Saga - PT Master of The Order Vol. 1: Knight of The Order

CHAPTER 1
“DARKNESS ON PAMORJAL”
23 BBY
CORUSCANT (FEDERAL DISTRICT), CORUSCANT SYSTEM

The galaxy is stuck in political turmoil! Thousands of planets have seceded the Galactic Republic to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems. With tempers rising, the two factions edge ever closer to war, with the Jedi wondering what their role will be in the conflict. Hal has received information about a Senate member selling Republic intel to CIS officials. He has enlisted the help of his friend Marx to help him on his search…​

Late-night Coruscant was as active as ever. Colorful lights dominated the streets. Bars and clubs were filled with drunks and party animals, and the more sophisticated made their way to the theaters. Hal Jyvun and Marx Miwa roamed through the streets, hooded to hide their identities. Hal was a tall and fit human. His light brown skin tone highlighted his muscular body. He had wavy dark brown hair with highlights and light brown eyes. His clean shaved face resembled that of a boy, but his serious stare displayed maturity. Marx Miwa, on the other hand, was one of the shorter humans in the Jedi Order. He had dark brown braids and eyes. He had more muscle than Hal, and his dark skin tone showed it.

“Who exactly are we looking for?” Marx asked.

“Bek Verza. Asha told me he’s been selling confidential information to CIS officials,” Hal answered.

“You better hope Master Yoda doesn’t realize we left the Temple,” Marx said. “And Asha’s information about this Bek Verza better be right. I have better things to do than waste my time searching through a mob of drunks.”

“Don’t worry,” Hal assured. “Asha’s information is reliable. We just have to find him, have him tell us where the CIS officers are located and arrest him.”

“I hope you’re right. Let me see the hologram again, I forgot what he looks like.” Hal showed Marx the hologram of Bek Verza. He was a blue-skin Twi’lek. His eyes were blue and his lekku had dark spots all around them. “So, what exactly does Bek like to do on his spare time?”

“According to Asha, he’ll usually book a whole club for the night and invite all his friends,” Hal explained.

“That doesn’t really help much. How do we even know he’s booked an entire club tonight?”

“Asha told me that the Separatist movement has landed him and his allies in a powerful position in the senate. So, we’ll be sure to see him spending some credits on one of these clubs.”

Marx pointed at The Tauntaun, one of the more popular clubs in Coruscant. “If I were to guess, I’d say they aren’t very happy that The Tauntaun isn’t open to the public.” There was a mob outside the club protesting that they were not allowed in. Hal and Marx approached the club and slowly made their way through the crowd until they reached the entrance. They were stopped by two guards.

“Sorry, The Tauntaun has been booked the whole night. Only the names on the list provided by Mister Verza are allowed in.”

Hal stared the two guards in the eyes and waved his hand at them. “You will let us in.”

“We will let you in,” the two guards said. They opened the door without hesitation and let the two Jedi in. As they walked inside the club, the bright neon blue and magenta colors flashed in their faces. They walked past a bright green sign that said: Life isn’t fun without strippers. Clear glass tubes with Twi’lek dancers were placed around the main bar. All sorts of species were seated around the different tables. The main bar was filled with the party animals, who were drinking, screaming and laughing.

“I hate you so much,” Marx complained. “Look at this place.”

“Let’s just find Verza and get out of here,” Hal replied.

“Let’s split. I’ll take the left; you take the right.”

“Sound.”

Marx walked through the tables around the club, discreetly looking at the different aliens who were seated. “C’mon, Bek. Where are you? What would I be doing if I had a whole club to myself?” He looked one way and the other, then paused for a moment. “I forgot, I’m a Jedi. I have no idea what these people do.” He kept walking through the tables trying to find the blue Twi’lek.

Hal, on the other hand, was trying to make conversation with the drunks. As soon as he separated from Marx, he walked over to the main bar and asked the bartender for a drink. He turned around to one of the men next to him. “Bek really knows how to throw a party doesn’t he?”

“Of course, he does!” The man screamed at the top of his lungs. “I think some senators side with him just for the parties!”

“Interesting,” Hal uttered. “I wish I could find him, so I could congratulate him.”

“He’s usually in one of the main VIP rooms in the back of the club. He always has some business to attend to before joining the party.”

“Hold this for me.” Hal gave the man his cup and left the main bar. “Marx, he’s in one of the VIP rooms at the back of the club. According to one of the men at the bar, he usually does his business before joining the party.”

“Should we wait for him to come out?” Marx asked.

“Of course not. You know I love crashing parties.”

“We should really try to keep this on the low. We’re not even supposed to be here.”

“I know, but it’s too good of an opportunity to pass. Meet me at the back of the club.” Hal made his way to the back of the club and sat down on one of the empty tables. Marx was on the way to the back of the club, but he was stopped by a couple of drunks, who asked him if he was willing to dance for them. One was a short Gran and the other was an Ithorian.

“You got this all confused, buddy. I don’t work here,” Marx told the two men.

“Come on, man. How much credits you want?” The Gran asked.

“Move.”

“Come one, man. We’re all friends here.”

“No, we’re not. Get out of my face.”

The Gran pulled out a knife and threatened Marx. “We tried nicely, now we’re not asking.”

“I warned you.” In an instant, Marx disarmed the Gran, kneed him in the ribs and broke his arm. The man dropped on the floor and started screaming. The Ithorian kneeled next to his friend to try and help him. Everyone at the club stared at Marx for a second and the started cheering him.

“I don’t want any trouble,” the Ithorian shuddered.

“I’m sure you don’t,” Marx said. He walked past the two men and made his way to the back of the club. He reached the end and met up with Hal.

“Keep it on the low, huh,” Hal sarcastically commented.

“He pulled a knife on me,” Marx explained. “I don’t understand what goes through half the minds in this place. Let’s just find Bek and get outta here.”

“As you wish.” The two Jedi stepped up to the VIP entrance and stumbled upon two Houk guards.

“Names,” one of the guards demanded.

“We don’t have names, pal. Just let us through.” Marx replied.

“Names!”

“Chill,” Hal whispered to Marx and then turned his attention to the two guards. “Ignore him, he’s not had the best of days. Here’s the thing, we have very special items for Mr. Verza.”

“What kind of things?” the other guard asked.

“That’s confidential, but you wouldn’t want your boss knowing you didn’t let informants carrying Jedi information through to his room.”

The two guards paused for a moment and looked at each other, thinking. “Go ahead.”

“Morons,” Marx chuckled. The two Jedi entered the VIP rooms and scouted the area before advancing. They slowly walked through the halls until they heard laughing and talking.

“I’m guessing that’s his room,” Marx supposed.

“Yes,” Hal confirmed. “So, do we just barge in and take him?”

“Let’s try to be civilized about this. Follow my lead.” Marx made his presence known by calmly walking into Verza’s room. Inside the room, Verza was gathered with various other aliens. Around them were ten armed guards. They seemed to be discussing ways to aggravate the Republic senators, so that a galaxy-wide war would erupt, and they could profit from selling weapons.

“Verza!” Marx announced. “I rate the place. I’m sorry to spoil your little reunion, but we’re gonna need you to come with us.”

“Jedi!” one of the men shouted.

“Glad you recognized my lightsaber,” Hal said. “Now, Bek, come with us.”

“Shoot them!” Bek Verza ordered.

The guards pulled out their blasters and began shooting at the two Jedi. Hal and Marx ignited their lightsabers and began deflecting blaster bolts all over the room. Marx went on the offensive and attacked the guards. He sliced through two of the guards and impaled a third one’s chest. Hal, on the other hand, focused on deflecting the shots and blocked any exits that Bek Verza could have.

“Kill them, kill them!” Bek Verza screamed.

Marx kept deflecting blaster shots and attacking the guards. He cut a guard’s head and the hand off another, before kicking him against the wall. The remaining two guards dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Hal grabbed Bek Verza and left the room. The two Jedi took the Twi’lek to the back alley and interrogated him.

“What information are you selling the CIS officials?” Hal asked.

“What good will it do to you?” Bek Verza responded.

Marx punched him in the face. “We ask the questions. Who are you selling the information to?”

“You can’t stop the war that’s about to ensue. Both senates are losing their patience and every day a galaxy-wide war edges closer.”

“Answer the question!” Hal demanded. “I’m running out of patience.”

“What are you going to do? Kill me? That’s not the Jedi way, for some of you.”

“What do you mean?” Marx asked.

Bek Verza smiled and stared at Marx, he then turned his eyes to Hal and smiled. “My employer, he’s one of you, he’s the one who began this crisis and he’ll be the one to make me rich once a galaxy-wide conflict erupts. That’s why he left your order.”

“Enough with the lies. Contact Captain Wolf.” Hal told Marx. “We don’t have the necessary means to get information out of him, but he does.”

“We’re already here,” a young woman’s voice stated. Out of the shadows of the alley, a young woman appeared, followed by two soldiers.

“Asha.” Hal said. “What are you doing here? How did you know we were here?”

“Well, we heard there had been multiple reports of shots at The Tauntaun, so we figured you two might’ve been causing some trouble.” Asha Nala walked up to the two Jedi. She was still very young, eighteen years of age. She was dark-skinned with dark brown eyes and brown long straight hair. She was lean and among the shorter women, but still a little taller than Marx.

“We’ll take him from here,” Captain Wolf informed. “And we’ll make sure he gives us every bit of information we need.” Wolf was big and muscular. He was dark-skinned and his body was covered by tattoos. His eyes were as dark as his skin and he had a small afro.

“Senator Nala, it’s been a long time,” Bek Verza commented. “I look forward to our next reunion.”

“You won’t have to wait long,” Asha replied. “Take him to the shuttle. I’ll be there in a moment.” She looked at Hal in the eyes. “Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You too, Marx.”

“Don’t mention it, Senator. We’re here to help.”

“I’ll see both of you later.” Asha turned around and made her way to the shuttle a couple of blocks away from the alley.

“Let’s go, Hal,” Marx said. “You’ll see her again.”

Hal kept looking at Asha until she was no longer visible. “I know, I know.” He turned around and joined his friend back to the Jedi Temple.

“I hope Master Yoda doesn’t find out we left.” Marx commented.

“I wouldn’t sweat it; they know us by now.”

Back at the Jedi Temple...

Hal and Marx arrived at the Jedi Temple unnoticed. They entered through one of the many secret entrances. Once inside, they each split up to their own rooms. “Let’s see if I can finally get some sleep,” Hal said, before going to his room.

“You still having those nightmares?” Marx asked.

“Yeah. Each night they change.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes they’re about my family, then other nights they’re about Master Plo, or about you guys, or even about myself.”

“You should talk to Master Yoda about it.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Hal left for his room. On his way, he pondered on what Bek Verza had said back at The Tauntaun. A Jedi began the Secessionist Movement? Impossible, he thought. Bek Verza said that it was a Jedi that had left the Order. The only Jedi that had left the Order was Master Dooku, but in Hal’s mind it was impossible that Dooku would do such thing. After all, it was Dooku who personally trained Hal in lightsaber combat, who cared about his development and always supported Hal in his Padawan years. Hal reached his quarters and entered the room. He accommodated his things and laid on his bed. He closed his eyes and began meditating, hoping that it would help him fall asleep quicker and peacefully.

“Soulsaber…”

“Vormijj…”

“Danger…”

Hal woke up desperately. This was the fifth time he woke up. “Who’s there?” He looked around his room. “Five times in one night! Take a break.” He sat up in his bed and closed his eyes. “Meditation it is.” He decided to meditate in order to form a better connection with the voices. Hal quickly visioned a fight between various Jedi and a Sith. The Sith was a far superior fighter than the Jedi, quickly taking out the ones that challenged him individually. The Sith was finally defeated when the Jedi decided to attack him all at once, and even then, it took every Jedi in the battlefield. The vision then transitioned to a dark side artifact, similar to a lightsaber. After that, it was all black.

“Hal, wake up! Let’s go get breakfast,” a girl’s voice called.

Hal woke up and saw the girl standing next to his bed. “What is it,?”

It was Ahsoka Tano. “Get up, lazy. Let’s go get breakfast, Marx and Shalla are waiting for us.”

“Wait outside, I’ll be out in a moment.”

