Secret Sabers - A StarWars Fanfic

This is my rendition of the times following Order 66 - the devastating act of the clones that nearly wiped out the Jedi. You will be following the journey of 22 year old Sari Elizabeth and her apprentice, Jet, as they try to learn the ways of the Force in a shadowed world while...

Finding the Lost
The First of the Secret Sabers Tales

The stomping of the clones screamed through my ears. I couldn’t open my eyes, and my leg hurt. I couldn’t have told you how long the attack had been going since the clones turned on us, Vader and Sideous leading the way, but it felt like ages as my blasted leg churned with pain in short, frequent shocks of near unbearable throbbing. Clone after clone came and nudged me on my side, making sure I was dead in which time I would hold my breath and hope they didn’t shoot again. I was petrified with fear, in fact, I was surprised the clones hadn’t heard my heart beating as it thundered in my chest.

Hours passed.

I managed to open my eyes. Immediately they befell my leg that was bloodied and had a bullet shot in the upper half of the thing. I rolled over, trying to get a better view of the scenery. There was almost no movement around except for the occasional clone passerby.

I looked at each of the fallen hoping for a glimmer of hope someone had survived. Almost at once, a youngling caught my eye. Her chest was rising and falling in short, quick gasps. Another clone passed by, and I snapped my eyes shut. I wondered briefly why he couldn’t seem to see the youngling on the ground heaving and kill her, but, then I thought with a certain amount of pleasure mixed with fear (a lot of it), that it might have been the will of the force for me to save her.

I inched toward her slowly, my leg wouldn’t allow for fast crawling. When I finally reached her, it was a mixture of grief and relief. She had stopped breathing. I felt her head; she was cold. I took off my cloak and tucked her in. The movement was similar to murder to my leg, but I wasn’t about to let the girl give up without a fight.

“Wake up. It’s okay. Wake up.” I whispered to her.

She groaned.

I looked for the source of her wound and found several lightsaber wounds arrayed about her tiny body. Anakin, I thought bitterly. I tore tiny pieces of my tunic off and bound her wounds the best I could, and by that time I was nearly spent. Getting close to her, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly, and fell into a shallow sleep.

I was awakened, then by the sound of light-footed battle, the distant hums of two lightsabers barely reaching my ears, in fact, if I hadn’t have been near them for my entire life, they would not have been inaudible. I creased my eyes open long enough to see a blue lightsaber wheeling outside. Squinting them closed again, I hoped that the saber didn’t belong to Anakin.

Footsteps edged into the temple slowly. I heard a sharp intake of breath, and the footsteps hurried about the room. There was a dreadful silence, and then a slow moan that followed. Then I heard an all-familiar tap, tap, tap of a staff against the marble floor. Master Yoda. My breathing recommenced, and I heard the footsteps get closer. My eyes flickered open, and the first thing I saw was Mast Obi-Wan Kenobi’s keen eyes staring straight into mine.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” I said in a whisper.

Master Kenobi nodded quickly. “I am going to take you to the infirmary, is that okay?”

“Is that okay he asks? Yes, master, before my whole leg dissipates. But take the youngling too. She is still alive.”

“I am guessing you saw to that.”

“It is the Jedi way to help others before yourself.”

Obi-wan smiled and motioned for Yoda to join him. It was a few minutes before he made it over, but at that point I didn’t care. Seeing the two smiling faces after the bloody warfare I had endured a few hours before was the best medicine they could have thought to give me. Soon after Obi-Wan helped my stand, somewhat, and carried the youngling in his arms, I leaned on him for support and Master Yoda held my opposite hand, we started the long journey across the battlefield.

It took our small band some time to reach the other side of the temple where the infirmary lay, in modest ruins, but still some things were intact, and under the skilled hands of the only healer that had survived by hiding in a storage compartment, the youngling and I were ready to go in a matter of hours.

“Here, you dropped this.” Obi-wan handed me my lightsaber. The youngling stood beside me, clinging to my new cloak. “You better watch out, Jet, she’s crazy.”

I shot a disgruntled glare at Obi-Wan, but I could tell he was joking.

“Yes, master Kenobi.” She replied with due respect.

“Then go, and may the force be with you.” Obi-wan and I embraced.

“Plo Koon… did he make it?”

Master Yoda stood slightly off to the side. “Died in a plane assault he did, so in his place, I commend you as a Jedi Knight.”

I nodded slowly.

“Take care of the youngling, Sari. She may not be your apprentice, but that doesn’t mean you
don’t have to look out for her.”

I nodded. Obi-wan sighed, and slapped me on the shoulder. “And for goodness sake be careful.”

“I will, master. Don’t worry.” I turned my attention toward Yoda. “Have you been able to locate Anakin?”

“No, not yet.” Obi-wan fretted.

I shook my head.

“What?”

“He led this whole thing! Surely you must’ve noticed?” I replied angrily.

“No, no. You must be mistaken. There is no way…”

Master Yoda rapped his staff on the floor. “Reveal itself in time the truth will. For now, off you must be dear child. Bring hope to me, you do.”

I nodded. “Goodbye, Master Kenobi. Will we meet again?”

“I will always be with you, Sari.”

