The Way of a Jedi - Part 1 of the Mercenary series by Mike! ***The Way of a Jedi -Part 1*** A reluctant Jedi, working as a mercenary and independent smuggler. He has rejected his Jedi side, and the duties he should fulfill as a wielder of the Force, but he can't seem to completely distance himself from what he should be, and what he is, instead... *** Timeline stuff: Err... I don't like writing about all the normal SW characters. It's been done to death, so I like creating my own people to use. I didn't put this down at a specific point in time, but let's just say that it's after the Battle of Endor, and the New Republic has firmly established itself as the ruling power. *** Note from the author: All Star Wars references in this story are property of Lucasfilm Ltd. I'm not getting any money for this, nor do I want money (for this fanfic). This is for personal purposes only, just a fan fiction story. The characters in the story, however, are mine, my creation. Do not use them without my permission, if you want to for some unknown reason. Do not sue me. I am not a criminal, nor do I intend to be. Thank you. Feel free to distribute this story, as long as the heading from me stays intact, and the story itself isn't modified. Mike Choi jediwannabe@hotmail.com www.globalserve.net/~cooljedi/stuff/ *** Prologue: The Imperial Star Destroyer glided slowly across the vast emptiness of space, weapons bristling at every contour of its arrowhead shape. It came to a halt, and waited. A small freighter class ship exited hyperspace, several parsecs from the Star Destroyer. It turned to meet the mighty ship, as the vessel veered to meet the newcomer. "I assume you have the documents?" a brisk voice asked over the comm. "Yes, yes, of course I do," a rather agitated man spoke in response. "Approach on vector three-" "No, you don't understand! We have to get out of here! I think I was followed here by the New-" The man was cut off as a large group of New Republic ships exited hyperspace, hot on the heels of the smaller freighter. "See?!" the man shouted, hysterically. "Acknowledged. Proceed to out hangar, we'll try to cover you," the Imperial captain spoke. Even as he finished speaking, the New Republic carriers began to deploy fighters, and proceed to attack. Onboard the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer Vengeance, the captain sat down in the command chair, and pulled up a battle report. "Deploy our fighters, have them engage at will." "Yes sir." "How long 'til the freighter is in our hangar?" "Approximately five minutes," the young officer said. "Damn. Move us in. we have to have those plans," the captain swore. "Understood, sir." The officer relayed the order, and returned to his post. The captain sat up, watching the small freighter speed towards the tip of the Star Destroyer. He was about to order them to prepare for engagement, when a frantic officer shouted from the port side bridge pit. "Sir! We have incoming New Republic ships!" he hollered. "Vector?" he snapped in response, but knowing it was futile. "Sir, just over three kilometers from us!" the man shouted. The captain didn't reply. Three kilometers. Just above firing range. And that would soon change. Three Mon Calamari cruiser broke out of hyperspace, their weapons charging and shields going up. "Move us in, engage at will," the Mon Calamari captain spoke. He had been ordered to intercept the freighter, and destroy any Imperial presence in the area. With the other group heading for the freighter, it was up to him to destroy the Imperials: the sole Star Destroyer that stood in front of him. It was now turning towards him, and moving to engage. He sighed in relief: one Star Destroyer shouldn't pose too much of a problem to his task force of two Mon Calamari 80-Bs, and a MC90. The freighter sped through the distance between it and the safety of the Star Destroyer, dodging laser blasts coming from the pursuing fighters. Two A-Wings broke to either side of him, making a pass with laser fire. The hits connected, raking his shields. As he was forced to slow by the fighters, the slower B-Wings were catching up, opening fire with their disabling ion cannons. He looked over to his scope, and hit it with his fist. It wasn't working. Damage from enemy fire, probably. He looked back out the viewport, wiping sweat from his forehead and running his hand over his face. He groaned, and checked his position. Suddenly, he saw several white specks approaching him head-on. "God..." he muttered, as an escort of five a TIE interceptors moved in to protect him. A TIE avenger sped by him, engaging one of the B-Wings. One by one, the Republic ships were forced to back off, thanks to the Imperial fighters. He sighed in relief, wondering if he'd make it. He leaned back, and looked out towards the Star Destroyer, now locked in combat with one of the three cruisers attacking it. He watched in horror as one of the bridge shield generators exploded, sending the entire bridge tower into flames. Its shields died, and a few seconds later, the whole mass exploded. The whole deal then went straight to hell. Enemy X-Wings and E-Wings caught up, and one of the TIE interceptors hovering above him exploded. The explosion threw him into a wild spin, and he swore as his escorts broke off to engage the enemies. He was on his own again. He turned sharply, breaking away from the massive engagement. Checking his position again, he turned for the nearby planet. It had a name, but he didn't bother to check it. All he knew was that it was suitable to hold life. An E-Wing broke out of the group to attack him, but it was blown up from behind by a TIE avenger. Now unmolested, he sped with all available power for the planet. The majority of the Imperial fighters now gone, three A-Wings now concentrated for the escaping freighter. The trio sped for it, lasers blazing. He took three blasts to the rear, and he slowed considerably. But by now, he was in the planet's atmosphere, a think haze of clouds. His sensors picked up massive electrical storms, and he couldn't see what was past the haze of cloud. Having no better choice, he dived into the dense atmosphere. The A-Wings, unwilling