Ahsoka agreed and left the room. Hal got up from bed and looked around his room. He stood still for a moment and tried to remember what happened during the night. The last thing he remembered was the artifact in his vision. Hal grabbed his Jedi robe and left his room. Outside the room was Ahsoka, waiting for him. “What happened to you?” she asked.

“Long, hard night, little one,” Hal replied. He looked at Ahsoka and patted her in the head. “Let’s go get some food.” On their way to the refectory, they spoke about Hal’s events during the night. Hal explained to Ahsoka what he and Marx were doing in Coruscant, but he made her promise she wouldn’t tell anything to Plo Koon.

“I promise, Hal,” she swore. “Master Plo won’t know a thing.”

“Thank you,” Hal appreciated. Hal and Ahsoka reached the refectory and grabbed breakfast. Hal heard a whistle and after a moment of looking around, he saw Marx and Shalla, who were sitting on one of the more secluded tables. They made their way to the table and sat down with them. Next to Marx was Shalla, his sister. She was even shorter than Marx. Her dark brown hair was cut shorter was the same color as her eyes. Her skin color was a lighter than Marx’s and she had an acrobatic build.

“How was your sleep?” Marx asked.

“Same as always,” Hal responded.

“It was horrible,” Ahsoka emphasized.

Marx and Shalla chuckled. “What about your night?” Shalla asked Ahsoka.

“Mine was good,” she replied.

“I wish I could say that,” Marx commented.

“You had trouble sleeping too?” Hal asked.

Marx looked at Hal dead in the eye. “I kept hearing the same voices over and over: ‘Soulsaber, Vormijj, Danger.’ They didn’t stop throughout the whole night.”

“That’s really weird. I kept hearing the same voices.” Hal said. “After some time, I decided to meditate around them, and I managed to form a connection with the voices and had a few visions.”

“What did you see?” Shalla asked.

“I’m not sure. All I remember are some Jedi fighting a very powerful Sith and then an artifact, similar to a lightsaber.”

“We should go see Master Yoda; he can definitely help us.” Marx suggested.

Hal agreed. The four Jedi finished their food and went on with the rest of their day. Miwa accompanied Ahsoka to her youngling practices, while Hal and Marx visited Yoda for help. The two Jedi arrived at Yoda’s quarters and the doors automatically opened. Hal and Marx looked at each other curiously. “Come in, you may,” Yoda said. Hal and Marx entered Yoda’s quarters and sat with him on the floor. Yoda was meditating. The room was filled with a peaceful aroma, not a bad vibe in sight. All Hal could feel was harmony.

“Trouble, you boys have, eh?” Yoda asked.

“We need some advice,” Hal explained. “Last night we heard some voices.”

“They whispered the same voices over and over,” Marx added. “Soulsaber, Vormijj, Danger.”

“Soulsaber,” Yoda let out after some thinking. “Long ago, it was built. A dark-side artifact made by a Dark Jedi. Very, very dangerous it is.” Master Yoda went on to explain that the Soulsaber, rather than a weapon, was more of a manifestation of the dark side itself. It was a nexus of dark-side energy, and its presence could be felt by anyone standing near it. He explained that any being untainted by the dark side who touched the Soulsaber was immediately hit with a backlash of dark-side energy.

“What should we do, Master?” Hal asked.

“Trust your instincts, you must, and do what you believe is right.”

“Well, the voices gave us a location, Vormijj,” Marx said.

“Vormijj,” Hal repeated. “The Temple of Vormijj, located in the jungles of Pamorjal!”

“If they contacted us, they were maybe calling for help.” Marx theorized. “After all, one of the voices did say ‘danger’”

“Very cautious, you must be,” Yoda warned. “Created not only to destroy life, but to corrupt Force-sensitive beings to the dark side, the Soulsaber was. Fill the wielder with negative emotions, such as anger, aggression, and fear, igniting it will, and turn some Jedi to the dark side, it could.”

“Don’t worry, Master Yoda.” Hal assured. “We’ll be careful.” The two Jedi left Master Yoda’s quarters and prepared to embark on their mission to Pamorjal.

At Pamorjal...

“We’re entering the planet’s atmosphere,” Hal informed. “You ready to do this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Marx answered. “Why do we have these clothes again?” They were both wearing a leather base layer with metal armor, leather pants, and leather boots.

“For unknown reasons, Jedi are banned from the Pamorjal jungles. My guess is it has something to do with the temple.”

“Do we know where this temple is?”

“Nope, but Pamorjal’s central market is filled with people willing to do anything for money. We’ll just pay one to guide us.” Hal piloted the shuttle into the planet’s atmosphere and landed the ship in the central market’s landing zone.

“Put your lightsaber inside the backpack,” Hal told Marx. “We’ll take them out once we reach the temple.”

Marx put his lightsaber inside Hal’s backpack, and they disembarked the shuttle. As soon as they were on the ground, they were interrupted by a salesman.

“Good day, gentleman,” the man greeted. “What brings you to Pamorjal today?”

Hal and Marx looked at each other. The man was extremely enthusiastic and well mannered. “We’re looking for someone to take us to the temple.” Marx pulled out a bag and jiggled it. “We’ll pay good money for whoever takes us there.”

The man’s eyes shined as he looked at the bag. “Say no more. My name’s Julius Decaux, and I’ll be your guide for today. I should tell you that the temple is very dangerous and not everybody makes it out alive.”

“We know,” Hal replied.

Julius raised his eyebrows surprised. “Follow me, then.”

Hal and Marx followed Julius through the main trail that led to Pamorjal’s main jungle. They followed the main trail into the jungle for about one and a half miles. They then deviated from the trail into a small route to the left of the trail. They followed the route straight until there was no more route to follow.

“This is where it gets tricky,” Julius said. “There’s no more trail. This is all by memory.”

“Can you get us there?” Marx asked.

“Probably. Be careful with the Parjcals.”

“Parjcals?” Hal asked.

“Yes. They are giant felines that will rip you apart if you are not careful.”

“That sounds lovely,” Marx commented. They kept following Julius through the jungle until they reached an open area with symbols on the ground. They were big and painted all over the grass.

“We’re on the right track.” Julius said.

Hal looked at the grass and examined the symbols. It was an ancient dialect. He heard movement through the grass and looked up and around him. “We’re not alone.”

“I feel it too,” Marx said. He surveyed his surroundings and tried to make out where the sounds were coming from.

“This is not good,” Julius said.

“What?” Hal asked.

“The natives.” Julius looked around him terrified, trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from. He pulled out a blaster and stood close to Hal and Marx. “You guys are armed, right?”

“We don’t need guns,” Marx responded. He heard a loud screech. A dozen of natives jumped from the woods and attacked the merchant and two Jedi. Julius began shooting the natives, who carried metal shields and spears. They covered themselves with the metal shields and pushed him. He managed to land some shots on some of them but was forced to retreat. Hal and Marx engaged them in hand to hand combat. Hal knocked out a native and took his shield and spear to fight the others. He stabbed a native in the chest and struck another in the face with his shield. Marx, meanwhile, kept fighting the natives with his bare hands. The natives that engaged him were quickly brushed aside with a series of strikes that left them on the ground. Hal finished off the natives that attacked him and turned his attention to Julius, who was being attacked by four natives.

“Help!” Julius frightfully pulled the trigger of his blaster as the natives surrounded him. He managed to kill one of them and as the others closed on him, Hal engaged them with his hands. He attacked one of the natives from behind and smashed his head on the floor, leaving him unconscious. He then moved on to the next one, kicking him on the neck and breaking it and with the final one, he grabbed one of the shields and threw it at the native, slamming his head and dropping him on the floor.

Marx finished what was left of the natives attacking him and rushed to Hal and Julius. “Well, that went quite well I would say.”

“Indeed,” Julius concurred.

“We need to get to the temple now,” Hal said. “We’re running out of time.”

“Of course. Follow me.” Julius led the two Jedi through what was left of the woods until, after ten minutes, they reached the temple. Instantly, the dark energy emerging from the temple was felt by Hal and Marx. It was unlike anything they had ever felt. The coldness entered their body and messed with their senses.

“Here we are. The Temples of Vormijj,” Julius presented. “Now, what I’m owed.” He extended his arms, demanding his payment for risking his life to take them to their location. Hal pulled out the sack with credits and handed it to Julius. The merchant jiggled the sack and heard the credits. He then smiled, nodded at the two Jedi and made his way back to the market. When Julius was out of view, Hal took out the lightsabers and handed Marx his.

“The coldness from inside is unlike anything I’ve ever felt,” Marx remarked.

“We have to be very careful,” Hal pointed out. “We have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

Marx nodded in agreement and they went up the stairs. At the entrance were located four giant statues of ancient Jedi. They were all caped and carrying staffs. The inside of the temple was completely dark and there was a ten feet tall door in their way.

“Time to turn on the lightsabers,” Hal said. He pulled out his saber and ignited it. The area lit up green and Hal analyzed the door in front of him. “This door can only be opened by Force users. I read about these types of doors before. In order to open it, the Force user must form a deep connection with it, unlocking it from within.” Hal handed Marx his lightsaber. He turned to the door and closed his eyes. He extended his arms to the door, concentrating all his senses into connecting with the door. The door spoke to him, as if it was alive. It guided him through its mechanism, until Hal opened the door.

“That was…impressive,” Marx said, impressed at the complexity of the door. He handed Hal his lightsaber and they both entered the temple. The lightsabers were the only light source inside the temple. It was completely dark and quiet. From what Hal could see, the temple was completely tattered. Pillars were destroyed and the floors and walls were falling apart. Fauna had taken over the temple.

“You hear that, Marx?” Hal looked around. He waved his sabers, lighting the area around him. “They keep whispering in some ancient dialect.”

“I hear it too,” Marx affirmed. “We need to keep moving, find what we need and get out of this place. It gives me the creeps.”

“I’m with you on that one.”

After walking some time through the temple passageways, they reached a circular room, with three different passageways.

“Now what?” Marx asked.

Hal shushed Marx. “Do you hear that?”

In the distant, an old man’s voice could be heard. It was a very familiar voice to Hal. He had heard that voice since he joined the Jedi Order, and that voice belonged to someone very special.

“Dooku,” Marx said. “What’s he doing here? No one’s heard of him for some time.”

“Maybe he’s in trouble.”

“Yeah, but where’s the voice coming from?”

Hal paid very close attention to Dooku’s voice and attuned his senses to figure out where the voice was coming from. “Left passageway. Let’s go!”

Hal ran into the passageway and Marx followed him. With their lightsabers ignited, they ran the entire passageway, but Hal stopped just before his lightsaber lit up the end of the corridor. “I have a very bad feeling about this.”

“Is it the loud breathing that lets us know there’s clearly something between us and the end of the passage?” Marx sarcastically asked. “Or the fact that my senses are all over the place and I sense a darkness like no other?”

“A combination of both.” Hal lit up what was left of the corridor. Three guards revealed themselves and pulled out lightsabers.

“This is not good,” Marx said.

“We’re gonna have to face them.”

Without saying a word, the guards ignited their red lightsabers. Hal and Marx assumed a combat stance and waited for the guards to make their moves. One of the guards lunged at Hal. Sabers clashed between them in a crackling frenzy. They pressed against each other's strength, but neither of them gave. Marx was almost shaking, he had never fought a Sith in his life, and then two came along. He focused on blocking the strikes and trying to counter them when they were vulnerable, but it came to no avail. He watched as his friend battled the other guard fearlessly, but nothing scared him more than the thought of losing him right there and then.

Hal pushed the guard into the corridor wall and tried to stab him, but the guard dodged his lightsaber slash and kneed him in the chest before throwing him into the ground.

Marx Force pushed one of the guards against the wall and using his agility, stabbed the guard in the shoulder. He turned his attention to the other guard. They engaged in more lightsaber combat. The guard grabbed Marx by the neck and slammed him into the ground, causing him to drop his lightsaber.