“May the force be with us all.” Master Yoda said, ushering Jet and I off. I took one saddened look back, but Master Obi-Wan was smiling encouragingly, and I led Jet on.

I paused. “Wait. Have you heard from Braydo?”

Master Yoda shook his head. “With his master, Fisto, he was. I know not if he survived.”

Jet tugged on my sleeve.

Master Kenobi nodded. “There is a bus headed for the Naboo system near here. You should be safe there.”

Dazed, I turned, wrapping my cloak around myself and traipsed out the doors of the temple. Jet clutched my hand tightly. It was dark, or at least as dark as it could get on Corosaunt. The dim lights of the city flashed as I made out the station. All of that night had been a blur, I realized dimly.

Then it came like a rush how many Jedi were dead.

Gone.

I hadn’t noticed we had made it to the bus, and the driver shouted something at me angrily. I tossed a coin in the box near the door and clambered in. There was minimal can lighting around the ship, but I quickly decided I didn’t want to see the other passengers.

Jet and I slumped down on the seat nearest the door, and I surveyed the surroundings. Like I said, it was dim, and I couldn’t see well, but it didn’t take much lighting for me to see the shadowed faces of vagabonds clinging to the cloak of the shadows. There was a man seated next to me that just stared out into space silently.

“Leaving a family behind?” I asked turning my head to stare out the window as we made the jump into hyperspace.

He shook his head. “The war took the only ones I had left. You?”

“I never knew my family. I was taken away from them at an early age.” I sighed.

He smiled at me. “Then you’re lucky. At least you don’t have to feel the raw pain of having everyone you loved striped from you in the blink of an eye.”

“The war has found other ways to hurt me.” I sighed.

The man nodded his empathy.

“A lot of my friends died..”

Jet looked at me sadly, but I shook my head and turned away from the man. It hurt like someone had ripped out my heart. All those Jedi dying: I was almost sad I had survived, but when Jet scooted closer to me and fell asleep, somehow I knew everything would be fine.

(to be continued)

Continuation...

I woke with a start. A few months had passed and Jet and I continued to recover, although I was sure I was going to walk with a limp for the rest of my life. It was a cold November day, and the clouds stretched for miles over the small insignificant city in which we were renting a small one-bedroom apartment with the money I had gotten from Master Yoda, and what I could rally up from odd jobs here and there. It was morning, and thank goodness, it was. Jet had been dreaming up some terrible nightmares, and I thought daylight would never come.

“Hey, master…”

I shook my head. “Don’t call me that. You know you’re not my apprentice, Jet, so just call me Liz, will you?” I groaned, still half asleep. I could almost see Jet shrug, and I pulled the covers back over my head.

“So I guess you don’t have to call me Jae unless we’re in town?” Jet sighed in irritation.

“Yes, because I can remember when to use it and when not to. Besides, my middle name is
Elizabeth, so Liz is a natural nickname.” I explained.

“Yeah, sure.” Jet huffed, slumping back down on her bed.

“You want to go to market with me today?” I asked furtively.

“Sure, but don’t you think I ought to go instead. With your limp…”

“I am fine.” I snapped.

Jet shrugged dismissively.

Smiling with ill humor, I donned a thin cotton dress with pale blue fabric I had worn during the drab winter months at the temple, and my cloak, which I had also dyed a dark green color to separate it from the telltale Jedi garb famous in the clone wars. I then decided to leave my saber at home, but then I had a funny suspicion I was going to need it. The system we occupied now, Naboo, hadn’t had problems with the Empire, but recently it had become more of a target than most were aware. I had been watching the signs of invasion for months, even before order 66, and now, more than ever, it was looking prone to attack. I finished my thought as I slipped on a pair of worn out leather boots and attached my lightsaber to the inside of my cloak where it was in easy reach. As for my hair, I just swept it up into a ponytail.
Jet had put on her red dress and a simple tan vest, leaving her hair to hang loose in the breeze. We looked like a mismatched pair of kids on Halloween night getting ready to go trick or treating, but in Naboo the people often wore a vast array of colors during all seasons, so I decided it was pretty normal.

When we finally made it out of the apartment and I had locked the door, it seemed almost like a ghost town. Then, of course, one had to consider the fact that I had chosen a relatively unpopulated section of town, but it was eerily quiet. I sensed something amiss as well, and Jet pointed out that was the least of our problems. Taped on every door there was eviction notice due to suspicious characters occupying the area.

“Great.” I muttered. I went back and unlocked our door, and Jet and I packed all our stuff we could fit into packs. I got my bedroll as well; it would seem we would be spending a lot of time out of doors for a while.

“You don’t think that they know we are here do you?” Jet looked at me with concern as I locked the door and signed the eviction notice with the Ema Nekaf, the same name I had signed the apartment contract with. Jet smiled as I added a sad goodbye note, and then laughed when I signed the name.

“You are a smart one, master.” She laughed. “Fake name,” Jet smiled at me. “We just had better hope we don’t get a smarty pants or we’re toast.”

“We’ll be long gone by then. And speaking of toast, I’m hungry. You want to stop at the diner to get a bit of food before we go gallivanting off through the forest.”