to follow him into the haze, broke off their pursuit. He was instantly blinded by the electrical storms, and he flew blind for several, fearful seconds before his scanners broke through the interference. With a surge of strength, the ship broke through the last of the atmosphere, and he pulled up just in time to avoid running into some of the taller trees that stood out of the taller forest. He picked up speed, and flew parallel to the surface. A lightning bolt struck the tree which was under him, and his ship bounced upwards as the patch of forest caught fire. Shaking his ship left and right, he pitched in time to avoid a burning tree, falling over. He raised his altitude slightly- And crashed into the forest beneath him as a turbolaser blast struck his ship. The whole top section exploded, and the freighter careened wildly into the dense trees. He screamed and jumped back as the cockpit viewscreen was smashed in by a tree branch, and the front section was torn off. He fell onto his back as the ship spun, and slammed his head into the wall. He tried to get up as the ship came to a slow halt, but he just collapsed, and then... darkness. CHAPTER 1: Contact "All right, stay here. You know what to do if I call for help," Ryler said, undoing his straps and getting up. "As always, fearless leader," Sarah Hunter grinned, sitting back into her seat. "See ya later, Sarah," Ryler smiled, giving her a quick kiss before heading for the hatch. He opened it, and it descended with a faint hissing noise. Walking down, he looked around the docking bay. Dirty, grimy, shabby. Typical space port. He kicked the sand as he walked for the exit, making sure his blaster was still fully charged and slung across his right thigh. "Why do all the contacts have to meet in some godforsaken place..." he wondered to himself, scratching his chin, and walked towards the rendezvous area. He was tall, standing at a good six feet. Well built, he had a thin stubble of a beard and a long set of three scars down one eye. Long black hair fell over his scarred eye, effectively hiding the mark. He wore a thin flak jacket, and a blaster strung across his thigh. Walking quickly across the open area, he looked around at the large group of people, checking for tails. None that he could see. Reluctantly, he reached out with his limited Force-powers, sensing for shadows. No one. He didn't like using his powers, but with the recent incidents, and the one the pair had run into last week on the Dantooine space station in specific, he couldn't afford to be sloppy. Sarah leaned back into the plush chair, whistling softly to herself. She looked around the all too familiar cockpit, running her hand over the console lightly. She sighed, and wished she had gone with Ryler. Watchdog duty was pretty boring. Pulling an old message up from the computer's databanks, she looked their contact's holo-mail over. "Meet on Tatooine, Mos Eisley cantina. Order a Corellian Brandy and wait for me," she read from the short, cryptic message. She shrugged, and wondered if Ryler had found the place all right. She got up, and walked over to the rear of the ship, and popped a hatch open. "Might as well get started on fixing that accelerator," she thought, picking up a welder and a wrench, and sliding into the small entrance. She was a well built woman in her late-twenties, with long brown hair falling down her back. She had met Ryler a few years ago, teaming up with him to complete a smuggling run that they both needed money from. At first, she had thought him crazy and strange, with his cold personality and gloomy mood. Now, here she was, with this "crazy" man, working as a team, running around the galaxy, getting money from mercenary and smuggler work. Ryler walked into the bar, and sat down at the bar. He looked back at a pair of Twi'leks, drinking quietly in the corner seat. He stared at them through his one good eye, trying to get the sense of them. The last Twi'leks he had run into had tried to shoot him, and had been rewarded with a new nostril each. He hoped his luck had changed some. "Whaddya want, buddy?" the bartender said, and Ryler turned around. He thought back to the message he had received, telling him where to meet and what to do... "Corellian brandy. Some old stuff, oldest you have." "All right, coming up in a sec." Ryler looked up from the bar, looking for his contact. No one had moved, not that he could see of, at least. Maybe he had been stood up again. Maybe. He sighed, and looked back at the bartender as he gave him his drink. He thanked the man, and dropped a few credit chips down onto the table. They clattered against the plastic, and he lifted his mug to take a drink. Taking a sip, he looked around again. He got up, and walked over to an empty booth in the corner. No sign of his contact. A thought ran through his brain. A rather disturbing thought. He put his mug down onto the table slowly, casually dropping his hand to his thigh. He undid the holster strap, and clicked the safety off. "Can I buy you another drink?" a cloaked voice said quietly through a voice scrambler, standing beside him. Ryler spun around, surprised at the newcomer. "Uh, no thanks, I'm waiting for someone," he said, wondering this stranger was his contact. "Can I sit?" Yes, it was the contact. "Sure, have a seat over there," Ryler said, gesturing with his hand. "All right, thanks." The stranger sat, pulling the cloak's hood off. To Ryler's surprise, it was a woman, a human one at that. She looked around, and moved closer to Ryler. She called for a waiter, and ordered some exotic fruit drink. She was fairly tall, long red hair hidden pulledout from beneath her cloak, slightly ruffled by the hood. Her bright green eyes looked around the room, them looked at him. "So what's this job ya got for me? What can I do for you?" Ryler said, business instincts kicking in. "Hmm.... Oh, that. I need parts, hyperspace motivators, to be exact." "So why come to me? You'd probably get them cheaper legally." "Hmph, you're a fast one. All right, the point is-" She was cut off as a drunken alien fell upon their table. Ryler backed up on instinct, and grimaced at the scene. The alien