The plan’s working, we’re well hidden in the comet’s tail and now we have a better idea of the enemy’s plan. Three Chiss dreadnaughts are between an ice belt, protecting them from a direct assault, and a black hole, making sure that nothing the size of a capital ship could/would go past the ice belt, thus ensuring that all of us coming into this with the Spelljammer as the biggest vessel a good idea, as if we planned that far ahead. Tor and Kelyn think up a plan while commlink silence is broken by the other scoundrel negotiator, Baldr. Negotiation doesn’t seem bad for once Princess Leia is shown being tortured … it’s fake, has to be.
“That’s real,” Khalik adds after a quick check.
“Not vidshop,” adds Daze.
“Bring my daughter back, I don’t care how!” Senator Organa’s voice blares into my head.
Wakamancha Chiss! I’m too far away to get there fast enough to help with normal speed but a small jump will do, just outside the ice belt.

Deflecting another Chiss blaster cannon bolt into the last populated hangar destroyed the remaining Chiss starfighters in reserve, now only a few are left. The adrenaline’s practically gone and yeah these guys are efficient, it’s just that…all they have are numbers. Hm, wait wasn’t I here for something…someone…Princess Leia!

The trip back to Alderaan is nothing as expected, the princess is taking her new parts in stride, our prisoner is safe, even from me, and I’m repairing Tris from a rookie’s lucky shot on her. It’s also a bit confusing as to why Carson hands me a rubber glove to “scan” Admiral Thrawn, it’s as if he wants me to put my hand up his…is that security camera focusing on us?

Handing Princess Leia back to her father is going rather, well. Senator Organa is relieved that she seems mentally sound while Princess Leia shows off her new strength by damaging stone with no harm done to her. I’m surprised the senator is so calm about handling Thrawn, the man directly charged with harming our princess, in a peaceful manner. Looking upon Senator Organa I’m sure that he wouldn’t fall to using torture on anyone. Such is more of a reason to protect him, and others like him, from monsters like Thrawn and Draco.

Six months of being grounded while we wait for the galaxy to forget, at least a little, about our group. Baldr is in his element on Alderaan, he’s living in a politician’s world talking to anyone and everyone. Carson mostly stays near the palace or the Spelljammer’s medlab, he seems more recluse these days and I hear odd things from Tull about his behavior. Khalik I lose track of easily, as far as I know he’s somewhere in the Outer Rim creating a new Resurgence. I’m still waiting on a reply from him about possibly coming over and flying Tris or a new companion. Tull and Tor are in the mountains training like the monks they are. Daze is doing something somewhere not near me and I’m good with that. I do not see Tommy these days except when I train with the rebel commandos. Kelyn and his daughters I see every day, Kelyn and I share the notion that his daughters should know how to pilot everything from a speeder bike to a heavy freighter. I even suggested to Kelyn that he get them two Z-95’s soon so they can learn one on one how pilot starfighters as well as keep them maintained and even modify their spacecraft as they go forward and figure out their preferences. A Z-95 Headhunter is the perfect starter for any good pilot.

A few months in and Kelyn’s daughters are shaping up to be damn good pilots, they’ve got their act together enough to not need me. This works since I’ve finally gotten word back from Khalik that work on the new Resurgence has moved forward enough for me to travel out there, while I go to the shipyard and physically train new rebel pilots Kelyn and his family will train under Master Tor. I’m not one for the Force, but Mappo definitively used it to his advantage in becoming the pilot he is now. I don’t doubt that Kelyn will help guide his daughters down the same Force path.

I walk into the Spelljammer’s medlab and stand next to Carson as he’s bent over his desk on the other side of the room as I hold a familiar box of cybernetics.
“Hey Carson, I need you to put this in me.”
Carson looks up from his work, a quizzical look on his face. He stands up, taking the box and starts to rummage through the contents.
“What is this…”, he pulls out an external tube, “where did you get this?”
“From Exovar back when we had the time. I nearly died being force choked before on the Resurgence and would greatly appreciate you putting all this in me so I can’t be choked to death because some guy in black looks at me weird.”
“You don’t even know what this does do you?”
“It should prevent me from being force choked, and help out with breathing in a vacuum if I happen to not be wearing my helmet that day.”
“God Bariss, are you even thinking?”
“Hey! I could get this done in some hotel room by a random guy. I just prefer it done by you, but if you’re not willing.”
I go to take the box out of Carson’s hands. His grip tightens on it. We lock eyes, and have an understanding.

…

“Okay Bariss, the external wear can be taken off and put back on but be careful doing so. If you take if off or put it on wrong you’re going to notice in a bad way.”
“As long as I can and the internal stuff is working.”

0500: Wake up.
0530: Breakfast
0600: Train new recruits.
0900: Train intermediary recruits in front of new recruits.
1200: Lunch
1230: Calisthenics
1300: Train veteran recruits in front of intermediary and new recruits.
1500: Classes dismissed to maintenance and other classes. Train with commandos.
1800: Dinner
1830: Stretch off commando training.
1900: Maintenance of Tris, Happiness 2.0, weapons and gear.
2100: Read status of recruits in other classes, update my notes to teacher’s pool.
2300: Sleep

Six months are nearly done, and I’ve nearly trained all one hundred and ten of my students to the proper level needed for combat. All they need now is experience against the enemy, in bite size chunks so I don’t lose many of them, and they’ll be far superior to those pilots the empire puts in space. The new Resurgence is also about done, all that is left is her new name and a proper celebration carried about with everyone present. From what I hear Baldr, Carson, Tull, Tor, Kelyn, Tommy, and Daze are all coming to the naming ceremony.

