Mountain base, unknown island, Kattada…
The portly Besalisk entered the command center of his mountain base. He raised a large hand and pressed several buttons on the large holographic console in the center of the room. After a few moments, a cloaked figure appeared on the console's center.
"Mr Kelwasa, how are our operations going?" the figure said in an electronic, distorted voice.
"Pretty good sir. Shipments are rollin' out like credit chips at a Coruscant casino" Oso replied boastingly.
"Good," the figure said with a nod. "My talks with the Cato Nemoidians are going well, and soon I will have enough funds to raise an army".
"Well the last order's payment is being wired to you now" Oso said, as he lit a cigar and took a puff.
"Excellent. Your crew's expenses will be paid within the next two days, plus a small bonus for you. I'm most impressed with your work the last couple of months" the figure replied. Oso smirked.
"Always a pleasure doing business with ya mr…"
"Hey boss" the voice of a dim witted Rodian interrupted.
"What now Jeepp?" Oso asked irritably with a scowl.
"We just got word that Nazzim got captured last night" Jeepp replied. Oso's eyes widened.
"What! Nazzim ain't never even been close to being captured before" he exclaimed.
"That's not all boss. Apparently, one of our guys in Haleoda saw Princess Alora and a bodyguard leave by boat this morning. He thinks Nazzim might've ratted us out" Jeepp said.
"That woman has been a thorn in my side from the start" Oso growled. "Put the base on full alert!".
"It seems I thought more of you than I should've," the figure replied callously.
"Now just hold on, I can handle this," Oso replied, turning back to the figure.
"No," the figure said sternly, pointing dejectedly at Oso. "Begin evacuating the base. We will relocate the operations somewhere else".
"Hey boss, our sensors picked up something" Jeepp interjected. Oso turned to the rodian, and watched as he produced a hologram projector in his hand. It sprang to life, and sure enough, it showed a red blip on a map making its way towards the island.
"What is it?" Oso asked.
"We think it's a boat boss, because our scanners almost didn't pick it up" Jeepp replied.
"The princess" Oso growled under his breath.
" Deal with her, and you may redeem yourself, Mr Kelwasa. And I'll make sure to see that your bonus goes to something actually worthwhile" the figure said, and then ended his transmission. Oso let out a frustrated growl, then turned to Jeepp.
"Launch the typhoon missiles to intercept that boat. It'll be a good test for em', and send a small crew to scoop up any survivors…if there are any" Oso ordered.
"You got it boss" Jeepp replied.
"And have everybody start packin' up shop" Oso added.
"Uh, which do you want me to do first boss?" Jeepp asked.
"The missiles you IDIOT!" Oso roared. Jeepp yelped and went about frantically getting the missiles ready to fire. Oso rubbed his brow in frustration as he shook his head.
You just couldn't find competent help these days.
—
The way by boat had been chosen as it was believed to be harder to detect than the quicker travel by air, plus this smaller infiltration would risk less lives.
After departing Haleoda, the two had spent most of the trip in silence. Alora had been somewhat distant, and Jake was still trying to figure out how to talk to her. Finally, he decided to do just that.
"We should be seeing the island soon," Jake said, now back in his battle armor, as he joined Alora at the side rail of the boat's bow.
"Good, I'll be glad to see Kelwasa locked up" Alora replied.
Jake looked at her for a moment. She was dressed in a dark blue outfit that resembled something of a simple commando's battle uniform. Her forlorn gaze was still on the clear blue water below them.
"You know, I'm sorry I upset you at dinner last night" Jake said softly, watching the water with her. Alora sighed.
"It's not your fault, you didn't know. If anything, I should be the one to apologize for rudely upping and leaving when I did" she replied.
"No apology needed" Jake replied. "If you'd like, I'm happy to talk about it with you, if that'll help".
"Truth be told there's not much to talk about, really. My brother loved to go parasailing out on the southern waves, where they're known to be very strong. He went out one day, and the next thing we knew, all they could find of him was his parasail" Alora replied. A moment of silence passed between them.
"I'm so sorry" was all Jake could think to say.
"We'd never been that close when our mother was alive. But after she passed, we came to patch things up and grew close" Alora continued, as Jake listened.
"He'd had his whole life planned. He had just graduated at the top of his class at the Republic academy on Coruscant, and was here on leave before he was to go serve at his post. After doing that for a time, he planned to come back here and rule in our fathers place when he no longer could".
"And what were you going to do?" Jake asked. Alora chuckled slightly.
"I was studying a dual major of biology and criminology at the university of Corulag. I thought I'd either become a scientist or a republic officer of some kind, and travel all over the galaxy. It all seems so silly now" Alora laughed, and Jake could see small tear trails on her cheeks.
"I don't think so at all," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think it's silly for someone to have dreams, and to want to follow them. That's something we all do at some point".
