Disclaimer: I do not own any of the concepts or powers within this fanfiction. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 16: Welcome, Squad Ryder
One and a half month had passed since General Lance and Yoda had challenged Ryder with training other Jedi while maintaining his own training. During this one month, Ryder hadn't gone on any missions because he did not have a legit lightsaber. Instead, he was now training Ben Ward and two other Jedi.
One of his other students was a nineteen-year-old girl. Her name was Daisy Toller. She was short at 5'3," but she was very quick and acrobatic. Ryder quickly noticed this strength and began to teach her in the Form Four style: Ataru. Along with Ataru, he taught her Form Three: Soresu and the basics of Form One: Shii-Cho. Since her speed was so fast, she became very good with Form Four and mediocre in the other two.
His third other student was eighteen-years-old and had a stocky stature. His name was Colin Zax. He was 5'8" and weighed around 185 pounds, and all the weight was muscle. His strong body type made it easy to teach him Form Five: Djem So. Naturally, Ryder also taught him Form One and Three as well.
Colin was better at overwhelming his opponents with strong attacks than being fluid and quick. His strong strikes brought other training swordsmen or proxies to their knees which would often win him his match.
Watching him and Daisy practice with each other was entertaining due to speed and strength being a weakness for each other.
Daisy would win sometimes by quickly jumping to one of Colin's blind spots or by quickly dodging an attack then delivering the winning blow.
The times that Colin would win included times where he overpowered Daisy or predicted where she would jump to in advance of his attack. Even though Daisy and Colin were not very strong with the Force, Ryder was proud that they had advanced in their sword fighting training so quickly. Neither of them were extremely proficient in their main form, but they knew the basics to the forms that they were learning efficiently.
Ben, on the other hand, was more proficient with Force abilities. He knew a little more than the basics in Forms One, Two, and Three, but decided to dedicate most of, much of his time in the archive studying the Force and its abilities.
There's a common saying that a teacher never has a favorite, but this wasn't the case for Ryder. He was Ryder's favorite to teach because there was a bond between him and Ryder that wasn't there with the others. Ryder had always enjoyed learning new Force techniques and studying other powers just like Ben. The eagerness to learn made Ben and Ryder spend a lot of time together. Even though Ryder had been teaching him for about a month and a half, they had grown close.
He had taught Ben Force Grip, Enlightenment, Aura, Droid Stun, and Battle Meditation. However, he was still very much of a beginner when it came to these Force abilities.
Right now, all four of them, including Murdoch, were in the training rooms on floor five. Murdoch was there to just cast Kido spells at the students. This helped them get use to deflecting strong spell type attacks with their lightsabers.
After Ben had fended off one of Murdoch's attacks with his lightsaber, Ryder decided to bring them together for a different exercise.
Ryder waved at Murdoch telling him to stop the attacks then turned to his students. "Okay everyone. Bring it in for a second," he said.
The three students turned off their lightsaber, and walked to their master. Once getting to him, Ben bent over resting his hands on his knees, and began taking deep breathes.
"You three are doing a good job, so far," Ryder started with. "However, now it's time to ramp of the training a little bit."
Ryder walked over to Murdoch and placed his hand on his shoulder. "One of the most," he said then stopped abruptly. He looked at Murdoch then back at his students.
"No, the most important part of a fight is teamwork. You must learn to trust your teammates and be able to cover for their weaknesses. For instance, Murdoch here," Ryder said patting his shoulder. "He can dish out long range attacks. This helps because, I can't do that."
Ryder walked back in front of his students and paced in front of them as he lectured. "By increasing in teamwork and knowing how your comrades fight, you also build chemistry. From an opponent's point of view: fighting a team with good chemistry is difficult because their attacks are coordinated and not just solo. Their defense is also better because each member trusts the other to cover their weakness."
Pausing in place in front of the three, Ryder said to them. "To help build this teamwork between the three of you, y'all will be going up against Murdoch in a three on one match. If you don't go at him with the intent to kill, you will NOT succeed and the training would have been for nothing."