Hal got up and lashed at the guard he was fighting. The guard dodged his lash, grabbed Hal and kicked him into the floor. On the floor, Hal felt the dark presence around him, but he realized it did not come from the guards, it came from beyond the door. This meant that the guards were not Force users. As the guard slashed his saber down at Hal, he was Force pushed back. Hal got up and attacked the guard. A quick slash combo knocked the lightsaber off the guard’s hand and Hal slashed him in the chest. The guard dropped dead and Hal saw Marx being choked to death on the floor. “Marx!” He ran to his friend’s aid. Using the Force, he pulled the lightsaber from the guard he killed and ignited it. As he lunged at the guard, he was confronted by the other guard who had been stabbed in the shoulder.

As Marx began to lose air and life from being choked, he used all his power to pull his lightsaber with the Force and before the guard was able to react, Marx ignited his blue lightsaber and decapitated him. He got up and saw Hal battling the last guard.

Hal used the two lightsabers to overwhelm the guard and, before he was able to do anything, Hal had the two lightsabers stabbed through the guard. The guard dropped on the floor and Hal threw the red lightsaber to the floor. “I thought you needed saving.”

“I managed.” Marx looked at the three dead guards on the floor. “What were those things?”

“I have no idea. They wielded lightsabers, but they’re not Sith.”

“Let’s get the Soulsaber and get out of here.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” Hal opened the door and they entered the dark room.

“Well, well, well. What a surprise.”

“Dooku, what are you doing here?” Hal asked.

“The better question is, what are you doing here?” A hooded figure emerged from the shadows and stood next to Dooku.

“You should not be here,” Dooku warned. “Leave while you still have the chance.”

A chill went down Hal’s spine as he heard Dooku’s words. That was not the Dooku he knew. Something told him that the friend and mentor he once had no longer existed. “Dooku, what happened to you?” He asked.

“All will soon make sense, my dear friend,” Dooku answered. “But for your own sake, leave now.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Marx stated. He pointed his lightsaber at Dooku and the hooded figure. “Now hand us the Soulsaber.”

“Do what you must, apprentice,” the hooded figure commanded. “I want that Soulsaber in our hands.”

“Yes, Master.”

The hooded figure disappeared into the darkness of the temple, leaving Dooku, Marx and Hal to battle for the Soulsaber. Marx lunged at Dooku, but he ignited his red lightsaber and blocked Marx’s strike.

Dooku pushed the Marx aside and took on a better position to defend himself from the Jedi. He had no intentions of killing either of them. He would just tire them out and escape with the Soulsaber when he had the chance.

“It can’t be,” Hal said perplexed. He could not understand how the man who mentored him in lightsaber combat and was one of the greatest Jedi he knew could turn to the dark side. “Why?”

“If I explained to you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Dooku tried to explain. “Walk away and no one will be harmed.”

“We can’t allow that,” Hal said tartly. “The Soulsaber’s coming with us.”

“Then you leave me no choice.”

Hal and Marx approached Dooku from the left and right. Marx charged Dooku again, but the Sith Lord swiftly blocked all of Marx’s strikes. Hal attacked Dooku as well but had all his strikes blocked too. Dooku hit Marx with a blast of Force lightning and left him on the floor. He tried to Hal too with Force lightning, but the young Jedi blocked it with his lightsaber. The two interchanged a series of blows and slashes, but none managed to land any of them, for the other either blocked them or dodged them.

After some time, Marx got up from Dooku’s lightning strike and witnessed his friend locked in combat with Dooku. He picked up his lightsaber and rushed to help Hal. Dooku Force pushed Hal into a wall and when Marx charged him, he dodged the Jedi’s strike and slashed him in the leg. He took the opportunity and grabbed the Soulsaber. As soon as he removed the Soulsaber from the pedestal, he heard a loud rumbling and the temple began collapsing on top of them. Dooku lost his balance and fell, with the Soulsaber dropping to the floor.

“Hal, now!” Marx signaled. He used the Force to toss the Soulsaber toward Hal. Hal grabbed the backpack and caught the Soulsaber with it. He helped Marx up and they both headed for the exit, but they were blocked off by Dooku.

“Don’t make me kill you both,” Dooku pleaded. “Just hand over the Soulsaber.”

“You don’t take no for an answer, do you?” Marx asked.

Dooku ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the two Jedi. Marx and Hal dodged the strike and they both Force pushed Dooku into the room at the same time.

“We should leave,” Marx said.

“You’re probably right,” Hal confirmed. They left the room and made their way through the crumbling corridors. The was ceiling falling apart on top of them, but they either dodged the falling debris or used the Force to push it from on top of them. After traversing the entire temple, they reached the exit, but it was blocked with debris.

“Quick, use the Force to move the debris off the

exit.” Marx began moving debris with the Force, but before he could even move one piece from the exit, a Force lightning strike hit him and flung him through the debris and outside the temple.

“I have run out of patience!” Dooku exclaimed. He ignited his lightsaber and walked furiously towards Hal. The Jedi retreated to aid his friend, who was down on the ground. As he exited the temple, he was stopped by Julius and a squad of Pamorjal forces.

“Jedi! You will pay for what you have done to our temple,” Julius barked. “Kill them!” The Pamorjal forces began shooting at Dooku and Hal. Dooku tried to take advantage of the moment to take the Soulsaber from Hal, but as he made a move towards the backpack, someone threw a grenade at them and the explosion knocked both of them to the ground. Dooku got up and sent a shockwave of lightning towards the soldiers shooting at him. He Force pulled Hal’s backpack toward him, but Marx grabbed it midair and placed it on his back. Dooku, with no more options left, made a run for it and disappeared into the woods, leaving Marx and an unconscious Hal to battle Julius and the remaining Pamorjal forces. Marx used all of his powers to Force push the Pamorjal soldiers to the ground. He then grabbed Hal in his shoulders and made a run for the tall grass. Some soldiers got up and started shooting at him, but he deflected the shots with his lightsaber.

After going deeper into the tall grass, he stopped to sit down on a rock and tried to wake up Hal. He heard a shuttle flying above him and looked up to see Dooku’s shuttle leaving the planet. “That’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

Hal began to slowly open his eyes and looked around unclearly. “Do you have the backpack?”

“I do,” Marx answered. He helped Hal get up and patted him in the back. “We should get out of here. Pamorjal forces are looking for us everywhere.”

“I hope our ship’s still in one piece.”

They made their way through the tall grass and the woods until they arrived at the central market. They took a peek at their shuttle; it was crawling with Pamorjal soldiers.

“That’s not good, is it,” Marx commented.

“We’re gonna need a new shuttle,” Hal said. Hal looked around and saw a shuttle that was quite unguarded. “There.” He pointed to the shuttle. “We’re need disguises to make our way to the shuttle, though.” No one answered. He looked behind him and Marx wasn’t there. “What the…” He looked to the front again and saw Marx standing in from of him with two hoods.

“Way ahead of you,” Marx said. He gave Hal one of the hoods and they both put them on. They began walking through the market and went across to the unguarded shuttle. They boarded the shuttle and when they entered the cockpit, they stumbled upon three Pamorjal soldiers. They all stared at each other for a moment and before the soldiers could take out their weapons, Marx and Hal landed several blows on them and knocked them out.

As Hal started up the shuttle, Marx dumped the soldiers’ bodies outside the shuttle. Several soldiers noticed Marx dumping the bodies outside the shuttle and began shooting at him. “Time to go!” Marx exclaimed. He waved at the soldiers and closed shuttle’s ramp. He joined Hal on the cockpit and they immediately left the planet’s surface.

Once on space and away from trouble, Hal pondered on the events that had just occurred. He wondered what could have caused Dooku to turn to the dark side, who was the hooded man Dooku called “master”, and what did they want with the Soulsaber.

Some time later...

Back on Coruscant, Hal and Marx joined the Jedi Council to report their findings back on Pamorjal. They explained that the voices they both heard during their sleep were warning them about Dooku and the hooded figure using the Soulsaber’s powers for their own gains. They also confirmed that their long-time friend and former Jedi Dooku had fallen to the dark side and was apprentice to a secret master.

“That is a shame,” Mace Windu lamented. “He was one of the best Jedi the order had.”

“Indeed,” Yoda agreed. “But bigger questions, all of this expose. The identity of this Sith Lord, we must figure out.”

“We didn’t get a good look at him, but he seemed older and had a very eerie voice,” Hal explained.

“This Sith Lord could be the same one that trained Darth Maul, which means Kenobi killed the apprentice and not the master,” Plo Koon theorized.

“For now, we’ll try to track down Dooku any way we can,” Windu said. “We also need to keep an eye on this emerging crisis.”

“Our part in this emerging conflict, I know not,” Yoda said. “Careful not to lose our ways, we must be.” The Grand Master looked worried, as he stared at the two Jedi Knights in front of him.

“What will happen to the Soulsaber?” Marx asked.

“The Soulsaber will be locked deep in the vaults so that its dark powers are not used to wreak havoc across the galaxy,” Ki-Adi-Mundi informed.

“Thank you, masters.” Marx and Hal bowed at the Jedi Masters in front of them and they exited the Jedi Council Chamber.

Outside the chamber, Hal spoke with Marx and Plo Koon. His master congratulated him on recovering the Soulsaber and bringing it safely to Coruscant.

“Thank you, Master. Couldn’t have done it without your training.”

“At least now it’s safe in the vaults,” Marx said. “If you’ll excuse me, my sister needs my help in the hangar.” Marx retreated from the conversation and made his way to the hangar to help Shalla.

“Master, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it, Hal?”

“I’ve been feeling a very familiar connection throughout the temple lately.”

“Familiar?”

“Yes. Familiar in the sense that it is very strong, almost brotherlike.”

“As if you had a family member close to you?”

“Exactly. I don’t really know how, but I feel it.”

“Meditate on it. I’m sure you’ll find the answer. If you don’t, find me and I’ll try to help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you, Master.” Hal and Plo Koon parted ways. Hal headed for his quarters and Plo Koon entered the Council chamber.

“Become very powerful, he has,” Yoda told Plo Koon.

“And at a very young age,” Plo Koon added. “He still has a very young mind, but he has already become far superior than many Jedi in the order.”

“Make sure he continues this path, you must.”

“I won’t let him down. I promise.”

“A beacon of light during the dark times ahead, he will become.”

 

CHAPTER 2
“WOOKIE SLAVES”
23 BBY
CORUSCANT (SENATE BUILDING), CORUSCANT SYSTEM

More planets leave the Republic! With the Separatist Crisis gaining more momentum, the Trade Federation decides to invade the planet of Kashyyyk. They plan to use the Wookies as slaves and set up droid factories for the upcoming war. Back in Coriscant, the Senate holds a meetong to decide ways to resolve the ongoing crisis…​

It was mid-day at Coruscant. The sunlight beamed on the Senate’s landing pad where Hal Jyvun stood. He awaited Senator Bail Organa’s arrival. The Jedi Council had sent Hal to attend the Senate’s meeting in order to obtain information about the senators’ point of view on the movement.

Bail Organa’s shuttle arrived and landed on the landing pad. Bail and a squad of Alderaanian security disembarked the shuttle. “Hal, it’s been so long!” the senator shouted.

“Too long,” Hal acknowledged, hugging Bail. “How are you?”

“I’m very good. I wish the circumstances of my arrival were better.”

“You’re not the only one.” Hal and Bail entered the building and discussed the Separatist Crisis as they made their way to the Senate chamber.

“The Senate has received confirmation that thousands of star systems have seceded from the Galactic Republic and pledged loyalty to Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,” Bail explained.

“That’s not good,” Hal said. “The Senate will want to act fast before more planets join him.”

“Yes, they will, but that’s why I’m here. We have been working tirelessly to try and solve this matter peacefully.”

“I need to ask you something,” Hal let out after some hesitation. “I need to know about my family.”

Bail sighed and looked around to see if anyone was coming. “I’m not supposed to tell you this. Your mother’s living here in Coruscant with your oldest brother. Her name is Elara Zih and your brother’s named Telio Jyvun.”

“Telio. I think I remember him. Why are they here?”

“We thought since Telio wants to become a senator, we would send him here with your mother so he could represent us in the Senate and keep us up to date with what they decide.”

“Then why are you here?”

“This reunion requires, a more experienced head. Telio is smart but he is still young.”

“How young?”

“Twenty-seven years old.”

“He’s not my only brother, is he? I remember another.”

