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NAME: Alastar “Al” Ro
FACTION: Jedi
RANK: Knight
SPECIES: Human
AGE: 27
GENDER: Male
FORCE SENSITIVE: Trained force sensitive
Height - 6’2
Weight - 198 lbs
Eye color - Brown
Hair - Brown
Hair type - Short on the sides and back, medium length on top. Side part brushed back.
Skin - Caucasian
Facial hair - Shaves when he can
Body type - Lean and muscular
ATTRIBUTES: Al’s straightforward personality fits very well with his fighting style, he favors lightsaber combat over the force. As far as dueling is concerned, Al is a Djem-So specialist. His defense is solid, as his is ability to turn defense into offense in the blink of an eye. When on the offense, he uses both his natural and force enhanced strength and speed to dominate his opponent, naturally taking and giving ground when advantageous.
While his saber skills are certainly impressive, they are also his selling point. His force abilities suffer from entering the Order at a later age than his peers. While he is certainly powerful in the force, that may also be a hindering factor. He is Force clumsy. He struggles comparative to his peers, and while it may not be noticeable in standard telekinesis, such as pulling his grounded lightsaber back to him, in the heat of battle he has rarely ever utilized outward force capabilities. Al would probably never achieve that level of ease and practicality in the force.
The last point to be made about Al’s abilities would be his above average force wall. Despite his above stated clumsiness in the force, his resistance to force attacks has always been noted as far above average.
PERSONALITY: Honesty and humility came natural to Al since before his training. A combination of joining the Order late and having a relationship with his mother makes for a very human Jedi. He doesn't pretend not to have emotions and freely embraces who he is, but none of this affects how he believes wholeheartedly in the ideals of the Jedi. He strives every day to uphold justice and honor, lending a hand to any and all in need. He finds purpose defending those who cannot defend themselves.
Has he ever been tempted by the dark side? Mostly every Jedi has, Al is no exception. At every junction the dark side had offered him an easy solution, he walked the less sure, difficult path instead. He has always chosen the light, knowing that any pain he bore doing the right thing would always hurt less than any relief offered by doing wrong.
SKILLS:
Lightsaber Prowess:
Being his preferred area, Al has dedicated himself to the ins-and-outs of every single form. Despite it coming relatively easy to him, he's never allowed himself a lazy moment when it comes to perfecting his art. While he heavily favors Djem-So, his training allows him to naturally flow between and combine forms to eventually overcome most opponents. Due to his lack of force control outside of body enhancement, however, he truly can be considered a Djem-So specialist, a form which allows him to use his superior strength, speed, and knowledge to dominate foes in close combat.
Mastery Tier List: Specialist>Mastered>Very Proficient>Proficient>Very Adequate>Adequate>Novice
Form I - Mastered
Form II - Very Proficient
Form III - Proficient
Form IV - Proficient
Form V - Mastered - Specialist
Form VI - Proficient
Form VII - Proficient
Force Proficiency:
Acrobatics - Al’s specialty. Even among other Knights, his kind of strength and speed when enhanced through the force is rare.
Telekinesis - In a calm environment it would take a skilled eye to notice how much he struggles in controlling such finessed force maneuvers. In combat however he rarely relies on telekinesis outside of pulling his saber towards him.
Energy manipulation - He has a powerful force wall capable of shielding against the likes of force lightning. While he's very adept at defending himself, he has no outward force capabilities to speak of.
Healing - Incapable of healing through the
Trances - He’s adept at calming himself through meditation. Even if just for a moment he can close his eyes, that's often enough to center himself.
Sense - Average Knight level.
Mental Manipulation - He can perform a basic mind trick on the weak willed.
GEAR:
-Old red leather jacket
-Gray tunic -sleeveless
-Jedi belt
-Black pants
-Black jedi boots
-Lightsaber - green
-Back-up Saber - concealed on belt.
ROLE-PLAYS:
RELATIONSHIPS:
Esther Nyx - Her Teacher
SHIPS:
DROIDS:
PETS:
KILLS:
BATTLES:
BIOGRAPHY:
The Ageless War
Her ship was carefully hidden in one of the many ruins she learned of during her apprenticeship. The ship itself was something she found in her youth, her favorite find to be precise. It belonged to the Sith she now realized, but when she had become the Great Mother it was the source of her inspiration. One day while tinkering with it she realized it still worked, though it would need heavy repairs before it could fly. Slowly, in her spare time she would visit her find in secret, learning more and more from its ancient design knowledge of all the Great Machines on Ro. She prayed she fully fixed it, her ancient friend which was now her only chance at saving her sons life.
“We’re almost there.” She announced to the party.
“These ruins, I've seen these markings before. This is Sith writing.”
“The Sith occupied these moons long ago. Our people are descendent from them.”
“That's… well, it's fascinating to say the least. And this brother of yours. You say he's been possessed by something?”
“I believe that somehow, something from far back has taken hold of him. He has powers, nothing I could explain.”
They walked on through the ruins, Al in particular was quiet the whole way.
“I shall need to bring news of this to the council. This place is unlike any I have ever seen.”
“How many Jedi are there?” Al asked suddenly. Diem was about to answer when Thereza hurried her pace around a corner.
“There's the ship!” She exclaimed.
A cold air enveloped Diem as hairs raised on the back of his neck.
“Stay back!” he yelled. “Whoever you are, I’ve sensed your presence already.”
The ship, nothing that could comfortable house more than a crew of five, hissed as the hatch opened and a ramp descended. Lyric Ro approached, sword In hand with a fixed smirk. Dread filled Thereza as she shoved Al behind her.
“Jedi,” Lyric began, “How fitting, on the eve of my reincarnation that I should taste Jedi blood.”
“Lyric!” Thereza yelled. “If you're still in there somewhere, this moon is dying! Let us leave, let your nephew go!”
“Impossible. When this vessel is decrepit, I shall have use of him. He has great potential for the force. I shall require his presence if I am to go on living.”
“That is no longer your brother. Whatever this thing is, it's far beyond compassion and remorse.” He slid his robe off onto the ground behind him and ignited a blue blade.
“I will fend him off. While he's distracted, take your boy to the ship.”
No Peace In Between
Thereza watched in horror as the two forces clashed, their movements faster than she could comprehend. She held Al’s hand tightly, waiting for a pause or some sign that she could move past them to the ship. No matter how hard she looked, it was impossible. They simply were moving too fast and chaotic.
Al’s eyes followed their movements as best as they could. The Jedi Diem had moved first, his laser sword moving fluidly around Lyric’s guard and pressing him backwards for a moment, until the latter gave a step to gain ground and viciously swung towards the throat of Diem. When Diem ducked and rolled to Lyric’s side, Al knew that was their chance to run. His grip on his mother's hand tightened as he pulled her forward.
Diem allowed himself a slight break in concentration to ensure that they'd seized their opportunity, then proceeded to pressure Lyric from his flank. He was immensely faster than his opponent, but the combined weight of his opponent's blade coupled with his strength made every parry a taxing one. The weapon in question somehow withstood impact with his lightsaber, it must have been some sort of Sith Sword. Their fight continued in a flurries standstill until Lyric drew back, Diem standing between him and the mother and son.
Thereza didn't know how her son knew to run at that moment, and she didn't care. They were almost to the ship when a sharp cracking noise involuntarily halted her.
Diem raised his saber to his defense catching the bulk of lightning that Lyric had just protruded from his hand. It was too much, his saber gave way to the force of the blast and he was thrown back. He looked behind him, they were almost inside the ship but not yet. Lyric was going to kill one of them.
Thereza hurried to get herself in between Al and the lightning, but her son had grown strong. He overpowered her in an instant and pushed her down behind him. She watched in horror as the lightning made contact.
'No'. The thought passed through his mind over and over. 'No'. He would no longer fear his uncle. 'No', he wouldn't become separated from his mother again, he wouldn't let them be stranded another second on this dying moon, he wouldn't need protecting anymore. 'No', when his mom saw the lightning she would not save him. 'No'.
With a heart of conviction, anger, and love he turned to his attacker. For a moment he felt the pain, the lightning coursing through his arm to his being. He knew what he stood between, how important it was to keep standing. The lightning cracked on his skin and wildly danced in front of him until he realized the pain was gone, or more specifically that the lightning was stopping just in front of him somehow.
Diem watched the lightning head towards the couple. He knew he had to act. He reached out with the force and felt for what he needed, the structure was unstable. Pushing as hard as he could against the ceiling, he shoved an important support upwards, causing the ceiling to fall in a V shaped depression. The lightning cut out as the rubble fell, placing Lyric on the opposite side of it all. Seizing the moment, Diem got to his feet and ran towards the ship.
It was over in an instant, but she feared for her son's life.
“Al!” She yelled as the lightning cut off. “Al!” She put out her arms as he fell backwards to her. Fearing the worst she looked desperately into his eyes.
“I’m okay mom, I’m okay.” He smiled at her.
“Start the ship! I’ll see to the boy, start the ship!”
Master, Student, and Mother
While there are certainly many tales that could be told between Ro and Dantooine, none would change Al’s life more so than his encounter with what Council members were present during their arrival. The planet was beautiful, Al had never seen so much prosperous life or felt such peace in a place.
“Please, enjoy these chambers while awaiting word from the Council.”
“I know you haven't been able to promise much, but do you truly think they’ll allow Al to train here?” Thereza asked in a low voice so that Al, currently staring out a window wouldn't hear.
“Due to his age, it's unlikely that he'll be accepted into the academy. But if I offer to train him myself, they may agree to that. I should be able to find something for you as well.”
“For me? I don't know what I could offer that would be of use to the Jedi.”
“You have several lifetimes of knowledge regarding Sith technology and writings. Truth be told, your safe recovery would have been a priority mission had we known you existed.” A blip on his comm notified him that the Council was ready for him.
Al had felt like something were following him ever since he arrived at this planet. It wasn't scary, whatever it was. More like, it felt as though their company had been four instead of three. He had nodded off at one point, his dreams filled with his Uncle and that cold moon where he once lived. In his dream he was a Jedi, and with his lightsaber in hand he drove his uncle back. As he were about to strike him down he felt in the wrong, and he understood. He wasn't fighting his uncle, his opponent was whatever controlled him. He awoke to a gentle hand on his shoulder, his mother's.
“The council is ready for you, Al.”
“Can you come with me?”
“Not inside, I'm sorry.”
Nerves resonated like electricity through him as he stood in the center of a round chamber, a half circle of chairs enveloped him. Some were occupied, some even by blue holograms, but most were empty. Diem stood by his side.
“This is the boy?” A female voice asked to his left. “He is old.”
“You say he's displayed Jedi traits.” A male from the center.
“That is true. He could track my movements in a duel, calculating a pause in battle long enough to run past us to safety. He's felt the force since arriving here.”
“You claimed he was capable of deflecting Sith sorcery, that for a moment he shielded himself and his mother from harm.” The female voice again. She was the more stern of the two. The rest watched the exchange.
“It was just for a moment, but it happened. He should not be alive, and yet he is here.”
“What is your name, child?” She asked.
“My name is Alastar Ro.”
“Do you wish to train in the ways of the force?”
“I do.”
“And your mother, you're aware that you'd be separated?”
He paused. Was that true? Why wouldn't Diem have warmed him if it were?
“Son.” The male voice eased more gently. “A Jedi must sacrifice themselves in body and mind for the betterment of the galaxy. Individual needs must be a far second.”
“I…” He began before closing his eyes, he could feel it again. One more entity in the room, a connection to everything around him. He felt it's immense power, but what stood out was the peace he felt by allowing it to draw closer.
“Al-” The woman began, but the male raised his hand and silenced the room, observing what was taking place.
It was here. The extra presence that had been following him, it presented itself to him at this very moment on purpose. A glimpse of clarity, purpose. Then the moment was gone and all he could grasp was the memory of that purpose, as if he'd been allowed to feel a moment in time from the future for just an instant.
“I'd like to be trained.”
Thereza approached from behind, accompanied by a robed figure.
“The mother is a special case, as I mentioned before.” Diem chimed in, a reassuring pat on Al’s shoulder.
“As you mentioned, yes. This presents a…” The male trailed off, eyes shifting between mother, son, and Jedi.
“A challenge.” The female finished. “Your situation is a unique one. We trust Master Diem’s judgment on the matter, if he is willing to train you then we shan’t interfere. And you, Miss Thereza, we'd be very pleased to learn from you. You'd of course be welcome among our researchers, a position I think you'll find both fulfilling and challenging.”
Al’s heart lifted in excitement. Everything was going to work out, finally.
“Your offer is welcome and I am grateful.” Thereza started. “But… I would still see Al, yes? I won't have to give up my son forever will I?”
“It is unnatural for a Jedi to have relations with parents. Our order typically frowns on such attachments.” The male said in a solemn tone.
“But,” The female interjected, “while in pursuit of your individual goals, I’d think it natural that your paths should cross.” The male shot her a glance, perhaps displeased at such a compromise. She smiled in reply.
Thereza held her son by his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. Tears welled but none fell.
“Al, you have been given such an amazing opportunity. The universe has presented you with a rare and wonderful gift.” Now it was Al with tears, and they did fall.
“What gift?” he asked. She wiped his face clean and hugged her boy close to her.
“You get to choose, Al. You get to choose.”
Caves of Ilum
“What challenges?” Al asked as the transport descended to the snowy landscape below.
“It's differs person to person. The purpose of the cave isn't to supply you with a crystal, padawan. It's much deeper than that. Some would say they weren't ready for a lightsaber until after receiving their crystal.”
“Well I'm ready.”
“You sound sure.”
“I understand how dangerous a lightsaber can be, I respect the tool. Is the concern my personal skill?”
“No. You've done amazingly well in your forms, it's been ages since I've encountered such a natural practitioner of form V.” The words filled Al with pride. Since his training had officially started he'd dedicated himself mind and body to the arts. It was a difficult path, to say the least. No matter how hard he tried or how well he performed, he knew he was still far behind those his age. He often thought of faceless peers, those who had submerged themselves in the same teachings years before him, those he so rarely encountered and, when he did, had achieved levels of growth far beyond his own.
“This trial isn't one you can prepare for however.”
Entering the cave alone, Al watched as the metal gate sealed him inside. From here on he'd go it alone.
