Guar gathered the supplies and the followed the sence of flow from his other sithian compatriots. he climbed in his uglie, checked in with the starport, and left. headed for tatoine.
He covered his eyes a few seconds before the explosion erupted. Flashes of sparks showered around him. Blue smoke billowed out of one of the engines, as the thing finally roared to life.
Ronag smiled, "Perfect."
He closed it up, checking it one more time. It wasn't running at optimal proficiency, but it was running. With any luck he wouldn't need it for too long anyway. Just a short hypertrip and he'd be on his way.
Walking up into the mall living quarters he was amaze4d to find two robot driods standing side by side. In their hands, attached, instead of weaponry, were a couple of different sets of tools. They were once battle driods (From Ep. 1) but he had converted them to be nothing more than simple mechanical robots.
"Status," he said, wiping off the dirt and grime from his hands.
The voice was flat and oily, seemingly perfect to come out of the machine, "The entire ship is sealed. Docking bay door has been fixed, job complete."
He nodded, "Very nice."
That left some supplies, and he would be out of here. He didn't feel much like going back to town, and it was such a waste not to at least take the thing out for a test run.
"Buckle up, we are going to head off to a little trading planet," the bots moved away.
Ronag dropped into the cockpit's seat, wiping the air away as dust swirled up around him. Pressing a couple of buttons he crossed his fingers.
Lights began turning on, and a deep rumble came beneath me. Clapping his hands together, he turned up power.
"Excellent,"
I saw his face as he recalled something...painful? I tried to ignore it, but concern would get the better of me; it always did. I kept my eyes fixed on him for a few moments, trying to read the memory in his features, but to no avail.
I shouldn't worry, I told myself. People have memories, they have experiences that don't necessarily have to be known, especially Jedis.
But I found myself glancing back to him again, curious.
As Kelson's eyes meet mine, I look down, not thinking, realizing what he meant and feeling insecure over it being brought into the open. My pride stung then, from my show of weakness, and I raised my eyes again, intending to stare the man in the eye, admitting my weakness or not.
By then, he'd looked away. I looked to Daelon, wondering then if he was staring, having noticed the exchanged glances. He was looking at the two Jedis, stating his approval of their duel.
I looked down again, then at Raine, whose attention was temporarily trained on Kelson, not seeming to realize that he'd been looking at me when he spoke.
I relaxed then, and started over to the two.
"What now?" I asked.
"The drive? The drives about finished, a few bolts to tighten, then we can kick it in and get to where we need to go, to get the parts anyway." I explained. "But the package...I told you about that before takeoff...I said, I got us a job and a new mechanic...weren't you listening?"
I looked to Orin, wondering if he might remember my words from then.
"What did you think I meant? That's what we do, isn't it? We..." I glanced to Orin, deciding not to use the word smuggle. "We pick an item up here, then we drop it off there...y'know, we transport things...and sometimes, these things have a deadline."
On cue, as Mogo mentioned tightening bolts to Kerra, he picked up a large socket wrench and began tightening things up, slipping panels back into place and checking the wiring one more time.
"Should be good to go in a sec."
After gathering the tools he had used and putting them away, he gave the main panel of the drive a good luck kick. He grabs the pencil and pad and starts up toward the cockpit to grab a seat for the upcoming jump.
Tynan felt that same tickle in the force again. That same feeling of imminent danger. It had gotten stronger the longer he sat here. The problem was, he had no idea what danger it was. The Force was tricky. He didn't have the talents some other Jedi had in Foreseeing the future, and from what those who did have that gift told him, what they Foresaw didn't necessarily tell them much.
"The future is always in motion," Master Skywalker had told him at the Academy on Yavin IV. "All we can see is the prevalent possibilities."
It had seemed useless to Tynan at the time. Now, however, he'd give just about anything to have even a small clue as to what was happening.
He downed his drink, payed, and left the Cantina. He walked by some vendor stalls, and felt it. A 'tug' in the Force. He spun, lightsaber in hand, and came face to face with a ten year old boy.
The boys eyes were as large as two dinner plates, and with good reason. The leather purse full of waipupi, the local currency, he had been Force lifting from a vendor crashed to the ground, when Tynan spun on him.
The vendor looked down at the purse, and up at Tynan, eyes wide.
"Pick it up," Tynan commanded. The vendor complied.
"You will forget this incident," Tynan whispered to the vendor, using the Force on his weak mind.
"I will forget this incident," the vendor replied.
"Go on about your business," Tynan spoke, still using the Force, as he put his lightasber away.
"I'll go on about my business," the vendor answered.
"You, boy, come with me," Tynan commanded, pointing at the child. The child nodded and followed him.
