He awoke to find himself upside down, and suspended in a yellow energy forcefield. He turned his attention over to the two warriors not two far from him.
"The commander wants us to sweep the area, and look for the other Jedi" the one warrior said, holding his wrist as he twisted it gingerly.
"This one's harmless enough, without his lightsaber" the other one said mockingly as he tossed the saber in his hand.
As he watched the two warriors disappear into the mine, he reached over and pressed the comlink on his wrist.
"Jake, do you copy" Obi Wan said quietly, careful not to alert the warriors, but was met with silence.
"Satine, do you copy" he tried, but again was met with only silence.
"Blast" he swore, and then let out a sigh. "So much for help".
He had found a small rock outcropping that overlooked the decent sized base. He was laying on his belly and had turned off his commlink, both to reduce his risk of being detected. He had been watching it for only a short while, and nothing was going on apart from what appeared to be normal activity. He was about to head back to the mine entrance, but as he started to get up he saw something that caught his attention.
A speeder that was approaching the base, and apparently not putting the base on alert. He lowered himself back onto the outcropping and watched. The sun had completely set not too long ago, and while it was still fairly dark outside the base, the combination of the full moon and the base's lights helped illuminate most of the area. He couldn't really make out any of the faces of the people that exited the speeder that had stopped at one of the buildings in the center, but once he saw them lifting an unconscious female looking figure out of the back seat, he knew who that was. He did his best to leave as quickly and quietly as possible, but as he rounded a nearby rock, he was met with an unfortunate surprise.
"Well, well, what have I happened to find here" the warrior sneered, as he held his blaster pistol up to Jake. "Hands up, Jedi scum". Jake complied, and raised his hands up to chest level.
"Not so powerful now are you Jedi" the Warrior goaded. "Now we've got both you, and your friend". Jake's face remained stoic.
"I was expecting more of a challenge from a Jedi. Too bad, but that armor of yours will look good on my wall " the warrior said, as he heard his comlink begin beeping. He turned his head to acknowledge the transmission, but this would prove to be a mistake.
Before he could answer the call he heard a snap hiss of a lightsaber, and he looked up just in time to see the emerald green energy blade go straight through his wrist, leaving only a cauterized stub where his hand once held his blaster. Before he could even cry out in pain and horror, he felt a strong hand grab his throat and shove him back into a large rock nearby. With his throat held, and the tip of the green blade that had severed his hand just an inch away from his chestplate, he could only look into the intimidating gaze of the Jedi Knight before him.
"Where's Kenobi?" Jake asked. The warrior just snorted.
"Go to hell, Jedi dog" he spat angrily. He would regret that decision because as soon as those words left his mouth, he felt the tip of the Jedi's Lightsaber make contact with his chest. He growled as his body tensed due to the scorching heat a few inches under his heart.
"I won't ask again" Jake growled.
"He's in the mine, by the base. A few of the men captured him and are holding him there until the commander says otherwise" the warrior replied painfully.
Jake only nodded, and then proceeded to tilt his blade upwards, and drove it through the warriors heart. He drove his blade so deep, that the blade left a semi deep inverted hole in the rock. After the warrior drew his last breath, Jake withdrew his blade and released his grip on the warriors throat, and watched his body slump to his knees and fall face down onto the rocky ground.
"Cowardice butcher" he said in Mando'a, as he extinguished his lightsaber and put it back on his belt, and began making his way back to the mine. As he did so, he turned his commlink back on and waited for a response. After a few moments, he heard the familiar beeps and whistles on the other end. "R7 listen to me very carefully," he said as he neared the mine's entrance.
"Zaro isn't answering his comm," one of the warriors said. "The commander said for us to go find him, and take care of this Jedi".
"Well then, time for the Jedi to meet his gruesome end" the other warrior said with an evil chuckle, as he started pressing buttons on the elevated console.
Obi Wan could only watch in hidden horror, as the similar yellow force field in front of him was moved forward into a rock presser. The two powerful crusher arms closed together, and then opened up a few seconds later, revealing the crushed suspended rocks.
The Machine then moved them above a grinder, and the force field disengaged, letting the rock remains fall and be crushed into dust.
Obi Wan knew he had to do something, though there wasn't much he could do in his current situation. As the conveyor belt began to slowly move him to the presser, an alarm started going off in the room.
"There's something going on at the front entrance," one of the warriors said.
Obi Wan watched as the two warriors ran down the tunnel to the front entrance. But as he watched them leave, he saw a familiar crouched figure appear from the opposite side of the conveyor belt and start running towards the control panel.
