"Rising from the ashes".... yet another first-timer .

Great job!!! I really like the references to other books. It makes your story seem very real. Keep it up!!

~Padawan Kenobi~

 

COOL! Lin-Si-Tar, my friend, you have convinced me to return to these forums. Please continue with this story, and contact me on e-mail 0r ICQ, so we can discuss the nature of the Living Force.

 

I wholeheartedly thank you all who read, It made a great difference. I was about to give up. If it were not for you, I would. Now, for another chapter:


Custom station Skylair XXI, Orbiting Commenor.

?Unidentified ship, we have you in our scope. Name and purpose of the visit!?

?Arcturus V, hailing from Corellia, Picking up some parts and technical staff. We´re beaming our transmissions right away. What frequency do you use??

?35.7, 32-encryption. How many aboard??

?Six people. We don´t intend to take too much of your time. I hope you don´t wish to take too much of ours?

Andrian Dinsur smiled at that last remark, in spite of his injuries. The bacta had done its job, allright. He could sit up and his condition was much better. The only thing that bothered him was the burning feeling he still felt. It was just like Altayr to impersonate everything and everyone in a situation like that. He was doing his best impression of a rugged and weary merchant in the end of a long journey.

Altayr´s Padawan, Phillian, ran the landing sequence as his Master gathered the scanning gear. It was a complicated device, that had to be disassembled into four backpacks and reassembled at the main antenna mount. In fact, that device had to be carried by seven people, but they couldn´t afford the time or the risk to make two trips to one of the vital parts of the station.

Phillian ended the landing sequence and got to work. His Master would take the three Padawans, leaving Brun taking care of Andrian. Syun, the Cathar, was not bothered by the extra weight at all. His species is one of resistant beings. However, Phillian himself and Gaeriel K´ant, called Streak, Andrian´s apprentice, felt the strain, wishing that the Station´s artificial gravity field were lower than the ship´s.

Streak got her nickname from a white-blue line that ran from her left temple down her hair. She hailed from Salis D´aar, capital of Bakura, a world in the system of the same name in the isolated edge of the Mid Rim, a world better known for the exportation of repulsorlift components. She wished fervently to have at least the smallest of them around, burdened by the weight in her back.

As the Padawans groaned, Syun and Altayr were already heading to the refresher station of the compound. From there they would enter the ventilation shafts and deal with the patch business.

Twenty minutes have passed. Andrian fell asleep because of the effects of the painkillers, and the silence was almost unbearable to anyone inside the Action V. Brun meditated while the minutes passed.

He was doing double duty. Taking care of Andrian´s bacta patches and monitoring the signal in the New Frontier´s console. This ship was not familiar, but engineers made things simpler to all species. The Corellian Action V had a clear way of marking its controls. As he read the markings, the comlink crackled with static:

?Brun, do you copy? It is Syun.?

They couldn´t risk using the Force to communicate amongst themselves, and this encrypted frequency was all that they could do. If there was at least one person force-sensitive, the mission would be endangered.

?Syun, high and clear. Over.?

?We reached the refresher stations. It was kind of hard to conceal the gender of our streaked friend without the use of those abilities you know, but we managed to get there and now we are inside the shaft. Over.?

The feline voice of his Padawan did not carry any sign of tension, and that made him wonder if he actually understood the situation they were in, but even as that thought roamed his mind, he remembered. Cathar are by nature high-spirited: ?Don´t fool around, Padawan Learner. I have to get a signal of magnitude at least 351 around here, if you don´t do your job, our part of this assignment is useless. Over.?

?I copy and understand, Master. It is a little tight around here and I only wished to play a little. You know what happens with me in small areas. Over and out.?

Altayr crawled slowly, and his effort made droplets of sweat burn his eyes, as they ran down his forehead. It was a great work. N

 

Folor Moon, Above surface.


The constant traffic of Commenor Prime was a great camouflage for the New Frontier. Inside, Shared Hett was doing her best to perform a flyby without looking it was a flyby. ?fly casual!? she said to herself from time to time.

Behind her, Immac Fectis and his blue-skinned Padawan, Acon, were calibrating the sensors. The passive sensors of the Byblos Drive Yard G-1 A Transport Ship were very good, and if there was so much as a candle flickering inside that moon, they would see it.

?The problem with these things is that you only see them if you are actually looking for them.? Tandris Norm said, breaking the conversation silence. Actually, it was a necessary thing, for any small ping can indicate something, and they could not talk using the Force.

Placing his headset in the board, Shared answered: ?That alone is the reason why Lynx and his Padawan knew. They were searching. The deaths of the Jedi who fell victims of those fighters will not be in vain, if they lead us to the elimination of this threat.?

