((Authors note- this story takes place between Star Wars: A New Hope and The
Empire Strikes Back))((DISCLAIMER - All Star Wars characters, references, ideas, and settings
are property of Lucasfilms, Inc.))
Chapter XVI
Jon steps out from the portal onto the desert world. The portal closes behind him, and he
covers his face with a transparent psionic barrier to keep the sand from his eyes, nose, etc. He
walks toward what seems to be the remains of a dome or maybe a building. As he walks closer he
can see two misshapen crosses sticking from the sands. Jon walks towards the building, and as he
steps down onto another part of the sand, his foot slides into the sands, and he sinks in to his hip.
He yells out mentally in surprise, and projects that thought of surprise. He calms, and lifts himself
up out of the sand with a psionic cocoon. He floats above the sands towards the building,
watching the sand blow around his protective cocoon. He comes to the decrepit building, and sets
himself down, still within the cocoon of psionic energy. He can't see any entrances, so he reaches
out with his aura, searching for an entrance. He finds one on the opposite side of the building, and
floats over to that spot. He pushes the sands from the doorway, enough for him to slide in.
Inside, Jon sees the remains of a living area, perhaps a kitchen. The sands of the desert,
and also those of time have taken their toll on the rooms. The floor are buried in perhaps several
inches of sand, and the furniture is faded and ragged. He explores the house, finding the remains
of many a electronic device, but nothing usable to him. He comes across the remains of a bed, the
legs broken and the mattress propped against the frame. Jon psionically sets the mattress back up,
and sits down on it, the mattress separated from Jon by the psionic cocoon. Jon unstraps the
broadsword and pack from their places and sets them at the end of the mattress, within the
confines of the psionic barrier.
Across the realm, an old man 'hears' Jon's call of surprise, and looks up from his work.
"Another Jedi? Here on Tatooine?! It can't be! I must find him or her, whoever it may
be!"
The old man sets his work down on the worktable, and rushes to the door of his building,
grabbing an old robe. He rushes out into the fierce winds, and disappears into the furry of the
sands.
Jon awakes, several hours later, to the sight of little robed men grabbing for his sword and
pack of armor. Jon pulls his legs up from the end of the mattress, drawing his berettas. He holds
the guns leveled at the little men, watching them. They grab for the sword, chittering. But
everytime they grab for it, Jon's psionic cocoon gives them a shock. Their chittering is becoming
agitated, and they are milling about, looking for a way to get to the sword and pack.
~~Git away from there, ya little thieves.~~ Jon says, warning them.
The little men glance at Jon, and beneath the hoods of the robes, two glowing, beady little
eyes peer at him, two for each little man, about a half dozen of them. They chitter at him,
somewhat annoyed, and return to trying to steal Jon's stuff. Jon sighs, almost resentfully, and
closes the cocoon around the gear. His points his guns up, and fires a shot.
~~Please refrain from touching my gear.~~
With the cocoon gone, Jon now smell the little creatures horrible stench. He wrinkles his
nose in disgust, and aims his guns at the little creatures, who keep grabbing for the gear.
~~I _said_, please refrain from grabbing at my gear.~~
The little things keep at it. Jon fires a shot at the nearest critter, and, on impact from the
bullet, the creatures chest explodes and it flies across the room, hitting the opposite wall with a
sickening thud. Jon smiles inwardly as the rest of the critters back away from Jon's gear. He
motions upward with one of his guns, and the cocoon containing his gear floats up, towards Jon.
One of the critters leaps up to grab the pack and Jon proceeds to fire several rounds into its small
body. Exploding into a torrent of blood, it drops to the floor with a thud. The rest of the critters
scurry from the building.
~~That's wot I thought.~~ Jon says as the creatures scurry out into the desert.
He opens up the pack, grabbing the chest plate. He straps on the plate, then puts his
leather jacket on over it. He straps the broadsword to his back, then the backpack on over it.