"Well it certainly took you long enough" Obi Wan yelled sarcastically.
"Just be patient, you're not exactly in the position to be sarcastic" Jake shot back as he reached the console.
"I happen to be a bit short on patience right now" Obi Wan said, as he started to get close to the crusher.
"Then get some," Jake replied as he continued trying to figure out the console.
"Jake, turn the machine off!" Obi Wan yelled as the ray shield that held him stopped in between the two crusher arms.
"What do you think I'm trying to do!" Jake yelled back, as he started hitting several buttons on the console.
But just as Obi Wan was about to be crushed, the crusher arms stopped halfway.
Obi Wan let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you".
His relief was short lived, however, as the ray shield started to move again toward the grinder.
"Well it seems we only solved half the problem" Obi Wan exclaimed, as he watched Jake start working quickly at the console.
"Look out!" Obi Wan yelled, as he saw the two warriors charging at Jake.
Jake barely had time to look, as he got tackled by one of the warriors. They rolled away from the console, and Jake was able to kick him off momentarily. But as he got to his feet, the other warrior grabbed onto him and tried to hold his arms behind him, as the other warrior got up.
Nearby, Jake could see Obi Wan getting closer to the grinder. And close by the grinder, were some metal containers. Jake knew that if there was only one way to save Obi Wan, this would be it.
As the second warrior approached, Jake leaned back with all his might, raised his legs up and, with the power of the Force, kicked the warrior so hard in the chest, that it sent him off his feet and flying into the metal crates.
The impact managed to send one of the crates onto the grinder, right as Obi Wan's ray shield deactivated. Quickly and acrobatically, Obi Wan landed on the crate and just as quickly jumped off the crate to safety.
The disarrayed warrior barely had time to look up as his helmet met the bottom of Obi Wan's boot, the force of the hit rendering him unconscious.
Obi Wan rolled to his feet, and looked over to see Jake grab the second warrior from behind and slam him into the nearby wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Well you certainly took your time" Obi Wan said dryly, as he and Jake met up.
"Save it for after we rescue the Duchess" Jake retorted, as he started towards the elevator.
"What!" Obi Wan exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise.
"There's not much time. But long story short, the Death Watch have kidnapped her and have her at their base, and this elevator will take us straight to their front doorstep" Jake replied.
Obi Wan let out a deep breath, and then folded his arms. "I don't suppose you have a plan then? Charging in the front door headfirst is more Anakin's style".
"I do, but we have to act quickly," Jake said as he started filling in Obi Wan on his makeshift plan.
Satine awoke to find herself suspended in a blue-hued energy, her vision somewhat blurred as she tried to figure out where she was. Whatever they had given her to knock her out was powerful, and she didn't know how long she might've been out.
She was in some sort of military building, that much she knew judging from the layout of the room she was in. She didn't have to wonder long as her suspicions were confirmed, when a Death Watch warrior entered the room. This warrior stood out from the few others she'd seen, as he wore a cape that seemed to indicate he was of some high rank.
"Who are you? Where have you brought me?" she demanded. The warrior said nothing, as he just stared at the captive Duchess through his helmet.
"Blast it, answer me!" Satine demanded again. Finally, the warrior spoke.
"I've done enough answering to you Duchess" a somewhat familiar voice said as the warrior removed his helmet. Satine's face turned from anger to stunned horror, as she stared at a face she'd known pretty well.
"Governor" she said in shock, just above a whisper.
"Former governor now I'm afraid," Vizsla said slyly. "Because after this, I shall be in a...much higher position of office".
"You're a traitor!" Satine said, her shock being replaced by anger.
"No, you are the traitor here!" Vizsla shot back, his anger meeting hers. "You have installed your pathetic pacifist beliefs into our people, and completely thrown away our traditions and beliefs of old".
"And where did those old ways get us? They brought us nothing but death and destruction" Satine retorted vehemently. "The old ways are dying, and you are on the right path to join them".
Vizsla suppressed a growl and was about to retort, but didn't as the sound of blaster fire erupted. Not long after the blaster fire started, a warrior burst into the room.
"Sir, we've got a problem," the warrior said. Vizsla nodded, and put his helmet back on and followed the warrior outside.
Not even a minute had passed since Vizsla had left, when Satine saw a very familiar figure sneak into the room from the back entrance and then make his way over to her. "Obi Wan," she said quietly.
Obi Wan worked quickly at the control panel at the bottom of the containment unit. As soon as the containment field disengaged, Obi Wan caught Satine as she fell into his arms.