Tull’s hands slammed into the durasteel flooring, pulling half the area in front of him up into a supplementary shield as blaster fire pounded around him and his friends. Wizard sat on the floor cross legged with his eyes closed, building energy. Tull put his own body in front of Wizard and the rest of his friends as blaster fire was traded back and forth. Tull’s body was repeatedly hammered by concussive force, burning his scales and body. He took wounds that would have felled lesser men, and kept standing, protecting his friends. Then Wizard’s eyes opened, and the enemy was gone.

- – -

The mountains of Alderaan were a place of peace and beauty. Never in Tull’s life had he been in such a place as the small mountain retreat the senator had lent to Wizard for training. From Barab I, to the slave pits, to the countless battles in space, Tull’s whole life had been pain, fear, and death. Finally, he had found what it meant to be at peace. To be safe.

The air was always crisp and cool with that smell of leaves, sun, and soil. Tull sat on the open ground covered by a canopy of great trees and meditated. Tull could not touch the force as Wizard could, but Wizard had taught him much of the Jedi and the force. All things in the Galaxy were connected by the force. Tull, Wizard, the trees, the stars, the earth, people, plants, creatures, friends, enemies, the good, the bad, all were surrounded, bonded, and pierced by the force. All were one among the force, so though Tull could not reach out and touch the force, he knew it reached out and touched him. Peace and serenity. These six months would become one of Tull’s fondest memories.

“Tull my dear friend, I believe it is time we practiced our blade work,” Wizard smiled as he stood over the meditating Barabel.

“You have more to show Tull?” he said opening his eyes and finding even siting down he did not have to look up far to see the standing Caamasi’s face.

“I believe you have more to show me my friend.”

- – -

Wizard had been sitting before the small fire pit for more than three days now in a state of meditation, focusing his will into what he called his Holocron. He did not eat, he did not sleep, he did not relieve himself, he did nothing but sit and meditate.

In the mornings Tull would run. He figured around the mountain was about 4 miles and usually did three revolutions before returning to the retreat. After, he would build his muscles, keep them strong, by pulling smaller trees from root and then replanting them elsewhere. He would hand stand and push his body up repeatedly with just his arms, focusing on remaining upright as he pushed his heavy form up and down in the air. Sometimes he would move the large boulders around the area, but often it would bring memories of his slavery in Dool Arena and he could not continue the exercise.

Tull would train with his lightsaber and saber claws as well, and always he would meditate throughout the day. Through it all – as the Barabel fortified his mind, body, and skills – Wizard sat and did not move. At night Tull would build a fire before the Jedi Master and make dinner enough for two, so that Wizard could eat if he were to awaken suddenly. More often than not Tull would eat both meals and still be hungry. That too was part of his training.

The night of the fifth day as Tull was just finishing the cooking Wizard opened his eyes, smiled, and said, “It is ready Tull, my Holocron can now be made.”

- – -

About two months after they had first come to the retreat a small speeder had arrived bearing four people, two men and two girls. Carson Man with Kelyn Captain and his daughters had come to train in the ways of the force, to find truth in questions only Wizard could answer.

Wizard would spend much time talking with them all over the next several weeks, teaching them to reach and touch the living force, to move small things at first and to feel the world around them. In this Tull was useless to help and in these moments of training Tull would often feel envy at his lack of force sensitivity. At these times Tull would meditate the hardest to push these thoughts away. Envy could lead to anger, which would lead to hate, which would take him into the arms of the Dark Side he had been trying to escape since meeting Wizard those many months ago. Tull would meditate and Wizard would teach.

The girls had been in the hands of Sith Inquisitors for a long time and their minds were a jumble of confusion and misbelief in the force. In this Tull could assist Wizard in leading the girls on the right path. The philosophy of the Jedi was something Tull knew and believed with all his heart, in this he could help the young humans just as well as Wizard.

However, Lightsaber training was where Tull really shown. Kelyn Captain was an adept blade already so he picked the lessons up quickly. Carson Man was a pacifist, so he learned only as much as he needed to not kill himself while using a lightsaber. The girls were a whole different animal. Willing to learn and already with a working knowledge of lightsaber forms. The girls fought with anger and passion, and Tull needed to teach them serenity in the middle of battle, no easy feat.

The girls would attack Tull with their training sabers, screaming passion, and as calm as anything Tull would sweep them off their feet or into one another. He didn’t need to use his size and strength, his speed and calm were enough to offset the redeemed girls trying at a higher calling. Over time they would calm themselves and fight with something close to peace.

As the group of force sensitives and Tull practiced dueling, patience, and the ways of the force Tull could see Wizard with an ever slight smile on his face, one Tull shared. This new Jedi Order would be nothing like the last, but they would be Jedi none the less.

This place gives me the creeps, and it doesn’t help that Khalik seems freaked out and Tor is alert about some Force stuff. I really, really, don’t need to be Force Choked again.

We continue down the dark cave into a clearing with a bridge and funky looking water…that probably isn’t water, and a bridge? Really? I heard all I needed to know about bridges in a Force Corrupted place from Tor and Tull when they were after Draco, fracking hell. We line up: Tull, Khalik, myself, Tor, etc. I have my new Commando Sniper Rifle at the ready, as if it’ll help against the Force, as we move onto the bridge. Literally from nowhere a heavy mist blankets the bridge as well as all of Tull and half of Khalik. No more than a second later I hear Tull roar followed by a splash in the water-ish liquid under us. Khalik dives in, which means that the splash was Tull and whatever took him out is now in front of me somewhere hidden in this fog. I turn facing Tor, “Did you see that?”.

Tor’s face remains alert, but he does not ready himself for battle, he just looks forward as if Tull was safe and no threat exists. Wary I step forward, forward, look back to see no one and turn forward to see a…door. A door at the end of a bridge, a door which I didn’t see before when there wasn’t a heavy mist around. Abyss.

