sri, 20. travnja '05 u 06:31
Tales of the Jedi
First Blood
Corruscant, Jedi Temple
“Make me proud”, said Jedi Master V’Trey. He stood at the edge of the training arena in the Jedi Temple. His apprentice, Arnoo Armagast stood in the center, facing his opponent, another Padawan learner named Calista Wayn. They were both blindfolded and they wielded low-power lightsabres. They were taking their test to determine were they worthy of additional training to become Jedi Knights. It was their first test. After this, they were going to start going on missions with their Masters. They were both chosen as Padawan learners mere days ago, in a ceremony that gathered all the young learners and many Jedi Knights and Masters. Now, they stood facing each other in the Arena covered with obstacles.
At the same moment, two lightsabers ignited with a sharp snap-hiss. Calista lunged forward with a downward slash which Arnoo easily parried bringing his lightsaber horizontally in front of him. He continued with that motion, circling with his blade around Calista’s. She pulled her blade closer, and twisted under it, so Arnoo’s faint went wide. Twisting with amazing ease, she slashed at his unprotected back. But he responded in turn, somersaulting across her blade and slashing at her legs. She jumped, but the tip of Arnoo’s saber burned through her pants, nearly burning her. “Nice move, Arnoo, I thought you weren’t nimble enough to do it,” she said with ease, parrying Arnoo’s slash. She pressed her attack. She could clearly see Arnoo in the Force, but the obstacles, being inanimate, proved more of a difficulty. She concentrated harder, but she tripped against a plasteel box, which weren’t there a moment ago. With her stride broken, Arnoo moved into offensive. “Caly, you forgot about levitating things? Did you?” he sneered at her. He stood in a wide stance, his feet apart leveled with his shoulders holding his lightsabre in a two handed grip, hilt at his left hip, tip at his right shoulder. He concentrated on his surroundings and started lifting boxes and crates with the Force, and hurling them at Calista. He could feel her straining to deflect all the missiles he was sending at her. He took a deep breath, concentrated and pressed his attack. He came at her with a series of quick slashes, aimed at her midsection. She parried but retreated at the same time. He could feel her thoughts, see her plans and strategy. She was retreating towards two tall crates leaned against each other. Soon, she was next to them, seemingly cornered. With a victorious smile, Arnoo pressed his attack, but suddenly, she leaped out of the way, landing on top of the crate. Momentarily stunned by this nick of the time escape, Arnoo stretched with his senses to feel out her thoughts. He could feel her laughing at him. “Be calm… be calm…," he said to himself. He took a deep breath, gathered the Force around him and leaped on top of the crate. Calista waited for him. She used the Force to hurl him back down before his feet even touched the top of the crate. In a split second, she was on top of him, slashing and jabbing with her lightsaber. He tried to parry, but failed, and the blade of Calista’s saber grazed his chest. He screamed with pain and used his Force power to push her back. In that moment, they both tumbled down and crashed on a heap on the floor. In that moment, Jedi Master Riena’hevrae stepped into the Arena: “That would be enough. Thank you Padawans. You may go refresh yourselves. You have done well, but you still lack control of your emotions. You must try to be calmer… But still, it was a good exercise.” Both Arnoo and Calista bowed to the Jedi Master and proceeded to the exit.
Jedi Masters V’Trey Corwin and Tio Sunseeker retreated in a small lounge next to the Arena. “I’m sorry Arnoo lost from my Padawan, but he is just so impatient and easily provoked. He should have overcame those failings by now,” Tio said siting down in a comfortable recliner. “I know, and I plan to teach him how to do it… If he gets the permission to go with us to Nar Shadda.” V’Trey answered, still standing. “Aaah, the mission to bring back the wayward Knight. Who would have thought that a Jedi Knight would side with the Hutts,” Tio said with amusement in her voice. “And especially with the Besadii kajidic.” “Well, Tio, the Force works in mysterious ways. Maybe he started that journey with good intentions, but got corrupted along the way.” “He still wears the Jedi robes, and calls himself a Jedi. And that is not right. He also slipped to the dark side, but maybe he can still redeem himself.” Tio said thoughtfully. “Perhaps, perhaps not. It remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, this will not be an easy assignment. Not for us, and not for our Padawans. I must be going now, to check on Arnoo. Till later, Master Tio.” He bowed and left the room.