Alarmed, Immac replied: ?Shared, you sound almost vengeful! That is no way to conduct a mission! Are you sure that is all your heart seeks? Justice??

Bowing her head, she answered: ?I am sorry, I happen to have seen too many Holocron tales about these warriors, that is all.?

Acon was the first to notice the signs. As he adjusted the sensors, the surface of the moon in the viewscreen lit with a web-like pattern of light and movement. It was concentrated in the Northern Quadrant, and they would pass above it in minutes.

Tandris Norm´s Padawan Learner, Selene, encrypted the file and the on board droid, RND-21, placed all the information and sent it immediately in a narrow-beam transmission, coded to the Arcturus V´s on board computer frequency.

Shared Hett showed no sign of something other than calmness, but inside, her spirit was boiling. ?There is no emotion, there is serenity? did now nothing to her. She was placed in this mission by the will of the Force. She would avenge her planet´s mass destruction many years ago. She gathered information enough to know that the marauders that ravaged her homeworld a long time ago were the Mandalore. The planet Chalacta also suffered the same slaughter.

She was driven. All of her being was focused on what her fingers were doing. She was running slowly the sequence to activate all the weapons in the Byblos Drive Yard G-1 A. It was not very much, but when they pass over the web of energy, it will be more than enough to blast everyone in there into pieces.

Tandris Norm and the Twi´lek Acon Dingit felt the strain, for the Force was warning them. They ran the diagnostic programs and realized the activation taking place. It was already at 70%. They looked at each other and ran an override routine.

Unsuccessfully.

80% and counting?.

Her fingers whitened with anticipation and the pressure on the grip of the weapons triggers.

90% and counting?.

Their foreheads were already sweating, in spite of the coldness of the ship´s interior. Immac and the other two Padawans noticed what was happening. Silence was still as deep as space. They had to move fast.

98% and counting?.

Tandris Norm silently turned the whole NavCom off. The ship blinked, and its starting sequence began anew. The weapons systems were deactivated, but the sensors were gone as well for at least a half minute. Luckily, they were flying in a crowded area. Nothing would seem different or suspect.

Selene, the Padawan, was the first to notice as they approached the craters. A gleaming object made of some kind of metal flew fast towards them. The blink of the systems made possible for each and every being inside that moon see a difference in that ship.

They would not take any chances. The ship must be destroyed.

The three escape pods of the ship were enough for all of them. Tandris Norm and Shared Hett got in the first. Acon Dingit and Virgil D´an got in the second. The third was taken by Selene and Immac Fectis. Selene took the droid, RND-21, for he held the plans and the schematics for t

 

Zikes, the suspense is building! Write more, write more! Good dialogue. "Correctomundo" was a nice touch.

 

More!!! Keep going!!!

 

Commenor Prime, Docking bay 94.

?You are doing what?? Obi-Wan Kenobi was dumbfounded.

Qui-Gon Jinn replied calmly: ?Taking this youngster along. The Force tells me that he will be of assistance in this mission.?

?Master, I have never understood this habit of yours of taking locals in a mission, and this is going to be??

?Dangerous, I know, but don´t fear. The Force works mysteriously.?

Yamajin L´Stel concealed a stifled laugh beneath her robes. Her Padawan would be in some trouble avoiding that teen. It would serve her as a lesson, and who knows? The Force told her something as well. Something elusive about these young people´s lives.

Lin-Si-Tar already convinced himself that it would not be a burden to take Booster Terrik along. After all, a booster is always welcome, thought the pilot inside the Jedi.

Marth could almost read his Master´s mind. Since his tender youth he learned to understand that Jedi Pilot. The split second that took Lin-Si-Tar to answer to Qui-Gon Jinn´s phrase was more than enough for Marth to see what was the outcome.

?Why, the Errant Venture is ready to take another passenger, Qui-Gon. I understand your insight. Who knows what Mr. Terrik can do??

?Booster, Jedi! You call me Booster. Ya don´t need no fromal.. formlal.. ah, to be polite.?

Ar´leena came closer to Marth, saying: ?He remembers me of some very articulate person I know? doesn´t he, Mackie??

Marth blushed. Their competition was always too strong, and one day he tried to outguess her, by asking her out to walk in Coruscant. She knew what he was up to, and when he actually got close to her, he knew she knew, and he could not voice his proposition. That was another thorn in his side?

?I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Lee.?

She returned to her place next to her Master, but not without saying: ?Yeah, right. Next thing you will have no idea is what is a inertial compensator or an alluvial damper.?

?There is no emotion, there is peace? There is no emotion, there is peace?? he muttered to himself, as he switched on the startup sequence. He would have to be more assertive. That or develop a selective deafness?

Booster saw each and every thing and as the Jedi packed their newly-acquired gear, he approached Marth.

