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Author Topic: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 6/8
Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 3/28/05 7:24am Subject: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 6/8 - Date Edited: 6/8/05 10:11am (9 edits total) Edited By: Ace_Venom
Title: Calm Before The Storm
Author(s): Ace Venom
Timeframe: NJO
Characters: Jacen Solo, Tenel Ka, Kyle Katarn, Zekk, Kyp Durron, Leia Organa Solo, Luke Skywalker, Brakiss, Jaina Solo
Genre: Action/Adventure
Keywords: Sith, Jacen/Tenel Ka
Summary: As a crisis looms in the Hapes Cluster, the galaxy prepares for war.
Notes: Second part of a series.

Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Limited. All characters, locations, objects and concepts are used without permission. No profit is being made.

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

The galactic peace is fragile. Pirate attacks on Hapan shipping have led to elevated tensions between the factions in the Hapes Cluster vying to ascend to power. In the center of the unrest, the enigmatic Khan Mord has risen from the ashes with a mission to restore sanity to the Consortium.

But as the crisis elevates, the Dark Jedi Master Brakiss and Sith Lord Darth Fenrir seek to turn the tables to their advantage, sending Dark Jedi agents into the Hapes Cluster to instigate unrest. Among the most dangerous of these agents is Harkon Rath, the Darkest Knight of the Shadow Academy. To apprehend this dangerous foe, Kyle Katarn and Jacen Solo are in hot pursuit of Rath's pirate cruiser...

Chapter 1

A bulky gray cruiser tore through space. It was known in pirate circles as the Crimson Fist, the flagship of Harkon Rath's feared pirate fleet, which had terrorized Hapan shipping for a year. But as one of the pirate ships exploded after taking critical damage, joining the accumulated space debris in the battle near a white dwarf star, it seemed that justice had finally caught up with the pirate.

But Jacen Solo wasn't taking any chances.

The Jedi apprentice felt one with the Force, one with his modified Hapan Trident JY-2 Starfighter. The two wings hung down at a gentle angle from the sides of the fighter, providing room for proton torpedoes and three pairs of powerful blaster cannons. The nose pointed out sharply, giving a trident appearance to the incredibly maneuverable fighter.

Jacen brought his fighter forward and banked to starboard as he tried to line a pirate fighter in his sights. There was no targeting computer, but only dead reckoning with the Force. Jacen depressed the firing stud on his control stick, firing a hexalaser burst at the enemy.

The pirate's shields failed and the fighter exploded just as Jacen recklessly flew through the debris cloud, throwing his Trident JY-2 into a tight barrel roll to dodge a blaster barrage from another pirate fighter. Jacen may not have been the best pilot, but he could hold his own against pirates thanks to the advantage the Force had given him.

"There's the Crimson Fist!" Jacen exclaimed over the general frequency as he dove underneath the ship, the pirate cruiser's turbolasers blasting in order to destroy the Jedi. But all the turbolasers managed to do was catch the fighter trailing Jacen in the crossfire. Friendly fire was devastating, but sometimes beneficial.

"Did somebody call the wrecking crew?" Kyle Katarn asked as he flew his Trident JY-2 towards Jacen's craft.

"Master, I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up!" Jacen jabbed.

"Cut the chatter," Kyle scolded. "Just get away from the cruiser before they blast it with ion cannons."

The Jedi pilots passed the cruiser just as one Battle Dragon unloaded its ion cannons on the Crimson Fist. The gray cruiser sparkled as the white pulse crackled around its hull, damaging its electrical systems and killing the shields.

"Our turn!" Kyle growled.

The two Trident JY-2 fighters turned hard, arcing back towards one of the cruiser's docking bays before the Crimson Fist's emergency systems were engaged. The two fighters entered a hangar and the Jedi initiated a hurried landing cycle. Both Kyle and Jacen knew it wasn't enough that the pirate ship was destroyed, but that the pirate himself was brought to justice.

++++++++

Harkon Rath was furious. The tall blonde haired human clenched his gloved fist as his blue eyes blazed. The fire heavily contrasted his pale skin and dark clothing. On the bridge of the Crimson Fist, discipline had been sorely tested as they had been blasted with an ion cannon. But the crew had remained calm. No one wanted to anger the Darkest Knight.

The bridge was almost claustrophobic, a pre-Clone Wars craft stocked with more equipment than it was meant to handle. The officers were few, but they were competent ex-military personnel that did their jobs well.

"Get those emergency systems up and running!" Rath barked.

"We should have turbolift and shielding back online shortly," his first mate, a brown haired female, stated as she turned to look at her captain.

Rath tilted his head to the side and turned slightly to his left, his black cape ruffling with his movements. "Jedi," he said, having detected them in the Force.

"We're back!" the first mate announced as the emergency power was restored.

++++++++

Jacen waited for the right moment. The systems of the hangar hummed to life just before he opened his canopy with the Force. He climbed from his seat and leapt onto the ground, landing solidly on his feet with the assistance of his powers.

At sixteen years of age, Jacen had grown into a dashing young man. He had a lean muscular build and he had grown taller. His brown hair remained short, but he now parted it in the middle. Dressed in his black flight suit and boots, Jacen was much more practical than his mentor, who usually stuck to his normal white tunic and trousers from his days as an independent agent. The man hadn't gone without a beard since his days as an Imperial officer.

"Be ready," Kyle warned Jacen as he approached.

Jacen turned and said, "Always."

The turbolift door at the far end of the hangar opened, sliding upwards into the wall. Jacen immediately recognized the young man that stepped out and into the hangar. He had known Harkon Rath back during his captivity in the Shadow Academy.

"What a pleasant surprise, Solo," Harkon spat before unclipping his lightsaber from his belt.

Jacen and Kyle drew their lightsabers before activating their respective scarlet and emerald energy blades. Harkon ignited his red glowing sword.

Harkon began walking to the side, almost as if he was circling his prey. Jacen and Kyle remained close, holding a tight defensive stance. "You should not have come back, Solo," Harkon said. "You may have been strong when you touched the Dark Side, but you are nothing now."

"Give it up, Rath," Jacen said flatly. "The fleet won't hesitate to destroy this ship much longer. Nobody else needs to die today."

Rath rushed towards Jacen and Kyle, closing the distance before slashing horizontally to deal with both Jedi. Jacen blinked his eyes before twisting his arms to the side to parry the blow. Kyle was moving quickly, aggressively slamming his green sword against Harkon's red blade, pinning the Dark Jedi's weapon.

Harkon responded with a Force push, knocking Jacen and Kyle aside. Both Jedi called on the Force to prevent from falling onto the floor. During that time, Rath pressed his assault against the older Jedi, lunging at Kyle's unprotected waist.

Kyle moved out of the way of Harkon's sword just as Jacen turned his body swiftly, moving his lightsaber to parry the blow from the Dark Jedi. Harkon retracted just as Kyle closed the distance between them. Green swung for the Dark Jedi's left arm.

Harkon backed away to parry to give himself a bit more room. Using his weight and the distance between Kyle and himself, Harkon pushed the older Jedi away just as Jacen, spinning for the kill, brought his red saber towards him in a blinding cyclone of energy.

The Darkest Knight didn't get his rank for nothing. A tight defense could mute a blinding offence. Harkon quickly shifted to Form III, defending the upper right quadrant of his body before he retracted and shifted his weight to his left leg in anticipation of the onslaught that was to come. Kyle struck at Harkon's unguarded lower right quadrant, prompting the swift one handed parry from the Dark Jedi's red blade. Then, quickly gripping the hilt of his weapon with both hands, Harkon pushed, turning the Force of Kyle's attack into movement, making Kyle's green sword slide along Rath's red blade as he swung towards his center to intercept Jacen's red blade.

The three men locked eyes, clenching their teeth at the triple saber lock that they had initiated and silently daring the other side to move.

Jacen retracted first, spinning out of the way and gripping his lightsaber with one hand. Harkon finished pushing Kyle's saber out of the way and the Dark Jedi leapt into the air, somersaulting over Kyle's head before landing on his feet, keeping his lightsaber away from his body at all times.

Harkon reached out with the Force, gripping random tools with his mind before he hurled them at the Jedi. They easily cut through the tools with their lightsabers, but not before Rath made a good sprint for his personal shuttle.

"We can't let him get away!" Jacen exclaimed before twirling his lightsaber in his hands and breaking into a Force assisted sprint.

"Jacen!" Kyle yelled almost helplessly. "That kid is going to be the end of me," he muttered before running after his apprentice.

Harkon, sensing Jacen's approach, whirled around, spinning his lightsaber in a deadly cutting arc. The Jedi apprentice was on him, aggressively spinning his body before slamming their crimson blades together.

"Hmm," the Darkest Knight uttered with amusement before using a Force push to knock Jacen onto his back. Harkon, seeing Kyle coming, ran up the boarding ramp of his shuttle, which closed behind him.

Kyle stopped beside his apprentice and knelt. "Jacen, be more careful next time," he warned.

Harkon's shuttle rose, turned and fled the Crimson Fist.

Jacen sat up and deactivated his lightsaber. "He's gotten better," the young man said.

++++++++

"In other news today, the Senate is expected to vote on the Military Buildup Act," a Bothan holonet reporter said. "Chief of State Borsk Fey'la has been riding the fence of the issue, making the bill a difficult sell even with the threat of the Second Imperium looming in the Outer Rim Territories."

Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo felt the weight of the galaxy falling on her shoulders and wondered how it felt for her brother. As the holonet broadcast played in their air taxi, Leia took a glance at her brother. A casual observer would think him lost in thought, but Leia knew that Luke was focused on the matter at hand.

The Jedi were providing a tremendous amount of intelligence to the Republic because they were the ones at the front lines in a Cold War against the Imperial backed Shadow Academy. Even the Hapans were having problems with the Dark Jedi and Leia suspected that the Chiss and Hutts were not immune to the threat.

"This news just broke. It seems that the devious Harkon Rath has escaped the combined efforts of the Jedi and the Hapes Consortium once again," the reporter continued, prompting the two Jedi Masters to pay close attention to the broadcast. "Jedi Knights Kyle Katarn and Jacen Solo pursued the Dark Jedi into his own ship, the Crimson Fist. But the dastardly pirate escaped them after a heated duel. The Crimson Fist and the rest of the pirate fleet was taken in Hapan custody. When asked for an interview, Katarn volunteered this information."