"Well it's about time, I was beginning to think something actually happened to you" Satine said rather snippingly but with a hint of caring, as she pulled back from him.
"Oh no, I was just caught up with almost getting crushed in a giant grinder" Obi Wan shot back. "Now come on, we need to get out of here. That distraction won't keep them for much longer". They snuck out the back door, and made their way towards the edge of the base.
"By the way, where is your companion?" Satine asked.
"He's the distraction" Obi Wan replied, as he pointed to Jake in the near distance.
The warrior barely had time to react, as the hits that would render him unconscious came too quick. As he fell to the ground and slipped into unconsciousness, Jake looked at the nearby base from the ridge he stood on. Let's hope this works, he thought to himself. He raised his arm up above his head, and ignited his green bladed lightsaber for all to see. It worked, and soon the yellow blaster rifle bolts began flying towards him.
Since the time he first held a lightsaber, and from the moment he finished his basic training, Jake Delarus had studied Form VI Niman. Niman was a form dedicated to harnessing elements of the other five forms into one hybrid form. Plus it relied upon the user using force abilities in combat, something Jake was quite good at by now. Though it had no notable strengths, the same could be said about its weaknesses. He had been fascinated by its inclusion of elements of all the five forms, and with the help and encouragement from his master, he began training in the form. After years of training and learning, he was well educated in it, though not enough to be considered a master of the form. But because of his study and practice, he had the agility of Form IV, the aggressiveness of Form V, the blade to blade expertise of Form II, and the one he appreciated the most at the moment, the defensive styles of Form III.
Bolts after bolts came towards him, only for them to be deflected harmlessly away. There had even been some warrior's bold enough to charge him, only for them to meet an early end. One warrior had the audacity to do so, but only found one of his own blaster bolts sent back through his own chest, and immediately after had his shoulders relieved of his head. Jake continued his defence, hoping that he was buying enough time for Obi Wan, until finally the warriors were ordered to stop.
"Enough. I shall deal with him myself" the leader barked through his helmet speaker, as he gestured for a few warriors to follow him as he made his way towards Jake. "The rest of you evacuate".
Jake watched as the remaining warriors made their way to their ships and left the moon entirely. He then turned his attention to the leader and his warriors, and noticed a familiar lightsaber swinging on his belt.
The leader pushed back his shoulder cape, and drew a blaster pistol. "Failure" he said to one of the wounded warriors, and then proceeded to mercilessly end the warriors life. He proceeded until he was relatively close to the Jedi before him, and then removed his helmet.
"Governor Vizsla, so you're the snake that keeps causing trouble in the Duchess's garden" Jake snarled. Vizsla only smiled evilly.
"It won't be her's for much longer, I can assure you. Once we make an example out of her that shows what happens to those who would dare oppose our old ways, I shall lead Mandalore to its former glory" Pre boasted, as he reached down and unclipped the lightsaber from his belt.
"Your friend met an unfortunate end when he was trying to find us out. This was all that was left of him" he said evilly, as he tossed the lightsaber towards the Jedi and watched him catch it in his left hand.
"Your friend is dead. We have the Duchess. And you are at my mercy" Pre boasted. "Surrender, and I can promise you a swift end".
Jake merely looked down at the lightsaber in his left hand, and then turned his determined steel gaze back to Vizsla. "Never underestimate the skill and craftiness of a Jedi, or in this case, two".
Pre Vizsla watched as the Jedi cocked his arm back and threw the lightsaber in his left hand as high and as far as he could to his right. He watched in pure amazement, as the lightsaber flew through the air, and with the help of the Force, was guided right into the outstretched hand of its rightful owner. He watched, as Obi Wan lifted it slightly towards his forehead and gave him a sly half salute, and then took off towards the canyon...with the Duchess in tow.
"Kill them both," Vizsla snarled over his shoulder to his warriors. They all nodded, and ran quickly after them, as Vizsla turned back to his enemy in front of him. "You may have been able to save your friend and the Duchess, but it will be all for nothing. My warriors will kill them, and then you will have lost".
"Your confidence in your men is admirable, but your underestimation of both Obi Wan and my skills will be your downfall" Jake replied, as Pre reached behind his back and produced a lightsaber, and ignited it's black blade.
"This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi temple, by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic. Since then many Jedi have fallen to it's blade. Prepare yourself to join them".
"Many Mandalorians fell by my blade, and now you'll join them...in Hell" Jake said fiercely, and as the two opponents locked eyes, they charged one another. With their battle cry's echoing through the canyon, they leapt at each other and the battle began.