Arnoo was sitting in the infirmary, while the Ithorian Jedi healer Momaw Anood tended to his chest wound. Calista entered, her hair still wet from the shower she just took. “I’m sorry if I hurt you badly, “ she said sitting next to Arnoo. “It wasn’t on purpose. I slashed too hard. I was only thinking on how to win. I’m sorry.” She turned her head away from Arnoo, but he felt through the Force that she was sincere and that she was crying. “Aaaawwww, c’mon. Don’t cry. It’s not that bad. Master Anood says there won’t even be a scar. No need to cry. And it was my fault. I just wasn’t good enough. You should be proud. You won. And you’re younger than I am. That means a lot.” He lifted his arm, draped it around her shoulder, and awkwardly hugged her. “Thanks.” Calista bit back her tears. “Do you think we can go with our Masters? I heard they were heading to Nar Shadda. Poor Tamris never returned from that awful place. And now Tav Seil’lya. People say that he works for the Hutts now. That is awful. The Hutts are criminals. Why would a Jedi work for them?” “I don’t know Caly. Maybe he turned to the Dark Side. Maybe he forgot his true mission, his reason to be there. I don’t know. He is a Bothan. And you know Bothans. Always in some scheme or another, always looking for themselves. Still, he made a commitment to the Jedi order. And I don’t think he would turn his back on the Jedi. Not that easily, anyway. We shall se when we get there. It’s too early to know anything.” “OK, I’ll go find Master Tio now. You rest and heal, and I’ll see you later.” She gave him a light kiss on a cheek and ran out of the room. She didn’t see Arnoo flushing a bright red color.
Hangar of the Jedi Temple was a bustling hive of activity. Mechanics, technicians and droids, and even a couple of Verpine engineers were busy repairing, modifying and performing regular maintenance on many different kinds of vehicles. Jedi Master V’Trey stood next to an old, dilapidated looking freighter that may have started it’s existence as a Corellian Engineering YT-50 freighter, but was now a jumble of different modifications. 70 meters long prow to stern, it had a roughly ovoid shape with a prow from which protruded a cockpit and a truncated stern with 3 sets of powerful sublight engines. It stood on a trio of stubby landing pads. On top of the ungainly looking craft was a weapon emplacement, which housed a powerful quad laser cannon. V’Trey checked an access panel and typed in a code. Landing ramp slowly lowered and the airlock opened, showing a dark and equally dilapidated interior. Missing wall panels exposed a jumble of wires and conduits, lighting flickered on and off and a nauseating smell wafted through the galley door. “Ain’t she a beaut'? It was captured last week in a raid against the Ramorran pirates. She has a lot of power, and a few nasty surprises for the unsuspected victims, or governmental forces. It was named “Blood Feud”, but you can call her whatever you like.” V’Trey looked closer and saw a small Chadra Fan tech poke his head through a ventilation duct right above his head. “Sorry ‘bout the smell, but the provisions in the galley went bad without anyone noticing. I’ll have a cleaning droid on it in a few minutes. Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing.”V’Trey smiled at the hyperactive Chadra Fan. “It’s fine. Can you prep it for a journey to Nar Shadda by tonight? We should be leaving as soon as possible.” “Sure thing Master Jedi, she’s gonna be ready for you.” V’Trey smiled again and left the tech to his work.
Nar Shadda, Besadii kajidic HQ
Tav Seil’lya stood in a dark, moist chamber, facing a gigantic, obese Hutt lord. “Jedi, your services have proven to be valuable. I commend you.” Rengo the Hutt nodded in Tav’s direction. “I need you to find out who that assassin worked for. Nobody tries to kill my hatchlings without my permission! Nobody!” Rengo’s deep bass voice boomed across the room. “Even if you have to turn every stone, and question everybody on this wretched moon, I want you to find who ordered it. And be quick about it. You are valuable, but my patience wears thin.” Tav bowed silently and left the room. He strolled down a long corridor to his private quarters. He took of his dark green cloak and tossed it over the table. With a wide grin, he reached in his pocket and took out a small, glimmering object of a roughly cubical shape. He thumbed a hidden switch and a hologram of a man in dark robes appeared in the room. Synthesized voice, full of anger and hatred whispered from the shadowy figure: “I am Darth Venor, Dark Lord of the Sith, and keeper of this holocron. My Master has slain me, and linked my knowledge with this holocron. I was never powerful, but I knew many things even my Master did not. Ask your question and it will be answered. If you prove yourself worthy, that is….” His voice trailed into nothingness. Tav stood there for a moment, transfixed by the hypnotic Dark Lord. He suddenly cleared his throat: “Master, resume the lesson named ‘Mind warping a lesser being’ from chapter 5.” Dark lord’s image shimmered for a second, and then started its lesson.
