Obliques: Guardian of the Future
"For millennia, our historians have debated whether the Order as we know it spread across the galaxy from a central point or coalesced from multiple scattered entities. Put simply, there is not enough surviving documentation for us to be certain either way. I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in between. Jedi with always find each other in their hour of need."
Jedi Master Odan-Urr, Reflections on a Thousand Years, 4,137 BBY
112th Year of the Five Brothers
11,347 TYA
There were different flavors of heroism, none more inherently virtuous than the next. Acting alone to help others had a special satisfaction, but it also placed you in special danger. You were safer—and more importantly stronger—when you had other Jedi at your side.
That was just one of the things Ashar Gell had learned since the Hand of Light plucked him from death in a filthy Tepasi alley, and he'd taken it to heart.
Not that the current situation wasn't extremely dangerous.
The two Jedi ships had established a beachhead inside the pirates' asteroid base, courtesy of the ship that had attacked them and kindly left the launch bay door open. The Hand of Light and Dawnchaser were able to set down without too much difficulty. Once landed, Ashar was the first one out the airlock, Shen right behind him, both in vacuum-proof suits for as long as it took to reach the bay's control center, close the doors and re-pressurize the chamber. Then the other Jedi emerged from their ships: Master Mal-Oba Talyak from the Hand, a Noghri and a Selkath from the Dawnchaser.
The pirates were already reacting to this intrusion. They felt like a swam of angry hornets beyond the hangar bay's sealed doors. The Jedi took mere seconds to coordinate their plan, relying on the Force more than words. The Selkath, Moorai, would stay with the ships to guard them. Master Talyak, Ashar, Shen, and the one-handed Noghri—Koltatha—would go inside and rescue the three captive Jedi.
Next was the dangerous part.
The interior of the asteroid was a maze, and the pirates were indeed like furious insects, always on the move, stinging with their hit-and-fade attacks. In the two years since he'd been rescued from Tepasi, Ashar had developed a firm bond with Talyak and Shen. Wielding blades of pure light (a miraculous weapon, inherited from the Rakata no less) they moved as one, deflecting attacks, warning against enemies, and cutting down any pirate who got too close. Koltatha, with his one hand and metal-blade sword, followed them but felt apart in the Force. He was confused by the newcomers and doubtful of his ability, but still driven to save his comrades.
The pirate nest was a maze, but it wasn't difficult to find the three captive Jedi. They were being held in separate places but their minds were alert and they blazed in the Force, so distinct against the anger of criminals.
There came a lull in the fighting. The pirates were falling back to regroup and replan. The Jedi needed a break too. Exhausted, bleeding from where a bullet had skimmed his flank, Ashar asked, "Where do we go now?"
Koltatha reached to his comrades in the Force. "The ships are still secure. They are not trying to retake the bay."
"They could still re-open the doors," Ashar warned.
"Both ships are magnetized to the flight deck," Master Talyak said. "They cannot be flushed into space." The Talid's long fur was slick with sweat; a lightsaber burned in either of his upper hands.
"They can still make getting back to the ships very difficult," Koltatha said. "And we cannot let them have the Found Horizon. We will have to destroy it if it cannot fly."
"Then we'll destroy it," Talyak said simply. "For now, we find our comrades. Can you sense them?"
"I can." Koltatha pointed down one corridor branch. "Vediah is that way. I must go to her."
"I will help you," said Shen.
The Noghri gave the Rakata the same look as when they'd first met: pure disbelief, with a touch of revulsion. For a second Ashar thought he'd refuse, but Koltatha nodded. He knew he needed the help.
"I sense another Jedi that way." Talyak gestured with his lower-left arm, then raised his upper-right. "A third is down that path."
"I'll get the last one," Ashar said. "Let's go."
There were no parting words, only parted ways. The pirates were starting to regroup; the Jedi could feel this and there was no time to waste. Ashar jogged down the corridor and around two curves. Finally he made the final turn and saw one human pirate, armed with a mere pistol, standing before a locked door. She hefted her weapon but hesitated before firing it at the man with the impossible blazing sword.
That was all Ashar needed. He used the Force to wrench the weapon from her grip. It slapped into his palm. The woman turned and ran for her life.
If only it could always be this easy.
The lightsaber also made things easier. The door was sealed metal but thin; three easy slices cut a triangular hole through it. Ashar simply kicked the cut-out portion, knocking it into the cell, then stepped through in the dark chamber.
His saber cast a soft glow over the room, onto the human woman sitting upright on the floor. Her ankles were bound in front of her, hands behind her. A gag was stuffed in her mouth and an ugly bruise swelled on her forehead, but her eyes were clear as she looked up at him. In the Force, she sent gratitude.
As he made quick slices through her binds, Ashar considered how to introduce himself. Back on Tepasi he's had a small collection of salutations for citizens he'd saved in ominous alleys. "I'm just here to help, ma'am." "I'm only looking out for people in need." "Only doing what anyone would do, sir." So self-effacing yet prideful. He'd never actually called himself the 'guardian of the night' (the local press had done that) but he'd not dispelled the moniker either, because he'd wanted too hard to be a hero (in retrospect, the mask and cape were down-right embarrassing).
He was protecting something much more important now: the future of the Jedi. He cut the woman's bonds, then pulled the gag from her mouth. As soon as it was out she spat roughly to one side and asked, "Who the hells are you?"
He'd gotten that on Tepasi once or twice. Ashar smiled wryly. "Just a Jedi? You?"
"About the same."
She tried to stand, but her legs wobbled and she nearly fell. Ashar caught her against himself; she was as tall as him, with a strong lean build. He straightened her by the shoulders and examined her face, which was pretty except for the puss-bleeding bruise.
"Are you alright? Do you have a concussion?"
"I don't think so," she said, but held to him for stead. Her eyes dropped to his lightsaber. "What is that? And where did you come from? And what's your—"
"I'm Ashar. I came on another Jedi ship. Your friends—Koltatha and Moorai—they're here too."
"Then let's find them."
Her eyes dropped to his belt. He stepped away, then realized she was staring at the pistol he'd taken. He plucked it free and held it out, handle-first. She took it eagerly.
"I'm Jecca by the way," she said as she checked the magazine. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. Come on, the others are rescuing your friends."
They hurried out of the cell and into the hall, just in time for a trio of pirates to round the corner and charge at them. Jecca pressed herself against the wall, raised her pistol and dropped one with a well-placed shot. Ashar charged ahead, using the Force to instantly close the distance between him and the other two pirates. His lightsaber sheared the muzzle off one man's rifle; at the same time he snapped an elbow into the second man's chin. The first man dropped his gun and went for a knife but Ashar used the Force to slam him sideways. His head knocked noisily into his partner's and both dropped.
It was done. He turned to see Jecca slowly lowering her weapon, an impressed look on her face.
"Just a Jedi, huh?"
"Well, I used to be a hero and it got me in trouble. I'm trying to tone it down a bit."
Her tired, pretty smile felt like a reward. "You may be on to something. How do we get back to the ships?"
"Follow me," he smiled back and led her down the hall.