The whole op was going to Hell, and Jezzer was at a temporary loss on how to stop it. Rhino Squad’s been hunting Jedi for the greater part of the past ten years, and never have they encountered such a Jedi. It was almost as if this Jedi had forsaken his teachings, and had become aggressive.
“Tighten up formation,” Jezzer spat into his Helmet’s comms. “We’re getting slaughtered, and I’ve had enough!”
“Thrust is down. Only you, Swoosh, and I are left,” came Doc’s voice. Even Doc’s top rated medical skills weren’t bring Thrust back. He was now all that remained of Viper Squad.
“Keep pounding on him with blaster fire while I get a little surprise worked out,” giggled Swoosh. Always have to keep an eye on that one. Swoosh sometimes forgets he’s not indestructible. “On three, cover your eyes. It’s gonna be bright as a super nova real quick!”
“Shab! You need to think these plans of yours through better! You’re going to get us killed in the process,” shouted Jezzer.
“One! Two! Three!”
And just like that, there was no more sound, only light.
Building up all the Force energy Quinlan Vos could spare, preparing for the right moment, just before the flash bang went off. As he felt the explosion trigger in the bomb, Vos vaulted himself high into the treetops, keeping his eyes closed, relying on the Force to guide him from tree to tree, limb to limb in an effort to escape for the moment. For the briefest of moment, he had almost given into his weakness, almost called upon the dark place in his soul. Why now? What made this situation any more difficult, any more dangerous, than the events immediately after Order 66 was given? This was very troublesome. Was it the presence of the Sith Assassin, closing in on him in this forest? Was it fatigue? These questions would have to wait. He needed to find a way off of this planet while he still could.
Then it hit him: pain. What happened? Why was his leg dragging? It felt like dead wood hanging from his torso. Vos needed to find a place to regroup.
“Doc, is anyone viable? Will bacta help, or do we collect their chits?” inquired Jezzer.
“Sorry, Sarge. They will be missed, but they are gone now.” Doc’s tone was downcast, his spirit was mourning, but he was visibly as steady as ever. Jezzer made the immediate decision to incorporate Doc into Rhino Squad. He’d already earned it.
“Swoosh, what do you have for me? It better be something good, because we’re not jumping planet with five ImpComms down and no Jedi slain.” Jezzer’s anger was coming to a boil. If he got his hands on a live Quinlan Vos, there would be much pain.
“Can’t see any trace of him. That was just a fraggin’ flash bang, not a true det. There’s no way it would have vaped him out of existence. I have no movement on my sensors, no heat signatures, and I can’t even hear leaves rustling. This makes no se-AAACK!!!”
“Swoosh! Swoosh, what’s wrong?” shouted Doc as he sprinted over to his suddenly exasperated comrade. “Jezzer, that Jedi is back, using his little tricks to choke out Swoosh!”
No, this was not right. Jedi did not stalk enemies, they did not torture their adversaries. This was against all of the training Lord Vader himself had taught us. Something else is here, and I can feel my very soul begin to turn to ice.
With a sudden flash of crimson, Doc and Swoosh were silenced forever. She was here, and she was not happy. Vader’s Sith Assassin, Cheai Xatal had arrived. A female Bothan, with fur as black as the blood of a Dianoga, eyes that glowed a sinister amber, even in the darkest of nights. Her stare could make your soul whither before she stuck her lightsaber talons into your heart. Wearing only a black, sleeveless tunic outlined in crimson and yellow, her claws gleamed in the light of the moons of Terminus. Jezzer could make her out well enough without his helmet’s sensors, and he knew there would be no escape from her wrath.
Cheai Xatal closed down her lightsabler gauntlets. Instead of the traditional handled weapon, Xatal preferred twin specially designed gauntlets that sprouted four short lightsaber claws each, with a longer blade hidden on the bottom of her palms. Jezzer had seen her once before in action. It didn’t end up well for an entire platoon of Rebels. “You’ve allowed the Jedi to escape,” bit Xatal. Her anger seethed from her fur like radiant heat. “Lord Vader will not tolerate your failures, and I will not allow it to continue any further.”
“Mistress Xatal, I’m not any happier about the situation than you are. This Jedi has fought like no other we’ve ever hunted. He has actually attacked in return, turning from defensive to offensive. We regrouped quick enough, but lost five men. We were preparing to continue the hunt before you arrived and slew my soldiers.” The bitterness and anger was evident in Jezzer’s voice.
“Tell me, how did Master Vos attack you?” Cheai Xatal stalked around the bodies strewn about the battlefield, sniffing each victim for clues to their demise.
The first assault came in the form of spears. They were thrown hard enough to decapitate one and drive through two at once. Another was cut down by his lightsaber. He wielded two simultaneously, deflecting blaster fire from our rifles. Doc found that the spears were tipped with some kind of local berry that would paralyze and cause hallucinations in whomever were pierced with by them. Swoosh threw a flash bang to distract the Jedi, and when the effects cleared, he was no where to be found.”
“So your incompetence has been complete. You cannot obviously handle the simple task of bringing down one, weak Jedi. You are no longer of any use to me.”
The last thing Jezzer heard before he went to the Great Oblivion was the sound of Xatal’s lightsabler power up just before it plunged into his heart.
“Master Kenobi, I fear something terrible is about to happen.”
“Master Hett, so good of you to finally come see me. I’ve felt your presence on this planet ever since you arrived, shortly after I did. I assume you’ve fallen back in with your clan of Tusken Raiders?”