He had no clue what lay in store for him as he steadily approached a drop in the cave. Nearing the edge, he'd be amazed by the sheer vastness of it all. For a crystal producing cavern though, he didn't see a single one. The glassy ice that surrounded him seemed to magnify the feelings of solitude he held within himself, and acknowledging this, pushed those feelings to the back of his mind and pressed onward.
He lost track of how much time had passed since the beginning of his trek. Perhaps an hour? Maybe many, he'd become stuck in his own head as he pondered over his many shortcomings. Master Diem explained that while Al had more muscle than even he in the force, that power coupled with his late learning made him clumsy. He may never fully realize his potential through the force, and as it stood the simplest of force tasks sometimes eluded him. Simply put, he wouldn't ever achieve the level of finesse as his peers.
A loud yell snapped him outside of himself as he became alert once more. He stood perfectly silent, poised, ready to move to a sprint. Then he heard it again, a distressed yell like before, but this time he could tell the direction. He ran full on, only slowing down when he needed to or when he had to regain his footing on the ice below him. He came to a natural bridge, an arch in the ice that connected over a ravine. The source of the yell came from the other side. A girl, his age but maybe younger with golden skin and long brown hair. She was holding her arm like it had been hurt, maybe broken. The attacker was nothing he'd ever seen before, albeit his experience and knowledge of the universe being incredibly lacking. It's arms were long, too long for its body which was hunched over and covered in ugly gray skin and muscles. It had long teeth, there must have been some trick to its mouth closing. It was probably 8 to 9 feet tall, but it's proportions were not that of a human. It was also closing in slowly on the girl, reaching out to her slowly with its large hands. She pointed an orange glowing blade at it, a training saber similar to what he had that would only burn through excessive contact and leave bruises rather than cleaving an enemy in two. She had been backed into a corner, unable to run for the bridge that separated them.
“HEY!” He yelled without thinking. His legs were already moving, running steadily at the scariest and most hideous monster he'd ever encountered in his life. One he was all but sure was about to eat him or rip him in half depending on how he tasted, and he was still running with all his might in its direction. He ignited an emerald blade, raising it high over his head in anticipation. The monster turned from the girl, who seized the opportunity to slide around the monster and toward the bridge, and now it chased her in Al’s direction as he continued his thoughtless charge.
As they he got his first good look at the girls face. She was very pretty, exhuming a noble quality he hadn't felt before. She looked to be in utter shock, that wasn't surprising given the circumstances.
The monster reared up its ugly arm and slammed it down harshly in Al direction. He strengthened himself with the force stepped to the side, lunging in the air and bearing his blade down with all his might. His lightsaber exploded as soon as it made contact, the hilt falling apart in his hand as pieces spilled to the ground. As he fell to the ground, the monster swung a limb horizontal, knocking the wind out of him as he sprawled across the ice towards the ravine. He almost fell, would have actually had the girl behind him not halted his momentum with the force.
“We need to run!” She yelled. “Nothing I've tried has worked, I tried to tell you to stop, I’m sorry!” He had been too caught up to hear her earlier, a mistake that he'd be feeling for a while.
She grabbed his hand and began to lead him over the bridge. It hurt to breathe, but pain meant he was alive. If he stopped running he would die for sure. The monster seemed tentative to cross such a delicate bridge but who knew when it would begin chasing them again.
“What was that thing?” He managed to ask.
“I don't know. But everything I've tried has fallen short of success. I even… I even tried lightning.” Lightning?
“That's sorcery, a Jedi doesn't use the force for-”
“I've never performed it on a living being before today! I'm just gifted, the force comes easy to me and I was pushing myself. You never judged me before!”
Friendship Transcended
Perhaps an hour had gone by since losing their invincible stalker. The two ventured deeper and deeper to the depths as their quest continued.
“I don't know how we're going to get out of this Al. I must have been here for a full day, but the only thing I found had long teeth and tried to eat me.”
“I never said my name.” Silence followed for a few moments.
“You said it earlier, you just weren't paying attention.” He didn't think so, but that wasn't the first odd thing about this girl.
“When we were running, you said I never judged you before. You made it sound like we've known each other for a long time, but I’ve only met a handful of other Jedi. You're not one of them.”
“I don't know why I said that. I was scared, I must have misspoke.”
“Well… putting that aside for now, what's your name?”
“Melidae.” She said quietly. “Just Melidae.”
“You're kind of like me, huh?”
“How?”
“Old. For a new padawan anyway.” She let out a small, sweet laugh. “What's so funny?”
“I have a bit of an unorthodox master. He fought the council on my behalf so that I would be trained, regardless of my age. I wanted him though, so while he was leaving one day I snuck on his ship. We’ve been together ever since.”
“Wow, I can't believe that worked.” He smiled, recounting the odd series of events responsible for his inclusion to the order. “He sounds like my master. Without Master Diem I wouldn't have had this opportunity to… well, be eaten I guess.” That made her laugh louder.
“What did you mean before when you said you were gifted?”
“My people existed far beyond the Rim, all naturally sensitive to the force. I've been using it in my everyday life for as long as I can remember.”
“I didn't know there was life outside my moon until I was fourteen. Jedi, the force, all of this. Sometimes I'm embarrassed of how ignorant I am.”
“Well, you saved me. I would have died if you didn't run head first into danger to save me. I'd like to thank you.”
“You don't have to-” Her lips pressed against his cheek, cutting him off mid sentence and setting his cheeks on fire. She turned away after a moment and pulled ahead. The two walked in silence.
“Dead end.” He said as they reached what appeared to be an never ending wall of ice.
“Yeah. I guess we’ll turn around and-”
A loud, terrifying cry froze the pair in their tracks. It found them. It was only 100 paces away about, but it hunched there in place and stared at them rather than cross the distance.
“Al.” She whispered, grabbing his hand tightly.
His mind raced, he looked around desperately for a way out. There, above them, it looked like there might be another passage not too far up.
“You need to get up there.” He said finally, pointing up at the wall behind them.
“It's an almost perfectly upright wall of ice. Even if we had gear, which we don’t, how are we going to-”
“Not we. You. There's ledges and crawl spaces up there, they must lead to another passage.”
“What? Pretend I could get up there, you'd be down here with that thing! It's suicide!”
“Get ready, I'm not so good at this.” He reached out with the force and felt around her. Focus, he'd tell himself. Focus, she's relying on you.
“Wait, this is crazy!” She yelled. But Al couldn't hear her. His focus was with the other company, the other presence that first presented itself to him on Dantooine all those years ago. He pushed, guiding her as best as his senses would allow. He was almost afraid to open his eyes and see the results of his quick thinking. He heard her yell and his heart raced harder, afraid he'd made a mistake.
“Al, it’s coming! Al!”
She was right, he could hear it's loud, heavy charge against the ice. He had no lightsaber, no plan, no help, just like when he entered the cave. What could he do? At least the girl was safe, he found himself appreciating her company more than he thought was possible. He'd never see her again though, any moment he'd be devoured by one of the scariest things he'd ever seen.
“Al! Al run, or climb! Try to climb, maybe I can-”
The galaxy became silent. He was scared, he'd been brave for people, but he was always scared. He knew he didn't belong anywhere. He wasn't smart like his mother, he wasn't a Lord of Ro, he thought he could be a Jedi… Sometimes more than scared, he'd feel anger. He hated his uncle, hated Ro, hated the council for taking away his mom. He even hated master Diem for setting him down this impossible path.
The monster was closer. He'd die alone.
He felt a warmth he hadn't felt since he entered the cave, as if somewhere around him the sun had risen. He couldn't place the source as he felt it all around, wrapping around his being. Calmness spread throughout his being and he felt another presence.
“I've been such a fool.” Finally he turned to meet his attacker. As he turned he saw something flash, a green light between him and the beast. “I found my crystal!” He yelled.
“Forget about that! Climb up to me!”
“I’m going for it, back me up!” And then he broke to a sprint, faster than he'd ever run in his whole life. The force fueled his legs as he came up on the beast. Still, as fast as he was it was going to be close. Something flew over his head from behind, something big. A gigantic hunk of ice. It flew at great speeds towards the beast, striking it dead on in the chest. An explosion of ice and mist erupted the cavern, just as another similarly sized piece followed up through the haze and presumably landed another direct hit. Melidae was indeed a natural, and maybe his first friend.
He slid to a halt on top of the crystal, but it was stuck in the ice beneath his feet. He reached out to the force, enhancing his strength to levels he'd never naturally achieve, and struck the ice with his fist. Nothing. He hit it again and felt a give, it cracked around the sides. He swung once more and felt a wriggle, his hand was killing him. His heart jumped when the beast pounced from the mist towards him and he was sure he was a goner, but another large chunk of ice intercepted it's leap and sent it sprawling away from him. He didn't have much time, one last punch. He brought his fist down like a hammer, a crunch that he hoped was the ice echoed throughout the cave. He pulled the crystal from the ground and sprinted back towards the ice wall, this time with a plan.
“Melidae, throw another chunk of ice! This time at me and wait until I'm close!”
“I’ll try Al, I'm getting tired!” Throwing all that weight around would do a number on anyone, he was surprised she threw as many as she had.
The ground hummed beneath his as he ran for his life, he knew the terror was hot on his tail. This would have to be timed just right, if he made the slightest mistake or she threw too early or late then it was all over. Despite their short time together, he felt he could trust this girl with his life. Actually, he felt like they'd done this before. He chanced a glance over his shoulder to find that despite his increased speed, the monster was gaining on him. Close now, it was almost time.
“Melidae!” Her timing was perfect, her aim true. He let it fly through the air for a moment before taking to the air himself. It missed him by am immeasurably small distance as he kicked off the top with all his might, extending his jump like a midair step. The monster, which had jumped with him and was only inches from his leg, ate the heavy chunk of ice in the face. The impact was loud, a crunching sound was heard which he assumed to be a bone somewhere giving in finally, and the monster spiked into the hard ground with an impact that shook the whole cavern. It would have been a more joyous event for Al if he were more certain that his jump was going to actually be far enough to make it to Melidae. He reached out in a desperate attempt to grab a hold of something, anything at all that would stop him from falling probably to his death. He failed, he knew so as he began descending from the ledge that he didn't jump quite far enough. Looking down under him he found nothing but jagged rock and ice, and the monster that was probably still alive of course.
Suddenly his hand caught hold of something, or rather, someone caught hold of his wrist and stopped his fall, accompanied by a cry of pain.
“You're - SO -heavy!” She yelled between breaths.
His body slammed into the wall hard, but he was alive. He grabbed the lip of the ledge with his other hand and began to pull himself up. When he was finally safe, he fell to the ground instantly and took deep breaths. Melidae fell in next to him, both exhausted physically and emotionally. They kept each other warm while they shared what food they had rested, sure that just for the moment they needed a break.
Pulled To You
“Let me see.” She asked as Al raised his crystal to the air. “Such a nice green. What kind of lightsaber are you going to make?”
“I brought the parts with me. Dueling might be the only thing I'm any good at, so I was really particular about having a longer handle.”
“More leverage on those swing of yours. I bet you study form V.”
“Yeah, how'd you know?”
“My master taught it to me. Lightsaber combat didn't take to me right away, but he's such an incredible fighter and teacher that even I can fight well now.”
“If I were you, I'd say your best bet would be to stick to Djem So, safe and secure counters, then maybe when they open themselves up to-”
“Switch to Juyo and take advantage of that natural speed.” They said in unison. She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.
“This is going to be a fun conversation when we get out of here.”
“You and your master?”
“Oh yes. You two are very, very alike.”
“I'd really like to meet him, what's his name?”
“Well, we’ll talk about that later. First I need my crystal. Are you going to build your saber?”
With renewed spirits and full stomachs the pair continued to search for Melidae’s crystal. How long had they been wandering the immense cavern system? Al couldn't tell time down there, but it felt at least the better half of a day. An hour or so went by with little excitement, they were free to carefully tread at their own pace.
Al knew she wasn't telling him everything. The irrational levels of trust he felt towards her didn't go unnoticed either, but there was just something about her, impossibly familiar but new at the same time.
“I see my crystal!” She yelled in excitement. “Come on, it's just around this ledge.” A deafening howl halted their advance.
“It couldn't be…” A large hand grabbed hold of the ledge, pulling up an all too familiar hideous creature. Al ignited his lightsaber for its first combat.
“I'm with you.” She lifted her hands in the air, her crystal shooting through the air in her direction. Several parts for a handle floated around her as she gracefully and quickly constructed her lightsaber. Al noted how much more quickly and efficiently she had done it than he. Her blade ignited to a beautiful orange.
The two stood side by side, combat ready. The monster howled at them as if to signal the start, and charged. They moved in unison, Al in front with Melidae just behind him. Al raised his saber high, fueling his body with the force and preparing a swing. The monster swiped it's long arm as if to swat him away, but Al was quick. He slid beneath the arm, lowered his saber, and swiped across its abdomen. Even a true lightsaber met resistance against the beast, but he felt the saber sink regardless. It was more shallow than he liked. They had a long battle ahead.
Melidae had followed on his swing by going high over the arm while it was distracted and buried some of the tip of her blade to the beast's chest. She too met resistance, only driving home a tiny bit more blade before she withdrew from its counter attack. She drew upon the force, quickly hurling some nearby rocks in its direction when it leapt above them and landed safely away. They circled another once more, Al positioning himself between it and her.
“This feels natural.” He said finally.
“We have almost as much synergy together as me and my master.”
“Maybe soon you'll tell me why.”
It lunged once more, this time splitting them up. Al leapt forward once more to attack, narrowly raising his blade in time to deflect an attempt to grab him. Melidae dashed in and swung around where Al had cut earlier, a cry of pain released from the beast. Al thought it would turn to her and attack, but it must have been learning their habits. As he approached once more he felt the weight of a heavy come down, bringing him hard to the ground.
He might have blacked out for a moment, when he came to Melidae had narrowly dodged a swipe but in doing so cornered herself. He tried to move but couldn't, his body didn't respond.
“Al!” She yelled. “Help me!” It slowly approached her, wary of her blade. She was terrified. She tried to push it away with the force but it resisted. She tried once more in vain. “Al!”
Finally he stood. He wobbled a bit, unsure of his step, but righted himself with the force.
“Hey!” He yelled once more. The beast ignored him. He tried to move more quickly to them but couldn't bring himself to run.
“Get back…” It came closer. “Get back, get away from me!” It reached out its hands. “I said GET BACK!”
