A New Beginning by TealKeeper

Part 2: Rebirth

Marco Bruenner sat in the Frigate UPA Flaming Cow, unsure what to make of anything at the time. Just hours ago, his life-long friend Jarol Smyth died, and then in his ‘will’, if you wanted to call it that, Jarol requested that Marco be given command of the squadron, and be commissioned in UPA. That odd-looking alien, Fenix was his name, was sitting in a chair in the opposite corner of the room, looking blankly at everything. Marco wasn’t totally sure what was wrong with him, he hadn’t known Jarol nearly as long as Marco had. Marco decided to try to talk to him. "Um…excuse me, Fenix? Mind talking?" Fenix kind of glanced over at him and nodded, but he didn’t say anything. Marco continued. "I couldn’t help but notice you are taking Jarol’s passing almost as hard as I am. I’m not really sure why, and I think if we’re going to get to know each other better we ought to share some stuff." Fenix looked over at him again, nodded again, and started to speak. Marco found his voice odd-sounding but almost soothing. "No doubt I should start at the beginning. As I’m sure you can tell, I am an alien. I come from a far off galaxy, through circumstances I really won’t get into now. My race lives about ten times as long as the average human will. I ended up meeting TealKeeper, Jarol as you call him I think, on some rocky world Tatooine. I had been feeling something urging me to fight against the Empire, I don’t know what. I saw him there, and knew he could help me, although I don’t know how. I was originally put in Nova Squadron, but I requested to be in with Rogue, as I felt some kind of connection to TealKeeper. He reminded me so much of my noble friend Tassadar, who I knew before I ended up here, which is another story in itself. I addressed TealKeeper as I would address Tassadar, with our race’s saying ‘En Taro Adun!’ and by his saying it to me in his last statement, he was acknowledging the service I had given him, without knowing what he was doing. Now I must repay the Imperials for his death, as is our way. I sense you feel the same, and I almost feel like Tassadar is still with me inside of you. Now you can see why I am the way I am at the moment." Marco looked at him, and understood where the alien was coming from. He had more in common with this being than he would have ever thought. He still had to wait to see if the UPA command would allow him into the group in Jarol’s spot. And he still wasn’t sure why Jarol left him his lightsaber. Jarol decided he needed some food, and he asked Fenix to accompany him to the lounge, because he was sure neither of them wanted to be alone. The two companions, as odd as they looked walking down the corridor, seemed just like two old friends despite the fact that they barely knew each other. They entered the lounge, where the rest of the Rogues were divided up amongst three tables, with Aramos sitting alone. Fenix and Marco went and joined him, and the entire squadron just kind of sat there, waiting for something to happen. Marco ordered a round of Whyren’s Reserve for all. It brought a laugh to everyone when they saw Fenix trying to figure out what to do with his drink. They showed him how to toast, swig properly, the whole nine yards of drinking some Corellian ale. It was good to see something to lighten the mood, and he almost had to wonder if Fenix was doing it on purpose. The gathering ended on a happy note, and everybody departed to his quarters. Marco went to his quarters on the Flaming Cow. He refused to take Jarol’s quarters, as Fenix was insisting, but he ended up in the rather luxurious guest quarters, for any time an SC member was making a random inspection. He almost didn’t like it, he didn’t like having all of that space to himself with nobody to talk to or share it with. He sat on his bed and got ready to go to sleep, when he swore he heard something talking to him. Marco…can you hear me? He heard it say. "What the hay? Who’s there?" He looked over and didn’t believe what he saw. It was Jarol, standing in front of him. But he wasn’t really there; he was all blue and looked transparent. You know who it is Marco…do you know why I’m here? Marco stared at the blue form blankly. "Honestly, no, I don’t." Come on…think down inside of you. You know why I am here. "Jarol, sheesh, you’re talking to me like I’m a Jedi in hiding or something." He stopped and looked at Jarol, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Wait a minute, you mean I’m…" He trailed off. Marco, as a Jedi is dying, it is revealed to him the identity of the closest person to him who has Jedi potential. As I sat in that cold corridor, the identity was revealed to me. That is why I put that inscription on my lightsaber. You, Marco, are a Jedi. I was almost as surprised as you are to hear this. You are even stronger with the Force than I was. It appears all of the little