The holonet feed changed to show Kyle Katarn. "We fought him on the Crimson Fist, but we couldn't overpower him," the middle-aged Jedi said. "This should be a warning to anyone out there. Don't confront a Dark Jedi unless you have overwhelming force."

The Bothan reporter was once again showed on the holonet feed. "The Hapan military refused an interview, claiming that national security prevented them from disclosing more information than the Jedi have," he said. "In other news..."

Luke deactivated the holonet feed in their taxi. "Hopefully this will help our cause," the Jedi Master spoke.

"The Jedi Council is necessary, Luke," Leia told her brother. "I doubt if even Fey'la would want to block us from having one."

Luke nodded, clearing his mind with the Force so as not to despair.

The air taxi neared the Imperial Palace, where Leia still kept a residence. She hoped that they would both get a chance to focus on what really mattered.

++++++++

Jacen leaned back against the wall of his temporary quarters on the Silent Stalker, one of the newer Battle Dragons to come out of the shipyards in the Rifle Worlds. The Jedi apprentice sighed inwardly. For a brief instant, he brushed against the Dark Side in his duel with Harkon Rath. But Jacen knew the Dark Side well enough to know that he didn't go too far.

As he waited for his master to be debriefed, Jacen awaited a return trip to Yavin 4. He had only returned to the Jedi Academy once in the last two years since he began training under Kyle Katarn. But the one he thought about during those years was not there. She had returned to Hapes for a holiday. Even his siblings were gone on some adventure.

Jacen had been on missions almost non-stop since the rise of the Second Imperium. Flashpoints had ignited throughout the galaxy. Pirates preying on Hapan shipping, political assassinations, graft and corruption and even a group called the Diversity Alliance seeking to unleash a plague designed to target humans. Jacen and Kyle had personally trashed the facility with the plague, but it was just on a long list of Jacen's many accomplishments.

Jacen could still picture her stoic features. Tenel Ka was a rare beauty that smiled infrequently. But within her gray eyes lay a window to her soul. Jacen had hoped to crack that during the time he had a crush on her when he was fourteen. But when she met Zekk for the first time, Jacen entertained thoughts that she might be out of his league.

But he couldn't get her out of his mind. Even on Jacen's many missions in the Hapes Cluster, he had yet to go to Hapes. It was always a response to flashpoints of violence that brought him there. In his mind, Jacen reasoned it was as close as he would get to her.

Jacen shut his eyes and meditated on the Force. He knew his longings made him human, but he also knew what happened when he relied too heavily on his emotions. He could sense the temptation to use the Dark Side to sense Harkon Rath over a long distance, a gift he had employed a few times during his stay at the Shadow Academy, track him and destroy him. He would become a Jedi champion by slaying the Dark Jedi champion. Most importantly, he would be Tenel Ka's champion, her knight, for righting a terrible wrong in her mother's domain.

No, he reminded himself. Jacen pushed away the Dark Side temptations as he tried to focus on the Living Force. Life creates it; makes it grow, Jacen spoke to himself, quoting Yoda's mantra. Though he could use the Force to sense everything on the Battle Dragon, Jacen just focused on what mattered: soothing himself.

Jacen sensed a familiar presence at his door. He opened his eyes just as the durasteel door slid into the wall with a hiss, revealing his master.

"Master, how was it?" Jacen asked.

Kyle sighed as he entered Jacen's quarters, sitting on his bed as the door slid shut. "They view this as yet another Jedi failure," Kyle said. "The Admiral is yet just another member of the anti-Jedi cult in this region."

"Yes, I sensed an unusual amount of animosity towards us on this ship," Jacen admitted. "I was even careful not to sense their feelings as I meditated."

"Well, it's pretty strong," Kyle agreed. "The courtesy they give us only exists because their Queen says they have to be nice to us."

"Master, do you really think the assassinations on the Queen Mother and the pirate raids are all connected somehow?" Jacen queried, making use of his innate intuition.

"It's possible," Kyle said. "I had that hunch myself at one time. But none of the evidence fits together. Some pirates we captured said they were working for a man called Drache."

Jacen rubbed his chin and moved away from the wall. "I never heard of a man named Drache," the teenager admitted.

"Are you sure you met everyone at the Shadow Academy?" questioned Kyle.

"They looked up to me," Jacen said. "They also despised me." He shrugged his shoulders, defeated. "I'm really sure I met everyone there."

"Well, he might have been like you and progressed really fast," Kyle suggested.

Jacen shook his head. "It just doesn't feel that way," he said. "Call it my intuition working again."

Kyle nodded. Jacen's intuition had saved both men countless times. He respected his apprentice's odd form of foresight. Jacen couldn't see visions directly, but he was capable of sorting out the complex wheels of events that could influence a life or death situation.

Changing the subject, Kyle said, "Looks like we are gonna finally get some leave. I just talked to Tionne on Yavin 4 and she said that Master Skywalker was going to let us take a break."

Jacen sighed with relief. He really needed a break.

"I was going to head for Coruscant to have a bit of fun with the credits I have been accumulating in the last few years," Kyle said. "Figure I could hit a few of the casinos and enjoy the nightlife."

"I don't know what I'll do," Jacen said. He knew what he really wanted to do, but even Jacen knew that he couldn't go to the Fountain Palace without an invitation or for official Jedi business.

Kyle grinned. "Well, if you want to head to Coruscant with me, I'll be more than happy to let you tag along," he said.

"I think I'll head back to Yavin 4," Jacen said. "I probably shouldn't let my Jedi skills get out of practice. I might run into my sister there if I'm lucky."

"Well, it's not a bad idea," Kyle conceded. "If anything comes up, don't hesitate to contact me."

Jacen nodded, thinking of what he could do once he returned to the only place he could call home.

++++++++

If anything symbolized darkness in the galaxy, it was the ringed towering spires of the Shadow Academy. Even around ships in the Imperial Fleet in orbit over Muunilinst, it had an ominous, almost oppressive feel to it. Inside, the Shadow Academy was ordered, a stark contrast to the disorder the students had to learn.

Harkon Rath bowed his head in respect for his master as he entered Brakiss's office. "Master, my fleet was destroyed," he sadly informed Brakiss.

Seated at his desk, Brakiss studied Harkon well. Harkon was talented, almost as talent as Jacen Solo. If the Darkest Knight ever harnessed his full potential, Brakiss might find himself at the wrong end of the young man's lightsaber. But he didn't let such thoughts out of his locked mind.

"The Hapans are proving to be the nuisance the Emperor expected them to be," Brakiss said. "Worry not. The Force is still with us."

"Master, Solo was with them," Harkon said, almost spitting Jacen's surname as he spoke.

"And this worries you?" Brakiss quizzed, probing the mind of his apprentice. Harkon had exceptionally good mental shields, but they were no match for the experience of a Dark Jedi Master. "It does. Worry leads to fear. What have I told you?"

"A Dark Jedi feels no fear," Harkon recited. "Fear simply leads the Jedi to the Dark Side."

"Correct," Brakiss said. He leaned forward. "Do you wish to set a bad example for the Imperial Jedi?"

"No, Master," Harkon said confidently.

"Good," Brakiss commented, leaning back into his comfortable chair. "I wouldn't want you to become a casualty in our war against the Jedi. You are a symbol of Imperial might, but you are by no means indispensable. Keep your feelings clear, my apprentice."

Harkon bowed. "Yes, Master," he said.

"Now, you are dismissed," Brakiss said. "I must prepare for my appointment with the governor."

Harkon obeyed his master, leaving Brakiss alone in his office. Ever since the Emperor had bestowed Brakiss with the rank of Grand Moff of the Second Imperium, essentially making him the Emperor's right hand, his duties were sometimes unpleasant. That a man who had no love for politicians should be made a politician himself was the perfect irony.

"Even the Dark Side has no mercy for those who practice it," he admitted, accepting his fate. Being a Grand Moff did have its perks. Brakiss had decided to take a mistress for the sake of appearances, but even at moments when he enjoyed female attention, he found it inconvenient. The weakness of the flesh made him weak and it sickened him, a master of the Dark Side, that he had to maintain a human appearance so as not to appear to imposing on the Moffs.

+++++++++

Governor Lars Hun was muscular for a Muun, having been a champion bodybuilder on his world before taking a dive into politics. Though his celebrity had made it easy to capitalize on the confidence of the people, Brakiss could tell that the Muun had a cold, calculating mind.

"Governor Brakiss," Hun said, rising from behind his desk to shake the Grand Moff's hand. His office provided an excellent view of the city below. The governor's mansion was decorated in excellent taste. "It is always good to have you visit."

"Likewise, Governor Hun," Brakiss lied, but he could always use Force suggestion to make most people believe he was telling the truth. The Muun was no exception.

Lars walked over to the bar he had in his office. The governor turned to face the Dark Jedi and asked, "Would you care for some Corellian Brandy?"

"Please," Brakiss replied. If anything, he could at least appreciate a good drink to be diplomatic.

After a moment, Lars returned with two glasses filled with the brown liquid. Brakiss graciously took his glass and sipped the brandy. The Muun returned to his desk, taking a seat.

"Our shipyards are operating at peak capacity," Lars said, getting down to business. "The skunkworks has been pretty active with the Empire's little black project."

Brakiss knew what Lars was referring to. The Empire had been heavily funding nanotechnology research, seeking to employ it in superweapon applications. However, other offshoots of the project had produced interesting results. Nano factories had been responsible for the shipbuilding boom at Muunilist and other worlds in the Empire. Transponder chips and industrial grade nanopaste made anything possible as long as the fundamental laws of matter and energy were not violated.

Very few knew of it. Most planetary governors knew there was a major black project on Muunilinst. But only those with the highest rank in the Empire knew what was really going on. Lars would probably know sooner or later because a man with his ambition was bound to become a Moff.

"Now, you know that information is classified, Governor Lars," Brakiss said. "But no matter. I came for another reason."

The Muun stared at the Dark Jedi intently as Brakiss stated his business.

 

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SilSolo  8828 posts
Registered: Mar '04
24177_Fan Art - Chiss Jedi
Date Posted: 3/28/05 9:05am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU)
First reply! Nice to see Jacen flying.

 

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Lady_Jedi_Carenix  3602 posts
Registered: Dec '01
23035_Mara Jade
Date Posted: 3/29/05 9:49am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU)
SEQUEL! YAY! grin grin grin

Kyle as Jacen's Master? SWEET! grin I really like that you're giving the lesser used/mostly ignored Jedi (like Kirana and Kyle) and giving them a more fleshed out role. happy

He would become a Jedi champion by slaying the Dark Jedi champion. Most importantly, he would be Tenel Ka's champion, her knight, for righting a terrible wrong in her mother's domain.