Al felt a terrible cold, something dark had suddenly arrived. Lightning erupted from both of her hands as she dropped her saber to the ground. Such a display of raw power unlike any he'd ever seen. The monster shrieked, shying away from the torrent of power being unleashed it's way. She stepped forward, concentrating her power on it.
“Melidae, stop! This is wrong!”
“It made me, I had to! There was no other way!” The pain shooting through his body was immense. He inched closer and closer to her.
“There is always another way. We’re Jedi, the force is our ally. We don't use it for this, we work together with it for others.” She looked unsure. “Let go. Trust me, trust yourself and let go!” The lightning weakened and the monster turned it's face toward them once more. Finally Al was within reaching distance.
“I don't know what to do.”
“You have such great power, I'm envious of it. You're truly amazing. But using that power wisely, that's your burden to understand.”
She closed her eyes, the lightning stopped altogether.
“I don't think I can stand anymore.” He fell halfway to the ground as she caught him, pulling him to her lap.
“Al, it's gone. The monster is gone.”
“We chose peace.”
“Al, I need you to promise me something before we get out of here.”
“What is it?”
“When you're older, a powerful Knight of the order, come find me.”
“Find you?”
“I'll be waiting. Somewhere out there, in uncharted space my people are still alive. Living simple lives, peaceful and secluded from the horrors of the galaxy. But that will change soon. When it does, I know you'll be there.” He was quiet, a sad realization took hold of him.
“I'm not going to see you when we leave here, am I?”
“You will. I mean, you're waiting for me outside.”
“This is too complicated for me right now.” He closed his eyes, fatigue wearing on him. “I promise, I’ll be there.”
“I know. You'll fight so hard to save me, you're incapable of doing doing anything else.” She said before leaning down and kissing Al on the forehead. The two rested silently as sleep took hold.
When Al awoke he was by the entrance of the cavern. Melidae was gone, but he knew she had to have been real. He was sad that his friend was gone, but the loneliness and insecurity he'd felt when he entered the cave had been replaced with a newfound confidence.
“You were quick!” Master Diem patted his back in praise.
“Quick? But I… I must have been gone for a full day.”
“It's been minutes.” Al’s mind tried unsuccessfully to rationalize the events that took place. “You've had a time I'm sure, come tell me about it in the ship.”
His master was right, no training could've prepare him for that test.
Bonus
When Melidae awoke, she was near the entrance of the cave and by herself. She missed the weight of her friend on her lap, a small sadness taking hold of her. She pulled herself together and exited the cave, the light blinding her so she had to raise a hand to see. A tall silhouette stood waiting, just where she'd left him. She ran at the figure full force and embraced him in a hug. He replied in kind and smiled. She cried a bit in his arms, then began to laugh.
“Thank you for finding me.”
Homeward Bound
It was the first time he'd seen his mother since after his induction to the Order. He'd heard from her, but only on rare occasions. The separation was largely due to his training, the Order frowning upon familial ties due to the emotional compromises that accompany them. All that said, and in clear view of the Jedi strike team he accounted himself one of, smiling ear to ear and lifted Thereza Ro off the ground for a long overdue hug.
“Mom, it's been so long.” He said enthusiastically.
“Al!” She looked him over from top to bottom, her eyes busy as she took in every detail of how he'd aged. “My handsome boy. You've gotten so tall,” She felt the muscle he'd built on himself. “and strong!”
He was the youngest member of the Order present aboard the cruiser, the only Padawan. That wasn't a mark of achievement for him however, as it was uncommon for deep space Knights take on Padawan learners due to the nature of the work. They scoured the unknowns of the galaxy, lookouts for the return of the Sith. Master Diem himself was such a Jedi, though he stumbled upon Ro by pure accident. He'd taken a pause from his work to train Al, for which Al was eternally grateful, but now the time had come to resume his mission beyond the known universe.
“I've waited for this moment since I began training… But, are you sure you want to come along for this?”
“I’m not just coming along, Al. I'm chief science officer of this vessel, that means you and your lot are coming along with me.”
“To Ro. We haven't been able to locate it for years.”
“I've devised a machine that I believe will cancel out interference from the Sith technology that crashed Master Hal’ferra’s ship back when. I believe the same signals have been hiding it from our scanners.”
“It's always Diem for you, Miss Thereza. You need not address me by my title.” An automatic door shut behind the Bothan as Master Diem made his way over to the pair.
“Diem, it has been such a long time. Have you been well?”
“As well as can be said of someone my age.”
“And Al? How goes his training?”
“He's performed remarkably well, especially considering his late start.”
Al cleared his throat, getting their attention before he spoke.
“She won't have to land with us right? She can stay aboard the ship?”
“Oh Al, honestly. There are at least eight Jedi on board, not to mention the Republic troops accompanying us. And then there's you, my big strong protector. Everything is going to be fine.” He had a bad feeling, but he hid his concerns for now.
He enjoyed his time aboard the the cruiser, mostly the great lengths of time he'd spend with his mom. He was with her when his comm buzzed, signaling him that it was time for the strike team to gather.
“Al, I’ve avoided this conversation for as long as I could, but we need to talk.”
He pressed his comm to speak. “This is Padawan Ro, I'll be just a moment.” She motioned him to sit next to her.
“I don't know what you remember of your Uncle. You should know that before he…” A tear fell down her cheek. “He's my little brother. I remember when he was your age, even younger. He always had a kindness.”
“I don't remember. He's always been cruel to me.”
“But now we know better. He's a victim to the spirit in that sword.”
“He imprisoned you for years, he took you from me!”
“But I'm here now, Al. He's been a prisoner much longer than I ever was.” A silence went uninterrupted.
“If he can be saved…” He inhaled a deep breath, slowly releasing as he centered himself. “I'll save him. I promise.”
She embraced her son one last time before parting ways.
Master Diem stood tall in front of the strike team. He'd been appointed their leader by the Council due to his past experiences on Ro.
“Remember Knights, the people of Ro have been isolated since the fall of the Sith. They won't understand our purpose, and so long as they're ruled by Lyric Ro, a full on takeover would be met with casualties on both sides.”
Al gripped his saber tightly. This wasn't his first mission, but at this point it might as well have been. He'd wondered if this day would come ever since his training was sanctioned by the Council. The day he'd go home.
“So the objective is this Lyric Ro. Once when bring him down the Republic troops can move in and begin occupation with little resistance.”
“How powerful is he? You've faced him before, so I'm curious.” One of the Knights asked.
“Very. I believe he wasn't at full strength when we met, we can only assume he's increased his power since.”
A light switched on in the hangar, it was time to enter their dropships. They’d split into two groups and meet up on the surface, the plan was to quietly infiltrate the High Lords Tower and incapacitate him. Depending on how that went, they'd return to their ships and swap out with Republic ground troops.
“Al, I'm putting you in charge of the other team. At least until we meet up again.”
“Me?”
“You're more familiar with what's down there than anyone, and I'm not just talking about the terrain. Can you handle that responsibility?”
“Yes Master.”
“Good. See you on the ground.” He patted his student on the shoulder, leaving his hand there for a moment and taking in the vision of his apprentice. “We’re going to fix your home Al, we’ll save your people together.” He turned and made his way to the ship.
A voice rang out over the comms. They successfully detected the moon and were go for launch. It was surreal to see his old home from from space. Soon he'd be on the ground, just like when he was younger and at his Uncle's mercy. This time however things were different, he had the power to make things right.
“Somethings coming from the ground!” A Knight with dark hair, Dari, pointed out the viewing glass.
“They've got anti-air!”
The drop ship rumbled bucked, the occupants held on to their restraints as red flashes blew by them. Al managed to turn his head at the direction they were heading in, straight for the Republic cruiser.
“No!” He found himself yelling out. The ship took on several hits, the deflector shields holding out for the time being.
“Blast! They knew we were coming somehow!” The pilot yelled.
“No, those batteries must be reacting to my mother's device!”
“What does it matter? Brace yourselves, this is going to be a hell of a landing!”
Trials of The Knight
Al awoke to static, the chaotic crackling of exposed wire, and the smell of something burning. The smoke made it hard to access their situation other than the obvious, they crashed. His harness was stuck in place, he needed to cut himself out with his lightsaber.
“Hey, anyone need help?” He managed to cough out the words.
“I’m stuck!” The words came from the pilot's chair.
“Hold on.” He stepped over the twisted insides of their ship and made his way to the front. He stopped when he found the first body. He was ashamed to say he didn't remember his name, a male Twi’lek who hadn't spoken much. Next to him was the dark haired Dari. He kneeled and checked for a pulse. It was faint, but he was alive.
“Is that you Al?” A female asked from the front. The pilot's name was Tess, she was a newer Knight than the rest so she was the closest to Al in age. Probably why she'd spoken to him before now.
“Yeah. I have Dari here, he's got a pulse but he isn't waking up. Hold on, I'll cut you out.”
He received only superficial wounds from the crash, a cut here and there that bled for the moment. Tess had similar injuries with a bruise from her harness. He’d carried Dari out of the wreckage with Tess’s help, the three settled down away from the crash beneath the cover of an atmosphere stabilizer. They had landed in the field of the Great Machines, he was back.
“We need to regroup with Master Diem and the others. They should have landed somewhere close by.”
“I lost contact as we descended. Last transmission I received was from cruiser Blue Knight they'd taken fire and were retreating out of range.”
“That's a relief. I feared the worse when I saw the artillery.”
Dari groaned and turned on his side.
“Tess, where's Vorusk?”
“I’m sorry Dari. I did my best, but we got hit before we landed. Vorusk didn't survive the crash.” They shared a moment of silence.
“Can you walk?” Al asked after a moment.
“Yeah, just a bump on the head is all.”
“So what's the plan, Al?” Tess asked.
“Hold on Tess. Listen Al, don't take offense, but you're a padawan. I'm assuming command from here on.” Dari said with a certain finality, hoping to end the conversation there.
“Master Hal’ferra placed him in command, Dari. His rank is of no concern, I trust Diem’s judgment on the matter.” He was surprised someone he hardly knew would speak up for him in such a manner, but again, he owed it all to Master Diem. He didn't realize his master was held in such high regard within the Order.
“... Fine, it's just until we find Master Diem anyway.”
Al had walked quietly in front of the two during the conversation. Tess caught up to him, her long blond hair in the process of being tied back.
“Don't take it to heart Al. We’re a tight group, us deep space Knights. But you're one of us now, and you deserve respect.”
“Thanks, but I’m nothing special.”
“Really? Way I hear it told is this Dark Lord is your uncle, and when you were escaping this delightful moon you stood up to him and saved your mom.” He didn't want to blush, especially in front of her.
“I didn't do anything. Master Diem stood up to him, I just ran. I ran away from my problems, my people, from him…”
“And slapped some of his lightning away as you did it, sure. Your modesty is cute Al, but you can't hide anything from us. We tell stories, swap tales. Master Diem always has the best ones, and since I've known him they've all been about you.” He liked Tess. She spoke to him only briefly on the cruiser, but she certainly left an impression. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were unlike any he'd seen anywhere, eyes as blue and clear as the ocean. She was about as tall as Al, slender and very beautiful. He guessed she were only a few years older than him though she was already a Knight.
The hairs on the back of his neck raised in alarm, he was reaching for his lightsaber before he even comprehended the situation. As he ignited the others did the same, stepping past Tess and deflecting a blaster bolt aimed at her back. Twin yellow sabers crossed behind him as he realized several more bolts came for his back as well, Tess saving his life. It also meant they were at least partly surrounded. Dari’s blue blade joined them as they naturally formed a defensive triangle.
“Anyone have eyes?” Dari inquired.
“No, but in these fields they could be anywhere.” Their line of sight was short ranged in the maze of machinery they'd walked into.
“We can't hold here forever, lest they call reinforcements.” Tess said. “What's the play, Al?”
“Dari, try your comm. Are we within range of Master Diem yet?” He thumbed his comm with his off hand but received only static.
“Must be the machines interfering.” Several more blaster bolts howled, aimed at them. They deflected them easily.
“I saw black metal, droids I think.” Said Tess.
“There's only a few I think. We need to move out of these fields, otherwise they'll keep ambushing us. Move as a triangle, watch each other's backs. Their aim on point so we need to be too. Follow me.” Al moved not quite in the direction of the towers, but towards the quickest exit from the fields. Now that they were moving, the droids double timed their offensive. More and more blaster fire came from every which direction, never exposed long enough for an effective counter.
He could see the clearing when a body of black metal jumped out from overhead. His saber met resistance but didn't cut, a hard kick sent him sprawling out of formation.
“Blast!” Dari yelled. He also swung hard at the droid, but a blade protruded from its arm capable of parrying the saber. Tess turned just as another droid attempted to flank her, she had more success than Dari. Dual yellow sabers twirled into an offense against the droid, one of them catching an arm it raised to save it's core. Al saw her saber make contact, but the cut was slow, like the droids metal resisted the blade.
He caught the shadow of a droid coming from behind him. He rolled away from it and raised his saber just in time to catch a jab on edge of his blade, the fist stopping inches from his face. A blade protruded from the top of its forearm at high speed and sliced a shallow line on his cheek, it would have pierced his whole face had his reflexes not been on high alert.
“Gahh!” Dari screamed out in pain, but Al couldn't turn away from his foe to see.
Calling upon the force to increase his strength, he slowly began pushing back against the droid. He pulled it's bladed fist upwards while it was still in contact with his saber to try to counter but was met with a punch from its free hand. He caught the fist in his hand, he felt his strength grow with the conflict as the droid tried and failed to wrench itself free from his grip. It's bladed arm came down again. He was ready for it, bringing his saber up at its weaker joints and taking the arm off. Then he pulled the droid to the ground, when it resisted he punched it's head into the hard ground. Still holding its remaining arm, he stepped on its back and stabbed his saber into its back, slowly drilling through its armor to its processor. When it stopped moving he let go of its arm and ran to help his comrades.
Tess was faring better than Dari, the latter receiving a stab wound to his shoulder. His charge led him to Tess’s droid, and with a heavy horizontal swing from behind he literally threw the droid a few feet from where it stood.
“Help Dari.” He told her as the droid righted itself to face it's new opponent. He fought off the anger and frustration he'd felt ever since the mission went off course, instead he'd use the free moments before combat to center himself. He felt the force flow through him as he slowly raised his saber high over his head.