I get to the door, it’s a normal sealed door for a freighter or any other transport ship for that matter. Definitively shouldn’t be here. I touch the keypad and the door opens to a cockpit, the visible stars aren’t familiar and that brings a feeling I haven’t felt in a while, a feeling of dread. I feel my death in this cockpit. I will not go quietly, I shoot a round into the main window to the galaxy and my shot is deflected by a small green line. Ah poodoo it’s a lightsaber.

“Do that you should not.”
“Fear death do you?”
“Can not avoid, death can you.”

I look down and see a small statured, green skinned, cane wielding, Jedi.

A small crack starts at the point in another duraplas window where the blaster bolt was redirected

“Think you better than others hmmm. Think you not die?”
“Into fight you fly, no fear.”

“I’m not better. … I was just having fun.”

Laughter from an unseen source

“You not better. You die. Die we all will.”

The small crack expands, the window begins to break

Waves of ice break against me as he coldness of space invades the cockpit, my arms and legs become numb and heavy. The darkness of space envelopes me, bone chilling cold, struggling in vain as I’m drowning in…water? I barely get to the surface and see the other side of the bridge in front of me. Once I beach myself on the ground I see Khalik over Tull, a massive hole in Tull’s chest. More of our party is fished out of the “water” and they explain their visions while crossing that karking bridge. All the while my conversation with Khalik echo’s in my mind.

I can’t always be a pilot, and while I don’t believe it, I can’t be the best and I can’t take that limitation.

I’m going to die, sooner rather than later if I keep charging in. I need to plan, but only one person had plans that survived contact with an enemy. Cad Bane.

Chuba doompa, dopa-maskey kung! I despise the man still…but he was effective.

Hmm.

…

Carson tentatively stepped out onto the bridge after watching his comrades charge forward into the mists. This didn’t feel right. Carson wasn’t sure how, or why. Come to think of it, ever since they began the descent it hadn’t felt right.
He stepped out onto the bridge and suddenly he was standing before a crowd of thousands. The doctor was speechless. The massive crowd cheered in honor of a nameless deed he couldn’t have fathomed.

He heard a thud and looked down at his feet.

“Identify…” A voice spoke.

He recognized that voice. A chill shot through him. Darkness followed it.

He turned to face the speaker.

Emperor Palpatines haggard face stared back at him.
“What?” Carson asked, unsure of what was even happening. This made no sense, and yet it was so very real.

He picked up what was at his feet… a severed head. Carson almost threw it off the balcony in horror when he realized both who it was and watched as the head spoke. “Please… kill me.” it pleaded.

It was Maya.

Carson stood, mouth agape.

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”
“IDENTIFY CAUSE OF DEATH.” the sith lord spoke.
“Decapitation?” Carson muttered.

The Sith Jedi cackled. “I choked her… with the force… FOR BEING A TRAITOR TO THE EMPIRE!” he boomed. The crowd ate it up, roaring in celebration. Celebration of the deaths of his friends. Celebration in his being exiled, hunted and facing certain death at every turn. Celebrating the slaughter of nameless aliens being put to death, or worse, for the Empire’s twisted needs.
Rage welled up within him, but he forced himself to keep a calm demeanor.
“A Jedi must control his emotions to feel the Force in all things.” he heard Tor say.
He looked down at the still quivering head with fear, as Rosie’s face now stared back at him, mouthing the same, pleading words. "Please…kill me. "

He pushed back tears. He wanted to vomit. Emotion had to wait. He pushed it all down, numbing himself. He turned back to the Emperor.
“The only traitor I see here….” he spoke with a newfound confidence “Is you.”

It seemed as if his entire life had led up until this moment.

“Lord Vader…” he commanded. “Deal with this traitorous pig.”
Suddenly, Vader slashed out at the head with his lightsaber, as it now resembled Padme.
The two Sith Lords shot massive waves of lightning at each other, the waves colliding in a cacaophonus blast of light and sound. So immense was the transfer of energy that the building began to collapse.

Carson felt the balcony giving way and quickly scanned for an exit. A roaming camera droid was his only option. He ran towards it and jumped, reaching out with everything he had.

Hands touched durasteel… then slipped. He was in freefall.

He watched the ground rushing up to break him.

He couldn’t help but smile, knowing he would leave the empire in ruins as he felt the iron fence spear through his chest.

Then it all went black.

(I wrote this one right after our last session and meant to rewrite it/ edit it. Never got around to it, so I figure I’ll post it here in it’s original form since I don’t know what else I want to do with it.)