Awww... love love

Anyway, excellent start. happy I'm throughly enjoying it. happy

 

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“Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk
Link to J/TK fanfic in bio
JC twin to TheEmperorsHand
Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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RevaDurron  8492 posts
Registered: Jan '05
48854_Jaina Solo (711092)
Date Posted: 3/29/05 9:52am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU)
I've suddenly become interested in Jacen for some reason.

I like the way this has started, and I think I did read the prequel to this, if there was one. I can't be quite sure.

Anyway, post more soon.

*Reva*

 

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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 3/29/05 11:01am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Date Edited: 3/29/05 11:03am (1 edits total) Edited By: Ace_Venom
First reply! Nice to see Jacen flying.

Yes. It's well established in the NJO that Jacen can pilot. They just give other roles to him.

Kyle as Jacen's Master? SWEET! I really like that you're giving the lesser used/mostly ignored Jedi (like Kirana and Kyle) and giving them a more fleshed out role.

I had to think of the most unlikely master/apprentice pair for Jacen. I liked the way Qui and Obi played against each other in TPM and the literature and I thought I'd play on this theme as much as I could.

And we have to give those lesser used characters their day. There was more to the first class than Kyp and Mara.

I like the way this has started, and I think I did read the prequel to this, if there was one. I can't be quite sure.

I remember you reading it. Nice to see a familiar face in this series.

 

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Neo-Paladin  3522 posts
Registered: Dec '04
14777_Binary Sunset
Date Posted: 3/29/05 2:12pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU)
Great beginning Ace Venom. You still strike a great balance of action and story progression. Of course I still enjoy the AU bent you give things.

 

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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 3/30/05 7:19am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 3/30 - Date Edited: 3/30/05 8:46am (2 edits total) Edited By: Ace_Venom
Chapter 2

Leia Organa Solo was a master in the political field, despite the fact that her status as a Jedi Master made her character suspicious to those ambitious Senators who sought to elevate their position by fanning the flames of anti-Jedi sentiment. Like her brother, she had been a hero of the Rebellion, but opted in the end to take the Jedi path.

Having been an Imperial Senator, an Alliance leader, a New Republic Senator and Chief of State for a brief time following Mon Mothma’s illness, Leia was no stranger to the Senate Hall. Luke stood with her behind Cilghal, a Mon Calamari Jedi and the Order’s ambassador to the New Republic, on a Senate pod as it floated into the air due to repulsorlifts.

“Senators of the New Republic,” Cilghal began, “the Jedi I introduce to you are no strangers to the Republic. In the past, they have served as leaders of the Rebel Alliance, both in the military and the political arena. Jedi Masters Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo have come to bring a proposal to the very political system they had a hand in creating.”

Taking the cue, Luke Skywalker stepped forward. “Senators of the New Republic,” he said, “Chief of State Fey’la, as the head of the Jedi Order, I have come before you with an urgent plea on which the fate of our institutions stand. My sister and I have dedicated ourselves to the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic directly in the past, but now we have taken up the path of the traditional peacekeepers of the Old Republic: the Jedi Knights. For a thousand generators, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, before the dark times, before the Empire.”

Leia observed as Luke held a commanding presence over the full Senate Hall. None sought to interrupt him. The speech they had prepared seemed to be going well so far.

“When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine issued the edict that the Jedi were enemies of the Republic, he had wiped away millennia of tradition by destroying the Jedi Order,” Luke continued. “The Jedi Council ceased to exist. The Jedi Temple burned. Many lost their lives in a purge with the assistance of the brutal Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

Leia tried not to show emotion at the mention of her father’s Sith identity. She could feel Luke suppressing the emotions associated with his encounters with the Dark Lord.

“Few survived the harsh realities of the New Order,” Luke said. “Entire worlds were extinguished without the proper checks and balances needed to ensure security of the peoples of the galaxy. Even though I, the last of the Jedi, survived the purge, our numbers are still too few. We have given everything to the peace and security of the New Republic, asking little in return. Now a new Jedi Order has arisen in the Outer Rim Territories under the command of a powerful Sith Lord Kyp Durron, my former student. If Durron’s actions against the Imperial Remnants are any indication of his intentions, they are to snuff out all that we hold dear. This could have been prevented had we had a Council to govern the Jedi Order. Though we enjoy a semi-independent state in the Republic, we have come before you humbly to request permission from the Senate of the New Republic to restore the Jedi Council as a means to properly ensure peace and justice in the galaxy in this terrible time of turmoil.”

Chief of State Borsk Fey’la, having given Luke his undivided attention, spoke. “Answer me this, Master Skywalker,” the Bothan requested. “If the semi-independent status you tout gives you the ability to create a Jedi Council, why are you wasting the time of the Senate with this so-called humble request?”

“Sir,” Luke replied, “we of the Jedi Order have given ourselves as servants to the New Republic. To create our own Jedi Council without getting the approval of the Senate would be a show of arrogance on our own part.”

Another Senate pod rose towards the center of the chamber. It was Viqi Shesh, the black haired Senator from Kuat. “The Jedi Order by its very nature is arrogant,” she spat. “It is a mob of vigilantes, nothing more. How else do you explain the impulsiveness of the Jedi during the Clone Wars and post-Endor campaigns?”

Borsk turned to face Viqi. “The chair has not recognized the Senator of Kuat,” he affirmed.

Rising towards Viqi’s side was a Senator from the Outer Rim world of Hadrian, one of the last Imperial worlds occupied during the Republic during its final campaign against Pelleaon’s Imperial Remnant. He was Goran Kit, a tall imposing former Imperial Moff. “I concur with the honorable Senator’s statements,” he said, his accent betraying his Alderaanian origins. “The Jedi have run amuck, preventing worlds from exercising their rights as sovereign systems.”

Another Senatorial pod joined the chaos. It was Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia. “Senator Kit, you would have your world join the Second Imperium rather than serve the Republic,” he accused bluntly. “Your first appearance in this chamber was in your old Moff’s uniform to show your distaste for the Institution you were elected to serve.”

“My people elected me, Senator Bel Iblis,” Goran spat as he turned to face the Corellia. “I am bound to their interests first and those of the Republic second.”

“Order!” Cordon Jax, Borsk’s aide and a dark-skinned human from the planet Naboo shouted from the Bothan’s side. “We must have order!”

“Senator Kit,” Borsk began, recognizing the chair of Hadrian, “you know that your behavior in the Senate has bordered on intolerable on the occasions that you have elected to grace us for votes in the last two years. I should remind you, like I have reminded former Imperials, that any discussion of seceding from the Republic and joining the Second Imperium is nothing short of treason.”

“This body is corrupted by the Jedi, Chief Fey’la,” Senator Kit accused. “Perhaps we should discuss a Jedi Exclusion Act instead of giving this mob more means to subvert the system.”

“I object!” Leia howled, finally stepping in front of Luke. Even without the Force, her presence demanded attention. “Without the Jedi, serious galactic crises may not have been averted. The Jedi are responsible for helping ensure security during the Black Fleet Crisis, the Almanian Rebellion, the Crisis of Corellian Secession, unraveling the mysteries of the Second Imperium, aiding Hapan authorities in tracking down Imperial sponsored Dark Jedi pirates in their borders and not to mention that my own son was responsible for preventing a terrible plague from being unleashed, one that would have targeted humans.”

“I do not dispute the success of Jedi Order, Master Solo,” Kit conceded. “But allow me to list its failures.” He raised his right hand and began counting fingers. “The Jedi Order failed to prevent the destruction of Imperial worlds by Kyp Durron, who was trained under Luke Skywalker and used the Sun Crusher, a superweapon still at large. You have failed to prevent the return of the Sith, the very Order that was responsible in aiding the downfall of the Old Republic and the Galactic Empire. You have not done anything aid in the investigation of missing persons that are presumably being kidnapped by this insidious Dark Jedi training school in the Outer Rim Territories, effectively allowing the enemy to acquire resources from within our own borders.”

After taking a breath, Kit continued. “According to accounts from Jacen Solo, you have allowed the technology of lightsaber construction fall into enemy hands, effectively allowing the Dark Jedi to become armed warriors. Furthermore, your claims of service to the Republic are asinine. If you truly served the Republic, the Jedi Order of Yavin 4 would apply for membership status.”

“So, Senator,” Leia began, “you have counted on your hand the failures of the Jedi Order, as if five failures could undermine the overwhelming success of our resource strapped organization?”

“If you cost the New Republic millions of credits and major embarrassments, then those failures are extremely valid counters to the successes that could just have easily been dealt with by the military,” Viqi countered. “Perhaps Palpatine was right. We have no need of such an outdated institution known as the Jedi Order when we now have an army capable of keeping the security of the state.”

“For a woman that was in diapers at the time of the Battle of Yavin, I really don’t think you have a true understanding of what men like me faced during the dark times,” Senator Bel Iblis quipped. The former Chief of State was not always known for his tact and that brought a smirk to Leia’s face.

“Order!” Jax bellowed. “The next person that makes an out of line will be expelled from the Senate Chamber for the duration of this session!”

Bel Iblis only wore a smug look directed in Leia’s direction, saying nothing else. Shesh and Kit’s pods returned to their fixed positions on the wall.


“Is there a motion to vote on the act to create the Jedi Council?” Borsk questioned.

“I move that we submit this matter to a vote,” Garm Bel Iblis said.

“Is there a second?” asked Fey’la.

A Senatorian pod representing the Senator of Mon Calamari rose in the hall. There stood the former Admiral Ackbar, having run for the Senate after his retirement from the military due to the rise of the Second Imperium. “I second it,” Ackbar said, his once strong features appearing to be frail due to all the stress he had experienced during the one year of his term.

“The matter will be presented in a vote tomorrow,” Borsk Fey’la said. “I move for a brief recess.”

Leia looked to Luke. Her brother was wearing his game face, appearing emotionless as the Chief of State spoke.

+++++++++

Jacen Solo blinked just as he came out of his trance moments before his Trident Fighter dropped out of hyperspace over Yavin 4. The jungle covered fourth moon of Yavin edged closer on his approach.

“Home sweet home,” the Jedi apprentice said.

The Hapan Starfigher entered the atmosphere and Jacen immediately felt at peace. Yavin 4 was a nexus in the Force. If there were a bright center to the universe, that moon would be it.

