Those Who Hunt
Hello everyone, welcome to the latest chapter of Path of Kan Taro! I'd like to start by giving a shoutout to my first 5$ dollar patron! I unfortunately will not name him here as I haven't gotten around to getting his permission first, but I will congratulate him as he now gets to view samples of scenes and drafts from my upcoming chapters before they come out! And you can too, simply stop by and see about becoming a patron on my Pat reon! Now then I think that's enough dramatic stuff here, and with no guest review questions this week, on to a galaxy far far away!
The Perseverance
The sound of blaster fire echoed through the cargo hold accompanied by the hum of a lightsaber. The source of one noise was not ordinary blaster fire but rather the large blue rings from a blaster set on stun. "Just a bit more," Tae called while continuing to fire at his saber wielding target: Lop. "Hold on a bit longer."
"I'm doing…the best…I can," the Lepi girl spoke between blocks. They'd been at this for a couple of hours now with only a few breaks in between. Naturally, fatigue was starting to set in and showed itself when Lop didn't quite block the latest blast and dropped her saber as the small bit of electrical energy numbed her hands. She closed her eyes, expecting another shot but instead her ears were greeted with the sound of a click from Tae's blaster.
"Whew, got lucky," the pilot noted, checking his weapon to see that the powerpack had just run out of energy, "I'll need to grab another one of these so why don't we call it good for the time being. Your hands are going to need a minute to get some feeling back in them anyway."
"Thank you," Lop breathed out as she practically fell to the floor in a sitting position, "I don't know if I've got anything left in me right now."
"You did better than our last force sensitive recruit," Tae assured while holstering his blaster, "we started him on a remote drone, took him all day to move up to deflecting blaster fire from a person. Admittedly he hadn't had any prior training in deflecting blaster fire before then."
"Technically speaking, my daughter doesn't have that much to begin with, either," a gruff voice called from the entrance to the cargo bay. It was Yasaburo, now clad in a grey medical shirt and pants with his hair done up in a top knot. RN was trailing behind him.
"Father!" Lop leapt up and gave him the best hug she could with her numb hands, "I'm so glad to see you're up!"
"Up is overselling it a little," RN informed, "he still needs to heal a little but, as you mentioned, he's stubborn and is already back on his feet. Just make sure he doesn't do anything super strenuous today."
"There's nothing terribly strenuous involved in seeing my daughter's training progress," Yasaburo assured, "how have things been going?"
"I'm starting to understand why everyone has such an odd attitude about the general," Lop sighed, "he takes things very seriously."
"He's seen more action in just the Clone Wars alone than most people see in a lifetime," Tae explained, "and I hear he was a hard ass even before that. The most relaxed I've ever seen him is when he's meditating and even then, I think he still had a scowl on his face."
"Speaking of action, you seem to know your way around that blaster," the clan head observed, "does everyone else in the militia shoot like you?"
"Not exactly," the pilot patted his holster, "I learned the basics of shooting and firefighting from my parents. Mom's ex-Naboo Royal Guard and Dad picked up a lot during his days as a spacer before they met, all of which they've since passed on to me. In comparison a bunch of the other guys here are ex-military vets who served as part of a handpicked militia Kota formed during the Clone Wars, so they're more comfortable around blaster rifles. Heads up, by the way, once the general thinks you're ready you'll be facing a whole firing squad's worth of stun blasts."
"The last force sensitive recruit didn't happen to die from too much stunning, did he?" The Lepi girl couldn't help but ask with a nervous laugh.
"No, no one's died from that so far," Tae crossed his arms as a more serious look crossed his face, "the inquisitors got the last guy."
"'Inquisitors'," Lop tilted her head, "who are they?"
"You remember your first training session when the general mentioned something called the dark side," the pilot got a nod from her before continuing, "well inquisitors are force wielders and even former jedi who were turned to the dark side by the empire. Their purpose is to hunt down and either kill or capture the remaining jedi from the order along with any force sensitives they might find. After all, who better to hunt down skilled force wielders than other skilled force wielders."