"Are you saying even Jedi have dreams of doing something else?" Alora asked as she wiped the small tears away. Jake nodded.
"Of course, we are people after all. I thought about being an archaeologist, someone who'd eventually run a museum and bore school children as an old man" Jake said. Alora couldn't help but laugh, and this brought a smile to his face.
"I certainly would have never thought you were that type," she chuckled. "Then again, I still don't know you very well".
"Oh if only you knew just a little bit about me" Jake thought to himself, as he hid it with a smile and a nod. Silence once again befell them for a moment.
"So after your brother died, what did you do?" Jake asked.
"After he died, I stopped my studies on Corulag, and returned here. Both me and my father were devastated, and we helped each other recover from our grief. And ever since then, I've helped him run our world" Alora replied. Jake nodded.
"I'm no stranger to losing people I cared about too. That's part of being a Jedi, but it still doesn't keep it from hurting" Jake said sympathetically. Alora looked up from the water to him.
"And here I thought Jedi were supposed to be emotionless," she replied softly with a gentle smile. Jake lightly snorted.
"Though that's what some would want us to be, we are still living beings…we still feel" Jake replied, as he turned his gaze to her, and they stared into each other's eyes for a few moments.
But the blissful moment wouldn't last; because suddenly Jake's senses were on full alert, and it drew his attention to the sky. Alora followed his troubled look, and sure enough, just barely visible were trails of missiles heading right for them.
"Get below deck now!" Jake exclaimed, but was surprised to see her already taking the controls of the boat.
Quickly Jake headed for the control console, and held on tightly to whatever he could as the first missiles landed nearby. Alora managed to swerve away from the missiles very well, but they soon learned the missiles' true purpose.
As the missiles hit the water, two seconds would pass and then they'd detonate, causing large waves to erupt and make the sea rocky. Dodging and weaving became riding waves, as they grew larger and larger as more missiles hit the water.
As the two of them barely held on as they cleared wave after wave, Jake's senses drew his attention to one of the last missiles, that while it looked like it was going to just miss them, the force was telling him it would hit them. Thinking quickly he reached and grabbed Alora, yanking her from the controls, and throwing the both of them below deck just as the missile landed in front of them and then detonated under the bow of the boat, sending it flying backwards and capsizing it.
Just as they made it below and sealed the top deck entrance, the two soon found themselves thrown all around the cabin. Jake still held on to Alora, and pulled her to his chest to protect her from getting hit. But he would soon see nothing but darkness, as the back of his head struck a nearby cabinet and he was rendered unconscious.
Alora felt Jake's grip relax just as the boat settled on the water. She rolled free from his chest, and looked to see him unconscious, and began shaking him.
"Jake! Jake!" she yelled, as she tried to wake him up, but it was no use, he was out cold.
She looked around and noticed that water was furiously pouring in from a hole at the bow from where the missile had detonated, and the cabin was quickly filling with water. She had to think fast, else the both of them would drown. Unfortunately, there was no way she could get the both of them out in Jake's current state.
And then something caught her eye, a silver cylindrical device on Jake's belt.
She realized that it was his lightsaber, the famed weapon of the Jedi. She'd only ever heard of them, and had never seen one before until now. But she had heard there were very few things a Jedi's lightsaber couldn't cut through. And that's when an idea entered her mind.
She reached down and pulled his lightsaber from his belt, and looked for how to turn it on. After a moment she hit the ignition button, and was briefly startled as the emerald energy blade sprang to life before her, and then she found herself amazed at it. But that only lasted for a second, because as the cabin was almost halfway full of water, she maneuvered through the cabin and made it to the center of the room.
'Here goes nothing,' Alora thought to herself, and then thrust the blade into once was the carpeted floor of the cabin. It cut straight through, and she began cutting a circular hole.
When she cut a big enough hole, she pulled the saber out as the circular piece of the floor fell out of the hole and splashed into the water. She shut the saber off and clipped it to her own battle belt, and then swam over behind Jake and wrapped her arms under his arms and around his chest. She pulled him over with all her might to right beneath the hole, but then realized a new problem…she had no way of getting him through the hole.
Though she was decently physically strong, Jake was too big and too heavy for her to lift out by herself. She thought about waiting until the cabin filled up enough, but Jake's armor made him too heavy for him to float alone, and Alora was just able to keep his head above water at the current moment.
"Hey, is anybody in there?" a voice called from outside.
Instinctively, Alora reached down into the water and drew her blaster pistol from her hip, and pointed it at the hole just as the face of a purple humanoid male teenager appeared.
"Stay back!" Alora said fiercely. The boy held his hands up.
"It's okay your highness, my name's Elru Fel. I'm a Jedi, like him" he replied calmly, pointing to Jake.
"Prove it" Alora said, keeping the blaster trained on the boy. Elru nodded, and slowly and cautiously raised his hand towards them.