The droid dropped to all fours and charged him at great speed. It leapt with two bladed hands, reaching desperately for his throat in an attempt to hide it's damaged torso. At the perfect moment, Al sidestepped and swung downwards with all his might directly where he'd previously damaged. The droids legs separated from its torso and appeared to power down. Just in case, he buried his saber in the processor like the last one.
“Those were far more dangerous than your standard assassin models, and I don't recognize the make.” Said Tess as she pulled her sabers out of the back of the last droid. “You were amazing back there Al!”
“Your combat skills are impressive. You stayed calm in spite of that mess of a skirmish.” Dari said as he picked himself up off the ground. His shoulder bled, Tess began administering first aid.
“These droids may very well be Sith war models from the old times. This whole moon is stockpiled with their tech.” Al said as he contemplated whether to holster his saber or not, probably best to keep it handy. “We should keep a lookout for-”
“Smoke, over the horizon there.” Dari exclaimed with a hand pointing due north of their position.
“It could be Master Diem’s dropship, let's hurry!” Al led the party towards the smoke.
He saw the carcass of a Sith droid, then another. Then the body of a Jedi.
“Search the ship, there might be survivors who need our help!” Al admired her optimism, but he had a feeling they were stepping into a graveyard.
“Master!” Al yelled. “Master are you here?” He ripped the twisted hangar door off its hinge and walked inside. Another Jedi lay motionless on the ground. Tess checked the front, pilot was gone also.
“How horrible…” Her voice tender, Al thought she were about to shed tears. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Master Diem isn't here, maybe he got away Al.”
“Over here!” Dari yelled from outside.
Master Diem sat back against a wall, two disabled droids in front of him. He was also alive despite the heavy bleeding from his chest.
“Al, you made it. I feared the worst.” Al rushed to his side.
“Master…”
“I’m okay. My team isn't, I'm the only one left. You got them here safely, Al, I'm so proud of you.” He coughed profusely, holding his wounds while he did. “This mission Al, I'm afraid it's up to you now.”
“You're sure that I'm up to it?”
“He's up to it, Master Diem.” Tess said quickly and confidently. “He stood strong with us as we fought our way to you. He fulfilled the duties you entrusted him with.”
“Thank you Tess. And thank you for watching him. But Al is actually correct, this mission is too dangerous for a mere Padawan. Dari, my old friend. If you would be so kind…”
A blue saber cut the braid from Al’s hair.
“Rise Alastar Ro, rise and stand a Jedi Knight” Slowly and without a word, Al rose to his feet.
“Greetings brother.” Said Dari.
“You honor us.” Tess said gently.
“You're ready Al. Now go fulfill your calling, brother.”
Al was quiet, he didn't know the words for how he felt.
“Dari, stay with Master Diem. He's too valuable to the order to be left alone. If Tess and I don't return to you by sundown than we've failed. If that's the case, find a location to lay low until the Republic sends reinforcements.” No one argued.
Very Human
They came upon the Towers of the Lords, ducking for cover in one of the older abandoned structures close by. Something had bothered Al since they landed, and that was the lack of people. They could all be hiding he supposed, or maybe they were being held somewhere?
“Couldn't wait to get me all to yourself, huh handsome?”
“What? I- Dari was wounded and I couldn't just-”
“Easy Al, you just looked so tense. I couldn't help teasing you a little bit.” She moved closer, an act that wouldn't have been uncomfortable a few minutes ago. “I don't suppose we’ll just be able to walk on in and take this guy out, huh?”
“Nope. My bet is there is a figurative, maybe literal ton of droids waiting for us once we enter.”
“You really know how to sweet talk a lady. But instead of fighting them, how about we try something else?” He gave her a quizzical look.
Al stood about 100 paces from the entrance of the main tower. He reached out with the force, concentrating and feeling. This was perfect for him, raw strength and very little precision. Slowly the effects of his work began to show. The tower rumbled slightly, the top beginning to crumble. Truth be told he would never have been able to bring the whole thing down, it was too big and solid. He just needed to make it look like he could.
“Come out or be buried!” He demanded.
On cue, more than ten black droids jumped out of various windows, several more pouring out from the entrance. He didn't count those as he was busy running for his life.
He was going as fast as he could, but the droids were faster. They began to fire upon him with what he realized were wrist mounted blasters, bolts flying over and around him. He ignited his saber deflected any that came too close. His comm blipped.
“Al, I can hear the fire. Tell me when you're clear.”
“Almost, just be ready on that trigger!” A bolt flew just over his shoulder, he felt the heat on his face. “Their aim is getting better!”
He could see his exit, but the droids were closer to him that he would have liked. They wouldn't get all of them if he waited till he was completely clear… Time to make a judgement call.
“Hit it!” He yelled, holstering his saber and putting everything he had into a finish line sprint. The thermal detonators they planted around the structure on remote detonation… well, detonated.
The walls exploded in unison, the ceiling started coming down in heavy chunks that crashed into the stone floor with a heavy, cracking thud. It was deafening being inside of a collapsing building, much louder than he'd assumed which was already pretty loud. The floor shook beneath him, in may places giving in to the destruction and crumbling away to the sub levels altogether. He ducked right suddenly as the ground next to him exploded, stone splashing stone and dust hindering line of sight.
He had to jump to reach the exit, which he did successfully, but once on the other side a sudden weight on his leg threatened to drag him into the black abyss beneath. He grabbed hold of the stone floor, turning his head to find that one of the Sith droids had jumped with him, just catching his ankle before it fell. It weighed a ton.
“Oh for the love of- Get off! Blast it!” He couldn't reach for his saber, if he took an arm off the ledge he would surely fall. He kicked at its head to no avail, he knew that he had little time before the entrance completely collapsed and crushed him.
A flash of yellow blew by his face down towards his leg, Tess buried her saber deep through the droids head. It sputtered out of control, the hand released its tight grip from his ankle and fell to darkness. She pulled him up just in time for him to grab her and jump out of the way of the now fully collapsed entrance. Rubble just a few feet from their toes, Al knew they'd gotten away by the skin of their teeth.
“Would've been less dangerous seventeen against two.” He muttered as a small laughter took hold of him.
“Laughing at your own jokes, that's just awful.”
“Someone has to.” Now she laughed, it was a nice sound, soft and tender. They hadn't moved since the structure came down, Al lay on top of her still from when he shielded her from debris. Their eyes had been locked for a while now and he didn't really know what it was he was feeling.
“You're so very human Al, in all the best ways.”
“You're very human yourself.” She laughed a bit more. “What's so funny?”
“It's you. You don't see it, you're the only one who doesn't see it.”
“I’m a simple guy, but you'd confuse a droid right now.”
“You're the cause, the catalyst, you make us this way. Being around you makes me feel…” She closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. Then her big blue eyes locked on his once more, an arm wrapping around his neck and pulling him down to her. He'd never been kissed on the lips before. She let him go after a long moment, a slow smile forming.
“Now get off, and no more kissing on the job. Honestly Al.” He reluctantly pulled back, smiling to himself scratching his head.
“You kissed me.”
Old Scores
“Where would he be? We’ve searched every inch of rotten tower, are you sure he didn't move somewhere else?” Tess asked with notable frustration.
“He's here, I can feel- DROID!” A few stragglers were still left inside the High Lords Tower, but they'd developed a sufficient system for disposing of them. Tess reached out and froze it in midair with the force, then Al approached and placed the emitter of his saber to its core and activated it. The tip met resistance, but the blade wanted to extend. Eventually it bore straight through it to the other side, Tess would then drop it's lifeless body out a window.
“I was saying, I can feel him here.”
“I don't sense anything. Think Al, this use to be your home. Where could he hide?” He thought about it before realizing how obvious the answer was.
“He's below us. The tomb where he uncovered the sword, that must be where the droids came from. He's digging up Sith technology.”
Finding the passage was easy, they just had to trace back all the droids that attacked them. Two more droids swooped at them from the entrance, but by now the Jedi were very adept at fighting them. They aimed for the weak joints that hardly resisted their sabers, taking limb after limb before aiming for their cores.
“Looks pretty dark. You bring a light?”
“You've got two lightsabers, put em to work.”
“Of course we didn't bring a light…”
They both ignited their sabers and began their descent to the unknown. In all his years on Ro, Al had never seen this. Ancient stone walls directed them towards what seemed to be some sort of crypt.
“This is a Sith burial ground. These must be close to a thousand years old.” She sounded in awe.
“My people and the Sith, these are probably my ancestors. Funny how things turned out, the circumstances of my being here.”
“Not what it says here, Al. Look at this.”
“I can't read their language. My mom could but-”
“I can.” He looked at her impressed. “ Story for another time. It says….” She trailed off, completely enveloped in the markings. He looked around, it was an impressive tomb.
“Wow. This is incredible Al. If this is true than…”
“What? What does it say?”
“There was a falling out, ha, longest Sith story ever told. But the reasoning… Several members of the Sith fought to free the people of Ro from their oppressors, the other faction of Sith. They found the light, as the text says, and fought to right the wrongs of their ancestors. Al, this is story about Sith turning into Jedi! Or something like them, I can't believe this!”
“So these statues, this crypt-”
“Built by those they saved to honor them after death. This isn't the crypt of some evil Sith, this is..”
“A hall of heroes. Forgotten until now.” He walked towards a tall slab, this one had pictures. He could get behind pictures. Then he saw it, the sword. The one that his Uncle Lyric Ro had uncovered. “What does this say?”
She walked over and examined it.
“Deep in the hall at its very depths, the honored dead serve vigilant over the weapon of their foe. Sons and daughters of Ro touch not the blade, for light always casts a shadow and none are without evil.”
“My uncle has the sword. He's… he must be under its control, all these years a slave.” Maybe for the first time it occurred to Al that he's never met his real uncle, just a monster masquerading as him. Anger surged through his body, his teeth clenched as did his hands. Tess placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Well, we’re here now. I don't know if he can be saved but… We need to stop him. You need to stop him, Al.”
“Tess, there's something else. I haven't seen a single person since we've arrived.”
“Maybe they're taking shelter somewhere, hard not to notice ground to atmosphere batteries firing off next door.” He wasn't so sure. “We’ll find them, Al. Hey, look at me.” He did.
“You're right, we will find them.”
“Let's get to it then.” And with that she trailed off in front of him.
“You're full of surprises.” He laughed to himself as they trailed off into the darkness.
“What is that?” Al asked slowly.
“It's a… uh, hold on.” She started to read through the vast array of symbols on the wall. “I... “ She looked pale as a ghost, even in the dim lighting of their lightsabers.
“Tess, what does it say?” She struggled with the words. Beginning a sentence and then dropping it to rephrase. “Tess.”
“The wall reads… ‘For darkness would berth light. The children of Lord Ro would rise against him in the darkest hour. Their ancestor lived a life separated from time aided by his dark machination, a machine which allowed him to move his mind to his descendants.” His heart skipped a beat.
“It wasn't Sith factions. It was a family, one family. He can only move between those with his blood.” He felt a coldness take hold of him.
“There's more Al. A plan was devised to instead use the people of Ro, to gather the first sons and take from them their years, gifting them to his lordship. But some of his children rose against him, defeating him and trapping him within his sword so that he may never take another child of Ro.”
“All the people of Ro are gone… he must have- could he have used this machine?”
“I- don't know. Al I'm so sorry, I didn't-”
He slammed his hand against the stone slab, blasting the top away and sending a throbbing pain through his arm. He stood there silent, rage coursing through his blood. He tried to close his eyes and center himself, but peace wouldn't come.
“I shouldn't have left.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I shouldn't have… I should have taken responsibility for my people-”
“Shh!” She hushed him. “Al, did you hear that?”
He listened, and he could hear it. A noise, a voice. Many voices. He took off towards the source, down a seemingly endless stone staircase and eventually, to the large construct referred to in the slab. It was some sort of chamber. Voices, so many voices. Too many to count. The chamber was transparent, countless families all huddled together. By the look of them they'd been imprisoned for a day or two at most.
“They’re alive! They're here, Tess!”
“How do we free them?” She asked.
“You can't. I hold the only key in my hand.” A voice Al hadn't heard in years, Lyric Ro, High Lord of Ro and ancient Sith. “The sword is the key. When Lyric Ro uncovered this, he uncovered me.”
Al gripped his saber tightly, he'd trained his whole life perhaps just for this moment. Tess shook her head, signaling him to wait before lunging.
“Why have you imprisoned these people?” Al asked.
“My boy, you know why. I told you, that day when I allowed you to escape.”
“You want to take over my body, is that it? I'm one of your descendants, you need a strong new body.”
“Very good. You've delivered yourself to me, trained and ready to become mine. Then I shall carry out the plans set to place all those years ago, and your body will stay young for centuries.”
“You disgust us.” Tess snarled. “You'll never have him. Al is a Jedi Knight, one of my sworn brothers. His battles are mine as well, you can't defeat us both.”
Lord Ro shot her a sharp glance, his amber eyes cutting through the darkness and chilling the air.
“Child, do not speak again.” Then he raised his hand, a powerful arc of lightning flashed through the air. Both their blades caught the energy, forcing it to wildly disperse about the chamber. After a moment, it stopped.
“She’s right you know. I'll ask you one final time, let these people go.” A laugh rang out through the darkness.
“You know, you're almost the very image of one of my grandchildren.” He sat on a nearby slab of stone, pointing up to the statue above him.
“Durance Ro. He was... my favorite, child. So gifted, such passion for the force.” He closed his eyes as if to better recall. It was a good opportunity to attack, he found himself staying his blade however. “Durance had strayed from the teachings I bestowed to my children. His passion for knowledge, as it turned out, would come second only to his compassion.”
“It was he who first spoke out against you?” Al asked.
“Ay, and I should have killed him for it. But I loved him.”
“I don't believe you. Nobody who conceives a plan such as this could be capable of feeling love.”
“We are not so different, my son.” The words stirred the anger in Al he earlier felt. “I did what what was in my family's best interest. They needed me to protect them, this plan came about as a means watch over them forever.”
“And sacrifice others children for your own?”
“Lesser men without the gifts of my children. These… ‘people’,” he pointed the large machine. “they are cattle, Alastar. We can be so much more! Raise the house of Ro to its former glory!”
“Durance didn't go along with this plan. If you really loved your children as you claim, you'd set them free. Let my Uncle go.”
