Destiny Eclipse/Chapter XV

--23 ABY--

Jedi Temple – Council Chambers
Kavar, Lyn, Vikro, and Xander stood before the Council. They knew this must be an important mission for two Masters and their Apprentices to be required. Vikro, however, knew otherwise, but kept quiet, knowing this mission would be testing on how Xander fought with a friend and fellow Padawan on the field.

“There have been reports of disturbances in Thespis, which is a city not to far from here,” Abba said, “We need you, Kavar, to lead the way, as you and Lyn know Bakura’s landscape very well, and Vikro and Xander for their strength in the Force in dealing with troublemakers.”

Lyn shifted uncomfortably, bitter at once again being reminded that he had been given a lot more local missions than Xander, who had been sent on dangerous mission after dangerous mission, all successes. He felt like bursting out and reprimanding Xander, telling the Council how it was just Vikro doing the hard work, and Xander desperately not wanting to be unique, and the rest that Xander had dumped on him without asking.

Taking a deep breath, he remembered the Jedi Code. There is no emotion, there is peace. Xander had spoken to him in confidentiality. Whatever issues Lyn had with him lay between him and Xander, he had no right drawing the Council in. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Lyn understood how Xander felt, he could not just cast his best friend’s feelings aside in an attempt to draw more glory to himself. There is no passion, there is serenity. Lyn let his feelings fill him, to almost bursting point, then slowly let them seep out, leaving him feeling calm and at peace. There is no death, there is the Force. He and Xander were joined now, joined for eternity. He couldn’t let a trivial matter come between them. He took a deep breath and focussed again on the Council, who were speaking seriously to his Master.

Kavar glanced at Lyn, and gave him a supporting smile, sensing the conflict that had just passed through his Padawan, letting him know he had done the right thing.

“Masters, I will do what I must,” Xander said, speaking for the first time. He had paused, frowning as he was about to speak, feeling the rush of emotions in his best friend. He felt confused. He had known Lyn for a long time, longer than he had known Jysek. They had matured together, now both adults in their prime. He glanced over at Lyn again.

Lyn had lost his traditional spiky hair, opting instead for a cut that let his hair hang gently behind his ears, but not too long as to get in the way, although it remained messy, unbrushed. Xander smiled, Lyn had never been fond of conforming, always rebelling in the slightest ways. Lyn had never had a major growth spurt, his height resting at a meter seventy.

To the contrary, Xander had shot up when he reached eighteen, much later than most of the other boys. He was over ten centimetres taller than Lyn, and made sure he knew it in teasing bouts. His strictly short hair that he had worn through much of his Apprenticeship now rested at his shoulders, and he had added blonde streaks to it, as a replacement, not an adequate one, to the tattoo he had never received as a member of the Vos clan. Xander was nearing thirty, and knew that he was to be promoted very soon. He felt for Lyn, who had been held back by his Master, who wanted to be very thorough with Lyn’s training. Xander hoped that he and Lyn would be Knighted in the same ceremony, as that would be the ultimate honour for the pair.

“That is good to hear, but unnecessary,” Koras said, frowning at Xander, “We know that no matter what you shall give any mission your all. You have proven that on many occasions now.” Koras had watched Xander grow from a young boy into a man, sensing the conflict that still resided in Xander, knowing what his Grand-Father had become, fearing he would follow the same path, especially after that outburst on Naboo all those years ago.

One who had watched Xander for quite some time, who had been absent – conspicuously so, for over a decade now, was Rive Caedo. Despite the time, Xander always expected to hear a witty remark jump from the old man’s mouth, or a stern telling off if he ran too fast in the hall. Xander missed the man, who had come close to a father figure for him.

“You may leave whenever you believe you need to, the Council wishes you all strength in the Force, and we hope you will return safely to us,” Shatterpoint finished, breaking him out of his thought, smiling at them all, especially at Xander, who she was especially proud of, he had changed so much – for the better – since she had brought him here. He was finally finding his path in life, and with friends and allies to support him, she knew he would do well long after she had joined the Force.

Bakura – Thespis Outskirts
Xander walked ahead of Vikro and Kavar, Lyn at his side. The two glanced suspiciously around, and into the town, where reports of insurgents had originated. They had hear reports that a group of terrorists were holding many of the people in the town hostage to gain a large sum of money from a bank situated in the middle of the town.

The four Jedi exuded an air of calm, glancing around the town casually. However, beneath the surface a thick layer of tension spread between them, unbeknownst to a casual observer. The casual glances they threw at buildings in the town were absorbing information that might help them later. Sizing up sniper spots, figuring out escape routs, and the like.

