedi.
They were only in this war to restore order within the republic, by defeating the seceding separatists and returning the systems they have seceded back into the fold of the galactic senate.
While this may contrast the very principles of the order's intervention in the civil disputes of other systems as well as their own neutrality, the battle of geonosis had solidified their place in this war and there was no going back.
Plus they couldn't leave the matters of war to politicians, without restraint or morality the republic would descend into levels of pure evil as they would use any opportunity, no mater how vile or immoral it was to win the war.
Weapons of pure destruction that knew no distinction between civilian and solider, methods of unadulterated evil and genocide.
That is...if they didn't lose the war within the first week.
The republic wouldn't last with a senator at the helm of a fleet or an army, they didn't possess the knowledge or the experience of leading an army, nor the mind-set to see past the clones as more then just numbers and expendable troops.
While mace wouldn't have personally wanted the Jedi to become involved, the majority of their budget that they used came from the Republic, so they're hands were tied.
And Chancellor influence would be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whose side they were on.
The man took an alarming interest in their affairs, namely in the training of Kenobi's padawan, Anakin Skywalker. The man often pushed and urged for Skywalker's presence, even praising his actions when they violated not only the laws of the Jedi but also that of the republic.
And now...his eye was set on his Padawan.
Mace wouldn't say that he didn't feel a touch of fear and concern for his young padawan. He knew fully that Tarion could take care of himself, his achievements and experiencing being a testament to that.
However pride and arrogance have been the downfall of many great jedi. It has been proven time and time again in the era of the old republic.
Jedi with a lot of potential or even great Jedi, from padawans to master's have been seduced into becoming thralls of the darkside by their own arrogance.
He could name a few, but it would mean nothing as the lessons of the past are always unheeded. Whether by choice or by desperation or out of the need to survive, people fall to the temptations and powers of the darkside and become a force that could topple the galaxy.
Mace was snapped out of his thoughts by a massive explosion.
Fire and huge flash of light outside the veiw port of his bridge was what he saw as he returned to reality.
The separatist Lucrehulk had exploded. The center piece of the massive battleship had went out like thermal detonator with its arms breaking off. The shockwave from the explosion had made its way over to them, rocking the ship slightly.
"General! The first Separatist ship is down!" Cheers went out, as everyone, from clones and the admiral, to the droids that beeped and wailed with noises.
Mace looked out of the bridge, seeing the battle turn as fighters and bombers focused their attack on the next battleship before turning and looking back down at his padawan.
A smile etched onto his face, even with his eye's closed he knew that Tarion had heard proclamation. Master windu could hear the force sing around his student, pulling into him like water in a whirlpool and then flow out like river into the battle before him.
There was a lot of questions he wanted to ask and a lot of answers he need to know about the mysterious force acolyte.
-Back to the space battle-
The space battle above Balmorra, the clone forces had yet to lose a single pilot as the battle raged on, this caused the pilots themselves to be in such high spirits that they gained an overconfident sense of immortality.
Cheers and howling cries of joy and excitement rang through the comns of each sqaudron as they made their way around to the next Battle ship.
Dodging and weaving through the clumsy bolts of turbo lasers from the battery's of the last (Name) cruser in space.
The republic attack group, got within presence of the cruser before they're communications opened to life "Red leader, This is green leader. We're beginning our attack now." the bombers of Green squadron informed their escorting fighters.
"Copy Green leader, we've got you covered." the fighter sqaurdons acknowledged Green sqaurdon's statement, already engaging the droid starfighters in a dog fight that they were winning as the two forces clashed in hurricane of fighters of lasers.
The fighters buzzed around like an agitated swarm of metal wasps that smothered around the Lucrehulk's form.
In the midst of this vicious dog fight, the Bombers of Green Squadron made to enter the battle ship's body when they encountered an issue.
The magnetic Blast doors sealed shut on every hanger and opening the cruser had throughout its hull , the bombers diverted from their original attack plan, spreading out in all directions. Each bomber pilot skiming around the surface of the large cruser in order to find a weakness or opening to exploit, but found none.
Seeing their only means of dealing serious damage to the capital ship sealed up, the bombers of Green squadron voiced their issue "Red leader. We have a problem. The sepies have closed their hangers, we no means to reach the reactor!" Green leader voice rang out the universal comns, alerting not only the republic but the other republic squadrons to the issue they faced.
They circled around the Lucrehulk avoiding the turbo laser fire as they searched for a means to their current predicament. "Cool your heads Green leader, we'll think of something." the squad leader of red squadron said, as he flipped his V-wing around and blasted a vulture droid that had previously been on his tail.