wasn't drunk, actually. But Ryler caught on. He looked over to his companion, and she nodded. The alien was holding a small blaster, pointed at Ryler's chest. "Get up, and help me out of here, as if I'm drunk. Nice and easy, don't try anything funny," the alien rasped. "Mind telling me what this is all about?" Ryler asked. "You are the one name Ryler... The smuggler. You are worth a lot to me, dead or alive." "I'm worth a lot to many people, just not in cash." "Shut up and help me out of here. And remember, I can kill you with a pull of the trigger." "Fine. Let's go," he said, throwing a glance over to his silent friend. She nodded, and they stood up, helping the supposedly drunk alien out. "Nice and easy," he reminded them. "Nice and easy," Ryler complied. The three walked out of the bar, and into a small back alley. As soon as they were out of earshot of the general crowd, the alien spun around, tracking both of them with his blaster and taking Ryler's blaster. He threw the power pack from Ryler's blaster away. "Nothing funny. Ryler, hands above yer head, the other one, against the wall." "Yer making a big mistake," Ryler sighed, putting his hands above his head. "I'm the one who can kill you quite easily, remember?" the alien snorted, hefting the blaster in his hand for emphasis. "Yeah, I remember. But I can kill you easily, too." "Really, and how would you do that?" the other taunted. "Like... this..." Ryler said, furrowing his brow in concentration. "What are you doing?" the alien said uneasily, moving closer. "This." The blaster flew out of the alien's hand, and across the alley. It hit the far wall, and clattered to the floor. Taking the chance, Ryler pulled a small dagger out of a small slip on his vest, and threw it viciously at the alien. With a spurt of green blood, the alien fell over, blood trickling out of the hole in his forehead, made by the knife now embedded in the brow. Ryler sighed, and walked over to the alien. "They didn't say... you... were... Jedi..." the dying alien said, as Ryler pulled the knife out and polished it on the alien's vest. "I'm no Jedi," Ryler growled quietly. He walked over to his blaster, and found the power pack. Plugging it back in, he turned back to the silent observer. "Pretty good," she said, looking at the dead body. "Whatever," Ryler said quietly, walking towards her. "Shall we go back to the bar?" she asked. "No, let's end this here. What do you want?" "I want those hyperdrive parts, and I need you in specific to deliver them because of your... talents." "What talents?" "The talents you used to kill him," she said, pointing at the dead alien. "Why do you need my talents for that? Anyone can get you drive parts." "Look buddy, are you turning my offer down? Because there are plenty of people back there who would be more than willing to get them for me," she said impatiently. Ryler sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. She caught a quick glimpse of his scars, as he lifted his hair. "Fine, I accept. Give me a time and place for delivery," he said finally. "Better. I have to be going, and I suppose you do too. I'll send the coordinates to you." "Fine. Bye." Ryler sighed as he walked into the docking bay area, and opened the hatch. "Hey, how did it go? We get a job?" Sarah asked, walking up to him, cleaning the grease off of her hands. "Yeah, we got the job. Let's go." "What's with you?" she asked. "Nothing. Let's go," Ryler said, not facing her. She frowned, and followed him to the cockpit without a word. "We ready to go?" Ryler asked. "Yeah, I got the accelerator fixed. She'll work fine now." Sarah said, still looking at Ryler awkwardly. "Good, strap down, we're bailing this joint." Sarah sat down, and pulled the restraints on, and leaned back as the ship left the bay. Quickly gaining speed, it broke through the atmosphere and turned slowly for a hyperspace vector. He leaned back, and was about to relax when an alarm went off. "Unidentified ship, this is the New Republic cruiser Forbidden. Cut all engine power and hold position. You have been found guilty of illegal smuggling activity and-" "Shut up," Ryler growled, slapping the comm off. He glanced at the sensor readout. One Calamari cruiser. Probably stumbled upon him by accident and ran him through their data banks. "Should I power up the cannons?" Sarah asked, sitting up and eyeing the cruiser. "No, I don't think we're gonna have to fight through this one. At least, let's hope not. By the looks of it, that's a MC90." "All right. Vector is... set. We just need to put some distance between us and the planet, before we can jump." "Here we go..." he sighed, easing more power into the drive. The ship lurched, and they sped away from the approaching cruiser. Red fire lanced out, and Ryler shook the ship, dodging blasts. "What do you think they nailed us for?" "Probably that delivery we made to the Imps a while back. The one near the Core?" "Right. The armor and blasters." "Yeah. Either that or any of the other things we've gotten ourselves into." "Uh huh. Four minutes 'til we're clear." The Firedancer shot forward through space, dodging laser blasts, and Ryler glanced nervously at his scope. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but are those snubs they just released?" he asked. "Uh, yeah. Those are snubs all right. Two New Republic E-Wings, by the look of it." "Two? They think too little of us 'fringe scum'," he snorted. He pushed the Firedancer even faster, but the E-Wings soon came into range. "Looks like we're not gonna be able to run this one out. I want you to target one of the E-Wings with torps. Two protons, I think. Yeah, that should do it." "Gotcha. Left or right?" she asked him, prompting for a target. "Uh, right one. He's closer." Sarah spent a few seconds peering into a scope, aiming the missiles. The computer beeped a lock, and she fired. Twin bright blue streak flew out of the front, and looped around. The E-Wing saw the approaching missiles, and flipped to avoid them. It opened a chaff packet, and a missile slammed into the chaff, but the other missile sped through the chaff particles, slamming into the E-Wing as it turned to attack. It burst into a