Xander glanced around, surprised at how quiet the town was, and a little suspicious. Even if there was a hostage situation, civilians should still be out and about, or in their homes, and yet everywhere seemed deserted. The four walked closer and closer to the centre of the town, now dropping any pretences of calm and gripping their lightsaber hilts.

“Keep an eye out for snipers on any roofs,” Xander said quietly to Lyn, not taking his eyes off the roof-tops as they passed. Finally, as they rounded a building advertising a certain type of legal spice, they spied the bank.

“There it is,” said Lyn, igniting his sapphire coloured blade, as Xander ignited his dark green blade. Two identical snap-hisses behind them signified their Masters igniting their own blades, as still not a person was seen.

Suddenly Lyn felt a wave of darkness through the Force. “Down,” he ordered, pushing Xander down onto the ground with the Force, as a blaster bolt sped down, charring the ground just past where he had stood. If he had still been standing, the blast would have struck him in the side of the head before he had time to react.

Vikro turned, and leapt to the roof of the building where the shot had come from, slicing through the chest of the Bakuran who had appeared there shortly before the blast had been fired. He fell back in surprise, dropping his rifle. Vikro turned, watching in amazement as dozens, if not more, men appeared on various roofs around the centre of the city, men pouring from the bank, with various DC rifles, some even bringing out powerful E-Web blasters, setting up the chain guns, and pointing them at Xander, Lyn and Kavar. The snipers pointed at Vikro, making sure he stayed glued to the spot.

“Time to die, Jedi,” a man snarled as he took a step away from the others, towards the Jedi Knight and the two Padawans.

Kavar took a step back, closing his large black eyes. The Sullustan stood perfectly still, his green lightsaber dipped forward slightly in concentration. His eyes whirling open suddenly, he raised a hand, and the top of the bank rumbled, collapsing on top of the men stationed beneath it, crushing any cries of surprise from them as it buried them.

The snipers opened fire, and Xander, Lyn and Vikro whirled into action, Kavar ahead of them, slicing through the chests of men who moments ago had been high above his head. The tiny Sullustan shoved through the men with surprising force, their lifeless bodies toppling from the roof top to hit the floor with a dull thud.

Xander and Lyn remained on the ground redirecting blaster bolts into the bodies of any men who appeared to be directly harming their Masters. Xander glanced up at Vikro, who stood at the edge of the roof, battling three men who wielded Force Pikes, an unusual weapon for such a quaint town.

Xander watched, his eyes in surprise, as a man emerged from the edge of the rubble, carrying an ancient rocket propelled grenade launcher. He must have been the leader, who had stepped forward, Xander realised. By stepping forward he saved himself, the rubble falling mainly behind him.

“Master!” Xander called out, sending tendrils of Force Lightning into the man, throwing him against the rubble, and quenching the life from him.

As Kavar felled the final man, silence fell amongst the town, as all eyes fixed themselves on Xander. Vikro and Kavar leapt from the roof, landing softly on the floor, their lightsabers deactivated and resting on their belts. Vikro marched past Xander, not saying a word to him as he begun to check the pulses of the men on the ground.

“What?” Xander demanded, “I saved your life!”

“With the use of the Dark Side,” Vikro said, whirling around. Xander was surprised to hear an edge in his voice, “You gave in to your anger and-”

“No,” Xander declared, “I didn’t feel any anger, fear or any other Dark Side emotion at all, I used my judgement, and that was the quickest way to save you. If I hadn’t, you would be dead, and the morale of the Jedi Order would be crippled. The Sith would be able to defeat us much easier, and the Galaxy would lie in darkness. I prevented that, yes with a Dark Side power, but not with the Dark Side. I side-stepped the rules to achieve an outcome the Force desires.”

Vikro studied him for a moment, realising he was right, and that sometimes the right course of action is not decided by the rules, but by the circumstances. All he could say was, “Beware the quick and easy path Xander,” before rising from the last of the dead men, and calling Kavar and Lyn to him.

“We’ve dealt with the terrorists,” he said, “But the women and children are missing, which is odd. They must be near by, or they themselves may be hostages. Whilst Kavar’s action was rash, killing the hostages, it may have saved countless more lives. If they had killed us, the other hostages would have then been killed, the bait for the trap no longer needed, and the four known hostages were a willing sacrifice to save the hundreds trapped.”