Walking back to the side of the training room Ryder said to them, "Both teams get to opposite sides of the room and wait for my cue to start."
Murdoch walked to one side and turned to face the three students he would be fighting. 'Should I go easy on them,' he thought?
Shaking his head, he thought, 'I will to start with. Just to see what they're made of.'
Ryder looked at Murdoch who nodded. Then he looked at his students who all nodded back at him.
'Let's see what you guys got,' he thought as he raised his right hand up into the air.
Throwing his arm down, he yelled, "Begin!"
Murdoch jumped backwards, doing a backflip in the air. He slid back towards the wall while holding his palm outward. "Hado 4: Byakurai!"
A quick, blue lightning bolt immediately shot out from Murdoch's palm and made direct contact with Daisy which sent her into the wall behind her.
She was slow to get up.
Colin ran after Murdoch yelling at the top of his lungs with his lightsaber directly above his head.
An intense series of slashes and jabs came from Colin's yellow, training lightsaber, but with the help from Ryder's training lightsaber, Murdoch blocked all of Colin's attacks.
Out of the corner of his left eye, Murdoch saw a ten-foot steel pipe fly towards him at high speeds. Within an instant, he dashed to the right to try and evade the pipe.
The steel pipe crashed down into the ground right where Murdoch was standing, but neither Daisy or Ben saw Murdoch in the crash.
"Over here you two!" yelled Murdoch while waving at them from the other end of the room. Within an instant of when the two Jedi saw him, Murdoch was standing an inch away from where Colin was standing.
Frozen in shock, Colin couldn't move. 'How did he get back to me so quickly,' he thought?
"Game over," said Murdoch as he sliced the yellow blade across Colin's abdomen. Since he was using a training lightsaber, all that happened to Colin was a light beam with the temperature of 100 degrees grazed over his side with a feeling of increased heat where the beam met the skin. The only result of the attack was a scratch across his chest.
"Okay, Colin! You're out," yelled over Ryder.
Colin sighed and jogged over to where he was standing.
"Don't just stand there! Think of something to do, Ben and Daisy!" yelled Ryder.
Daisy was walking up to Ben's side. "Don't go in with a blind plan," yelled their master!
Daisy leaned closer to Ben as he began whispering a plan to her. After they finished formulating their plan, they got about twenty feet of separation.
"Now!" yelled Daisy.
Using her speed, she dashed towards Murdoch and began her swift attacks of slashes, jumps, twists, and dodges whenever he would counterattack. She quickly jumped over Murdoch and swiped towards his feet with her lightsaber, but he jumped and avoided the attack. While suspended in the air, Murdoch focused his power into a kick that sent Daisy into a nearby wall.
'She's out,' thought Ryder as he didn't see her move after being kicked into the wall.
Ben, who had stood by using the Force to constantly concentrate on Murdoch's position, grabbed him and froze him right after he kicked her.
Murdoch's eyes were wide open in shock as he began to struggle to get rid of Ben's Force grip. However, Ben was struggling to keep Murdoch suspended in the air. His neck's veins bulged out, and his face was turning dark red.
Ryder walked a few steps forward in amazement.
'Incredible,' he thought.
This was a highly difficult variant of Force grip that was much more difficult to perform. What made it different was that he was freezing Murdoch's movements while suspending them, not just suspending them. It froze the target's joints and muscles, and the user can apply pain to their target if they know how to. Ryder didn't say anything to Ben at that moment. He wanted to see what Ben and Murdoch would do in their situation.
Murdoch's began to laugh as he thought, 'I shouldn't have underestimated this one.'
Murdoch's Reiatsu, a Shinigami's life force, started to overpower Ben's Force grip.
It was growing at an incredible rate. The over-whelming pressure tired out Ben, so he lost focus and let Murdoch go.