bright ball of red-orange flame, and nothing was left. "One down. We'll be at the edge of the gravitational pull in a few seconds. Should I try for the other one?" Sarah asked. "Nope, let it go. We're ready to go, anyways." The freighter flew forwards, out of the gravity shadow of the planet. Making one last check, Ryler eased the hyperdrive levers, and they entered hyperspace. CHAPTER 2: Pursuit "So would you mind telling me what she meant by 'talents'?" Sarah asked. "If I knew, I'd tell you. That contact was freaky. She said that she needed me for my Force powers. That's all she said. When I tried to get more out of her, she just got all huffy and left." Ryler sighed, leaned back. "Well, that's weird." "Oh yeah. Anyway, no matter what, we still have a delivery to make. Any idea where we can get any hyperdrive motivators?" Ryler asked, changing the subject. "Uh, I think we could get some off of that guy we saved last time. Remember him? The mechanic in the Joiol system." "Think he'll give the parts to us?" "Either that, or he'll sell them cheap." "Let's hope so. So we set course for the Joiol system?" "Guess so. After all, we DO have a delivery to make," Sarah grinned. "Yeah, whatever. I'll set the course," Ryler smiled. "I'm going to go catch a shower. See ya later, Ryler," she said, walking out of the cockpit area. Ryler sat up, and dropped the ship out of hyperspace. He set a course to for the Joiol system, and the ship reentered hyperspace. Sarah walked into the cockpit, drying her wet hair. Ryler was in the pilot's seat, presumably asleep. Not a bad idea, she thought, sitting down in the other seat. She lay back, and fell asleep. "Ya know, one of us should stay awake, just in case something happens," Ryler said, his eyes still closed. Sarah jumped up in surprise, and glared at Ryler. "Don't EVER do that to me," she laughed, hitting him with the towel she had been holding. "Hey! No fair!" Ryler said, jumping up. He grabbed the towel away from her, and for once, Sarah saw Ryler relax and actually smile. Not that it would last. The Firedancer was suddenly jerked out of hyperspace, throwing them wildly around the cockpit. The ship rolled, and finally steadied himself. Ryler picked himself off the floor, feeling the blood trickling down his head. "Great. Now what?" he groaned. "Uh oh... Take a look at this," Sarah said, looking at the scope. "Shit. What is that, an Interdictor?" Ryler said softly. "Yeah, and a pair of Lancers along with it." "What do we do, run?" Ryler asked. "Yeah, guess so. I'll give you a vector, hold on," Sarah said. She turned to the nav comp, and set a new course. "Wait, let's not leave just yet," Ryler said, peering at the ships. "What?! Why not?" Sarah demanded. "Why haven't they hailed us?" Ryler countered. "They might just be planning to blow us up and ask questions later," Sarah offered. "No, that's not it. I don't think they're here for us," Ryler said softly, turning the ship around. "Well, even if they aren't, they're gonna run an ID on us, and go fer us," Sarah insisted urgently. She was right. "Freighter Firedancer, you are wanted by the New Republic for-" The ship was cut off as Ryler slammed the comm off. "Damn, told you," Sarah said. One of the Lancers had broken off, and was moving towards them. "We have a lead on them, let's go," Sarah urged. "Yeah, let's go," Ryler said, sounding disappointed. He turned the ship around, and it accelerated away from the Lancer. It fired a few long-range shots, but they flew past them. Ryler gave a look at the scope, trying to figure out the closest edge of the gravity well created by the Interdictor. "There," Sarah said, tapping the display, as if she had read his mind. "Thanks," he said. He turned the ship, and they headed for the determined point. Just as they were about to clear it, another ship dropped out of hyperspace, several kilometers behind them. "Ryler-" "Yeah, I see it. Got a reading or an ID on it?" Ryler said. "Um, modified X-Wing by the looks of it. No ID. But it's not part of the Republic." Sarah said, trying to lock an ID on the fighter. "Looks like they found what they were looking for," Ryler said. The other Lancer was moving to intercept, and the Interdictor turned to focus the gravity well on it. "Still no make on it?" "Nope." The Lancer was still pursuing the Firedancer, and the other was moving to intercept the X-Wing. "Ryler, let's get out of here. We're free of the well, and we should be able to make a run for it-" Sarah was cut off as the comm console beeped. She looked over to it, and an expression of mild surprise crossed her face. "Ryler, the X-Wing is hailing us." "The X-Wing? Um, put it through," Ryler said uncertainly. The comm click, and a voice came through. "I could use a little help here, ya know," a familiar voice said. "What do you want?" Ryler growled, trying to place the voice. "A little help, as I said," the X-Wing pilot spoke. It was now under ion fire from the Lancer, and they were trying to lock tractors onto it. It clicked in Ryler's mind, and he had the voice. The contact. "What did you do, follow us?" he demanded. "Yeah, tracer. You gonna help me or not?" "Why should we, anyway?" "Help me and I'll tell you afterwards." Ryler looked over to Sarah, who shook her head. "Look, we can't help you. We have a Lancer after us, and you're pinned down. We'd never make it in time." Ryler sighed. "Thanks," the contact said sourly. "Ryler, let's get out of here," Sarah repeated. "No wait, hold on, I wanna see this through. We have a lead, we're not in trouble." Sarah just sighed, and turned back to her display. Once Ryler had made up his mind, there was no point in arguing. The X-Wing rolled to port side, dodging ion fire. The pilot was an excellent one, and none of the ion blasts came near it. It sped through the rain of fire, and finally pulled out of reach of the Lancer. "One helluva good pilot," Ryler said softy in awe. "Luck, that's what it is," Sarah snorted. "Whatever." The X-Wing dived, and flew for the edge of the gravity cone. The Interdictor slowly turned, trying to keep the fighter inside the cone's influence. No luck. The X-Wing broke free, and headed for a hyperspace