Jacen landed his starfighter in the fighter hangar of the Great Temple. He noted that the Shadow Chaser was docked there, meaning that Zekk was probably on the moon as well. He had last seen Zekk when Jacen and Kyle had teamed up with the young Jedi Knight during the hunt to unravel the Diversity Alliance. Jacen searched with the Force, but didn’t sense his sister on the moon.

After opening the canopy, Jacen leapt onto the floor, cushioning his fall with the Force. Such a display of power was frowned upon, but not against the rules of the Jedi Order. He noticed a few Jedi students were working on some machines with the assistance of Chewbacca.

“Chewie!” Jacen shouted as he approached the elder Wookiee.

Chewbacca turned his attention away from the power generator he was disassembling and turned to face Jacen. The Wookiee howled happily before walking over to Jacen and engulfing him in a massive hug.

“Okay, Chewie!” Jacen exclaimed. “I missed you too.”

Chewbacca released Jacen and said a few words to Jacen.

“Kyle went to Coruscant for his holiday,” Jacen told the Wookiee. “I heard my sister was now Aunt Mara’s apprentice.”

The Wookiee confirmed that for Jacen and gave him some information about Anakin being Luke’s apprentice, but that he was on Yavin 4 while Luke and Leia attended to business on Coruscant.

“Well, isn’t this great?” Jacen heard Zekk say as the nineteen-year-old Jedi walked in behind him. “I didn’t think I’d see you here, Jacen.”

Jacen turned to face Zekk. The two friends shook hands vigorously. “What are you doing here?” Jacen asked.

“Well, I’ve been resisting it for a while, but Master Tionne asked me to take an apprentice,” Zekk said. “I feel I’m a bit young to have one, but she insisted that I share my training with someone.”

“You have anyone in mind?” Jacen quizzed.

Zekk just shrugged, causing his Jedi robes to ruffle.

“Well, good luck with your search,” Jacen said. “And may the Force be with you.”

“And with you,” Zekk said as he walked past Jacen and Chewbacca.


+++++++++

Zekk took a moment to observe the young woman practicing with a remote. Kalena Ti stared at the remote intently, her emerald lightsaber blazing brightly as she readied herself for the onslaught. Out by one of the many lakes on Yavin 4, Zekk remembered his first time training with a remote at the age of twelve. But he was also paying attention to the Dathomirian’s natural beauty. Her long brown hair was tied in warrior braids and her tall frame was that of a powerful warrior. That she was only covered in lizard hides gave little for the imagination to work with.

Zekk then shook his head. He couldn’t believe that he was having those thoughts about Kalena, his former Master’s daughter.

Kalena brought her weapon to her side to intercept one stun bolt before she twisted down and to the left to deflect another. Then, with a swift upward swipe, the emerald sword blocked a stun bolt from hitting her right between the eyes.

The remote changed positions, spinning and hovering in the air. Kalena followed the remote with her chocolate brown eyes, attuning her body to the Force. She took a step back and with just a single-handed grip, she deflected the first of the next round of stun bolts away from her chest. The emerald sword twirled in her hand as she managed to protect herself from two more bolts coming at her in rapid succession. The last of the two managed to fly back towards the remote, scoring a direct hit. As per its program, the remote shut down and fell onto the ground.

“You know, they hate it when trainees do that,” Zekk said, smirking at Kalena.

“Well, it’s not like I have many people good enough to practice swordplay with me,” Kalena said with cockiness as she turned to face Zekk.

“You know, you should ask Master Solo to go a round with you,” Zekk said. “She’s better than Master Skywalker, you know.”

“I would, but she’s not here,” Kalena said quickly. Zekk could tell she would rather not challenge the Jedi Master.

“Well, how about you go a round with me?” Zekk challenged. “But let’s make things interesting. If you beat me, then good for you. But if I beat you, then you have to become my apprentice.”

Kalena stared at Zekk. She had some measure of respect for the young man since her mother had trained him, but many of the prejudices from her homeworld died hard. “You’re on,” she said, accepting Zekk’s challenge.

Zekk shrugged off his brown Jedi robes, revealing his black tunic and trousers. He reached for the lightsaber clipped to his belt. He depressed the activation stud and his sapphire energy blade emerged from the emitter matrix with a snap-hiss.

The two combatants circled each other with eyes locked. “You sure you don’t want to go down to practice settings?” Kalena questioned, trying to test Zekk’s confidence.

“Oh come on,” Zekk said, throwing her one of his smirks. “That just wouldn’t be the Dathomirian way, would it?”

“With a look like that, I’d think you were expecting me to take you as my slave rather than you trying to make me your apprentice,” Kalena teased lightly.

Zekk winked suggestively before his facial features hardened. The two warriors ceased their circling and took time to bow to each other.

Kalena made the first move, thrusting aggressively at Zekk’s sword arm. Zekk immediately recognized the Dathomirian’s Form V stance and adjusted his weight as he pivoted his wrist and parried her blow using a single-handed grip. Zekk retracted and launched a powerful riposte meant to strike at Kalena’s abdomen.

Forced to step back and to the right, Kalena tightened her grip on her lightsaber as she brought her blade down to intercept his blow. She pushed upward, trying to use her strength to dislodge Zekk’s weapon from his right hand.

But Zekk sidestepped, twirling his weapon in his right hand before he lunged for her throat. He knew he was making her frustrated by his use of Form II, a form he had studied for the last two years. He figured that learning the archaic technique would better prepare him for facing Dark Jedi.

Kalena clenched her teeth as she managed to knock Zekk’s blue blade away with the continuing upward swing of her green energy sword. She couldn’t believe that Zekk was able to so easily exploit the weakness in her technique. The Dathomirian had always relied on the power of Form V to make her one of the best among her peers when it came to saber dueling.

The Dathomirian switched to a single-handed grip as she spun around to cut Zekk off at the knees. Zekk easily leapt over the blade and landed on his feet just after the lightsaber passed. The young Jedi then took a few steps back to prepare for Kalena’s next round of attacks.

Rushing, Kalena relied on speed for her next attack. Gripping with two hands, she viciously swung her lightsaber up and to the left. But Zekk saw through this offense and easily parried the blow, this time resorting to a two-handed grip. Face tightened with intent, he locked their sabers and pushed to the right. The saber lock was broken and before Kalena could act, Zekk reverted to the single-handed grip and thrust for her right arm.

Kalena moved swiftly to parry the blow, but it was a sloppy move using a single-handed grip. Zekk’s blade was caught under hers and he twisted his wrist and pushed up, causing the Dathomirian’s lightsaber to fly into the air and deactivate as it lost contact with her hand. And before Kalena could call her lightsaber back to her hand with the Force, Zekk used a light Force push to force her against a tree.

Kalena’s chocolate brown eyes widened as she saw the tip of Zekk’s blue blade stop just millimeters from her throat. “Okay, so maybe I was overconfident,” the Dathomirian said.

“Maybe?” Zekk asked with a teacher’s amusement. “I have a word of advice for you. You should never rely on studying just one form. You may fight with one form, but study the weaknesses of the other six forms to better adjust your technique.”

“Is that your first lesson?” Kalena asked her new Master.

Zekk deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. “You could say that, my new apprentice,” he said, showing no visible pride in having knocked Kalena’s ego down a few notches.

Kalena called her lightsaber back to her with the Force and clipped it to her belt. “Well, I was almost expecting my mom to train me, but a bet’s a bet,” she said, though she wasn’t enthusiastic about the prospect of training under a man.

Zekk could sense Kalena’s emotions through the Force, but chose not to comment. He would be able to gain her trust over a period of time.

++++++++

Hapes was perhaps one of the most important business centers in the galaxy. Before the alliance with the New Republic, it had just been the commercial center of the Hapes Consortium. Since then, the New Republic had some offices on Hapes, adding some strength to the economy. Even the Imperial Remnant, which had later become the Second Imperium, had set up shop there. But a largely protectionist economy prevented too much expansion by foreign investors, despite the wishes of some Hapan entrepreneurs.

Tenel Ka was very wise about the ways of the galaxy at just the age of sixteen. Her two years on Yavin 4 and the many adventures she had experienced opened her eyes beyond the Dathomirian traditions she had so firmly clung to out of distaste for her Hapan heritage. She knew she owed much to Master Solo for helping her balance the political awareness she needed to have and the Jedi skills that made her aware of the Force. Those abilities were heavily needed for the trying times that faced the Consortium.

Taking a break from her Jedi training had been Master Solo’s idea. The Alderaanian princess felt that Tenel Ka was needed on Hapes just as she was needed on Coruscant. Though she saw the wisdom in Leia’s choice, she would have preferred to be by her master’s side or the side of any Jedi for that matter. All the stories that Tenel Ka had heard about Jacen Solo made her remember the silly, yet confident and torn teenager she had known briefly on Yavin 4. That he could perform such brave feats throughout the galaxy made him a hero in the media for even the harshest critics of the Jedi. They had called him “the man without fear.”

As Tenel Ka listened to another potential suitor as he walked with her through the gardens, she could only wonder why out of all the times her mother had requested the aid of Kyle Katarn and Jacen Solo that they had never come to Hapes. Teneniel Djo had been reluctant to extend the hand of hospitality with the growing intensity of anti-Jedi sentiment in the Hapes Cluster.

“So, what do you think of your grandfather’s return from the dead, milady?” the blonde haired male asked.

Tenel Ka had never taken the opportunity to study the man, noting that he was almost feminine in appearance. No, she told herself. He definitely won’t do.

“It could all be a hoax,” Tenel Ka said. “The Force has grown cloudy due to the presence of a Sith Lord in the Outer Rim.”

“I know your family is one of warriors, milady,” the male said. “Why don’t you find him?”

Tenel Ka had considered that more than once. Khan Mord had been a powerful Jedi during the last days of the Old Republic. He had been a peer of Anakin Skywalker and exhibited just as much prowess during the opening months of the Clone Wars, having survived Geonosis and other risky campaigns against all odds. But when Khan abandoned his commission out of a plea in a chance meeting with his family to resolve the Hapan Civil War, he would go on to prove his power many times over as well as his political savvy. Tenel Ka found it hard to believe that her grandmother Ta’a Chume could love, but from what she was told, her grandparents had been very much in love.

But what disturbed her the most were Khan’s actions since his sudden reappearance. Khan had declared from his station in the Rifle Worlds that the Consortium had grown corrupt in his absence and that unity was being abandoned for special interests. He even went so far to declare Teneniel Djo’s rule as illegitimate due to the fact that she was born outside the Hapes Consortium. Even his own presence in the Rifle Worlds presented a succession crisis due to the fact that he had never abdicated his position as Consort.