The rounded a corner, and Tynan rounded on the boy. "What's your name boy?"
"L-Luke," came the answer.
Tynan smiled to himself. It could be the truth. Ever since people found out about Master Skywalker coming from Tatooine, there had been a large increase of the use of the name Luke, here.
"Where are you parents?"
"I don't have any parent, sir."
Tynan frowned. He had used the Force to check for truth, and had found it. The boy had no family, and no friends. "Come with me."
They started walking together. The boy spoke up, "Sir? Are you a Jedi Knight?"
"No," Tynan responded curtly. "I'm not Dark Jedi, either." Dark Jedi was the laymen term for Sith.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Off planet. Do you want to learn to control your powers?"
The boy nodded eagerly.
Tynan would be damned if he was going to teach him. He had no desire to have an annoying apprentice tagging along. He would take the boy to the Jedi for training. Not Yavin, though. At least not at first. He would try someplace else first.
As the ship finally touched down, Viser turned everything off, cooling it. He stepped out to a well guarded base. The Empire had set up a small something here. Looked like around a coulpe hundred troops with able machinery.
He nodded, moving out of the piece of shit, and over to one of the rooms.
Once there, he saluted one of the captains.
"I need to speak with Darth Bailen," the captain nodded, clicking a few buttons. After speaking with a couple of different tranforming stations, the image of Bailen's form came on. Static barely made him recognizable.
"News?"
"Yes Lord. I can sense them on this planet, only a few miles away. Three I think, maybe four."
"Excellent, excellent. If you can sense them, then they can sense you. Don't take that crystal off."
Viser covered up his robe, guarding the black swirls that the crystal contained, "Fear not. I'll keep it on as long as I need to."
Bailen nodded.
"Good, then here is the plan. I give you a day, one day to talk with them and befriend them. Then, send our entire outifit on that planet after them. Fully loaded, I am taking no chances with the Jedi. I want you to do something unconventional though."
Viser was listening.
"Help the jedi."
He cocked his head, unsure if he had heard the man right, "What?"
"Help the jedi to defeat our troops. If they somehow manage to defeat the entire platoon, I'll still need someone in their ranks. No doubt they'll move to another planet. I don't want to lose them again, do whatever you can to stick with them, you got me?"
He grumbled, but nodded yes.
"Good, now go before they get suspicious."
Viser clicked the thing off.
He sighed for a moment, and then looked back at the Captain.
The captain only shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine. Make no mistake my lord, we will take down the Jedi."
He nodded, no way were they that strong. Still, he would hate to diobey Bailen. Viser would rather take on all three..
No, he felt there were four. Four of them.
He'd rather take on all four than Bailen any day.
"Twenty four hours," he confirmed, "I've got to go and make some new friends."
It was beginning...
I could still feel the bag , or rather the holicron in the bag calling out to Kerra, trying to claim her as its own. It was time for another lesson. Placing my bag on the bed, I start to remove items.
First a small box, which holds 6 lightsabers, & one 2 bladed lightsaber cut in half. Then another smaller box, with Sith runes on it warning of the danger that lies inside. I deactivated the trap on it, and then using the force to hit the switch inside I opened it, revealing a silver & bronze pyramid, glowing in the dim light of the cabin. So, Tholin Mod, you finally call on us.
I send a bolt of pain into the holocron, & it screams out through the force, a wave of hatred & anguish exploding out of it & washing over the ship.
*That will be enough. I told you allready to stay inert until I called on you. Stay away from the girl, & stay quiet unless I call on you, otherwise I shall show you pain you have only dreamed of bestowing on your victims.*
The holocron slowly shuts down, the Force Ghosts inside howling in their rage and anguish as it powers down into a dormant mode.
Guar was pulled out of Hyperspace, as expected by a close star. it would be about ha;f an hour before he could get far enough to jump. he needed to get away fro the gravity well.
He had been sleeping very roughly lately. Dreams of ancient evils kept haunting him. The visions left him as he fought the sheets for breath, but that feeling of being scared and alone lingered.
It was like a bad taste in his mouth.
He stood up, letting the sheets fallback onto the bed. In the bathroom, Ganor checked his face. He was pale, much paler than usual. Small beads of sweat clung to the lines in his forehead. Wrinkles seemed more defined.
He looked like a man twice his age.
turning on the water, he splashed himself, letting the drops trickle down his naked torso.
He had been training so hard the past few weeks. Bailne had kept pushing him and pushing him. That robot stunt had given him enough bruises and welts to make every sit down at the table a new level of pain.
He had survived though.