“You have two sisters. Talanis and Keylara. Talanis is twenty-three years old and Keylara is sixteen years old. They still live in Alderaan and take care of things when I’m not on the planet.”

“And my father?”

“No one knows.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jerris disappeared two years after you were taken to the Jedi Temple.”

Hal hugged Bail. “Thanks for telling me. I know I shouldn’t ask these things, but I needed to know about them.”

“No worries. Let’s get moving or I’ll be late.”

They arrived at the Senate Chamber and met up with Senator Padmé Amidala and Senator Asha Nala. The senators were discussing their discourse to the Senate.

“Good day, Senators,” Bail greeted.

“How are you, Bail?” Padmé asked and hugged Bail.

“Nice to see you here, Hal,” Asha said.

“Nice to see you too,” Hal responded.

Asha introduced Hal to Senator Amidala. “Padmé, this is a good friend of mine, Jedi Knight Hal Jyvun.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Hal.”

“Likewise.”

After some conversation and discussions about the best way to resolve the crisis, Padmé and Bail left to set up the final parts of their discourse, leaving Asha and Hal alone. “So, how have you been after the last time we met?” Asha asked.

“I’ve been good,” Hal answered. “This ongoing crisis has left the Council wondering what would happen if a war was to erupt.”

“You seem awed.”

“I asked Bail about my family.”

“You’re not supposed to know those things, Hal.”

“I know, but it’s been sixteen years since I left Alderaan. I had to know how my family was doing. I keep sensing someone familiar and with a very strong connection to me at the temple, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Relax. In time, you’ll figure things out. You always do.”

Hal stared at Asha and smiled. His commlink began beeping rapidly. “Talk to me, Shalla,” Hal said.

“Master Plo needs you at the temple,” Shalla responded.

“I’m kinda in the middle of a Senate meeting.”

“I know. Master Windu’s on his way to the Senate Building.”

Hal sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m on my way.”

“I should probably go find Senator Organa and Padmé,” Asha said. She smiled at Hal. “It was nice catching up with you.”

At the temple, Hal met with Plo Koon and Master Yoda. Plo Koon explained to Hal that he was to take care of Obi-Wan’s Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, while he attended a distress signal from Felucia that asked for him alone. Master Yoda informed Hal that he would have to take Anakin on a mission to help the Wookies on Kashyyyk fend off a Trade Federation invasion.

“You mean to tell me I’m supposed to take care of Obi-Wan’s Padawan, who I’ve heard is extremely arrogant, and I also have to take him on a mission to Kashyyyk?” Hal protested.

“Precisely,” Plo Koon answered.

“Aren’t I a bit too young to take care of a Padawan. I don’t think I’m your best option.”

“Faith in yourself, you lack,” Yoda said. “More than qualified to take care of Skywalker, you are.”

“If you long to become a Jedi Master, you must overcome every obstacle that you face,” Plo Koon said. “Part of being a Jedi Master is passing along what you know to others.”

“Fine. I’ll take him on the mission to Kashyyk,” Hal reluctantly accepted. “Where is he?”

“They are arriving from a patrol through the Senate district,” Plo Koon said.

“Leave to meet them, we must,” Yoda added. He and Plo Koon left to meet Obi-Wan and Anakin. Hal stood where he was left and sighed. He had never taken care of a Padawan and now he was about to be sent on an important mission with one that was just three years younger than him.

“What’s troubling you?” Shalla asked. She was standing next to Hal as he tried to grasp the situation he was just thrown in. Hal explained to her. He told her that he worked better alone for now and that putting someone like Anakin Skywalker under his command would probably not end well.

“Well, I believe in you,” Shalla said. “You were one of the best Padawans the Order’s ever seen. That’s why you were granted Knighthood at such a young age. I’m sure you’ll be able to complete you mission and take care of the boy.”

“Thanks, Shalla,” Hal said. “It means a lot.”

A group of younglings walked past Hal and Shalla. Among them was Ahsoka, who separated from the group and ran towards Hal. “Hal, do you have time to practice later?”

“Unfortunately, not, little one,” Hal answered. “I’ve been sent on a very important mission to Kashyyyk.” One of the boys who was part of Ahsoka’s group came to her and told her that the group was waiting for her to continue.

“I’m on my way, Kal,” Ahsoka told the boy. She wished Hal luck on his mission and left with the boy to join the group.

“There’s that strong connection again,” Hal commented.

“What strong connection?” Shalla asked.

Hal scratched his head. “I’ve been feeling a peculiar connection with someone around the Temple the past couple of years. It’s an on and off thing but whenever I feel it it’s a very strong bond.”

“Have you told Master Plo about it?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe family? Anyway, I have to leave. Master Drallig is probably searching for me.”

“See you around.”

As Shalla left Hal to meet with her master, Plo Koon arrived with Anakin. The Padawan greeted Hal and introduced himself.

“I’ve heard great things about you, Master Hal.”

Hal cringed at the fact Anakin had called him “Master”, but he let it pass. “Same here. Obi-Wan speaks very highly of you.”

“You should prepare for the mission,” Plo Koon suggested. “The Council is counting on both of you to help the Wookies make a stand against the Trade Federation.”

Hal and Anakin acknowledged and left for the command center, where Hal was supposed to analyze their targets. “Don’t worry about calling me ‘Master’,” Hal said as they made their way to the command center. “You can call me Hal. I actually prefer it.” Anakin nodded in agreement and they continued through the Temple.

When they arrived at the communications center, Hal approached the holoprojector table and pulled up a map of Kashyyyk. He analyzed key points of the planet with Anakin. They discovered a droid factory to the west of the planet and another one under construction a hundred miles to the east. They concurred that if they were to help the Wookies take back their planet, the first step would be to take out the droid factories and clean up what remained of the droids after that. Hal also noticed that the droid factories were built right in the middle of Wookie homes “We know what to do,” Anakin said.

“Yeah, we do,” Hal agreed. “Let’s go.”

Kashyyyk's Atmosphere...

Hal and Anakin emerged out of hyperspace. There was no Trade Federation blockade. This did not bode with Hal. How could a planet with two droid factories have no ships protecting it? “Keep an eye out,” Hal told Anakin. “This could be a trap.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, no spaceships I sight,” Anakin replied as they entered the planet’s atmosphere.

Hal looked at the concentrated Padawan and rolled his eyes. He knew Jedi were supposed to be sure of their power, but there was something about being called the “Chosen One” that he felt gave Anakin an extreme level of cockiness and arrogance. Obi-Wan had once spoken to him that he felt his Padawan’s abilities had made him arrogant.

Hal’s thoughts were interrupted by Anakin’s announcement that they had arrived at the Wookies’ compound. Hal and Anakin exited the shuttle and met with the Wookie chieftain, Tarfful and his second in command, Chewbacca. “How are we going to understand them?” Anakin asked.

“I’m a bit rusty, but I remember learning some Shyriiwook back at the Temple,” Hal answered.

Tarfful welcomed the two Jedi to their base and introduced himself and Chewbacca. “It’s an honor to meet you Tarfful,” Hal responded. “I’m Hal Jyvun and this is Anakin Skywalker. I know things aren’t looking very bright right now, but we’re here to help you oust the Trade Federation presence from your planet.”

Tarfful thanked them for their support and asked them to follow him and and Chewbacca so they could devise a plan to help his people. As Hal followed the two Wookies through the base, he witnessed a very little amount of Wookie warriors. Most of them had been either captured or killed by the Trade Federation. The woman and children starved while the men were forced to fight to defend their planet. “This is horrible,” Anakin commented. “They don’t deserve this. We have to destroy those factories as soon as possible and give these Wookies their families and homes back.”

Hal stared at Anakin. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, Skywalker, but we need a plan. You can’t just march blindly to your death.”

“I know. I’m just saying our main priority should be destroying the factories and giving the Wookies their home back.” They entered the command tent. Hal set a hologram on the floor and pulled up the planet’s schematics. He explained to Tarfful and Chewbacca that they were heavily outnumbered by the Trade Federation droids. He suggested that they first attack the concentration camp to the north and liberate the Wookie warriors, so they have more men to fight. Tarfful agreed with Hal’s strategy and told him that there were more Wookie warriors inside the droid factories. Anakin pointed out that the second droid factory seemed to have started construction recently, so there shouldn’t be much droid activity except for the ones that are building the factory. As Anakin finished his sentence, blaster fire could be heard coming from outside the tent. Blaster bolts tore up the tent and killed some of the Wookies inside.

“We’re being ambushed!” Anakin shouted.

“I can see that,” Hal replied. They exited the tent, lightsabers activated, and witnessed as hundreds of droids approached the compound. “We’re outnumbered,” Hal told Tarfful. “We need to retreat, or we’ll all be dead.” Tarfful ignored Hal’s words and assembled all of his men. He let out a massive growl and they charged at the droids. Anakin, first to react, ran to aid the Wookies. Hal tried to stop him, but the Padawan was too fast for him. As he rushed to join the battle, he noticed an Armored Assault Tank coming in from the side. Hal ran as quick as he could to try and stop Anakin from getting blasted by the tank, but before he could reach him, the tank fired at the Jedi and Wookies.

It took Hal some seconds to get back to his senses and he immediately looked for Anakin. He saw the Padawan lying on the floor unconscious, or so he hoped. Hal force pulled Anakin into his arms. As he checked for Anakin’s pulse, he heard a low growl. He turned his back and saw Chewbacca hiding at the end of the compound. He grabbed Anakin’s lightsaber from the ground and carried Anakin on his shoulder. He silently made his way to the end of the compound, dodging the view of the droids inspecting the compound and searching for survivors.

“We need to get out of here,” Hal told Chewbacca. The Wookie responded that he couldn’t just abandon his friends.

“We won’t abandon them, I promise, but if you go back in there, they’ll kill you or enslave you like the rest of your people.”

Chewbacca asked Hal what they would do then. What was left of their forces were killed or captured and they had no backup.

“We’ll figure something out, but right now we need to leave.”

Chewbacca then told Hal that he had stolen concentration camp schematics from one of the raids and that they were located on a hologram inside command center. He also asked Hal to get his bowcaster. He was going to need it if they were to free his people.

“Take care of Anakin. If I get caught, run deep into the forest and make sure he lives.” Hal sneaked through the tents, evading the various droids that patrolled the complex. Chewbacca watched from outside how Hal glided past the droids without being seen. He reached the front of the command center, but it was blockaded by three droids. Hal used the force to drop a crate on the other side of the tent, causing the droids to clear the entrance. Hal entered the tent and searched around the room for the schematics. He found the hologram, but as he went for it, a Neimoidian commander entered the room with two droids. Hal reacted quickly and hid inside a locker.

“Where’s the chieftain, commander?” the Neimoidian asked the droid.

“He’s inside the transport, General Viorti.”

The Neimoidian grabbed the hologram and examined it. “What about the Jedi?”

“There’s no sign of them.”

He set the hologram on the table and turned to the droids. “Time to head back to the factory.”

“Roger, roger.” The two droids left the room and with General Viorti having his back turned at the locker, Hal opened the locker and as he made his way out through the back of the tent, he pulled the hologram with the Force. General Viorti turned quickly to the locker, but it was the same as when he entered. He then looked at the table and noticed that the hologram was missing.

“Jedi,” he said. He rushed out of the tent. “There’s a Jedi inside this compound! Find him!”

“That’s my cue.” Hal quickly snuck through the compound as he heard the General order his troops to find him. He then remembered he had to grab Chewbacca’s bowcaster and for a second debated if it was worth the risk. He then saw some droids inside the armory examining the weapon. Hal rushed to the armory and before the droids could react, he sliced them and took the bowcaster. With the bowcaster and hologram in hand, Hal made his way out of the compound and reunited with Chewbacca and Anakin, who was starting to gain his consciousness. “Time to leave,” Hal told Chewbacca and Anakin, as droids searched the perimeter for them. Chewbacca carried Anakin, as they rushed past the trees and retreated deep into the forest, where the droids couldn’t find them. They were alone. No reinforcements, no communications, no heavy weaponry. Chewbacca set Anakin on the ground and Hal sat down next to him to check if he was ok. Chewbacca looked at the trees and as he came to the conclusion that they were probably going to die, let out a giant roar that echoed for miles.