Lyn and Xander stared shocked at him. The way he spoke he sounded as if he preferred them to be alive than the hostages. Vikro turned and with a sad smile said to Xander, “Sometimes the rules must be broken to save the Force,” he said. Xander nodded, understanding.

“I think they’ll be near by,” Lyn said, “There’s a system of caves on the outskirts, opposite where we arrived from, and it would be a logical place to keep captives. A fresh water stream runs by near it, and it has plenty of cover. Coupled with that the caves are laced with metals that would throw of scanners.”

“Then that’s where we will look,” Kavar said, moving forwards, the others following him.

Unknown Location
The man didn’t know where he was, or who he was. He had awoken to find himself in captivity, leering faces appearing everywhere he looked, though he had determined them to be specters in his mind.

All he remembered was light, and then blur. The door to his cell was locked fast, and the only window was made of an indestructible material, even the chair by his bed wouldn’t shatter it when thrown at it. He sat on his bed, his face in his hands, trying to make sense of where he was.

He knew much had happened, he still had flash memories of floating in some sort of liquid, feeling it sting him as it knitted together his flesh from injuries created long ago. He remembered feeling like he was being watched. He remembered nothing else.

Bakura - Thespis Caves
Lyn walked ahead with Kavar, Vikro and Xander slightly behind, murmuring to each other presumably about their conversation from earlier. Lyn gazed into the cave’s depths, trying to discern where the townspeople could be being held. Kavar put out his hand, stopping his Apprentice. Xander and Vikro also stopped.

“There is a very large cave at the end of this tunnel,” he whispered, “With seven guards blocking the way, and a further ten guards dispersed between the prisoners. We must take those ten out as quickly as possible, or they will kill prisoners. And please be quiet or they will hear us.”

Lyn silently kicked himself in his mind for forgetting that, as a Sullustan, Kavar would be seeing this cave as bright as the daylight outside. He winced slightly, imagining what the actual day would look like to a Sullustan.

“How are they able to see?” Asked Xander, curious.

“They have glow rods set to very dim which they are using to check on the prisoners,” said Kavar and, sure enough, as they neared the cavern, they could make out dim light.

Perhaps if we pulled the glow rods from them, they would be in the darkness, then you could take out the guards patrolling the hostages,” Xander said, “Then we could blast them with light and take out the rest of them if you get into any trouble.”

Kavar was silent for a moment, considering the plan, then nodded, “Very well,” he said, disappearing in front of them into the darkness. Xander, Lyn and Vikro waited, and suddenly cries of confusion rippled through the tunnel, echoing off the walls. Soon Kavar returned, his arms full of glow rods, which were now extinguished, only one remaining barely light.

He nodded to Vikro, before turning and moving stealthily into the camp. Sudden thumps could be heard as he clinically dispatched the guards in the camp. Finally he returned to them breathless, they’re on to me, light up and take them out,” he said.

Xander, who had positioned the lights on the floor in strategic places, lit them all simultaneously using the Force, momentarily blinding the guards. The Jedi, who had steeled themselves for the sudden light through the Force, leapt forward, slicing through them methodically. Not a single shot was fired.

Lyn moved between the hostages, relieving them of their bonds. One man stood up, stretching his aching hands. “Thank you for your help, Jedi. They came into town only a few days ago unexpectedly, and slowly people began to disappear. Finally it became obvious it was them and we staged a battle, three of my men were killed, and they captured the rest of us,” the man said, glaring at his feet, “They set the trap hoping to catch the Jedi, who they claimed had an Enclave in the area. But you aren’t from here, are you?” He said, almost begging them to say they weren’t. The idea of a Jedi Temple on Bakura terrified him, it would mean the Sith would arrive en masse and wreak havoc across the planet.

“No, of course not,” Vikro said, “We are part of the Phantoms, as you should have guessed, and I’m sorry, but we can’t disclose the location of our Temple for obvious reasons.”

The man sighed in relief, “I’m Jak by the way, Jak Pharlan. I’m in charge of the minor policing force this town contains, that in war time serves as our military.” He paused, expecting them to surrender their names. When they didn’t, he continued, “Are they all gone from our town now?”

“Yes, it is safe to return,” Xander said, as the Jedi checked that no one was injured or sick. After doing so, they turned to leave. Almost as an afterthought, Lyn turned back, “Oh, and sorry about your bank, my Master doesn’t know how to control himself,” he said, keeping a straight face, before breaking into a grin.

Jak stared after them in obvious confusion, and they could hear him mutter, “Jedi, pfft,” under his breath.