Jet nodded enthusiastically, and we made our way toward the tavern slowly. It was a simple shop building sandwiched in with the other stores. It had large pane-less windows and a plain wooden door. There wasn’t anyone inside aside from the regulars and that wasn’t much. I often worked shifts for the owner and it wasn’t hard to discern traveler from regular. I nodded at Jet and we slipped in quietly and Jet took our usual seats in the darker corner of the joint. We were both now accustomed to listening to the visitors for news and information. Apparently, Vader had gotten very strict about rebellion lately, which would explain the eviction notices. It wasn’t us, it was our neighbors. Supposedly, they had been working on a rebellion for years. So much for secrecy. I sighed as the waiter waltzed over toward our table. “Is there anything I can get you ladies today?” He said with a smile on his face.

“Just the usual, Grot.”

He nodded, and I tossed him a couple credits. Grot frowned, but shrugged and took the money to his register at the front. I watched the door carefully. Something told me it was about to get harry; that’s when I noticed a stranger sitting in the very back of the room, which was only a table away from us. Jet caught on, and turned around to scope out the newcomer. The girl was staring at our table. It wasn’t long before she and I had engaged in a quiet stare off. She was the first to turn away, but that didn’t give me any comfort. Jet glanced at me quizzically. I shrugged the problem away, and limped up toward the counter. It wasn’t a bad limp, mind you, but enough to make it obvious that I had been injured at some point. The stranger then of course decided to get up then as well.

Grot glared at me for a second before handing over the food. The stranger stood in my way of getting back. “May I ask where you are going?” She was short. I smiled and pointed toward our table, not trusting my voice.

“Oh, sure.” She rolled her eyes. “And I guess you are going back home to whatever hole you crawled out of after this.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but all attention turned from us when a clone entered the room. “This system is on lock down.” He growled. I recognized the insignia on his armor immediately. It was Rex… the same commander I had served beside in the wars with my master. Probably the very same one who killed him. I turned away and slid back toward my seat. He looked so different from the clone wars. He had a better gun, better armor, yet it didn’t seem like the same clone that had fought so valiantly on the Republican side so long ago.
His gaze sifted through the room, looking from customer to customer. He stopped on the girl who had confronted me. “You, come with me.”

I saw her tremor before replying. “No.”

“I said come with me.” He growled.

The girl was stronger this time. “No.”

Rex cocked his gun. “Come along now or I’ll shoot every one of these people.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself.” I muttered.

He stormed toward me. (Kind of ironic since he was now a storm trooper.) “What did you say?”
His helmet was on, but I could feel the steely glare he had adopted and it made me uncomfortable.

“I said that I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself.” I smiled and with a swift trick of the hand a snatched his gun from his belt. He was on the verge of killing me, I could tell he wanted so badly to just slam me against the wall, but I wasn’t ready for that, so I handed the gun back to him and placed it careful back onto his belt. “Use it wisely; the next person who takes it from you isn’t likely to give it back.”

He took one last look at me and thundered out of the dinner. There were a couple of whoops from around the room and that girl looked at me long and hard before sitting back down, this time, on the other side of our table.

I smiled and finished my breakfast quickly. Jet and I started to leave, but the girl stopped us. “I want to go with you. Wherever you are going, I don’t care, just let me come with you.”
I turned a steady gaze on her. “What makes you think I would take you with me?”

“I used to work for the queen, before the empire took control. I have met many characters and I think you would have use of me. My name is Em, by the way.”

I sighed. “You may tag along for a little while, but that is all.” I told Grot my farewells and we left. I spotted Rex hanging in the shadows; he was honestly doing a good job, but I hadn’t earned the name Ranger in the wars for nothing.

“I wouldn’t suggest trying to follow me, clone. I already have a tag along.” I said after we had passed his hiding place. I didn’t even look toward him; I just said it. I heard him shift and sigh. Smiling, I continued. I could still tell he was following, and that’s exactly what I wanted him to do.

Em stood beside me, watching me like a hawk. It was disconcerting to say the least. Jet hung to my right arm like she always did, not the left. I always kept that one open in case of attack.
It was noon by the time we reached the edge of town, and I had lost count of the odd stares I had gotten from the civilians. I mean, seriously. It wasn’t normal for three people to be walking together with packs and bed rolls toward the edge of town and did I mention we had a trooper following us?

The sight of the city gate took my breath. Thousands of storm troopers filed in, ransacking the place as they went along. I heard Rex pause. They were a good mile away, but the view to the gate was enough to cause Em to shiver. “That’s why I came with you…” She stuttered.

(to be continued)

Contiuation...

I rolled my eyes. “And what was I supposed to do about it?”

“I just had a feeling that you could help…” She trailed off again.

I sighed and let my eyes dart from one side of the street to the other, which were rapidly emptying without moving my head; another Jedi trait. I spotted a shadowed ally almost immediately. It was deep and creviced. No one was in there and I could tell why: a sewage drain leaked along the walls. “Come on.” I shoved Em and Jet inside and caught a brief glance at
Rex. “Trooper!” I growled. “Get your honorary hide in here.”

He jerked his head toward me in disbelief and walked slowly toward me. I could hear the thunder of the army’s feet pounding in the streets. They were only a crest away. I snatched his white, plastic breastplate and jerked him into the ally, and pushed myself in last. Seconds later, a whole battalion of “shinnies” as they were called in the clone wars surged past. I could see the color drain from Em’s face. Jet just stayed stock-still and Rex… Rex just stood there like he was in a trance. I sighed to myself and pushed the group back further. I heard shooting as I did… and screams, unlawful death screams of terror in the distance.