“Shut up!” Hal chided. “You’re going to get us caught.”

Chewbacca sat down on a rock and apologized. He then asked what their next move was.

“We have the concentration camp schematics, so we continue with the plan. I overheard a droid say that they were taking Tarfful there.”

“We free Tarfful and the other Wookies and then we take the battle to them,” Anakin added while he sat up.

“Exactly.” Hal pulled up the concentration camp schematics and found some sewage pipes that would take them directly to the main cells. “That was easy,” he commented. “We’ll take the pipes to the main cells and free the Wookies, causing a riot and taking out the concentration camp.”

Chewbacca recalled that the concentration camp’s power system was damaged from the last raid and that a simple knock would probably leave the camp powerless.

“We’ll wait for darkness then. We knock out the camp’s power, free the Wookies without anyone realizing and take the concentration camp.”

Anakin agreed with the plan and so did Chewbacca. They waited for darkness and made their way to the concentration camp. After some walking, they reached the concentration camp and took cover behind some rocks and foliage. “There’s our entrance,” Hal said. “Past those four guards.” The sewer entrance was being guarded by four Neimoidian guards. They were taller than Anakin and Hal and wore Neimoidian warrior armor. They carried electrostaffs and a holsted pistol.

“Do we kill them?” Anakin asked.

Chewbacca emphasized that he had no problem on killing them. Hal looked at Chewbacca and smiled. “Of course, you don’t.”

“Chewbacca, cause a distraction and we’ll take them out from behind,” Anakin instructed. He and Hal jumped to the tree branches and waited for Chewbacca’s move. Chewbacca made himself visible to the Neimoidian guards and called them.

“There, a Wookie!” One of the guards said. They moved in on Chewbacca, but little did they know that there were two Jedi above them. Hal and Anakin ignited their lightsabers and jumped down on the Neimoidian guards. They landed on top of them and sliced them down before they could react. “We make a nice team,” Anakin told Hal.

“You can say that when we free this planet,” Hal responded. They approached the sewage pipe entrance and Hal cut a hole on it with his lightsaber. They entered the pipe system and Hal pulled up the camp’s schematics. “The entrance to the cell room is the fourth entrance on the third left. The power room is the fifth entrance ahead. You two head to the cell rom and as soon as the power is out, enter the room and start freeing Wookies.” They split up and Hal headed to the power room. He could not see anything on his way to the power room, so he ignited his lightsaber and stumbled upon three battle droids patrolling the sewer system.

“Jedi!” one of the droids shouted. Hal sliced through two of the droids and crushed the last one with the Force. He entered the power room and found the power system completely destabilized. He tried looking for a power switch but couldn’t find anything. After searching for some time, Hal realized the power system could only be switched of with a keycard. He then remembered what Chewbacca said about a single knock taking out the entire power system. Hal flicked the power plant, and, in an instant, the entire camp lost its power. Hal smiled. “I can’t believe that actually worked.” He heard footsteps heading towards the power room and made his exit before he was found.

“That’s our cue,” Anakin told Chewbacca. Chewbacca tried to tell Anakin that they didn’t have the keys to open the cells, but Anakin couldn’t understand him. “I can’t understand you, Chewbacca.” They entered the cell room and Anakin signaled the captured Wookies to stay silent. As he went to open the first cell, he realized he had no key to open the cells. “We have no keys, Chewbacca.” Chewbacca stared at Anakin and facepalmed. “No worries.” Anakin ignited his lightsaber and cut the cell’s lock, liberating the first group of Wookies. Hal entered the cell room and helped Anakin break out the rest of the Wookies.

After liberating all the Wookies, they barged out of the cell room and attacked the Neimoidians and droids on the concentration camp. Hal, Anakin and Chewbacca led the assault and decimated anyone that stood on their way. They reached the armory and the Wookies armed themselves to take the camp. The Wookies, with the aid of Hal and Anakin, blasted their way through to the yard. One of the younger Wookies came up to Hal and asked him to free his father, who was being interrogated. Hal agreed to rescue the Wookie’s father and made his way to the interrogation room. He killed the Neimoidian soldiers that stood in his way and sliced down the droids that attacked him. From inside the interrogation room, the Neimoidian interrogator and four droids could hear the sound of Hal’s lightsaber slicing through droids and the screams of the Neimoidian warriors that died trying to kill him.

“I need to get out of here,” the interrogator said, but before he could make his escape, Hal barged into the room. The door slammed into one of the droids and Hal made easy work of the remaining three droids.

“I would surrender, but that’s just me,” Hal told the interrogator as he pointed his green lightsaber at him. Anakin contacted Hal and informed him that the final enemy forces had been defeated, meaning the camp was theirs. The interrogator backed against the wall and saw as Hal cut the Wookie’s cuffs and released him. The Wookie grabbed the interrogator and furiously took him outside the room as the interrogator begged for help. “He’s all yours,” Hal smiled. He regrouped with Chewbacca, Tarfful and Anakin at the yard.

“I’m not sure there are enough Wookies here to defeat the Trade Federation,” Anakin pointed out. Tarfful and Chewbacca agreed with him and added that the droid presence on the planet had grown since the last time they raided the factory. One of the Wookies overheard their conversation and walked up to them. He told the group that he was from a clan that had hidden away in the mountains when the droids arrived. Tarfful asked the Wookie what clan he belonged to, and the Wookie answered that he belonged to Icuuk’s clan.

“That’s not good,” Hal said. Tarfful scowled at the Wookie and left the group to attend his son.

“What’s his problem?” Anakin asked.

“Tarfful’s clan and Icuuk’s clan have had a rivalry for over a hundred years.”

“How do you even know this information?”

“Before the Separatist Crisis there really wasn’t much to do, so I just took the time to learn about other civilizations and read a lot of archives.”

The Wookie told Hal that even though they had a rivalry, if they arrived at the clan’s hideout with some of its members and explained the severity of the situation, they could persuade the chieftain to join forces with Tarfful’s clan and defeat the Trade Federation forces. Hal took inti consideration the Wookie’s words and approached Tarfful to speak with him. “Tarfful, I know your clan’s rivalry with Icuuk’s clan has gone on for more than a hundred years, but you need to realize this is the only way to save your planet,” Hal began. “Your planet and your people’s wellbeing should be more important than your rivalry with Icuuk.” After some retaliation, Tarfful gave in to the idea but warned Hal that Icuuk would be more stubborn than him and convincing him to help would not be easy. “I can reason with him. And it’ll be easier if we bring him people from his clan. Show him that we are willing to make peace and fight together for the planet.” Tarfful agreed to the plan.

“How’d it go?” Anakin asked.

“He agreed,” Hal answered. “Take us to your people,” he told the Wookie. The Wookie nodded and asked them to follow him. Tarfful gathered his people and the ones from Iccuk’s clan and they left for the mountains.

An hour later...

The haze blocked Hal’s view as he followed the Wookie through the mountain’s trail. They were so high up that Hal could not see the planet’s surface. He wondered if the Trade Federation’s actions were part of the Separatist movement. What was the point of invading a planet and building new droid factories? War was near. Anakin walked next to Hal, wishing his master had not attended the distress call to Felucia. This was his first mission without Obi-Wan. He had found it hard to find people to trust inside the Jedi Order. He only trusted his master, and even though this was the first time he met Hal, Anakin already trusted him more than any Jedi he had met. There was something about Hal, maybe the fact they thought the same way, that made Anakin feel comfortable. He felt a connection to the Jedi Knight and believed that they could become good friends. The Wookie stopped in his tracks and asked the rest of the Wookie survivors to wait for him here. “What’s happening?” Anakin asked Hal.

“I don’t know,” Hal answered. “I think we arrived.”

After a moment, the Wookie returned and told everyone to enter the haven. Hal, Anakin and the other Wookies entered. There were countless Wookies taking refuge inside. Hundreds of women and children scared of what was happening. A giant Wookie emerged from the main building and, along with two Wookie warriors, approached Hal, Anakin and Tarfful. He asked menacingly what Tarfful was doing inside his refuge.

“That did not sound good,” Anakin commented, as he placed his hand on his lightsaber.

“Wait,” Hal told Anakin. He slowly pulled Anakin’s hand from the lightsaber. “Let’s see what happens.”

Tarfful told Icuuk that the Trade Federation took his people’s homes and he had nowhere to go. Iccuk told Tarfful that not once, in over one hundred years, did Tarfful come to talk with him and, now that he has nowhere to go, he comes asking for help. Icuuk chuckled and told Tarfful to leave his haven immediately.

“That can’t be good,” Anakin commented.

“It isn’t,” Hal said. “We might not get the help we need.” Tarfful growled and then pleaded Icuuk to at least let his people stay in the refuge, but Icuuk denied his request.

“Wait,” Hal told Icuuk. The Wookie turned around, approached Hal and asked him what he wanted. “Don’t make this mistake,” Hal began. “You think the Trade Federation won’t find you up here? They will and when they do you will all be submitted into forced labor. Your men, combined with Tarfful’s men, are enough to oust the Trade Federation presence from your planet.”

Icuuk interrupted Hal and told him that he did not need Tarfful’s help in anything.

“Yes, you do. In these moments you all need each other’s help. Think about your planet. The Trade Federation will destroy it searching for every last Wookie they can enslave. Fight back! Forget about rivalries and take advantage of the two skilled Jedi at your disposal and take the fight to them! We can destroy the factories and defeat the Trade Federation, but only if we work together.”

Icuuk pondered on Hal’s speech for a moment and, after looking around at some of the women and children who were suffering because of the invasion, he gave in. He approached Tarfful and told him that he would set aside their rivalry for the time being, so they could do what was best for their people. Tarfful also agreed to set aside the rivalry. “That was impressive,” Anakin told Hal.

“Thanks, it was completely improvised,” Hal replied.

Icuuk invited Hal, Anakin and Tarfful into his tenement. They entered and Icuuk asked what the plan was. Hal explained that the Trade Federation knew about their presence, which meant that more troops were assigned to the factories. Hal’s plan was to commit all the Wookies to the factory under construction. This would outnumber the droids and have them call for backup from the other factory. It would cause a distraction and allow a small squad to infiltrate the main factory and destroy it from the inside. The rest would be taking out the droid forces at the facility under construction and liberating the planet. Icuuk liked the plan. He asked who would go to the main factory and how he plans to blow up the factory.

“You’ll lead the main assault. Your men need your leadership and courage on the battlefield. Anakin, Tarfful, Chewbacca and I will head to the main factory. We’ll plant charges on the fuel cells and blow the factory sky-high.” They all agreed on the plan and walked outside to brief the Wookies and prepare for the mission. Hal and Anakin looked for Chewbacca and briefed him on the plan.

Tarfful finished briefing some of his warriors on the mission and as he left to join the Jedi, a young Wookie came up to talk to him. It was his son, Trink, who was asking to them on the mission. Tarfful explained to Trink that the mission was too dangerous and that the risk was too high. Trink retaliated and told his father that he did not want to stand around and wanted to help destroy the droid factory that took so many of his friends’ life. He asked his father to let him do it for his friends and family who died at the hands of the Trade Federation. Tarfful reluctantly agreed and told his son to come with him to the Jedi.

“I see we have company,” Hal told Tarfful. “We should get moving and find a good position to infiltrate the factory once the main assault begins.” The squad left the haven and began their travel to the factory.

They reached the surface and entered the forest that stood between them and the factory. As they traversed through the woods, Anakin’s thoughts began troubling him. Images of his mother began popping into his mind. For a long time, he wondered if being a Jedi was the life he wanted. A life that was basically imposed on him. Anakin then, for a moment, thought about talking to Hal about his problems. He had never done such thing with any other Jedi that wasn’t his master, and even then, he did not tell Obi-Wan everything that troubled him. Something inside Anakin told him that talking with Hal was the right move, even if this was his first time meeting him. They were almost the same age, so maybe Hal would understand Anakin better.

“Hal, can we talk?” Anakin asked.

“What’s wrong?” Hal replied. “You seem troubled.”