?You are a klutz, did you know that??

?Say what??

?I said: you? are?. a?. klutz. You deaf??

?I was thinking of becoming so, but not yet, and what makes you think that way about me, Mr. Terrik??

?Booster, Jedi...Do you know what is this cylinder of metal dangling from your belt??

?It is a lightsaber, for crying out loud! What is your point??

?When people attack you with one of these, do you stand still??

?Not at all, I have trained hard to master this weapon!?

?Her weapon is the tongue. Have you trained THAT??

"Well..."

Yamajin L´Stel and Ray-Bek Dear´st nodded silently, smiling to each other. That lad had something to teach even to a Jedi. Qui-Gon´s intuition was right as usual. The venerable Jedi Master had not lost his touch. Even if Terrik did nothing in that mission, that conversation alone changed one Jedi´s point of view, and as all know, it is all a matter of point of view?

Nejaa Halcyon looked stern, suddenly: ?I feel something.?

Qui-Gon and Lin-Si-Tar shouted almost in unison: ?To the ship, all!?

The entrance of Docking Bay 94 was blown to pieces. A medium-sized transport hovered outside, lasers ready and pointing straight at the Lynx´s cockpit. Marth reacted with all the speed a Jedi could muster.

Green darts of gleaming energy erupted from its laser ports.

Time stood still.

Inside the Running Lynx, Lin-Si-Tar jumped to his seat; Qui-Gon fell to the floor of the Lynx; Mirax jumped, protecting Booster´s body. Nejaa pushed Ar´leena as he placed his hand on one of the inner boards; The Force flowed from him as fast as the laser. His energy melded with the ship´s at that moment.

The shield raised instantly. The laser bounced directly in front of the cockpit, and its impact sent the Lynx to the backside of the docking bay. The inertial compensators were useless against that. Ever

 

Wow! Action and humour, humour and action, just the way I like it. I especially relished the line "I was thinking of becoming so..."

And Obi-Wan's reaction to working with the locals was very true to what we saw in the film. Keep going, please!

[This message has been edited by Jane Jinn (edited 02-21-2000).]

 

Inside the Sting.

The Mandalorian warrior was decided to heal that fair-haired woman. It was something very bizarre. His task was to finish the Jedi, and he not only did NOT succeed in his first try, he also was going to HEAL one. What the hell was he thinking?

These thoughts roamed his mind as he saw the bleeding figure of Yamajin laid by the floor of the ship. The ship was still now, he had outmaneuvered Commenor Prime´s police ships, and now he wondered why he was losing this precious time. His Chieftain would slay him on sight if he knew that.

She stopped breathing.

He could feel her life energy slipping fast, and he would have to put his training to the test. He worked his way to the small cabinet, producing some vials he carried by demand of his duty. One of them was a powerful medicine, derived from bacta. It not only did what regular bacta did, but also enhanced the thinking process so that the person wakes, if in a shock state.

He applied it on a small patch and waited. Her condition was stable now. In some minutes, she woke up. Her gaze unsteady, she focused slowly the face of the warrior. He had removed his mantle and helmet. His dark, long hair descended upon her as he leaned to check on her patches. His voice was deep, and hoarse as he tried to say something to soothe her. He had not spoken a word since he left Folor.

?I know you??

He recoiled at the sound of that sentence. He was not sure, but he remembered something as well. As he pushed the feeling aside, he spoke:

?Calm now. You will be well soon. You are in my ship now.?

?Who?what are you going to do to me??

?I was going to kill you, but I can´t do it to a fallen enemy, so, I am healing you.?

?Who are you??

?I had a name once, but now I am a warrior serving my clan. You don´t need to know more than that.?

Yamajin didn´t feel herself strong enough to reach with the Force, but she tried nonetheless, only to be surprised as she felt a barrier locking her away. ?This warrior uses the Force, but he doesn´t know that.?

?I am Yamajin L´Stel, Jedi Knight. I wish we met in other circumstances??

He felt the streams of energy flowing from that woman. Even being brought back from the dead, she could put together some sense of humor. ?This is a honorable warrior, She does not deserve to die, and she will not die.?

Her eyes locked on his, bringing back memories for both of them. She was not controlling herself very much now. He could see her memories. She had him mistaken for someone else, someone from a world where asteroids formed a belt around it, a pleasant world.. a world like one he has seen before?

?You are not well. Rest.?

?No. Stay with me. I need the company.? She said with a forced smile.

What kind of woman is that who smiles even at the gates of Death itself? He sat there, silent, for some time. Meanwhile, his prey escaped from him. He did not understand. She finally broke the silence:

?Do you come here often??