“It’s a massacre.” I growled, cutting my eyes toward the troopers. The tail end of the troopers were in sight by then and I caught the sight of Cody’s insignia, but I decided shortly that it would better not to draw attention to ourselves.

The noise died away slowly until an eerie silence took the group. I frowned as Rex made a move to leave.

“Trooper, it isn’t safe for you to go back.” I glared at him as he stopped his movement. “It’s too dangerous on the streets for now. We’ll need to leave another way.”

Em looked at me like I was nuts. “There isn’t a way out of here.”

“You see that under your feet?” I paused, allowing the group to glance at the mucky gloop that smelled like what it was: sewage. I then gestured toward the pipe. “We’re in for a nice ride.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the best idea I had ever come up with, but it did get us out of the city. Turns out the pipe had been a water main once, and Jet and I leading, sensed our way out. I am honestly surprised we didn’t all die, but the last leg of the trek underground was submerged. I had a feeling we weren’t far from the river. So we did what we had too; we swam through the water. Thankfully, we had switched off to the old water main pipes and not the sewage; swimming through that stuff would have been murder.

It felt gloriously refreshing to swim through the clean water after the trauma of the sewage line. It took us around a minute of hard swimming to make it out. Jet and I managed, but I had to pass Em the water-breather gadget from the temple. Rex of course had no problem with his suit and all. I was the first to reach the end of the tunnel and I then decided that if the thing had been operational, we would have all been sucked from there to the capitol. The river was a big one that lay about a mile or so from the city. We had just crawled our way out of the city, and thank goodness, we had. I swam to the surface and took a good long breath. Jet surfaced beside me, followed by Em and Rex. When I glanced back to the city, I could see smoke billowing up from various places. I turned away and swam to the opposite bank where we all beached ourselves and just breathed and warmed up in the sunlight. Jet, who had been shivering when we reached the bank, was breathing normally and so was Em. Rex stood off to the side. Like I said, his suit, capable of being in space, had kept him alive.

My leg was throbbing again, and when I stood, I winced in pain. Rex offered to a hand and I took it gladly, and when I had reached full stature, I took the first breath I had taken in a while. “So I guess you knew something about that?” I pointed toward the city. “It’s not what the clones were made for.” I turned toward him. “But they have been altered for such.”
The clone sighed. “It is a lot different than the clone wars…. But a good different.” He amended quickly.

“Taking the lives of innocent people is not a good different. Taking the lives of unarmed people is not a good different. And new, improved weaponry is not an excuse to exploit and bully others lower than you.” I sighed, pulling down the cowl of my cloak, that I hadn’t realized until then, it had been on. “I have taken off my helmet, take off yours.” I instructed.

The trooper turned toward me quizzically.

“What? Look familiar?” I traipsed back toward Em and Jet, helping them to their feet with my own amount of difficulty. Em smiled, but Jet looked at me with concern.

“You sure you are okay?” She peered at my leg.

“Just a little stiff.” I huffed with a smile. “Besides, I wasn’t going to let them cut it off. Some mobility is better than none. I guess all of our packs are sopping wet now, so we’ll need to hike into the forest and find a suitable place to camp.” I sensed Rex trying to walk off again. “Don’t go anywhere, trooper, I’m not done with you.” The footsteps paused and I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head in disbelief.

“You’re with us now. Both of you.” I glanced toward Em; I knew Rex would know what I was saying without me addressing the sentence to him, but I wasn’t sure about Em. “We’ll hike into the forest and build a nice camp for the night, so let’s get a move on.”

(to be continued)

Well, I read the first posts, and here are some of my thoughts:

Just from my POV as a fan fiction writer of Star wars, I would try to avoid making references to things like "Halloween", "November", and the like. Star Wars is not set in our realm, and Lucas never included references to common place things like that [I've only read 2 or 3 books, so that may differ in the expanded universe/books].

How old is your main character? Is your main character's full name Elizabeth Sari, Sari, or Elizabeth? There was some confusion there for me when I read that bit.

But, other than that, it sounds pretty interesting so far.

Not very - I think she ended up being around 26, 27 - and her full name is Sari Elizabeth. I'll try to alliviate the mentions of our galaxies' terms as well. I agree that using Halloween and November does shatter the complete ability for a person to teleport into another world. But at least you finished reading it and didn't crush any dreams.

savedbydcross said:

Not very - I think she ended up being around 26, 27 - and her full name is Sari Elizabeth. I'll try to alliviate the mentions of our galaxies' terms as well. I agree that using Halloween and November does shatter the complete ability for a person to teleport into another world. But at least you finished reading it and didn't crush any dreams.

Click to expand...

Oh I never try to crush dreams; it's not productive and not something I'd want to hear as a writer myself.

Your story is interesting thus far. It's satisfying to know that each of us is reading the other's long fiction work.

Watch tense agreement. Example:

He took the glass
She gives it back to him
He said, "See what I mean?"

The statement "he took the glass" is past tense. "She gives it back to him" is present tense. Should be "She gave it back to him".