The Outer Rim: Forest Planet
"Lera, Fordo," Kan stepped forward, "make sure no one else is able to get up here. I'll take care of this."
"It's refreshing to meet a jedi who doesn't run!" The Inquisitor declared, leaping off of her downed ship. Her spread cape and the two horn-like sections of her Vader-style mask gave off the impression of a bat swooping down towards its prey as her crimson sabers met Kan's cerulean blade. The weapons crackled with each and every impact against each other as the jedi circled around to the right while continuing to parry his enemy's dual blades.
"You heard the commander, back to the entryway," Fordo ordered. Lera sent a concerned glance towards her partner before heading off with the clones, trying not to count the seconds in her head.
"First meetings typically warrant introductions," Kan commented while deflecting and parrying one strike after another, "who might you be?"
"I am the Fifth Sister," she answered while intensifying her attacks and pushing the jedi back, "and you are Kan Taro, former padawan of Eeth Koth!" She knocked his saber out of the way and was about to hit him with a double overhead strike but the jedi sent her sliding back with a quick force push. Her heels sparked against the metal as she just managed to stay upright.
"You know me," Kan observed, his brow furrowing at the revelation, "the only inquisitors who'd know me on sight come from the temple."
"We've never formally met," the Fifth Sister explained as the two slowly circled each other, "but nearly everyone studying to be a padawan heard about you alongside Tano and Fae. Though not all of it was praise. I've always wondered, what was it like facing Count Dooku himself?"
"Since I was a kid back then, about what you'd expect," the jedi halted while readying his blade, "humbling."
"Then this won't be a new experience for you!" The Inquisitor rushed in, thrusting one blade then the other. Kan parried and blocked the strikes, this time maintaining his position before bringing them both into a blade lock. She attempted to use her own force push on him but he shifted his stance and swatted her arm down, causing the panel next to him to crumple instead.
He shoved her back then before relaxing his stance. "Like I said, I was a kid when that happened. You'll have to work harder than that if you want to humble me now." The Fifth Sister grit her teeth beneath her mask and was about to advance again before the sound of a ship overhead drew her attention. "But it appears our time here is done anyway."
Indeed, the ship hovering near them was the Azure Herald and it was turning the dual turret on its underside towards the Fifth Sister. "Filthy jedi," she cursed before turning and running with force augmented speed. The dual turrets opened up, tracking her as red bolts tore into the area just behind her and lighting up the growing night with orange-hot metallic fragments. Kan took this opportunity to rush towards his vessel as its boarding ramp lowered.
One force assisted leap was all it took to land on the platform with Lera reaching out and pulling him the rest of the way onto the ship. The boarding ramp closed at the same time the ship began turning away. "No you don't," the Fifth Sister chided, putting away one of her lightsabers and withdrawing a small device. Using the force, she sent the disc-shaped object towards the Herald just as it finished its turn, latching on right as the vessel took off.
Aboard The Setsukon
"Commander," a comms officer alerted Ocho and the First Brother, "we're receiving a transmission from the planet. It's the Fifth Sister."
"Put her on," the Tao Native ordered. A holopad lit up then, projecting a miniature version of the female inquisitor.
"Lord Inquisitor," she bowed slightly, "you'll be pleased to hear that my mission was a success."
"Excellent work," the First Brother nodded, "return to us as soon as you can."
"I'm afraid my ship was damaged in the ensuing fight," the Fifth Sister regretfully informed, "I can repair it but for now I'll seek out another vessel to continue pursuit."
"Don't trouble yourself," the Inquisitor ordered, "see to your ship and once that task is complete, find Doctor Tagge and obtain the data and locations on all projects related to this one. The time has come for us to play our part up here."
"There's one more thing you should know," the female inquisitor added, "the identity of this jedi, is Kan Taro."