He could not stop the laughter that erupted from him. Now he met a true warrior. She felt that like a small ray of light emanating from a crack in the door, and she concentrated harder. She could see now?

?The Jedi does nothing, says nothing, which stems from ego, you know. I don´t hold any grudges against you. Even knowing how much you hate the Jedi. Unjustly, but hate nevertheless.?

He snapped: ?What do YOU know about Justice? You who ravage worlds and kill those who oppose you? I was there. I was little, but I remember one of you running towards me with his lightsaber ready to strike me. I was saved by that people you call Mandalorians. I was raised, and now I can stand a fair fight. You are not fighting a child anymore!?

She heard the blast with the calmest of tempers. She was a strong soul, and this was something coming from other strong soul. The memories came to her, but they were blurred, and she said:

?Let me show you exactly what happened, my dear.?

Yamajin touched his forehead, bloody fingers sending an inexplicable, yet familiar energy throughout the warrior´s synapses.

And he saw.

Fire was spreading all ove

 

Whoa!! That was beautiful, man!!! Just......(sniffle)........BEAUTIFUL!!!!
(Stands and claps, as he wipes away the tears.) MORE!!!!
(Really, Lin-Si-Tar, I love the story. So does Yama. MORE!!! Keep going!!!)

 

Custom station Skylair XXI, Orbiting Commenor.

Altayr Nerg had just finished patching up the antenna, and as he tested it, the comlink Syun was carrying beeped to life, startling everyone.

Static! Damn!

He adjusted one more thing, and got a strong signal. It even looked directed to them. The comlink blared now, even having had its volume set down, and Brun´s voice shouted:

?Altayr! Padawans! Syun! Get back at once! NOW! The New Frontier blew up!?

Syun´s Cathar claustrophobia kicked in at once. Altayr and Streak had don?t what they could. He started banging down to free himself. They were all cramped in a ventilation shaft. It meant that they had two options: One: try and coming back stealthily, forcing Syun to calm down or?

The Customs cantina wall was trespassed by four lightsabers that cut it like if it was made of thin air. Four figures clad like techs jumped from the hole, startling everyone. The people started to run to all sides, bumping the tables away.The security started to shoot. The Jedi had no time. They ran as fast as they could, deflecting blaster bolts as they did so. It was a barrage of blaster fire and smoke, flying everywhere, and from the middle of it all, they escaped. Their job was done.

Brun started the undocking sequence, when he realized that the station had caught the Arcturus V in a tractor beam. As he struggled with the controls, the docking clamps of the Station started to move towards the ship. In seconds, it would be stopped once and for all.

The four Jedi sprinted through a corridor. In front of them, blast doors were closing. It was too far, but they ran nonetheless. Syun, being a feline, jumped right through it, followed by Streak. Altayr couldn´t make it, and his Padawan, Phillian, decided to take his side. They had only seconds to do something.

Syun messed around with all the switches he could find, but found nothing. Streak thought of something else. She jumped to Syun´s back and cut the ceiling, with her yellow lightsaber. She crawled fast and cut the ceiling beneath her, just as the troops were getting really close to the two Jedi. Phillian jumped up and down, and Altayr Force-pushed the troops, doing the same.

Syun got them all, and they reached the gate of the docking place.

The Arcturus V was jumping, trying to free itself from a tractor beam for the last time, as two enormous clamps caught its stern. At this sight, all the Jedi attacked at once. Syun sliced the uppermost clamp, as the tractor beam was neutralized by Streak. That girl was a good enough slicer, and she did it in under one minute, just plugging her datapad and running her scripts.

Altayr defended the Padawans, by staying in front of the corridor, deflecting the blaster bolts. Phillian distracted himself with Syun´s slicing and was shot. Brun saw that from the cockpit, and even from there he could realize that there was no salvation for him. The young Padawan had given his life to save the others.

Altayr saw that and did what only a Jedi could. He Force-pushed them all, took his dead Padawan in the arms and went to the ship. Syun and Streak were already there, strapping themselves up. His grief would have to wait. His mission had to be finished. As the ship took distance, the magnitude of their problem became evident.

All the viewscreens available showed details of an enormous web of tunnels and energy flowing under Folor. There were signs of something like hangars, fully loaded, definite signs of heavy weaponry, smartly concealed, and worst of all, a horrendous amount of people. They could be seen as red dots running around, and as they ran, he found out a pattern. The hangars were filling. They were about to move.

*********************************

Selene was dizzy, and she was feeling everything move. She gasped and tried to get up when she realized that the pod WAS moving. There was no light but those small rays that entered the viewport. She saw the droid. It was secured in the straps she put him and herself. Acon´s Master´s body laid still. Nothing else could be done for him. Immac Fectis´

 

Great flying boku droppings! That was...that was...wow! WOW! I am ...what's that word...speechless. Yes. Speechless.