“I've watched over you since you were born Alastar. I've cared for you, nurtured your growth. I was a parent to you when nobody else was around.” Some semblance of guilt and pain hit Al, but also anger.
“My mother loves me, you do not.” He raised his saber high in an over the shoulder stance. “High Lord Ro, stand and face me. I will not submit my people to a fate with you.”
Silence, even inside the chamber the people of Ro fell silent. Ro slowly stood himself, and though it was dark, his face looked to shed a tear.
“Durance Ro faced as you did. All those years ago, he stood where you are now and challenged me. He knew he couldn't win, but his sacrifice brought his brothers and sisters to rise as well. But you Alastar, you are alone.”
Tess stepped forward and raised a saber.
“Al will never be alone. No Jedi stands alone, and his friends are many. I'll suffice today for family.”
“I'll say it one last time. Lord Ro, surrender yourself or prepare for combat.”
Ro readied himself to a stance, both hands on his blade similar to how Al stood. It was decided.
Legacy
Al brought his blade down upon his foe, his speed and power enhanced through the force. Ro parried easily, the weight of his blade surpassing that of a lightsaber giving him leverage press back against Al’s advance. Moments after breaking Al’s attack, Ro advanced with a powerful stab at his core. Al parried, slapping the tip of the sword with his own saber, causing the sword to stray wide. Ro continued forward despite that, forming a fist with his right hand punching Al across the jaw. Knocked off balance, Al barely blocked the follow up swing of the sword as it closed in on his throat. He lost his footing altogether as the force of the blow knocked him on the ground. He rolled backwards, coming to a crouched stance with the tip of his saber towards Ro.
Tess swung both her sabers in the same horizontal motion from behind Ro. He turned and blocked both, pressing her back a step. Al lunged from his position for another attack but was met with lightning. He caught it on his blade but it locked him in place. Tess began an onslaught, working both sabers independent of each other in some of the finest saber work Al had ever seen. Ro parried as best as he could with a single hand, slowly stepping backwards away from them both while still giving off lightning. Her blows drew closer and closer, faster and faster until he needed both hands to stop her. He gripped his blade with both hands and swung horizontally, the force knocked a saber from her hand and flying wildly through the air behind her.
Al caught the blade and ran up shoulder to shoulder with Tess, passing it back to her as he did.
“Thanks.” She said with fatigue in her voice.
“We take him together. I'm going first, coordinate in between his counters. He leaves himself open.”
Al rushed forward again, leading with a feint head swing. When Ro raised to parry however, Al locked his elbows and evaded the swing. He'd need to use all the advantages a saber offered, for his opponent was cleverly doing the same with his sword. Now fighting inside Ro’s guard, he tried a strike at his waist. Ro reversed the grip on his sword and blocked, but the awkwardness of the defense left him open for Al to free a hand strike Ro as he'd done to him. All his force enhanced might and five fingers crunched into his opponent's face, knocking several teeth through the air. Tess’s timing was also perfect, she flew from out and around Al’s left side and attacked. Ro snapped to attention however, establishing more of his ancient might. A wave of force energy crashed into them both before her sabers could reach him, sending them both crashing into stone.
Tess came to first with surprising speed, just in time to bring both sabers to her define as Ro’s blade threatened to take her head off. The force of the blow sent off backwards back into the stone and cut off her leverage to mount a successful defense. Al quickly intercepted Ro from finishing her off and began to work his blade. He was matching Ro’s pace more easily now, actually beginning to mount his own offensive. Tess took the hint, in a true feat of acrobatic prowess she kicked off the wall into a backflip, landing in a flank to Ro. He tried to reposition himself to have Al and Tess both on front of him, but Al wouldn't give him any opportunities to side step before Tess started swinging. They had him.
Tess pressed into him with her blades, he'd barely turned in time from Al to block. He pushed her back, converting his motion into a 180° power swing at Al, but the latter saw it coming. He ducked under, coming in between his arms and striking in an uppercut motion with the meaty pommel of his saber. This was his fight now. Tess gracefully flicked her saber from behind him, lopping off his sword hand. Al hit him in the face three more times with his saber, kicking out his leg and bringing him to his knees. Tess brought a saber to rest on his shoulder. The fight was over.
“It's over Ro. Leave my uncle's body and go back whence you came.” He panted out the words. The fight was a taxing one, but he could feel that his uncle's body wasn't a suitable host for all the Sith Lords might. They would not have won so handily were the opposite true.
“You've bested me today, young Ro.” He smiled slightly. “For now.”
“Tell us how to free these people.” Tess demanded. He knelt in silence.
“Tell us, ancestor. Do one good deed before you disappear.” Al had a softer tone, but was nonetheless stern in speaking.
“The sword is the key, as it's always been. It can not be destroyed, nor can I. Your ancestors have tried many a time.”
“Tess, stay on him.” She nodded in confirmation.
He looked to where the sword had fallen, the hand of his uncle still gripping it tightly. Holstering his lightsaber, he walked several paces in the dark and knelt next to it. He picked up the blade. The hand loosened it's grip as soon as he did, falling to the ground. He saw a mechanism by the machine with a slot. He plunged the blade into it and turned counter clockwise, a whirring echoed through the cave. The great machine slowly opened, the residents of the moon weakly made their way out.
“Return your spirit to the blade.” Al commanded.
“And to what? You'll leave me in this contraption for all of time?” Al was silent. “I will not be imprisoned, I'd sooner die.”
“You'll face imprisonment no matter what from her out, what difference does it make where you are?”
“I… am conscious in the blade, young Alastar. I've felt the ages. I don't wish to stay here any longer.” The same guilt as before crept through him. It was unexplainable how he could feel for such a creature of darkness.
“If you return to this blade, then… I will take you with me. You won't have to stay here alone forever. Deny me now, and the offer is off the table for good.”
“Al, you can't possible mean to-”
“Deal.”
“No, I can't allow this. Al, he is a powerful Sith Lord! The Council would never allow such-”
“Tess, I need you to trust me. This is the right thing to do.”
Reunion
Thereza Ro boarded the lift to take her off the medical wing of the Republic cruiser. Lyric Ro was in terrible shape, though cosmetically he'd been patched up relatively well. A robotic hand serves as a suitable replacement for the one he'd lost, though they'd have to wait for a proper hospital before he received a skin graft. His teeth had been replaced, his cuts and bruises mended, but the look in his eyes when he'd finally come to… the screams, the terrified howling he let out along with his violent outbursts even while restrained, he'd be sedated the entirety of the voyage home.
The lift door opened in front of her, several Republic soldiers stood off to the side to let her through before they entered. A voice from down the hall snapped her to attention.
“How was he?” Al asked. She could see the guilt plainly on his face.
“It's going to take some time, Al. He hasn't… it's been years since he's last had control.” He nodded, crossing his arms and avoiding her glance.
“I was on my way to see Master Diem.”
“He's resting. When I passed his bed he was fast asleep.”
“I see.” He was quiet for a while. The lift door opened once more, several crew mates exited off, busy in their duties. “I’ll just come back later then.” He turned and started to walk off.
“Al.” He stopped, turning his head some to look at her. “I put you in a very unfair position.” She walked closer to him. “I feel I asked the impossible of you. It must have been absolutely awful back on Ro… and I put you in danger with my selfishness. You're all I have, and I put you in danger…” Her voice broke, but she fought the tears.
“It's okay mom. Everything will be okay.” She hugged her boy with everything she had, letting her tears out on his shoulder.
A New Voyage
“I'll try to catch up with you on your return trip, Al.” Tess said handing him his ration pack. His ship was loaded with everything but a droid, he hadn't happened across one he found reliable yet.
“You can always comm me, Tess.”
“Couldn't convince you to stay?”
“There's a lot of things I need to do. Maybe you should look for a Padawan, you're a great teacher.” She laughed.
“I'm not going back out for a while, so maybe I will.” She got quiet. “I lost a few friends out there on Ro. I know you didn't really know them, but…”
He stopped packing his ship, hopping down to the platform to meet her eyes.
“I'm sorry, Tess.”
“It's not my point. I just don't want to see you going off like this never to come back. Don't meet your fate out there, like they did. We owe more to ourselves.” She squeezed his hand.
“Tess… I owe my life, my mother's life… yours, to the order. And there's at least one more life out there, waiting for me to find her.” He looked up out at the stars.
“You told me this story.”
“It's more than a story, I've got to find her.”
“She might not even exist, Al. The force is funny sometimes.”
“Real or not, I made her a promise.”
“You're so… Human, Al.” She sighed in frustration. Then laughed to herself a little and smiled. “Go find her, I'd love to meet the girl of your dreams.”
“I don't think it's really appropriate to call her that. Especially since I'm probably at least twice her age.”
The engines fired up on his ship. He had almost no leads and it was a big galaxy, but he knew he'd find her eventually. A voice crept into his mind.
“You didn't tell her all your reasons for leaving, alone.”
“I told her the important things.”
“I'm not important?”
Al turned in his chair to face the sword. It was wrapped neatly in cloth, for he didn't dare touch it, and locked neatly away in a case of blaster and impact proof synthetic alloy.
“No. You're not.”
FACTION: Jedi
RANK: Knight
SPECIES: Human
AGE: 27
GENDER: Male
FORCE SENSITIVE: Trained force sensitive
Height - 6’2
Weight - 198 lbs
Eye color - Brown
Hair - Brown
Hair type - Short on the sides and back, medium length on top. Side part brushed back.
Skin - Caucasian
Facial hair - Shaves when he can
Body type - Lean and muscular
ATTRIBUTES: Al’s straightforward personality fits very well with his fighting style, he favors lightsaber combat over the force. As far as dueling is concerned, Al is a Djem-So specialist. His defense is solid, as his is ability to turn defense into offense in the blink of an eye. When on the offense, he uses both his natural and force enhanced strength and speed to dominate his opponent, naturally taking and giving ground when advantageous.
While his saber skills are certainly impressive, they are also his selling point. His force abilities suffer from entering the Order at a later age than his peers. While he is certainly powerful in the force, that may also be a hindering factor. He is Force clumsy. He struggles comparative to his peers, and while it may not be noticeable in standard telekinesis, such as pulling his grounded lightsaber back to him, in the heat of battle he has rarely ever utilized outward force capabilities. Al would probably never achieve that level of ease and practicality in the force.
The last point to be made about Al’s abilities would be his above average force wall. Despite his above stated clumsiness in the force, his resistance to force attacks has always been noted as far above average.
PERSONALITY: Honesty and humility came natural to Al since before his training. A combination of joining the Order late and having a relationship with his mother makes for a very human Jedi. He doesn't pretend not to have emotions and freely embraces who he is, but none of this affects how he believes wholeheartedly in the ideals of the Jedi. He strives every day to uphold justice and honor, lending a hand to any and all in need. He finds purpose defending those who cannot defend themselves.
Has he ever been tempted by the dark side? Mostly every Jedi has, Al is no exception. At every junction the dark side had offered him an easy solution, he walked the less sure, difficult path instead. He has always chosen the light, knowing that any pain he bore doing the right thing would always hurt less than any relief offered by doing wrong.
SKILLS:
Lightsaber Prowess:
Being his preferred area, Al has dedicated himself to the ins-and-outs of every single form. Despite it coming relatively easy to him, he's never allowed himself a lazy moment when it comes to perfecting his art. While he heavily favors Djem-So, his training allows him to naturally flow between and combine forms to eventually overcome most opponents. Due to his lack of force control outside of body enhancement, however, he truly can be considered a Djem-So specialist, a form which allows him to use his superior strength, speed, and knowledge to dominate foes in close combat.
Mastery Tier List: Specialist>Mastered>Very Proficient>Proficient>Very Adequate>Adequate>Novice
Form I - Mastered
Form II - Very Proficient
Form III - Proficient
Form IV - Proficient
Form V - Mastered - Specialist
Form VI - Proficient
Form VII - Proficient
Force Proficiency:
Acrobatics - Al’s specialty. Even among other Knights, his kind of strength and speed when enhanced through the force is rare.
Telekinesis - In a calm environment it would take a skilled eye to notice how much he struggles in controlling such finessed force maneuvers. In combat however he rarely relies on telekinesis outside of pulling his saber towards him.
Energy manipulation - He has a powerful force wall capable of shielding against the likes of force lightning. While he's very adept at defending himself, he has no outward force capabilities to speak of.
Healing - Incapable of healing through the
Trances - He’s adept at calming himself through meditation. Even if just for a moment he can close his eyes, that's often enough to center himself.
Sense - Average Knight level.
Mental Manipulation - He can perform a basic mind trick on the weak willed.
GEAR:
-Old red leather jacket
-Gray tunic -sleeveless
-Jedi belt
-Black pants
-Black jedi boots
-Lightsaber - green
-Back-up Saber - concealed on belt.
ROLE-PLAYS:
RELATIONSHIPS:
Esther Nyx - Her Teacher
SHIPS:
DROIDS:
PETS:
KILLS:
BATTLES:
BIOGRAPHY:
Al spent the younger years of his life on one of many moons of a small, unnamed planet devoid of life deep in the galactic northern end of the outer rim. The people of Ro (named after the ruling family of the moon) lived comfortably off the mysterious machines that had occupied their moon since before their recorded history. Their High Lord and Al’s Uncle, Lyric Ro was unable to produce an heir. He decreed that Alastar would one day inherit his responsibilities on the eve of his birth, a decision that left his mother, Thereza Ro concerned.
Thereza Ro, Al’s mother held the position of Great Mother, that is, she had inherited all of the knowledge of the past Great Mother regarding the mysterious machines that fueled their lifestyle. She alone discovered just after Al’s birth that their way of life was doomed to failure, as the machines fed off the natural resources of their moon and those resources were nearly depleted. Time was of the essence, but she couldn't yet present this information to her brother.
Lyric Ro had changed noticeably just months before Al’s birth. Those who knew him best noticed the first and most subtle changes after his last tour of the ancient catacombs beneath the high towers of the Lords of Ro. A new passage had been discovered that brought them deeper into the ancient dwelling than ever before. While the news had at first been joyous, the events that followed were nothing short of disastrous.
Of the fifteen who had volunteered to venture down to the unknown, none had returned within the designated moon cycle. A rescue party was formed, and they too disappeared for good. Just as hope had become lost on the fourth day since the rescue party descended, Lyric Ro alone returned from the dark depths. He carried something strange, a sword with a blade of green crystal that must have come from the catacombs.