Anakin then began explaining to Hal his troubles. He explained to Hal that he joined the Jedi Order at a later age and had to reluctantly leave his mother, who was a slave, behind. He told Hal that adapting to the Jedi Temple was harder than he imagined and that he had trouble trusting other Jedi apart from his master. He also told Hal that he was conflicted and did not know if the Jedi Order was the life he wanted, as it had been imposed to him basically.

“I know how you feel,” Hal began. “When I was fourteen years old, I began having visions about my family. Things that I shouldn’t have been able to remember, I remembered them like it happened the day before. I then began to question why I was taken away from my family. Nowadays I can’t even remember my mother’s face. I know at times it seems pointless to live this life knowing there might be something better out there, but I know this is what my mother wants for me. It’s probably what your mother wants for you too and that’s why she let you go.”

Anakin paid close attention to every word Hal said and, slowly but surely, he began feeling better.

“I believe life placed us in this path to protect the ones we love. Nothing happens by accident, Anakin. I accept this life because I know that as a peacekeeper, I protect my family and countless other lives around the galaxy. To be honest, I don’t agree with everything in the Jedi Code. There are some flaws and I tend to follow my own way sometimes.” By the end of Hal’s speech, Anakin’s troubles had mostly disappeared for the time being. “Thanks for the guidance, Hal. It really helps.”

“Anytime you need help, I’m here.”

They arrived at the droid factory’s perimeter and Tarfful signaled the team to halt. He pointed at several Neimoidian soldiers patrolling the area. Hal suggested that they climb the trees to get a better view of the area. They all climbed the trees and stood on one of the large branches. On the branch, Anakin noticed droid snipers positioned on other trees. “Hal, multiple droid snipers are positioned along this tree line.”

“We need to take them out before we can infiltrate the factory,” Hal said. “Tarfful, Chewbacca and…”

Trink introduced himself to Hal and Anakin and explained that he was Tarfful’s son.

“Ok, then. Tarfful, Chewbacca and Trink, find a way inside the factory while Anakin and I take out the droid snipers.” Hal and Anakin jumped from branch to branch, slicing down the droids without alerting the others. As Anakin jumped from one of the branches to the other, the branch snapped. Hal reacted quickly and used the Force to hold the branch. He then placed it on the ground, far away from droid presence, and continued taking out the droids. Once all the droid snipers were dealt with, they regrouped with the Wookies. Tarfful informed to Hal and Anakin that the most efficient way to infiltrate the factory was through the pipeline.

Hal approved. “We’ll travel through the pipelines and hopefully once we’ve reached the generator room, Icuuk’s forces have already begun their assault.” On the factory’s roof, Hal used his lightsaber to cut a hole on the pipeline, allowing them access. The team entered the pipeline and traversed through it until they reached the generator room. Hal opened the pipeline’s hatch and saw inside the generator room. There were five droids guarding the generator. To draw the droids closer, Hal dropped his lightsaber on the ground and the noise caused the droids to move in to investigate. Hal then summoned his lightsaber and before the droids could even process what had happened, he sliced them down. Chewbacca remarked that there were other Wookies being held captive inside the factory that must be saved before they detonate the charges.

“Anakin, stay here with Tarfful and Trink and set the charges,” Hal instructed. “I’ll go free the other Wookies with Chewbacca.” Hal decided that it would be easier if they traveled through the vents, but Chewbacca reminded him that he did not fit through the vents.

They left the generator room and skulked through the factory. Icuuk’s assault appeared to have worked, as they encountered very little droids on their way. They reached the machinery control room. Hal entered the vents on top of them and infiltrated the room. Inside, dozens of Wookies were forced to control the machinery and produce the droids that took their planet. Hal counted seven Neimoidian guards in the room. He lifted the ventilation hatch and quietly dropped into the room. One of the Wookies saw him and Hal signaled him to keep quiet. Hal managed to free three of the Wookies without being seen and instructed them to attack the guards at his signal. He ignited his lightsaber and stabbed one of the guards from behind and sliced another one on the chest. As the other guards closed in on Hal to attack him, the freed Wookies surprised them and attacked them. Chewbacca then stormed into the room and aided the other Wookies defeat the Neimoidian guards. Once all the enemies were dealt with, Hal and Chewbacca freed the remaining Wookies and directed them to the generator room, where they could escape through the pipeline.

“Hal, the charges are set,” Anakin informed through the commlink, but before he could finish what he was saying, a squad of droids and Neimoidian warriors stormed into the generator room and forced them to surrender. The droids began deactivating and removing the charges from the generator and one of the Neimoidian warriors informed Anakin that General Chahn was expecting them on the command center.

As Hal and Chewbacca prepared to head back to the generator room and try to liberate Anakin, Tarfful and Trink, Icuuk contacted Chewbacca and informed him that the second facility had been destroyed. A squad of Neimoidian warriors stormed into the room, but Hal was first to react and hid inside the vents, leaving Chewbacca to be caught. Chewbacca, however, left his transmission on, letting Icuuk know that he had been captured. Hal watched as the Neimoidians searched the rest of the room and left with Chewbacca. With no other options left, Hal decided to head to the command center. He traversed through the factory’s ventilation system until he was on top of the command center. He looked through the ventilation hatch and saw Anakin, Tarfful, Trink and Chewbacca being held prisoners by General Viorti.

“Where is your master?” Viorti asked Anakin.

“Right now, I think he’s on Felucia,” Anakin answered.

“Lies! I know there’s another Jedi with you. You’re just a Padawan.”

“That’s degrading.”

As Hal evaluated his options, he was contacted by Icuuk, who informed him that he and his men were on their way to the factory. Hal then decided the best option was to drop into the command center and try to buy some time until Icuuk and his men arrived. Hal dropped into the command center and surprised everyone on the room.

“Finally, the missing Jedi,” Viorti said. He pointed his blaster at Anakin’s head. “Surrender or the Padawan dies.”

“Pretty straightforward.” Hal asked. “I was thinking about surrendering anyway. I’m way outnumbered in this room.”

“Shut up!” Chahn barked. “Bring me his lightsaber.”

“You’re rude.” As one of the droids approached him to take his lightsaber, Hal felt the presence of Icuuk and his men. He pushed the droid aside and looked at Viorti. “Actually, why don’t I propose something?”

“What could you possibly propose?” Viorti asked.

“I propose you surrender and the Wookies might have some sort of mercy on you. After all, you did take their homes. Did you know they lived here?”

Viorti began laughing. “You just pointed out you’re outnumbered. You and what army will make me surrender?” As Viorti finished his question a giant rumble erupted, and fighting could be heard inside the factory.

“That army,” Hal said and winked at Viorti. He ignited his lightsaber and sliced two droids that had weapons pointed at him. Viorti pulled the trigger, but Hal used the Force to shake the Neimoidian’s hand and he missed Anakin’s head. Amid the confusion, Anakin summoned his lightsaber and cut his cuffs. He then killed the Neimoidian guards and engaged the droids inside the room. Viorti pulled out a vibrosword and attacked Hal. As Hal engaged Viorti in a fierce duel, Anakin defeated the remaining droids and freed Chewbacca, Tarfful and Trink. He told the Wookies to find a way to destroy the factory while he helped Hal defeat Chahn. As the Wookies left the room through the left door, four Neimoidian warriors entered the room and attacked Anakin.

Viorti furiously attacked Hal, repeatedly dealing blows that Hal deflected at an impressive rate. The Jedi had no room to make an attack of his own and resorted to a defensive approach to the duel, deflecting Viorti’s strikes until he found an opening to counterattack. Hal’s approach to the duel gave Viorti a sense of superiority, believing he was winning.

Anakin, on the other hand, attacked the warriors, who carried electrostaffs, head on. He lunged at one of the warriors and dealt as many strikes as possible. Another warrior tried to attack him from behind, but Anakin Force pushed him through the window and to his death, leaving three warriors remaining. Anakin held nothing back, attacking the warriors and leaving them no room to breathe, similar to what Viorti was doing to Hal. He kicked one of the warriors against the wall and stabbed him in the chest. The remaining warrior decided to rush Anakin, but as the Padawan turned, he sliced the final warrior in half before he could react. Anakin turned his attention to Hal and Viorti and noticed that Hal was beginning to struggle. As he rushed to help his friend, two more warriors entered the room and engaged him.

Hal’s tactic was beginning to falter. He counted on Viorti to start tiring, but the Neimoidian did not lose stamina. He continued attacking Hal with the same energy as the beginning of the duel. Hal, on the other hand, was beginning to tire. Viorti disarmed Hal, promting the Jedi to dodge Viorti’s strikes. The Neimoidian, however, managed to grab Hal by the neck and slam him against the ground. “Out of all the warriors I’ve killed, a Jedi will be the most satisfying,” Viorti said as he raised his vibrosword. However, before he could land the finishing strike, he began chocking and levitating. He stared at Anakin, frightened and trying to gasp for air. Before he could realize, he was flung outside the room and dropped to his death.

Anakin rushed to Hal and helped him up. “Are you ok?”

“Could be better,” Hal responded. “Thanks for that.” Hal summoned his lightsaber and they both left the command room. As Hal and Anakin traversed through the factory, Trink contacted the former, informing him that the only way to destroy the factory was by overheating the reactor core. “The reactor core can only be overheated manually, Trink. You’ll die,” Hal stated. Trink did not care and responded by telling Hal to evacuate the factory. Hal and Anakin rushed out of the facility and joined the Wookie forces on the battlefield.

“I don’t think Tarfful’s gonna like his son’s plan,” Anakin said, deflecting blaster fire from the droids.

“I agree, but it seems he made his choice already,” Hal concurred.

Tarfful and Chewbacca regrouped with the two Jedi. Tarfful asked where his son was, and Hal explained that Trink was overheating the core as it was the only way to destroy the factory. Tarfful was enraged. He did not want to lose the only son he had. The Wookie chieftain ordered Chewbacca and Icuuk to move their soldiers far from the factory while he and the Jedi entered the factory and searched for his son. Tarfful led the way as they entered the factory and rushed to the generator room. They reached the reactor room as quick as they could, but Trink had sealed the door shut and there was no way in. Furious, Tarfful commanded his son to open the door, but Trink disobeyed and continued the process of overheating the reactor core. Refusing to give up, Tarfull began smashing the door, in an attempt to barge in and rescue his son. As he began making progress, a platoon of droids closed in on them and began firing. “He’s already made up his mind,” Hal told Tarfful. “We need to get out of here, there’s too many droids and that reactor core will overheat at any moment.”

Realizing that his son had already made up his mind and that there would be no way to get him out, Tarfful was forced to leave his son behind and evacuate the factory. He, Hal and Anakin rushed to the factory’s exit, but the facility began collapsing and blocked their only way out.

“Quick, through the pipe lines!” Hal shouted. He cut a hole and they entered the pipe line. They took a different route than the first time and reached a different pipe line exit that was sealed shut. As Anakin cut a hole through the exit, the reactor core exploded and, in a matter of seconds, the pipe lines engulfed in flames. They would have all died if it were not for Hal, who used the Force to hold the blast. Anakin cut the hole through the exit and Hal Force pushed him and Tarfful out of the pipe line and away from the factory’s blast radius. He tried to get out of the pipe line, but the blast was too strong for him to hold. The blast flung Hal against a tree as the factory crumbled to the ground.

“Hal!” Anakin yelled. He ran to his friend, who was unconscious on the ground and, fearing the worst, contacted Chewbacca and asked for a transport as soon as possible. “Hal, stay with me.”

Tarfful, still on the ground, sat up and let out the biggest growl he could. He couldn’t believe his son was gone and not even the fact that his sacrifice saved his people could better the pain. A Wookie shuttle arrived at their location and landed. Icuuk and another Wookie got out of the shuttle. Icuuk, realizing what had happened, approached Tarfful and comforted him while the other Wookie carried Hal into the shuttle. They all boarded the shuttle and returned to Icuuk’s haven.

The next day...

Hal slowly but surely opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was trying to exit the pipe lines and being blasted into a tree. He carefully stood up from the stretcher he was in and made his way outside the tent. He saw Anakin sat down on a log and Chewbacca conversing with Icuuk. He approached Anakin. “Watcha doing?”

Anakin was startled. “You’re ok!” He let out with a big smile.

“Of course, I am. It’s gonna take more than a collapsing factory to take me down.”

