Dark Fury 10 Part III - Finally finshed

[Darth Turbogeek]

This is it. Dark Fury 10 is now completed with this final section. I reall y hope you like it. Please comme nt if it sucked or you want more. 10 mores and I shall write Part 11!

--



A huge battlefleet came out of hyperspace almost at the same time, lead by a SSD. It moved their way into orbit around Tattooine and began to make their way to the New Republic fleet on the other side of the planet. Despite it’s menace, the Republic fleet made no move to battle readiness. In fact, Lyle, now refreshed welcomed their presence as a bout of sanity. The SSD he recognised as the personal flagship of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the present leader of the Imperail Empire. He breathed a sigh of relief and open a channel between him and Thrawn

“Grand Admiral Thrawn. I take it your little diversion to Coruscant went well?”

“Yes thank you. A most pleasant outing.”

“Have you come to join us? Your help would be most welcome”

“I believe I will. Standby, we shall match orbital velocity’s and merge the fleets”

“Do you wish to take command, Sir?”

“No, you have the authority to operate in this mission. You are operationg under a Neew Republic order, thence you still have the flag until otherwise advised by the Republic”

“Thank you Sir. Will you be boarding to get a situation report and operating instructions?”

“I will. Can you give me a quick update?”

“If I was an enlisted man, I would call the situation unpredictable to FUBAR.”

“FUBAR? @#%$ed Up Beyond All Recognition?” Lyle could hear Thrawn laugh a bit at the joke.” Same as always then. Standby to receive my shuttle”

Lyle broke the connection and then turned to go welcome Thrawn in person. Mindful Turbogeek, whereabouts unknown, he signalled some guards to follow him to the main hangar.

The shuttle was just finishing it’s landing cycle as Lyle entered the hangar bay, squads of troopers moving out to cover all exits. Another group kept Lyle surrounded as more readied themselves at the ramp of the shuttle. Lyle proceeded to walk and stand 10 meters from the now opening egress ramp, seeing Thrawn walk down the ramp, look around with his glowing red eyes and the ship lights making his blue skin slightly paler than normal.

Lyle moved forward and greeted the Chiss. They exchanged welcomes and as they walked back across the hangar, Thrawn asked Lyle about the rather over the top security precautions and the troops everywhere. Lyle gavr him a brief update, explaining Turbogeek’s sudden snapping and the existence of the Vog’on and one of that’s number unlikely destruction.

“Turbogeek is the least of the worries here. If these reports of these creatures are true and they are really Vog’on down there, we must go to full alert. The populace is in grave danger. I have had reason to go to Harrvi a few years ago to investigate what happened there and the ground crew I sent were wiped out in a blink of an eyes. However, they had recorders going and we were able to get some footage of the Vog’on. Since then, I have been gathering all the information I can, which all points to the fact their numbers are much, much larger than we realise and that the rumours of what they did are totally true. Lyle, These things are every bit as deadly as the legends say. We must be cautious”

“Sir, then why have they not moved of Harrvi if they they are as bloodthirsty and as hateful of all other life? Surely they would have turned up on other planets by now?”

“Luckily, they possess absolutely no machines and fly only when pushed or desperate. They steal what they need or make alliances with foolish people, which is what happened in Harrvi’s case, or so I heard. Actually, no-one for certain knows how or why the Vog’on firstly came to and then attacked the beings of Harrvi. The Jedi I know at present think it has something to do with Callista and if they think so, then it is quite likely. It certainly makes sense”

“What do you advise we do?”

“Wait and monitor the situation on Tattooine. Tell our forces to look for more Vog’on and report their position, but not approach or challenge.”

“You expect to find more?”

“At least another 9. Be on your guard Lyle. Don’t allow any transport to land without a full inspection and don’t allow anything off the planet until we know more about what the Vog’on are doing here”

“And Turbogeek? What shall we do there?”

“Continue on Lyle. I suspect this Son message may be a hoax or a cunning trap. Allow him to escape if he wishes and if you can verify Shay is okay”

Lyle nodded and the two walked out of the hangar bay

--

Almost at the opposite end of the ISD, Turbogeek and Shay, partially loaded down wit supplies were examining a trip, working out how to get around it without setting off the alarms. Shay knew Turogeek was almost desperate to get to a place just past this latest detection trip and she wondered what it could be. The ship itself was vast and they had gone up all sort of access shaft and ventilation systems to get to this point. DT put down his pack, pulled out a scanning tool from his pocket and with practiced speed, disabled the trip and the alarm, making the system still think it was properly functional. Shay wondered where the Jedi Master could have possibly have learned such skills.

“Breaking into bedrooms Shay”

She hadn’t realised she had asked the question out loud. “Breaking into bedrooms? Whatever for?”

“To sleep in the bed of course. No, seriously that is often the best way to make sure that you catch someone unawares. I’ve done this many times when I needed to talk to someone urgently”. Turbogeek noted Shay’s puzzled expression, but chose not to discuss it further. It bought up too many memories of other times and other names. They moved carefully through the disarmed trap, with DT just as carefully put back into it’s proper working condition. DT said it was to throw off pursuers, which Shay could see some logic in, if you were being hunted. Why Dt was being so paranoid was beyond her, but she trusted his judgement.

They came to a particular spot, unmarked on the walls, but clearly meant something to Turbogeek. He placed a hand on the walls, pushed slightly and then turned his palm clockwise. A seam appeared in the wall, clearly outlining a door. He pushed it open, feeling the whiff of stale air, cold and musty on his cheek. Looking inside, there was another door, this time looking remarkably like a hatch on a spaceship. He opened that and motioned for Shay to enter. DT turned, closed and locked the outer door and throwing his bag inside the hatch, entered himself and then sealed them in.

Shay was surprised they were in a spaceship, the interior of an odd design. It seemed roomy and as Turbogeek moved through to the control cabin, well lit and warm as he bought the various systems on-line.

“Turbo, how did you know this ship was here? Where exactly ‘here’ are we anyway?”

“When I bought this ship, I had a quiet modification made and had a secret hangar built. I arranged for my private craft to be installed in it, with a secret entrance, in case I needed to make a quiet getaway for some reason. Didn’t really expect to, but I’m glad I paid for it now. We are at present close to the sublight engine exhausts, which also gives us the maximum cover and time to get clear in case someone wants to stop us”

“Ummm, who would want to do that?”

“Everyone Shay. We are running from even the Jedi”

Shay was flabbergasted. “We are running from the Jedi?!?!”

“Yes, unfortunately they can not help or support us. Nor do I think will they. Okay, the ship is ready and the nav computer has calculated our jump. Next stop after we jump, Hoth. Better strap yourself in Shay…. Oh Shay…”

She turned, wondering at the different note in DT’s voice. Did she detect some deep feeling for her?

“Yes Turbo?”

He drew in a breath. “I know your wondering what is going on. If you can be patient, I’ll explain everything to you when we reach the safety of Hyperspace. It will make far more sense then and I think you’ll understand what I am doing and why I am doing it this way. For the moment though….just know I’m doing this for your mother”

Shay leaned forward in sudden excitement “You knew my mother?”

“Yes. Not well, but enough to do what I am as her would have wanted. Please, wait a bit and when we are safe, I will tell you”

Shay went downcast and turned away, but another word bought her attentio back to the Jedi Master

“I will tell you one thing now. You’re still growing, but you look like your mother more and more every day”

For some reason that seemed to lift Shay’s mood no end. She nodded and went back into one of the cabins to get ready for what now seemed like was going to be a bumpy ride.

Turbogeek waited until she had left and then quietly closed the door on the control cabin. He put a hand into a pocket and sitting down, pulled out a old picture. Wincing a bit as the injury of his back twitched and sent pain signals everywhere, he stared at the picture – a woman in her thirties, hugging a very young girl and a boy. He stared at the image, then clipped it to a edge where he could see it. Drawing a deep breath, he strapped himself in.

Fingers dancing on the control board, he ran the final checks and started the engine ignition. Breathing in once and then exhaling, he touched the Force, for the first tim eit felt like in ages calming and clearing his mind. For the moment, the Dark Side could not touch him, but he knew it was only a matter of time until he succumbed again.

No matter now. He had a job to do and he was going to see it through.

“Okay little ship, here we ….GOOOOO!!!!” He engaged shields and then he jabbed down on a button and with a brief flame and the buzzing of the shield protecting the worst of the blast, the hidden hangar blew apart, with blast boosters flinging the ship, Turbogeek’s customised fighter/transport Razor into space. He pulled back on the power stick, dumping fuel into the afterburners as the Razor came alive and took off like a startled cat. Turbogeek corkscrewed the flight to assist in avoiding evasion and used the sublight drive exhaust emissions as shielding from the tractor beams and sensors of the warship.

--

“Sir! Explosion near the port engine assembly!”

Lyle was up to that time sitting and conversing with Thrawn at the bridge, With the sudden alert, Lyle whirled around and strode over to the reporting section

“Explosion? Do we know the cause?”

“Unclear sir. It seems to be limited to the surface, with little or no hull integrity loss. We are trying to establish contact with teams in the area, but that will take some time”

“Unknown spacecraft is trying use the drive emission to run from us!”

Now this really caught Lyle’s attention.

“Occupants?”

“Don’t know sir. The drive emissions are making scanning impossible!”

Fine then. “Get a tractor lock established and bring me that craft! If you cant do that, shoot it and we’ll investigate the remains”

The crewers acknowledged and got to work. Lyle shot Thrawn a look, wondering what the other though of this.

“Add to the orders Commander – Order all available craft to pursue, do not destroy it. Disable will be fine if you cant get a tractor lock. Repeat, do not destroy” said Thrawn

“You suspect something?” asked Lyle,a s he waved for the Commander to obey

“A have a vague hunch. But considering the possibilities of enemy attack, we must not assume anything.”

“Sir, we have permission to fire? The tractor beam cant track the craft properly”

“You may fire at will Commander. Do not destroy them”

The darkness of space suddenly lit up with the flashes of turbolaser fire, seeking out the small fleeing ship

--

In the Razor, Turbogeek moved with sure precision, allowing the Force to make suggestions and also using his piloting skill. The craft rippled and wheeled, dancing all over the palce as the energy beams sought to bring a stop to his and Shay’s escape. With the afterburners now glowing with the heat, he kept the trottle hard on. Almost without warning, the nav computer signalled the ship was ready for hyperspace and with a dip, turned for the indicated vector. Throwing power to every motor, the Razor blazed as it accelerated. Turbogeek engaged the hyperdrive and with a steadily increasing whine, the ship’s lights dimmed as the hyperdrive built up the energy to make the jump. Another second as the while turned to a wail, the starlines elongated and started to merge and twist and then a sharp bang the Rzor exploded into pseudomotion and into the whirl of that was Hyperspace. Dt breathed a drop of sweat of his nose. That was tense… but wow was that fun!