"Is he going to be okay?" Satine asked, as they rounded a corner and headed for the speeder's near the mine entrance.
"He'll be fine, it's part of the plan" Obi Wan replied, as they reached the speeders. Obi Wan quickly went about checking one of them, so as to make sure they weren't booby trapped.
"You still have yet to tell me what your plan is," Satine said. Just then, a yellow blaster bolt came whizzing by her. They both turned to see four Death Watch warriors charging at them, blasters aimed and firing at them.
"Would you like to know now?" Obi Wan asked sarcastically.
"No, I think I'm fine," Satine replied.
"You drive, I'll defend us" Obi Wan said, as he ignited his lightsaber. She nodded, and hopped onto the speeder. Obi Wan followed suit and put his back to hers, and they sped off leaving the warriors in the dust.
"I think we lost them," Satine said after they'd been traveling for about a minute.
"Think again" Obi Wan said, as he saw the warriors catching up to them with the use of their jetpacks. As soon as they were relatively close to their targets, the warriors began opening fire.
"Evasive maneuvers" Obi Wan yelled, as he deflected several shots away from them. Satine did as he said, and began weaving their speeder evasively. The evasion worked pretty well as it made them harder to hit, and Obi Wan managed to even take out one of the warriors, deflecting his own shot back into him and causing him to spiral out violently right into the ground.
But as the pursuit continued on, the warriors' aim slowly improved, and eventually one of them managed to land a hit on the speeder, making its controls stiffer and harder to maneuver.
Though they had slowed down some they were still able to keep going, and Obi Wan had managed to deflect a blaster bolt into one of the warriors jet packs causing it to explode, killing its owner.
Finally, one of the remaining warriors leaned his head down and fired a rocket off of his jet pack. Because he had to keep deflecting blaster bolts, Obi Wan had been unable to deflect it. However, the rocket barely missed them, but hit close enough that they lost control of their speeder.
Obi Wan, thinking quickly, deactivated his lightsaber and wrapped his arm around Satine, pulling her into his chest just as the speeder threw them off. He had been able to position quickly enough so that he took the brunt of the fall, while shielding Satine as they rolled to a stop.
"Let's never do that again" Obi Wan groaned, as he released his hold on Satine, and gingerly held his left shoulder.
"Agreed" Satine replied, as she sat up and brushed herself off, and then helped Obi Wan sit up. Their respite was short, however, as the two remaining warriors landed a few feet away from them, blasters aimed directly at their targets.
"Looks like you two just ran out of luck" one of the warriors remarked.
Obi Wan prepared to defend Satine as best as he could, but didn't have to, as several blue laser blasts hit right in front of the warriors, their screams of surprise and horror filled the air as they died.
Obi Wan and Satine looked to the sky and saw the two familiar Jedi starfighters fly over them. The fighters then circled back around, and landed nearby.
"All part of your elaborate plan, I suppose?" Satine asked Obi Wan, as she put his injured arm on her shoulders and helped him over to the fighters.
"Yes. Exactly as it was supposed to go" Obi Wan replied with a small smile.
The two blades slashed and crashed furiously, as the two warriors fought vigorously. It had seemed as though the plan had worked, so now Jake just had to get out of this alive. But that had not been, and still would not be easy. For Pre Vizsla was no simple warrior, no. He had been trained in the arts of his forefathers, and if they had seen him, they would be proud.
If anyone had watched this battle, they would have seen something not seen in over a thousand years at least. A true Mandalorian warrior and the last Jedi of a far different era, fighting in single true combat.
The fighting culminated to where the two locked blades and stared each other down. The fires of rage and hatred for one another burned furiously inside the enemies of old. Finally, the blade lock broke and the slashing resumed.
Vizsla managed to land a kick into Jake's chest that pushed him back, and followed it up with a jetpack aided leap, his saber held high.
But Jake managed to dodge just in time, as the dark blade slashed into the dirt and rock. He attempted a swipe at vizslas back, but Vizsla swung at him, and Jake only managed to slightly slice into his jet pack. This however, would prove to be somewhat of an advantage for him.
As Vizsla noticed that his jet pack had been sliced, he very quickly unclipped it and tossed it away, just as it exploded violently.
He turned back to his Jedi opponent just in time to catch a ferocious strike with his dark blade. Strike after strike, the skilled warrior held off against the pressing attack. Finally a weakness in his attack showed, and Vizsla knew he had to take it and so he did.