Alora kept her eyes intently on the boy; until, she felt Jake loosen under her other arm. She quickly looked, fearing that he was sinking, but instead saw him begin to float up into the air towards the hole. When he was close enough, Elru reached out and grabbed Jake under his arms. As he did so, the rest of Jake dropped and his legs splashed the water.
"Now if you believe me, help me get him out" Elru said, as he struggled to keep Jake up.
Convinced, Alora holstered her blaster back on her hip, and grabbed Jake's legs and pushed up as Elru pulled him out. Once Jake was out, Elru reached a hand down into the hole, and helped Alora up and out of the sinking cabin as well. As soon as they were all on what once was the bottom of the boat, they both took a moment to relax and catch their breath.
"Thanks for the help," Alora said.
"Don't mention it" Elru replied with a nod, and then looked over to Jake. "What happened to him?".
"I think he hit his head on something in there," Alora replied. Elru crawled over and carefully inspected Jake's head.
"You're right he did," Elru said, noticing the slight bruising on the back of his head.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Alora asked. Elru gently put the palm of his hand on Jake's forehead and closed his eyes.
"He should be coming to" Elru replied after a moment and removed his hand.
A pained groan came from Jake, and he slowly moved around a bit. Suddenly everything that he remembered happening last came back to him, and Jake sprang up and accidentally forcefully palmed Elru in the chest, sending him off the boat's hull and into the ocean.
"Jake, Jake, it's okay" Alora said, as she tried to calm him down. As soon as Jake saw her face, he looked around briefly and realized they were okay.
"What happened?" Jake asked. Alora opened her mouth to answer him, but was beaten to it.
"THIS…is what I get in return for helping him" Elru exclaimed as he surfaced from the water.
"Elru?" Jake said with a puzzled look.
"Well I see your memory's intact" Elru noted sarcastically.
"He helped us out of the boat before we could drown" Alora replied. Jake looked to the cut hole in the boat's hull, and then back to Elru.
"Thanks Elru, I owe you one" Jake said gratefully.
"I'm gonna hold ya to that. Now let's go" Elru replied, as he started swimming over to a nearby watercraft that somewhat resembled a Nabooian bongo submarine. Jake started to stand up, but felt Alora's hand on his shoulder stop him.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry" Jake replied, as they both stood up. "You know it takes more than a simple knock on my head to keep me out of a fight".
"All the same, perhaps you should keep this on you" Alora suggested, as she reached down to her belt and held Jake's lightsaber to him. Jake's eyes widened, as he slowly took it from her. "I myself prefer to see you stay in the fight too".
"But how did you?…" Jake started to ask, still confused as to how she'd ended up with his saber, and then he briefly glanced back to the hole in the hull, and it suddenly clicked with him. "You cut us out of there?".
"Like Elru said, let's get going. We still have a mission to complete" Alora grinned, and then she proceeded to dive off the hull into the water.
"Huh…well then" Jake said under his breath with a smirk, as he clipped his saber back to his belt. It seemed he had unintentionally greatly underestimated Alora's capabilities, which he had also done the previous night at the lounge. Now he mentally noted to himself, not to make that mistake a third time, or else she might actually take rightful offense to it eventually.
After Alora swam over to Elru's submarine, Jake jumped into the water and quickly swam over, just as Elru was helping Alora out of the water and onto the hull of the sub; and as Jake made it over, Elru did the same for him.
"I take it you two still plan on going through with your mission?" Elru asked. Alora nodded.
"Indeed we do. We need to catch Kelwasa as quickly as possible" Alora replied, as she climbed into a back seat of the four seated sub.
"That missile attack means they know we were onto them. They're probably getting ready to leave" Jake noted, as he sat down in the front passenger seat.
"Then let's not waste anymore time," Elru said, as he hopped in the driver's seat.
He pressed a few buttons on the control console, and an energy ray activated above them, sealing the cockpit. After a moment the sub sank down into the water and was on its way.
"I must say, Knight Delarus didn't tell me that he wasn't the only Jedi here," Alora said.
"Knight Delarus contacted me last night, and had me come here from Coruscant. He probably didn't tell you about me because he thought I wouldn't make it here in time" Elru lied. He made sure to have a cover story in case of a scenario like this…
"Well we're very lucky you did" Jake added, going along with the cover story just like Elru thought he would.
"So what's the plan?" Elru asked.
"We'll find someplace to hide this sub, and then make our way to Kelwasa's base and apprehend him before he escapes" Jake replied.
"That's it? Seems a bit too simple" Elru asked incredulously. Jake nodded.
"Do you have a better idea?" Jake countered.
"No, I guess not," Elru sighed, as they continued on towards the island.
—
"Status report" Oso demanded over the comm line.
"We found the boat overturned less than three miles from the island, boss. However, we found a large hole cut out of the boat's bottom hull. Looks like they made it out" the voice replied.