--

Lyle and Thrawn watched as the ship dived and twisted, seeming to know where the next wave of turbolaser energy was going to come from, avoiding tractor beams and ion blasts. With a flash, the ship powered up and flashed at high speed into hyperspace and out of range for their weaponry. The guns fired for another few seconds and then ceased fire. Thrawn looked outside, to the last spot the ship had been.

“Impressive flying, I must say. A much more able ship than what it first looked, have we been able to identify it?”

“Umm, not yet Admiral. The crews are working on it” replied the Captain.

“I’ll give this Republic crew one thing, they responded well to this situation. Dare I say it, more capable than even our best Imperial crews” whispered Lyle to Thrawn.

“Indeed, I am most impressed. Do we have any damage reports from where the explosion came from?”

“Not yet. The crews are still getting into zero gee suits for an inspection. It will take some time before anything firm is known.”

“Hmmm. Lyle, do you have somewhere quiet we can talk?”

“Yes, my comms room. This way, Admiral”.. They both moved to the room and Lyle shut the door, making sure the privacy field was engaged.

“Lyle, I will suggest what we saw a ship, disguised on the hull blowing away it’s cover and then making good it’s escape. I further suggest it was Turbogeek”

“No argument from me. It struck me just then that the person who paid for the outfitting of this ship was Turbogeek, so it was logical he may have built in a bolthole. It does puzzle me why he would take Skay Kaylon with him, but I guess that will be a problem for the Jedi to solve”

“Indeed it will. Speaking of which, we must inform Rmaio and the other ground teams on the situation here and now that Turbogeek has left, we can also concentrate on find out if there are more Vog’on on Tattooine as I suspect”

Lyle nodded and begun to prepare the transmission.

--

It was night where the main force of the Jedi and Sith were on Tattooine. Most of them despondent, mulling over the news of Turbogeek and also the Vog’on. The Gungans and several Imperial and New Republic troopers were also with them, adding to the number were the two Bounty Hunters, Dreyas and Pracid Trip. Some ate, others sipped at drinks. Not much conversation took place, except for a few discussions on the Vog’ons, their apparent strengths and the rather unexpected side effects of touching a Gungan energy ball.

Over by the Jutland wastes in the home of Skywalker, they debated what to do next. Seeming chasing Turbogeek and Shay were out of the question, they were thinking about the Vog’on and the possible relationship between them and Callista. Mara Skywalker served them food and the occasional drink, while Skywalker himself making few comments, but listening intently.

Elsewhere….

In the deep dark that was the desert of Tattooine, 11 dark shadows gathered. They sniffed and tasted the air with their tongues, to make sure that there was no-one else near. Finally satisfied, the group began to run, surefooted even in the blackness that was lit only by starlight. Running with incredible speed, they covered the roughly 20 kilometers they needed to go in 10 minutes. There, they stopped and then seemed to step into a sand dune and disappear from sight. The only light, coming from the revealed doorway snapped off as the entrance closed and sand slithered down to hide the doorway.

Inside, 10 Vog’on moved as one to the stateroom of the shuttle they had hidden in the dune. They all moved to surround a table and waited for their leader to come back from the @#%$pit. It did a few minutes later, moving slowly and with great deliberation.

It’s nane was Fregge. In the snarling and hissing language the Vog’on used natively, he began to speak

“We have seen the loss of one of us. But we do not mourn as Refwa was attacking unarmed when he was neutralized. Instead, the give thanks to the Dark Side for revealing these creatures who have this strange energy balls. Virii, do you have any more to report on these things?”

“They are called Gungans Fregge. The balls that took Refwa seem to have a strong ion field that destroys electronics and can short out the nervous systems of living creatures. Because of our affinity with the Dark Side and our ability to absorb electricity to live caused a fatal energy overload. Too much energy delivered too fast to radiate, hence Refwa was dissolved and the Dark Side energy was liberated for one last time. “

“Tell me Virii, could these balls be used effectively against us?”

“In enough numbers, maybe. However, Refwa was obviously taken by surprise by the weapon wielding coward. I would suggest in future we know better and we can move fast enough to avoid these balls touching us”

“That is good. All those who weild weapons will still fail against us”

Another Vog’on, Hrfwwe spoke. “What about the Jedi and Sith here? Should we kill them all now? There is enough of us here to do so.”

“No, not this time. Our purpose here would not be furthered by mere diversions. We will remain focused until we die on our goal.”

“Yesssssss….we will find the one who will lead us to the domination of all other life.” Hissed Virii.

“Have we found the evidence we were looking for?”

“Nooooo – but soon, soon we will. We have found the name of the one who came to our planet and is still there, we have found some leads on his history. All points to our success”

“Callista – does she suspect anything? Will she be able to respond when we move?”

“No, she thinks we are her willing lackeys. We shall not allow her to have reason to think otherwise until we have the one we want. Thennn…” Fegge’s face turned vicious “Then we shall feast on her defeat. Everyone, meet here again in 24 hours. Find all you can about Palad…”

“Fregge, I will speak!”

Fregge looked at the youngest Vog’on, a mere hatching who had not earned a name and was still forced to wear weapons – a sign of either distgrace or of a Vog’on not yet come of age and proven in fighting

“Speak. If it is not worthwhile, your life is forfeit Hatchling”

“Honourable Fregge, may I earn the right to dispose of my weapons! I have overheard two of these Jedi talking about one called Turbogeek. They say he has gone mad and turned to the Dark Side. They also say they fear the one they call Venom returning!”

Silence.

“What? What did you say?” asked Fregge in a quiet and deadly voice

“They fear the one called Venom will come back! I have heard the elders talk of both these two before as they are important to us!”

“Hatchling, you are not to know but the name of Venom is not to be said lightly. He was the one we found could rule us, but when we displayed to him our power, he rejected us and tried to kill us. This Turbogeek I care not of, but Venom is a traitor to us. The elders have deemed he be captured and allowed to live. Callista had him once before in her clawgrip, but as the fool she is, she let him escape before we could claim that prize”

“Most honoured one, but we kill everyone. Why do we let this Venom live, when he also plainly deserves to die? Even if we do it by the dishonour of a weapon, why should he not die?”

“Ahhh, I see you may yet make a true warrior hatchling. Indeed, he deserves to die, but we need his power. Even now, we also search for the key to his soul that will force him to do what we want. When we have him and also his soul, we will not be stopped. His life will allow us to spread the influence of the Dark Side of the Force, for that I will trade off. Now, go. The Dark Side speaks to us, it will guide our footsteps. Be back here in 24 hours.”

The Vog’on marched out, from the ship and into the freezing desert air. With no hesitation, 10 of the Vog’on sprinted in all directions, leaving the hatchling, cursing the fact he still had to wear weapons hide the evidence of the secret bolthole. Yet again, he cursed the bad fortune that meant he had not killed in unarmed combat. He truly hoped it would be soon, he had no name until he did.

“Maybe I will fight a Jedi he thought. And I will not fail. Surely then I will be declared worthy to be named and dispose of all weapons and have the honour of fighting unarmed. The thought cheered the dark creature up as he too sped into the night

--

“Figrin? Hey Figrin, wake up!”

The Jedi groaned as the light shake on his shoulder broke him out of his sleep. He, along with Rmaio, Vengeance and Skywalker had talked long in the night, firstly about events and then, for a few treasured hours, about the history of the Jedi and Sith as Skywalker knew it. Even Vengeance had been rapt, hanging on every word of the fabled Jedi. Figrin had finally wandered off to sleep on the floor of a room by himself. He groaned again, realising he had only been asleep for two hours and it was still long before dawn.

Be blinked in the half light and looked at the person who had woken him up. He was expecting one of the other Jedi, but to his surprise it was neither Jedi, nor male.’

It was Lady Mara Jade.

Puzzled, he got up on one elbow, blinking to help clear his mind of sleep. “Mara? What is it you want?”

“I need to talk”

“Cant we do it later? Like in the morning? I can hardly think straight right now”

She turned up the power on the glowrod she carried, making Figrin’s eyes smart. When he had finished blinking and could focus, he saw she was dressed in one of the figure hugging fatigues she favoured – totally functional, but still managed to show off her figure. Actually thought Figrin, she could make wearing a sack look good on her.

“well, if someone wanted me to wake up to the sight of you, I suppose I can put….ouch!!” Figrin shook his head again to clear the sting from the sudden slap of Mara.

“I didn’t come here to get oogled at Jedi. I came here to talk. Now are you going to get your eyes of me and talk or will I have to beat some sense into you?”

“Okay, okay! Just give me a minute okay?” Figrin threw back the covers, glad he was still in a serviceable Jedi robe. The desert air seeping throught he open window was freezing. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and then reaching over for the portable heating unit, turned it on. The room began to quickly warm up and Figrin began to think a bit more clearly.

“What’s up Mara? What could be so concerning that a Sith needs to talk to a Jedi?”

She stared daggers at Figrin. “Don’t smart arse me either, Jedi. I’m not in the mood”

“Figrin sighed. “Okay, my apologies. What is on your mind?”

“Turbogeek”

Figrin sort of expected that. After all, the Jedi Master was the subject of some debate right at this point. “Wondering about the incident in the cantina? Wondering how he could wipe the floor of six of your Sith?”

“I’ll ignore the obvious insult Figrin. No, Something else. He spoke to me, in private not long ago and since then I’ve been wondering…does he have a life partner?”

Now that was not something Figrin expected. Anything else but a personal question like that! “Ummm….no, I don’t think so. I’ve never heard anyone mention one. Any reason why you ask?”

“Yes, to help me figure out wether he was making a pass at me or was genuine in what he said”

Now this was well beyond what Figrin expected. “Right, I’ve missed something here Could you reverse the flow and start this from the top again?”

Breathing out, she told how she had met the cripple. How he had spoken to her, told her how her path did not belong on the Dark Side. Told her how pretty she was. And finally revealed who he really was. Shem didn’tm tell Figrin of what they had said to each other after that….

Your very pretty when you get that permanent scowl off your face

The words flashed into her mind again, and she shut her eyes briefly to will the pain and loneliness that phrase invoked at bay. She reopened her eyes, hoping that Figrin had missed the change in the emotions. It appeared it hadn’t as he was in thought.

“Mara, I’ve never heard Turbogeek say anything like that. All I can think is what you did – either he is being honest or is indeed making a pass at you. Up to tonight, there would have been no doubt in my mind that he was being sincere. Now, after what has happened? Now I cant tell either, now he has gone off the deep end”

“Off the deep end? Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Who would have thought he of all people would do this?”

“There are things you know not about Q’Dunn. Don’t be hasty to judge him when you don’t know all the facts”

The Jedi and the Sith turned at the sound of the new voice. It was Luke Skywalker.

“Master Luke, I don’t want to be talking about others behind their back, but dies I not seem to you Turbogeek has succumbed to the Dark Side?” asked Figrin

“No Figrin, I do not. There is more here than meets the eye and you should know better than to judge others before you understand their actions. Master Jedi, do you mind if I talk to Lady Mara alone?” Figrin nodded.