"Such power," said Ben. "It's dark and heavy."
Ben's hands rested on his own knees as he took deep breathes to catch his breath.
Murdoch was slowly walking towards Ben. "You made me bring out power that I didn't think I would need to use. Congrats," said Murdoch. He was still walking towards Ben.
"However, by making me increase my power, you have to take what I dish out, now." He stopped walking when he was about fifteen meters away.
Murdoch raised his right hand and pointed his finger at Ben. He began to say, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" A red orb the size of a soft ball appeared in front of Murdoch's finger.
Ben couldn't move! He was frozen in place, and his feet wouldn't listen to him. The Reiatsu coming from Murdoch's attack was too much for him.
"Hado: Shakkaho!" yelled Murdoch.
The red orb flew at Ben at speeds that exceeded a car on an interstate. The attack exploded on contact causing a cloud of smoke and steam to appear.
Murdoch lowered his finger and took a few steps backwards. He calmed down and lowered his power and turned to the door. He turned off the practice lightsaber and dropped it on the ground. He put his hands in his pockets, and he walked to where his attack exploded.
"I should've known that my attack wouldn't hit him," Murdoch said as tilted his head back.
From the sideline, all Colin could see was a cloud of smoke. Once the smoke and steam cleared away, it was clear who was in the smoke. It was Ryder. His right hand was extended out to his right side.
Ben looked up. 'Incredible,' he thought. 'He was able to deflect Murdoch's attack with a single hand. I didn't even see him get in front of me.' Ben lowered his gaze back to the ground disappointed in himself.
Even though his Master's skills amazed him, he felt embarrassed and angered about his loss. The feeling of having to be saved and not being strong enough to beat his opponent.
Ryder turned towards Ben and held out his hand. "You did really good," said Ryder. "You surprised both me and Murdoch. That's why he used that attack on you."
Ben grabbed Ryder's hand, and he pulled him up. "I never knew that your Force grip was that powerful."
Murdoch walked over and patted Ben on the back. "For real. It really caught me guard," Murdoch said with a smile.
Daisy had gotten up from the kick, and dusted herself off. She met Colin right next to Ryder and Ben. Since Colin had been out first, he didn't have to catch his breath like the other two who were taking deep breathes.
"Okay, good job out here everyone. Each of you have improved, but there are still things I want you to work on."
Ryder turned towards Colin and said, "Colin. You rushed in without a plan and relied on your physical attacks. Think of a plan first, and try to be more aware of your surroundings. You can't freeze up like how you did."
Colin nodded.
"Daisy. You did well getting with Ben to devise a plan. I don't know if you purposefully got kicked so that you could get Murdoch in the air for Ben to freeze him, but you never want to make a plan that will get you or a teammate hurt on purpose."
She smiled and nodded.
"Now, Ben. I'm impressed with your Force grip, but you relied on it too much. There are other powers out there that can null your powers with the Force. Learn to use your lightsaber. Also, you agreed to a plan that purposefully got Daisy hurt. Never do that. A lost comrade is never worth a victory."
"Yes, master," Ben replied.
"With that in mind, I wanted to tell y'all that you did a great job. No matter the result, we've both seen improvements in each of you," Ryder said signaling to Murdoch who nodded in agreement.
"Now, I want each of y'all to work on your connection to the Force. I want each of you to go into a separate room on this level and just listen. Be still and calm. Feel the Force flowing through everything." Ryder pointed to three doors that connected to the training room that they were in.
"They are sealed, so no one will be able to disturb you. Pick one and go in. I want you to be tired when you start, so hurry up." The three rushed into different doors, and began their training.
"They've gotten a lot stronger, Ryder. Especially Ben," said Murdoch.
"Yeah, but they have ways to go before they can face off against strong opponents," responded Ryder. "I'm gonna go help them out a little more. I'll see ya later."
"Ok, catch ya later," said Murdoch.
Murdoch headed out of the training rooms and towards the elevator.