“Thanks for putting your life on the line for me. It really means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Master Plo and my master are on their way to pick us up.”

“What about the Trade Federation presence”

“With the factory destroyed, the final droid forces were defeated and the Neimoidians that were left decided to surrender.”

Chewbacca arrived and expressed his happiness at seeing that Hal was okay. He informed the Jedi that Trink’s funeral was about to begin. They made their way to the large crowd of Wookies and stood next to them. Tarfful began by saying that he could not be prouder of his son, who gave his life for his people and his planet. He recounted stories of when Trink was younger and confessed that he hadn’t been a good father, saying that he never really demonstrated to his son how much he loved him. After giving a speech on his son, he watched as they lowered him into his grave.

After the funeral, Hal and Anakin approached Tarfful to speak with him. “Your son is a hero,” Hal said. “Even though his sacrifice is painful and a price no father should pay, he saved your people and your planet. They’ll remember him for years to come.”

A Republic shuttle entered the planet’s atmosphere and landed on the haven’s open area. Out of the shuttle came Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon. They walked over to Hal and Anakin and greeted them.

“I hope Anakin wasn’t much trouble,” Obi-Wan said.

“Liberating the Wookies wouldn’t have been possible without him,” Hal responded. “And I wouldn’t be alive.”

“Good job liberating the planet and giving the Wookies their homes back.” Plo Koon said. “They will be forever grateful.”

“Indeed, but we must return to Coruscant,” Obi-Wan stated. “The Council needs us.”

While Anakin recounted the events to his master and Plo Koon, Hal approached Tarfful and Chewbacca and wished them luck rebuilding their homes. Tarfful thanked Hal for his help and admitted that he would forever be grateful and if they needed anything, to come talk to them. Hal promised to keep that in mind and returned to Obi-Wan, Plo Koon and Anakin.

“You seem to have formed a very good understanding with Skywalker,” Plo Koon mentioned to Hal before they boarded the shuttle.

“He’s just a little lost on what his purpose is,” Hal answered. “Life’s treated him pretty rough so far, but he needs to realize he can’t do everything on his own.”

“You’d make a really good master, Hal.”

“Maybe some day.”

 

CHAPTER 3
“M.I.A”
22 BBY
JABIIM (JOBRETH PLAINS), JABIIM SYSTEM

Missing in action! Several days have passed since Plo Koon’s last transmission. Fearing the capture of his master, Hal Jyvun has decided to travel to the planet Jabiim to rescue him. He has enlisted the help of Padawan Shalla Miwa, one of his closest friends, to help him with the mission. Before they can rescue Plo Koon, they must aid Jabiimi Loyalist, Orliss Gilmunn, defeat Jabiimi Nationalists so they can learn Plo Koon’s location…​

Fire engulfed the entire Jabiimi tank. The screams of the soldier echoed as he slammed his hands against the tank’s window, trying to break it. Hal, desperate to help him, used the Force to try to break the tank’s glass. He placed his palm on the glass and slowly shattered it, but it was not efficient.

“Hal!” Orliss Glimunn called. He dropped down from his tank and approached Hal.

“Orliss, help me!” Hal yelled, waving at the loyalist leader to help him break the glass. “He’s stuck inside.”

As the soldier succumbed to the fire and dropped dead, Orliss kneeled next to Hal and looked at the corpse inside the tank. “It’s too late. You can’t save everyone.” He helped Hal up and handed him his lightsaber. “We must move out, before we end up like him.” He turned around and one of his soldiers handed him a grenade launcher. “Mortar fire means our enemy is ready for battle. Move out!”

“Hal, you copy?” Shalla asked through the comms. She was piloting a gunship and was tasked by Hal with providing aerial support during the battle. Hal had brought Shalla on this mission without the Jedi Council’s approval and did not want to risk her life on the open battlefield.

“Talk to me, Shalla,” Hal responded.

“You got heavy enemy forces heading your way.”

“I know. We’re mounting a counter charge. Keep a heads up on the enemy and provide aerial support when needed.” Hal climbed up a tank with Orliss and hanged from the edge as they made their push into the battlefield. “Orliss’ men are out searching for Master Plo’s location. They should report back soon.” Hal and the loyalist contingent entered the open area and the mortar fired stopped. Everyone looked around confused and out of the fog, hundreds of enemy nationalist forces attacked them.

“Fight my brothers!” Orliss ordered his men. “Fight for your planet!” An intense battle ensued. Heavy firing from both sides erupted. Hal dropped from the tank and stayed close, where he deflected various shots back at the nationalist soldiers and protected Orliss’ tank. Mortars began to rain upon the battlefield. Dirt and men from both sides flew all over the area. Both sides pushed forward, with the battle becoming close quarters in a matter of minutes. Some soldiers tried to engage Hal, but he dispatched them with ease and continued pushing with the rest of the loyalists. As they reached closer to the mortars’ location, the loyalist tanks began taking heavy damage from the mortars.

“Hal, take out the mortar crews!” Orliss instructed. “Our tanks are taking heavy damage and we can’t push forward.”

“Copy.” As Hal advanced to the mortars, Shalla made a run through the battlefield, shooting down loyalist infantries. Hal pushed through the loyalist forces, deflecting blaster fire back at them and slicing down the ones who got too close. He reached the first mortar crew and caught them off-guard, cutting them down in a matter of seconds and destroying the mortars. He then rushed through the battlefield, dodging rockets from nearby infantries, to the other side, where the last mortars were located. As he approached the mortar crew, one of the soldiers pulled out a missile launcher and fired it at Hal. The Jedi, however, used the Force to hold the missile inside the launcher and detonated it, killing the entire mortar crew and destroying the final mortars. “That actually worked,” he said out loud. “Mortars are down, Orliss, but they got a squad of tanks holding our advance.”

“I’ll take care of them,” Shalla said through the comms. She made a quick strafing run and fired missiles at the tanks, destroying most of them. However, she started taking heavy fire from some anti-air guns. “I’m taking fire from the ground. Can’t make a second run until you clear out those anti-air guns.”

“I’ll deal with them,” Hal said. He pushed through the destroyed tanks, using them as cover, and attacked the first anti-air gun. He flung the operator from the operator seat and sliced the gun’s controls. He then grabbed two thermal detonators and lunged them at the second anti-air gun. The detonators landed next two the anti-air gun and Hal watched as it went up in flames. For the final anti-air gun, he had to push deeper into enemy lines. He engaged a small squad of nationalist infantry, making quick work of them by cutting them down with his speed. An enemy turret noticed Hal and began firing at him. Hal took cover behind one of the destroyed tanks. He then used the Force to push the tank and slam it against the final anti-air gun, taking out the turret along with it. “Anti-air guns are cleared, Shalla. Make a second run, we have more tanks incoming.”

“That was impressive, I won’t lie,” Shalla commented, she made a second strafing run and again fired missiles at the second squad of tanks, destroying them in minutes. Stray fire from some nationalist forces took out the gunship’s guns, stopping her from making any more runs. “Hal, they took out the gunship’s weapons. I can’t make another run.”

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Like always,” Shalla said jokingly.

“My friend, come,” Orliss told Hal. He used his sword to take out two enemy soldiers charging at him and then entered his tank. Hal made his way to the tank and again mounted on the side as they made their final push against the nationalist forces.

“They are weak! We must finish them!” Orliss commanded to his forces. The loyalists pushed forward without mercy, massacring any nationalist soldier left. Orliss used his grenade launcher and fired it at the enemy forces trying to retreat. Hal, on the other hand, was not so keen on killing when he did not have to, it was part of the Jedi Code and Hal valued a life, so he just deflected incoming blaster fire with his lightsaber and watched as Orliss and his men decimated what was left of the enemy. Once all of the enemy forces were killed, Hal dropped from the tank and waited for Shalla, who landed the gunship next to them.

“Very good job, Padawan,” Orliss congratulated. “Without your help we would not have been able to win the battle.” A soldier approached Orliss and whispered something in his ear.

“Where’s my master?” Hal asked.

“The nationalists are still not defeated,” Orliss warned. “I would not recommend going to save him.”

“Where is he?” Hal insisted once more.

“He is being held in a prisoner transport about three miles west from here, on the Monsoon Mesa.”

Hal boarded the gunship and Orliss warned him that his master could already be dead, but Hal ignored Orliss’ warning. “Let’s go save him, Shalla.” As the gunship took off, the loyalist forces cheered the Jedi for helping them win the battle.

Moments later...

“Do you think he’s alive?” Shalla asked Hal.

“Yes, I can feel him. It’ll take more than Jabiimi revolutionaries to kill my master.”

“Well, we’re coming up on the transport,” Shalla informed Hal. The transport was a large shuttle with three engines behind it and an open area on the back with two turrets. It had three enemy gunships protecting it.

“The shuttle matches the intel Orliss gave us. Get us next to it.”

“We’re taking fire from the gunships.” As Shalla brought their gunship alongside the prisoner transport, one of the soldiers inside the transport fired a missile at them and hit the gunship’s stern. Hal was knocked off his feet and when he got back up, the gunship was heading for the ground. “We’re going down. Jump!” Shalla said. They both jumped off the gunship and landed on the shuttle’s open area. Hal rolled on the floor and as he finished his roll, an enemy soldier attacked him with a blade, but Hal reacted quickly, holding the blade, punching the soldier in the face and slashing the blade on the soldier’s neck. He got up and saw Shalla pulling herself up from the ship’s edge.

“We need to clear the ship before we can locate him,” Hal said. Various nationalist soldiers fired at them from the front of the transport while others attacked them from the sides with blades. Hal dodged a blade attack from one of the soldiers and when he engaged the soldier, he cut right through his blade. They both looked at was left of the blade. “Tough luck, pal.” Hal said, as he Force pushed the soldier off the transport. Shalla, on the other hand, rushed the enemies on the front of the ship and engaged them, cutting down their weapons and Force pushing them off the shuttle. She killed the pilot and put the ship on autopilot before heading back to the open area and helping Hal with the remaining enemies.

“Deck’s clear,” Shalla informed Hal. “But we have gunships on our tail.” Several gunships attempted to close in on the shuttle, so the soldiers could board the shuttle.

“Use the side turrets to take them out,” Hal instructed. “Don’t let them get too close or they’ll start boarding the shuttle.” Hal and Shalla used the turrets to take out the incoming enemy gunships. They fired countless lasers into the pursuing shuttles, dropping them from the sky one by one. A gunship managed to get close enough to drop enemies into the shuttle. Soldiers boarded the shuttle and attacked Hal and Shalla. The gunship also destroyed Hal’s turret. Shalla abandoned her turret after downing the final gunship on her side and helped Hal take care of the enemies that had boarded the shuttle. Hal cut down the approaching enemies, but one of them managed to knock Hal’s lightsaber from his hand. Hal engaged the man in hand-to-hand combat, but before he could land a finishing blow on him, Shalla stabbed the man from behind. Hal then threw his lightsaber at the gunship’s engine, damaging it and bringing down the gunship.

“That’s the final one,” Shalla said. “We’re clear.” The prisoner transport’s deck had a massive container in the middle and smaller crates dispersed around.

“He’s in here,” Hal said, pointing to the massive container in the middle of the deck. “I can feel his pain.” Hal and Shalla opened the container and a horrible stench emanated from inside.

“That smell,” Shalla grunted. She squinted her eyes and covered her mouth and nose. “It’s smells like something died in here.”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Hal replied. “These soldiers have been dead for days. “The container had several rotting corpses inside. “Master, you there?” Hal called out. The two Jedi stepped carefully through the dead corpses, searching for Plo Koon. Shalla called out Plo’s name and knelt next to one of the bodies to examine it. Hal continued searching further into the container and spotted his master at the end of it, lying on top of some crates. He ran to him and checked on him.

“Master, are you ok?” He asked. “Master, wake up!” Hal put his hand on Plo Koon’s shoulder and shook him, trying to wake him up.

“Is he alive?” Shalla asked.

“I think so.”

“Hal, is that you?” Plo Koon muttered, disoriented by the amount of time he had spent locked up in the container.

“Yes, it’s me. We’re here to get you out of here.” Hal and Shalla put Plo Koon on their shoulders and they slowly made their way out of the container. As they left the container, an enemy starfighter attacked them, causing the shuttle to take heavy fire.