vector. Ryler slapped the comm on as another message came though. "If you want to know why I followed you, come to these coordinates," she said, transmitting a package of numbers before vanishing into a small burst of light. "Time for us to leave," Ryler said absent-mindedly, pulling back on the hyperspace levers. The stars turned into starlines, and the starlines turned into the bright colors and distorted shapes of hyperspace. CHAPTER 3: Seek and Follow "We gonna go to those coordinates?" Sarah asked, gesturing towards the display on the screen. "We have a choice?" Ryler asked dryly. "Guess not. I'll set them up," Sarah sighed. She turned to the nav comp, and started to type the coordinates in. She was stopped by Ryler. "No, wait. These aren't right. She gave us scrambled ones to confuse those Republic ships..." Ryler trailed off, thinking. "So now what?" "Try this... Put those coordinates in... backwards," Ryler said. "Backwards, huh? I guess it's possible. And the nav comp says it's possible," Sarah said, typing at the computer. "Let's go then, but in a bit. About an hour or two, to lose those Republic people." Ryler said. Two hours later, the Firedancer dropped out of hyperspace for the second time, and whirled to meet the new settings. No more than two minutes after exiting, it reentered the void of hyperspace. She leaned back into the seat of the X-Wing, and sighed. She pulled her flight helmet off, letting her red hair fall down. She reached up, and tied it into a bun, and switched the X-Wing into standby mode. She smiled to herself: he would show up, sooner or later. He should've figured the coordinate package out. All she needed to do was wait. Wait for the Firedancer to arrive. And then, she would get what she wanted. Soon enough. "So why do you think she followed us?" Sarah asked. "No idea. Probably another fanatic wanting to convert me to a Jedi or something," Ryler growled. "Another? You would've thought that they'd get the point after Ryloth," Sarah smiled. Ryler snorted, and turned towards her. She was referring to the incident on Ryloth where Ryler had half-killed a Jedi apprentice trying to convince him to accept his Jedi powers. "Maybe these Jedi aren't as all-powerful as they're supposed to be. After all, what, we've been skipping out on them for years. They never even came close to us." "Sheesh, so why are we heading for this one?" "No idea, actually, probably just curiosity." "Curiosity killed the cat..." Sarah sighed, slumping into her seat. Ryler just gave her a look, and laughed lightly. He looked forward, and tried to relax. Three hours later, the Firedancer exited hyperspace, and Ryler quickly scanned the area. Sure enough, the X-Wing was there. Sitting there, and waiting. He noted that the fighter powered up weapons as she noticed the freighter, and he raised the shields out of precaution. "Hello, there," a voice floated over the comm. Sarah awoke, blinking, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Hey," Ryler said simply, glancing at Sarah, who was sitting up. "So you came, huh?" "Guess we did. We are here, after all." "Uh huh. Now you probably wondered why I tracked you." "The thought crossed my mind," Ryler said cautiously. He looked over to Sarah, who mouthed "trouble?" Ryler just shrugged, and replied "maybe" in the same manner. She slowly ran her hand over the console, and Ryler brought the ship around towards the X-Wing. "Well, I'd rather not discuss this here..." the other ship said. Ryler looked over to Sarah again, who nodded. Strange, indeed. "Then where to?" "There's a spaceport further into this system, I'll meet you there. Meet me at the bar, you know who to look for." And with that, the X-Wing turned and jumped in system. "This is too strange," Sarah said as soon as the X-Wing was gone. "Did you notice that she had her lasers trailing on us the entire time?" Ryler asked. "Yeah, maybe she was being cautious." "Yeah, maybe." "We gonna follow?" "Got anything better to do?" Ryler grinned. "Lemme fine that station, then," Sarah sighed, bringing up the starmap for the system. She quickly located it, and punched in the coordinates. "We're set to go, thirty degrees port side and jump." "Gotcha. Should be about an hour." The Firedancer sped up, and shot into hyperspace. The space station, in orbit around the fourth planet from the system's sun, wasn't a very safe place. As safe as a dead-end station could be considered. The planet itself was full of crime, as was the station. Officially, it was named Tegrah II. More commonly known as The Pit. She walked silently through the bustling crowd of the space port, and entered the bar. Glancing around, she sat down in the far corner. "Tea," she ordered. The holo nodded, and disappeared. She casually looked around, watching out for trouble. After all, she was rather well known to a particular crowd. Bounty hunters. The holo reappeared, and she paid for her drink. It came up from the table, and she sipped it slowly. She could only make out two probable bounty hunters: a fellow with a heavy blaster in the far corner, and a man sitting at the bar. No trouble today. She leaned back, and waited for Ryler. "Freighter Goldeneye, you are clear to dock, pit 3." "Acknowledged, space control." Ryler clicked the comm off, and flew cautiously towards the dock. Weaving though the crowd of small ships, ranging from fighters to freighters, he headed for his designated pit. Settling down, he put the systems into standby and turned the engines off. "You wanna go this time?" he asked, looking over to Sarah. "Yeah. Come on, let's go take a look at what we've got in our weapons rack," Sarah said. "Think we'll need them?" "No harm in being safe." "Guess not. Come on." Ryler stood up, making one last check on the systems. Sarah followed him out of the cockpit, and over to a hidden compartment in the rear of the ship. Ryler keyed in a code, and a small drawer extended from under a console. Opening it, he took a look. Three stormtrooper blasters, a dozen power packs, a heavy concussion rifle, pack of thermal detonators, two sequencer mines, and three smaller blasters. Not too much, but enough. He grabbed a pair of stormtrooper