Don't search for this. It's not a quote from your story.

Glad there is such a great association of writers here too. And for a second I was trying to think of where any of my characters were messing with glasses And yes, passive tense, verb tense and all other things of the gramaratical realm are not my specialty - I'm trying to improve that. I'll try to go back and edit ((also my least favorite part of writing HEHEHEHE)).

Posting more momentarily...

Continuation.... now where did I leave off

It was dark then, but I could see the shadows of my companions’ faces illuminated by the flickering blaze of our fire. Our clothes were now dry and we had finally succeeded in drying out our bedrolls. We were about a mile into the forest; it was far enough from the city to remain hidden, but not so far that we could access it easily. We had reached our campsite around three and had since then been working our tails off. We had just settled down and I had caught a few fish in the river, so it was a good meal that we had eaten. Rex hadn’t said anything else that entire day. But again, Rex had refused to eat, he would have to take off his helmet.

“Trooper, take off your helmet… now.” I said it strongly enough to where he knew it was an order.

He was reluctant at first; I guessed it had probably been months since he had taken it off in public. His hands were unsteady as he finally moved and took the blasted thing off. He looked the same as he had in the clone wars; scared and ready for a fight.

“It’s good to see you Rex.”

Now his facial expressions uncovered, I could see the startled look on his face.

“You thought I was dead.” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Yes.”

“Well I’m not.” I said firmly. “But my master is.”

He didn’t answer.

“Why? Why did you do all of that? Why did you destroy them!” Em lurched. I decided I hadn’t been the only one hurt by the war. I frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It has been a long six months, Rex, since that night. You were there. Shooting with the others. I remember because I wasn’t with my master.”

“He said you were weak… that you didn’t matter… and we would never have to worry about seeing you ever again to doubt that. But… now…” Rex turned his dark brown eyes toward me. “What else were we supposed to do?”
“What is done is done.” I sighed. “But I am glad you lived through it.”

“Lord Vader said…”

“Anakin Skywalker was deceived just as you were, but now the world is paying for it.”

“It is an honor to see you again, Ranger.” He said with the smallest hint of a smile when he used my code name.

Jet sighed. “I don’t know about you all, but I am exhausted. We can pick this all up tomorrow while we gallivanting across Naboo to heaven knows where.”
Em nodded in agreement. It wasn’t long before we were all asleep.

***

We were stuck. There was a girl standing in our path wielding a knife and a bow, strung and I think she meant business. Rex had donned his helmet, but other than that, our group looked the same as it had the night before. And we were wearing the same clothes.

“Come a step closer and the clone bites the dust.”

I looked toward Rex and he shrugged.

“And you shoot him and I’ll kill you.”

She looked at me long and hard; like a stare-off. It was unnerving to say the least, but finally she stepped aside. “Then you take me with you.”

She was force sensitive, and I could tell she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Then I’ll kill you in your sleep.” I countered.

“If you get close enough to do so.”

Then came the most astounding part of the whole encounter. She forced up Em and placed her in a tree. “There. Now will you let me join you?”

“Whereby did you come to understand?” I asked again.

“I was apprenticed once… before the war… my master Luminara Undi was killed. I had only been apprenticed for a year.”

She went on for a while explaining everything, but I was stuck on apprenticed. It was lucky enough I had found Rex, it was coincidental I had found a royal insider Em, but this was nuts. I had just found another Jedi apprentice.

“Then we should get going. I know of a village near the edge of the forest. Their part of the rebellion and I know you’ll love it there.”

I paused. “Wait, how would you know that we are friends.”

The girl glanced past me. “Oh, hi Em! You’re back. I’m so glad. I wasn’t really sure it was you with the storm trooper and all, but I’m so glad you’re back!”

“So there is a spy? Em. Oh well, as long as Vader doesn’t find us. And I don’t think I’ll be needing this.” Rex grumbled taking of his helmet, and tossing it into the bushes. “It has caused enough trouble. I can tell we aren’t looked that happily upon any more.”

I nodded; glad the thing was off. I hated how, while the clones where great fighters, they had no sense of individuality. “Then lead the way.” I cast a sidelong glance at Em. “Whether I am going to be mad at you or not is debatable.” I smiled afterwards. “Oh well, at least you were a spy for the good guys.”

It was dark when we reached the village. The lights of the town flickered through the trees as the girl, more commonly known as Scout than her true name, Mer, led us inward. I had pulled the cowl of my cloak over my head as had Jet. I still didn’t trust the whole operation; neither did Rex, but Em seemed at home enough.

A woman exited one of the cottages and strolled toward us with a frown on her face. “If this is more...” Her eyes met mine and I couldn’t believe it.

“Aravis?” I stuttered, pulling off my hood.

“Great Scott! Surely this can’t be the little pipsqueak I dropped off in
Corosaunt?” She smiled warmly and we hastily embraced.

“It has been so long. And this place… it is amazing.” I grinned. “It would seem you haven’t changed a bit.”

“But you have.” She looked over to the clone. “It is a pleasure to see you, Rex, come in, come in. And this must be the Jet I have heard so much about.”