Carson slipped into the well furnished room that Senator Organna had set him and his allies up in. His mind had been spinning lately, wondering whether any action he took was the correct one. He turned to Tor for solace. The young Camaasi’s comments were always insightful, and if the embattled doctor needed one thing, it was sanctuary from the emotions and feelings that swam through his head daily. He found Tor standing on the balcony, looking out into the skyline. A vibrant mix of blue and orange hues greeted the pair.
“Tor, I was wondering if you had a moment to talk.”
“For you, my friend, I always have time.” Tor responded pleasantly.
Carson breathed out a sigh as he leaned against the ancient stone railing.
“You recall Aurra Sing, the bounty hunter?”
“Yes, I believe I recall you saying that you encountered her again in your travels.” Tor added.
“Well, yes. Cad Baine, he had Barris’ family and we were trying to rescue them. Aurra had ambushed us from behind. I swore a path of non-violence, and yet, when she took aim at Barris’ and our allies, I let loose with the very same poison she had tried to kill us with.”
“As I’m sure you recall, it’s quite virile. Instantly begins to eat away the tissue, almost like an acid. Within a minute, any limb it is set into will be completely dead with no hope of repair. I watched her body instantly succumb to this poison. The look on her face…” Carson trailed off, overrun by memory. He composed himself again. “I swore an oath to not harm anyone again… and yet I had no problem pulling the trigger that day. We let her go because we felt there was a chance of redemption, and still she was there ready to destroy us in cold-blood.”
“You want to know if the decision you made was the correct one?” Tor interrupted, his eyes closed, hands folded in thought, his mind brought into a razor sharp focus on the moment.
Carson nodded. “Yeah…”
“We have to live with our actions regardless of whether they are right or wrong. You’ve seen me tread some dark paths, but those actions are a part of me, just as yours are part of you. They shape our character and, in the end,make us who we are.” Tor added, resting hand reassuringly on Carson’s shoulder.
“You are a good man, Carson. We’ve all come far since we began this journey together. Each of us is coming into our own. I think you’re finding who you are. The force guides all of us in anything we do. The light side and the dark side can both pull us in directions, sometimes directions we never anticipated going.”
“That’s the thing,” Carson added “I don’t know where the light side begins and where the dark side ends anymore. It’s clouded, shrouded and hazy, as if I’m stumbling through the dark and hoping to find the right path.”
“We must listen to our hearts, feel the force flowing through us. If we give ourselves to the flow of the force, the light side will guide us. It ebbs and flows through everyone. Even in Aurra Sing. There is good in all people, Carson. I know you see that. The force will guide you if you let it.”
Carson smiled, looking out over the skyline with the jedi.
“When we were on Coruscant, we were abducted by a detective by the name of “Holmes” I believe. Well, he and his men actually saved our lives, although they were more interested in the bounty on our heads than our well-being. We had to fight our way out…"
Carson paused, replaying the events. “We were able to capture him, eventually. And I overheard some of the others discussing torture, to try and glean some information from him.” Carson shook his head as he continued. “I- I couldn’t let that happen. Not anymore. So, when no one was around, I took off the binder cuffs and released him into the night. I fear my stance on the matter is ruining my relationship with our friends…”
Tor continued to stand, gazing into the distance. “Don’t worry, Carson. They are… good people. We’ve all suffered at the hands of the empire. We’re all concerned for our safety. Trust yourself to make good decisions and the others will follow. Have no fear and let the Force guide you. You are a man of principles, Carson. Have faith in yourself, and in the will of the Force.” Tor said, watching the sunset on yet another planet, the temparate wind not different from the last planet, or the planet before that.
“We are doing the right thing. Never lose sight of that and never lose sight of your values.”
Tor smiled. The Jedi was right. He needed to act, and not acting at all would cause more harm than good in many situations. If he didn’t act medically to help a patient, they would certainly die. To the best of his ability, he had to try.
“Thanks Tor. I truly appreciate your wise counsel.” Carson added as he turned to leave.
The sunset turned a deep purple, with a fiery orange cresting the horizon as it slowly sank.
Carson couldn’t help but see a parallel between the sunset and he and his allies. Sometimes they sank into dark places, but while drifting through shadows, they would still be a beacon in the darkness, and in the end, they would arise from it.
The dinner bell echoed throughout the palace as Senator Organna called the group down to share in their dinner.

Carson sat at the spacious workbench, finally getting the chance to run through the cybernetic surgery equipment he had found during their travels. It was nice to finally have some time to go through all of it, without the hustle and bustle of his comrades on board. Khalik was taking a similar respite across the retrofitted cargo bay, modifying some of his equipment for combat use. The young Jedi had come far in his training, and in general. Truly, they all had. Carson had simply been a physician trying to get home when this all started. Now, he toed the line between good and evil daily. Visions of Aurra Sing, her body almost instantly necrotizing came to mind.Those horrors were caused by his hand, after he’d sworn never to harm another being again. Was it justified? The party nearly unanimously agreed. He’d never have forgiven himself if he’d let her die. Even releasing the investigator they had captured on Coruscant had damaged his relations with his comrades. ‘Well, no one ever said the high road was easy.’ Carson thought as a cybernetic fist ran through a test cycle, checking its’ range of motion.
Carson was broken from his deep thought by his personal commlink. A hologram shot up out of his datapad, showing him Baldr and the others, apparently at one of the most prestigious clubs on the planet. The hologram was almost blinding with brightness.
“Doc, can these be taken out?” Baldr asked.
Carson paused before responding, not quite believing what he was hearing, seeing party guests sporting implanted sunglasses on their foreheads.
“Look, we need to get these goggles to make a good impression. Should we get them done here? Can you take them out?”
“From where? Why do you ‘need’ them?” Carson added.
Baldr got a bit frustrated. “Just answer the question, Doc…”
“You really should get those done someplace more thorough than a night club.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Baldr added. “Okay, we’ll see you later.”
“You aren’t actually getting this done…” Carson trailed off. Baldr had already ended the communication. Carson sighed, trying to turn back to his work. He couldn’t help but think of just how his friends were getting these goggles implanted. He kept envisioning a Toydarian black market dealer, in a dark alleyway. Somehow, he couldn’t stop seeing Baldr’s grinning face waiting for the knife.
Somehow, he wouldn’t have it any other way, he thought as his head lightly hit the desk in frustration.

The Zabrak female was quite a sight in her tight black clothing and red hair tied back in a sharp pony tail behind her frontal spikes. Her form was slim and attractive and even Tull’s reptilian blood couldn’t help but heat from the woman’s appearance. When she ignited her red saber and came at Tull he knew she was a blade master of no small note. Tull launched at her with his shorter but quicker saber claws. The woman kept swinging her blade in a wide arc keeping Tull at bay enough where he couldn’t get near her body. She was skilled indeed.