Ryder was shocked with how well they had done with only being on the ship for around two months.
'I'm gonna go check out how Ben is doing,' he thought at he began walking to his door.
Ben was in deep meditation. He hadn't notice Ryder walk in the door.
Ryder leaned against the wall and asked, "What is it that pushes you, Ben?"
Ben readjusted awkwardly. This was a strange question to him, so he paused for a second before answering Ryder. "Achieving a greater connection to the Force."
"Makes sense. Now, I want you to close your eyes," said Ryder.
Ben did as his master instructed him to do. "Cast away your eyes, and feel the ship around you.
"Listen to my words. Hear the sound of the other soldiers training in other rooms. Their weapons cutting through the air. The welding of the mechanics as they repair the ships in their shop and hanger…"
Ben sat and listened to Ryder. He felt how the swords of ninjas and Shinigamis produced a force of air when they were slashed. The heat of the welding torches made his face feel warm as a few bullets of sweat dripped from his sideburns.
"Good," said Ryder feeling the Force flow more freely in his student. "Now, stretch out further. Hear the rumble of the engines, the hum of the thrusters. Ignore all distractions, and focus on what I'm saying." Ryder paused to allow the Force to work through Ben.
Ryder could tell that Ben was entranced with the lesson.
"Now, listen to the breathing of your classmates as they meditate in their own dark rooms. Then, listen deeper. Past their breathing. Past the flow of blood in their veins. Listen. Feel."
With his eyes still closed Ben said, "I heard something. It's was like a soft voice"
"Yes, what you heard were just surface thoughts. However, with practice, you will soon be able to read deeper into someone. Know what they're thinking. See their memories. Change what they're thinking of," explained Ryder.
"I want to learn more," requested Ben.
"Fine, about what," asked Ryder?
"I want to know about sight," responded Ben.
"Ah, seeing through the Force," said Ryder. "There is a similar handicap that tends to occur among those strong in the Force. They neglect their skills. Some believe they no longer need them. The greatest wielders of the Force are those that maintain some grounding to the more… physical realities of the universe."
"What do you mean," answered Ben.
"Some wielders of the Force have mastered piloting… others the ability to fix, repair, and build from simple moisture vaporizers to more complex machines, such as droids and vehicles. One's abilities to understand the human body and its ailments, for example, can make your powers within the Force more complete, more powerful when you attempt to repair the cellular damage of another. And others have mastered the subtler work of politics: persuasion. Don't think that a galaxy cannot be conquered with words alone. When skills like these are honed, one's ability with the Force become that much stronger. My warning to you is this: do not rely on your comrades to compensate for your weakness in a skill. I know I told y'all that that's what teammates are for, but there will be times they will not be there to help you when you need it the most." Ryder slowly stood up and walked towards the door.
"Thank you, Master," whispered Ben as Ryder quietly left.
"One more panel to go," said Katie to herself.
She grabbed the stick welder and began welding the last black panel onto the Rogue Shadow. It took her a few minutes, but the job looked brand new.
"Doesn't it look good?" she asked one of the other mechanics that was walking by.
The mechanic was so busy that all he did was give a thumbs up and went right back to going to the ship he was working on.
'Thank for all the appreciation,' she thought. 'Might as well give Ryder a call.'
She pulled out her phone and dialed Ryder's number.
"Hello?" he answered.
"It's Katie. The Rogue Shadow is ready; come check her out," she said.
"Hell yeah! I'll be up in a minute."
*Click*
He was off the phone.
"Well that was quick and easy," she said putting her phone back in her pocket.
She grabbed some Windex, crawled to the cockpit window, and began cleaning the cockpit window. When she was done with the outside, she got down and then cleaned the inside.
It took thirty minutes for Ryder to show up. He was wearing his normal black and brown Jedi robes with his lightsaber on his side. However, he now had something else by his side as well. It was the same R2 droid that left with Ryder a few days ago.