However, they suddenly gain an idea to overcome their predicament "Green leader, Red leader. This is blue leader." their comns blared alive as the fighters of blue squaron called in "we may have a solution."
All of the fighter's and bombers ears were opened as blue squadron flew around the rear of the Lurcrehulk "The shield generators on the rear are exposed. If we hit em' hard, we can disable the shielding around the control towers-"
"And mess with the controls of the battle ship! Good Thinking Blue leader!" Green praised them, as new found courage swelled within them.
"Alright, we have a plan. Grey and Green sqaudrons. You target the sheild genrators, we've got your back." Red confirmed as he shot down another vulture droid that strafed into view.
The number of droids in space had decreased drastically as reinforcements from the Lucrehulk were no longer being sent out, so only the limited number of droid fighters from the escort ships were attempting to intercept them over the capital ship.
"Copy. We're beginning our attack run now." the bombers of Grey and green squadron spun and took an inverted drive down, narrowly avoiding the turbo lasers from the defence turrets as they came in at full speed.
Bring their ships up to the last minute with ace level piloting that they didn't have before, as they skim along the metal skin of the Lucrehulk, the first squadron, fired off Ion blasts at the generators, the Ion energies crashed against the structures of the shield generators, momentarily disrupting the shielding of the around that part of the ship that the second bomber's following in their wake, exploited the vulnerability they created as they fired a concentrated volley of proton torpedos.
The powerful speeding missiles of energy, penetrated the metal hulls and exploded with great force that it tore the frames of the sheild generator apart, vaporising the metal in climatic explosion of raw energy.
Weakening the Lucrehulk shields down to a quarter of its capacity.
They did this again and again in tight turns and fast dive bombs for all shield genrators until finally the Lucrehulk sheild's were no more. "The shields are down! Now to focus on the towers!" all sqaudrons turned their attentions to the control towers of the battle cruser.
The droids numbers had thinned to barely even a squardon, and more or less a few fighters that couldn't even defend the Lucrehulk. With no reinforcements to restrengthen their numbers as the Lucrehulk defiantly refused to open its hangers, the remaining droid fighters were easily picked off until not a single droid was left alive.
All republic fighters and bombers opened fire on the unprotected control towers, their lasers impacted against the metal shell of the ships control towers, each impacting shot penetrating deeper and deeper into the skin until finally they met their marks and the two twin towers exploded into short blaze of fire and ash.
"We did it! Control tower is destroyed!" a few cheers rang out, however not everything went according to plan as when they twisted themselves to go for the hangers, they were met with another dilemma.
"Yeah, but the hangers are not opening." to their dismay, the destruction of the control towers did not reveal the vulnerability they wanted...but it did expose something truly better as one of the pilots noted a weakness he saw as he made a pass.
"Maybe they're not opening. But take a look at the central structure. The blast doors to the core reactor are open!" he pointed out, with some of the pilots in the angle and vicinity craning their heads to see the blast doors circling around the core reactor of the command centre pried opened from all four entrances that revealed the critical vulnerabity they needed.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Swift, the codename for Grey 7 the bomber from Grey squardon, who called out to his wingman as they were the closest bombers that still had one last round of proton torpedo's loaded in their craft.
"you bet. On you Swift!" the other bomber acknowledge as he alligned himself along side Grey 7.
"Copy Wildcard. Going in for the kill." Swift took his bomber in a deep dive, followed by wildcard as the two flew in close formation. They brought their Y-wing's up as they made a clear shot through the open mouths towards the core reactor, that burned with enough energy to power up an entire country on earth for a hundred years.
The two bombers entered in, meeting no resistance as they aligned their nozzle in the direct path of the reactor. "Torpedo's away!" Swith shouted as he let loose payload of proton bombs before he angled away from the path.
Followed by wildcard who shot out his own volley of Proton bombs before joining his wingman and speeding away as fast as their ships could accelerate before the their bombs met their target.
The proton bombs made contact, the first bomb was perfect as it was enough to cause the reactor to go critical, but the second bomb only added to the devastating assurance that the ship was doomed.
"That did it! The Reactors going critical!" The core reactor exploded with a fragmentation of pure energy that expanded out before retracting and then going off with the force of nuclear warhead, fortunately the two bombers had escaped before they could be caught in the explosion.
"All squarons, Retreat! We've won this!" the clone pilots were already in full retreat, diverting all of their power to their engines as they put themselves at distance before the centre of the capital ship, went off like thermal detonator.
