Forceful Stoicism 3 - (Star Wars, SI)
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48 BBY.
It's been a few months since we went on a mission, but I wasn't that disappointed when we were given one... rather, I was disappointed by the one we got for the occasion: Telos IV.
The reason why we had been entrusted this mission, at least by official means, was that there had been some disturbances in the planet ever since the Civil War that came about ten or less years ago.
The full truth was that our Master had been approached by Qui-Gon Jinn and told about some 'unpleasant visions' Qui-Gon had about his former Padawan, Xanatos. While that should not amount to an investigation, the matters of Telos IV had remained untouched by the Senate and by the Jedi Council for long enough now.
It was high time to see what was up with the planet and the three of us would be going there on a 'visit of courtesy' on behalf of a senator that owed our Master a favor. Rather ballsy considering it kind of violated a few rules of conduct, but that would be the case if the full scope of how the mission came to be was revealed to the council.
Komari was giddy for the new mission, while I was particularly tense.
Of the trio, I was the only one that knew Xanatos was still alive. And trying to break the news to the rest of the group was not going to be feasible without raising some unsavory questions. I remained within my thoughts, letting my mental barriers keep my concern for the mission a secret from both Master Dooku and Komari.
As we boarded the shuttle taking off for the lengthy journey to Telos IV, I was taken to the side by Dooku while Komari was ordered to check our rooms.
We were soon sitting by a private room, and the man gave me a serious look.
"Padawan, are you familiar with the former Padawan, Xanatos?"
"I have heard of him, yes. He died a decade ago."
"Allegedly," Dooku added, his eyes softened. "His body was never found, and I know my student, Master Jinn, may have held back some details which may now play a relevant role in this investigation."
"Do you believe he survived and may be a threat, Master?"
"Yes. However, I do not seek to hunt him down if that's the case. The circumstances are unknown regarding his current whereabouts and we would be unaware if he has companions or not."
"...I will keep an eye on Komari."
He nodded, the point very clear with the way he subtly explained the situation. Dooku suspected Xanatos was alive already, and yet he wasn't planning to outright engage in a manhunt unless necessary.
Which meant that I couldn't let Komari get giddy about hunting down a rogue Jedi.
"Do remember the warning extends to you too, Dester."
Bowing my head, I accepted his words and soon the serious talk ended. Meditation came forth as strongly as usual, and I found myself helping Komari keep her focus on the 'ball'. Well, the metaphysical ball that was the force. If it was a ball.
Space Balls?
Ignoring this random bout of crazy-thinking, the journey finished in a couple of days, and we found Telos IV in quite a fine shape. The tall buldings of Thani, the capital, greeted us as we arrived to our paid place and... found out almost immediately that Xanatos was alive.
I mean, one can't be wrong when there is a 'Xanatos Institute of Healing' and it was owned by a Telosian known as Xanatos. To me, it was just on the nose, to Komari it was just pure and utter provocation and... for Dooku, it was just confirmation that something was up.
Instead of a direct confrontation, however, Master Dooku opted for a more abstute approach. One of the details Qui-Gon had added to his report was that Xanatos' father, former Governor Crion, had tried to use the treaty with Bandomeer to try and enforce a strip-mining of the planet's minerary resources.
What were the chances that this was Xanatos' current long-termed plan?
I already knew the answer but, as if the Force wanted to troll with me, I didn't get the chance to tag along for the journey to Bandomeer. In fact, someone had to remain back to Thani to keep track of Xanatos. And that task couldn't be given to Komari.
The girl would have done something to mess things up as no one was meant to know we were and she had a short attention span. With her keeping around our Master, that should not be that big of a problem but... that meant I was stuck alone in Telos IV until the investigation on Bandomeer was finished.
That didn't sound like a good way to spend some time alone. And, quoting several Jedi before and after me, I had a bad feeling about this.
It took a few hours of my 'room-guarding' that troubles started to unfold. First, someone had set up a jammer as I couldn't get my communicator working as I tried to do my hourly call with Komari and keep track on how things were going on their end, then I saw some bulletins by the Hotel room's holoscreen warning me (and other clients by the way people suddenly stormed out of the premises around the room) that there was an ongoing terrorist attack and...
The warning came minutes before the 'terrorists' actually arrived. I felt their arrival, mostly because they weren't alone. I felt a strong presence with them, and I knew that Xanatos wanted to make sure this was a sure victory.
He didn't follow his minions, and I could tell he didn't want to expose himself if it wasn't necessary. As far as the planet cared, Xanatos was a charitable man and nothing more.
Still, he made a few mistakes - starting with the most obvious of them all: facing me.
I had prep time. I had minutes to remove my robe, do some stretching, clear my mind with some quick meditation and... I locked in.
The first wave of mercenaries that I was soon facing looked stunned by my calm stroll towards them.
"T-The Jedi! Open Fire."
Red blaster shots started to rush towards me, but my Lightsaber was immediately on the case. Form V, the Djem So variant. With enough focus, my blade could parry all sorts of attacks- I just needed to be swift and precise with my responses, making sure to 'hit' the attacks back and turning the blasts back to the aggressors.