"I see. You got tired of that bucket of bolts and decided to bring him back, didn't you," said Katie from on top of the ship.
"No," he said laughing. "I actually kind of like him a little. Not that bad."
He walked up closer to the ship and began inspecting it. "Wow, nice sensory rays and submach drive."
"The best," she said. "It's the fastest ship we have and most likely in the entire galaxy. It has the best cloaking technology, excellent mach-speed engine, sleeping quarters, a med bay, a workshop, and even a meditation room that doubles as a training room. It's got the complete package. I'm surprised that you're allowed to even use this bad boy. Not many people can repair it."
"So, what you're telling me is that I need the best mechanic in the world to keep it in optimal conditions," he said.
"Don't quote me on that, but it's just my opinion," Katie responded.
"I think I'm in love," he said. "With the ship that is." He smiled and kept walking around the ship.
"When is it ready to go?"
"It can leave whenever your mission starts."
"Perfect!" said Ryder in excitement. "I should probably go gather a crew then."
"You might want to talk to General Hall and the others before doing that. They might have some people in mind for you to take," Katie said leaning up against the Rogue Shadow.
"Thanks, Katie. You the best!" said Ryder as he began running out of the workshop.
R2 was strolling right behind him beeping and whistling. All Katie did was throw up her hand to say bye.
Ryder was rushing down the hallway on his way to the elevator. He looked over at R2 when they arrived at the doors and said, "It time. I finally get to go on my first mission, and I'll be able to make my first lightsaber, too."
However, the droid didn't respond like he would normally. Instead, it just stood there looking at the doors. "Are you okay, R2," asked Ryder?
*bloop weeeee ring bing*
"Well, let me know when you have some candidates for the crew in mind then."
The doors opened, and they were on floor seventy-four, the briefing room. The proxy, KA-7, was the first to greet them at the door.
"Hello, there Sir Jedi. Who is this that you brought along," asked KA-7?
*Beep dooloop zing zang ziiiiiip*
"How dare you say that in front of your peers. Learn some manners you trash can!" said KA-7 as it stormed off into another room.
"Don't worry about him, R2. He gets pretty sensitive," said Ryder.
The two walked closer to the table where President Reed, General Hall, and General Rodan were sitting. They were already discussing something, so Ryder waited until they finished. He heard a word that sounded like "groups" and "precaution" but wasn't one-hundred percent sure. The three finished their discussion and turned to Ryder.
"Make this quick, Ryder. What is it," asked President Reed?
"I just came back from the workshop, and Katie has finished working on a ship for me," explained Ryder.
President Reed was the first to respond. "Good. Good. Which one is it?"
"The Rogue Shadow."
"So, you decided on the stealth ship that carries eight passengers. Why did you want that ship," asked General Hall?
Changing his look from the President over to General Hall, Ryder said, "I like the speed, sensors, and cloaking aspect of the ship. It will allow me to get to the surface easily without being detected by ISIS soldiers or any unknown enemies that might be searching that planet to see if we are there as well."
"I see. Good thinking," said General Hall.
"Okay, I approve of the ship. Just don't destroy it. It's one of our best. Now who all do you have in mind for a crew," asked President Reed?
Ryder looked up at the ceiling as he began thinking of people that would be useful.
"Why don't you sit down for a minute? This won't be something that will come easily. Remember, you are asking these people to put their lives into your hands. Whatever mistakes you make, can jeopardize their safety. So, put some thought into this," said General Rodan.
"Here are some key position that need filling: The Commander, which I assume will be you. Are you going to be the pilot as well?" asked Rodan.
"Yes," responded Ryder.
"Okay, who do you want the co-pilot to be? They will also be the second in command."
Ryder thought on this for a few moments and then said, "How about Zakee?"
"Unfortunately, Zakee and a few others are out on a mission right now. You won't be able to select him, Taylor, Jackson, Sarah, Clayton, Tommy, Jake, Pierce, Ridley, or Guy," explained General Hall.