"Search the surrounding area, and capture any survivors" Oso ordered, and then ended the comm.
"Boss" a male Twi'lek said. "Scanners picked up a faint beacon being transmitted not far from here on the island".
"Send a patrol out, tell 'em to take 'em alive and bring them back here. And tell everyone else to hurry up with getting this place packed up" Oso said. The Twi'lek nodded, and headed off. Oso rubbed his chin thoughtfully; this was getting interesting.
—
Not long after the rescue, the three of them arrived at the very large jungle island. They had managed to find a small lagoon, and hid the sub there and departed. Alora had also activated a special beacon for the task force to find.
After trekking for a little bit, they noticed several small transports leaving from a hangar bay that was built into a nearby mountain, and so that's where they headed.
"How do you think we can get into that base?" Alora asked, as they continued through the jungle.
"If their operation has been going on for as long as we think, it's probably a safe bet they invested heavily in their base's infrastructure" Jake replied.
"Meaning?" Alora asked.
"Meaning they very well could've built all throughout that mountain, which means there's probably more than one way in and out" Elru replied thoughtfully.
"Exactly" Jake smiled, pleasantly surprised the boy with a hell's hot temper could also think properly.
"Well how do we find an entrance with so little time?" Alora asked.
"Good question. Perhaps we can-" Jake stopped mid sentence as he heard a distant noise approaching.
The noise grew louder…and louder. Suddenly a pack of speeder bike riders burst through the jungle vegetation. One of the riders fired a launcher, which shot several spinning cords towards the three. Jake and Alora managed to barely evade them, but Elru was not so lucky. The cords wrapped around his upper body and legs, and he fell to the ground.
Jake moved to help him, but soon felt one of the riders pounce onto his back, causing the two to roll to the ground. Jake got up quickly, just in time to meet the rider who'd jumped him, as he lunged at him. Had he fought him one on one, Jake would've beaten him easily in hand to hand combat, but several other riders dismounted and quickly swarmed him, bringing him to the ground and restraining him before he could even have a chance to repel them.
Alora was going to try and help, or die trying. But as she drew her blaster pistol, two bikes stopped in front of her with their riders holding blasters leveled at her.
"Drop it," one of the riders ordered sternly .
Seeing that both Jake and Elru were being taken alive, and realizing it would be in the best interest for all of them, Alora reluctantly complied. One of the riders dismounted his bike, holstering his blaster as he did so, and took a pair of binder cuffs from his belt. He walked up to Alora, and pulled her arms roughly behind her back and cuffed her wrists.
"Let's get 'em back to the boss," the leader of the riders said.
A speeder soon emerged and stopped nearby, and the three prisoners were forcibly placed in the back seat. Once they were secured, the speeder started off towards the base, with the speeder bike scouts following closely behind and around it.
"MOVE IT! I want to be out of here within the next two hours" Oso barked to his crewman who were hurrying around the command center, loading up nearby crates as quickly as they could.
"Hey boss!" a voice shouted. Oso turned to see several of his men approaching him, and with three prisoners in tow. He was visibly surprised, for but a second, and then quickly hid it with a devilish smirk.
"Well, well, well; Princess Alora, what a pleasant surprise" Oso replied, even doing a mock bow. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit from her majesty?".
"You'll find my visit to be anything but pleasant, Mr Kelwasa" Alora growled, a scowl of disdain on her face, as the guards shoved her and the other two prisoners to their knees.
"Oh…and what would her majesty have to do with a humble businessman like myself?" Oso asked mockingly.
"I'm here to place you under arrest, for attempting to murder the king, on top of illegal weapons distribution" Alora replied fiercely. Oso's brow furrowed.
"Murder the king? I'd never attempt such a thing. Draws too much attention, and it's bad for business" Oso said.
"Do you really expect me to believe you?" Alora scoffed. Oso chuckled.
"No, I suppose not" he replied, as he turned his attention to the other two prisoners. His interest grew as he looked at the purple skinned teenage male.
"Hmm…I don't recall Kattada ever recruiting Sephi for their royal guard," Oso remarked, as he looked at the boy closer.
"He's a lot more skilled than you think," Alora warned.
"Really? Because in my experience, Sephi are a peaceful, weak people" Oso sneered. Elru glared at the besalisk.
"We'll see how weak you think I am, after I beat the ever living hell outta you, you sorry slimesucker!" Elru yelled defiantly and started towards Oso, only to be held back by the guards.
"Hehe, a feisty one you are" Oso chuckled, and then diverted his attention to the large human male clad in battle armor.
"Fancy dressed bodyguard you are, eh?" Oso said. Jake remained silent, as he formulated a plan. Oso huffed. "Some bodyguard".
"You'll pay for what you did to my father, and for supplying the separatists, Oso" Alora said sternly. Oso snorted.