blasters, and threw one to Sarah. She took it, and strapped it to her back. He checked the power pack, and also on the small blaster strapped to his thigh. "All right, we should be ready." The two descended the ramp, and locked the ship up. Together, they walked out of the hangar. "This the bar she mentioned?" Sarah asked, looking up at the sign. The Pit Stop. "Nice name, huh? Let's go in," Ryler said, hefting his blaster and pushing the twin doors open. The pair walked in, and sat down at the bar. "What can I get for the pretty lady?" the bartender asked, smiling at Sarah. She just frowned at him. "Nothing," she said frostily. "Brandy, anything ya got," Ryler said. The bartender shrugged, and got Ryler his drink. He took a sip, and turned to Sarah. "Look for a lady, about yer height, red hair. Might be wearing a cloak." he said in a low voice. "All right... Over there. Do a 180. Back row, far end tables," Sarah whispered. Ryler nodded, and quickly looked over. "That's her, all right. Come on," he said. They stood up, and Ryler walked over, holding his mug in one hand and tapping his blaster with the other. "Nice to see you again," she smiled as they came near. "Your partner?" she asked, nodding towards Sarah. She muttered something under her breath. "Yeah," Ryler said, sitting down, ignoring what Sarah had just said. "So why were you following us?" Sarah demanded, also taking a seat. "Not so fast," the mysterious stranger said sourly. "What's yer name, anyway?" Ryler demanded. "Ah, my name. I'm Jem. And your partner is?" "Sarah," she said coldly. "Why were you following us?" Ryler asked again. "I just wanted to see if you'd make the delivery. After all, how could I be sure you'd make it?" she said quietly, sipping her tea. Sarah wrinkled her nose at the smell. "You were seeing if we'd see the deal through? That's why you go through all the trouble of tracking us?" Ryler asked in a dark tone of voice. "Yeah." "Then how come I don't believe you?" "Heh. Yer good Ryler, I'll give you that." "What do you want with us?" Sarah cut in. "Ah, fine. What I want from you, is some mercenary work." "Merc jobs? Why didn't ya just say that outright?" Ryler asked. "I have my reasons. Mostly because I just wanted to know if I could trust you. And to see if you indeed had Jedi powers. Sarah glanced over to Ryler, who hissed softly through his teeth at the mention of "Jedi powers". She turned her attention back to Jem, who was drinking. "So merc work, huh? Yeah, we'll do that," Sarah said casually. "How much pay?" "Fifteen thousand up front, fifteen more if you make it out," Jem smiled. Sarah shot a look at Ryler, who had a look of surprise on his face. "Thirty thousand? What or who's the target?" Ryler asked cautiously. "I want you to do a simple extraction. I have an... associate, who went down on a planet. He himself wasn't too valuable, but what he was carrying was." Jem leaned forward, and pushed her mug away. "He was carrying some very sensitive documents on New Republic military activity. He was supposed to deliver them to a contact, but he got shot down. Thankfully, he lived and managed to put the files onto data card. But now, he's trapped on the planet, with New Republic warships searching from the surface. And what's left of the Imperials will probably be looking for him, too." "So you want us to get onto this planet, and get him out of there?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "Pretty much, yeah." "And how do you expect us to get past a New Republic fleet?" Ryler asked with a lopsided smile. "Hey, that's up to you to figure out," Jem smiled slyly. Sarah looked over to Ryler, who shrugged. "We'll think it over-" Sarah started. She was cut off as the room fell deadly silent. The three looked over to the entrance to the bar, fearing the worst. CHAPTER 4: Pursuit "Crap," Ryler muttered, undoing the safety on his rifle. "Oh yeah," Sarah agreed. "How many do you count?" Jem said quietly, drawing a small blaster from beneath her cloak. "Three in the front, three in the back, probably two watching the door," Ryler said, shifting to fire. Six New Republic guards stood at the entrance to the bar, looking over. The one in front nodded to the two others behind him, and the first group of three followed by another group started checking ID tags. "How we gonna get out of here?" Sarah asked. "Through them, I guess," Jem suggested. Ryler nodded grimly: this wasn't going to be pretty. He waited until one of them had come close to them, and he suddenly kicked back his chair, firing at the guard. The New Republic guard shouted and fell over, his chest charred and burnt. Sarah fired towards the other one, and he died, too. Jem's blaster was of a lower power, and she needed to shoot the other guard three times before he died. "Come on, let's go," Ryler shouted, killing the last guard. The three ran out of the bar. "Where to?" Sarah asked, running side by side with Ryler. She quickly looked over her shoulder, and then over to Jem. "Head for the hangar, then for the planet. We should be safe enough there. I know a place we can hide on the planet," Jem said, her cloak flapping behind her. Ryler nodded, and they turned a corner, running for the docking pits. Ryler punched in the access code, and the hatch slowly opened. They jumped in, and ran for the cockpit. He jumped into the pilot's seat, and Sarah strapped in next to him. "Systems all check out. Let's go." "Gotcha." Easing power into the drive, he lifted out, and farther down the line, he could see Jem's X-Wing lift out from her pit. They flew together, out of the space port. Up, down, in, and out, avoiding collisions with other ships. Ryler pitched the ship just in time to miss colliding with a large freighter, and Jem disappeared behind a group of snubs. Ryler gasped, and threw the ship into a wild spin to avoid a huge, lumbering passenger liner. "Stay in the crowd as long as you can. They won't shoot at us as long as we're in this mess," Jem said over the comm. "All right, we'll do our best," Sarah said. "If you have to break free, dive for the planet and meet me at this location." A series of numbers scrolled across the screen, and Ryler nodded. "See