“Enemy fighter on our tail,” Shalla said. Hal handed Plo Koon entirely to Shalla and told her to get him to cover as he found a way to destroy the starfighter. While hiding behind one of the crates, he noticed the missile launcher used to destroy their gunship lying on the floor. He lunged at it, grabbing it and taking cover behind another crate.

“Hal, I don’t want to put pressure on you, but I don’t think this shuttle can take much more damage.”

“I know, I know.” Hal loaded the missile launcher and fired a shot at the starfighter, but the pilot dodged it with ease. He loaded another missile and fired again, but the missile skimmed the starfighter’s wing. “I’m running out of patience.” Hal loaded the missile launcher again and fired at the starfighter a second time. The pilot again dodged the missile, but this time Hal used the Force to hold it next to the starfighter and detonated it, hitting the starfighter. “There, problem solved.” Hal smirked as he walked away to Shalla and Plo Koon.

“I’m not so sure about that.” Shalla responded. The starfighter was crashing towards them and collided with the shuttle, causing both ships to fly out of the sky.

“Brace for impact!” Hal yelled. He held tight to one of the ship’s pillars as the shuttle spiraled out of control and crashed into the ground. They hit the ground hard, causing Hal to bounce out of the ship. Shalla, on the other hand, was knocked off her feet and dropped Plo Koon. She got up and noticed they were heading straight for the mesa’s edge and about to fall to their deaths. She grabbed Plo Koon on her arms as quick as she could and jumped off the ship with him a second before the shuttle fell from the mesa. She then put him on his shoulders and approached Hal, who was still on the floor, with him.

“That could’ve gone better,” Shalla commented as she helped Hal to his feet.

“Can’t deny that,” Hal replied. He looked around and saw a forest to the east. “We should head into the jungle before enemies flood this place searching for us.” Hal and Shalla, who was carrying Plo Koon on her shoulders, made their way to the jungle. Hal climbed an elevated section that led deep into the jungle and helped pull Plo Koon up. “Come on, master, I’ve got you,” he said. Once Plo Koon was up, Shalla climbed and grabbed him again. Hal took point and they carefully traveled deep into the jungle. “Would you look at that,” Hal said.

“Look at what?” Shalla asked.

“There, an antenna, which means there’s a communications outpost up ahead.”

“We can use it to call an extraction.”

“Exactly.” As they approached the outpost, an enemy gunship flew overhead into the outpost. They reached a small hut and Hal signaled Shalla to halt. “Hide behind the log,” he whispered. Hal, Shalla and Plo Koon laid underneath the log and watched as several nationalist soldiers scouted the area.

“The Jedi were spotted around the area,” one of the soldiers said. “Search the perimeter and find them.” There were four soldiers searching the area surrounding the hut.

As one of the men walked through the log where the Jedi hid, Hal noticed that Plo Koon’s hand was in the way and he pulled it away a second before the Jabiimi soldier stepped on it. “This won’t be easy, but we need to move,” Hal said. He and Shalla helped Plo Koon up and they crouched through tall grass. “On my signal, run to the hut,” Hal told Shalla. He waited until the soldiers were far from the direction and signaled Shalla. They ran into the hut and hid behind a broken wall. “Don’t move. We got more patrols.” Hal noticed tall grass to his right and indicated Shalla to run to the grass on his command. Once the soldiers moved away from them, they ran into the tall grass. They crouched their way through the foliage, evading the view of the patrols, until they made it to the other side of the grass. “We’re clear,” Hal said. The continued their way to the outpost, following a dirt trail. “Stay here with him,” Hal ordered. “I’ll go radio for help.”

“Don’t run into any trouble.” Shalla told him.

“I’ll try my best.” Hal left the two Jedi behind and approached the outpost alone. He moved quietly through the entrance and entered the radio building through an open window. He saw a man sat on the radio comms and next to him was Plo Koon’s lightsaber. He quietly approached the man and summoned Plo Koon’s lightsaber, igniting it behind the man’s neck. “Make my life easier and do as I say,” Hal told the man. “Tune the radio to…” Before Hal could finish giving out the instructions, the man punched the radio comms, damaging them.

“What are you going to do, Jedi?” The man asked. “Kill me? It’s not the Jedi way.” He got up from his chair and confronted Hal.

“I wouldn’t test my patience. It’s a really bad idea.”

“Is it?” Two soldiers entered the room, pointing their weapons at Hal and ordering him to surrender. Hal grabbed the man and held the lightsaber around his neck.

“Move a muscle and I’ll kill him,” Hal threatened. As he moved backwards with the man, more soldiers arrived and entered the room. “Are you deaf? Lower your weapons or I’ll leave him headless,” Hal insisted. The soldiers slowly began lowering their guns.

“Why don’t we teach this Jedi some loyalty?” The man asked, smiling mischievously. He pulled out a thermal detonator and activated it.

“You’re crazy!” Hal yelled. He Force pushed the thermal detonator away from the man’s hand and it landed on the middle of the room. Most of the men jumped on top of the thermal detonator to hold its blast. The man freed himself from Hal and pulled out a gun on him. He fired at Hal, but the Jedi managed to deflect the shot with his lightsaber, hitting the man on the eye. Hal then jumped from the room as the thermal detonator blew. The outpost’s alarms went off and Hal made a run for it. “Well, I ran into trouble,” he told Shalla.

“Did you get us the extraction at least?” Shalla asked.

“Nope. Let’s get out of here.” Hal helped Shalla place Plo Koon on both her shoulders and they made their way out of the jungle. Countless soldiers pursued them, shooting them with everything they had.

“What happened back there?” Shalla asked

“I’d explain if we didn’t have the entire outpost right on our tail,” Hal responded. They arrived at a small open area with no trees and engaged a squad of nationalists that were waiting for them. Hal went on the offensive and engaged them, dodging their shots and slicing them down. Shalla was going to help Hal, but by the time she found a place to settle Plo Koon, Hal had already taken care of the enemy squad. “No time for that, let’s keep moving,” he told her. They continued their escape through the forest and reached a cascade, where they engaged a squad of soldiers and two enemy vehicles with mounted turrets. This time Shalla did manage to find a place to settle Plo Koon and she helped Hal with the enemies. Shalla attacked the squad of soldiers while Hal focused on dealing with the enemy vehicles. He Force pushed one of the vehicles off the cascade and used the Force to cripple the second vehicle’s turret. The soldiers pulled out their weapons and began shooting Hal, but their aim was no match for his speed and agility. He sliced through the soldiers like nothing.They got out of the forest and encountered a large force of nationalists. There were multiple squads and vehicles.

“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t see a way out of this one,” Shalla said. She laid Plo Koon down behind a rock.

“Yeah, I don’t think there is one,” Hal accepted.

“There is always a way.” Hal and Shalla turned around and saw Plo Koon slowly standing up. “We fight our way out of this mesa, or we die trying.” He summoned his lightsaber from Hal’s robes and ignited it.

“Are you sure you’re up for this particular battle, master?” Hal asked.

Plo Koon nodded. Hal and Shalla ignited their lightsabers and they engaged the nationalist forces. Plo Koon and Shalla dealt with the infantry while Hal, again, took care of the vehicles. Plo Koon deflected various shots back at the enemy soldiers and only engaged the ones who got up close. Shalla on the other hand went on the offensive, striking down enemies and using the Force to push others off the mesa. Hal also used the Force to push one of the vehicles off the mesa. He attacked the other vehicles, cutting down the soldiers controlling the turrets and using them to shoot down the remaining vehicles. The Jabiimi forces were no match for them. Once all the enemies were taken care of, the three Jedi reunited. “They didn’t stand a chance,” Hal said.

“Yes, but we won’t stand a chance if we don’t find a way out of this mesa,” Plo Koon pointed out. As they turned around to the edge of the mesa, a nationalist gunship flew up and revealed itself to the Jedi. At the same time, countless nationalist soldiers arrived on their position.

“That ain’t good,” Hal commented.

“At all,” Shalla added. Much to Shalla and the others’ surprise, the gunship opened fire on the nationalist forces, taking out all of the enemy forces. As the gunship landed on the edge of the mesa, the side door opened, revealing Orliss to be inside the gunship.

“I did not forget about you, my friends,” he laughed. “Enter, before more arrive.” Hal, Shalla and Plo Koon entered the gunship. Orliss commanded the pilot to leave the mesa and the gunship left.

“Orliss, you’re a life saver!” Hal exclaimed.

“Do not mention it, Hal. It is the least I could do after your help on the battlefield.”

On the back of the gunship, Shalla tended to Plo Koon’s wounds. “You have bruises on your ribs and chest. What did they do to you?”

“Many things, but it will take a lot more than average tortures to break me,” Plo Koon responded. He saw Hal approaching him.

“How you holding up, master?” Hal asked.

“Could be better, but definitely could be worse.” He sat up and looked at both Hal and Shalla. “If it were not for you two, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

“I couldn’t just stand around and do nothing while you were missing.”

“You weren’t sent by the Council?”

“No. They assumed the nationalists had jammed your transmissions, but you always told me to trust my feeling and my feeling told me you were in danger.”

“I’m very proud of you, Hal.”

“I couldn’t have done without Shalla, though.”

“I imagine Cin Drallig has no idea you’re here.”

“He doesn’t. I’ll probably get punished by the Council, but it was worth it,” Shalla said.

“I’ll make sure the Council doesn’t punish you.”

Shalla smiled and appreciated Plo Koon’s words. After their chat, Shalla continued tending to Plo Koon’s wounds and Hal sat down on one of the gunship’s seats. He pondered on the past events and on future ones. He felt a massive relief now that his master was safe. Plo Koon was a father figure for Hal. Someone who was always there for him during his younger years. Plo Koon was the one who fought for him when the Jedi Council thought of expelling Hal after almost choking a Padawan to death out of frustration. He was the one who taught Hal how to control his emotions and put them to good use. Losing him would have felt like losing his father for a second time, the one he never knew. Hal was also appreciative of having friends like Marx and Shalla, who were willing to help him when he needed it the most. He also pondered about the future. A peaceful way to resolve the Separatist Crisis was less and less likely each day. Hal was starting to have visions of himself leading a massive army into battle and every feeling inside him told him that a galaxy-wide war was on the verge of introducing itself. Hal’s thoughts were interrupted by his holoprojector, which began beeping. It was Master Windu. “I’m in trouble,” He said out loud.

“Hal, where are you? You’re not at the Jedi Temple and no one’s seen you,” Windu said. He had a worried tone and looked stressed.

“It’s a bit of a long story, but I’m in Jabiim, inside a gunship, headed to the Jabiimi Loyalists compound.”

“I imagine you decided to go searching for Plo Koon. Did you find him?”

“I did. He was being held inside a nationalist prisoner transport.”

“Your crazy missions continue to surprise me.”

“I know, but that’s not the reason you contacted me is it?”

“No. Obi-Wan, Skywalker and Senator Amidala have been captured by the Geonosians. I’m assembling a Jedi assault team. We need you, Plo Koon and Shalla back at the temple as soon as possible.”

“How did you know Shalla was with us?”

“Cin Drallig just reported her missing. I’m guessing you took her on the mission.

“You might be right.”

“I’ll let him know. Report back to the temple.”

“Yes, master.” Hal ended the transmission and headed to the back of the gunship to inform his master and Shalla of Windu’s transmission. After explaining Obi-Wan, Skywalker and Senator Amidala’s situation and Windu’s mission to Shalla and Plo Koon, they exited the gunship. “Orliss, you got a ship we can take to Coruscant?” Hal asked.

“You can take my personal shuttle, but I want it returned to me.” Orliss pointed to a XS freighter on the other side of the landing pad. “Take good care of it.”

Hal, Shalla and Plo Koon boarded the shuttle and Hal ignited the engines. They all strapped themselves to the chair and the ship left the landing pad. After leaving the planet’s atmosphere, Hal set the coordinates to Coruscant. “Jumping into hyperspace in three, two, one,” he said as he pushed the lever. The ship entered hyperspace and disappeared from view.

 

I understand and thanks for the help. Could you remove "/Chapter 1" for the thread's title"