The woman pressed her attack constantly, but Tull was able to turn aside every blow that came at him, catching her red blade on his yellow claw blades. The woman was a better sword than Tull, more honed and trained, but the woman was small and Tull had nearly three hundred pounds on her tiny frame. Every attack from him pushed her further and further back. This would end with one of them making a mistake, and then one of them would die. This Zabrak was a Sith, filled with anger, rage, and the dark side, but Tull couldn’t help but admire her blade work. Few people in the galaxy could stand before Tull Raine and live, that this woman was giving him so much trouble filled Tull with a deep respect for the woman.

Over their comm beads Tull heard the call from one of their allies on the Resurgence, they were flying a star ship through the remaining interior of the Resurgence itself. Just as the comm went off Tull could hear metal tearing on metal and he knew the ship would be upon them soon. Tull took a quick look at the Sith and at Padawan Khalic, realizing a stray bit of shrapnel would tear them apart. Tull lunged in close and grabbed the woman’s sword arm as he deactivated his blades, causing her arm to twist and deactivate her own. Tull whipped her own arm around her and pulled her body close to his while simultaneously pulling Padawan Khalic near him and pushing both Zabraks down to the ground, shielding them with his own body.

As the ship came hurtling through the interior to end on their floor red hot metal sheared off through the hallways all around Tull and the two Zabraks. Tull could feel burning metal dig into his back and all up and down his legs. Tull’s armored skin was hard enough that the metal just lodged in his outer layer of skin. Painful, but not deadly. Had he not covered the two Zabraks the metal would have likely sheared them into pieces.

Standing up Tull left Padawan Khalic on the ground as he spun the red haired woman around in his huge hands. She gave him a look of utter confusion as she rested in his massive grip. He could have snapped her spine with a squeeze if he so chose. Instead, as Tull felt the Resurgence going into its death throws, Tull tossed the woman into the turbolift she had recently exited and slammed the express button to the nearest hanger bay. As the door slid closed the woman sat on the turbolift’s floor with her mouth agape.

Good luck Sith Beauty, Tull hopes to see you again and show you a better life like Tull has found.

Tull knew he had done what a Jedi should.

- – -

As Tull and Wizard finished their lightsaber training both of them were breathing heavily. Tull had managed to get many more hits on Wizard than Wizard had gotten on him and while in a true battle the Force would lead Wizard to a victory over Tull it was clear to both of them that Tull had surpassed Wizard as a duelist. This meant that Tull was quickly climbing the ranks as one of the more skilled lightsaber duelists left in the Galaxy. It was, after all, a dying art.

As Wizard called Tull over he sat down on the ground in a meditative pose. Tull sat next to him as his friend smiled. “Tull my friend, I know that while you are one of the truest Jedi I have ever met, you hold some resentment that you have no connection to the Force.”

Tull looked into his lap for a second before looking back at his friend’s fur lined eyes, “Tull wishes often he could do the things you, Padawan Khalic, and Knight Moppo can do, but Tull does not let these feelings go beyond day dreams. Wishing for things that can never be makes us angry when we don’t get them, and Tull knows the dark path we can fall down Wizard. Tull may not be a Wizard, but he is a Jedi none the less. Tull knows that in his heart, so that is all Tull needs.”

Wizard got the small smile on his face he so often got when they talked of the Jedi or the Galaxy or life. Tull had quickly learned it meant that Tull had said the right thing. Tull was glad to see his friend smile again. Their talk of the deaths on Bespin had been hard on them, especially Wizard who relived things by simply remembering them. Tull had wanted to be angry at Wizard all the time after discovering the truth, but in his friend’s presence the anger melted into compassion and understanding. Tull was not innocent of evil himself, yet he found redemption. So too had Wizard, and to Tull nothing was more powerful than redemption.

The Sith Beauty flashed through his mind before he pushed her deep back inside himself and started counting his training regimen. Tull had found that simply counting the regimen could keep simple mental probes out of a person’s mind. Even though Wizard had not tried such since his first weeks with Tull the Barabel still wished the Sith Beauty to remain secret. She was his duty as a Jedi to worry about, and Wizard did not need more stress on his mind.

“Well Tull, just the same, let me show you something. Meditate with me.” Tull closed his eyes and began the meditations he did in the morning when he awoke and at night before he slept. For a force user these meditations would calm the mind and prepare it for the trials of duty. They did the same for Tull, though in a more philosophical way than those who could manipulate the force. After a time Tull started to feel something touching at him, or perhaps him touching at something. Something new and different.

“Open your eyes Tull,” came Wizard’s voice from what seemed far away.

As Tull opened his eyes it was like seeing a whole new world, as if he had gone his whole life without seeing color and suddenly awoke to find he now knew the colors of the rainbow splintered into their million different shades. The world seemed both brighter and sharper, as if everything had been in a haze before and it had suddenly cleared. Tull could feel pulses around him, like a fan’s wind blowing on his face, but emanating from the people around him. It all felt like the time Wizard had guided his mind among the floating Taun Taun dolls, but multiplied by a thousand. Tull could feel the strength in Padawan Khalic through the ship, the sharp energy coming from Carson Mann, and Wizard himself was like the flaring of a sun.

Tull’s breath started to come more rapidly and he felt as if he was going to faint from the overload of it all. If Wizard lived every day like this Tull could not imagine the pain and chaos he must feel in combat.

Wizard reached his hands out and grasped Tull’s shoulders, “Easy my friend, I am here and you are safe. Let me show you the Force.”