But this would prove to be the decisive trap that had been laid by his opponent. Jake knew that if Vizsla saw a chance to end their fight victorious, he would take it. And so he did, and Jake was ready for it.
As Jake prepared to make a powerful swing, he had left his defense vulnerable. Vizsla saw this, and attempted to fatally stab his opponent. But as he lunged forward toward his opponents abdomen, Jake twirled out of the blade's path and dropped to a knee.
Once he was on his knee, he drove his green blade right through Vizslas left side. Pre barely had time to react, because as quick as the saber had been driven into him, it was taken out of him and he soon found the fist that held said saber connect hard with his jaw. The force of the hit sent him hard to the ground on his back.
Vizsla slightly yelled in pain, as he clutched his wounded abdomen. He glared up at the Jedi who now held a green blade to his throat.
"Go ahead, finish me Jedi scum" Pre spat.
Now Jake seriously contemplated doing just that. This man represented the very culture that had seen so much destruction and death so long ago. And he could feel his own anger towards this man boiling.
But alas, it wasn't the Jedi way. But more importantly, it wasn't the right way. This man was defeated, and did not possess such a threat anymore, but still needed to be punished.
"No," Jake said as he quickly sliced his blade across Vizsla's wrist com. "I have a better idea".
And with one strong, precise swing the emerald green blade cut right through both of Vizslas kneecaps. He growled in pain, as his kneecaps burned deep inside.
"If you can somehow survive, then it is the will of the force that you live" Jake said, extinguishing his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt.
"I'll kill you, I swear I'll make you suffer!" Vizsla vowed, but Jake merely ignored him.
"You said that your ancestors stole this from our temple" he said, as he picked up Pre's weapon and examined it. "Then perhaps it's time for it to be returned".
Jake attached the weapon to his belt and began walking away towards where the duchess and Obi Wan had fled earlier, ignoring the threats from the wounded Pre Vizsla behind him.
"You'll regret this Delarus, you'll see. I will have my revenge, and Mandalore will rise to power again!" Vizsla yelled.
Jake merely smirked, as he rounded the end of the canyon and left Vizsla's fate to the force.
After the droids had rescued them, they had returned to Sundari because they didn't know who to trust in the capital settlement on Concordia. Once they'd returned, Satine had informed her government of Governor Vizsla's treachery. After that, Satine had arranged a room in the palace for Obi Wan so they could rest the few remaining hours of the night.
It was now that morning, and Obi Wan now found himself escorting the Duchess and her entourage to her royal ship, the Coronet. After the incident with Pre Vizsla, the Duchess had decided that she and some representatives of the council of neutral systems needed to go before the Republic Senate, and plead the case that they were indeed still neutral in the war.
But even as their conversation went, Obi Wan was still wondering what had become of Jake? After they had returned to Sundari late last night, R7 had taken his and Jake's starfighter back to Concordia to retrieve him. But now eight hours later, there was still no sign of him.
"But if we don't know what became of Pre Vizsla, we have no way of learning how widespread Death Watch is" Senator Merrik said.
"It's obvious the Separatist's are supporting the Death Watch" Obi Wan replied. The Duchess turned to him.
"I disagree," she said. "I told you I wanted to stay out of this conflict".
"Given the current situation, I'm afraid that may no longer be possible" Obi Wan replied solemnly.
I thought you of all people would understand my position on this matter. I will never be a part of this war" she said vehemently.
"I'm afraid you probably already are, Duchess" Jake said, as she turned and saw him approaching them. "After last night, the Death Watch will be looking for support. And the Separatists may very well give it to them, if they haven't already".
"Knight Delarus, as I have made myself clear to General Kenobi, so will I to you. I will do everything in my power to stay out of this war" Satine replied. Jake sighed.
"Then I wish you the best of luck in that, your Highness" he replied, as the Duchess then turned and headed for the ship with her entourage. Obi Wan came up and stood next to Jake.
"Where have you been?" he asked. Jake gave him a small, coy smile.
"Meditating" he replied.
"And Vizsla?".
"Dealt with" Jake replied, as they both watched Anakin approach them, with Cody, Rex and several clone troopers behind him.
"Reporting for escort duty" Anakin said. Obi Wan let out a small sigh of relief.
"Oh, Anakin. Am I glad to see you" he replied.
"Hmm. You two look tired" Anakin said with a slight smirk.
"The peaceful ways of the locals wore us out a bit" Obi Wan replied.
"That's putting it lightly," Jake said.
"Can't wait to hear all about it" Anakin said, as they all began making their way up the Coronet's boarding ramp, unaware of the action that still laid shortly ahead.