“Yes, Master Kenobi. After Order 66, it was all I knew to do. I received your message from the Jedi Temple to stay away, and came back here once I began to feel the deaths of so many Jedi in the Force,” replied Jedi Master A’Sharaad Hett mournfully. The human Jedi who was raised among the Tuskens by his father, Sharaad Hett, was still clad in his traditional Tusken garb. The only semblance of his former life as a Servant of the Light were his two lightsabers, and his presence in the Force.
“Why have you come to see me now,” inquired Obi-Wan. While deep in his meditations, Obi-Wan could feel the turbulent emotions of the Tusken Jedi Master as he approached from deep beyond the Dune Sea. Hett was correct, something terrible was happening, and he could feel the presence of the Dark Side at the heart of the matter.
“I have felt a disturbance, though it is odd to me. It’s not the same as when Palpatine revealed himself to be a Sith Lord, or when Order 66 was uttered into the ears of every Clone in the Grand Army. It wasn’t even the same as when the great Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side. However, I do feel the Dark Side near this problem I sense. I came to seek guidance from you.”
“Why have you come to seek guidance from me, my friend? How can I be of assistance?” The matter was puzzling to Obi-Wan, but his curiosity has been peaked.
“I feel the inner struggles of Master Vos. I can tell he is a great distance from here, in a place I do not recognize in my visions, but I can feel his torment. He is being hunted, as most Jedi have been, and he struggles.”
“My friend, do not fear for Master Vos. He is a highly capable Jedi, with a great deal of experience in many facets of the Force. I’ve never known a problem that Vos could not get himself out of. Tell me more of this vision.”
“I see Master Vos, fleeing from tree to tree, trees black as night, with leaves the color of blood. I see black clad soldiers hunting him, and in turn, a black furred creature of Dark Side energy following close behind. I believe the creature to be Bothan, though I cannot be sure. In itself, it doesn’t sound like much, but I see this creature’s claws, and they are made of crimson light. I fear she is Sith, and she is hunting Master Vos. However, it is not this vision that is most disturbing.”
“That is most interesting, Master Hett. Tell me, what is most disturbing in all of this. I have not seen anything in my meditations, but I do feel something happening in the Force. What, exactly, I cannot tell.”
I can feel the inner struggle Master Vos faces. He is on a precipice, and he is contemplating drawing upon the Dark Side once again. He is lost in a mix of hopelessness and fear, and I fear we may lose him to the Dark Side. What’s worse, I can feel him rationalizing his own survival, weighed against the decision to turn.”
“Have you and Master Vos had much contact while on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple? Had you trained together? Have you kept in contact with him after Order 66 was enacted? How is it that you can feel so much of him, from such a great distance?”
“Because, Master Kenobi, it is a decision I’ve weighed myself. When does serving the Light blindly become a hindrance? Master Vos has walked both sides for a very long time, and has always triumphed in his return. When does utilizing the full mastery of the Force become more than just about Dark and Light?” The intensity in A’Sharaad’s eyes shone with a fire that struck Obi-Wan in a way that made his hair stand up on his neck.
“Master Hett, you should know what the consequences of such thoughts could bring! Do you truly believe that you can walk on both sides of the Force and return to either side at your whim? Do not turn from the Light, my friend. No good can come from that, I promise you!”
“How can you promise such things, Master Kenobi?” demanded Hett. “We served the Light for centuries, and look where that has gotten us. We are being hunted down like vermin, picked off like womp rats, and yet you lecture me on the merits of continuing my enslavement to the Light? Perhaps the Masters were wrong. Have you considered that for a moment? Have you considered how Master Yoda, as old and as wise as he was, could have been wrong? Could have been blinded by his arrogance in his belief that he was correct and others were wrong? What if, true followers of the Light or the Dark are both wrong? What if, true Jedi are meant to master both sides, in a delicate balance. Master Vos has done just that, and has survived because of it.”
“I cannot believe what I am hearing! Do you truly believe what you are saying,” gasped Obi-Wan? If you have come to me for guidance, we have much to discuss. However, I sense you have come here, not for guidance, but for confirmation. I’m sorry, old friend, but I cannot condone what you are thinking.”
“Who are you to tell me, or any other Jedi, what is right or wrong? Your teachings have led to the destruction of the Jedi. Your apprentice has fallen deeper than any before him. He was to bring balance to the Force, and yet he has tipped it irreversibly to the Darkness, and it all comes from your teachings!” shouted Hett.
“Anakin made his choices. He chose to fall in love, against all mandates from the Jedi. He chose to sacrifice his soul on the empty promise of a Sith Lord. He chose to slaughter younglings and murder fellow Jedi. He chose to follow Darth Sidious into taking over the galaxy. Those were his choices. My teachings had nothing to do with that.”
“And yet you presume to teach the next generation of Skywalker, don’t you?” chided Hett. “Yes, Master Kenobi, I know all about the offspring of Skywalker. I know full well how young Luke grows up with his uncle and aunt on the outskirts of Anchorhead. Do you presume to be the only Jedi with a stake in the future of our Order? Do you presume to be the one to train the boy, who I can feel throbbing in the Force? When do you propose to do this? He’s already too old to begin the training, as was taught to us. So perhaps you, too, feel our teachings were wrong, and wish to right them.”
“I make no assumptions-“
“But you DO, Obi-Wan! You DO assume to teach the boy. I can feel it in you through the Force. You wish to right the wrongs you committed with Anakin. But you are still blind to the Force. You still cling to the teachings that have ruined the Order. You are still blind to the true potential of the Jedi, still refuse to accept that there is more to the Force than just playing sides. You shall not train the boy, Obi-Wan. You are not ready, you are not prepared. I shall train him. I go now, to take him from his family and raise him the way a true Jedi should be trained.”
And at that moment, Obi-Wan could feel the chasm in the Force, growing ever wider.