"I have a suggestion," said President Reed. "Why don't you bring in Weston Tague as a gunner. He has an Imperial Arm just like General Hall, but his is a gun. His gun gets more powerful the tighter of a pinch that he is in. His experience with a hand gun will help on the ship. The other positions for that ship include: another gunner, a co-pilot, a mechanic, someone that can use complex forms of technology, a medical base soldier, and someone that could do whatever is needed."
"I like it," said Ryder. "I have some ideas for the other positions, now."
"Go ahead," responded President Reed.
"For the second in command position, I recommend Nero Slosslane. The other gunner can be, Murdoch Sletvig." He paused the think some more.
"The technology position can go to Luca Jones, and can the mechanic be Katie, from the shop, or do y'all need her here?"
General Hall and Rodan looked at President Reed who was stroking his chin. "Go ahead and take her. You will need her expertise to fix that ship."
Ryder nodded his head in agreement. "So, that leave the miscellaneous man and the medic left."
Ryder thought about his remaining options.
"Can I bring Ben Ward as the miscellaneous man? I've taken him on as a student and want to give him some more experience, and I think this will be a great start for him. I also think that he is ready to create his own lightsaber. You can ask Murdoch for information as well. I had them duel this morning, and Ben surprised us both."
"We will think that over," said President Reed. "We would like for someone with more experience to tag along, but since this will be a short mission, we will consider him. However, I do have one last suggestion for your medical staff member. Her name is Liz Keagan. She is a sensory ninja that is incredible with medical ninjutsu."
General Rodan took over. "Beyond that, everything else sounds fine. We'll send a message to all your crewmates letting them know when and where meet you for a briefing. What time is it?"
Ryder looked down at his watch, and said, "It's 4:52 PM."
Rodan continued, "Expect the meeting to take place at seven o'clock PM, and we want the ship to take off tomorrow at five in the afternoon."
"Will do, sir. Anything specific you want me to say in the briefing," asked Ryder?
"No, this all will do. Now, go ahead and go before you miss dinner," said Mr. President. "KA-7, will you escort them out?"
The proxy droid wobbled back into the room and said, "Do I really have to be near this terrible astromech droid?"
"Yes, just do it," responded the President.
*Beep bloop wizwop zip zoot*
"Not this again. Listen here, you better be happy that I'm not going to just push you down the elevator shaft," said KA-7.
*Zink peep bop weeeee*
*sigh* "I should've known that you have rocket thrusters," responded the proxy droid.
KA-7 pressed the down button and the elevator doors opened within a few seconds. "There you go," said KA-7.
Ryder and R2 walked into the elevator and pressed the button that sent them to floor, nineteen. The doors shut.
"Well R2, looks like it's out first mission. They didn't go over your job, so I will." He knelt next to R2 and put his hand on his head.
"You'll have to help out Katie a lot. Make sure she knows what needs fixing and help her fix it. That will be your main job. Don't mess it up, ya know." He patted the head and stood up.
The doors opened and the hallway surged with hungry students and soldiers. They walked down the hallway weaving around other people and almost got to the door when they heard a voice call out to them.
"Ryder! Wait up!"
He turned around and it was his brown, buzzed hair friend that he went to war with. "I'm not going to slow down. You just gotta hurry up!" yelled Ryder as he turned his back and kept walking to the Dining Hall.
He laughed a little to R2 who gave a beep in return. Nero caught up to them right as they entered through the dining hall doors. Nero's tall athletic figure had kept its shape well while up in space, unlike many others around them, but this even made him bend over and pant a little.
"I just got a text." Nero paused and took another breath. "It said that I was one of eight that had been assigned to a mission. General Hall said to meet the leader and my crewmates in the Dining Hall after everyone had eaten their food. It's yours, isn't it?"
Ryder kept walking to the food line, and when they claimed their spot, he turned to Nero with a smile. "I'm gonna get a lightsaber," he began to tease and dance. "You're gonna have to listen to my every command," he teased again.