 

*********************

They were thrown in the floor of one hangar. The droid let some coverings fall by the shock. Selene, Acon and Virgil were held captive. Their wrists bound, their lightsabers stripped away. More than thirty warriors circled them. Many of them with their blasters ready. The hangar was buzzing with energy. Fighter ships of many kinds were being loaded. It seemed as if a great offensive was going to take place.

Their voices were distorted, and their masks gave them a horrid appearance. All their bodies were covered in armor. All different. Many bearing signs and markings alike. From what could be seen, they were taking them to someone important.

There was no need for it. A space was being opened in the rows of warriors, as more and more arrived. A large one was the cause for all this commotion. A corridor was opened as he got to where the three Padawan were.

"Jedi." He said almost to himself as he walked around them, slowly. Savoring the fear he instilled in them. Or at least trying to, for they showed no signs of fear. They were Jedi. The Jedi does not deny fear; he embraces it and uses it.

He stopped, kicking the droid. It squealed as it landed some three feet away. More of the coverings had been thrown away. It was almost as big as Beacon, and almost as heavy. The calculations were quickly done in the Padawan´s heads. This one is very strong.

He grabbed Acon by his robes with the right arm, lifting the Twi´lek entirely as he put his helmeted face near him. Acon was defeated, but defiant. He met the gaze that unavoidably was meeting his own from inside that red helmet. The big warrior laughed. A hoarse and guttural
sound, and threw the Padawan to the floor, next to the others.

"These are all what is left of them?"

"No, o Conqueror. There are some left, but Hertt´s man took the Sting and by now he must have found and eliminated the weak Jedi."

"Hertt!"

One of the warriors advanced: "Yes, Conqueror!"

"Your man has already made contact with you, didn´t he?"

"No, sir. I instructed him not to send any transmission. He is to get the Jedi by surprise."

"Excellent. You are smart, old man." To the others, loud: " This is what every one of you should be. Bela Vistal is now a shame on all of the clans whose members died there! Hertt´s clan is going to the battle by my right side, and you will be behind all of us!"

A murmur of disapproval and shame roamed the warriors. Selene noticed now that the hangar was full. There was no space to anyone else. She saw that when as one of the warriors raised her over his shoulder. Behind him, Acon was being raised. In front of him, D´an was being lifted. RND-21 was still on the floor, attempting to rise when two warriors caught it and took it to a far end of the hangar.

**************************
Kensai all but squinted at the sight of death coming in a reddish bolt right to him. He did not even think. Almost as the proton torpedo reached the point of no return, he lifted the Sting´s nose hard. The inertial compensators were not strong enough to hold all the stress and both Yamajin and himself were crunched to their seats.

The torpedo missed the Sting my mere inches, but it was still coming at them.

Marth recovered quickly from the shock and having switched back his weapons mode, he targeted the spinning torpedo, now aimed to the Sting´s aft section. It was reaching the ship very quickly, and
he had not much time.

Lin-Si-Tar understood and punched the Lynx to full throttle, deactivating the shields and rerouting their power to the engines. The Lynx ripped the space with all the speed its master could muster right now. It was not enough.

The torpedo was in range of the lasers, but it was moving too fast. Marth tapped into the Force, rendering time a mere abstraction. Suddenly, the torpedo was as if floating in the sky, moving gently, calmly.

The quad laser batteries fired.

The explosion rocked the Sting very hard, and it lost control, going in a downward spiral towards Commenor. Its self-repair systems were complaining. Yamajin was stronger, and she e

 

test - ignore

 

The Padawans were lifted when Mandalore rose. His red armor glistening in the lights made him even more impressive. He jumped to the top of one of the many ships there. There were twenty fighters, one of them his personal, all red and from this red pulpit he spoke, his voice echoing loud and clear in the hangar and in the comlinks of all the helmets:

?WE ? ARE ? WARRIORS!!?

Silence. Only the lights of the hangar moved. He had them again. Enthralled with power, he continued:

?We are WARRIORS and our time of hiding ends NOW!?

?NOW is the time where we will rise again! NOW the whole galaxy shall tremble at the mere sound of our name! You were strong! You were the ones who suffered the most! All of us had to hide our glorious status of warriors! You endured having to disguise yourselves as petty marauders, pirates and smugglers. This shame will be avenged!?

?We are warriors, and this galaxy needs to feel the booted feet of our clans in its throat. With the evil threat of the Jedi eliminated, the Galaxy is OURS!?

The huge crowd cheered loudly, waving spears, vibroblades and all weapons in sign of agreement. The Padawans heard the speech from the room in which they were. Acon was thrown over a board and tied, arms and ankles to it. A burly man approached him, and even as he lifted his gaze, he took a blow to the face. The laugh of the man was low and constant, while he ripped Acon´s robes with a dagger.