Jet stood up a little bit taller as we entered the hut. It was sparsely decorated with only the accentual items. “You’ll be staying here.” She added over her shoulder as she lit the fire. I nodded, taking in the place slowly.
Em strolled in a little bit behind us. “I am staying in a cottage up north a bit. Let me know if you need anything.” She exited the one room hut unceremoniously, and I sighed.

“I guess I’m a little short for introductions. It would seem you already know everything about us.” I paused. “It is good to see you Aravis.” For some back up knowledge, Aravis was the one who found me and took me to the temple to be apprenticed. She was an undercover Jedi for most of her life, and that is what she did. Finding force sensitive children was a job for her so she didn’t do normal things like most Jedi. She didn’t have a saber, but was one of the most force sensitive people the temple had ever encountered, so the job was a natural for her.

Aravis smiled and left us to unpack, which didn’t take long, and soon we were fast asleep.

(to be contiuned)

>> “Aravis?” I stuttered, pulling off my hood.


A cameo by our Aravis Kenobi?

It's very kosher to make such salutes to friends, even to put in characters based on those friends. Not one but two of my stories here have contained characters closely based on our Evening Star.

Copperfox said:

>> “Aravis?” I stuttered, pulling off my hood.


A cameo by our Aravis Kenobi?

It's very kosher to make such salutes to friends, even to put in characters based on those friends. Not one but two of my stories here have contained characters closely based on our Evening Star.

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I was thinking about that. No, it isn't after Aravis Kenobi - sorry. I wrote this about a year before I even knew this forum existed. And I only just met Aravis so I wouldn't be able to base a character off of her.

I agree completely In fact, Aravis - in the story, obviously - ends up being able to use the force really well. And I have to agree with the humor - because I just remembered her name (I tend to forgot side character names.. ) and wondered if you or Copper would say anything.

But enough chit chat - back to the tale

I awoke the next morning to darkness. I could tell it was early, and I didn’t normally wake up that early, but I had. I got up and slunk past Rex and Jet, creaking open the door and sliding out. The coolness in the air was wonderful, and the twilight haze that still clung to the sleepy village quietly blanketed the town. I blinked my eyes slowly, allowing the grogginess of sleep to roll away. A small breeze stifled through the air, weaving through the many oaks and birches that grew up like the ancient giants guarding the tiny development. It was quiet and peaceful, and I took a breath of relief. We were safe there for now.

It was on that thought I saw two foggy figures stumbling toward us. My hand went instinctively to my lightsaber, which hung at my side. I had washed my clothes yesterday, but still wore the same simple blue dress and cloak.

I looked around hoping to see someone stirring, but I didn’t. The figures got closer, and I decided to pace toward them like I hadn’t arrived the night before.

When they came into view, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Master Obi-Wan was limping toward the town, holding up another man whom I soon recognized as a young padawan that had never been chosen… I rushed toward them, running faster than I think I had ever. I threw my cowl up so that they wouldn’t recognize me at first; it was always better to be cautious than to fall for some trap. But as I ran toward them, I sensed someone else. It was a trap, and my beloved friends were the bait. I stopped abruptly, scouting the trees and quickly spotted several troopers following them with their guns.
Obi-Wan looked up, peering toward the village coldly. I slipped back into the shadows of the forest, creeping further down the path in the brush. I bumped into another figure on the way. Scout picked herself up without any disregard toward me, her eyes still locked on the pair of Jedi.
She turned toward me with a cocked eyebrow. “Friends of yours’?”

I nodded.

“There are troopers in the trees…” She added slowly.

“I noticed.”

Mer smiled. “You take care of them; I’ll keep these shinnies at bay.”

I nodded again, slipping out of the shadows, casting a longing glance at the girl as she sped through the woods. My cowl still on, I swept into the center of the path. Rangers, from the long ago times, had been able to move without being seen and we unusually sharp minded. I hadn’t earned the nickname for nothing as I have stated before. I straightened to my full stature, and placed my hand on my saber.

When Obi-Wan saw me, he immediately put himself into a defensive position, but I could tell he was weak. I hurt me to see him so worn down; he looked half dead. Frowning, I leaped past them and the hail fire began. My green lightsaber had already been on by the time the first clone had even thought about shooting his gun. I spun around deflecting the bullets that shot through the air with a reddish shing. Obi-Wan and his friend stood frozen in their path.

“Get moving! GO!” I shouted in between deflections. By that time, several of the rebel fighters had appeared, shooting return fire. My light saber gleamed in the pre dawn light as arrows, gunshots and grenades spun in all of earth’s furry.

I looked back toward Obi-Wan and Ferris. My cowl still on, I could tell neither of them recognized us. Jet and Rex dashed from our hut and joined the rebels in their fight. Clones dropped like flies from the trees, and I knew it would grieve Rex to see this, so I decided it was time to end it. I whistled to Mer, and she leapt out of the perch she had been hidden in and flung out at the clones with all her might, wielding her knives like a master, and then I quickly decided it wasn’t just like a master, she was a master.

“Rex! Get the Jedi into a hut!” I shouted toward him.

He nodded gratefully at me and took both men over his shoulders and dragged them to safety. That’s when I heard the tramp of thousands of feet marching toward us. It sounded like thunder as it echoed through the woods. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

Mer turned a quizzical glare at me.

“There’s a whole army coming for us.”