As Luke, walking cane in hand escorted Lady Mara out the door, she turned back to Figrin. “My apologies Jedi. Good night”

“Goodnight Mara”. He watched as they both left. Sighing a bit, he laid back down and pulled the blankets up. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but it would be some time before he could quell the disquiet about Turbogeek enough to sleep.

And also about Lady Mara and wondering about that odd flash of mental pian she had allowed to slip from her finely tuned mental barriers.

--

The night outside was clear. Lady Mara could feel the crisp bite of the cold desert air as she breathed it in. Small creatures occasionally made a noise and the rustle of clothes added to the crunch of gravel were the only noises.

“Sit with me here Lady Mara” requested Luke.

She looked about, her eyes getting used to the darkness, nearly as intense as the darkness of interstellar space. She couldn’t help comparing the stillness and dark to the lights and constant action and noise of Coruscant, with it’s tens of billions of beings and the constant flow of air and spacecraft. Here on Tattooine, you could not imagine a place further away from the bustling Capital planet. The sheer space and loniness could drive someone to insanity or make them feel liberated with the freedom to move. She sat down in the indicated spot, and hugged herself to try and keep a bit warmer and for some reason decided to ask Skywalker a question first.

“Master Jedi, how old are you now”

“Oh, many years now. So many I have to concentrate to count them all. Sometimes all the time I have lived since I blasted off with Han Solo and Ben from Mos Eisley seems like a blur or some sort of dream, what with all the fights and dreams and learning that I have done since then. What about you Mara? How many seasons are you?”

“25 I guess”

“About the time I met my Mara. You know, you remind me a lot of her.”

“I guess that’s why I got named after her. I’ve seen the holos of when she was younger and I have to admit, I do see the similarities”

“Not in looks, although you could be clones you are so similar in looks”

“Now, what is that supposed to mean?”

Luke laughed. “Exactly what my Mara would have said. It’s like going back 50 years talking to you”

Lady Mara knew many had compared her to Mara Skywalker, favourably, but to hear it from Skywalker must have been high praise indeed. Skywalker would have seen her blush if it wasn’t so dark. He continued. “Q’Dunn spoke plenty of you. What he saw in you I agree with”

“Q’Dunn? Who is that, I’ve heard the Jedi mention that name. Is he some kick butt Jedi, off somewhere else?”

“Well yes I would say he is a kick butt Jedi as you name it. And yes he is off somewhere else. You know him as Darth Turbogeek”

“Oh. For some reason I’ve always thought Turbogeek was his real name”

“Maybe it is now. Maybe not.”

“Master Skywalker, why does he keep the Darth title?”

“Because of what he was. It’s a reminder of the shame of prior deeds, a reminder to him of where he has come from. No matter how far he has risen, it keeps his feet planted firmly where he wants them to be, in humility and master of no-one and no-one is Master to him. Because of that, he is driven to make good the mistakes he believe he has made in the past. I told him it doesn’t matter, what is the past is gone, but he sees it differently. The past, the present, the future is what makes him as the is. Of the Unifying Force, he has always been a Master. Of the Living Force, much he still must learn. He comes he quite a lot actually”

“I had heard you had kept to yourself and didn’t allow visitors, not even Jedi in case someone dragged you back to solve the Galaxy’s problems”

“Not quite. Rmaio also comes here too, he was my last Padawan learner. The problems of running the Jedi Council weight heavily on him and the comes here to seek advice and also to rest. In fact, Rmaio was here the night Q’Dunn first came here, 7 years ago. I bought you here to tell that story, for it will answer some questions you have. Will you care to listen to an old Jedi?”

“Jedi you may be, but I’ll listen”

“Well…” Lady Mara could hear the rustling of the old Jedi’s cloak as he leaned back “It was a night a lot like this one. Rmaio and I were talking, not very far from this spot, when we saw the landing flares of a spacecraft, about 100 meters away. Both of us puzzled, we stood up and tried to get a better look, but of course it was simply too dark to get any details. We had a fire going as well, so our night vision was not as good as it could have been. However, we both reasoned that whoever it was had definantly come to visit me and we could wait for them to approach us. It took few minutes before we heard the hatches on the craft open and a light come out of it. The Force told me it was a man, with two children and as they got closer and entered the light of the fire, I could see the man himself had been fighting and was injuired and was walking with a limp. The children he had, one was 7 and was asleep in his arms. The other was hardly a teenager, small and thin. All of them were filthy and their clothes were little better than rags….

“Who is this person and how would he know that we were here?” asked Rmaio. He sat by the fire, looking at the three new arrivals with some suspicion

“The Force tells me that this one is known to us and for some reason his face is familiar to me”

The boy began to tug on the man’s hand and lead them both stumbling to the fire. When they were well and truly in the light and warmth of the fire, the man spoke

“Good Jedi, do you have any food and something to drink? We have been running for many days now and we have not had a decent meal for a long while. Could you spare us any?”

“Yes, we can back at my home and most welcome to it if you come in peace”

“Thankyou, yes I do” He sat down, the young girl shifting slightly to continue sleeping. The boy continued to stand at the man’s side.

“What have you been running from and why did you come here for help?” asked Rmaio.

“I failed, good Jedi. I failed utterly to defeat them, too many, too strong. One person could not do it alone like I did and all that I was able to escape with was the lives of these two. Please, can we go and eat? The children must eat and drink.”

Skywalker nooded and Rmaio came forward to take the girl out of the man’s arms. He obviously seemed reluctant, but he did so. Skywalker helped the man back to his feet and allowed him to lean on his shoulder, The boy trailed behind uncertainly, but a quiet word of reassurance and the man took the boys hand again as the walked to Skywaklers home.

Inside, Mara had put out some water and was preparing food as the five came into the eating area. Now with the better light, Rmaio could see the bruises and cuts, dirt and debris all over the exposed skin of the man.

“Did you lose a fight with a garbage compactor?” asked Skywalker, the joke blunted with a great deal of concern on his voice

“Do I look at bad? I certainly feel like I did. I don’t believe in luck, but I certainly could be convinced of it’s existence now and I would be lucky to survive. As it was, the Force was with me, truly with me for the first time when I made the stand and then in the end ran to the only place I knew they would not dare follow me to. Right here” He paused to sip at some water and the Jedi could tell how much he was relishing the simple fluid.

“How is this the only place you know you would be safe?” asked Skywakler

“Because you are the one person who Callista will not dare try to battle or go against, Master Jedi. She fears your power and she knows deep down you would defeat her”

Skywalker’s surprise broke through the calm. “Callista? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard of in many years. How did you come to be running from her?”

“Not precisely from her, but what she unleashed. The fool made a deal with a race to to kill some enemies, which I only thought would be limited to a handful. Instead, they wiped out the planet”

Rmaio suddenly put two and two together and realised who the man was. “Venom?”

“No, not anymore Master Jedi. I have no name and no honour and I have rejected all that Venom was. I chose life over death. Callista thought I was permantly trapped in the Dark Side, it seems she was wrong and for that I am thankful. I don’t think I could have lived with the blood of a planetful of innocents on my hands.”

I think I’ve missed something here, thought Rmaio. The last anyone had heard from Venom was Master Yoghurt and Venom very much wanted to kill. What’s happened?

“And yes Master Skywalker, this is the same Callista who you knew many years ago. Evil and twisted by the Dark side she totally embraced when she failed to re-master the Light side, she has her own perverted ideals on how the galaxy should be run. I was supposed to be just one part of it. I was her apprentice, until she sent me to do a job that I eventually realised was horribly wrong and was only serving to murder the innocent. In anger, she attempted to finish the job off anyway, thins time with a rather more blunt instrument. She didn’t succeed fully as these two children are here now, but her instruments killed just about every single living being on Harrvi. She found what Palpatine called Dark Fury and she tries to use it for her own purposes”

“Dark Fury? What is that?”

“The Vog’on.”

“I remember those things. They guarded the Emperor Reborn on Byss. He told me what they were – beings that were produced from the Dark Side” said Luke, the memories being back a twitch from his own past.

“Yes, the same. Except it was not the Emperor that should take credit for their creation. He found them and claim them as his own as they were such useful servants. Being as powerful as Palpatine was, the Vog’on ceded to his authority and played along with his delusions, allowing him to advance his designs while the Vog’on in secret advanced their real adgenda. With Palpatine dead once and for all, they went back in hiding until Callista sought them out and they both found had the same goals and agreed to advance together. At first, as Callista’s apprentice, I agreed but I had a crisis of belief Master Jedi, since then. I was an oppressor of the innocent, now I’ve sworn to protect at least the two I came with”

Luke and Rmaio glanced at each other. Rmaio had noticed something strange about this man, like he was a powerful Jedi, with an intense presence in the Light Side of the Force. There wasn’t the all encompassing calm of Master Skywalker, but there was an air of raw power and a fanatical tone to it, especially when he had mentioned protecting the two children, like it was the only thing he truly cared about.

Skywalker leaned forward. “Why do you wish to become Jedi?”

“Who said I wanted to be a Jedi? “

“Your thoughts give you away. You seek to redeem yourself and to eventually go back and seek revenge for what Callista did. Revenge is not of the Jedi, nameless one. You must release your desire for it will lead you back down the Dark Path you have turned from. Being a Jedi does not cater for such feelings. You must be calm, at peace with yourself. That you are not and I cant see if that will ever be possible.”

“I Do or Do not Master Jedi. There has and never will be any try with me. If I want to be Jedi then I will be, with or without your help. It is the best wa y for me to defend the children and that is why I still can live with myself. I have a purpose, not much of one I grant you, but I swore to their mother nothing would touch them, not even the Vog’on”

“Was this woman you swore this oath to your wife? Are these children yours?”

“Not then, but they are now and who the mother is, I don’t care anymore. She’s dead by the hands of the Vog’on and I will do what she begged me to do”

There had been a disticint disturbance at the word wife that Rmaio felt. Best guess was she was alive and Venom wanted her to stay that way, silence as to her existence being one means to that end. Skywalker leaned forward and but the sense of him, he was talking to Venom privately via the Force. Venom(?) seemed to respond, then suddenly smiled and a weight seemed to lift off him briefly as he did. Skywalker leaned back. “Very well then. Trained as Jedi you will be”

“Pardon?” asked Ramio, startled by the sudden decision.