ya later." The small X-Wing flew parallel to the light passenger frigate, finally coming to the end of the long line of ships. Sighing, she flipped another switch, unlocking the S-foils. Charging the laser cannons, she flew away from the space lanes. Barely past the last freighter, she was greeted by the rather disturbing sight of two Lancer frigates. She swore under her breath, swinging her fighter around and away from the ships. Her X-Wings shook as an ion blast struck her aft section, and her ship skid a bit to the right as she struggled to regain control. "Unidentified X-Wing, you are ordered to-" Jem cut the New Republic officer with a slap of her hand on the comm unit. She wiped away the sweat on her nose, and entered the planet's atmosphere. Last time she had been here, they didn't have a planetary shield. She hoped that that hadn't changed. With a sigh of relief, her X-Wing entered the lower atmosphere, and flew for the crowded cities. The Lancers, now out of range, and helpless, launched shuttles, to search for her on the surface. Ryler spun the freighter one last time, giving Sarah enough time to blast away the pursuing X-Wing. It smashed into a low cliff, setting the whole valley on fire. He sighed, and headed for the other side of the planet, out of the valley. "THAT was close," Sarah sighed, sitting back as the ship flew over dense forests, which soon turned into populated cities. "Yeah," Ryler said dryly. He sat back, guiding the ship with one hand. Arriving at the designated location, he set the comm unit. "This is the freighter Goodwill, requesting landing," Ryler said, sending over yet another fake ID. "Freighter Goodwill, hold position over hangar complex. Hold there until we have cleared you," the landing control voice said. "Thanks." "Think she made it out?" Sarah asked, referring to Jem. "Probably. I mean-" Ryler stopped as a voice cut in. "Freighter Goodwill, you are clear to land. Landing pit 90." "All right, transferring credits... now." Ryler sighed, and transferred a rather large sum of credits to the other's account. "This trip is costing us..." Sarah muttered. "Tell me about it," Ryler whispered roughly. He steered the ship into the bustling city's major space dock, and guided the ship to the landing pit. Making final checks after landing, he got up. Sarah also stood, and walked back over to the weapons locker. She reloaded her blaster, and took a few extra power packs for good measure. Tossing one of the packs to Ryler, she lowered the ramp. Jogging down the hatch, she was taken aback by the humid air that flooded the city. Wrinkling her nose at the odd smells of the city, she waited for Ryler to finish sealing up the ship and to join her. "God, this place stinks..." he muttered, walking up beside her. "You got that right." "Come on, where did she say to meet?" Ryler asked, heading for the exit. Sarah matched his pace, and walked out with him. "Some place called the "Flaming Gundark". I think it's a bar somewhere on the lower section of the city. That would be... this way," Sarah muttered, pointing towards a rather dark area of the city. Whether it was a trick of light or not, no light from the sun seemed to shine onto that area, casting a large, gray shadow on the entire region. "Wow, it looks so inviting," Ryler groaned sarcastically. "Come on, can't keep our mystery host waiting, can we?" Sarah smiled, flagging down a lift. They got in, and they headed for the lower levels. CHAPTER 5: Dealings Ryler swung the lift's door open, and stepped out. Sarah followed, pulling her coat closer. It was raining now, and it added to the gloomy affect of the whole lower city. Ryler blinked in the rain, feeling the water drops. He hadn't seen or felt rain for a while, actually. "Come on, it's supposed to be down this way," Sarah urged, walking through the crowd. Ryler turned, paid the lift operator, and followed her into the mass of people. After a brief but rather uncomfortable walk through the veritable jungle of people, they arrived to the meeting place. Small bar, why does she always pick these places?, with neon signs flashing at the entrance. A large sign flashed above the door, with the letters Flaming Gundark highlighted and flashing. Ryler nodded, and the two entered the bar. They were first struck by the smell of smoke, coming from the smokers in the corner, playing a rowdy game of sabacc. Ryler glanced over, and spotted Jem. He tapped Sarah on the shoulder, and they walked over. Ryler slid into the booth, and Sarah sat next to him. "Glad to see you two made it," she said, amused. "Uh, yeah. You make it okay?" Ryler asked. "Yeah, just a minor tag on the back of the snub. She'll be fine." "All right. So anyway, we're gonna take this job. Now give us the details," Sarah said. Jem reached into her cloak, and pulled out a datapad from a small pouch she produced. She handed it to Ryler with a tight smile. Ryler accepted it, with a low snort of thanks. "Oh my..." Sarah said, looking it over. Very complete, with planet conditions, not to mention New Republic AND Imperial activity in the area. Very hard to come by. And by the looks of it, they would need plenty of resources for this job: ships of all sizes were in the area, from Escort Frigates all the way up to Star Destroyers. "He doesn't have much time, you'll have to hurry," Jem commented. Sarah nodded absent-mindedly. They finished looking the pad over, and put it down. "All right, we'll take it," Ryler declared. "We're going to need those credits. Fifteen thousand, you said?" "Yeah, fifteen up front, fifteen more after," Jem nodded. "Uh, no. How about twenty up front, and ten later?" Sarah bargained. "We're gonna need those credits for supplies," Ryler added. "Heh, fine then. But only if you two start right now." "Now?" Ryler asked. "Now," Jem confirmed. Ryler looked over to Sarah. "We got anything better to do?" she shrugged. Ryler nodded, and turned back to Jem. "Give us the credits now, so we can go get some supplies." "Sure. Is that all?" Jem asked. "One more thing. We want casualty compensation," Ryler said sourly. Casualty compensation would ensure that in the case that one of them was killed, the survivor