Corruscant, Jedi Temple
“What a pile of junk!” Arnoo said disgustingly as he watched the ‘Wayward Knight’, which was a new name for the old, dilapidated freighter. “We should be lucky if it lifts off.” He stood next to Calista, shouldering his travel bag. “Don’t worry, Masters Tio and V’Trey say it’s a great ship. It will bring us safely to Nar Shadda.” Calista took her travel bag and entered the hatchway. Arnoo wrinkled his nose in disgust and followed.
In a cramped cockpit, Tio and V’Trey were busy performing preflight checkups. All systems were operating at astonishingly high levels. “I don’t believe it, it has a 345% higher power output than nominal for this type of freighter. Its shields are at 600% nominal. And look here, it has enough armaments for a light frigate. All safely hidden from sight. It is a warship, not a freighter!” V’Trey only smiled at Tio’s wild and unbelieving expression. “We should be grateful for such a gift. Honestly, I know I feel much better going to Hutt space in a ship like this than in a ship it’s supposed to be. Anyway, we have to go to Kothlis first. I want to talk to Tav’s parents.” He called up a navigation map. “We’ll make a jump along the Correlian run to Druckenwell. From there it’s just a few short jumps to Kothlis. And from Kothlis, we should have no trouble reaching Nar Shadda. Maybe we can even stop off at Bothawui Proper, to talk to the Seil’lya clan leaders. We are in no hurry, so maybe, if the kids behave during the trip, we can pay a visit to Correlia. I’m sure they would appreciate some time exploring the Treasure Ship Row.” He added with a smile. “They are not kids. They are Padawan learners. And I don’t think Treasure Ship Row is a place for any Jedi, let alone a Padawan learner. But you do have a point. They know nothing of the world outside the Temple. Maybe, it would not be such a bad idea to let them have some fun.” Tio added thoughtfully. At that moment, Arnoo and Calista entered the cockpit. “We are all set.” “Good, strap yourselves in, and let’s be on our way.”
The ungainly craft slowly lifted on its repulsors. It glided smoothly out of the hangar bay and then, with a loud boom its main sublight engines roared to life and the ‘Wayward Knight’ darted towards the space.
Nar Shadda, Corellian Sector
Like a predator, Tav Seil’lya scanned his surroundings. He stood on a huge garbage dump in the middle of the so-called Corellian Sector of the Smugglers Moon, nicknamed so because of its population. There was little natural light here. Massive buildings, tall as any Corruscant skyscraper, obscured the sun. But unlike the Corruscant buildings, these were in poor repair. Most of them abandoned, collapsing, and mostly just huge piles of rubble, they were the home of the poorest. Almost no power came to this part of Corellian Sector. Inhabitants obviously never used the refreshers, dumping their waste on the narrow streets instead. Moisture dripped from the top levels, and small rivers of polluted water run down the streets. The Dark Side was everywhere here, and Tav savored it lake a fragrant cake. Occasional screams, blaster fire, or shouting just added to its appeal. Tav moved like a predator now. Slowly, stealthily, he traversed the shadows, looking for his prey. He was looking for a specific person now. A Rodian named Zeed. Zeed was a petty thief and a smuggler, and he was the only link to the mysterious assassin that nearly succeeded in killing Renga's hatchlings. Tav was now on his way to a place he knew Zeed frequented.
The Watering Hole was a dimly lit, seedy, smoke filled bar in the lower reaches of the Corellian sector. A wretched hive of slime and villainy, if there ever was one. Tav entered the bar and passed unnoticed all the way to the back door. He smiled inwardly. The new techniques he was learning from the Sith Holocron were more than successful. He just used one of the more advanced lessons. Passing unseen was difficult, because he had to concentrate his powers to distract everyone in the vicinity. But it worked. Now, he had to try the most advanced technique he learned. He knocked on the door and a raspy voice answered almost immediately. “Who are you? What do you want?” Tav concentrated and used the Force to find the answers in the mind of the person asking him. Then, he had to implant the belief that he was someone else, so that the door guardian would let him pass. Although his robes were thin, and he was cold, he sweated under the effort. A loud clap behind him almost broke his concentration, but he persisted, drawing on the strength of greed, anger and malice. Suddenly, the door opened and the same raspy voice continued. “You are expected, enter please.” Tav entered the room and looked around. A couple of glitbiters sat in a corner booth playing glitterstim sabbac. Two smugglers were busy drinking themselves to stupor and across the room, in a small booth sat Zeed. Alone. This was not an opportunity to waste.Tav, still maintaining his unseen presence, stood next to the sickly looking green skinned Rodian. Infusing his voice with the Force so it would sound more dangerous he started talking. “Tell me what you know about the failed attempt to kill Renga’s hatchlings.” He also used the Force to plant a compelling thought about truthfulness to the Rodian’s mind. Rodian answered in a buzzing, squeaking Rodian dialect. Tav listened to the Rodian’s confession, memorizing every word. When Zeed finished, Tav took out his lightsabre, ignited it, and with a flick of his wrist decapitated him. A couple of seconds later, it was all over, with none alive in the room, except Tav. With a snap-hiss, he doused his lightsabre and with a victorious smile inspected the carnage. He left without anyone noticing.