“He is to be trained. No questions right now Rmaio. I’ll explain later why. For now….I wish to talk to our visitor but other things……

“Which we did, well into the night. His sheer honesty and simple way he saw things was impressive. Much I don’t understand how Turbogeek can be so driven, but I do understand his total dedication to truth and I know he would never lie or conceal his real intentions. If he said you should be Jedi then I believe there was no other motive for what he said”

Mara, looked at Skywalker, deep in thought. “So, what you telling me is that Turbogeek wasn’t trying to make a move on me and truly thinks I should be Jedi”

“And I agree. You have none of the rage or fear that a Sith usually has nor is there the Dark Side presence I feel with other Dark Side Jedi. You are powerful, but not in the Dark Side”

“I can’t, Master Jedi. I can not be Jedi, though I once sought to be. I lost too much to ever strive for what you are. You cant begin to imagine the path I have walked, what I have lost”

“Oh, but I can Mara. It’s not everyday you find out your father was the one responsible for cutting your hand off”

Mara paused, a response on her tongue, but she stopped to think. She was speaking to Luke Skywalker, whose father Anakin had become Darth Vader. Having that one as a father would be a joy for a Sith, but for a Jedi…point conceded in Skywalker’s favour. She smiled a little uncertainly. “No, I don’t suppose that would have been enthralling, I guess”

“That’s an understatement. You remind me of my Mara when she was your age. She too was rather pretty when she took the permanent scowl off her face”

The stab of utter pain in her heart nearly bought her to her knees, it was so vicious and sudden. Stunned beyond words, it was all she could do to stare back heart broken at Skywalker. How cruel could fate be, that he would say those words too? Or looking closer at Skywalker and the fact he stood impassively at her obvious pain a sudden suspicion came to mind – maybe that had been no accident or trick of fate.

“He told you didn’t he? I don’t know how he knew, but he told you, didn’t he?” rage suddenly flooding her veins she screamed “I KILL THE PRICK!!!!” Lashing out at Skywalker was probably a dumb thing to do, but she did, her rage telling her he was but a defenceless old man. She swung a punch, which Skywalker with Jedi speed caught in a grip of incredible power. She tried to twist away but his grip held, her arm locked. Just as suddenly, her rage dropped away and the painful loniness she had always tried to hide flooded back with vengance, the doors unlocked. She dropped to her knees sobbing uncontrollably as Skywalker let her arm go.

“How could he do that to me… how could he…” Luke heard Lady Mara sob. He debated wether to comfort her and decided her should. The old Jedi knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder, almost being knocked off his crouch as she wailed again and buried her head into his shoulder. Skywalker was almost embarrassed by the sudden emotional outpouring. “Why oh why did he do this… why did he tell you? How did he know?” she cried.

“One of Turbogeek’s less admiral qualities is his curiousity streak. After you left what you thought was him rather abruptly, he followed you to find out why. I think he even broke into your room and observed you first hand - He says you were rather, shall we say preoccupied and self absorbed to notice.

She looked up in horror. “The cripple… that was not Turbogeek?”

“No, never. Turbogeek in fact was on Coruscant 12 days ago and hardly made the flagship before it left Ord Mandell. Suffering some residual back pain, but quite fully functional and in control more than ever. The cripple was in fact a clone when you came across him. From the reports from the Cantina incident, that was Turbogeek himself who laid that one on. A bit over the top and he communicates his apologies for the results”

“ A Clone? No way!”

“I don’t understand how or why either, but there was a clone of Turbogeek onboard the ISD. Not anymore he tells me. Something about meeting some sort of grisly industrial accident shortly after and I don’t think you want to know the details. Suffice to say, that will no longer be a problem”

Lady Mara looked dumbly at Skywalker. “Could you repeat that with words I can understand?”

“Yes, I know it sounds incredible and I too have no real idea how or why. It seems outr mutual friend Callista managed to get a hand on some Spaarti cylinders and clone DT some time in the past. Who knows and I’m sure Turbogeek didnt hang around to find out.”

“You’re gone mad. You Jedi have all gone mad. How am I expected to believe all of this? Oh why am I bothering, you all are stringing me along for your own ends!!!”

Skywalker sighed. “I can not teach the woman. She has too much disbelief”

“She will learn belief”

Lady Mara’s blood froze. What the hell….? She nearly screamed as a spectral figure appeared from the darkness. Oh by the Force what now? She whimpered. Impossibly, the figure of Thall, dead in a Callista ambush was standing before her. Thall, or the name she knew him as – Atreyu. She almost bolted, but Skywalker placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her enough.

“No! Go away Atreyu! I cant handle you appearing again!” she howled.

“Much fear in her….but there is much strength. She will be worthwhile to train Luke.”

“I seem to remember a conversation similar to this a long time ago. Sure you don’t speak to Yoda, Thall?”

“No. But then I don’t need to in order to see the situation has spiralled out of control and the Jedi will need all the strength it can muster, yes even Lady Mara. Worthwhile she will be to train”

“But I don’t want to be a stupid Jedi! It would betray all I am and all I strive for!”

“Are you sure it’s not something else? Like the one you thought you had lost?”

“Thought I had lost? Who are you kidding? I saw a Jedi take his life! You can go on about how noble and peaceful the Jedi are, but it was the sabre of a Jedi that took his life and I hate you all for it, I despise you all!” Lady Mara’s tirade ended in another bouts of tears.

Luke looked at the spectre of Thall. “Is this true?”

“Much was revealed to me when I left my flesh behind, but not everything. From what I know of the past, no it’s not as the one Lady Mara speaks of still lives. But yes, it was a Jedi who cut him down, but it was also the same Jedi who bought him to a medical centre that saved his life. And it was not without reason, Luke. The Jedi saved many others that day by doing what he did and I don’t think any amount of self justification from Mara is going to change that fact. If the person she cries for wasn’t a criminal and was more like he is now, then things would be much different. As it is, he was a smuggler and was about to do something very foolish when the Jedi stopped him”

“You’re crazy!” yelled Lady Mara

“Yes, that I am and I’m also telling the truth. Deny all you want Lady Mara Jade, but your hate of the Jedi is unjustified and misplaced. You seek to absolve youself and him of all blame for your own actions, do not do so. Take responsibility for your past and allow it to be mended.”

Lady Mara seemed ready to argue, but but all the fight and wild emotions washed away, leaving her feel empty and hollow. She could curse the Jedi, but that would be denying the truth she had tried to deny for so long. “You Jedi are some of the most cold hearted and ruthless people I have ever met, including the Sith and the Black Sun. How can you live with yourselves? Don’t you have feelings?”

“Yes we do, but the truth is just that Mara. It can not be changed, nor sometimes can it be gilded for our own desires and no matter how much it may hurt us, we must acknowledge what is true and deal with it in the best way possible.”

Skywalker could feel through the Force, the turmoil and distress of Mara. He chose to not intervene, allowing the process to take place. Thall’s image shimmered and disappeared, making Luke wonder if was all Thall had come to do. There was so much more he wanted to ask, to be made clear to him, but obviously that was not the will of the Force. Most all he wanted to know what Turbogeek was playing at as his actions were making very little sense, even after he had explained most of the situation to Luke, in a private message. It was DT who had indeed told him the words to say and what he expected Mara’s reaction to be.

What are you playing at DT? Whose side are you really on now? It was like a game of sabbacc, with the wild cards out and all held by the one person and that person also held a thermal detonator. Luke now truly felt like he could understand what Thall had said – the situation was out of control and getting worse by the second. His line of thought was broken by Mara speaking to him.

“He set me up, didn’t he? He set all of this up, just to force me to realise that I’ve been shifting the blame to the Jedi for something that was partially my fault. Luke, I’m sorry I’m acting like a child, but I’m going to kill Turbogeek when I find out where he has gone. Kill him after I thank him first.”

“Thank him? What for?”

“For lifting the blinds I have been deluding myself with. And also…..also find and thank the Jedi for sparing the life of that one person. Yes, Thall was right, we were about to do something very foolish and now I think about it, maybe I’m glad he stopped us” Luke felt Mara’s sense in the Force change. “Luke, tell the other Sith that I have left to go back to Mos Eisley and I wont be going back to the flagship them. I’ve got something else to do”

“And that is?”

“Fulfill a promise to a friend. Do you have transport I can borrow?”

“Yes, speeder bike in the rear shed….and Lady Mara”

“Yes Master Jedi?”

“May the force be with you.”

Lady Mara smiled. “You know, for the first time in a long time, I actually think that may be the case. Thank you Luke and I’m sorry I was somewhat unstable then. May the Force be with you”. She walked off quickly in the direction Skywalker had indicated, coming to a shed. She punched the release add in the diffuse glow of a service light, saw the speeder bike Luke meant. A standard Imperial bike which she was familiar with.

A few minutes later, she was howling over the black and lightless, depending on the Force entirely to guide her hands. She twitched the bike around an unseen rock formation, hearing the echo of the motor ringing back at her. Piling on more power, she blasted across the sandy wastes, thrilling at the exhileration of the death defying ride. I[‘m free, she thought. Free at last….not sure what of, but there was some sort of burden lifted off her.

She thought briefly of DT, thinking she was still going to beat him up for the low trick he pulled – but after she was accepted as his Padawan learner.

--

The night insects became silent as TSCAlpha stalked by, barely making a sound as he walked the night streets of Mos Eisley. His Force enhanced hearing heard distant footsteps as he moved as silently as possible, small rustles of his clothing sounded deafening to him, but impossible to hear for others. He reached out with his Sith abilities to detect where other people were….no correct he though with some pride, his Jedi abilities. What was once TSCAlpha, a person pledged alliegience to the Sith and Itala Marzullo, had seen the wrongness of his ways and had come to the Jedi, seeking forgiveness for his errors and his attacks on them. To his eternal thankfulness, they hadn’t even deemed any punishment, just acceptance and an offer to train him in the ways of the Jedi, a offer he had grabbed with both hands. Now, bearing the name of Jedi Alpha, he was proud to be their youngest Padawan and more than honoured to learn their ways. He tried to have the humility of Master Yogurt, but he couldn’t help it sometimes. He just wanted to be like the other Jedi so much.

The Masters were always telling him he was too willing to fight, which he knew was true. It was something he would learn as he got older and anyway, didn’t Master Boricua and Yogurt fight all the time? In some ways, he was hopeful of coming across some mugger or thief, murderer even and take them on, helping some poor innocent. He just so much wanted the sounds of battle and to battle evil at every corner. Already smmoth with use, his sabre hung at his side and his hand was never far from it.

He scanned the area again and to his joy thought he found something that could be of interest. A disturbance in the Force, signalling something wrong. Something he could deal with. Something he could fight. He moved with stealth in the direction he had felt the disturbance, feeling it get stronger as he advanced. Carefully coming forward, he pked his head around the corner to see what the disturbance was…

And with somedissappointment, ducked back when he saw it was only some dumb lizard. Spitting out a curse, he moved out of the alley, hoping that whatever the disturbance was, it would take notice of him as he revealed himself.

There was only the lizard thing still. Nothing else. No muggers, no smugglers, no Sith, no nothing. Damn! He was too busy cursing to notice the lizard thing had definantly taken note of him. It snarled, which bought Alpha’s attention back to where it should have been, on the situation and not on his personal desires. Almost too late, he realised the disturbance in the Force was caused by this creature and it was coming after him with bared claws and a mouthful of knife like teeth. Alpha’s hand pulled out his sabre and ignited it in one smooth movement, just barely in time to defend himself. The lizard thing reacted with stunning speed to the sabre, leaping high over Alpha’s head and landing several metres away. The Jedi, momentarily confused where his opponent was, almost got knocked over as the lizard thing charged, swinging a vicious claw at his head. Alpha barely ducked and had no time to counter effectively. Oh @#%$, what was this thing? How could it move so quick? Belatedly, realisation came to him. It was a Vog’on, the same things the Jeid were talking about over dinner! Surprise was overcome a sudden wild craving to take this thing on, to prove he was superior. He branished his lightsabre at the Vog’on daring it to make another pass at him.