"Oh please, I sell to the highest bidder. I could care less who's fighting who" Oso replied, as he started inspecting their weapons as they were handed to him by a droid; for he loved all kinds of weaponry. "And I already told you, I didn't have anything to do with yer father".
"Nice blaster. Bit more powerful than what I'd expect a princess to carry though" Oso said dismissively, as he handled the blaster for a moment and then handed it back to the droid.
"What do you plan to do with us?" Alora asked. Oso rubbed his chin in a mock thoughtful expression.
"Well my current client would probably like to have a word with you, princess" Oso replied. "As for your bodyguards, the hutts'll pay good money for the big fella, and probably use him as a gladiator in their arenas. And perhaps they could also use the boy in the mines on Kessel".
"This is your last chance, Oso" Jake finally said. "Let us go and surrender peacefully, or be taken by force. But I warn you not to underestimate us".
Oso just looked at him blankly for a moment, and then burst out into obnoxious laughter, his men also joining in.
"Oh…oh that's a good one!" Oso said breathlessly from the laughter.
"The big fella can talk after all" Oso continued as he turned back to the weapons droid. "He talks almost like a…"
Oso stopped, his mouth agape, as he laid eyes on the cylindrical device the droid held out to him. He'd had enough experiences and run ins, to recognize what this device was, and what it belonged to.
"…Jedi" he finished breathlessly, realizing how much the situation just escalated against him.
Suddenly the lightsaber flew quickly from the droid's hand, its green blade igniting, and flew towards its master.
In one quick motion, Jake dove forward just as the blade began to spin, and he telepathically guided the blade precisely through the binders on his wrist. As soon as his hands were freed, he rolled to his feet and guided his lightsaber to his right hand. He pushed both of his arms out from him, and delivered a strong force push that sent everyone around him flying back.
"Hold still!" Jake ordered Elru and Alora, who were the only ones not affected by the push. In two precise slashes, he cut through the binders that held his friends, and then used the force to guide their weapons into their hands.
By now, everyone that had been affected by the push was coming around. Oso groaned and held his head as he sat up. But he gasped as he saw the freed prisoners regain their weapons, especially the large Jedi with an ignited lightsaber.
"Uh, boss…what do we do now?" Jeepp asked in a panic.
"Shoot them you fools!" Oso yelled to his guards, as he scrambled to his feet, and headed for the door.
Elru ignited his own green bladed lightsaber, and Alora readied her blaster, as the eight henchmen leveled their weapons. The battle…had begun.
Jake and Elru assumed a defensive position around Alora in the center of the command center, just as the first blaster bolts were fired at them. The two Jedi deflected the shots, holding the defensive, while Alora accurately shot back, acting as the offensive.
After the first few moments, three henchmen were already down. The remaining five continued firing, and Elru deflected a shot back into the chest of one, leaving four left.
Jake knew that if this went on for much longer, Oso would escape, so this needed to end now. Jake jerked his free arm up, launching a violent bone-breaking force push that hit two henchmen dead on, and sent them into a nearby wall.
As this happened, Alora shot one of the two remaining henchmen, and the last was cut down in one smooth, acrobatic slash across his chest from Elru's saber.
"Come on, we need to hurry" Jake said. The three of them hurried out of the command center, and made their way to the main hangar bay.
But as they entered, they found themselves met by many armed henchmen and thug droids, their weapons trained on them and ready to be fired at an orders notice. And at the center of the hangar stood Oso, his large hands resting on his hips.
"It would seem the tables have turned, Jedi" Oso noted, as he watched the two Jedi raise their weapons defensively.
"Though you two would be even more valuable than before, I think you're more trouble than you're worth. After you two are dead, I'll deliver the princess and be a rich man. Kill 'em boys," Oso said, as his henchmen and droids started closing in.
But as they got closer to their targets, a blaster bolt struck one of the henchmen, sending him sprawling to the floor. And everyone turned in surprise to see several Kattedan soldiers burst into the room and take cover nearby, who then began to fire their blaster rifles at their enemies.
Soon blaster bolts began firing wildly from both sides, as more soldiers poured in, and even a few gunships showed up to support and help take the outside airfield. And in the thick of it was Jake, Alora and Elru.
"Your men sure picked a perfect time to show up" Jake called to Alora, as he deflected blaster bolts.
"Better they show up now than never" Alora called back, as she fired her blaster from behind a large crate she was using as cover.
"Delarus!" Elru yelled over the blaster fire, "Kelwasa's getting away!".
Jake quickly looked, and saw Oso running up the boarding ramp of a nearby transport that was preparing to leave.
"Go, we'll be fine here" Alora called, as she fired several more shots. Jake looked back to her briefly, and then to Elru.
"Let's go Elru" Jake called, and then bolted for the transport, deflecting stray blaster bolts as he did so. Elru saw him heading for the transport and quickly followed.