Over the next several hours the two spent much time touching the force and changing it in small ways. Wizard explained that this awakening would be by no mean permanent, but that if anyone deserved the joys of touching the living force it was Tull. Near the end of the training Wizard helped Tull to direct his mind to lift a small wooden cube. Wizard helped greatly and before long Tull found himself actually moving the little cube with his mind. All of a sudden Wizard removed his help and Tull was lifting the small cube alone. Tull put every inch of his being into the small cube and found he could keep it afloat and even turn it slightly. Tull had often lifted a dead weight of near a thousand pounds in the Dool Arena training rings. This small wooden cube felt three times as heavy as anything he encountered in his training.

After a time the cube floated to the ground under Tull’s control and the Barabel let out a huge sigh of relief and exertion. “Wizard, does it. . .does it always hurt that bad?” Tull asked thinking of the times Tull had seen Wizard lift thousands of pounds with the force alone.

“Every time Tull. Every time,” Wizard said with a wistful look. “Now Tull, we focus our selves and end with meditation.” As the two focused their minds Tull found his slipping away from him and he was suddenly in a different time and place.

Tull saw his Egg Father Shell screaming on the floor of a prison cell, getting prodded by Daze as her cruel master laughed behind them. Tull felt as if he could reach out and touch them. He smelled the burning flesh.

Suddenly Tull was pulled away to a ring he knew well, Dool Arena. In it was Tull himself fighting for his life against a monster of a warrior. Khule Zin was a freak of nature by any standards standing at three meters tall and six hundred pounds, dwarfing even the huge Tull. Khule was a Cathar, but many believed he had mutated in the womb and ended up the freakish beast he was compared to his normally sleek and lithe species. Khule’s fur was a dark black and his claws near on six inches. As Tull slammed everything he had into the cat beast he was picked up by the mighty Khule and smashed into the ground. Tull remembered that hit shattering nearly ever bone in his legs. The great cat beast leered his searing gold eyes at Tull as he clamped down on the lizard’s shoulder with his massive jaws and flung him around like a play thing. Tull had nearly died in the fight and spent the best part of the next month being bathed in bacta when his owners could find it. It was the worst fight he had ever had, and the last one he ever lost. Tull had never again fought Khule Zin in the ring.

Again Tull was pulled away and found himself in a small alcove in what must have been a huge library. Around him people in Jedi robes walked here and there as a female Barabel Jedi was having a quiet but heated argument with a young human male, also in Jedi clothing. He wore a small braid on a close cut head of hair.

The female Barabel keeping telling the young man the same thing, “You aren’t ready. The Order is being too reckless with young Jedi, trying to make Knights out of children. They will get you killed if they send you to the front.”

The man scoffed at the Barabel, “You are a fool. All you do is walk around here with your visions. They’re the only reason any one bothered to train a primitive like you as a Jedi in the first place. I’m a better Knight now than you could ever hope to be.” The young man said as he stormed off.

The Barabel Jedi got a sad look on her face and whispered, “Good luck my Padawan. This One had to leave another so he can someday find his place in the galaxy, so perhaps now This One must do the same for you. Trust in the friends you’ll make, and maybe you can start the path he will someday help finish.”

Just as Tull reached out to touch the woman he was whisked away to see Kelyn Captain pull a young girl out of a trough of water. She was dead.

Finally Tull returned to the here and now and found himself once again out of breath. “Tull had a vision Wizard! Many!”

Wizard nodded and said, “That is good Tull. The force moves on its own, it wished to show you something today. Keep what you wish to yourself if you so choose. They were meant for you.”

Tull nodded back and got a large toothy smile on his face, “Thank you Wizard. Tull is truly a Jedi Wizard now, no one can deny that. Thank you, this is the greatest day of Tull’s life.”

And so it was, for a time.

My Cruel Fate

As we finally finished the first fight, I heard men yelling, but I did not know from were. I hacked into the computer’s system and finally seen it, the Rebels were getting ready to fight. It was bad enough that we just got out of one fight… now another? This is too much for one little droid to handle, but I must keep fighting!

So, doing what I do best, I started typing away. I could feel Darth Rosie shuffling around inside me. She has been a good comrade. Anyways, I locked all the doors that I possibly could to keep out the stormtroopers. Then I got over the intercom and told the men to do as I say, or they will die. And of course, being the wimps they are, they all peed their pants and cried to their mommies.

“Do I have to do EVERYTHING for the Rebels?” I yell over the intercom. I just was tired of fighting. Almost immediately, men started dying, and they failed to listen. I decided that I needed to get to a better computer to access more controls. I was able to separate troopers though, which was the only good thing about it. After that, I had to get down and dirty. As Khalik and Charley, the only rebel who’s name I knew, fought off about 20 troopers by themselves, Tull and all the other rebels were taking on the rest. I was giving orders, but the men were too stupid to move to where they needed to. PLUS, they were dying very fast. Khalik launched a grenade and so did I. We were able to kill all the troopers but one, and that’s were Darth Rosie became helpful, I was able to use her as a distraction so that I could shoot the Trooper. It was successful. And later on, we finished him off.

When we were down to troopers being spread out, I was finally able to lock all the troopers in with us. I knew they were going to die quickly. Poor Khalik though, he couldn’t hear anything because of something he did. So I came to the rescue. I pretended I was a cleaning droid and got Darth Rosie back inside me. I casually stroll into the room, almost right next to Khalik, and armed my catapult. The troopers seemed shocked by this. It was a frag grenade, attached to a knife. Finally, I launched it. Into the air the knife went flying, with almost cutting precision. Luckily, the knife impaled one of the troopers right in the heart. Killing them instantly. The grenade finished off the rest of them with ease. In the next room, the was a lone trooper trying to escape, Khalik shot him, which did not kill him, so I went up to him and hit him right where it hurt using my Power Prybar. And well, somehow… that killed him!