D´an was similarly tied, his fractured bone jutting out of the open gash in his skin. He passed out many times. His training was not working. One of the Jedi powers is control pain, the ability to withstand large amounts of pain. D´an could not tap into the Force to do it. He had been severely wounded in the fall. Acon thought that only his arm was broken. In fact, he got a concussion, and was inconscient since then.

Selene was taken to other room. Her defiant gaze met a quick backhand. She uttered, as low and soft as she could, as her ally, the Force, flowed through her: ?You will NOT do it again.?

?I will not do it again.?

?You will put me down and let me go.?

The man groaned: ?I will let you go.?

?Give me my and my friends´s lightsabers.?

He held the lightsabers to her, and just as she was almost getting it, another warrior entered the room, kicking the weapons away from both and backhanding her fast enough to knock her out as she bumped her head in the wall. The reddish light of the room became dark for a while, and when she woke up, she found out that she had been gagged.

If that was her only problem? She was tied, crucified, to a wall. Underneath her, the blood on the ground betrayed what was the purpose of all the edged and blunt weapons that decorated the not too far opposite wall. All of their four lightsabers hanging there, as a taunt. She saw hers and Immac´s not too far from her. The smell was awful, and in the wall to her left, there was a small and active furnace, complete with some metal instruments already red-hot over the shiny metal surface.

Acon was to her right, and D´an was passed away in a stretcher beside the furnace. She was the only one awake. Through her mind ran pictures of the future: a sweaty, half-armored man, over her, his breath burning her face, her garments all ripped to useless shreds, and her body scarred by those red-hot knives and pokers.

The door was flung open with a bang, and the large man paced calmly his way to them. Two others stayed at the door, watching intently. His eyes savored the sight of the three teenagers. Acon woke as the door was opened, and at the sight of Selene, her white hair glowing in the light of the small furnace, his companion, D´an, lying unconscious in that stretcher and the smell of blood and decay made him startled for a while.

The stranger moved towards the two crucified Padawans. His hand fiddled with the objects in the furnace, then with some blades over the wall, then back to the furnace. ?These are dangerous things, brats? You will pray to die long before I even break a sweat.?

Dangerous things?

Selene closed her eyes

 

A finger ran over a spot of humidity in one of the Running Lynx´s viewports. Booster Terrik sat there, looking at the undocking Sting, the dark ship beginning to float in the distance, and thinking about the happening of this last hour. In his musings, he never took notice of Marth coming closer, and was startled when he sat beside him.

?Hi, Booster, so far, how do you like the Jedi??

?You should not scare people off like that. One never knows when a fist flies in one´s general direction, you know. Allright, let´s do some thinking: Gorgeous babe, nice ship, big cargo hold, a whole lot of Jedi fellows, babe turns out to be a Jedi as well, guy in black almost kills´em all, guy in black becomes good guy, I´m still stuck in this ship, and that Mirax girl is as distant as the outer rim, as far as I am concerned. Swell situation!?

?I understood everything you say. The situation is weird, but Yamajin handled her situation well, as far as the guy in black goes. About her Padawan, she is distant, yes, but it is Jedi detachment. It is normal. I am one of the less detached around here, and this gets in the way of somethings??

?What things, Padoleni??

?Actually, it is Padawan, but? if you grow too connected to the people you help, you can´t help them at all. You begin one with the situation. For instance: if you are a Togorian, and the Togorian people are in trouble, you will help, but your judgment will be biased. Got it??

?Biased? grow connected?instance? you speak too stiffly, but I got it.?

?Years of learning and habit.?

?Yea, yer Master looks kinda stiff too.?

?Not at all, he is a diplomat and a pilot. In these trades, you can´t afford to be stiff. You have to be flexible. He just talks like that. I believe that is a Jedi trait. All of them talk like that.?

?Not every Jedi. Remember Yoda, Mack?? Ar´leena spoke as she approached them.

?Remember him, I do, yes!? and Marth couldn´t help but laugh at his own impression. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Reama Devig were coming closer, too. Soon, it was a reunion of adolescents around the window, like in each and every inhabited planet. And the Running Lynx´s atmosphere lightened up a bit.

The Masters noticed that, and resumed their affairs. The Sting had maneuvered to be on the lead of the ships. Qui-Gon Jinn was in charge of the co-pilot seat. It was also the gunner´s seat, behind Lin-Si-Tar. Ray-Bek Dear´st took care of the sensor system and was reviewing the last transmission of the New Frontier, relayed through the Arcturus V, which was following nearby.