-Back with the peacekeeper-
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the peacekeeper, the officers and even master window saw on both the viewing port and the holographic layout of the battle. Watching the destruction of the last Lucrehulk in space, the impossible achieved right before their very eye's!
"i don't believe it!" one officer exclaimed in surprise and awe, even as the ship shook from the shockwave from that massive explosion fair in the distance!
"We won!" cries went out as everyone, from the bridge and from the other ships as the comns blared alive with the cheers of a thousand clones rang through the ships of the republic.
However, not everyone joined in the revelry and kept a cool head as they had yet to truly defeat the separatist forces that now numbered with only a few Kolivex ships that were easily outnumbered by the republics armada. "Admiral. Begin the assault." Master mace windu ordered, as he brought order back to the helm.
"Yes sir." the admiral acknowledge, and began to coordinate the final assault as he ordered the gunners to resume firing.
It was at that moment that Tarion knew he no longer needed to continue his Force technique as he released his hold on the force and collapsed with the mental and spiritual backlash that came from abusing the technique past the limitation he previously had with the power.
Mace looked at him and slowly walked towards the front of the bridge, where his padawan laid sprawled out against the hard flooring of the walkway. An undignified position for anyone to see a jedi but he allowed him his student this privilege of rest.
"man...that was...that was something." Tarion expressed in breathless exhaustion. He had never tested this technique for this long and used its power on this many people at the same time.
One of the officers at the nearby terminal on the lower section stretched his neck over to see if Tarion was okay "You alright sir?!" he called out, turning his attention away from his work to see if the hero of the day was okay.
Tarion just waved it off "Fine, just fine... That whole technique took a lot out of me." he said, before the face of his master appeared above his area of vision.
His indifferent and hardened facial expression, bared down at the young jedi "I'm glad to see that your plan worked. Despite its unorthodox strategy." his master, Windu said, giving praise to the young padawan who demonstrated a master of such a legendary technique that wasn't easy to use, especially for a Jedi Master.
"Thanks...I guess." Tarion accepted this glimmer of appraisal he would receive.
But his master wasn't done, as he next asked what Tarion knew would come up "Since when did you learn of such an ability?" he inquired, giving him that scrutinising and burning gaze Tarion knew from pior experiences from is old masters.
Tarion knew he was in a pinch, he hadn't disclosed to both his master and the Jedi Council during his evaluation after the battle of Geonosis. This was one of his many abilities and knownledge he didn't dare give away, in fear of the Jedi turning him away due to his lack of training under the Jedi order.
His story about being trained by a holocron from an ancient jedi master of the old republic had only made him suspicious, even though he provided a copy of said master, there was of course the untold amount of time he didn't spend learning from the holocron.
Some of the jedi masters chalked up his use of force lightening and force alchemy was part of his unrestricted ventures into the darkside. After all, who could restrict his studying into the forbidden and dark practices of the force, Holocron's were designed to hold the knowledge of the individual they represented and could not with hold their teaching from anyone.
Fortunately, Tarion had the perfect...okay, he had an excuse to hide behind "I learned of it during my time on Coruscant. When I was confined to the temple with nothing to do but teach Younglings and aid in dismantling criminal organisations." it was plenty of time to catch up on his Jedi learning, the masters were hardly keeping an eye on him whenever he was in the Library or learning in his own solitude.
The war had given him much breathing space to learn without anyone breathing down his neck or watching him as he studied and practice his force abilities.
"And this your first time using it?" Mace inquired, hardly believing that the young padawan would perfectly perform such a technique on his first try.
No jedi was that gifted, it took years and a lot of trial and errors to get it right, and even still, there would be occasions where the technique failed.
"...Yes. I had practiced it, but not on a scale like this." Tarion admitted, which was only parcially true, as he had never had the opportunity to utilise it with this many people he was focusing the Force towards.
"hmmm...I'll admit. You have proven your mastery over the force. Especially with a complex technique that you have demonstrated at an advance level." "But I do not like you learning a force technique without supervision. As long as you are my padawan, any force techniques that you wish to study must go through me first. And any force techniques that you have already learned, you must inform me now."
'There is it...just when I was getting praised.' "Understood, my master. I'll provide a list of what I know...as soon as my strength returns."
-Later, in the docked defender.-
It felt good what I did, really, really good as I could not express how proud I felt in winning my space battle!...Technical while I wasn't in charge, it was my plan and my power that saved the day, so I took what praise and knowledge that I was the reason we won such an impossible battle!
