Master of The Order Vol. 1: Knight of The Order/Chapter 3

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.