As they neared the transport, its launching thrusters fired and it began to hover off the ground, not even raising its boarding ramp before take off. Jake saw this, and with the aid of the force, acrobatically leapt up onto a large piece of freight loading equipment, and after a running start, jumped again and landed on the outstretched boarding ramp. After Elru quickly replicated his action, the two of them entered deeper into the ship.
As soon as they made it into the cargo hold, they were greeted by three thug droids with blasters. The first two droids fired, but the two Jedi held a strong defense. Jake raised his hand, and sent a large crate into one of the droids, crushing it into scrap against the nearby wall. Elru then advanced and showed some of his form IV Ataru training, by force leaping off a nearby crate and delivering a vicious diagonal slash through the droid's head and upper body.
The final droid, which had been further back than the other two, was all that remained between them and the cockpit where Oso hid. Armed with a repeating blaster rifle, the droid began firing furiously. The two Jedi began spinning their blades in a one handed figure eight motion, and were able to deflect any blaster bolts that neared them.
Unfortunately, one of the bolts was deflected into some nearby unpacked ammunition, which caused a large explosion and opened up a large hole in the ship. The two Jedi quickly grabbed onto whatever they could, as anything that wasn't strapped down was sucked out of the breach.
But as the ship began to descend towards the surface, the strapped down crate that Elru had been holding onto snapped free, sending both it and him flying towards the breach. He cried out as he flew towards his certain death.
When suddenly he was stopped, just as he was about to be sucked out of the breach. He looked, and saw Jake barely holding onto a metal handle on the wall, with his arm outstretched and his face slightly contorted. And with a slow pull of his wrist, Elru began to be pulled towards Jake. Once he was close enough, Elru grabbed onto Jake's outstretched arm, who then pulled him closer and held onto him tightly.
After a few moments the ship finally nose dived into the ocean, throwing everybody inside around roughly as the rest of the ship leveled out and settled on the water.
"Kid you alright?" Jake asked, as he stood up and held an arm down to Elru. Elru looked at the man for a brief moment, the man who had said cruel things to him the night before; and the man who could've let him die just a few moments ago…but didn't.
"Yeah, I'll live," Elru replied, and this time he took the arm that was offered to him, and stood up.
"Good. Let's get to the cockpit quickly. It won't be long before this pile of scrap sinks" Jake said. Elru nodded, and the two of them made their way to the cockpit.
"AAAHHH!" The voice of Oso Kelwasa yelled painfully, as the two Jedi reached the cockpit door. "Someone help me outta here!".
Jake reached over and tried to open the door with the nearby wall panel, but found it inoperable. Realizing they didn't have much time, and with water already halfway up their shins, the two Jedi activated their lightsabers and plunged them into opposite ends of the large door and began cutting.
Once they had cut a large enough circular hole in the door, Elru raised his hand, and with the help of the force pulled the circular piece of metal out of the door and threw it off to the side.
As soon as the piece of metal was out of the door, Jake charged in with his saber drawn, Elru right behind him after only a slight moment. What they found was an utterly wrecked cockpit, two dead pilots, and Oso Kelwasa trapped under a heavy console that had been torn from the floor.
With a wave of Jake's hand, the console floated off of Oso and was promptly and effortlessly tossed aside. Oso breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank you Jedi," Oso said.
"You're still under arrest, Oso" Jake said sternly. Suddenly one of the many small glass panes that made up the viewport broke, and water started gushing in.
"Ya know, that sounds better than this place right now" Oso replied, and then winced painfully as he tried to stand up. "I think my legs broke".
Jake put Oso's upper left arm over his shoulders, and helped the injured Besalisk stand on one leg. With Elru leading them, the three slowly but surely made their way through the ship.
"I've signaled Alora and her soldiers. They'll be here soon" Elru said.
"Good. Then that means we need to get on the outside hull of this ship" Jake replied.
"There's an airlock hatch up ahead," Oso said.
"That'll do" Elru said, and the three of them headed that way.
It didn't take long for them to reach the hatch, and once they did, Elru climbed up the metal ladder that led up to it and tried to open it.
"Stang! It's stuck, I'm gonna have to cut through it" Elru said, and then drew his lightsaber.
Jake nodded as he still held on to Oso, and Elru began slowly cutting through the hatch. But as they waited, water suddenly burst through one of the nearby walls and began furiously pouring in.
"Hurry up boy, we ain't got much time" Oso said nervously. Elru grit his teeth.
"I'm going as fast as I can here," Elru yelled over the sound of roaring water. Eventually, Elru cut through the hatch, and once the debris from it splashed into the water below, he climbed out first.
"It's clear, come on" Elru called from the outside. Jake helped Oso onto the ladder, and the out of shape Besalisk began climbing as best as he could, with Jake soon following behind him.