Corellia, Treasure Ship Row
“Thish ish great,” mumbled Caly with her mouth full of ryshcate cake. Arnoo just mumbled back with a smile. Calista swallowed her last mouthful and was busy licking her fingers. “I so happy Masters Tio and V’Trey decided to visit Corellia. I was born on Tallus, so this is sort of like coming back home. Coronet City is beautiful!” She gazed down the boulevard with a dreamy gaze. Everywhere around her, stalls, shops, and street vendors from a multitude of races haggled over this or that piece of jewelry or souvenirs or food or whatever. Arnoo listened to her with a smile. The site also overjoyed him, but there was no way that he would show it. “Where do you think our Masters went?” he asked, gazing around. “Master Tio said she needed to consult someone, and Master V’trey went along.” She glanced at her chrono. “We have to meet them back at the dockmasters office in an hour and a half. We still have time to explore. And to have fun.” “Sure, where do we go first?”
Master V’Trey parked his rented speeder in front of a huge mansion. “Are you sure this is the place? It doesn’t look like any Jedi residence I’ve been to…” V’Trey asked. “Of course, don’t worry, Liana and Janes Halcyon live right here. I just hope Ry is here. We were Padawans at the same time.” A slight tone of nostalgia colored her words. “We were best friends. And then he came back to Corellia, as his father’s apprentice. Corellian Jedi. Sometimes I just don’t get them. Powerful, wise…” “And as stubborn as a dinko.” A strong, powerful voice finished her sentence. “Welcome Tio, I’ve been expecting you.” Ry Halcyon stood in the doorframe, tall, strong and dressed in a Corellian Security uniform. “You haven’t changed much, I see. Still fascinated with uniforms.” She gave him a big smile. Ry rolled his eyes and groaned. “Neither have you. You still have a sharp tongue!” They both laughed. “Ry, this is Jedi Master V’Trey Corwin, from Commenor.” “It’s an honor to meet you,” V’Trey bowed. “The pleasure is all mine. Now, come on in, and make yourselves comfortable.” He turned around and showed them in.
“Wait, something’s wrong.” Arnoo had a look of strong concentration on his face. “I can feel something dark, something sinister.” Caly looked at him and stretched out with her senses. “I feel it too. It’s coming from over there.” She pointed in the direction of an abandoned warehouse. “Let’s check it out.” “No, Arnoo, we can’t. We’re not Jedi yet. We’ll get into trouble.” “Awww, c’mon. It isn’t dangerous. I would feel it if it was.” Caly looked at him. “I just don’t think it would be wise. But, I know I can protect you… I’m better than you are when it comes to lightsabre skills.” They both grinned and headed towards the warehouse.
The warehouse entrance was from a side alley, dark, and sinister looking. “I have a bad feeling about this.” Caly whispered. Arnoo just nodded. They both drew their lightsabers, but kept them off. Arnoo stretched his senses into the building. “I can sense three creatures, one of them is in pain.” “I can feel it too! Hurry up!” The warehouse had a door with a simple lock mechanism. Arnoo pressed the plate and the door opened. “How nice, they left it open. It’s almost like an invitation.” Caly smiled. The doorway in front of them was dark. Arnoo took out a small glowrod from his pocket and turned it on. They stepped into the shadows.
Tio and V’Trey sat down in a huge lounge. Ry offered them some refreshments, which they accepted. “Ry, we’re here on official Council business. Tav Seil’lya went missing on Nar Shadda. Last we heard, he was working for a Hutt crime lord, and was slipping dangerously to the Dark Side. Do you know anything about that?” Tio looked at the Corellian Jedi. Ry put on a frown. “I worked with Tav on routing some pirates from Saccoria a couple of years ago. He seemed like a nice guy, but… He seemed obsessed with them. And by my opinion, he was a bit too aggressive. It seems that he has some deep resentment or hate for pirates. So him working for a Hutt crime lord is a concept I can hardly believe. As to him slipping to the Dark… It is possible, especially if he is pursuing some old vengeance. That is all I know.” He sat back with a grim expression. “Thank you for your time Master Halcyon. We have to leave now. We left our Padawans on the Treasure Ship Row, and we have to get them before they end up in trouble.” Corwin said and stood up. “Oh, I believe they already are in trouble if you left them there.” Ry added with a smile.
To be continued….
barem zasad.
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