The nameless Vog’on felt his blood pump with pure excitement. Here was the chance he wanted so badly, to prove he was the equal of any in combat! Perfect this would be if he could trick the Jedi to turn off the sabre so Nameless didn’t have to fight with the disgrace of weapons. If the Jedi fought with weapons, the rules of the Vog’on stipulated one without a name must also fight with weapons, a restrict that riled the nameless one. However….if the other fought empty handed he could too and would be able to prove himself a true warrior!

“Jedi coward! Throw down weapon and fight like true warrior! The nameless one snarled, his mission and his job given too him by the other Vog’on long forgotten in his eagerness to fight the Jedi.

Alpha could hardly believe he had heard right. “You wish to fight me unarmed? Then throw down your weapons you wear!”. The nameless one threw the weapons belt off with utter and complete glee. His chance! His chance to be a true Vog’on was now! The Jedi looked at the array of armaments being flung aside and realising this Vog’on – somewhat smaller than what the rest of the Jedi said they were – wanted to go hand to hand. No problem, Alpha thought. Who could match a Jedi anyway? He deignited the sabre, clipped it back to his belt “Good enough for you, Vog’on? You really want to have a piece of me? COME ON THEN AND GET SOME!”

The Vog’on, seeing the Jedi now with empty hands, didn’t need a second invitation. Claws snapping in eagerness, he ran at the Jedi, howling for blood. Alpha stood stock still, judging the reckless change and then at the last moment rolling left to execute a strike to the back.

Alpha saw stars as he pulled himself out of the wall debris he suddenly found himself in. What the hell? How in the force had that happened? His stunned mind focused on the Vog’on’s swishing tail and then a glimmer of understanding came. The Vog’on had sesed Alpha’s dge and smacked him with the tail. The Jedi pulled himself painfully upright and brushed some wall off his shoulders. Damn fool he thought. You underestimated this one! Fight him like he’s a Sith or Jedi Master, not some slow moving trooper!

Pausing to touch the force and gain strength, Alpha relaxed and willed his muscles loose and ready. He sunk into a backstance, hands at the front, slightly open and begun to circle the Vog’on beginning to assess potential strengths and possible weaknesses. The vog’on hardly gave him that time as it lunged forward in a punch. Alpha blocked and replied with the hardest punch he could do to the creatures body. It staggered back a few feet, but Alpha danced back even more, the shock and pain of hitting what felt like solid stone making his fingers to his elbow blaze with pain. He desperately willed the Force to numb the pain, hoping that nothing was broken.

Okay, that was not good. The Vog’on was much faster than it should have been for it’s size, much more able to fight and also was built like a Star Cruiser. Bad. Very bad…

Alpha hopped backwards as the Vog’on attacked again, hardly believeing this thing could move so fast! He tried to attack again, this time a leaping kick to the head. The Vog’on hardly noticed and in fact grabbed Alpha’s leg in mid jump, swung him around and flung the Jedi into a parked speeder. The Jedi managed to roll over the craft to lessen the blow, but it still sent the nerves in his back singing with pain. Wondering what he could do, he got slowly to his feet, to see the Vog’on waiting patiently for him to attack again. Okay, though Alpha. The masters told me these things are evil, but they didn’t tell me they had a sense of honour – if it was totally evil it would have come after him – or maybe it was sadistic?

“Dooo you yeildddd Jediii?” hissed the monster.

Okay, answered that question. And begged a question, since when did evil monsters that were supposed to have wiped out planetary populations have a code of chivalry? For an answer, Alpha slowly walked around the speeder and came slowly face to face with the beast again. Settling into a fighting stance, he beckoned the Vog’on to try him again. It didn’t take long, the nameone swirling in a whirlwind of strikes. Alpha defended himself, moving with all the pseed he had learned as a Jedi to move or block blows that could have killed him outright. So intense was he on the claws of the Vog’on, he hardly noted a shift in stance and suddenly the tail of the Vog’on swung out, targeting Alpha’s gorin. It would have worked, if not for a warning in the Force, telling him to leap. He did, the scorpion like tail only missing by a hair’s breath in rather painfully disabling him. The leap turned into a somesault, that landed Alpha on his face as he misjudged the ground totally.

This time there was no hesitation from the Vog’on. It came at Alpha and smashed it’s tail onto the ground, Alpha hardly rolling away in time. He was forced to roll the other way as the tail struck for where he was going. A foot was raised and tried to stamp the Jedi. He instinctively moved to avoid the foot, leaped up and as the Vog’on striked oce more, grabbed the arm, buried the shoulder into the Vog’on’s chest and threw the Vog’on over his shoulder in a back slam.

If you cant use your own strength, use the strength of your opponent

A bit relieved it had worked, Alpha moved backwards to get some breathing and thinking space. Okay, I cant beat this thing using my own strength, but it can be beaten – I think. He calmed his mind and focused on the Force, remembering what Yogurt had told him

A Jedi feels the Force flowing through him. It gives him guidance, but it can also give you strength. Use the Force to be stronger than you ever could

The Vog’on had picked itself up and attacked. Alpha blocked feeling as solid as a cliff in the face of a howling gale. A whirlwind of strikes lashed out until Alpha felt the time was right. He gathered the Force around him as he blocked and then unleashed a backfist strike to the taller opponent. He directed the Force to add far more power to the blow and was gratified to see the Vog’on belted off his feet and slide 5 meters away. Alpha waited as the Vog’on slowly got up and then with a snarl leaped and used it’s tail as a dagger. The Jedi was ready this time, grabbing the tail, whirling the Vog’on once about and then with the Force, flinging the howling monster into the same speeder, this time the crunch of panels and glass could be heard.

Alpha decided to press the attack, but with his heightened sense of the Force, noted a new presence, full of the Dark Side was coming closer. Another Vog’on? Hardly having time to wonder, the present Vog’on roared and attacked again. Alpha managed to leg sweep the beast onto the ground, leaped up with the Force and landed foot square on the Vog’on’s chest. The shock of the landing went up almost to his hips, but he could tell the Vog’on had felt it too. The other dark presence resolved itself into another Vog’on, distracting him for a critical second. The first Vog’ons claw snaked out and whipped around, cutting the back of Alpha’s leg open. The Jedi yelped at the searing pain, and in reaction kicked the Vog’on with the Force a good 10 meters.

Okay, plan B. I’m outta here!

Jedi Alpha took one look at the other Vog’on approaching and decided tonight wasn’t a good time for more heroics or fighting. He ran for it, his injured leg slowing him, but still moving at quite a pace. He turned a few corners but to his surprise, the first Vog’on must have taken a shortcut as it came out of an alley, seeking to coathanger the running Jedi. With no time to wonder how it did that, He used the arm and his momentum to swing straight up, twist in the air and land in front of the Vog’on, who’s mind hadn’t caught up with events. Alpha called on the Force and swung a punch. The report of breaking bone could be heard and the Vog’on staggered. Asking the Force for final time, he did a spinning jump kick and the sound of more broken bone was muted by the crash of rubbish and metal, the Vog’on kicked head first into a refuse pile. Alpha didn’t wait, he ran with all the speed The Force could give him.

The second Vog’on, Fregge, moved around the corner to see the young nameless Yog’on extract himself from the junkpile, snarling and yowling.

“Nameless one! Where are your weapons! Do you not know that one like you is punishable by death if you fight whilst unnamed open handed?”

“Yes, honourable Named One, but Jedi accepted an open claw challenge. I fought Jedi with honour” The smaller Vog’on hissed in the pain of the twice broken jaw was causing him while speaking.

“You fight Jedi in open claw challenge?”

“Yes, honoured one”

The whole demeanor of Fregge changed. He was going to execute this one, who would break the Vog’on codes and also ignore his mission. But to have faced a Jedi? That was something even he would do, who cared about his priorities! To fight and survive against Jedi was a great honour!

“Who was the Jedi? Big name?”

“No, little name. Padawan maybe. But still I fight Jedi.”

“Yes and lived. By our code, you are to be named and you may now have the honour of bearing no weapons after that. But until then, you are ordered to go back to our hiding place and take your weapons with you. I shall call the others and they will be there to acknowledge you and also you will be learned in the secret arts of the Vog’on. No, go and do no disobey, one to be named”

The smaller Vog’on nodded and moved to pick up the shameful weaponry. His jaw may be broken and the Jedi escaped, but he had gained much tonight. All Vog’on were bred to fight the Jedi, but few ever had. To have done so while unnamed, that was something he could boast of for his life. Little Jedi, you shall not be the last I will face – and if I face you again, you will not be so lucky….

Fregge watched the to be named one move off, silent and dissolve into the shadows. The elder Vog’on felt a dark joy, knowing that the other was indeed worthy to be admitted to the ranks of the named Vog’on. He knew the younger Vog’ons job needed to be done, but that could wait.

“Virii”

Another Vog’on stepped from the shadows. “Yes honoured Lord?”

“Go and complete the mission that it did not complete. After that, call the others. We will leave tonight”

“Leave tonight? But we haven’t finished the tasks set by the Overleige!”

“That will not matter now. We have more important things we have to do now and much to tell the Overleige. And this young one, he must be presented to the Flame for purification. He must be ready to be named”

“Ahhh…. Then that really was Jedi he fought against?”

“Yes it was. Padawan maybe, but powerful Jedi. Challenge the Jedi and survive he did. He will need a Name of Power for such a feat”

“Jealous I feel. I have not faced Jedi yet and always I have wanted to. Even more so hand to claw.”

“So do all of us. Soon, I feel that we may get the chance we always wanted and there will be all the Jedi we could want to try our claws against. No more talk. Go”

Virii raced off and into the darkness. Fregge tarried a bit longer, taking in the scence and knowing he would be the one to Name this one and tell his story. The Overleige would be most pleased by Fregge’s words in public, but probably even more in private council. They were close to their ulimate goal, so close Fregge felt th expectation of a Vog’on army, revealed at last taking the Galaxy for their own, lead by the Force Being. So many years waiting they had been and the present planet the Vog’on occupied was only the first step. One day…one day they would see the spires of Coruscant and there their victory would be sealed by destroying every last life form on the steel planet. The Dark Side boiled with expectation and desire to kill and on that day he would give in to those craving. He wold lead the Vog’on into the Jedi Temple and wipe out every last Jedi, scale the heights of their temple and claim victory.

And that time was nearly here. Darth Venom was still alive and another who could also be the Force Being was found. He could feel it in his bones, their time was near…

And Callista would be the main course of their victory feast

--

Jedi Alpha burst into the Jedi’s quarters on Tattooine, bleeding from the leg wound, exhausted, filthy and bruised from the battering he got from the Vog’on. He knocked on the door of Mirax, hoping she would be awake, even at this hour. She came to the door quicky and looked at Alpha, saw the Jedi was injured and immediately took him to the medical station.