“If he has not come forward now, he never will,” Tenel Ka said after a brief pause. “Now, I’d like to spend some time alone. You are free to continue to enjoy the accommodations of the Fountain Palace.”

“As you wish, milady,” he said, taking a brief bow. As he turned to left, Tenel Ka had to restrain a chuckle due to the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to remember his name. That’s one more guy’s hopes to vape at dinner! she exclaimed to herself gleefully.

Tenel Ka turned to the skies, wondering when she would be given another mission.

 

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I bleed Cubbie blue.
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Neo-Paladin  3522 posts
Registered: Dec '04
14777_Binary Sunset
Date Posted: 4/1/05 3:19pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 3/30
One of the things I love about your work is that you expand points and ideas that really aren't touched anywhere else.
Case in point: the political descent in the Senate from old Imperial strongholds. I don't know why we didn't see much of that considering how fertile a ground the Senate could be for plots and political thrillers.

So Zekk has taken on an apprentice already? It seems he's moving fast, and made an interesting choice.

I'll be pleased to see the J/TK angle bloom. I'm compelled to ask, will we see some Z/J action in this fic?

 

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Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
Edward R. Murrow
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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 4/2/05 7:30pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 3/30
Chapter 3

Isolder, Prince Consort to the Queen Mother Teneniel Djo, found himself stricken with worry as he gazed from a balcony in the Fountain Palace. It wasn’t just any balcony. It was his, one of the few items in life to which he could lay such a claim.

Knowing nothing of the Force, Isolder could only trust his intuition. Something was going wrong. Something he couldn’t see, but he could feel it.

“My love, what troubles you?” Teneniel Djo questioned, breaking Isolder from his thoughts.

Isolder turned to face his wife. She had pulled a turquoise robe around her body and her face was as plain as the day he met her. No, there were no cosmetics wizards working on her to make her what they deemed presentable. The Dathomirian possessed a natural beauty that the Prince Consort still found intoxicating enough to at least bright light to his face.

“I fear,” Isolder admitted. “I fear for everything we have built here.”

Teneniel nodded thoughtfully. “Master Skywalker told me that I shouldn’t fear, but I do too,” the Queen admitted. “I worry about our daughter.”

“And what of our son?” Isolder asked as he approached his very pregnant wife.

The Queen sighed. “Anxiety doesn’t do him any good, does it?” she asked before placing her right hand on her rounded abdomen.

Isolder placed a hand over his wife’s hand. “Oh,” he said, his voice betraying that undeniable hint of rare humor, “he won’t appreciate it that much. Twenty years later, he’ll be grateful for all the gray hairs he’s given us.”

Teneniel chuckled before staring into her husband’s eyes. Contrary to her world’s traditions and even the traditions of Hapes, the Queen Mother had always looked to her Prince as an equal. “As if Tenel Ka hasn’t given us enough with all her adventures,” she said lightly. Despite having been a warrior herself, Teneniel still suffered from a mother’s worry. If anyone were to perish on the field of battle, she would rather it not be her offspring.

“She’s making my mother’s hair fall out with her frequent refusal of potential suitors,” Isolder remarked. “We really didn’t do a bad job with her.”

“No,” Teneniel agreed. “She’s the child every warrior on my homeworld dreams of having.” She sighed, knowing what would be next. “She has to go back to my home, Isolder. She must pass her rite of passage before she can be the heir to my legacy.”

Isolder knew that was coming. It was part of the reason that Leia had sent Tenel Ka back to Hapes. His daughter had to remember why she was going to Dathomir if she were pass her trials. Tenel Ka had many responsibilities, none of which would exist had he married one of the many women Ta’a Chume had recommended.

When Isolder tilted his wife’s face so she could face him, he didn’t regret his actions for a moment. The meeting of their lips only further cemented that point to him.

+++++++++

Jacen was relaxing by a campfire with Zekk. The two had decided to prepare a stew over the open flame and trade stories over food and ale. Jacen had missed his friend, one of the first he made at the Jedi Academy. And it all came flooding back to him as the spoke.

“So, what did her mother say?” Jacen quizzed before feeding a spoonful of stew into his mouth.

“I didn't get a chance to speak to Kirana before she left,” Zekk admitted as he leaned over the stew pot and drew a second helping with the ladle. “I don’t imagine she won’t disapprove of me taking her daughter as my apprentice.”

“Don’t you think you are a little young to train someone my age?” asked Jacen.

Zekk sat cross-legged before the campfire. “I never said I expected Kirana’s approval either,” he admitted before he began consuming his second bowl of stew.

Jacen nodded thoughtfully. “So, how long have you been away from Yavin 4?”

“Long enough,” Zekk answered after swallowing. “But that’s the life of a Jedi, you know.”

“Sometimes I wonder about that,” Jacen admitted.

“About what?” questioned Zekk.

“Well, we’ve been so busy ever since the Battle of Bastion that we haven’t had the time to really pay attention to the Force,” Jacen explained. “It’s as if we are only allowing ourselves to be terminal interfaces with the Force and not seeking to understand it.”

“I’m not sure anyone can understand the Force, Jacen,” Zekk said.

Jacen sighed. “I had this same debate with Anakin right after we got off Ryloth,” he revealed. A grin appeared on his face as he felt a familiar sensation in the Force. Turning his head to his right, Jacen said, “Well, speak of the Sith Lord.”

“Hello, Jacen,” Anakin Solo said. He was only about a year and a half younger than his brother. Unlike his brother’s brown hair and brown eyes, Anakin hair was black and his eyes an icy blue. His lean build gave him one similarity to his older brother. “I had heard you were back at the Academy.”

“Yes, where were you?” Zekk asked, curious that he didn’t find Anakin earlier.

“Tahiri and I found another temple,” Anakin replied, focusing on the Jedi Knight as he approached the campfire. “It didn’t look like the other temples here. It felt much older.”

“You think it was one of Naga Sadow’s temples?” Jacen questioned. Naga Sadow, a Dark Lord of the Sith, had briefly set up base on Yavin 4 during the Great Hyperspace War five millennia ago.

“There was no darkness there,” Anakin said before he took a seat on the ground next to his brother. He motioned to the stew and Zekk nodded. The younger teen grabbed one of the spare bowls and helped himself to a serving of stew. “It was almost as if the Force was drawn to that one location.”

“That’s strange,” Jacen said.

Zekk rubbed his chin. “Why didn’t we see this place before?” the Knight spoke his thoughts.

Anakin was about to say something when Jacen and he felt a tug in the Force. For Jacen it was stronger, but for both brothers, the feeling was unmistakable. “Jaina!” the brothers shouted in unison.

+++++++++

One thing in the galaxy that Jaina Solo ever expected was to encounter a group of Mandalorian warriors. Being chased to Dathomir by Mandalorians would have been the last thing she expected. But with Mara Jade Skywalker at her side, Jaina felt the odds of her survival might be better than if she was alone.

But the odds still weren’t that much better.

Jaina pushed her way out of the wreckage of the Jade Saber, washing away her discomfort with the Force as she pulled her lightsaber from her belt. She saw Mara Jade Skywalker already outside on the rocky terrain, lightsaber in the grip of her right hand, staring at the dawn skies. Jaina could sense the displeasure radiating from her master.

“I know I should have never let Zekk get the Shadow Chaser,” Mara groaned. “Losing ships is starting to get old.”

Jaina stood beside her Master and gazed at the heavens. She knew the Mandalorians would pursue. It was inevitable. The Shadow Academy had indoctrinated that much in those elite soldiers. With the Empire paying Boba Fett to train them, the young apprentice had a sinking feeling that Dathomir was about to become another front in the cold war between Jedi and Dark Jedi, Jedi and Mandalorian.

Suddenly, Jaina’s danger sense flared and she swiftly activated her violet energy blade. Unlike the weapon Brakiss had given her at the Shadow Academy, it was a device born from her labors, a test of her Jedi skills.

Mara ignited her own blue sword with a lightsaber’s signature snap-hiss. It was time to test the skill of the Jedi weapons against the hardened combat skills of Mandalorian warriors.

From a shuttle, five warriors emerged, falling from the skies. Each fired their rocket packs to control their descent. Blaster pistols drawn, they began to fire once they were in range.

Master and apprentice, prepared for the onslaught, fell into the Force, gaining leverage with their feet to angle their bodies and blades to cut blindingly fast through the air as violet and blue swords deflected blaster bolts.

The five warriors landed. Pristine gray and blue armored suits covered four men, but Mara and Jaina could easily recognize the pitted and worn armor of the green suited man. Boba Fett rarely took command of a group of Mandalorians unless it was for money. Apparently, the Empire was desperate enough to spare the necessary credits.

Five pairs of blaster pistols were leveled at the Jedi.

“End of the line, Skywalker and Solo,” Fett said with the rough voice of his progenitor. Boba Fett had been the clone of Jango Fett, but he was greater than his parent in every way. “Lord Fenrir doesn’t want his prize harmed, so drop your weapons.”

That Fett used a singular term instead of a plural term made Jaina uneasy. But she washed those feelings away with a simple calming technique.

“I suppose you’ll do anything for money these days, won’t you Fett?” Mara taunted in her usual uncharacteristic Jedi manner.

“Business is business, Skywalker,” Fett replied gruffly.

“Send Fenrir out here and we’ll talk,” Jaina told the Mandalorian warrior. “We’re getting sick and tired of facing his lackeys.”

And with that, five pairs of blaster pistols were fired.

Jaina and Mara were total opposites in combat. While Mara relied mostly on defense, Jaina employed a more offensive style, turning blaster bolts back towards their origin with devastating power and speed. Standing side by side, the blazing blue and violet columns would have unnerved most warriors.

But it only served to be yet another test for hardened Mandalorians. One by one, the warriors fired their rockets and soared into the air. Jaina followed one Mandalorian before she leapt into the air with the assistance of the Force to catch him in the head with her right boot. The man groaned as he fell to the ground.

Jaina didn’t have time to celebrate. More blaster bolts rained from above and her side. Her violet saber cut through the air impossibly fast in unconnected maneuvers as she flew back towards the surface. Up. Down. Right. Left. Each movement presented a combination of the major directions.