would be compensated for the loss. "Right, thought you might ask that. How about twenty for each of you?" Jem asked, biting her lip. Sarah nodded solemnly. Probably a useless precaution, but just in case... "Come on, let's go shopping," Ryler said, standing up. Jem nodded, and waved goodbye. "I'll send you the details," she called after them. Ryler gave her a nod, and they were gone. The two walked out of the bar, and into the bustling city. "We should be able to buy what we need, over... this way," Ryler said, looking the city map over and pointing towards a busy street several blocks away. They headed for it, and gasped at the sight. The street was huge, beings of every possible race walking back and forth. Street caravans lined the sidewalks, selling everything they could ever need. "Come on, let's go," Ryler said. CHAPTER 6: A Jedi's Destiny Ryler and Sarah walked down the street, stopping occasionally to check out a seller. They stopped to go over a weapons seller, who carried blasters and personal shields of all kinds. "How much is this one?" Sarah asked, pointing at some sort of heavy blaster. "Ah, for the pretty lady, I have a special item," the seller said. He smiled slyly, and pulled something out of his bag. Unwrapping the package, he showed it to Sarah. "This is a-" the man started. "Repeater rifle. How much?" Ryler cut in, eyeing the weapon. "Three thousand," he replied, still smiling. "No defects or bugs?" Sarah asked cautiously. "Are you accusing me of being a back stabber?" he scoffed, annoyed. Ryler gave him a look, and pulled out his credit card. "We'll take it. How much for extra rounds?" Ryler asked, handing the man his card. The man took it, and plugged it into his own account card. "Extra rounds come as power packs, twenty credits for a pack." "We'll take ten." The man wrapped the repeater gun up, and took out ten power packs from his display. He handed everything to Ryler, including his credit card. Ryler thanked the man, and they walked off. "Hold on," Sarah said, stopping them a minute later and purchasing a small bag. Ryler grinned, and he put their purchases into the bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, they walked on. Sarah stopped to look at a display of interesting jewelry, when Ryler felt a tug on his vest. He spun, and looked around. No one. He looked down as someone tugged on his vest again. A small alien stood behind him, tugging urgently at his vest. He grinned as Ryler looked down at him. "What do you want?" Ryler growled. Sarah took to his side. "You. You are," the man looked around, as if scared. "You are Jedi." "I'm not a Jedi," Ryler barked. "Yes, you are! Don't deny it! And... I have something for you." The small being spun, and ran back into the crowd. "No wait! Come back!" Ryler shouted. He tossed the bag to Sarah, and he ran after the alien. Sarah groaned, and ran after him. Ryler ran frantically, barely managing to keep the alien in sight. The being ran into an alley, and Ryler cursed as he followed. He turned the corner, and slowed down in the dark alleyway. Sarah ran into the alley, right behind Ryler. He stopped, and waited for Sarah to catch up. "What was that all about?" Sarah asked, out of breath. "No idea, some alien said he had something for me," Ryler answered, taking a breath himself. They stopped, and peered into the alley. The light rain had now turned into a downpour, and they were thoroughly drenched. The dark clouds weren't helping the visibility any, either. Ryler motioned to Sarah to follow, and they proceeded down the alley. "So you have followed me, eh?" the alien said from in front of them. Ryler stopped short, surprised at the appearance of the alien. "What do you want with us?" Sarah barked, drawing her blaster. No sooner than she had it drawn, it flew out her hand and it clattered against the floor at the alien's feet. "Don't harm me, young one," the alien warned with a smile, picking up the blaster. Sarah started to say something, but stopped. "What do you want?" Ryler asked calmly. The alien nodded, and sighed. "I wish only to give you this," the alien said. He pulled an object out of his pouch, and held it. He threw it towards Ryler with a short, jerky motion. "What the...?" Ryler muttered, catching it with one hand. He looked it over. Nothing like he had ever seen before: small, cylindrical-shaped object, with a small series of ridges towards the end, and a thumb switch. "You shall find out," the alien chuckled. He took out another object. Tossing it to Ryler, he laughed. "If you find that you need me once again, later on, use this." It was nothing more than a small gem, a bright red color. "What? What do you... mean," Ryler trailed off at the end. The alien was gone, no where to be seen. Sarah walked over, and picked up her blaster. "What's that?" Sarah asked, checking the blaster over. "No idea." Ryler handled the object carefully, taking the details in note. He noticed the slip on one end, and a small nozzle on the other. He gripped it loosely with one hand, and activated the thumb switch. Sarah jumped back with surprise as a bright purple beam of think light shot out of the cylinder, and she snapped her blaster up. Ryler stood calmly in front of her, holding the weapon. She had instantly recognized it when she saw the bright, glowing blade. A lightsaber. Ryler was holding a lightsaber, the Jedi weapon. Ryler stood calmly, holding the saber in the same type of grip. He looked dumbly at the purple blade, a thousand thoughts running through his mind: fear of the unknown, awe of the weapon, surprise that he was actually holding it. He waved it slightly, and it hummed and buzzed as it moved, crackling as a few raindrops hit the blade. He absent-mindedly moved his thumb off the switch, turning it off. He just kept staring at it quietly, and he suddenly came to. "Ryler! What the hell?" Sarah demanded. "It's a lightsaber," Ryler said quietly. "Of course it is! And what are you doing with it?!" Ryler shook his head, and he put it inside his vest. "Nothing. Come on, let's get out of the rain." Ryler turned, and walked back out the street. Sarah just shook her head, and followed him. TO BE CONTINUED...