That was how bad he had gotten. Training used to seem trivial, move a rock, suck in the pain, use it. Control of the force, power over good.
Now though.
He was beginning to get scared.
Each new trial was painful to say the least, but it was coming to the point where he was in danger of his life if he didn't pass. Those droids wouldn't had stopped shooting if he had gone down. Bailen wouldn't have helped him either.
Ganor had learned long ago that a Sith master does not help the student. He teaches, but doesn't help.
He winced, as his hand passed over a nasty bruise on his arm.
In the dark silence of space, he wondered where his brother was.
"Mogo ... what is the package?!!" Kerra says very slow & steady like. "Are you now telling me, tranporting that Sith Warrior isn't the job you spoke of?" She punches in the coordinates, the nav computer has given her for the jump to Nar Shadaa, into the main computer. "What is the deadline for delivery? & who is the contact?"
Kerra take the Owl off auto pilot, just as she hits the switch to jump to hyperspace. A force wave of anger, hate & pain hits her hard. "Augh!" She barely manages to hit the switch before collaping on the floor. She hears some ask if she is ok. Curling up into a fetal position, she whispers. "Tell Tholin, if he want to broadcast his position to everyone use the comm next time." She then passes out of the floor from the pain.
Kelson's words surprised me. I stopped, looking at the man.
"I'm merely excited, having seen the two of you duel, kelson. I meant no harm." I replied. I glanced to Raine, seeking some guidance here.
SHe nodded subtly."Keslon," she began, "Perhaps the two of them are well-balanced for one another. We should consider taking them both on a training mission...having them work as a team. Do you think this might be beneficial?"
"Perhaps tomorrow, we should allow them to rest...if we are to put them up to a training mission, I want them well prepared. No use allowing one of them to hurt themselves because they were tired...just yet at least."
"Then it's agreed...tomorrow, rest and relaxation, and the day after, a true test of what you've learned." I stated. "For now, Marius, it is time for meditation. Let's go inside to our chambers and find some peace and quiet."
"Yes, Master," he complied, already heading into the building, seeming glad to get away from Kelson.
"Kelson," I said. "We shall have to duel again sometime soon."
I bowed to him respectfully, then started toward the comlex.
"Boss?"
No answer.
"Boss, you okay?"No answer again, at first, then:
"Tell Tholin, if he want to broadcast his position to everyone use the comm next time."
Silence then.
"This isn't good," I told Orin. "We'd better go check on her."
I headed into the hall corridor, then quickly turned into the cockpit. She lay on the floor in front of the control panel."Orin," I shouted, forgetting the com for a moment, then picking it up and shouting into it this time. "Orin! Get your butt in here. Something's wrong with the boss!"
I floated down, gripping her beneath the arms and hoisting her up, straining, but managing to get her almost all the way up. I almost ran into Orin as he entered the cockpit, him running and me flying with Kerra hanging beneath me, her feet dragging along the cockpit floor.
"Quick, help me get her to her quarters," i instructed.
I heard him shouting through the ship but it only came to him as a mumble. Then he blares through the comm. Orin rushes in to see Mogo struggling to lift her.
"Here, let me get her under the arms, you take her feet. What the hell happened?"
They make their way through the ship to her quarters and lay her on her bunk. He puts his head to her chest for a minute, and then close to her mouth to see if she's breathing.
"She's unconscious but breathing, do you have anything to bring her around?"
He finds a cloth and wets it with cool water, swiping her forehead with it to see if that might do the trick.
"I wonder what happened," he mumbles under his breath, but loud enough for Mogo to hear.
"Of course, Kelson," I return. "Go ahead, Marius, I'll be along shortly, I'm certain. Remember, focus."
He heads off, and I turn to Kelson.
"What did you need, Kelson?"
Tynan opened his mouth to tell the child to keep quiet, when he felt it. A...resonance of Force energy. Dark side. Fear and anger. He stopped dead, and looked up at the sky.
"Ummm," the boy said.
"Shhhhhh." Tynan continued to stare upward. He had never felt anything quite like it before. He started walking again. "Come on, we're getting the hell outta here."
Daelon followed Marius into the area dedicated to mediation. Once they were out of earshot of their trainers, he nudged Marius.
"Hey, maybe you're right. Maybe something is going on?" he said.
Marius looked concerned.
"But, let's not think about that now. We need to meditate." he said, and the two of them sat down, cross-legged, on the floor.
I did feel something, but I was not so in tune to the force as Kelson, and what it was was escaping me. I looked to him, thinking again that perhaps the apprentices should halt their training. A struggle might be ahead, and our and thier skills would be needed.
"What is it, Kelson? What do you feel?"