Having no easy time herself, Mara took a few steps back as she frequently rocked her arms to meet each blast from a Mandalorian that had taken interest in her. She spun her blue lightsaber once in her left hand as the warrior turned around, keeping his back to her. She had to be prepared for anything.

Anything just happened to be in the form of a falling thermal detonator.

Mara, sensing the danger, dove to her right and rolled along the rocky surface. Then, standing on just one knee, she whipped her head around to watch the detonator’s descent. She locked her lightsaber blade to remain on before she hurled it at the explosive device. The energy blade cut through it, effectively making the explosive useless since it could no longer go critical.

Then, with a call from her mind, Mara summoned her lightsaber back to her right hand.

Jaina landed on the surface by the Mandalorian she had rendered unconscious. One other unnamed Mandalorian and Boba Fett had taken an interest in the teenage Jedi apprentice. Realizing she couldn’t hope to counter the skill of two Mandalorians at once, Jaina slowly backed away, giving ground as they unleashed the power of their blaster pistols.

Jaina was a brave fighter, but she was more cautious than her brothers despite the blinding precision of her lightsaber technique. She needed to gauge her opponent’s attack patterns. Fett may have been able to improvise with ease, but the other Mandalorian seemed too predictable.

Holding her saber in one hand, Jaina held out her right hand and used a Force push to throw Fett twenty meters away, leaving the other Mandalorian stunned.

Mara looked up at the Mandalorian that was giving her trouble. He had gone too far out of range to attack her, but the Jedi Knight did not want to think that he was retreating. She decided to save him for later before running to join her apprentice.

Jaina rocketed towards her opponent, twirling her lightsaber to deflect oncoming blaster bolts. When the Mandalorian attempted to rocket into the air, Mara was on him, leaping into the air and landing a drop kick to his chest.

Boba Fett crawled to his feet and clenched his fist around one blaster pistol. He took aim and fired.

A single blaster bolt impacted Jaina in the shoulder, earning a scream of anguish. The young Jedi dropped her lightsaber, with deactivated as it left her grip.

Mara landed on her feet just as the flying Mandalorian landed to her right.

Fett aimed his pistol at her. “As I said, end of the line,” he said coolly.

++++++++

Jacen Solo rushed to his Trident fighter, leaving Zekk and Anakin to question his haste.

“You know, you can’t always rush across the galaxy just because your sister gets hurt,” Zekk said, speaking as a Knight would to a lowly apprentice.

Jacen ignored them, climbing the ladder into the opening canopy. “Well, put it this way,” he finally said as he was seated in the cockpit. “It gives me an excuse to see my sister.”

But Jacen also knew something they didn’t. Jaina was the only reason he was able to return from the Dark Side at the Battle of Bastion. Jaina came for him when he needed help. If he didn’t go to his sister in her time of need, he didn’t know what he would do.

The canopy closed over Jacen’s head as he initiated his starfighter’s startup program. “I’m coming, Jaina,” he said.

Zekk looked to Anakin. Both were thinking the same thing. “It can’t hurt,” Zekk finally said. “Go fire up the Shadow Chaser. I’ll go get Kalena.” With that, Zekk rushed deeper into the Great Temple.

+++++++++

“These Jedi aren’t worth your trouble,” an old man said.

An old man dressed in a brown Jedi cloak approached Mara, Jaina and the Mandalorians.

Soon, it was four Mandalorians standing and they were all confused by the appearance of the old man.

The old man removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his weathered face. Long, thin strands of white hair hung from his head, framing a face that featured a long white beard.

“Streen!” Mara exclaimed.

“Mara,” Streen said before holding out his right hand. Through the use of the Force, he caused the barrels of the Mandalorian blaster pistols to bend, making them useless. “I thought they were still teaching at the Academy that there were alternatives to fighting.”

“You’re out of your league, old man,” Boba Fett said as he dove for his other blaster pistol on the ground.

Two Mandalorians aimed their right wrists at Streen and unleashed their powerful flamethrowers.

Streen leapt over the column of flames, calling his lightsaber from the belt inside his cloak. Before he landed, the old Jedi held a green glowing blade. Streen was a Jedi Master and one that would not be bested so easily. With a turn of his body, Streen’s saber flew through the air, cutting through the wrists of the flamethrowing Mandalorians.

Mara already had the other unnamed Mandalorian covered, holding the tip of her lightsaber to his throat. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned.

Jaina groaned as she opened her eyes, watching Streen as he moved into action. She had only met the Jedi Master a few times in her life, but the old hermit’s command over the Force was nearly unparalleled.

Fett was back to his feet, launching himself into the air with his rockets and firing on Streen with a single blaster pistol.

Streen easily deflected the shots, standing firm and presenting an indomitable form on the ground.

Fett landed back in the shuttle, leaving the Jedi alone on the surface.

Streen deactivated his lightsaber and walked over to Jaina. He knelt beside Leia’s daughter and looked at her wound, “I have some bacta patches back at my cave. We’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

++++++++

Streen’s mountain cave had been converted into comfortable living quarters, though the furnishings were very few. It was on one of his chairs that Jaina sat as Streen applied the bacta patch to her exposed shoulder, the arm of her gray flight suit having been thrown on the floor.

Mara had called the Singing Mountain Clan for assistance and the Mandalorians had been taken into custody, allowing her to return to Streen’s hut.

“So this is where you have been for the last two years?” Jaina asked tilting her head to look at the old man’s gray eyes.

“The temple grew too crowded for my tastes,” Streen admitted as he walked over to the cooking surface in his kitchen. Steam flew upwards from a kettle. “Even with my power, I couldn’t shut out all the voices.”

“But I’m sure you’ve been keeping up with all the news,” Mara said, somewhat hoping that the hermit was not oblivious to the threat a few sectors away.

“I’ve heard stories,” Streen said as he poured the water into three cups so he could brew a special tea only found on Dathomir. “I see visions in the Force and I’m well aware of the growing darkness in the Force.”

“So why didn’t you come back?” Jaina asked as she watched the man move around in his kitchen. “The Jedi haven’t exactly been enjoying leisure time.”

Streen levitated two teacups to Mara and Jaina using the Force. “Sometimes we have to stare at the Force instead of rushing headfirst into danger, essentially just using the Force,” the Jedi Master said as he grabbed his cup in his hands and walked back to the den.

Mara and Jaina accepted their tea. Jaina didn’t exactly appreciate the odors that were emerging from the green liquid in her cup, but she decided to sip to be polite. It actually tasted better than it smelled.

“But can we afford to just sit and meditate while the threat is this large?” Mara asked, trying to understand her reclusive friend as she took a seat in a chair.

Streen sat in a chair and stared at Mara and Jaina. “Sometimes we have to do what is necessary,” he answered. “I have been here, meditating for two years. Now, if I had gone my own way instead of listening to the will of the Force, would I have been here to assist you against the Mandalorians?”

Jaina couldn’t dispute that logic, but she also knew that they could have won the day without Streen’s help. Or at least that is what she believed.

“The Jedi aren’t warriors, Mara,” Streen said before taking a sip of tea. “We are servants of the Force.”

“And if the Force calls us to war?” Mara pressed.

Streen sighed. “That is when we fight, but not until,” he stated. “I haven’t been called to fight for a long time.”

Changing the subject, Jaina said, “This is a nice place.”

“It’s simple,” Streen said. “I only require the simple to survive.”

“What made you come to Dathomir?” Mara asked between sips of tea.

Streen turned his head so he could face Mara. “Dathomir has a strong presence in the Force like Yavin 4,” he replied. “It’s just not as noisy.”

Jaina frowned. She didn’t exactly like Yavin 4 or Dathomir. It’s not that she preferred the taste of civilization, but she felt more comfortable being around things with moving parts, some place with more technology.

A knock sounded on Streen’s door. The old man didn’t get visitors often because he preferred solitude. But occasionally, someone would come by his cave. “Come,” he said.

Two Dathomirians entered Streen’s home. Only those who knew one knew she was only half-Dathomirian.

“Kirana Ti, Tenel Ka,” Streen said as she stood. “Welcome back.”

Kirana Ti smiled to the man she had considered a close friend back during the days they trained. He had always seen her as the daughter he never had. “Streen, you know it’s her time,” she said.

“Yes, her vision quest,” Streen said. Since he had decided to take residence on Dathomir, his power over the Force had dictated the need to take one that would be more difficult for a Jedi. “I suppose that it would be wrong to assume that you are her guide.”

“Master Streen, it is not traditional for me to make this request, but I want you to be my spiritual guide,” Tenel Ka requested. The Princess of Hapes was fully prepared for her journey, dressed in her Jedi cloak and carrying enough supplies to last a trip into the mountains.

Streen managed to smile. Such requests didn’t come often.

Suddenly, a bloody Dathomirian warrior stumbled into Streen’s hut. “The Singing Mountain Clan is under attack!” she exclaimed, her voice ragged. “Mandalorians!”

Kirana Ti immediately caught the warrior in her arms to prevent her from falling.

“They just don’t quit, do they?” Mara sneered.

“I’m afraid your vision quest will have to wait, Tenel Ka,” Streen said. “The Singing Mountain Clan needs our help.”

 

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Neo-Paladin  3522 posts
Registered: Dec '04
14777_Binary Sunset
Date Posted: 4/2/05 8:41pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/2
Sweet post. Yet again you show all the things I like about your writing.

 

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Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
Edward R. Murrow
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Lady_Jedi_Carenix  3602 posts
Registered: Dec '01
23035_Mara Jade
Date Posted: 4/11/05 4:27pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/2
ACK! So behind! *hangs head in shame* blush But now I'm all caught up so that's good. happy

Anyway, chapter 2 review:

shock love I loved deft handling of the politics in the Senate; I tend to cop out of writing scenes like that because I have difficulty coming up with situations/dialogue that I haven't seen a million times already and make it interesting to boot. Here the politics play out wonderfully with all the recognizable players involved. Excellent, excellent stuff. love

The interaction between Kalena Ti and Zekk was great. I loved the bet, the lightsaber battle was great fun to read, and while I knew Zekk would end up winning it was still fun to get to that point and find out for sure. happy I also have to say that it really helps out with Kalena's characterization with the almost throw away lines where she views men as being lesser or not being particularly "enthusiastic about the prospect of training under a man". happy

All the stories that Tenel Ka had heard about Jacen Solo made her remember the silly, yet confident and torn teenager she had known briefly on Yavin 4. That he could perform such brave feats throughout the galaxy made him a hero in the media for even the harshest critics of the Jedi. They had called him “the man without fear.”

love love Fangirl moment for the description of Jacen. *sighs*

But when Khan abandoned his commission out of a plea in a chance meeting with his family to resolve the Hapan Civil War, he would go on to prove his power many times over as well as his political savvy. Tenel Ka found it hard to believe that her grandmother Ta’a Chume could love, but from what she was told, her grandparents had been very much in love.
Ta'a Chume could actually love someone?

confused Whoa. I'm definitely interested in meeting this Khan character and see what's going on with him. happy

Review for chapter 3:

Awww! Isolder and Tenienel are so cute together. love I hated how the NJO presented them as having relationship problems when in the YJK everything was apparently fine with them. Grrr...NJO really damaged a number of characters that didn't need hurting. sad

The camp-fire scene with Zekk, Jacen, and Anakin was nicely done (good characterization, dialogue, etc). The mention of the old Sith temple was a nice cannon (I think?) touch. wink happy

One thing in the galaxy that Jaina Solo ever expected was to encounter a group of Mandalorian warriors. Being chased to Dathomir by Mandalorians would have been the last thing she expected. But with Mara Jade Skywalker at her side, Jaina felt the odds of her survival might be better than if she was alone.