Holstering his berettas and enveloping himself in another cocoon, he steps out onto the desert
plane.
He expands the cocoon to cover his arm as he holds it in front of him. Activating the GPS,
Jon holds his arm up, to allow the satellite dish to connect with the GPS tracking system. After
several minutes, Jon checks the LCD screen.
'GPS tracking system not detected. Please check uplink status.'
~~Wot. No, wait. I'm not on Earth. No satellites. Damn.~~ Jon says aloud.
Jon sighs inwardly and trudges toward what seems to be a city. He travels for several
hours, walking, floating, and flying towards it. As he flies over a sand dune, a strange vehicle flies
over it. The vehicle resembles a car, but it has two stubbed wings extending from the rear, and no
wheels, axles, or driveshaft. Jon sets himself on the ground as the vehicle approaches. He waits
until the driver exits the car to move. He jerks slightly as he sees a robe, but settles as he sees the
driver of the vehicle is too tall to be one of the creatures from the building.
"Greetings, stranger." The driver says, flipping the hood back.
Jon studies the man's face. He is an old man, perhaps 60. He's face is weatherbeaten,
lined by age and tanned from the desert sun.
~~Greetings.~~ Jon replies.
"Please, sir. Do not use telepathy with myself. I much rather speak vocally."
~~Sorry, but I can only speak in telepathy. I was injured, and lost the use of my vocal
cords.~~
"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. But you must come with me. If I heard your call, surely
Vader or the Emperor did. We must get you back to my home. Have you had any training?"
~~Training? In what field?~~
"Jedi training. You obviously are skilled in the use of the Force."
~~The Force? What is that?~~ Jon asks.
"Have you not heard of the Force? We must hurry then. Quick, get into my Landspeeder.
I will train you myself."
~~Yes. Train me in this Force.~~ Jon says as he climbs into the landspeeder.
"You must be a powerful one if I could heard your call." The man says.
~~Sir, you have yet to tell me your name. What is it?~~
"You may call me Owen."
~~Okay, Owen. What is this Force?~~
"The Force, well, it can't really be described. It is a part of all things, it flows through us,
around us. Jedi draw their abilities from the Force."
~~Okay. Sounds like my abilities.~~
As Jon and Owen speed over the dunes, a sinister meeting takes place across the universe.
A man clad in black armor stands before a circular pad. The pad glows to life, and the man
kneels. His breathing is a rasping noise, and his face is covered by some sort of mask. The pad
projects an image of a wither old man. He speaks with an evil tone.
"There is a great disturbance is the Force." The evil one says.
"Yes, my lord. I felt it as well. It must be a new Jedi." The armored man says as he rises.
"You must find this new Jedi, Lord Vader. We must recruit him in our quest to destroy
the Rebellion." He says.
"Yes, Emperor Palpatine. I shall strive to find this Jedi and turn him down the path of the
Dark." Vader replies.
"Do not fail me, Vader." The emperor replies.
"Yes, my lord." Vader says and kneels.
The pad's glow vanishes, along with the image of the Emperor. An uniformed officer
enters and kneels before Vader.
"Lord Vader. This section of the Fleet is at your command. The Executor will be
your flagship." The officer says.
"Good. Send out probes to all the known planets with reports of Jedi. We must find this
new Jedi." Vader replies.
"Yes, Lord Vader." The officer says as he rises and leaves.
"Where are you, Jedi?" Vader says as he turns to the view port behind him. He looks out
towards the planet they are in orbit around. He presses a pad next to the viewport.
"Yes, m'lord?" A voice says on the speaker.
"Send a team down to Tatooine. Scour the planet. If that Jedi is there, or even anything
new, I want to know."
"Yes, Lord Vader." The voice says before the intercom shuts off.
Several minutes later a shuttle and its Tie escorts appear from underneath the ship, flying
towards Tatooine. Vader leaves the room, his rasping breathing quieting as he leaves the chamber.
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