I all but skipped up the steps and into my ship that was docked inside of the man hanger, taking up a lot of space within the ship. But I didn't have a choice, and neither did the clones as this was the only way to protect it, as well as keep me close to my master at all times.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief, the weight fo"Man, what a battle!" I exhaled greatly, locking the door behind me with a press of the button as the seals securied it, before I continued on my climb, turning right when I reached the top and right into the bed room where I collasped faced first into the embrace of the nice cool sheets that washed away the burning heat that consumed me.
"I can't believe it took a lot out of me." I was not expecting the toll to be this sivear as I had only managed to get this far before my legs could collapse.
I welcomed the sweet embrace of the sheets and was about to let exhaustion take me into the realm of dreams...*Beep,beep,beep,beep,beep!* the continous bell ringing of my personal comunicator disturbed me from my slumber.
I did not know how long I was out, or if I even managed to get a single nano-second of sleep before the infuriating device drew me from my solace.
Against my body's urge to ignore it, I forced my eye's to opened and hap hazardly slapped the device that was right on my bed side, my fingers managed to press the button to accept the incoming call.
The noise stopped, and a bright blue light burned from the corner of my vision, I didn't turn my eye's look at it as I blindly address who ever was calling me.
"Yo!?" I called out, not really a good greeting to ever was calling me, but I was too damn tired to even muster the will to get up...that was, until I heard a familiar and welcoming tone that brought with it a second wind that got my body working again.
"Yo?" Barriss sounded in confusion, puzzled by my native world's slang that she was unfamiliar with. "What's a yo?"
I sprang up at the sound of her voice, a new found energy banishing the crippling hands of fatigue once coiled around every fibre of my being.
I turned my head and looked at the miniature holographic representation of the only friend I knew in the galaxy "it a...You know what. Never mind. Its good to hear your voice." I said, a smile coming to my lips as I mentally battled with notion of cutting our conversation short.
However despite my efforts to try and appear normal...I failed, as Barriss pointed out "You look exhausted. What happened?" she asked.
She knew well enough that I was finally able to join in the front lines with all of the other jedi.
However, I was not participating as much as I would've liked, but still...I couldn't help but feel like the hero of the day and I would divulge my heroic exploits soon enough.
"Oh you know, the usual. Just me being awesome." I said very casually, added by a very cocky smirk that I knew was stretched across my lips.
This earned an interested and mirthful look from the green skinned jedi who smirked with amusing expectation of what my heroic deed for the day was "The usual huh? Alright, what did you do, to make you so awesome?" she said, with the last bit of those words holding a sense of sarcasiam in them.
To this, I oh so casually stated my battle report with the humility of a master jedi...ok that last bit was a lie as I started off small before my words became a boastful confession of my accomplishment "Oh nothing much. Just used a jedi technique called battle mediation to turn the tide of an uphill battle without losing so much as a single fighter!"
The look on her face was one I wish to capture for the ages.
Her face was one of wordless awe as her mouth dropped and she stared with eye's as wide as dinner plates at me "...You call that usual!?" she broke from usual her calm and controlled demeanor as she exploded from other end of the call.
I simply smirked, this was one from my encyclopaedia of knowledge and techniques that would made the entire order's head spin from the archive that contained the lost and forbidden lore on both the jedi and the sith.
Barriss certainly was a prime example how the Jedi would react to my powers and training...thankfully it was only barriss and she wasn't blinded by that ignorant dogma and bias upbringing "You should know by now how awesome I can be." I said, pointing my thumb to myself as I puff up chest.
I then decided to change the subject in another direction "So...what up with you. How are thing on your end?" I asked, eager to know how things were on her conquest of the planet somewhere on the outer rim.
At this, Barriss perked up as she began to recall her most recent events "oh, we took the capital city. Master Luminara let me take charge of the assault on the last separatist stronghold. We've successfully conquered the planet."
I was star struck by this information.
Already Barriss had been given full command of an army and had taken control of a planet "Wow Barriss! Who knew underneath all that pretty green skin and that wonderful smile, was a dangerous General that could lead men."
Her green cheeks darkened as she became flustered from my complement "oh stop~" she said, turning her face away as she tried to cover that bashful smile that broke on her lips.
"Why, it's the truth. You've earned it." I continued, taking some enjoyment in making her squirm with my words of praise. Before I turned the conversation in a different direction "so besides that, how have you been lately? Anything new that's come up?" I asked, she was the only source of news besides the Republic's holonet that only spouted propaganda in keeping the spirits of the republic citizens high.