But the odds still weren’t that much better.


Wow! shock laugh There was one transition from the camp-fire scene I wasn't expecting. grin Hmm, very interesting to bring in the Mandalorians with a good reason. happy Also, it's nice to see Streen save the day. wink grin

So now there's Tenel Ka's vision quest to explain and the attack on the Singing Moutain Clan. I'm looking forward to the next post. grin

 

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“Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk
Link to J/TK fanfic in bio
JC twin to TheEmperorsHand
Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 4/11/05 6:54pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/2
ACK! So behind! *hangs head in shame* But now I'm all caught up so that's good.

Don't feel so bad. DRL has kept me from updating.

Chapter 2

Well, the reactions of Kalena Ti are more out of my desire to have a character that is similar to Tenel Ka, but completely different. While Tenel Ka embraces her Dathomirian heritage, she is still Hapan, making her perspective different. Growing up on Dathomir, Kalena would be a tad more traditional.

Whoa. I'm definitely interested in meeting this Khan character and see what's going on with him.

It's coming. I promise.

Chapter 3

Awww! Isolder and Tenienel are so cute together. I hated how the NJO presented them as having relationship problems when in the YJK everything was apparently fine with them. Grrr...NJO really damaged a number of characters that didn't need hurting.

Well, I found the stress of the Vong invasion is in no way similar to the scenario I set up here. It's plausible to assume that a different crisis would drive them closer together.

Also, it's nice to see Streen save the day.

Yes, Streen was never really touched on in the EU after the Black Fleet Trilogy. I felt obligated to bring him back.

Ah well, guys. More updates as DLR permits. I promise.

 

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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 4/16/05 1:26pm Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/2 - Date Edited: 4/16/05 4:39pm (3 edits total) Edited By: Ace_Venom
Chapter 4

Some poets of antiquity described the death and destruction of war as a whirlwind that engulfed everything. The Singing Mountain Clan was engulfed in that whirlwind. Bolts of fire rained down from the skies, spreading terror through the village. Dathomirian warrior witches banded together, casting spells to stem the tide of destruction.

Tenel Ka, Mara Jade Skywalker, Jaina Solo, Streen and Kirana Ti rode on their rancors, stopping on a plateau overlooking the village. Tenel Ka narrowed her gaze, focusing on the Force. She immediately sensed a dark presence guiding the attack.

“Could it be the Mandalorian Dark Jedi we’ve been hearing rumors about?” Jaina asked.

“She’s a Nightsister,” Tenel Ka said, her perceptions focused. “She is Nightsister that has embraced the ways of the Mandalorians.”

“We need a battle plan,” Kirana said as she used the Force to sense how many enemies were attacking the village. “I count thirty Mandalorians.”

“I thought the warrior witches held off Imperial Stormtroopers,” Mara said, glancing to Kirana quizzically.

“Mandalorians are infinitely better trained than Stormtroopers,” Streen said. “They’re an elite force sent to defeat the Singing Mountain Clan.”

The sound of more rancors approaching their position forced the Jedi to turn to face the newcomers. A group of Dathomirian warriors from another clan had chosen to join them.

“I am Grala Xan, Warrior Chieftan of the Winding River Clan,” the oldest warrior said. Her graying warrior braids were adorned with feathers and beads. “Our prophets spoke to us of this day and we have come to offer assistance to you, Tenel Ka Chume Ta’ Djo.”

Tenel Ka turned her rancor around so she could address Grala. “Your assistance will be much appreciated,” she said, giving the warrior a rare grin. The Winding River Clan was always known to stick to their own affairs, caring little for the events of other clans. They had been rumored to produce some of the greatest warriors on the planet. The Hapan princess was nothing less than ecstatic over the proposal.

“We had better hurry,” Kirana urged after riding up to Tenel Ka and Grala Xan. “The village won’t last forever.”

++++++++

Nila Xan had been the heir to the Winding River Clan before her hunting party left her for dead. But on that day, she had found destiny. Lord Brakiss had discovered her wounded body and placed her in the care of the Empire’s best medical droids. Eager for vengeance, she accepted Tamith Kai’s training and joined her Nightsister Clan. After advanced Mandalorian training, Nila considered herself the most powerful warrior that Dathomir had ever produced.

“Lady Xan,” Boba Fett said gruffly after landing next to her. Nila had been standing in the village square after slaying yet another wave of warriors from the Singing Mountain Clan. “We have rounded up some prisoners and this clan will not recover for years to come.”

Nila turned to face Fett, her black and green Mandalorian armor reflecting the light of the powerful blaze. “The raid has been successful,” Nila said. “No clans will dare oppose mine now.”

Nila knew if she could read Fett’s face, it would betray nothing. In his old age, Fett had become nothing more than a mercenary. But he was responsible for providing her with valuable training that had made her a fearsome warrior.

“Prepare the shuttles for takeoff,” she ordered. “Tell the men to begin the retreat.”

“As you wish,” Fett said before activating his rockets and propelling into the sky.

Nila smiled underneath her helmet, but that quickly turned into a frown as she felt a tingling sensation in the Force. The Jedi had arrived.

++++++++

Tenel Ka watched Kirana as she took point, moving carefully through the maze of roads surrounded by flaming huts. She knew the old, the men and the children should have retreated to the caves by now. Any remaining warriors were probably making their last stands.

Kirana gave a silent signal through the Force to let Tenel Ka know that it was all clear. Tenel Ka turned to give a hand signal to Rotha Zed, one of the Winding River Clan warriors. Rotha nodded to Tenel Ka and rushed back to the rear to inform the warriors to prepare for action.

Kirana walked slowly, followed by the other Jedi as she tried to avoid getting burned. Just as she was about to wind a corner, a Mandalorian in red armor saw them.

“Stop right there!” he shouted.

The Jedi quickly moved into action, activating their lightsabers as the Mandalorian drew his blaster pistols. Five blades were more than sufficient enough to counter the effects of blaster fire. But this was no ordinary situation. The heat of the blaze made it difficult for the Jedi to move into the appropriate position so as not to deflect blaster bolts onto their comrades.

Streen used a Force push on the Mandalorian just as he was airborne and made him lose balance. He screamed as he fell into a burning hut. His armor helped protect him from the flames, but his weapons did the job. A mine exploded, killing him and sending flaming shards at the Jedi.

Lightsabers ready, the burning boards fell harmlessly away in pieces.

Tenel Ka gripped her lightsaber in her hands, completely focused on the task at hand.

“Streen, you know where the secret caves are?” Tenel Ka asked. When Streen nodded, she said, “Take some warriors with you and secure the caves.”

The Hapan princess naturally fell into the role of command, despite only being a Jedi apprentice. This was her home to defend and everyone knew that.

Just as Streen dashed down one of the corridors, Tenel Ka looked to Mara Jade and Jaina Solo. “Take another group of warriors to the council cavern,” she commanded. “The warriors of this village should be protecting my grandmother if she is still alive. If my grandmother is still alive, join the defense for as long as you can before you have to evacuate.”

“Gotcha,” Mara said before urging Jaina along with her on another road.

Grala Xan walked towards Tenel Ka and Kirana with eight warriors. “Where do you need us?” she asked.

“We’ll move through the village and help anyone we come across,” Tenel Ka replied. “We are to engage any Mandalorians we encounter.”

“We have to move quickly,” Kirana said as she watched an Imperial shuttle pass overhead. “The Mandalorians are withdrawing. This was probably just a raid.”

+++++++++

Jacen Solo burned with intent as his fighter passed through Dathomir’s atmosphere. Closely followed by the Shadow Chaser, Jacen meant to reinforce the defense of the Dathomirians. This was his test, his duty.

“Jacen, I’m detecting a sizeable group of shuttles and attack vessels in the vicinity of the Singing Mountain Clan,” Zekk reported.

“Transport shuttles?” Jacen asked before stretching out his Force perception. “They’re taking prisoners!”

“It’s a raid,” Zekk said plainly. “We’re gonna have to disable the shuttles if we are to keep them from getting away.”

“You worry about the shuttles,” Jacen told Zekk. “I’ll worry about fighters.”

“Jacen, I know you are a good pilot, but be mindful,” Zekk said. “We have to work together.”

There were times that Jacen hated being held back. He was outranked this time and had to go along with the team. “Okay, you disable the shuttles,” Jacen said. “I’ll cover you.”

Jacen called upon all his training, all his knowledge of the Force. He was one with his Trident JY-2 fighter. He would not fail.

As he approached the surface, Jacen saw one of the shuttles leaving the village. “There’s one,” he said. “He’s coming up on my nine.”

“We see him,” Zekk responded.

Jacen whipped his fighter in a tight turn as he swooped down towards the retreating shuttle. He tightened his grip on the stick before exchanging fire with the shuttle as the Shadow Chaser flew in from above. Just as the shuttle dodged Jacen’s cannons, Zekk pelted it with his ion cannon.

Jacen fired the towline on his fighter. The towline connected and he dragged the shuttle back to the surface. When he was close enough, Jacen detached the towline, letting the ship crash land with some safety.

“Scratch one,” Zekk said.

Two more shuttles were leaving the village just as Jacen flew back towards the Shadow Chaser. But this time, the shuttles weren’t alone. Slave IV followed close behind.

++++++++

Streen made good time with Rotha Zed and her comrades as he approached the network of secret caves. He was astonished to find that the defenders lay dead and two shuttles were leaving, apparently with prisoners.