After a few moments, the three of them emerged from the slowly sinking ship and settled down on the hull, and breathed sighs of relief. And then, without provocation, Jake forcefully elbowed a heavy breathing Oso right in the face, knocking him out. Elru's eyes widened.
"What did you do that for?" he asked incredulously. Jake gave a half smirk.
"Something told me he thought about running, and I've had enough swimming and chasing today" he replied, and then followed with a chuckle. And after a moment, Elru chuckled too as he shook his head and slowly smiled, as he sat down by his fellow Jedi, and the two of them watched as three Kattedan gunships off in the distance made their way towards them.
—
Later on, when the situation at the smugglers base had been resolved, part of the task force had escorted the princess, her two accompanying Jedi and the fugitive Oso Kelwasa, back to Haleoda.
Now, as the sun began to set on the horizon, and princess Alora oversaw the processing and interrogation of Oso, Jake was attending to a matter of his own.
"Leaving so soon?" Jake asked, as he watched Elru prepping his starfighter, which had been hidden on the outskirts of the city. The boy turned to the Jedi knight.
"Yes, actually. How did you find me?" Elru asked.
"I snuck a tracking device into one of your side pockets while we were on our way back" Jake replied.
Elru's eyes widened slightly, and he reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small, circular tracking device that was standard issue on Jedi utility belts.
"Very clever" Elru complimented sarcastically, as he casually tossed it back to Jake.
"Well I have something to say to you before you go" Jake said, as he took the tracking device, and after turning it off, placed it back into its pouch on his utility belt. Elru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really, and what's that?" he asked cautiously.
"I wanted to thank you again for saving my life earlier today…and to apologize for what I said last night " Jake replied.
Elru did not attempt to hide his surprise in his facial expression; though he didn't hold a grudge against the man, he didn't expect an apology either.
"I was frustrated by the council's continued lack of trust in me, but that was no excuse to say the horribly cruel things I did to you" Jake continued. "You were merely following the instructions that were given to you, and there was no reason to be angry at you".
"It's not like you were wrong," Elru replied, with a frustrated sigh.
"But I was, Elru" Jake said, moving closer and putting a reassuring hand on the Sephi boy's shoulder. "You are very skilled, especially given the lack of training you've had. And though you have a bit of a temper, you have an unbelievable amount of potential. Whatever master will end up training you, will be very lucky to have received such a gifted student".
Elru's expression softened, and he even allowed a little smile. "Well I'm not sure if the council will grant me training, after they find out I failed a simple reconnaissance mission".
"What are you talking about? As far as I'll ever know, I was the only Jedi that was ever here" Jake said, with a knowing smile.
"Thank you, Knight Delarus," Elru replied gratefully. Jake nodded curtly.
"Till our paths cross again, may the force be with you always, padawan Fel" Jake said with a respectful bow, and then turned and quietly headed back to the palace.
Elru watched the man leave, still somewhat dumbfounded by the whole situation. When he had been given the assignment by a member of the council, he had come to the assumption that this man was dangerous, and was seen as a threat by the council. And the previous night had not helped against that assumption; for Delarus had seemed like a cold man in the way he had talked, and how his anger felt through the force.
But now…Elru began to think otherwise. This same man who had said such hurtfully cruel words, had helped him out of captivity from the smugglers, and then proceeded to save his life…something a cold man wouldn't have done. And even now, his demeanor was much calmer.
One thing was for sure though for Elru, as he climbed into the cockpit of his starfighter, he would be puzzled by this man for a long time….
—
"Milady, Jedi Delarus requests to speak with you" the young female handmaiden said respectfully.
"Please tell him to come in, Tala" Alora replied with a smile from her vanity table. Tala nodded curtly, and quietly exited her mistress's bedroom.
Alora turned back to her vanity mirror, and looked herself over. Liking how she looked, she opened a small box on the vanity, and took a small item out from it.
She stood up, and left her bedroom. She entered the common area of her quarters, just as Jake entered as well.
"I was beginning to think you were going to spend the rest of the evening relaxing after today" Alora chuckled.
"I'll be getting plenty of rest before too long" Jake replied, with a smile. "Were you able to get anything from Kelwasa?".
"He's still claiming that he had nothing to do with the attempt on my father. And that he was just a seller for someone on Cato Nemoida, but that's really it" Alora replied. Jake put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"So no connection to the separatists?" he asked.
"My troops found several containers full of brand new separatist manufactured weapons at Kelwasa's base. So I'd say that's a connection" Alora replied.
"Then that'll do for the Republic, though they'll want you to try and find out where Oso was sending those weapons" Jake said. Alora smiled.
"I already have my best people working to find any logs Oso might've made for that exact purpose" she replied. Jake smiled.
"You continue to impress me, milady" Jake chuckled.
"Well I did tell you I'm full of surprises" Alora chuckled in reply, and then a moment of silence passed between the two, as they looked into each other's eyes, neither one wanting to look away.