When pressed for answers about what had occurred, he replied that the catacombs had been rigged with ancient traps and mechanisms designed to keep out intruders. He stated he never encountered the rescue team, but feared the worst. As such, he closed the catacombs off for good as they were too dangerous to explore. Something else to note, though many assumed it natural due to the hardships he must have faced, his hair had begun to show streaks of gray. After a few days of bed rest the High Lord of Ro resumed his rule.
Her son now four, Thereza knew the time was right to present her findings to Lyric. Fearing the worst, she had prepared an alternative plan just in case her brothers sometimes radical and foreign behavioral patterns took hold of him. She had with her own hands, committed the greatest of taboos capable on Ro. She built a ship, one that could fly her and Al so that they may leave their moon and pray to encounter the fabled life beyond their moon. The life that she thought may exist through the deciphered findings of all the Great Mother's before her, life that she needed to believe existed so that she could save her son from fears that she prayed would be unfounded concerns.
Time stood still as she met with her brother to report her findings, but the words were hardly out of her mouth before an invisible hand reached out around her throat. Lyric stood over her, somehow he was responsible for this.
“My dear, dear sister. I can see it all, your plots against me and the people of Ro. I see your concerns, your fears, your son….” He paused, closing his eyes to smile. What finally peered back at her were not her brothers eyes, they were animal-like, cold amber shooting fear into her being.
“I even see your ship, your last hope of saving your son. You won't be needing it.”
She saw his reflection in the green blade he held, except that what she saw wasn't her brother. It was something else, something dark.
“Y-you’re not Lyric-” was all she managed before fading to black.
Thereza Ro, Al’s mother held the position of Great Mother, that is, she had inherited all of the knowledge of the past Great Mother regarding the mysterious machines that fueled their lifestyle. She alone discovered just after Al’s birth that their way of life was doomed to failure, as the machines fed off the natural resources of their moon and those resources were nearly depleted. Time was of the essence, but she couldn't yet present this information to her brother.
Lyric Ro had changed noticeably just months before Al’s birth. Those who knew him best noticed the first and most subtle changes after his last tour of the ancient catacombs beneath the high towers of the Lords of Ro. A new passage had been discovered that brought them deeper into the ancient dwelling than ever before. While the news had at first been joyous, the events that followed were nothing short of disastrous.
Of the fifteen who had volunteered to venture down to the unknown, none had returned within the designated moon cycle. A rescue party was formed, and they too disappeared for good. Just as hope had become lost on the fourth day since the rescue party descended, Lyric Ro alone returned from the dark depths. He carried something strange, a sword with a blade of green crystal that must have come from the catacombs.
When pressed for answers about what had occurred, he replied that the catacombs had been rigged with ancient traps and mechanisms designed to keep out intruders. He stated he never encountered the rescue team, but feared the worst. As such, he closed the catacombs off for good as they were too dangerous to explore. Something else to note, though many assumed it natural due to the hardships he must have faced, his hair had begun to show streaks of gray. After a few days of bed rest the High Lord of Ro resumed his rule.
Her son now four, Thereza knew the time was right to present her findings to Lyric. Fearing the worst, she had prepared an alternative plan just in case her brothers sometimes radical and foreign behavioral patterns took hold of him. She had with her own hands, committed the greatest of taboos capable on Ro. She built a ship, one that could fly her and Al so that they may leave their moon and pray to encounter the fabled life beyond their moon. The life that she thought may exist through the deciphered findings of all the Great Mother's before her, life that she needed to believe existed so that she could save her son from fears that she prayed would be unfounded concerns.
Time stood still as she met with her brother to report her findings, but the words were hardly out of her mouth before an invisible hand reached out around her throat. Lyric stood over her, somehow he was responsible for this.
“My dear, dear sister. I can see it all, your plots against me and the people of Ro. I see your concerns, your fears, your son….” He paused, closing his eyes to smile. What finally peered back at her were not her brothers eyes, they were animal-like, cold amber shooting fear into her being.
“I even see your ship, your last hope of saving your son. You won't be needing it.”
She saw his reflection in the green blade he held, except that what she saw wasn't her brother. It was something else, something dark.
“Y-you’re not Lyric-” was all she managed before fading to black.
Roughly ten years have passed since Al received news of his mother's imprisonment. It was said that she had sabotaged one of the great machines, sacrilegious to her title of Great Mother and a sin against her own people. Al’s father passed before his birth, his only immediate family Lyric Ro took him as his own. His uncle scared him. He could be considerate and kind to the boy one moment, then the next cold and distant. He recalled a time where he had once asked about his mother, who he only had the faintest memories of, and was met with the back of his uncle's hand.
He spent most of his time alone; alienated from other children due to his status, yet in the same turn alienated from adults due to his age. As he played in the gardens by himself one morning he heard a horrible, loud noise. Curious to find its source, he raced out to the field of the great machines to discover what he believed (as he’d never seen one) used to be a ship. A long and deep trench from where this fighter unsuccessfully attempted to land had been etched into the rocky soil, a great wreck of twisted metal and sparks.
While the ship was certainly a surprise, the man walking out of it was an even bigger one. Frozen in both fear and wonder, Al watched as a hairy, furry creature walked towards him. He'd never seen anything of the like, part animal and part man, surely he were about to die. This thing would kill him, yet he still couldn't turn and run.
“Boy, boy, do you speak basic?” it asked.
Al looked in wonder, it spoke. This thing just actually spoke to him!
“I said boy! Are you deaf? Do you speak basic?”
“I… I can speak.” The words came out uncertain, he'd never been so struck by confusion. He took perhaps his first true look at what stood before him. It- he actually, was kept in brown robes which hid most of his characteristics, but his face was clearly not human. The snout, the ears, the fur, he resembled more a hound than a human.
“My ship has crashed, some sort of interference destroyed my controls, though thankfully not the ejection switch. Is there some sort of station or town nearby? Anything with a communications tower?”
“What are you?” A hoarse laugh came from the alien.
“Never seen a Bothan before child? My name is Diem Hal’ferra, Member of the Jedi Order. I suppose this is the first time you've ever seen a Jedi?”
By the time introductions were done and Al agreed to show him back to the Towers, the Lord's militia had appeared to investigate. Diem tried to speak to them, but the confrontation ended in violence. A lightning quick flash of blue came from his hand in an arc, when it disappeared several of the men's weapons had been melted in half. Dispersing aggression without injury to the party, Diem explained to Al as the militia retreated in fear, was to be considered a victory for any Jedi. Al had questions, so many he could barely contain himself as he searched for the most important one.
“Can you help me?” he asked the Jedi.
He spent most of his time alone; alienated from other children due to his status, yet in the same turn alienated from adults due to his age. As he played in the gardens by himself one morning he heard a horrible, loud noise. Curious to find its source, he raced out to the field of the great machines to discover what he believed (as he’d never seen one) used to be a ship. A long and deep trench from where this fighter unsuccessfully attempted to land had been etched into the rocky soil, a great wreck of twisted metal and sparks.
While the ship was certainly a surprise, the man walking out of it was an even bigger one. Frozen in both fear and wonder, Al watched as a hairy, furry creature walked towards him. He'd never seen anything of the like, part animal and part man, surely he were about to die. This thing would kill him, yet he still couldn't turn and run.
“Boy, boy, do you speak basic?” it asked.
Al looked in wonder, it spoke. This thing just actually spoke to him!
“I said boy! Are you deaf? Do you speak basic?”
“I… I can speak.” The words came out uncertain, he'd never been so struck by confusion. He took perhaps his first true look at what stood before him. It- he actually, was kept in brown robes which hid most of his characteristics, but his face was clearly not human. The snout, the ears, the fur, he resembled more a hound than a human.
“My ship has crashed, some sort of interference destroyed my controls, though thankfully not the ejection switch. Is there some sort of station or town nearby? Anything with a communications tower?”
“What are you?” A hoarse laugh came from the alien.
“Never seen a Bothan before child? My name is Diem Hal’ferra, Member of the Jedi Order. I suppose this is the first time you've ever seen a Jedi?”
By the time introductions were done and Al agreed to show him back to the Towers, the Lord's militia had appeared to investigate. Diem tried to speak to them, but the confrontation ended in violence. A lightning quick flash of blue came from his hand in an arc, when it disappeared several of the men's weapons had been melted in half. Dispersing aggression without injury to the party, Diem explained to Al as the militia retreated in fear, was to be considered a victory for any Jedi. Al had questions, so many he could barely contain himself as he searched for the most important one.
“Can you help me?” he asked the Jedi.
Thereza Ro had long lost track of the days she'd spent imprisoned for a false crime. She didn't care so much anymore, not about the great machines, the people of Ro, herself, she'd rid herself of such delusions as freedom and justice. One thing kept her alive, the hope that someday, somehow she would see her son. She thought about it every day, what she'd say to him, how she'd fight for every moment she could to be close to him. If she could just whisper to him everything he'd need to know to leave this false paradise, if he could somehow fly away from this place… she'd let herself die only after.
Lyric Ro, her brother, her captor. She knew she only still breathed so that somehow he may force her to pass on her knowledge, her last remaining chip so to speak. She had been given much time to piece together the various scattered bits of history in her ancient writings, reaching a clarity she would not have achieved were it not for her solitude. Long ago, before her people were as they are now, the inhabitants of Ro were great warriors. A recurring word that previously held no meaning was what she believed them to be called, Sith.
There were many holes, but she believed these Sith held dominion of the planet below them and the many moons that surrounded it, that is, before they disappeared from history altogether. She believed that what she saw that day, the reflection in Lyric’s blade, that must have been a Sith. Tales of sorcery that she now understood to be true, somehow her brother had become possessed. It was crazy, she second guessed her sanity almost every day, but something told her she was correct.
“Please…” She didn't know who it was she were praying to. “Please. Give me the strength to stop my brother.”
Silence. She didn't know what she thought to happen, but expectation had brought her heartbeat all the way to her throat in anticipation. This wasn't right, she couldn't stay here any longer, she needed to leave NOW!
The crack and fizzle outside of her prison door caught her off guard, a welcoming heat radiated as the metal began to turn red and orange. The hinges warped, the door began to melt apart, and a muffled voice could be heard from the other side.
“Mom! Get away from the door!”
Meeting Again for the First Time
To see her after all this time brought forward feelings of love Al could scarce remember ever feeling before. Tears welled in his eyes and his body reacted, for his mind could not. He hugged her as tightly as he could and cried ten years worth of tears, the warmth from her arms wrapping around him thawed years of icy detachment. He would not let himself lose her again, he was older now and he had the help of a Jedi.
She set him back away from her so they could see face to face, placing both hands on his face.
“Were leaving.” Years of calculating what she would say, all those carefully constructed sentences disappeared in the blink of an eye as the fear hit her that if they were caught, she would again be taken away from her son. She stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed for the first time the the person in the hall.
“Mom, this is Diem. He’s the reason you're free, he used his Jedi magic to get us here undetected. I told him you were the smartest person on Ro and that you could help him.”
“I’ve become aware that your people have yet to contact outside life. Your son has been very open minded, I don't think I've ever met anyone with such sincerity.”
She pushed shock and doubt and every other feeling or thought that didn't aid their escape to the back of her mind.
“Jedi. I've read that word before in the ruins around here.” Hope filled her being. “Listen Jedi, I have a ship. If you can get us there safely then I’ll get us off this moon.”
Lyric Ro, her brother, her captor. She knew she only still breathed so that somehow he may force her to pass on her knowledge, her last remaining chip so to speak. She had been given much time to piece together the various scattered bits of history in her ancient writings, reaching a clarity she would not have achieved were it not for her solitude. Long ago, before her people were as they are now, the inhabitants of Ro were great warriors. A recurring word that previously held no meaning was what she believed them to be called, Sith.
There were many holes, but she believed these Sith held dominion of the planet below them and the many moons that surrounded it, that is, before they disappeared from history altogether. She believed that what she saw that day, the reflection in Lyric’s blade, that must have been a Sith. Tales of sorcery that she now understood to be true, somehow her brother had become possessed. It was crazy, she second guessed her sanity almost every day, but something told her she was correct.
“Please…” She didn't know who it was she were praying to. “Please. Give me the strength to stop my brother.”
Silence. She didn't know what she thought to happen, but expectation had brought her heartbeat all the way to her throat in anticipation. This wasn't right, she couldn't stay here any longer, she needed to leave NOW!
The crack and fizzle outside of her prison door caught her off guard, a welcoming heat radiated as the metal began to turn red and orange. The hinges warped, the door began to melt apart, and a muffled voice could be heard from the other side.
“Mom! Get away from the door!”
Meeting Again for the First Time
To see her after all this time brought forward feelings of love Al could scarce remember ever feeling before. Tears welled in his eyes and his body reacted, for his mind could not. He hugged her as tightly as he could and cried ten years worth of tears, the warmth from her arms wrapping around him thawed years of icy detachment. He would not let himself lose her again, he was older now and he had the help of a Jedi.
She set him back away from her so they could see face to face, placing both hands on his face.
“Were leaving.” Years of calculating what she would say, all those carefully constructed sentences disappeared in the blink of an eye as the fear hit her that if they were caught, she would again be taken away from her son. She stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed for the first time the the person in the hall.
“Mom, this is Diem. He’s the reason you're free, he used his Jedi magic to get us here undetected. I told him you were the smartest person on Ro and that you could help him.”
“I’ve become aware that your people have yet to contact outside life. Your son has been very open minded, I don't think I've ever met anyone with such sincerity.”
She pushed shock and doubt and every other feeling or thought that didn't aid their escape to the back of her mind.
“Jedi. I've read that word before in the ruins around here.” Hope filled her being. “Listen Jedi, I have a ship. If you can get us there safely then I’ll get us off this moon.”
The Ageless War
Her ship was carefully hidden in one of the many ruins she learned of during her apprenticeship. The ship itself was something she found in her youth, her favorite find to be precise. It belonged to the Sith she now realized, but when she had become the Great Mother it was the source of her inspiration. One day while tinkering with it she realized it still worked, though it would need heavy repairs before it could fly. Slowly, in her spare time she would visit her find in secret, learning more and more from its ancient design knowledge of all the Great Machines on Ro. She prayed she fully fixed it, her ancient friend which was now her only chance at saving her sons life.