lessons in life sucked into you and made an effect, for you are already on your way to becoming a Jedi Knight. In fact, there is only one thing you must do to become a Jedi Knight. Take my place in the UPA. I have already seen that they will allow you in. By taking my place, you become a Jedi Knight, Marco. With this, I leave you. You will know who to see to further your training. Good bye, Marco. And May The Force Be With You, Always. Marco couldn’t believe what he had just seen. He thought he was hallucinating or something similar. But deep down inside of him, he knew it was true what he was meant to be. The Force was with him, it seemed. As he sat, with an astonished look on his face, he heard a knock on his quarter doors. It was Aramos, he somehow knew. As he went over and opened it, seeing that it was indeed Aramos, he all of the sudden knew what Aramos wanted, too. He was there to tell Marco that the UPA High Command had decided to allow him in Jarol’s spot. Marco didn’t let on that he knew that, so he acted as if he was surprised. Aramos came and said "Well, they have let you in the squadron, sir. You’re our new leader. The ship and all it’s strings are with you." All that was on Marco’s face was a smile. Aramos continued. "There is another thing, too. High Command read the message, and although we can’t actually say we are making an attack because of this, it is actually time for our bi-yearly random attack, the first one ever being now. We are to jump to the Tassadar and Talon’s Reach, which are at Borleias, and then meet the rest of the fleet at our base. There we’ll start our rev…I mean random attack." He finished with a grin. Marco saluted him and left, heading up to the bridge. He had a speech to make.As Marco was on his way up to the bridge, there was a look of determination on his face. Many of the crewers he passed stopped and followed him because they were curious what he was going to do. He walked into the bridge, and apparently Aramos had told them too as they all stood up and saluted him as he walked in. Maybe I’ll get to like this…he thought. He walked over to the comm station, where the comm officer gladly relinquished his seat. He addressed the crew over the shipwide system, and started talking. "Greetings, crew of the Flaming Cow. I am Marco Bruenner. I’m going to have to assume gossip gets around, so if you already know why I’m talking to you, gimme a ‘HELL YEAH!’ and I’ll move on." He could hear the chorus of ‘HELL YEAH!s’ from all around the ship. "Well then, I guess I’ll move on. I’m sure you’re all wondering, what kind of person am I, am I strict, do I have a sense of humor, the works. Well, I was talking to your XO Fenix most of the early part of the day, and he insists that I remind him of your former CO. But, to address the issues at hand, let me tell you a little story. It’s about the origination of the name Flaming Cow. You see, the name Flaming Cow was actually a dual thing between myself and Jarol. Our class in the Academy on Corellia, its mascot was the Killer Bee. Jarol and I were the only two to realize how stupid it sounded. We proposed alternate names, and our favorite was the Flaming Cow. Nobody else liked it, but we loved that name, for whatever reason. It popped up in various places along the rest of our lives, and now, to my surprise and enjoyment, Jarol named his ship that and I get to command it now. I do hope that tells you everything you need to know about me. If not, please see me in the halls, the lounge, or whatever part of the ship you happen to run into me at the time. Well, that will be it. Marco Bruenner, your new CO, out." And with that, he got up. All around him, the bridge crew was applauding. He wasn’t even sure why, it wasn’t that great of a speech. But he could tell that they liked him as a CO already, because they were giving him a chance to prove himself, which he apparently did.Marco stepped back and surveyed the group of beings around him. Some were human; some were alien. But regardless, they were applauding him. He could definitely get to like this. He ordered the helmsman to get a course to Borleias, and when it was plotted and everyone was back in their stations, Marco ordered the ship to jump to hyperspace. As the stars turned to starlines, an image of Jarol Smyth appeared again. He was sitting there, and he nodded to Marco. It was up to him now. To avenge Jarol, to continue his legacy, and most important of all, to start his own. But Marco was up to the challenge. For he was a Jedi, like his friend before him. And nothing, not even the most determined evil force, can stop a determined Jedi Knight.

TO BE CONCLUDED

IN A NEW BEGINNING PART 3: REVENGE

The midi you are listening to is from Final Fantasy 7. It is Cid Highwind’s Theme. Put comments on the board, or to my e-mail (the real one, forcemaster@hotmail.com) or to my ICQ (the real one, 201949).