Two hours later, cleaned with a bacta bandage around the leg, rested a bit and the poisions of the Vog’on’s claws neutralised, Jedi Alpha leaned back in the bed as Master Yogurt, Boricua and FoxDVD came in. Alpha could see that Yogurt and Boricua were concerned, but FoxDVD was obviously displeased. Not that Alpha blamed him, he should not have gone looking for a fight in the first place.

“Don’t you listen to your Masters Alpha? Don’t you understand this looking for afight is not the Jedi way?” snapped Fox.

“Leave him be dude. I’m sure you will have time to chastise him enough when he is back on his feet and maybe he learned a lesson tonight”

“He better have”

“Fox, don’t please. We’ll allow you some time to chew out this Padawan’s foolishness later. For now, we want to know more about the Vog’on. Tell us about your meeting Alpha” said Boricua

The Padawan nervously looked at Fox, then turned to the other two Masters. He told the story, leaving nothing out, including the desire he had to fight, the errors he made and his eventual escape. The masters paid attention to everything and as Alpha finished, turned to regard each other.

“A warrior race these Vog’on obviously. Odd they seem to regard fighting with armour and weapons of any kind to be some sort of disgrace if my reading is right. I wonder why?” said Yogurt

“Bfft. If you were 8 to 9 foot tall, built like a Star Destroyer, had poisoned claws and possessed naturally speed of the best of us at full flight, I bet you would regard a blaster or sabre a mere toy. Even more, they seem to have a natural affinity for the Dark Side, so I doubt we have seen all they can do. The Gungan energy ball seems to be the only way to stop one cold” said Fox.

“More I think they can do as well. Much caution we need right now and need us not recklessness. The Force was with you this time Alpha and glad you should be it was. Call the Council together Fox, we will need to speak and now plan” Yogurt instructed. FoxDVD nodded and glaring at Alpha one more time, walked out and closed the door.

The remaining Jedi waited before continuing.

“Much as I disagree with FoxDVD’s display of temper, I do agree. You were indeed fortunate Alpha. We can ill afford to lose another Jedi and certainly not to something as rash as this. I hope this has taught you a lesson about rushing in to fight” said Yogurt

“I am suitably chastised Master Yogurt. I promise to think before I move in the future,” said Alpha.

“Good, I believe you will. Just rememeber, others who were headstrong also have been Jedi before you. Most have fallen, but others…others have become great Jedi. The choice is yours. We will leave you sleep and recover for a while. Good night young one”

“Thank you Masters”

Boricua and Yogurt left leaving Alpha to ponder their parting words.

--

The swirls of hyperspace were the only lights in the @#%$pit apart from the flashing lights of the automatic systems monitoring the customised ship as it sped onwards. The control cabin’s sole occupant sat moodily looking at a computer terminal screen, scrolling off numbers, doing computations, guiding the ship through it’s journey in hyperspace. He was thinking deeply, about his life, about his future, about the past About the now. He knew his weakness had always been an unmindfulness of the here and now, it hamstring him a few times. Like now. He was thinking that he had acted rashly, should have thought the situation through. Why in the Force was he going to Hoth, when he quite well knew Paladin was on Harrvi and he knew the co-ordinates? Why had he not simply commandeered one of the Star Destroyers, even the ISD which he owned anyway?

He shook his head in exasperation. There I go again, hot headed and not calm. Irrational and unthinking and who knows what sort of mess I’m getting myself into. I don’t even know why I chose to go to Hoth!

Cursing and beating myself around the head wont fix it tho. Only being calm, at peace and allow the Force to guide him will bring him back on track at this time. Yes, Iand I suppose it’s also going to settle accounts with the people he had lied, deceived and betrayed in the last few days. All because a lone fool had gotten himself into more trouble than he realised and the promise to a woman about that same fool. And to the young lady, presently asleep in one of the other cabins. He wondered why he had also dragged Sahy Kaylon with him – it wasn’t necessary. The rest of the Jedi could protect her far better than he could, with their collected might. Even the Sith would do a better job and he didn’t trust them as far as he could throw them. Well, maybe he could trust Mara, but that was as far as he would go.

In fact, come to think of it, this whole thing shows I just don’t trust anyone right now. I’ve gone paranoid, seeing Vog’ons and Callista in every shadow I pass. Can I even trust myself with this lack of judgement I have?

Yes you do. You trust only yourself to do the job right, to be able to protect Shay and to rescue Paladin, to at least save them from the pending roll of destruction Callista and the Vog’on were planning. And I know your secrets Callista. You never realised I was such a good spy and I found out about more of your plans than you know. Even the Vog’on, with their hope of one who would come and be strong enough to lead them, I know things about your secrets that you would kill me for.

And now, the time was coming, when the final acts of this play were to fought out. Where courage and valour would have to overcome immense odds, more than anyone else, Turbogeek knew what the forces arrayed were. On one side, the Jedi, The New Repuplic and their for now allies the Sith and the Black Sun. On the other, a planetful of Vog’on, incredible fighting machines who were building up for a jihad against all other lifeforms and Callista, whom they had tricked into giving them the one thing they needed most – a navy capable of holding off any assault while they did their work on a planet below. They had originally tried it with Palapatine, pretending they were his servants, but he was too possessed of the desire to crush all resistance to his rule to be of any use. Callista on the other had, had built up a navy of ships, fast ones with a few behemoths from various parts of the Galaxy and more importantly was easily swayed to the desired path. She was powerful yes, but her attention span was too short to be of any serious threat to the Republic. She would take interest in one thing for a while, then when something better came, she would focus on that and leave the first unfinished.

Turbogeek generally agreed with that assessment, but on some things, she seemed to be pretty committed about. Training a Dark Jedi to open the portal to the power within was one. Pursuing Turbogeek after he had turned on her was another…and seeking revenge on a Galaxy that seemed to want to deny her what she wanted was a third. I wonder if Callista and I, if we ever have a final showdown, wether I’ll be strong enough to defeat her. I’ve spent all my Jedi life training for that one face off and I have also been trying to avoid it through the years, afraid I would fail.

I failed to stop the Vog’on the first time as a Dark Jedi. Callista set the Vog’on on Harrvi because I defied her and I failed. This time I cant fail.

But I don’t see how it can be done.

Getting up, he noted the time still remaining in transit to Hoth and thought it would be a good time to rest before they arrived at the ice planet. Besides, all this reflection was playing on his mind, making him doubt himself and weakening him, just when he needed all his strength for the trials ahead.

He moved through the silent corridors to his cabin, rather illogically placed inside a weapons bay, but that was the way he preferred it. He crawled into the crumpled bedding still clothed, relaxed and put himself into a Jedi meditation trance, allowing his mind and body to rest fully –

But his subconscious became far more open to the Force, allowing it’s quiet directions to be heard. He believed the Force was more like a Spirit that only truly spoke when you were quiet and ready to listen. And while his subconscious listened, he dreamed.

The place had become some some version what others called Hell. He would have agreed if he only understood at the time Hell was a place of punishment, for was punishment in the extreme….

To see the world he had called home, it’s people his friends, the natural beauty and seas, all being wiped out by a surge of evil, a wave of the Dark Side called Vog’ons, all unleashed on this unsuspecting planet all because he had not done the bidding of Callista and killed the family of the Governor. But how could he? The Governor had done nothing wrong, only had denied Callista the right to some land she wanted. For that, she had deemed him and his family worthy of death and ordered Venom to execute them. What she never counted on was Venom having a crisis of belief, unable to deliver the deathblow to a sleeping 7 year old because he realised how wrong it all was, how wrong his whole life had been. Venom had left, leaving the family alive and Venom doing some serious soul searching that evening. He had sworn to throw his sabre away, to deny the Force forever and become a nothing, an ordinary person. He had began to sink into the life of the ordinary when the Vog’on came to finish his job off.

He had found out later Callista had ordered them to do what was necessary to destroy the family. They had taken her words literally and decided the whole planet had traces of this family – not that Callista ever corrected or tried to stop them. Venom also found out she had encouraged her charges, in the mistaken belief she was controlling them.

The day the Vog’on came started out so beautifully. Q’Dunn was in a boring job, in a boring relationship, in a boring city. It was peaceful and quiet, the air was good and life felt finally so right. He had not touched the Force for weeks and his mind felt clearer than it had in years. The boredom was so welcome after years of battles and training, that he wondered how he could possibly have ever wanted to fight again.

But then the first of the drop ships came., unannounced and unwarned. The first attack was on the communication links, then every orbit capable ship was neutralised, dooming all. A few ships had been missed, otherwise the very few survivors would have never got off and lived to tell tales of what happened next.

The Vog’on had come in their thousands and with chilling speed swept through the defence areas, no-one having time to mount a cohesive defence. A few army units did mount a rear guard desperation attack, but it was squashed with almost no pause in the Vog’on sweep. The planet now secure, they then began to slaughter anything that lived.

Q’Dunn hadn’t seen the first attacks, but was near the first place the Vog’on began their genocide. The woman whom he was with was one of the first to be killed, right before his eyes. The Dark Side boiled out from these creatures and Q’Dunn, who had seen these things before, with a sinking feeling in his stomach realised what was happening.

“NOOOO!!!!!”

The Vog’on turned and advanced at the human. Q’Dunn stared in pure fear as the Vog’on struck, knowing he was dead and all here were too because of his defiance. The Force saved him, it made him move enough to avoid the Vog’on and run. He hardly had time to realise he was using the Force again when another one of the beasts came at him. With Force Speed, he accelerated, calming his mind and using the Force with a clearing mind. No emotions now, it was too late for regret. He ran past other scences of horror and then realised where he was going – back to the place he had thrown his sabre away.

It was still there, in a bin somehow never collected. Calling it to him, he sought out the Force and calmed himself more. The Dark Side tried to lure him with anger, but he rejected it, unconsciously choosing the Jedi path.

Moving back to his home, he avoided everyone, trying to keep the screams out of his mind. He didn’t bother opening his home’s door, he simply blew it open with a well placed kick. There was something here that could help him live, something from the days of war he could use…

His Dark Jedi armour. Black, with a cape and face concealing helmet, it slowed him down a tiny bit, but it offered him the protection he thought he would need. Off came his clothes and on came the breastplates, groin guard arm and leg greaves, thigh boots and the spikes gloves. Last the helmet… he paused. Before it seemed to transform him into the feared Venom, battle ready and a mindless killing machine. Would it now? He overcame the reluctance and put it on. Nothing. Maybe this time it was up to him to define what he was, not what he was wearing. Finally, he checked the sabre, a beautiful weapon, intricate carving and double ended.

The Vog’on had just finished off a group of Bith when the armoured being, cloak flowing moved into vision. The Vog’on snarled a challenge and not waiting for a response ran at the figure, thinking more easy prey. The last thing the beast saw was a blazing light and a dreadful pain as his skull was smote by a lightsabre.