“We’re almost there.” She announced to the party.
“These ruins, I've seen these markings before. This is Sith writing.”
“The Sith occupied these moons long ago. Our people are descendent from them.”
“That's… well, it's fascinating to say the least. And this brother of yours. You say he's been possessed by something?”
“I believe that somehow, something from far back has taken hold of him. He has powers, nothing I could explain.”
They walked on through the ruins, Al in particular was quiet the whole way.
“I shall need to bring news of this to the council. This place is unlike any I have ever seen.”
“How many Jedi are there?” Al asked suddenly. Diem was about to answer when Thereza hurried her pace around a corner.
“There's the ship!” She exclaimed.
A cold air enveloped Diem as hairs raised on the back of his neck.
“Stay back!” he yelled. “Whoever you are, I’ve sensed your presence already.”
The ship, nothing that could comfortable house more than a crew of five, hissed as the hatch opened and a ramp descended. Lyric Ro approached, sword In hand with a fixed smirk. Dread filled Thereza as she shoved Al behind her.
“Jedi,” Lyric began, “How fitting, on the eve of my reincarnation that I should taste Jedi blood.”
“Lyric!” Thereza yelled. “If you're still in there somewhere, this moon is dying! Let us leave, let your nephew go!”
“Impossible. When this vessel is decrepit, I shall have use of him. He has great potential for the force. I shall require his presence if I am to go on living.”
“That is no longer your brother. Whatever this thing is, it's far beyond compassion and remorse.” He slid his robe off onto the ground behind him and ignited a blue blade.
“I will fend him off. While he's distracted, take your boy to the ship.”
No Peace In Between
Thereza watched in horror as the two forces clashed, their movements faster than she could comprehend. She held Al’s hand tightly, waiting for a pause or some sign that she could move past them to the ship. No matter how hard she looked, it was impossible. They simply were moving too fast and chaotic.
Al’s eyes followed their movements as best as they could. The Jedi Diem had moved first, his laser sword moving fluidly around Lyric’s guard and pressing him backwards for a moment, until the latter gave a step to gain ground and viciously swung towards the throat of Diem. When Diem ducked and rolled to Lyric’s side, Al knew that was their chance to run. His grip on his mother's hand tightened as he pulled her forward.
Diem allowed himself a slight break in concentration to ensure that they'd seized their opportunity, then proceeded to pressure Lyric from his flank. He was immensely faster than his opponent, but the combined weight of his opponent's blade coupled with his strength made every parry a taxing one. The weapon in question somehow withstood impact with his lightsaber, it must have been some sort of Sith Sword. Their fight continued in a flurries standstill until Lyric drew back, Diem standing between him and the mother and son.
Thereza didn't know how her son knew to run at that moment, and she didn't care. They were almost to the ship when a sharp cracking noise involuntarily halted her.
Diem raised his saber to his defense catching the bulk of lightning that Lyric had just protruded from his hand. It was too much, his saber gave way to the force of the blast and he was thrown back. He looked behind him, they were almost inside the ship but not yet. Lyric was going to kill one of them.
Thereza hurried to get herself in between Al and the lightning, but her son had grown strong. He overpowered her in an instant and pushed her down behind him. She watched in horror as the lightning made contact.
'No'. The thought passed through his mind over and over. 'No'. He would no longer fear his uncle. 'No', he wouldn't become separated from his mother again, he wouldn't let them be stranded another second on this dying moon, he wouldn't need protecting anymore. 'No', when his mom saw the lightning she would not save him. 'No'.
With a heart of conviction, anger, and love he turned to his attacker. For a moment he felt the pain, the lightning coursing through his arm to his being. He knew what he stood between, how important it was to keep standing. The lightning cracked on his skin and wildly danced in front of him until he realized the pain was gone, or more specifically that the lightning was stopping just in front of him somehow.
Diem watched the lightning head towards the couple. He knew he had to act. He reached out with the force and felt for what he needed, the structure was unstable. Pushing as hard as he could against the ceiling, he shoved an important support upwards, causing the ceiling to fall in a V shaped depression. The lightning cut out as the rubble fell, placing Lyric on the opposite side of it all. Seizing the moment, Diem got to his feet and ran towards the ship.
It was over in an instant, but she feared for her son's life.
“Al!” She yelled as the lightning cut off. “Al!” She put out her arms as he fell backwards to her. Fearing the worst she looked desperately into his eyes.
“I’m okay mom, I’m okay.” He smiled at her.
“Start the ship! I’ll see to the boy, start the ship!”
Master, Student, and Mother
While there are certainly many tales that could be told between Ro and Dantooine, none would change Al’s life more so than his encounter with what Council members were present during their arrival. The planet was beautiful, Al had never seen so much prosperous life or felt such peace in a place.
“Please, enjoy these chambers while awaiting word from the Council.”
“I know you haven't been able to promise much, but do you truly think they’ll allow Al to train here?” Thereza asked in a low voice so that Al, currently staring out a window wouldn't hear.
“Due to his age, it's unlikely that he'll be accepted into the academy. But if I offer to train him myself, they may agree to that. I should be able to find something for you as well.”
“For me? I don't know what I could offer that would be of use to the Jedi.”
“You have several lifetimes of knowledge regarding Sith technology and writings. Truth be told, your safe recovery would have been a priority mission had we known you existed.” A blip on his comm notified him that the Council was ready for him.
Al had felt like something were following him ever since he arrived at this planet. It wasn't scary, whatever it was. More like, it felt as though their company had been four instead of three. He had nodded off at one point, his dreams filled with his Uncle and that cold moon where he once lived. In his dream he was a Jedi, and with his lightsaber in hand he drove his uncle back. As he were about to strike him down he felt in the wrong, and he understood. He wasn't fighting his uncle, his opponent was whatever controlled him. He awoke to a gentle hand on his shoulder, his mother's.
“The council is ready for you, Al.”
“Can you come with me?”
“Not inside, I'm sorry.”
Nerves resonated like electricity through him as he stood in the center of a round chamber, a half circle of chairs enveloped him. Some were occupied, some even by blue holograms, but most were empty. Diem stood by his side.
“This is the boy?” A female voice asked to his left. “He is old.”
“You say he's displayed Jedi traits.” A male from the center.
“That is true. He could track my movements in a duel, calculating a pause in battle long enough to run past us to safety. He's felt the force since arriving here.”
“You claimed he was capable of deflecting Sith sorcery, that for a moment he shielded himself and his mother from harm.” The female voice again. She was the more stern of the two. The rest watched the exchange.
“It was just for a moment, but it happened. He should not be alive, and yet he is here.”
“What is your name, child?” She asked.
“My name is Alastar Ro.”
“Do you wish to train in the ways of the force?”
“I do.”
“And your mother, you're aware that you'd be separated?”
He paused. Was that true? Why wouldn't Diem have warmed him if it were?
“Son.” The male voice eased more gently. “A Jedi must sacrifice themselves in body and mind for the betterment of the galaxy. Individual needs must be a far second.”
“I…” He began before closing his eyes, he could feel it again. One more entity in the room, a connection to everything around him. He felt it's immense power, but what stood out was the peace he felt by allowing it to draw closer.
“Al-” The woman began, but the male raised his hand and silenced the room, observing what was taking place.
It was here. The extra presence that had been following him, it presented itself to him at this very moment on purpose. A glimpse of clarity, purpose. Then the moment was gone and all he could grasp was the memory of that purpose, as if he'd been allowed to feel a moment in time from the future for just an instant.
“I'd like to be trained.”
Thereza approached from behind, accompanied by a robed figure.
“The mother is a special case, as I mentioned before.” Diem chimed in, a reassuring pat on Al’s shoulder.
“As you mentioned, yes. This presents a…” The male trailed off, eyes shifting between mother, son, and Jedi.
“A challenge.” The female finished. “Your situation is a unique one. We trust Master Diem’s judgment on the matter, if he is willing to train you then we shan’t interfere. And you, Miss Thereza, we'd be very pleased to learn from you. You'd of course be welcome among our researchers, a position I think you'll find both fulfilling and challenging.”
Al’s heart lifted in excitement. Everything was going to work out, finally.
“Your offer is welcome and I am grateful.” Thereza started. “But… I would still see Al, yes? I won't have to give up my son forever will I?”
“It is unnatural for a Jedi to have relations with parents. Our order typically frowns on such attachments.” The male said in a solemn tone.
“But,” The female interjected, “while in pursuit of your individual goals, I’d think it natural that your paths should cross.” The male shot her a glance, perhaps displeased at such a compromise. She smiled in reply.
Thereza held her son by his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. Tears welled but none fell.
“Al, you have been given such an amazing opportunity. The universe has presented you with a rare and wonderful gift.” Now it was Al with tears, and they did fall.
“What gift?” he asked. She wiped his face clean and hugged her boy close to her.
“You get to choose, Al. You get to choose.”
Caves of Ilum
“What challenges?” Al asked as the transport descended to the snowy landscape below.
“It's differs person to person. The purpose of the cave isn't to supply you with a crystal, padawan. It's much deeper than that. Some would say they weren't ready for a lightsaber until after receiving their crystal.”
“Well I'm ready.”
“You sound sure.”
“I understand how dangerous a lightsaber can be, I respect the tool. Is the concern my personal skill?”
“No. You've done amazingly well in your forms, it's been ages since I've encountered such a natural practitioner of form V.” The words filled Al with pride. Since his training had officially started he'd dedicated himself mind and body to the arts. It was a difficult path, to say the least. No matter how hard he tried or how well he performed, he knew he was still far behind those his age. He often thought of faceless peers, those who had submerged themselves in the same teachings years before him, those he so rarely encountered and, when he did, had achieved levels of growth far beyond his own.
“This trial isn't one you can prepare for however.”
Entering the cave alone, Al watched as the metal gate sealed him inside. From here on he'd go it alone.
He had no clue what lay in store for him as he steadily approached a drop in the cave. Nearing the edge, he'd be amazed by the sheer vastness of it all. For a crystal producing cavern though, he didn't see a single one. The glassy ice that surrounded him seemed to magnify the feelings of solitude he held within himself, and acknowledging this, pushed those feelings to the back of his mind and pressed onward.
He lost track of how much time had passed since the beginning of his trek. Perhaps an hour? Maybe many, he'd become stuck in his own head as he pondered over his many shortcomings. Master Diem explained that while Al had more muscle than even he in the force, that power coupled with his late learning made him clumsy. He may never fully realize his potential through the force, and as it stood the simplest of force tasks sometimes eluded him. Simply put, he wouldn't ever achieve the level of finesse as his peers.
A loud yell snapped him outside of himself as he became alert once more. He stood perfectly silent, poised, ready to move to a sprint. Then he heard it again, a distressed yell like before, but this time he could tell the direction. He ran full on, only slowing down when he needed to or when he had to regain his footing on the ice below him. He came to a natural bridge, an arch in the ice that connected over a ravine. The source of the yell came from the other side. A girl, his age but maybe younger with golden skin and long brown hair. She was holding her arm like it had been hurt, maybe broken. The attacker was nothing he'd ever seen before, albeit his experience and knowledge of the universe being incredibly lacking. It's arms were long, too long for its body which was hunched over and covered in ugly gray skin and muscles. It had long teeth, there must have been some trick to its mouth closing. It was probably 8 to 9 feet tall, but it's proportions were not that of a human. It was also closing in slowly on the girl, reaching out to her slowly with its large hands. She pointed an orange glowing blade at it, a training saber similar to what he had that would only burn through excessive contact and leave bruises rather than cleaving an enemy in two. She had been backed into a corner, unable to run for the bridge that separated them.
“HEY!” He yelled without thinking. His legs were already moving, running steadily at the scariest and most hideous monster he'd ever encountered in his life. One he was all but sure was about to eat him or rip him in half depending on how he tasted, and he was still running with all his might in its direction. He ignited an emerald blade, raising it high over his head in anticipation. The monster turned from the girl, who seized the opportunity to slide around the monster and toward the bridge, and now it chased her in Al’s direction as he continued his thoughtless charge.
As they he got his first good look at the girls face. She was very pretty, exhuming a noble quality he hadn't felt before. She looked to be in utter shock, that wasn't surprising given the circumstances.
The monster reared up its ugly arm and slammed it down harshly in Al direction. He strengthened himself with the force stepped to the side, lunging in the air and bearing his blade down with all his might. His lightsaber exploded as soon as it made contact, the hilt falling apart in his hand as pieces spilled to the ground. As he fell to the ground, the monster swung a limb horizontal, knocking the wind out of him as he sprawled across the ice towards the ravine. He almost fell, would have actually had the girl behind him not halted his momentum with the force.
“We need to run!” She yelled. “Nothing I've tried has worked, I tried to tell you to stop, I’m sorry!” He had been too caught up to hear her earlier, a mistake that he'd be feeling for a while.
She grabbed his hand and began to lead him over the bridge. It hurt to breathe, but pain meant he was alive. If he stopped running he would die for sure. The monster seemed tentative to cross such a delicate bridge but who knew when it would begin chasing them again.
“What was that thing?” He managed to ask.
“I don't know. But everything I've tried has fallen short of success. I even… I even tried lightning.” Lightning?
“That's sorcery, a Jedi doesn't use the force for-”
“I've never performed it on a living being before today! I'm just gifted, the force comes easy to me and I was pushing myself. You never judged me before!”
Friendship Transcended
Perhaps an hour had gone by since losing their invincible stalker. The two ventured deeper and deeper to the depths as their quest continued.
“I don't know how we're going to get out of this Al. I must have been here for a full day, but the only thing I found had long teeth and tried to eat me.”
“I never said my name.” Silence followed for a few moments.
“You said it earlier, you just weren't paying attention.” He didn't think so, but that wasn't the first odd thing about this girl.
“When we were running, you said I never judged you before. You made it sound like we've known each other for a long time, but I’ve only met a handful of other Jedi. You're not one of them.”
“I don't know why I said that. I was scared, I must have misspoke.”
“Well… putting that aside for now, what's your name?”
“Melidae.” She said quietly. “Just Melidae.”
“You're kind of like me, huh?”
“How?”
“Old. For a new padawan anyway.” She let out a small, sweet laugh. “What's so funny?”
“I have a bit of an unorthodox master. He fought the council on my behalf so that I would be trained, regardless of my age. I wanted him though, so while he was leaving one day I snuck on his ship. We’ve been together ever since.”