She nodded killing the nearest clone before jumping down and landing softly on the ground. Everything was passing in a blur as we all made a mad dash toward the huts. Aravis already had several speeders ready. Rex had already set Ferris and Obi-Wan onto a medical stretcher behind one of them.

“The clones will be here any minute.” I gasped, doubling over from exhaustion.

“That’s why you are going to take them to our base about a league from here. It will be a hard ride, but I know you will do fine. Mer will come with you and your clone friend and Jet too. Em as well. You are our only hope.”

I looked at her in astonishment. “You knew this would happen?”

I hugged her. “You have always been so brave.”

“You have always needed help getting out of trouble, so I guess I had to learn the trait.” She paused, looking at me all teary eyed. “Now, go… Go!”

I nodded and jumped onto one of the speeders and took off. Em, Jet, Rex, and Mer followed in a tight triangle around me, Mer in the front leading the way.

As the day went on, I turned around numerous times to see the smoke billowing up from the forest. It was black, and I knew that the others hadn’t made it out in time. I turned away, and bent my head down in sorrow. It was around nightfall that we reached the base. There was a group of rebels that met us soberly, helping Obi-Wan and Ferris into the infirmary.

I got off in a major daze and followed their leader to a hut where we would stay for the night, but he made it clear we were to leave in the morning, apparently they had decided it was our fault that Aravis and the others were caught. Em and Mer had been given awards for their valor in the fight, but my friends and I were given a nice excuse to miss the ceremony. I had sustained several flesh wounds, but they had dried up and scabbed over by the time we had reached the place. They were mostly around my arms so no blood had gotten on my clothes, which I decided to spend yet another night in.

Rex and Jet were already asleep when I crawled out into the night air later and looked up to see the stars. They glittered like diamonds up there, so far away from the trouble of our wars. Sighing, I paced toward the medicine hut, located close to the place we were staying. The lights were on in there and I knocked before entering. I could hear Ferris and Obi-Wan talking quietly and someone else I didn’t recognize.

The door creased open and I slipped inside. I still had my cowl up; it had been cold that night, but the warmth inside gave me the notion to take it off. The Jedi straitened when I entered, turning their attention to me.

Obi-Wan dipped his head in thanks. “We owe you our lives. Thank you.”

“No thanks is necessary.” I smiled. “Especially when it is saving the lives of old friends.” I took off my hood. “I am glad to see you both.”

Ferris smiled broadly. “Surely this can’t be the Sari who I played with in the temple?”

“I am afraid so.” I smiled. “Are you both oaky? You looked half dead when you got to the camp.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, Aravis did wonders.”

I turned to see the very person who I thought was dead to be smiling like a Cheshire cat as she closed the door. “Wouldn’t want to let the cold air in.”

***

The next morning, and boy was it early, our band was already packed and ready to go, but I couldn’t have been more proud. Jet stood beside me with a newly tightened braid in her hair. She was a happy as I think I had ever seen her. I was a master. Obi-Wan had decided it was time, and I had accepted Jet in a heartbeat. Master Kenobi had even provided a new saber for her to use.

Rex had watched the ceremony with reverence, and Aravis had gotten all teary again. Softy. Em and Mer had decided to join us on the way to the outer rim of the planet where there was a small, abandoned base from the clone wars that would be far enough from trouble to keep us secure and secret from the outside world.

It was sad saying goodbye, and somehow I knew it would be the last time. And at long last we jumped onto our speeders and sailed off into the sunset.. the end! Not really, unfortunately we had a lot more running around to do before then…

(to be continued)

Contination...

“Who are you?!”

A foreign voice shook me from my nap. So to catch you up, we had been living at the base for five years. I was eighteen now, and Jet was eleven. Rex was still with us and Mer too. Em had come and gone some, but eventually decided to join our little gang, but enough recap. Hehe, I think I hear a storm brewing.

My lightsaber hung by my side, hidden in the dark holds of my cloak. My eyes had just snapped open, and were slowly adjusting to the light as I saw a whir change up the hill where I was laying. Must’ve dropped off into sleep. “Hmm?” I asked absent-mindedly.

“Answer the question!” The voice blasted angrily.

I sat up and looked down at a figure sliding down the dirt mound, his feet collapsing the footpath to the top. “And why would I do that?” I flickered my gaze to my bike on the opposite side of the hill.

“Because I asked?” He said impatiently.

“Pressuring me to answer your questions will do nothing to help your current position, and it could get a lot worse very quickly.” I replied moving toward the edge slightly.

Thankfully, he got the message and backed off a hair. Precious little, mind you, but a little still.

“You will answer my questions.” He said with the slightest twist of his hand.

Great, now I have a wise-aker who thinks he can use the force. “Who do you think you are? Some Jedi? I should think not. Just so we’re on the same page, mind tricks don’t work on me.”

He looked at me shamefacedly. “How did you know about the Jedi? Have you seen one?”

“Once again, why would I answer any questions of yours’? In fact, you are stranger here, so I should be the one asking questions.” I leapt easily off the mound around mid sentence, landing carefully behind him so it made it look like the jump had actually hurt, which it had. I never could completely shake the effects of the bullet.