I disguised myself again, but this time as Darth Rosie’s personal petbot. Khalik opened the door and threw in a grenade, causing two of the Storm Troopers to take critical hits. The third one did not get hit by any of the shrapnel. I walked up to one of the troopers, and then suddenly, Darth Rosie was clawing at his face and even got through his armor! It was a very strange sight, and I was concerned for my cat’s safety. Suddenly, the trooper threw himself forward, right onto Darth Rosie… killing her.

People bot was not happy with his decision. “Leave him to me!” I yell to Tull and Khalik, “I will take revenge for Darth Rosie’s death!” And I felt something. Something telling me that to take pure revenge, I must kill the Emperor. Finally the two storm troopers are killed. And I stare at the only one that is still alive. I use my little hand to take out my knife, and I slowly move to the bleeding man on floor, and I almost tell myself not to, but I did it anyways. In one swift movement, I take my knife and plunged it into his heart, then pulling the knife towards his stomach.

Then I weeped.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion… and a bunch of astrodroids appear, but we swiftly realized that they are the one’s who cause the explosion and that they must be stopped before they destroy the whole ship, because I was the only one small enough, I took to the air vent. I followed them until I suddenly overheated…

I thought I still knew where they were going, and I suddenly found myself falling…

BAM!

Recording in real time

I’m in a garbage compactor… Wait?! Why am I in a garbage compactor?! I look up just in time to see red lasers bar off what seem to be my only escape. Now I am scared. I start hearing the sounds of crunching metal and swiftly I realized that if I didn’t devise a plan soon, I am going to be crushed… I am not ready to because someone’s new microwave! I am already a toaster!! So I did the first thing that came to mind, SCREAM!!

I yell over the means of communication, but I felt like Tull was not listening, but I knew Khalik heard me. So I overrided Tull’s attempts and yell, “SAVE ME!!! PLEASE!! I AM ABOUT TO BE CRUSHED AND I HAVE NO WAY OF GETTING OUT.” And I panicked. I could not turn it off via computer because of the LACK OF ONE. I would not be able to do it manually either.

As the machine was only inches away from crushing me, I came up with one more idea. I manage to find the frequency that cleaning droids were using and sent out a frantic S.O.S.

Khalik was trying to save me.. but all he was hearing was my increasing screams and crushing metal… That is all that anyone could hear, and as I felt my metal being crushed, all I could do was panic and hope that someone heard me. As I look at the caving in walls and lasers about to cut into me, I just thought about everything wrong that I ever ever done, and I realized something. I deserved this kind of death, the slow and painful, dreading death. Where you know that no matter what you think to do will help, will only kill you. I was accepting of this, and if I surv-

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The Stormtroopers were everywhere. Dozens of them were pouring into the room and raining blaster fire upon the rebel forces. Men died left and right and Tull did all he could to stay alive. Dodging in and out of cover, swinging his huge brown robe into the air to conceal himself from the soldier’s firing lines, killing enemies left and right.

Before long Tull was surrounded and nursing more than a few blaster wounds. Tull felt like a trapped animal. He was scared of being put in a box again. As the troopers moved in to finish Tull off he caught sight a console with two large power cables attached to it. Tull turned to the only thing that could save him, anger. Tull pulled the power cables out of the counsel with a great roar. Electricity bathed over Tull and shot outwards from the severed cables. Tull focused the full blast of electricity at the troopers surrounding him, covering dozens of them in the searing energy. Flesh and armor melted into one and death spread in an arc around Tull.

As the Barabel dropped the spent cables to the floor he noticed that most of his brown robe had been burnt to ash. As he dropped the remnants off of himself, leaving him in his tan under robes, Tull looked at the carnage around him and felt shame.

Padawan Khalic and People Bot were on a chase around the ship after some Empire astromechs, but Tull had bigger concerns: the missing Jedi. Tull stood over the unconscious body of the Inquisitor he had held hostage not fifteen minutes ago. A large slap to the face brought the Sith back to consciousness.

“Tull needs to know where the two Jedi you were hunting went, and Tull is in no mood for games Sith Wizard,” The large Barabel growled.

“Why should I tell you anything fool? Why don’t you make me talk?” said the man with a devil’s grin.

Tull picked the Sith up by his collar and slammed him against the corridor wall. “WHERE ARE THEY!?” Roared Tull as he extended his light claws inches from the man’s face.

“Ha ha ha! You are a feisty one. I’ll give you that one for free. Denia and the Gungan creature have been captured and are on their way to a ship heading for the Emperor as we speak.”

“Where is the ship!? WHERE!?”

“Heh he he. That one is going to cost you. Show me your anger freak. Show me your rage. Bath yourself in fury,” the Sith purred.

Tull slammed the Sith to the ground and punched his fists deep into the wall near his head, “TELL TULL!”

“Good! GOOD! Give in to your anger. Give in to your hate! Just like that Caamasi friend of yours. Kill with rage in your soul, just like him.”

Tull’s heart fell into his stomach. “You lie. This is some Sith trick!” the Barabel said pulling back from the Sith.

“Oh no, it isn’t. Check my pocket, I have a holovid of his work on Bespin. I was so impressed with his work I just had to keep a personal copy for myself,” the Sith smirked.

Reaching into the Sith’s robes Tull pulled a black holodisc out. Tull pushed the small activation switch and tiny holographic people came to life in red light. Wizard walked out of a small building on a strange planet as people closed in on him. All around him the people caught flame and released screams into the air. He picked men up with the force and flung them thousands of feet to their deaths. Wizard was walking death and the visage on his face was anger and hate.

“That’s small time too,” the Sith said with a smile, “I heard about what he did to this Hutt gangster working with the Empire. I guess the body was so badly burnt you could barely tell he was a Hutt. Only Force Lightning can tear a body apart like that.” Tull’s mind flashed to himself bathing the storm troopers in electrical death powered by the ship’s core. “There was still a bit left of the Hutt when they found him in the wreckage of his yacht you know. He was insane, blathering gibberish. His mind was shattered, lost for eternity in a never ending nightmare of death and fear. Only the Emperor himself could match your friend’s cruelty.”