Most of the times, that was the case. The loud yells of pain as the shots were turned back to the mercs were soon joined by the agonizing groans of those that got smacked around by the Force.
Admittedly, all of this was feasible for two reasons: 1) I had training and an example of Darth Vader knowing how to pull the 'slow but ruthless blaster-parrying' and 2) none of the mercs used bombs, perhaps having been ordered to not do so as that would gain too much attention on the case.
Still, twenty minutes of pure 'walking and countering' ended as I arrived to the platform where the mercenaries' dropship was waiting and... were a hooded figure approached from.
I frowned, it was raining and I felt a hint of regret for ditching my brown robes. Definitely going to catch a cold if the upcoming fight was going to take too long. And, knowing my luck and the one I was facing, there was a high chance of that being the case.
The man stopped right as he was a few meters away from me.
"Dester Cormie."
"Xanatos. I thought you died nine years ago."
The man smiled under his hood. "Perhaps that was the story my foolish Master gave to the rest of the order. But, as you can see, I am well and fine."
"Sadly."
"That is a rude for you to say, Dester. I remember you from the time I spent at the Temple,"
"I don't, so that's really not a good spot for you to grasp from, Xanatos," I replied, readying my stance for the fight, and I saw him releasing his red lightsaber. He wasn't a Sith, but he definitely gave off that vibe in that moment. "You know, your Master never managed to beat mine. I wonder if that's the same between us."
A cocky bait, but one that Xanatos, an arrogant fighter, picked up without hesitation as he snarled at me.
"As if I am going ot be beaten by a little Padawan that just started his path!"
Xanatos came rushing with a rapid jump and I quickly recognized he was using Form IV, Ataru.
Never once I thought I would be facing someone using such an aggressive form so early on, but I kept on Form II out of familiarity and awareness that I wasn't dealing with a man that could be countered by type-advantages.
His red lightsaber was ruthless in its attacks as his body jumped and shifted aggressively to try and subvert my static resilience, trying to find my blind spot, but failing miserably as I managed to push back at him the earliest as possible.
My focus paid off immensely as Xanatos snarled in disgust over the fact he couldn't finish the fight the earliest and he was struggling to push me back.
One would call it a sign of arrogance and, to an extent, I could nod at that, but there was more to it. I was not winning in a fair scenario, and I was using the wet floor of the platform to make him unable to find a solid footing to get the edge over me.
It wasn't an easy task, but Xanatos had clearly gotten so lazy in expecting Jedi to be tricky that he was now in a tough spot himself.
I switched to Form III with some steps from Form II. Soresu was too defensive, but adding some layers of Form II the way Dooku used it started to push Xanatos back.
With our swords clashing intensely and hardly holding back from the power we were putting on our respective lightsabers, it became clear to me that Xanatos had expected me to fold earlier or to be struggling to face him in a prolonged fight.
The second assumption was somewhat true as I was feeling my body strained by my efforts of keeping up with him.
Xanatos was still a powerful Dark Jedi, and the way he was weaving his sword, almost like Master Dooku, made me very nervous I may lose at any moment. Fighting this way was like playing with chess- some people were grandmasters, others were not. But even the brighest players can have their 'moments'.
And Xanatos' 'moment' came as he tried to push back by switching to Form V, the Shien variant, and he found his balance ruined as he dashed towards me, only to slip on the wet floor and be forced to rely briefly on Form III and then back to Form IV once more.
This may not sound like much as he had recovered from that deadly mistake... but this blunder actually costed him the fight.
While he could have won against me in a lengthier and fairer brawl, I had used all reliable factors on my side to unbalance him and, as he tried to put himself back on the game, he was surprised by my bold decision to switch to a bastardized Form IV myself.
In a very crucial moment where I slid under his predictable swing, Xanatos looked down right as my blade came downward towards his neck. With a single cut, his head was sent flying, and the Dark Jedi was thus killed off for good.
I fell on one knee, my lungs burning and my head drumming painfully as I felt my body outright exhausted.
I couldn't face another fight, but I couldn't stay put there. I force-grabbed the deactivated Lightsaber once owned by Xanatos and... then turned my attention to the dropship as it started to get off the ground.
I forgot about the pilot.
Steeling my mind once more, I darted towards the closing entry-point and then forced the blaster on the pilot's hand out of her grasp and onto my free hand.
"Land this thing. Now."
The woman growled, glaring at me over her shoulder but complying as I glared back at her and...
"Guh~!"
A frown adorned my face as I turned to the strangely familiar noise as... a little baby boy sitting beside the pilot smiled and clapped his chubby hands at me.
...Ma'am, why is there a baby in here of all places?!
AN
Dester Cormie, meet Granta Omega... Xanatos' baby son!
Also, before I forget to add this, Dester is still weaker than Xanatos. He may have won in favorable conditions, but he got lucky about it. So no, Dester is not at the same level as Qui-Gon (yet).