Afterall, who would want to hear the bad news that we were losing battles, some close to the home systems of the many senators that held the same amount of power as their governments.
"Well...Master Luminara is going to teach me some healing techniques. After I requested to learn the art of force healing with the intent of preserving life in this terrible war." Barriss stated, a new improvement to her training as when we last left off on her training on the system of Illum, where she protected the sacred caves that housed the Kuiber crystal for all of our lightsabre's.
Then I had gotten the Idea to help her out with her learning force healing, I wasn't a master of it, but I certainly knew enough to get me by. "Well, I could give you some pointers. In fact, How about I teach you while we're on the call?" I offered,
And with that, we began to use these calls for more then simple conversation, as I helped Barriss get a head start on her training with the force.
Finished I hope you all enjoyed that.
Anyone, here' s a little omake that came to me as I was writing this.
For all of you Star Wars fans who play Kotor 1 and 2, you know what this is.
-Omake: Cheatcodes-
Barriss stared at Tarion with wordless awe and confoundment as the sight before her was something that completely defied the laws of nature and natural human biology as her friend...was completely Jacked!
Standing taller then any natural human she had come across, with a strong and broad frame, muslces bulging from every fibre of his being that pushed through the fabric and cloth of his clothing.
He looked like he could crush a sepertist tank with his bare hands.
"How are you this strong?" Barriss asked in complete astonishment, unable to believe that such a human could be this bulky without advanced stims and genetic tampering to be this musculer.
Tarion just shrugged his huge broad shoulders "I don't know? It just happens?" he said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he now had the body of the incredible hulk.
The both of them did not seem to notice or really were deaf the clicking and klacking of fingers punching keys in sequence.
*set_charisma 99*
Next thing Barriss knew, Tarion was eveloped in a bright glow that forced her to sheild her eyes from the blinding light.
Grunting Barriss tried to peer through her hands that was used to shield her from the sudden burst of light that obscured her friend's form.
When the light receeded and her eyes adjusted, Barriss was immidately taken aback by what she saw.
Her hands fell just like the bottom half of her jaw that hung as she stared with a gawping expression.
Surprise and shock exploded on her face as she stared at the being before her.
Tarion, by all that barriss could decribe, appeared to be magnificent and enchanting being. Like the Diathim, the mysterious angels of the moons of Iego who were enchanting creatures that mesmersed all by their luminating glow that enchanted all to their beauty.
Tarion seemed to eminating his own positive presence that made him stand out from everything else. Though he wasn't illuminating as the Diathims were or possessed their biological trait that made them so illuminious, Tarion seemed to unknowingly project this illusion that ensared barriss who felt very squirmy and vulnerable before him...but in a good way.
"Tarion...you look um...you look, quite handsome~" Barriss stuttered, trying to avert her gaze away from the glowing beautiful figure taht was her friend. But failed as her eyes kept on returning to his mesmerising figure.
The way Tarion smiled, made Barriss feel as though her entire skeletal structure had turned into jelly and her body threatened to collaspe in on itself. "Thank you. But you are the true beauty here." he said in such tone and manner that she felt like had be struck with energy.
The darkening of her cheeks had grown to evelope almost the entirety of her face, her emerald green skin had darkened in pitch to the point where cheeks looked like they were about burst.
Her mouth were clasped tighter then a blast door, and yet it shifted and moved like a worm as her lips struggled to keep still from the emotions that threatened to break through.
For all intents and purpsoes, Barriss did not look like a member of the Jedi order, but a pure maiden who was star struck by the handsome adonis before her.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have such lovely green skin. It really enchances your beauty." Tarion said, as he graced her cheeks with his finger.
Barriss made a mewling noise that she had no idea she was capable of making, she was puddy to his touch.
Before Barriss and Tarion knew it, the lithe green skinned miraleen threw herself at the buffed up Jedi and performed such actions that were unscrupulous for a member of the illustrious order of peacekeepers and defenders of the justice.
A little bit of humour I thought of, in introducing cheatcodes into he Star Wars universe where neither Barriss or Tarion are aware that they are getting buffs from cheats.
Any way, here's an update on the latest progress of my fictions for this site.
Skin Deep Ch 13 50%
Dance of Serpents Ch 8 30%
Dance of Serpents Ch 1 Re-written 80%
Jaune Arc MD- Cyber Arc 2077 (Cyberpunk) 50%
Age of Terror Reign of the Night Ch 14 50%