"Ah, now that is someone I'm familiar with," the First Brother hummed, "I look forward to seeing what he is capable of." At about that time a sensor reading went off.
"Two ships approaching," a crewman on the scanning station announced, "I'm reading a Nu-class shuttle and a YG-5000."
"Let the show begin," the inquisitor gestured towards Ocho.
"Shuttles on intercept," she ordered, "activate the point defense system and ready to open fire should the enemy come within range." A series of affirmatives answered her demands as their prey came into view.
"It looks like that inquisitor didn't come alone," Kan noted, having taken over control of the ship from DT now that they were situated, "we've got incoming."
"I'm reading two Lambda-class shuttles and…I don't know what that is but it looks like some kind of corvette," Lera informed from the co-pilot's station.
"Then why don't we get its attention," the jedi switched on the ship's comms, "Fordo, form up behind us and jump the moment you get a chance. We'll meet you at the planetary rendezvous once we shake these guys."
"Affirmative, we'll report to the general as soon as possible," the ARC captain acknowledged before relaying the instructions to Mach.
"I get the feeling I'm not going to like this plan," Lera commented while tightening her flight harness.
"Just your standard jedi pilot maneuver," Kan quipped before pushing the accelerator forward. The ship sped up far more than would've been possible for an ordinary YG-5000 thanks to its enhanced engines. The approaching Lambda's opened fire, their impressive compliment of four laser cannons on the front assaulting them as if they were a squad of TIE fighters. "Give me all power to the forward shields, angle them by a few degrees and hang on!"
Lera did just that before Kan rolled the ship to the left while hitting the trigger for his own forward cannons. Red bolts flew from the front of the Azure Herald and slammed into the shuttle on the left. His Slicer co-pilot added to this mix by firing the dual laser cannon turrets on the top and bottom of the ship. At the same time, Fordo's shuttle had rolled in the opposite direction and started firing its own cannons, catching the second Lambda shuttle off-guard.
A short but tense game of chicken followed as the four craft raced towards each other on a collision course. It would be the imperial shuttles who gave first, noting they were taking more damage and would likely explode before their adversaries, and quickly pulled up out of the way. The two rebel craft corrected their own courses slightly and flew under them with Lera almost certain she caught a glimpse of the gray shuttle's folded down wings passing over them. "Captain, make for base," Kan ordered while directing the Herald towards the corvette, "I'll hold our friend's attention for a bit."
"Yes sir," Fordo acknowledged, "advise you don't make the general angry by arriving too late."
"I'll take that into consideration," the jedi almost laughed as their allies broke off, "Lera, get hyperspace coordinates ready, I'm gonna use the missiles."
"Already on it," she informed as Kan flipped the settings on his flight controls. He couldn't see it happening, but he knew two panels were sliding open on either side of the ship's bow. The jedi hit the trigger then, firing two then four concussion missiles at their target before breaking off. But the result was not what he expected.
From the corner of his eye he saw green bolts fly from the ship towards the incoming projectiles. "Kan," Lera looked at the radar, "the missiles, they're all being shot down." And in quick succession too. By the time the slicer had finished informing him of the development the missiles had already been obliterated.
"Oh that's not good," he commented, "reroute the power to the port shields before-BOOM!" The Herald shook as a near miss by the corvette's main chin cannon went blazing by them. "Frek, I'll handle the rest of the setup to lightspeed."
"Better make it quick," Lera urged as the ship again shook from more fire coming close to hitting them. There was even a shot which glanced off the top of the hull, threatening to tear through their shields.
"What about Fordo and the others," Kan asked while going into slight evasive maneuvers.
"They've already jumped, it's just us now," his co-pilot informed.
"Good, then we're out of here." The jedi put his hand on the lever, waiting for the precise moment as the laser fire intensified around them. Just as a few more shots from the corvette's main cannon started streaking their way, the navicomputer alerted them that the coordinates were ready. Kan hit the lever then, watching as the stars seemed to stretch around them before turning into the blue tunnel of hyperspace.