Nero slammed his palm into his face and said, "I take back all of my excitement. The amount of embarrassment you just put me through with that dance and the fact that I have to take orders from you ruins to whole mission."
A few nearby people were covering their mouth as they laughed at Ryder's dance moves.
Nero removed his hand from his face and held it up high. "But, congrats dude. This is gonna be one hell of a mission."
Ryder high fived Nero with a loud clap.
"Hurry up, Ryder! It's your turn to get some food!" yelled someone from the back of the line.
Ryder quickly turned around and grabbed his plate while he heard Nero laugh and R2 whistle in excitement. He grabbed the cheeseburger and continued down the selection aisle. He grabbed bacon and some water for the rest of his meal and went to sit at a table.
R2 wheeled around and stopped in-between Ryder's table and the wall. Across from Ryder sat Nero, and next to them both sat two other people: Tucker an alchemist and Drex a Titan. The seats to the other side of them filled up quickly and loud conversation coursed throughout the Dining Hall.
After forty-five minutes of eating and fellowship, the students began to leave the Dining Hall. Nero kept leaning over and asking who was staying, but Ryder wouldn't give him any hints.
When everyone left the room, there were five others sitting down. Nero looked around and noticed a few of them and nudged Ryder, saying, "Good job on picking out a solid group, but aren't we missing one?"
Ryder shook his head and said, "Yep. We're missing Ben… My apprentice."
After he said that he stood up and addressed everyone in the room.
"Hey everyone. I'm Ryder Jace. I know most of y'all, but there are a few new faces in the room. We are also missing one, so were going to wait a few more minutes. If he doesn't show, then I'll just brief him later."
Ryder looked down at his watch that read, "6:04 PM." He sat down and kept talking to Nero while they waited on Ben.
After five minutes, the doors swung open with a sudden thrust and in came a figure barreling in almost tripping over their own two feet. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he stumbled to a seat at one of the front, open tables.
Ryder was laughing along with Nero but stopped as Ryder stood up and walked to the front of the room.
"Well, for everyone who doesn't already know, that was Ben Ward that just busted through the door nearly taking them off the hinges," said Ryder trying to hide his laugh. Nero was the only one that was laughing with Ryder.
"Can I get everyone to come sit at this front table, too?"
The seven others all stood up and sat on the side of the front table closest to Ryder.
"You all have been assigned to a mission under me. It's a two-part mission. The first objective is to travel to the planet, Ilum, and for me to construct a lightsaber while whoever is left on the ship maps out the planet. The reason why there are eight of us in all is that the Generals wanted us to be out there getting experience instead of being cooped up in this ship. I will tell you the second part while we are on the ship."
Ryder paused and looked at each member of the crew.
"Now, whenever I call out your name and position for the crew please stand up so that everyone can see you. Captain and pilot, yours truly. Co-captain and co-pilot, Nero Slosslane. First gunner, Murdoch Sletvig. Second gunner, Weston Tague. Mechanic, Katie Harrison. Medic, Liz Keagan. Tech. man, Luca Jones. And finally, the miscellaneous man, Ben Ward. For you Ben, this means that you'll be helping whoever needs it at that time. So, the planet that we are traveling to is on the opposite side of the galaxy, so there will be a lot of down time on the way over. You have been given permission to take up to five texts from the archive to take on our mission. Of course, the only time for reading and studying will be while we are in our fantastic ship. So, with that being said, can our mechanic come forward and talk about the ship some?" Ryder pointed at Katie to queue her to the front.
Katie stood up and walked to where Ryder had stood. Everyone in the room knew she had done this before just by her demeanor and confidence while talking.