Tylla, the only Knight without a Padawan, just honed her skills with a training remote. Light training. She did not wish to get tired. Nejaa Halcyon, who also examined the files, stated what was dangerously obvious to all: ? I see no frailties in this moon base. The only way out of this situation would be to place a giant thermal detonator over the moon.?

Lin-Si-Tar heard that and remarked: ?That is why our friend is flying over there. Yamajin tells me that everything is fine.?

Inside the Sting´s cramped cockpit, Yamajin talked to Kensai, while Mirax ran some diagnostics on the Sting, and how it was damaged during the mess in Commenor Prime. It looked fine, and her Master looked even better. She told her that she had died and had come back. This must be it. Her Master was amongst the living once again, and her joy was expanding through every pore. She was fully aware of the mission, of the dangers, but she was happy.

?? training facility??

? Yes, that was where you were. Anoat once held a Jedi Academy, and that attack destroyed each and every kind of facility there. You are one of the only survivors of that attack.?

?The last, actually. The others were killed while under Mandalore. I remember them, now. Their faces? boys and girls from every planet. That Mandalore hoped to form a taskforce combined of Force-enabled warriors, I know now.?

?Indeed, that sounds like a solid strategy. The Galaxy is lucky he did not succeed, even to the cost of all those people.?

?I was raised to think that I was held captive in that place,

 

OH WOW!!! THis is getting so exciting LIN...Keep it up!! I love it! YOu are really shining in your abilities to be a writer...interesting, exciting, grasping and so leaving one in suspense until the next chapter..Grand!

YAMAJIN L'STEL.....and KENSAI....PEACE:

 

LIN: Well done my friend...awesome...and spellbinding...leaving us in suspense for the next chapter...GRANDE>

We're Waiting!!!

PEACE: LOVE: & HARMONY TO YOU>>>>

Yamajin L'Stel and Kensai.....

 

The targeting brackets blinked faster and faster. Soon this ship will be no more than pieces of debris, the first trophies over his victory. Nervous fingers danced over the weapons and guiding systems. His escort would take care of each and every kind of resistance.

His sight was clear just a moment ago. What was happening? Mandalore saw now two ships occupying the very same spot of one. His stomach began turning. It was unprecedented. His piloting skills were of no match amongst the clans, or so it was said. Agar Hertt´s ship was right in front of him. He remembered something? it was escaping his grasp. He did not know what was happening, but he knew what he had to do.

He fired.

All the fighters behind him fired.

**************************************

Blast after blast of green energy flew towards and past them. The readings indicated seven torpedoes homing in the three ships. It would be impossible for him to get them all. Drops of sweat fell over Qui-Gon Jinn´s forehead as he closed his eyes. One second. It was all he needed.

The Force was open to the old knight once more. Awareness of the universe, handed to him as a gift. He would make good use of it.

His eyes opened. Beneath those gray irises the Force shone. Red plasma burst from the quad batteries, engulfing the first of the torpedoes with its heat, detonating it at once. More two shots, two more down.

Altayr Nerg, at the command of the Arcturus V, pulled hard to starboard while Syun blasted the torpedo which had just flew to their left. The shockwave sent the Arcturus V further to the direction it had taken. Brun Lash´r strapped himself to the copilot seat and began calculations to his own firing pass.
Andrian Dinsur, fresh from the bacta treatment, handled the belly turret, another of the Jedi´s enhancements to the Arcturus V.

Meanwhile, Streak got into the ship´s innards, checking for some inertial compensator damage from the blast. She was under the coverings of the copilot´s panel, and from there, she could see one thing they did not. There was a second torpedo coming from beneath, behind Andrian´s point of view.

She had no time to think. Her hands redirected all power of the ship to the port repulsorlift in a blast of energy.

The Arcturus V spun blind, deaf and out of control.

The proton torpedo almost grazed the topside of the spinning Byblos Drive Yard G-1 A Transport as it flew past the ship. Streak reverted the repulsorlift bypass and kicked the inertial compensators in again.

Kensai blew the torpedo over the Arcturus V to smithereens in a quick maneuver. All those twists and turns were more akin to a fighter ship, however, the Muurian transport was rugged, strong, and could handle it, specially in the hands of a skilled warrior such as Kensai. Yamajin helped as she could. Mirax looked from the small viewport to that Z-95.

She knew what was going on.

The fighters were now all around the three transports and the ships. Twenty-five enemy ships against four. That is, four with the Sting, and Qui-Gon trusted him. She shuddered as she saw how the Z-95 was going.

?Yeeeeeeehah! Have no fear, Booster´s here!?

Booster rejoiced as he hit his third torpedo. Marth was jubilant as well. The Z-95 flew at top speed through a barrage of enemy blasts. The torpedoes were gone, all of them. Green energy illuminated the space around them. The barrage of fire was so heavy that to Marth it looked like they were flying through a grassy field. He redirected engine power to shields, overriding every safety protocol and running on repulsorlifts and the lowest speed possible.