For those watching aboard the Setsukon, the Azure Herald appeared to streak away into the darkness of space, leaving nothing for the pursuing green bolts to strike as they continued onward into the void. "Both targets are confirmed to have entered hyperspace," a radar operator informed.
"Excellent," the First Brother hummed, "now we shall see if our little performance was passable."
"Recall the shuttles for evaluation and see to any needed repairs," Ocho ordered, "I want the navigation ready to enter hyperspace coordinates at a moment's notice!" A chorus of 'yes ma'am's' answered her orders. She turned to the inquisitor then. "This had better work."
"This really is your first command off-planet, I see," the Zeuol noted, "fear not. I already have a contingency in the works should this approach prove less than fruitful. You will get your confrontation with the militia and the Yasaburo fugitives, you have my word."
"I find it hard to share your optimism," the commander glanced at him.
"You will," the First Brother smirked under his mask, "simply watch and learn."
The Perseverance
"All hands, we're about to arrive at our destination!" Kota announced over the ship's comms, "Get to your stations!" A flurry of activity occurred in response to this order with the crew moving every which way.
"You heard the man," Tae signaled to Daizo and RN who moved to follow him down the frigate's main hallway, "let's get over to the Gundark and get her ready for takeoff."
"Are you going somewhere?" Lop asked, falling into step next to them.
"It's standard operating procedure established by the general," the pilot explained, "we stagger the arrival time of the ships so that we're not all in the same place at once. Only the ships needing fuel and supplies badly are gonna land for an extended period of time. The rest of the ships are gonna drop representatives for the meeting."
"What's the meeting about," the rabbit girl asked.
"Our next course of action," Tae responded, "we've finished up tackling a lot of small operations over the last couple of weeks. It's about time to pull off something big."
"Big how," this piqued Lop's interest. Big could mean a lot of things in this context, including one particular type of operation.
"Taking out an imperial stronghold, hitting a ship convoy, messing up a large imperial operation, even potentially liberating a planet," the spacer listed off, "and yes, this would be the time for you to present your plight to the militia. Assuming we don't have something more pressing they'll at least be willing to listen."
"What would it take to convince the militia to move on my planet now," Lop questioned.
"I don't want to say a lot, but you're gonna have to sell it," Tae sighed, "you'll especially need to assure them that the empire won't immediately send a small fleet to take it back."
"I don't see why they would," the Lepi girl mused, "they only have a single star destroyer over the world, it can't be that important of a planet to the empire."
"And I'd like to think you're right," Tae stopped at the airlock where his ship was currently docked, "anyway, we need to get the ship ready. I imagine the general will want us to scout ahead."
"What should my father and I do," Lop asked.
"That's up to you right now," the pilot informed, "you can stay here and disembark with the general, you can try to catch a ride with one of the other ships. Or we can take you along with us. We just need to send a quick word if you're leaving the frigate."
"Then if it's alright, I'd like to scout ahead in the Gundark with all of you," the force wielder gave a determined look that said she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. Tae glanced at Daizo and RN, both of whom nodded in approval.
"General Kota," he called on his communicator, "the new recruit would like to scout ahead with us. Would you mind calling for her father?"
"Lop doesn't need me to accompany her everywhere she goes," the voice of Yasaburo himself responded. Apparently, he was standing right next to the general, listening in on the communication. "We're all going to the same place so just don't drag her into any trouble before you get there, am I understood, boy?"
"We'll hightail it at the first sign of anything that looks fishy," Tae assured, "see you in the mountains." He switched off his communicator and turned to Lop. "Hop aboard, I'll give you a little crash course in piloting a freighter." The Lepi girl nodded happily before following the crew onboard.