Rotha Zed began chanting a spell, causing the sky to darken. She was calling on a storm to disrupt the shuttles.

Streen held out his right hand, trying to grip one of the shuttles with the Force. “Size matters not,” he told himself as he closed an invisible fist around the bullet-shaped shuttle. With a pull, Streen yanked the shuttle back towards the surface.

After skidding along the walls of the canyon, the shuttle came to a rest on a rock outcropping. Two Mandalorian warriors in red battle armor emerged, firing their blaster pistols at the ones who sought to stop them.

Three warrior witches were hit, one of them mortally. Streen turned to face the Mandalorians, holding his green energy blade menacingly. Now was not the time for fancy tricks. It was time to fight.

Rotha Zed was all that was left of her party of warrior witches and she turned her power on the Mandalorians. One screamed as he was pushed down and fell into the depths of the canyon. The other regained his footing and ignited his rockets, allowing him to escape the witch’s wrath.

Streen didn’t have time to lecture on the dangers of the Dark Side. He was already leaping from rock ledge to rock ledge with the assistance of the Force, twirling his lightsaber as the Mandalorian fired relentlessly. Not a single blaster bolt hit its mark as Streen expertly deflected the shots.

The Mandalorian made another pass, but Streen was ready for him. He held out his left hand and called upon the Force. He probed, trying to find the mechanism to disable his rockets. He made a mental click as he found what he was looking for, causing the rockets to misfire and the Mandalorian to spin wildly out of control.

Forced to jettison his rocket pack, the Mandalorian fell onto the ledge in front of Streen as the jetpack exploded far above them. He groaned as he tried to stand, but found Streen’s lightsaber poised to pierce his skull.

“I surrender,” the Mandalorian spat.

Streen allowed a brief grin. He had at least saved some of the prisoners.

++++++++

Tenel Ka and Kirana Ti rushed with the warriors towards the village square, encountering a few stragglers along the way. Encounters with Mandalorians were infrequent and inconclusive as they opted to escape rather than face the Jedi.

The blaze burned even more intense as the group reached the village square, almost as if it burned unnaturally strong. When they saw who was at the center of the conflagration, the Jedi understood why.

A Mandalorian warrior was manipulating the flames with her hands, using the Dark Side of the Force to control the blaze. “I was wondering when I would have the chance to face the Jedi,” she said.

“We’ll handle this,” Kirana told the warrior witches.

“That voice,” Grala said as she took a few steps forward. “Nila?”

“Mother,” Nila responded flatly. “I was just about to ask when I could succeed you.” She wrapped tendrils of flame around her armored right arm before she hurled a column of fire at Grala.

Tenel Ka rushed forward, creating a cushion with the Force. She held out her left hand as she strained against Nila’s Dark Side push. The flames collided with the barrier and a massive flare erupted in all directions.

Kirana rushed towards Nila, her violet-white energy sword ready for action.

Nila responded to Kirana’s charge by launching another volley of flames. Kirana had to call upon the Force to shield her from the attack. Her rush was halted as the Dathomirian Jedi Master was forced to stand her ground.

Grala Xan was busy chanting a spell with her warriors. Storm clouds began to furiously drop rain on the village, bring much of the blaze to a halt. Nila tried to hold it back, increasing the intensity of her flames with the Force. But she was no match for their combined efforts.

Nila ignited her rockets and blasted into the air. Holding out her arms, she began to add intensity to the storm as she attempted to turn the spell back on the casters with a counterspell of her own. It worked.

Lightning bolts flashed, impacting several Dathormirian warrior witches. Only the quick reflexes of the Jedi prevented more mayhem from occurring. But the damage was done. The storm was Nila’s to command.

“You don’t understand the Dark Side, mother!” Nila bellowed as she gathered a wall of water with the Force and fashioned it into a scythe. The cutting blade swung down, only countered by Tenel Ka’s and Kirana’s lightsabers. Water evaporated, blunting the effectiveness of the weapon.

Another bolt of lightning came down, but this time Nila drew it towards herself, harnessing its energy through her body. She then extended her hands and unleashed a powerful web of lightning on the remaining warriors.

“Nila!” Grala screamed as she poured all her power into her spells. She gave her strength to the Jedi, allowing them to use the Force to form an energy shield around them. The web dissipated harmlessly around the shield.

Nila laughed maniacally as she soared into the air. She was retreating, having achieved her objectives.

++++++++

Jacen Solo gritted his teeth as he dodged Boba Fett’s blaster cannons, initiating a tight turn to port. While Jacen had the Force, Fett had years of pilot experience. He wouldn’t go down easily.

“Zekk, a little help here!” Jacen requested.

The Shadow Chaser was completely invulnerable thanks to its quantum armor plating. Fett realized this and broke off his attack as soon as possible. He would live to fight another day.

“We’ll get him next time,” Zekk said as Slave IV flew out of his range.

“Looks like the battle is over at least,” Jacen said as he flew towards the remains of the Singing Mountain Clan’s village.

++++++++

Streen and Rotha Zed joined the other warriors outside the council’s cavern with a prisoner in tow. He was relieved to see Mara and Jaina among them.

“They didn’t hit this area very hard,” Streen observed.

“Most of the warriors had retreated here already,” Mara informed him. “Augwynne Djo was wounded in the fighting.”

Streen stretched out his Force sense. “Well, it seems she’ll be fine,” he said.

Another exhausted group of Dathomirian warriors approached the cavern. Kirana and Tenel Ka looked like they had faced a powerful test.

“We had to fight that Nightsister,” Kirana said. “But I’m sure you had to have felt her use of the Dark Side.”

“She was very powerful,” Tenel Ka added. “We lost a lot of good warriors out there.”

“We did our part,” Grala said proudly, though her voice betrayed a hint of sadness.

Streen and Tenel Ka both turned their heads as a Trident JY-2 fighter landed on the ledge above them.

+++++++++

Jacen Solo removed his crash webbing and climbed out of the canopy just as Zekk was landing the Shadow Chaser. He could see the damage to the village and it made him wish that he arrived sooner.

He climbed down the rock ledge to finally be reunited with his sister. Jaina rushed towards Jacen and he engulfed her in his arms. “Jaina,” he said. “It’s been too long.”

“Brother, you’re just everywhere, aren’t you?” his twin teased before pulling away. Jaina smiled brightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was helping disable those shuttles,” Jacen replied. “We managed to get a couple of them before we ran into Boba Fett.”

Zekk, Anakin Solo and Kalena Ti climbed down the rock ledge. Kalena immediately rushed towards the edge of the canyon to observe the devastation that had taken place in her village.

“Kalena!” Zekk exclaimed before chasing her.

Jacen watched the display before turning his gaze towards a single woman in the crowd. For the first time in two years, he looked upon Tenel Ka’s face. Drawing his confidence into a lopsided grin, he approached his old friend.

“I haven’t seen you in a while either,” Jacen said.

“It’s good to see you too, Jacen,” Tenel Ka responded, a grin creeping onto her face. “I heard about your exploits throughout the galaxy. You’ve really made a name for yourself.”

“Yeah, Kyle and I get around a lot,” Jacen said, deflecting the praise. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to pay you a visit. You know how Jedi work is.”

“Indeed,” Tenel Ka agreed before the two shared a silent moment.

“I hate to break up this reunion,” Kirana said, drawing Jacen’s attention to her. “But we’re going to have to hold council shortly.”

“So I know what that means,” Jacen said. “No men allowed.”

Streen placed his hands on Jacen’s shoulders. “Looks like you’ll be helping organize the refugees and tending to the wounded, young Solo.”

+++++++++

Disorder was the order of the day following the confrontation with the Mandalorians in the village. The ancient cavern held the remaining members of the Council of Elders. Grala Xan approached the wounded Augwynne Djo.

“So, I understand the warriors of the Winding River Clan came to our aid today,” Augwynne said.

Tenel Ka could tell her grandmother was ignoring the pain in her right leg. She would probably be forced to walk with a stick for the rest of her life if she continued to refuse Zekk’s offer to heal her.

“The prophets told me that this day would come,” Grala told the Chieftan of the Singing Mountain Clan. “But never in my wildest dreams did I expect the attack to be lead by my own flesh and blood.”

“We’ve heard rumors about raids taking place on some of the clans,” Kirana said from her seat on the council. “Streen has been keeping up with the information quite well.”

“The Shadow Academy seems to be trying to expand its resources,” Augwynne said bitterly. “Most of the Nightsister Clans have either joined the Empire or allied with them.”

“If we don’t go to war now, all will be lost,” one council member said.

Kirana turned to face the council member. “We don’t have the technology to take the war to the Empire,” she said. “We can only hope these raids won’t be occurring more often.”

“Nevertheless, we can’t hope they’ll stop,” Augwynne said sadly. “War is upon us. We must move to stop this Nightsister menace.”

Tenel Ka cast her gaze to the cavern floor. She found herself agreeing with both her grandmother and Kirana Ti. But she couldn’t figure out which warrior was right.

“The Jedi cannot assist you in this war,” Kirana said. “We can only help protect you. We are not soldiers.”

“Then leave the fighting to us,” Grala said to Kirana. Then, to Augwynne, she said, “I wish to seek an alliance with the Singing Mountain Clan.”

“We are grateful,” Augwynne said. “But now we must prepare for war.”

 

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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 4/19/05 5:30am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/16 - Date Edited: 4/19/05 5:30am (1 edits total) Edited By: Ace_Venom
Bumped in case people didn't notice my update. It had gotten down to page six.

 

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I bleed Cubbie blue.
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Neo-Paladin  3522 posts
Registered: Dec '04
14777_Binary Sunset
Date Posted: 4/19/05 5:55am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/16
I did miss your update. Sorry. It is a good one!
There are lots of thing to like about it. The action was moving, and the interaction between friends made me smile.

Your moment between Jacen and Tenel Ka was one I particularly liked. I was left thinking, 'Oh, come on, just a few minutes at least!' happy Thanks for another good one.

 

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Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
Edward R. Murrow
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Ace_Venom  830 posts
Registered: Sep '02
42086_Cade Skywalker
Date Posted: 4/21/05 9:06am Subject: RE: Calm Before The Storm (J/TK, Sequel to Into the Dark Side, NJO Era EU) - Update 4/16
NP: Yeah, I had to be a bit of a jerk there and cut it short. You need not worry. There will be more moments to come.

 

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I bleed Cubbie blue.
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