"For those that don't know me, I'm Katie Harrison, the mechanic. The best on this whole ship, so this crew is lucky right now," she joked. "The ship we will be taking is the Rogue Shadow. It is the fastest ship we have and has an incredible mach-speed engine that is better than most others. Other than its untouchable speed, the sensory arrays onboard are top-notch. They can sense anything that comes remotely close us, and that will be a great advantage. Along with sensory rays, the Rogue Shadow is equipped with the best cloaking technology available that is undetectable by most other ships. Rest assured that no one will see us coming or going. This is a great stealth ship, but it also has deadly weapons. Highly equipped with deadly photon and laser cannons and one turret on the bottom of the ship. I'm very confident that this ship will get any job done, let alone this easy one," finished Katie as she shot Ryder a glare.
Ryder felt Nero nudge him and say, "Oolala."
Ryder got up quickly and walked to conclude the briefing. "Okay, so we leave tomorrow at five in the afternoon. First order, do not be late." Ryder was looking at Ben in the eyes.
"The sleeping quarters are rather large, so you can bring a week's worth of clothes. Assuming that we will somehow be able to wash them. Lastly, get some rest. Don't go all out on your training tonight or tomorrow. We have an uncharted journey ahead of us. One that will be full of surprises, hopefully good, and a lot of good times. Are there any questions?"
No one's hand raised.
"Perfect. I will see each of you tomorrow, then. Goodnight everyone."
Luca and Weston left close behind Liz so that they could introduce themselves. Liz was very attractive with her long blonde hair and curvy body. Next went Nero and Murdoch who followed closely behind them to slide in when they failed.
Katie walked up Ryder and said, "I'm going back to the shop to do some finishing touches on the ship. See ya in the morning." She walked out and to the elevator.
Ben was the last one in the room with Ryder. Ryder decided to walk over to him to see what was the matter. When he was about six feet away, Ryder's phone started to go off.
The song "Back in Black" by AC/DC filled the Dining Hall.
A cleaning droid from the cleaning room could be heard yelling, "Turn off that racket!"
Ryder quickly answered the phone. The only thing that Ben could hear was a series of "Yes, Sir," and at the end he said, "Thank you, Sir." Ryder hung up the phone and sat next to Ben.
"What the matter?" asked Ryder.
"I'm just a little nervous to be honest. I've only been practicing my skills for two months, and I'm already on my first mission. It's a little scary to be honest," admitted Ben.
Ryder took a pause to collect his thought. "You're right it can be scary, and it probably will be. But that's why we have eight crewmates as well. It's to make sure that when we get in a pinch, there will always be someone there to help us get out. No matter what the cost is."
Ben looked up a little frustrated. "But, what is a guy with a training lightsaber going to do?!"
Words that sounded familiar to Ryder, but he knew that he had never heard them popped into his mind. He said, "The sword does not make the warrior. Rather, it is the warrior that determines how strong the sword is. I want you to meditate on that tonight, okay?"
Ben nodded as if to say that he agreed. Ryder gave Ben a pat on the back, stood up, and said, "Good. Now, I am going to get some shut eye. I'll see you in the morning."
Ryder walked out of the room leaving Ben to just his thoughts and the background noise of the droids cleaning dishes.
'It is the warrior that determines how strong the sword is,' thought Ben.
Suddenly, the doors of the Dining Hall swung open again. It was Ryder, out of breath not to mention. He walked over to Ben rummaging through his bag.
To Ben's amazement, Ryder pulled out a glowing, blue cube that nearly put Ben in a trance. "A holocron," Ben said softly.
"That's right. I learned from it about two months ago. It's one of Grand Master Yoda's, so be sure to learn from it. Do not take it for granted." Ryder's jaw dropped and mouth opened wide as he let out a huge yawn. "Well that's my sign to go to sleep, so I'll see you tomorrow."
And like that, Ryder was out the doors once again. Except this time, Ryder didn't leave Ben with just his thoughts. He left him with the thoughts and teaching of one of the greatest Jedi to ever live, and Ben was not going to take that for granted.
Let me know what you thought of the chapter!
~Aldon