Shortly after that, the frigate would exit hyperspace a fair distance away from the planet and the Grinning Gundark would depart for their destination with an escort of a few Cutlass-9 patrol fighters and one of the corvettes. "Be honest with me, general," Yasaburo spoke grimly as he watched the departing ships from the bridge, "do you think my daughter is capable of surviving this war?" He'd finally switched to his more regular clothes, a black robe with a sleeveless outer robe that was decorated with red and orange flamelike designs.
"I can't guarantee survival for any of us, not against the opponent we face," Rahm Kota answered truthfully with his own mouth set in a grim line, "but I will say this: you trained her well. I recognize the jedi teachings passed down in your lineage and her grasp of the basics is excellent. She has the potential to become a great warrior. I don't' doubt her determination in the slightest, but I sensed a certain reluctance from her as well."
"If you are worried that she may hesitate to take a life when the time comes, don't be," Yasaburo narrowed his eyes, "I believe in my daughter's willingness to see this through. No, her reluctance is reserved for only one person in the empire." It was a thought that was, thankfully, far from her mind at this particular moment. Instead, the force wielding girl again found herself in awe at the sight before her.
"It's so blue," Lop gasped from her spot in the Grinning Gundark's cockpit, "it's even bluer than Tao!"
"That's to be expected," Tae explained as they approached the planet, "the continents on this world are thin and mountainous, you can see them running up and down from the planet's poles as we get closer." And it created an interesting effect. The continents looked more akin to the partially emerged backs of gigantic sea creatures when viewed from space, almost as if they were looking at some sort of migration.
"What's this planet called," their excited passenger asked.
"Welcome to Phatrong," the pilot introduced, "this planet is the home of the Kyuzo people, and that includes Diazo here." The green native barked an affirmative in his own language.
"You were born here," Lop questioned, "what was it like?" The Kyuzo shrugged and offered a few comments. His partner snickered a bit at one of them.
"It kinda depends which continent you're on," Tae added, "you'll understand their culture a lot more when we land, but one thing you should know is the Kyuzo have a proud martial history. They have orders, what they call clovocs, made up of fearsome, honorable warriors. They're even considered nasty enough that the empire has elected not to bother them for the time being so long as they pay their taxes and everything on time."
"So you're actually considered pretty normal in your culture," Lop asked their tall companion who shrugged and answered more or less in the affirmative.
"It's Daizo's clovoc that we're going to, actually," the pilot revealed as they began entering the planet's atmosphere, "which reminds me. Goober One, we're not picking up anything here on scanners so we're heading in."
"I've said this before, it's Opee One, for frek's sake," the escorting Cutlass-9 pilot cursed at him, "but roger that. We'll join you after scouting around the continent, shouldn't take too long." Tae acknowledged while continuing their descent. As he did so, the pilot walked Lop through what he was doing, which readouts he was looking at and which controls he was using.
Soon enough, they were approaching one of the mountains after quickly conversing with a Kyuzo over the ship's communicator. Tae powered down most of the engines and used the ship's repulsors to bring them hovering above an odd spot that seemed a bit smooth, even for a mountain face. The reason why became clear when it suddenly moved inwards and slid open, revealing a stone landing pad beneath. "You built a rebel base inside of a mountain," Lop looked around excitedly as they descended onto the pad with the entrance sliding closed above them.
"It was originally the base for Daizo's clovoc, the Fleches," Tae informed, "the general worked with them at one-point years ago and knew them to be an honorable group who hated tyranny. They've been kind enough to let us make this place one of our few on planet bases." He finished powering down all of the ship's systems then before standing up and grabbing a pack of supplies. "Me, Daizo, or someone will give you the full tour in a little while, but first, there's someone you really need to meet, assuming she's even here."
"Is there another jedi here," the Lepi girl asked. She thought about reaching out with the force but decided against it for now. Kota had only had time to give her the most rudimentary of explanations on sensing things in the force beyond objects she intended to use it on.
"That's what we're about to find out," the pilot commented before hitting the controls for the boarding ramp. The group of four individuals proceeded down it and out into the base. The ceiling of the mountain's interior was several hundred feet above them and the area itself was characterized by a collection of huts and other cutouts in the rock. Some were tunnels and others appeared to be homes or dwelling areas.