“Quite the acrobat.” He said either to himself or to me, I couldn’t tell which. “Landed a little hard, I see. Never show off when you know it’ll cause pain in the long run.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to jump off the hill and over me and then tell me how it felt, but he stopped me before I could say anything. “Alright, fine, I’ll answer one of your questions in turn for one of mine being answered by
you.”

“Like a game.” I replied pretending to be impressed. Sighing, I decided I wasn’t going to do anything otherwise, and a good mind bender would be fun. “Fine, we can sit over there.” I pointed to a granite bench.

He nodded, and started walking to the bench. He then paused, making sure I
was following, and when I began to proceed, he plopped down on the stone with relief.

I pretended not to have seen the behavior that had been a little too obviously played. It was always better to act stupid, and have the other person treat you like you were two than to be an object of suspicion, at least, that was my thought on the type of situation that had presented itself. Sadly, this meant I kept away from having aggressive negotiations and challenging conversations. No, they saved their breath for “dumb” people like me. It gnawed me to bits, but, over the course of the years, it had become a relatively easy state to ease into while remaining attentive because if one indulged too much into the behavior, you would be subject to mind tricks. It was kind of like a spy disguised as a baby. Shrugging mentally, I realized that’s why I had just had an entire conversation with myself, another habit due to lack of action. I was about to launch into the pro’s and con’s of being an undercover, in-hiding Jedi until the boy took it upon himself to ask the first question.

“So, how long have you been living here?” He said slowly, as if staring at me intently would cause me to spill more information than intended. Blast, he was trying more Jedi mind tricks I realized peevishly. There was something oddly familiar about this one that made me edgy.

“Five years.” I replied simply. That was all this game called for. No hesitation, no fake answers, no stalling: it was a simple logic game. You had to know how to answer the questions simply enough to get your point across, but not too lose the monotony of your voice as to reveal any other opinions that may be filed away and used against you later.

“Where are you from?” I asked only seconds after my answer. Planning ahead always gave you an upper hand because it often causes stuttering and over-answering. I smiled as he hesitated.

“Corosaunt, as far as I know.” He replied simply enough, but I could tell in his brown eyes that he knew he had made a mistake, and that I was no foreigner to the game.

First key mistake, I noted happily; I may win this game yet. Saying ‘as far as I know’ was, especially for the particular planet he had mentioned, a fatal mistake, because it let on that he either moved or was moved away from his home when he was too young to remember his home planet. He was, I had noticed, human though, which definitely simplified matters. Sighing noticeably this time, I awaited his next question.

Moments passed. He was losing any advantage he would have with surprise, I noted as I prepared a lighting fast answer for any questions he might think to ask. Smiling inwardly, I thought back to the vigorous games I had played with my friend, Braydo, back at the temple, but that had been a long five years back.

“How old are you?” He said quickly.

Also a good question. “27.”

A puzzled look engulfed his face for a matter of seconds, but I gave him no time to recover. “Whom are we currently fighting against?” I chose the wording carefully in order to retain an air mystique about myself, thus providing the unspoken words of I could not be on anyone’s side, I could be on your side, or I could be on the side that you oppose. It was always a good thing to have around; it made the competition uncomfortable. Now, I was beginning to realize why we had been encouraged to play this game back at the temple.

“Empire.” He held nothing back, and this time he was comfortable in his answer, revealing opinions or not. I also noted that there was a hint of the emotion anger filed in his words, breaking the monotony, but it had been his intention. “Have you heard of Darth Vader?”

“Yes.” That was all the answer needed, but I couldn’t keep entire monotony in the words, thus exposing a glimmer of my deep hatred of the man, if one could call him as much. “How did you get here?”

“Starship.” He replied. “Where are you from?”

Good, he was getting better.

“Naboo.” I answered calmly.

He glanced around. “Then…”

“It’s my turn, young master.” I said evenly. “How did you come by the weapon that hangs by your side?” I had spent the last minute feeling out the lightsaber that he had hidden there, like me, and he knew it.

A flash of fear crossed over his eyes. “It is a saber.” He replied unsteadily.
Monotony was over. With the lightning fast movement of my hand, I spun my master’s lightsaber into my hand. “Does this weapon mean anything to you?” I passed it to him carefully. He ran his fingers over it and felt the lightsaber over fully. I had found it during one of my adventures across the galaxy not long before hand. Actually it had turned up in a pawn shop at the capitol, and I had snatched it up like it was a starship for free.

“Who did you kill to get this?” He growled dropping the saber. It bounced for a second then lay still.

“I killed no one.” I replied coolly. “What is your name, Jedi?”

“Braydo.” He said the answer quickly and then turned his attention back to the saber laying on the ground.

I nodded and pulled the saber back into my cloak with the force quickly.

“Who are you?”

“Master Jedi Sari.” My apprentice, Jet, appeared soon after, smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Welcome to Naboo, Jedi Braydo, we have long expected your arrival.” I continued as Em slunk out of the bushes behind us. Rex appeared soon after and made a hasty salute to Braydo.

(not much left, but some more to be sure )

Not nessisarly - there is a series called "the last of the Jedi" about his departure from tattooine including the chacater Ferris - an apprentice he would have had had Anakin not showed up. But i see your point. I'm working on the next one and its a little more concious of the original plot line.