Lin-Si-Tar saw that and banked the Running Lynx to aid his Padawan´s ship. Tylla Mandrel sat beside Qui-Gon Jinn, fumbling through the controls to the beam weapons. Nejaa Halcyon had done it earlier, and she knew that the tractor beam was operational now. The other options were decoy and jamming. They were now close enough to see the helmeted faces of their enemies flying past them in their modified ships.

Mandalore had not recovered from his illness. His warriors were flying clumsi

 

Oh, wow, oh, wow, oh, wow!

 

Well.. I am back.

[This message has been edited by Lin-Si-Tar Konnair (edited 03-31-2000).]

 

Folor Moon. Hangar.

The deadly convoy of ships flew in the hangar, all fighters surrounding the Running Lynx, the Z-95, the Sting and the Arcturus V. The ships landed, all of the fighters´ weapons aimed to the Forces of the Republic. The Jedi were outnumbered by ten to one, in number of ships, and they couldn´t be sure of what happened.

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were stretching with the Force, the Living Force, as Master Jinn always said. The waves of rage seemed too thick to penetrate. These warriors´s minds were too strong. Meanwhile, he heard the conversation inside the Lynx.

Everyone has heard Kensai invoking a thing called Denn´sha. Yamajin L´Stel was inside the Sting, as Mirax was, and this was a sign that the Jedi trusted him, but Nejaa and Tylla started to feel rather uncomfortable with the situation.

Tylla was worried because she could not understand the course of action that Yamajin has taken. Then again, the variables in Yamajin´s behavior were unpredictable now. It must have been the trauma of being nearly dead, or truly dead, for that matter. She was thinking about the transmission? Denn´sha. She knew the word. Her master, Tephe Answee, the keeper of the Holocrons had shown her one file about Mandalore and Ulic Quel-Droma´s victory over them. The Jedi were in for a fight of a lifetime.

Nejaa was more worried about the warrior. The Force told him to trust the Dark Warrior. Kensai, as he called himself, but what he intended to do now had clearly to do with a combat. They were seriously outnumbered, and as much as a Corellian despises odds, the current situation calls for some worrying. He sensed Tylla´s reaction to Denn´sha and leaned towards her to ask her what it could be.

Ray-Bek Dear´st joined the Knights as Master Halcyon whispered the question. The Lynx´s landing struts have touched down and they were in the middle of the power down sequence. Lin-Si-Tar was working slowly to gain time for the Jedi to know what to do. He was unaware of what that word meant, and all he knew was that someone would die in a matter of hours.

Tylla pondered for some seconds, and then she answered the Jedi. All the ship´s passengers skipped a heartbeat when they realized.

***********

Selene, D´an and Acon saw the ships arriving in the Hangar, and their predicament was getting worse by the second. Still, Selene felt the answer to her pleas. RND-21 was still working the subsonic frequency in the base. Acon was sitting close to the board, with Virgil, looking at the Mandalorian warriors surrounding the quartet of ships, as the Arcturus V opened its boarding ramp.

Suddenly Selene said to RND-21: ?Round, how much time we would have to reach the hangar once you turn off the subsonic frequency??

The viewscreen translated RND´s beeps and whistles: No more than five minutes. It was no good. In this entire maze, they could get themselves lost. Besides, the path was long. They wouldn´t arrive in five minutes.

?Selene, what is on your mind? Do you want us dead?? A weak D´an asked her. The Twi´lek Acon was unable to completely understand their situation and Selene´s plan, but he said:

?Selene, I saw what you did at the torture room and I know you will know what to do. I am ready to die. I have always been. Master Immac always told me: The Jedi recognizes himself as nothing. The Jedi recognizes himself as everything, if I have to die today, it would have been the will of the Force, and I will receive my fate as a Jedi.?

Virgil was embarrassed at how he was selfish and not willing to help the others, who were in a far worse situation: ?Well, I believe this situation of ours has really separated the worthy to carry the mantle of a Jedi of those who aren´t, right? You go ahead, I will try my luck here. I lost too much blood and I am weak. Jedi should help Jedi. I am not one. I am but a weak.?

Selene had been keeping her temper for quite some time. This entire situation should not get under the skin of a true Jedi, she could think, but she had no time to think as she slapped hard Virgil´s face, shouting:

?You are NO

 

How long?

 

Tomorrow there will be a new chapter here I apologize to anyone who has waited.

 

The move to snowboard is currently planned this week...
As a result, the UBB board will be taken offline Sunday, at noon EDT (that's New York time), give or take a few hours.
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