Technology of various degrees was strewn about with racks holding all kinds of weapons ranging from spears to blasters along with power generators in either full view or installed into the walls, floors and ceilings. The population was sparse, mainly consisting of Kyuzo but that was to be expected, considering this was not a main hub of intergalactic activity but a compound housing a single order. In a way it almost reminded Lop of the Yasaburo clan compound back home. A thought which, unfortunately, made her expression drop a little.
None of her new friends had time to notice this, however, due to the arrival of two Kyuzo warriors. They were dressed in a similar attire to Daizo but had more black and brown fabric on their outfits and hats which blended into the surroundings. After a quick word with their fellow Kyuzo the two warriors led them through the compound. Lop saw multiple ranges and sparring rings as they walked, some in use while others awaited their next participants.
Eventually they veered off into a smaller tunnel which exited into a more natural, moss-covered section of the mountain. "Good news," Tae whispered to her, "our jedi friend is here right now."
"What is she like?" Lop was naturally curious if she was about to meet someone more mild, like Kan, or strict, like Kota.
"Not like Kota," the pilot assured, apparently having guessed what she was thinking, "but I'll let you make up your own mind on whether or not you like her." As he said this, the group stopped in front of an entrance of sorts. It was another short tunnel but unlike the others it had a large blue banner with white markings covering it. The guards and Daizo had a quick word with the armed guard standing there before he stepped forward and looked at Lop.
The Lepi girl wasn't sure what he was searching for but after a moment he simply nodded and moved back to the entrance to pull the blue banner aside. "He's only allowing you in right now," Tae explained, "but if you need us, just send for us."
"Why can't you come in?" The confused force-wielder questioned.
"It's not that we can't come in, we just won't be a lot of help," the pilot explained, "most of this force stuff goes right over our heads. One thing I have learned, though, is that it's good to have a quiet place when you're learning how to wield it. Just go in there and say hi. We'll be back at the ship or around the main area if you happen to be looking for us when you're done."
Lop was reluctant but nodded in understanding. She took a deep breath then, turned and headed through the entrance. The light changed slightly as the banner was dropped back into place, but the Lepi quickly found that she could see. In fact, there seemed to be a source of light ahead.
Moving out into the open, Lop found herself in a large cave with a hole in the ceiling, letting a good bit of sunlight through. It was not the only source of light, however. A few species of glowing moss and small, blue glowing trees dotted the cave. Looking down, the force sensitive discovered a large pool of water and there, sitting on a rock, was the sole occupant of the cave: a woman. She couldn't see much of her body due to the black cape she wore but she could make out her short, dark hair which seemed to fall a bit more on the right side.
Lop's attention didn't linger on her long, though, as she spied a floating orb, of water! The Lepi girl watched in fascination then as it suddenly bent and twisted, becoming more oval like, then diamond-like before finally shooting up into the air and dropping down to the water below. But instead of a loud splash, the water slowed at the last moment and reentered the pool, leaving only faint ripples.
"When asked to describe the force," the woman spoke suddenly, her voice mature sounding yet youthful at the same time, "many have given their own interpretation. When I felt you awaken in the force, it was like a ripple. But where are my manners, I should introduce myself." She turned towards Lop then, revealing her dark blue eyes and a scar that ran upwards on the right side of her face. "My name is Fae, and if you desire it, I shall be your master."
For those wondering, Fae is indeed 'F' from the Star Wars Visions episode 'The Village Bride'. I've decided to call her Fae since I think it'd be nice for her to have an actual name rather than just being called by a letter the whole story. If you like the name let me know in your comments and reviews along with what you liked/disliked and any neat ideas you might have for future chapters. Also, check out my Pat reon for not only news but writing and scene samples now! And do stop in next time as both our heroes and their foes carefully plan out their next moves! 'Til then.