"Alora" Jake began, but then Alora spoke as well.
"My father is hosting a gala tomorrow evening, to celebrate the end of the smuggling ring here on our world. I was hoping that perhaps, you might accompany me" she said, a small look in her eyes that accompanied her words in wanting him to come with her. Jake sighed, and jerked his gaze away from hers…he'd seen that kind of look before.
"I can't, Alora" he replied hesitantly. "I have to return to Coruscant…tonight. That's the main thing I came to tell you".
"Oh, I see" Alora replied softly. There was a slightly visible change in Alora, one that conveyed her disappointment, though she did hide it for the most part.
"I wish I could stay" Jake said softly, moving over to her.
"No…I understand. We do have our respective obligations" Alora replied, as she held up her hand. "This is for you".
She opened her closed hand and revealed a pendant in the shape of a beautiful bird, made from some bright green gemstones. Jake picked it up from her hand, and ran his thumb over the center stone, just below the bird. He looked back to Alora, who offered a small smile.
"You will always be welcome here, Knight Delarus" she said. Jake just simply nodded, and gently pocketed the pendant.
"I hope to return someday" Jake replied, giving her a gentle smile.
"May we see each other again, in times of peace" Alora said, and then reached up, and gently kissed Jake on his left cheek. His eyes slightly widened for a moment, and a slight redness found his cheeks. She smiled, and then turned and headed back into her bedroom.
Jake stared at the door she had disappeared through, his mind still trying to fully figure out what had just happened. "Perhaps that is just a custom of her people" he reasoned to himself, as he turned and left her quarters.
"Perhaps I'm worried about nothing" he continued to think.
"Come now Delarus" another voice in his head chastised. "You may be a Jedi, but you're certainly not naive. You understand women better than some others, and if they're attracted to you or not".
"Yes, but…I knew she liked me, but not like that. Was I really so oblivious to the signs? I mean for force sake, we just met yesterday!".
"And you know as well as anyone that when someone meets a certain person, their heart can be taken in an instant".
Jake sighed, as he walked through the door which led out to the landing pad where R7 awaited in their starfighter. Perhaps the voices in his head were right. But if that was the case, then it was probably for the best that he was leaving. As he approached the starfighter, Jake stopped for a moment and gazed at the magnificent view of the beautiful sunset.
"It's a very beautiful world isn't it R7?" he asked his little droid companion. R7 beeped and whistled a reply.
"I have always enjoyed tropical weather. Perhaps we can return one day" Jake said, taking one last long look at the sunset, as it slowly descended below the beautiful blue ocean below. R7 whirled lowly.
"Did you notify the council that our mission was complete?" Jake asked, as he turned and started climbing into the cockpit of their starfighter. R7 beeped and chirped several times in reply.
"Good. Go ahead and try to contact them. Hopefully we'll be able to raise them once we reach our hyperspace ring" Jake said, as he buckled into the pilot's seat.
He put on his pilot's headset and then pressed several buttons, which made the glass canopy close and the engines fire up. Once the engines were primed, and R7 gave the all clear on the pre-flight checks, the starfighter lifted off the landing pad and flew off towards the few stars that could be seen at this time of the evening.
And once they were up in space and attached to the hyperspace ring, R7 began whirring and beeping. Jake looked at a display screen in the cockpit and nodded.
"Patch them through, R7" Jake said. R7 beeped affirmatively, and then the holographic images of master Windu and master Yoda appeared.
"Masters" Jake said, nodding his head respectfully. Yoda returned his nod.
"Greetings, young Delarus. Told us your mission was a success, your droid did" the venerable grand master said.
"Yes master. The smugglers have been dealt with, and there was significant proof that they were indeed getting weapons from the separatists. The Kattadan's are still working on tracing where exactly they were sending the shipments. They'll let the Republic know what they find as soon as possible" Jake replied. Yoda nodded thoughtfully.
"Very good. Perhaps prevent more fighting, we may yet be able to, " Yoda said.
"Despite the outcome of their findings, the council has deemed you ready to lead a military force in the war effort" master Windu said.
"Very well master. Where am I heading?" Jake asked.
"You'll be taking command of the 369th republic legion immediately. They're currently fighting on the inner rim world of Sagar" Windu replied.
"I will head there immediately, Master" Jake replied.
"Careful, may you be, young Delarus. And may the force be with you" Yoda said. Jake nodded his head gratefully.
"And may the force be with you, masters" Jake said, and then ended the transmission.
He let out a deep sigh. 'Perhaps they may yet be beginning to trust me' Jake thought to himself, as he looked to R7.
"R7, plot a course to Sagar; I don't believe I've ever been there before" Jake said. R7 beeped several times in a reply.
"That's right little fella…we're off to war".
And with a flash, the Jedi starfighter was shot into hyperspace, heading unbeknownst to its passengers, to what would be the first of many battles to come…