Memories of Wizard flashed through Tull’s mind, the kind patient man Tull called his brother. The holovid of Wizard slaughtering men still played in his hand. With the slight pressure of Tull’s hand the holo was gone.

“Come animal. Kill me like your master would. Give into the dark side like him, and let the transformation be complete!” the Sith cackled.

Tull wanted nothing more than to crush the man’s body into a thousand pieces. Tull only needed to move a few muscles to snap the man’s neck, but he had never felt more powerless in his life. He was a slave once more, being beaten and whipped for not moving quickly enough. He was a weakling getting beaten by egg fathers who despised him. He was a little boy who’s mother didn’t even love him enough to hold him in her arms before she deserted him. Tull felt rage flow through him. He wanted to tear this man’s heart out and feed it to him. Tull wanted to unleash the rage of a lifetime on this monster.

As Tull raised his hand he caught sight of the insignia he had had Exovar’s men sew onto his robes. It was a circle with a vertical line through it. It was the Barabel symbol for loyalty. Tull looked down at his robes. The robes of a Jedi. Guardians of peace, and truth, and justice. Masters of patience and mercy who above all else valued life, and instead of turning away from pain, met it full force so that no other need know fear. Tull lowered his hand.

Tull would have Wizard’s explanation for his crimes, but Tull would not fall as his master had. Tull was a true Jedi.

Tull grabbed the Sith by the leg and drug him over to a nearby escape pod. Tull threw the man into the pod’s seat and stood in the small hatchway. “Tull will not fall for your tricks Sith Wizard. This is your last chance, tell Tull where he can find the Jedi or he will launch you into space. You may get saved by your friends, or you may float til you die, but either way your life will lay with luck, not with Tull.”

“I do not need luck, all I need is the Dark Side! I will show you it’s true power, and then you will revel in it as I do!” The Sith stretched out his hand and unleashed every bit of his power to close Tull’s throat off from life giving breath.

Tull felt nothing more than a tickle on his throat. “The light side protects Tull. Tull is not interested in your tricks and the weakness that is the Dark Side. Tell me where the Jedi are, or this is goodbye Sith Wizard.”

The man looked deeply into the Barabel’s eyes and in that moment he saw something that truly terrified him, faith. He had failed, and both of them knew it. “Your destiny lies two levels below. . .Jedi.” With a flick of his hand the Sith closed the hatch and jettisoned it out of the hanger into the fury of the space battle. Tull turned toward the turbo lift.

As Tull thought of his brother his heart broke.

Doing Something Right

Internal Log: Entry 3?

I stopped caring about keeping my files up to date. I have been able to think a lot more, and saving every thought would make me require external memory or something.

A lot has happened since I last decided to make an entry. There was a war, Tommy Tommy pushed Darth Vader off of our ship. I mean, there is a lot going on. I really have not felt an interest in logging any of that though.

There was a moment though, where I was almost crushed by a ship. I lost a little bit of oil there, and I think from now on, I’m going to count how many times I’ve oiled myself.

Selfoiled: |||

I also learned that there is a droid body that looks exactly like a humans, and I want that so much. I would love to have hair to brush, and eyes, and a face. I admire the look of humans so much, and I aspire to be one. I know I could never truly become one, but that would be good enough for me. I would not be able to hide as a lamp anymore though.

I learned that there once was a droid, that was a crime lord. I was given his head, and I am still debating on downloading his memory so that I can use the data for future use.

I was granted permission to keep his cat, Darth Rosie, and I am so fond of it, that I keep it in my stomach. She is very cool, but I am scared of her being harmed in combat. I wonder what her fur feels like.

Well then. I am going to carry on now.

We were at a location that, at the moment, I am forgetting. I will probably remember it later on. But there were many storm troopers. There were holding friendlies hostage, and I was not okay with that. Tull and Tommy Tommy had come up with an awesome, idea, but I felt like something else should be added to it. So what do I do? I got straight to the computer! I turned out the light, which was phase one. That allowed Tommy Tommy and Tull the distraction that they needed. Next, I locked all the doors, making it so that no one would be able to leave that little hallway unless they ran to us, or to the rather unpleasant drop of doom.

Suddenly I hear Tommy Tommy yell, and the roar of Tull as the cuffs dropped to the ground. That was my chance! With all the commotion, I opened the door nearest to the captives, and hacked into the mainframe, which allowed me to yell at the to go! The second everyone was in, I closed the doors and relocked them, and luckily, only one of them died.

Next, an idea came to mind, and Khalik added in another suggest, which made the idea almost perfect. As I decode and program, I notice on the cameras that Tull has taken someone hostage. I find that very odd for a light user to do something like that, but I am assuming that the move is okay since it is a darkside user… right?

As I look at the map, I realize that there are ships that the freed rebels can escape on, and I tell them to get to those and escape. I am shocked that the people were so willing to listen to mem especially since I am a droid.

Finally, I am able to cause a magnetic pull from the drop of doom, everyone in the hallway slowly moves towards the planned area, but try to move away, and some succeed. Using my magnetic feet, I stand on the bridge that is above the pit of doom. All that is heard is my cat, purring in my stomach, and the activation of the thermal detonator that is in my catapult. I aim cautiously, I do not have any desire to harm Tull or Tommy, and then I FIRE! The sound of the beeping speeds up and then BANG! Everyone except for… three people I believe, are killed. It was a very victorious moment. Well, now I must continue fighting.

Grekorenthdora Beshyirtesk!

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