Another group of Vog’on had gathered to attack a school. A section of wall exploded, then the black figure set upon the beasts, in mere seconds wiping them out as he took them by surprise.

Another Vog’on was caught in a rocket explosion.

Another got into a short fist fight before a massive Force powered kick broke it’s neck

And yet another tried a sneak attack, only to be sliced in half.

The day wore on, with Q’Dunn realising slowly he would not be able to stop the Vog’on, there were far to many of them. More than he knew of, more than Callista knew of. Thousands more.

The decision was made not long after he had been forced to retreat form a group of twenty Vog’on, obviously now aware of the ex-Venom’s existence and now in groups too big to surprise and too big to fight on his own – Get off the planet, and wait for a time of retribution. He also decided that he was going to take some with him – the very ones Callista sought to kill if they were still alive.

HE arrived at the Governor’s mansion a little after dark, to see a last ditch stand by some of the security forces was taking place. The residence was surrounded, the soldiers and civilians inside were certainly doomed. Disregarding the odds, Q’Dunn inignited his sabre and in a blink had cut a hloe in the Vog’on ranks and had broken through to the residence. A few Vog’on tried to follow, but were cut down with massed blaster and missile fire from the walls. As long as the ammo was available, the standoff would continue, but would not be for long and the Vog’on would march in. Q’Dunn gained the wall and leaped behind to the temporary safety, where he was greeted by an exhausted looking officer.

“Are you a Jedi? Have the Council heard our plight and come already?”

Q’Dunn had a quick think. “I may be one day Jedi, but I don’t think anyone else will come in time to help us all. I’ve come to at least get the Governor off the planet to get help if possible”

“We cant last that long”

“I know. But if I can save someone, let it be someone who can report to Coruscant and stop this scourge from happening”

The officer looked at the blank face shield of the helmeted figure and nodded. “Okay, this way. Governor is on the second floor with his family”

“Thank you. If I fail, I will take as many with me as I can”

“As I will Jedi. Good Luck and May The Force Be With You”

He called me Jedi….a feeling pride and honour came over him as he ran up the stairs. Could I really be behaving like one? Pushing all feelings aside, he didn’t bother with the guards trying to stop him, or the door that was locked, he swept by the guards and the door flew off it’s hinges as the result of a sidekick. Insdie the room, the Governor stared up in blank faced shock, whilst the others, his wife and two children huddled in the corner.

“Are you a Jedi? Have you come to save us?” asked the Governor, scarcely daring to hope that saviour had come to stop this impossible slaughter.

“No, maybe one day I will. I’m here to get you off this planet to at least deny them the satisfaction of the one thing they came for. You and your immediate family”

“Me? What have I ever done to cause this to be bought down on our planet?”

“You annoyed an old hag and she decided you were not worth living. I think you are. Now, at least allow me to get you out of this mess. Guards, I want armed protection around this family at all times while we do this. Governor, are there any other ways out of this compound?”

“Maybe there is an old access tunnel, but the way is barred…. Oh you have a lightsabre. We can cut through!”

“We can. No, get down there and I want every single trooper to follow us. Some are to be detailed as a rear guard, some as direct body guards. I’ll take point. MOVE!”

At the powerful yell, the troops moved to enact his orders, while Q’Dunn heared the family out the door and down to the indicated area. They marched quickly to the sealed doors that the Governor believed there was an exit and Q’Dunn cut them apart in four swilft strokes. The glow of superheated metal lit the dim archway, showing there was indeed a tunnel. Scanning ahead with the Force, he saw the way was clear and lead the way in.

As he advanced, his Force senses told him his orders were being enacted and the soldiers were successfully falling back and running down their chace of escape. He stopped, told the family to keep going and detailed four troops to go point as he suddenly thought of a flaw to his plan

If they could come down here, the Vog’on would follow.

He ran back, wondering how he was going to fix this and skidding to a stop saw that someone else had though as he did and had solved the problem. 4 wounded soldiers, were waiting for their fellow to run past. Q’Dunn saw the thermal detonators in their hand and caught on immediately – they were going to sacrifice their lives and bring the entrance of the tunnel down. Q’Dunn stared for a bit, thinking what a powerful thing this was – giving one’s life for another in a unselfishly. He nodded to one of the guards who responded clearly above the noise of battle and retreating troops

“Don’t worry Jedi. We’ll stop ‘em. You make sure you get the rest of us out alive”

Q’Dunn acknowledged and waithed until the stream of troops became a trickle, then the four guards who had chosen to stay behind fired rockets and blasters to give the others enough time to get clear. He knew it wouldn’t be enough time, the blast would kill the stragglers unless he did something about it. Charging back down the tunne, he made 100 meters in a flash, turned and got ready. He had overtaken a number of troops and as he yelled fro them to run, he reached out with the Force and saw the backguard was about to be overwhelmed….

The force gave him the brief warning he needed. Standing straight, he stretched out and arm and began to call on the Force like never before. The last soldier just past him….

The world around him turned into a tornado of dirt and flame as the suicide protectors used their detonators in one final act of defiance. Q’Dunn pushed the Force into a wall, desperately stopping the flying debris coming through. He felt the pressure as huge pieces of metal, wood and earth smashed the Force barrier, heat swirled around him, scaling his throat, dust became a abrasive gale. Still he held, his will beginning to tire at the utter barrage. It began to peter off and then stopped, Q’Dunn relaxing and feeling totally spent, looking at the pile of rubbish that had built up against the shield. That would hold just about anyone or anything and saying a silent farewell of the brave ones who had succeeded in protecting their backs, wearily ran off to catch up with the rest.

A kilometre away, the found the whole group, about 100 strong. A few had minor wounds, but apart from the exhaustion on their faces, most were able to fight. In the centre of the group, the Governor and his family sat. Q’Dunn pushed his way forward and werily took his helmet off, the dim light of glowrods making his features shadowed and almost as hidden as they were behind the helmet.

“Governor, where does this tunnel end? Do you know?”

“I think it’s end os a hangar at the spaceport. I don’t know exactly.”

“Good, I’m willing to take the chance. Governor, it is likely the Vog’on disabled all the ships they could find but luckily for us, once they have been through an area, I doubt they will guard it.”

“Yeah, why bother when you kill everything before you leave” snorted one of the guards

“Unofrtunate but true, so we will need to use that for our own safety. It is likely the Vog’on will have moved on from there and as they don’t have any idea where the tunnel ends, they wont be able to predict where we will come out. Does anyone know how far it is to the hangars?”

“The Residence was 47 kilometers from the edge of the spaceport by road. Direct, probably 40” said one of the soldiers.

Q’Dunn felt his heart sink. 40 kilometers? And no guarantee of a working ship anyway? He sunk to the ground, exhausted. “Well we need to rest first. Does anyone have some water?” One of the soldiers wordlessly handed him a flask, which Q’Dunn took a few swallows, soothing his parched throat. He scanned all around, looking for signs of Vog’on on the surface. He could not detect any, which gave him some relief. Maybe they were too far underground to be sensed. Maybe. He would take any relief he he could get right now.

“How long do we rest, Jedi?” asked the soldier’s commander

“4 hours. I know it’s a while, but once we begin to move again, we don’t stop. Okay?” The commander nodded and began to order rations and water be broken out and for the troops to be at ease. Q’Dunn lay back and fell back into a Force Meditation, drawing refreshment and strength from the Force, much like a Jedi would he supposed. Maybe if he got out of this, he would go see the Jedi, kneel at Rmaio’s feet and ask for forgiveness for his deeds as Venom and be trained as a Jedi.

The four hours passed and he came out of the trance, hungry but feeling much better. He could see most of the troops had also decided to sleep as well, a few staying awake but resting still.The Governor and his family were also laid out and resting. Almost regretfully, he got up went to the troop commander who was the only one standing.

“It’s time to go, commander. But first, anything I could eat?” The soldier nodded, handed Q’Dunn a energy bar.

“Hey Jedi, how did you manage to be in the middle of this mess?”

“I was going to live the rest of my life in boredom and glad I was of that too. It seems that my dream has been denied”

“Yeah, just like the rest of us. You have a name Jedi?”

“I wish I was a Jedi. I was in fact a Dark Jedi, who saw the error of his ways”

“A Dark Jedi?”

“Yes, Darth Venom to be precise”

“Oh @#%$. Your not having me on are you?” Q’Dunn shook his head. “Burning skys, I’ve heard of you. You are said to be seven feet tall and…”

“And slay the innocent by the hundred. Fireballs come from me eyes and lightning from my arse, yeah I’m sure your heard some pretty bad stories, but I can assure you, that is behind me. But what I would appreciate it if you didn’t go spreading who I was in the past. You do that?”

“Yes, if you continue to help us”

“Deal soldier boy. Lets touch hands”. They shook, the common bond of fighting men bridging the gap between them. “Your name soldier”

“Commander Joseph Paladin at your service and I’m glad to get any help I can in this mess.”

“Yes, so am I. I feel we are going to need every single blaster we can aim to get out of here, even if we seem to be hidden from detection at present”

“Tis true Mister, tis true. I hope that when we get the Governor out of here, I can go get my family – but I doubt I can” Q’Dunn could see in the soldiers sense a shift in mood, regret, deep sadness and frustration. It didn’t reach Paladin’s face, it was like a rock. Seeing Q’Dunn’s puzzled expression, the soldier smiled sadly “I have to do my duty right now Jedi-maybe. After we are safe, then I’ll mourn for their loss. You have any family here you lose?”

“Yes, I had a woman” It surprised Q’Dunn in the sting of her death. It was not just the feelings for her he discovered he had, but the loss of other things she symbolised – the quietness, the peace he had discovered and wanted so much to be part of here. The fact he didn’t need his sabre or armour. The fact he had discovered love. Blinking back a sudden tear, he dug into a pocket and pulled out a few items. One he handed onto Paladin. “This is her. I saw her life taken by the Vog’on”

The soldier looked, then also dug into a pocket “My family. My wife and three children, Shay, Calheima and Gregori. When I heard about our communications knocked out, I told them to run and hide. Told them I’d try to get help. I hope they live as would anyone but if they were found, I don’t see how it could be done. These beasts aren’t taking prisoners, are they?”

“No, I think their intention is to kill everyone, that’s why they made sure no-one could get off the planet or call for help. We are cut off and the Vog’on have all the time they need. It will take time, you cant kill a planetary population overnight, but without help, Harrvi cant defend itself. All we can do is get the handful away we can. Hey, can I keep that picture?”

“What?”

“Well, you cant do it, but I might. I’ll stay behind and look for them, see if I can get them out”

The soldier looked at Q’Dunn. “You not serious”

“I am. Would you allow me to have the chance?”

“I would go with you”

“No, you don’t. I might be able to survive because I have the Force. You may be a good fighter, but you wont last a minute out there and that would mean another senseless death. At least I would take out some before they got me”

The soldier looked at Q’Dunn wordlessly, then handed over the picture “You don’t have to do this”

“Maybe I wont do it, but if I do, at least it will be a few less these fiends wont get. Okay Soldier boy, enough moping. Ltes get these people packed up and shipped out. We rest every two hours until we get to the end of this tunnel. After that, we run until we find something good enough to get us out of here. Under stood?”

“Yes SIR!”

Q’Dunn saw Paladin professionally marshall his troops, creating a inner and outer defensive perimeter about the Governor. The troops moved smartly, into good formation and when Paladin was satisfied they all moved off, guns on hair trigger. Q’Dunn dallied a bit, looking at the picture Paladin had given him, memorising the faces. He put it into a pocket and then with sabre in hand, moved toward the point where he could be of maximum effect. He very much doubted anything would be behind him.

It seemed to last for day, but their march took 20 hours at which time they came to a huge sealed door. Q’Dunn turned on a torch to check out if there were any controls and also began to scan for hostiles outside. All clear. He found a door control, put away the torch and lit his sabre. Touching the door controls, he then stepped back with the sabre ready in defence. The door rolled back to reveal a hangar and also dead people scattered about the huge place. The party walked out cautiously, until Q’Dunn had a better idea.

“Paladin, take the Governor and go back into the tunnel. Seal off the door and go back 100 meters. I’ll go around ad see if there are any working ships in the area. Okay?” He soldier nodded, but they all turned in surprise when they heard a squeal of “Daddy!”

What in blazes? Thought Q’Dunn. He turned to the sound an saw a young girl, running like mad and then colliding with Pladin at high veliocity. She squealed as she hugged the legs of the soldier, who was beginning to have a slow smile of gratitude on his face. He picked the girl up, and hugged her. “Calhemia! Where is mommy?”

“I don’t know, I got lost daddy. A stranger found me and bought me here”

There were others? Q’Dunn took a quick scan and realised 10 others were there, some of them cautiously revealing themselves from where the girl had run from, others were in a light freighter, which seemed to be untouched, unlike the majority of ships. Q’Dunn snapped his fingers, a tickle of danger sense flarfing suddenly. He pointed at the ship, now realising it was probably their best chance and bellow ed for everyone to run for it.

“They’re here?” asked Paladin

“No, not yet, I don’t think they know we are here, but they are coming. Get everyone on board. Governor, MOVE IT!!!”

The group moved and as the startled occupants of the freighter looked out, the whole group began to pile aboard. Q’Dunn scanned hastily for other beings but found none. His danger sense was getting stronger and he began to scan further afield. The last of the stragglers were aboard, with Q’Dunn aabout to step on the gangplank, when Paladin cameout again. “Bad news. This crate needs another half hour of work to be mobile according to the pilots. It seems the beasts didn’t quite do as well in disabling this ship as the others around here”

“@#%$. Get your best men and get them in a perimeter. And tell the pilots they don’t have any time, just get this crate working”

“There are Vog’on here?” breathed Paladin.

“No, but I’m sure they are coming. Get to it Paladin, we could be in for a hairy time”

Q”Dunn continued to scan and finally with a hiss of breath, found what he suspected – a lone Vog’on, coming their way. Lone it might be, but he was sure there were others around, others close enough to be alerted and to come in a hurry. He put a finger up to indicate silence and pointed in the direction he sensed the beast to be in. The soldiers all quietly began to prepare for the assault in the indicated direction. Q’Dunn swiftly read the senses of the crew repairing the ship realising they still had minutes to go. With a gesture, he indicated for one of the soldiers to come over

“Go back inside and tell the crew they no more time left. A – no wait, multiple Vog’on approach from the South-East. Go and be quiet”. The soldier paled and nodded, moving with all the stealth and haste he could get. Q’Dunn turned and faced the direction that the Vog’on were coming, fingering the trigger of the lightsabre.

“Everyone, stay down and play dead. We may fool them for a few precious seconds” The whisphered command from Paladin initially surprised Q’Dunn, but he could see the sense in it and complied as with all the others. His mind powers could keep track on the beasts, to see if when they came on the sence, if they bought the deception.

He could feel the sheer desperation in the freighter as they tried to repair the ship.

The first Vog’on cam into sight, at the other end of the hangar, clearly uninterested and unknowing anyone was about

“Hold…” Q’Dunn whispered through the Force

The crew tried another control block, hoing to get power to the engines

The Vog’on shuffled closer, with a pack not far behind

“Hold…”

The ship suddenly sparked as the crew tried to get the converters to work

The Vog’on snapped it head up, suddenly put on alert

“Hold……”

The ship suddenly came to life as the crew klunked the last repair box home and threw power to the drive

The vog’on’s all turned at the noises of a ship clearly starting up. They all started to run, not suspecting the trap

“Hold…”

The ship’s drives whined as power flowed. A short out was fixed in a second and the crew got their passengers strapped in

The vog’on were charging, intent on stoppong the freighter. The first one was almost on Q’Dunn..

“NOW!!!!” Blaster fire and rockets caught the Vog’on flat footed and many of them were destroyed in the first salvo. In disaaray, the y tried to retreat, but they were cut down in the deadly trap. Q’Dunn’s sabre speared the leader in a Force Throw. Retrieving the sabre, he could feel even more Vog’on, alerted rushing towards the hangar. But he could also feel the crew finally making the last preparations for take off.

“GET ON BOARD!!” he roared. The soldiers began to get back into the ship as more Vog’on appeared. He called back the sabre and motioned the others to get on the ship. The Vog’on rushed them, some shot, others mowed down by Q’Dunn’s flashing blade. The troops contineued to lay down covering fire as they one by one got on board. Finally, only Paladin, on the gang plank and Q’Dunn remained

“Get on Board or I’ll cut you one! Tell them to take off!”

Paladin was compelled to move by the Force leaving Q’Dunn the last man to defend the outside. The Vog’on were massing for another attack, when the ship motors howled and with a blast of air, moved upwards. The Vog’on tried to leap, but were cut down by an even faster moving Q’Dunn, lightsabre blazing as he stopped the last ditch attempts of the beasts to stop the Governor’s escape. The freighter roared and powered out the hangar doors, making good its escape into the sky. Q’Dunn yelled in victory and ran for outside as well, the Vog’on not in sufficient numbers to stop him. He continued to run as he watched the ship disappear

Paladin and the Governor looked out a view port at the final moments of their escape, watching Q’Dunn cut down the Vog’on and then run for his own life. The ship moved into clouds and they saw Q’Dunn no more. Paladin had his daughter in hislap, hardly daring to believe that one of his family had escaped with him

“What a terribly stupid but incredibly brave thing to do. He won our escape at the cost of his own” said the Governor

“That’s what makes the Jedi greater than we, Sir. They give without thought for themselves. I think we have seen today what truly makes one great” replied Paladin. The Governor, a tear in his eye as he saw the planet that was at this time still being wiped out nodded. “He was indeed quite someone. What was his name?”

“I don’t know Sir, All I know he was a Jedi” said Paladin.

--

Turbogeek stirred in his sleep, the dreams of his past vivid. He grunted a bit and fell back into the trance. And continued to dream

--

He had seen the ship leave, made his decision he had. Moving into safety, he switched his sabre off and took out the holophoto he had got off Paladin of the soldiers family. He had memorised their image and also ran back through his mind their names, especially the children – Shay and Gregori. Sneaking into a building and grimacing at a few bodies at the doorway, he sought out a public access terminal. With a few keystrokes, he got the address of where Paladin had lived, deciding that was the best place to look. He didn’t know why, but he felt it was important to find Paladin’s children and somehow get them off this planet. Somehow.

--

From the control pit of the Razor, the hyperdrive controls suddenly registered as being too close to a gravitational body to remain in hyperspace. It disengaged, firing the ship back into normal space. The proximity alarms went off as a object was on an immanent collision course. The auto anti collision software tried it’s best, but the mass shadow of the huge comet, uncharted and unknown, had dis orientated the ships systems enough to collide head on with a ice ball. Turbogeek had wken up to the sounds of the alarms, but was knocked out by sliding head first into the wall. Shay never awoke as a similar incidence kept her out. Blazes broke out as micro fractures opened and then were closed with auto repair systems. Bulkheads closed to maintain cabin integrity and the ship continued to spin out of control. It t eventually won the control battle, it’s systems knowing there was no pilot. It plotted a course to the nearest system and planet, jumping to hyperspace after it was clear of the comet mass shadow. A few minutes was all it needed and it came out over a brown planet, much like Tattooine in it’s lack of green, but with one difference – there was no cities, villages or other detectible technology. The computers decided to try a landing near a patch of green, presuming trees and other cover.

--

The lone human walked the parched earth, waterbag swinging as he walked over the sun blasted terrain. He had a way, of owning the land, confident he was Master of all he surveyed. Verse Dawnstrider also had an ancient gun on one shoulder and a kill over the other, knowing he and his pack would eat well. He was walking near a forest, illogically rising out of the sand. He had ceased to wonder how it could have come to being, instead accepting Nature and it’s power, the same way he controlled it.

An odd light caught his eye.

He saw something in the sky, saw it move distinctively. He was almost unique amongst the Garou in have travelled the galaxy, so he could see it was a spacecraft of some sort. What was different about this one, is that it was trailing smoke and in obvious trouble. He pulled out a set of binoculars, trying to get a better look. No. It was moving too fast. But Verse could work out anyway it was getting closer and it was not going to land well.

The Garou tracked the ship and saw it’s attempt to land, a loud crash as it skidded to a stop echoing for kilometres.

Hmmmm.

Now very curious, he began to trot out to the crash site, a few kilometres away, but still easily reachable. Wonder who had crashed here, he finally came to the ships hatched, popped out of it’s seal. Scorch marks criss crossed the ship and he could still feel the heat of it’s re-entry. Verse put down his kill and the waterbag, crept to the door with gun ready. He touched the hot metal and grimacing, used ThePower of Wind to open the hatch. He then entered.

Occupants he found in separate cabins, but he could tell that, by the state of their injuries both the girl and the man were more than likely dead.

--

[verse dawnstrider]

I'm in the Story!!!!!!!!!

[Calhemia Cutta]

Me too!

Master DT, That was so kewl! You should, like, publish it online.

[Figrin D an]

Good work, DT. I continue to enjoy the tale as it develops.

Looks like my smart mouth got me slapped. That's nothing new. ;)

[Darth Lynch]

Good writing as usual.

Some surprises I admit and I like these Vog'on, intresting creatures.

Looking forward to my next fix of Dark Fury.

[Darth Turbogeek]

Doesnt anyone else want Dark Fury 11 written? Come on, I need 10 yeas!

[Dez Arken]

i want you to right more! even though i'm still trying to catch on what i missed.

[RHJediKnight]

Yeah, keep writing...but...sniff...I'm not in the story...ah well, I'll live...

[The Lounge Lizard]

Great work, DT. Hopefully I'll get to see some action when the battle heats up. Keep it going.