“Wow, I can't believe that worked.” He smiled, recounting the odd series of events responsible for his inclusion to the order. “He sounds like my master. Without Master Diem I wouldn't have had this opportunity to… well, be eaten I guess.” That made her laugh louder.
“What did you mean before when you said you were gifted?”
“My people existed far beyond the Rim, all naturally sensitive to the force. I've been using it in my everyday life for as long as I can remember.”
“I didn't know there was life outside my moon until I was fourteen. Jedi, the force, all of this. Sometimes I'm embarrassed of how ignorant I am.”
“Well, you saved me. I would have died if you didn't run head first into danger to save me. I'd like to thank you.”
“You don't have to-” Her lips pressed against his cheek, cutting him off mid sentence and setting his cheeks on fire. She turned away after a moment and pulled ahead. The two walked in silence.
“Dead end.” He said as they reached what appeared to be an never ending wall of ice.
“Yeah. I guess we’ll turn around and-”
A loud, terrifying cry froze the pair in their tracks. It found them. It was only 100 paces away about, but it hunched there in place and stared at them rather than cross the distance.
“Al.” She whispered, grabbing his hand tightly.
His mind raced, he looked around desperately for a way out. There, above them, it looked like there might be another passage not too far up.
“You need to get up there.” He said finally, pointing up at the wall behind them.
“It's an almost perfectly upright wall of ice. Even if we had gear, which we don’t, how are we going to-”
“Not we. You. There's ledges and crawl spaces up there, they must lead to another passage.”
“What? Pretend I could get up there, you'd be down here with that thing! It's suicide!”
“Get ready, I'm not so good at this.” He reached out with the force and felt around her. Focus, he'd tell himself. Focus, she's relying on you.
“Wait, this is crazy!” She yelled. But Al couldn't hear her. His focus was with the other company, the other presence that first presented itself to him on Dantooine all those years ago. He pushed, guiding her as best as his senses would allow. He was almost afraid to open his eyes and see the results of his quick thinking. He heard her yell and his heart raced harder, afraid he'd made a mistake.
“Al, it’s coming! Al!”
She was right, he could hear it's loud, heavy charge against the ice. He had no lightsaber, no plan, no help, just like when he entered the cave. What could he do? At least the girl was safe, he found himself appreciating her company more than he thought was possible. He'd never see her again though, any moment he'd be devoured by one of the scariest things he'd ever seen.
“Al! Al run, or climb! Try to climb, maybe I can-”
The galaxy became silent. He was scared, he'd been brave for people, but he was always scared. He knew he didn't belong anywhere. He wasn't smart like his mother, he wasn't a Lord of Ro, he thought he could be a Jedi… Sometimes more than scared, he'd feel anger. He hated his uncle, hated Ro, hated the council for taking away his mom. He even hated master Diem for setting him down this impossible path.
The monster was closer. He'd die alone.
He felt a warmth he hadn't felt since he entered the cave, as if somewhere around him the sun had risen. He couldn't place the source as he felt it all around, wrapping around his being. Calmness spread throughout his being and he felt another presence.
“I've been such a fool.” Finally he turned to meet his attacker. As he turned he saw something flash, a green light between him and the beast. “I found my crystal!” He yelled.
“Forget about that! Climb up to me!”
“I’m going for it, back me up!” And then he broke to a sprint, faster than he'd ever run in his whole life. The force fueled his legs as he came up on the beast. Still, as fast as he was it was going to be close. Something flew over his head from behind, something big. A gigantic hunk of ice. It flew at great speeds towards the beast, striking it dead on in the chest. An explosion of ice and mist erupted the cavern, just as another similarly sized piece followed up through the haze and presumably landed another direct hit. Melidae was indeed a natural, and maybe his first friend.
He slid to a halt on top of the crystal, but it was stuck in the ice beneath his feet. He reached out to the force, enhancing his strength to levels he'd never naturally achieve, and struck the ice with his fist. Nothing. He hit it again and felt a give, it cracked around the sides. He swung once more and felt a wriggle, his hand was killing him. His heart jumped when the beast pounced from the mist towards him and he was sure he was a goner, but another large chunk of ice intercepted it's leap and sent it sprawling away from him. He didn't have much time, one last punch. He brought his fist down like a hammer, a crunch that he hoped was the ice echoed throughout the cave. He pulled the crystal from the ground and sprinted back towards the ice wall, this time with a plan.
“Melidae, throw another chunk of ice! This time at me and wait until I'm close!”
“I’ll try Al, I'm getting tired!” Throwing all that weight around would do a number on anyone, he was surprised she threw as many as she had.
The ground hummed beneath his as he ran for his life, he knew the terror was hot on his tail. This would have to be timed just right, if he made the slightest mistake or she threw too early or late then it was all over. Despite their short time together, he felt he could trust this girl with his life. Actually, he felt like they'd done this before. He chanced a glance over his shoulder to find that despite his increased speed, the monster was gaining on him. Close now, it was almost time.
“Melidae!” Her timing was perfect, her aim true. He let it fly through the air for a moment before taking to the air himself. It missed him by am immeasurably small distance as he kicked off the top with all his might, extending his jump like a midair step. The monster, which had jumped with him and was only inches from his leg, ate the heavy chunk of ice in the face. The impact was loud, a crunching sound was heard which he assumed to be a bone somewhere giving in finally, and the monster spiked into the hard ground with an impact that shook the whole cavern. It would have been a more joyous event for Al if he were more certain that his jump was going to actually be far enough to make it to Melidae. He reached out in a desperate attempt to grab a hold of something, anything at all that would stop him from falling probably to his death. He failed, he knew so as he began descending from the ledge that he didn't jump quite far enough. Looking down under him he found nothing but jagged rock and ice, and the monster that was probably still alive of course.
Suddenly his hand caught hold of something, or rather, someone caught hold of his wrist and stopped his fall, accompanied by a cry of pain.
“You're - SO -heavy!” She yelled between breaths.
His body slammed into the wall hard, but he was alive. He grabbed the lip of the ledge with his other hand and began to pull himself up. When he was finally safe, he fell to the ground instantly and took deep breaths. Melidae fell in next to him, both exhausted physically and emotionally. They kept each other warm while they shared what food they had rested, sure that just for the moment they needed a break.
Pulled To You
“Let me see.” She asked as Al raised his crystal to the air. “Such a nice green. What kind of lightsaber are you going to make?”
“I brought the parts with me. Dueling might be the only thing I'm any good at, so I was really particular about having a longer handle.”
“More leverage on those swing of yours. I bet you study form V.”
“Yeah, how'd you know?”
“My master taught it to me. Lightsaber combat didn't take to me right away, but he's such an incredible fighter and teacher that even I can fight well now.”
“If I were you, I'd say your best bet would be to stick to Djem So, safe and secure counters, then maybe when they open themselves up to-”
“Switch to Juyo and take advantage of that natural speed.” They said in unison. She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.
“This is going to be a fun conversation when we get out of here.”
“You and your master?”
“Oh yes. You two are very, very alike.”
“I'd really like to meet him, what's his name?”
“Well, we’ll talk about that later. First I need my crystal. Are you going to build your saber?”
With renewed spirits and full stomachs the pair continued to search for Melidae’s crystal. How long had they been wandering the immense cavern system? Al couldn't tell time down there, but it felt at least the better half of a day. An hour or so went by with little excitement, they were free to carefully tread at their own pace.
Al knew she wasn't telling him everything. The irrational levels of trust he felt towards her didn't go unnoticed either, but there was just something about her, impossibly familiar but new at the same time.
“I see my crystal!” She yelled in excitement. “Come on, it's just around this ledge.” A deafening howl halted their advance.
“It couldn't be…” A large hand grabbed hold of the ledge, pulling up an all too familiar hideous creature. Al ignited his lightsaber for its first combat.
“I'm with you.” She lifted her hands in the air, her crystal shooting through the air in her direction. Several parts for a handle floated around her as she gracefully and quickly constructed her lightsaber. Al noted how much more quickly and efficiently she had done it than he. Her blade ignited to a beautiful orange.
The two stood side by side, combat ready. The monster howled at them as if to signal the start, and charged. They moved in unison, Al in front with Melidae just behind him. Al raised his saber high, fueling his body with the force and preparing a swing. The monster swiped it's long arm as if to swat him away, but Al was quick. He slid beneath the arm, lowered his saber, and swiped across its abdomen. Even a true lightsaber met resistance against the beast, but he felt the saber sink regardless. It was more shallow than he liked. They had a long battle ahead.
Melidae had followed on his swing by going high over the arm while it was distracted and buried some of the tip of her blade to the beast's chest. She too met resistance, only driving home a tiny bit more blade before she withdrew from its counter attack. She drew upon the force, quickly hurling some nearby rocks in its direction when it leapt above them and landed safely away. They circled another once more, Al positioning himself between it and her.
“This feels natural.” He said finally.
“We have almost as much synergy together as me and my master.”
“Maybe soon you'll tell me why.”
It lunged once more, this time splitting them up. Al leapt forward once more to attack, narrowly raising his blade in time to deflect an attempt to grab him. Melidae dashed in and swung around where Al had cut earlier, a cry of pain released from the beast. Al thought it would turn to her and attack, but it must have been learning their habits. As he approached once more he felt the weight of a heavy come down, bringing him hard to the ground.
He might have blacked out for a moment, when he came to Melidae had narrowly dodged a swipe but in doing so cornered herself. He tried to move but couldn't, his body didn't respond.
“Al!” She yelled. “Help me!” It slowly approached her, wary of her blade. She was terrified. She tried to push it away with the force but it resisted. She tried once more in vain. “Al!”
Finally he stood. He wobbled a bit, unsure of his step, but righted himself with the force.
“Hey!” He yelled once more. The beast ignored him. He tried to move more quickly to them but couldn't bring himself to run.
“Get back…” It came closer. “Get back, get away from me!” It reached out its hands. “I said GET BACK!”
Al felt a terrible cold, something dark had suddenly arrived. Lightning erupted from both of her hands as she dropped her saber to the ground. Such a display of raw power unlike any he'd ever seen. The monster shrieked, shying away from the torrent of power being unleashed it's way. She stepped forward, concentrating her power on it.
“Melidae, stop! This is wrong!”
“It made me, I had to! There was no other way!” The pain shooting through his body was immense. He inched closer and closer to her.
“There is always another way. We’re Jedi, the force is our ally. We don't use it for this, we work together with it for others.” She looked unsure. “Let go. Trust me, trust yourself and let go!” The lightning weakened and the monster turned it's face toward them once more. Finally Al was within reaching distance.
“I don't know what to do.”
“You have such great power, I'm envious of it. You're truly amazing. But using that power wisely, that's your burden to understand.”
She closed her eyes, the lightning stopped altogether.
“I don't think I can stand anymore.” He fell halfway to the ground as she caught him, pulling him to her lap.
“Al, it's gone. The monster is gone.”
“We chose peace.”
“Al, I need you to promise me something before we get out of here.”
“What is it?”
“When you're older, a powerful Knight of the order, come find me.”
“Find you?”
“I'll be waiting. Somewhere out there, in uncharted space my people are still alive. Living simple lives, peaceful and secluded from the horrors of the galaxy. But that will change soon. When it does, I know you'll be there.” He was quiet, a sad realization took hold of him.
“I'm not going to see you when we leave here, am I?”
“You will. I mean, you're waiting for me outside.”
“This is too complicated for me right now.” He closed his eyes, fatigue wearing on him. “I promise, I’ll be there.”
“I know. You'll fight so hard to save me, you're incapable of doing doing anything else.” She said before leaning down and kissing Al on the forehead. The two rested silently as sleep took hold.
When Al awoke he was by the entrance of the cavern. Melidae was gone, but he knew she had to have been real. He was sad that his friend was gone, but the loneliness and insecurity he'd felt when he entered the cave had been replaced with a newfound confidence.
“You were quick!” Master Diem patted his back in praise.
“Quick? But I… I must have been gone for a full day.”
“It's been minutes.” Al’s mind tried unsuccessfully to rationalize the events that took place. “You've had a time I'm sure, come tell me about it in the ship.”
His master was right, no training could've prepare him for that test.
Bonus
When Melidae awoke, she was near the entrance of the cave and by herself. She missed the weight of her friend on her lap, a small sadness taking hold of her. She pulled herself together and exited the cave, the light blinding her so she had to raise a hand to see. A tall silhouette stood waiting, just where she'd left him. She ran at the figure full force and embraced him in a hug. He replied in kind and smiled. She cried a bit in his arms, then began to laugh.
“Thank you for finding me.”
Homeward Bound
It was the first time he'd seen his mother since after his induction to the Order. He'd heard from her, but only on rare occasions. The separation was largely due to his training, the Order frowning upon familial ties due to the emotional compromises that accompany them. All that said, and in clear view of the Jedi strike team he accounted himself one of, smiling ear to ear and lifted Thereza Ro off the ground for a long overdue hug.
“Mom, it's been so long.” He said enthusiastically.
“Al!” She looked him over from top to bottom, her eyes busy as she took in every detail of how he'd aged. “My handsome boy. You've gotten so tall,” She felt the muscle he'd built on himself. “and strong!”
He was the youngest member of the Order present aboard the cruiser, the only Padawan. That wasn't a mark of achievement for him however, as it was uncommon for deep space Knights take on Padawan learners due to the nature of the work. They scoured the unknowns of the galaxy, lookouts for the return of the Sith. Master Diem himself was such a Jedi, though he stumbled upon Ro by pure accident. He'd taken a pause from his work to train Al, for which Al was eternally grateful, but now the time had come to resume his mission beyond the known universe.
“I've waited for this moment since I began training… But, are you sure you want to come along for this?”
“I’m not just coming along, Al. I'm chief science officer of this vessel, that means you and your lot are coming along with me.”
“To Ro. We haven't been able to locate it for years.”
“I've devised a machine that I believe will cancel out interference from the Sith technology that crashed Master Hal’ferra’s ship back when. I believe the same signals have been hiding it from our scanners.”
“It's always Diem for you, Miss Thereza. You need not address me by my title.” An automatic door shut behind the Bothan as Master Diem made his way over to the pair.
“Diem, it has been such a long time. Have you been well?”
“As well as can be said of someone my age.”
“And Al? How goes his training?”
“He's performed remarkably well, especially considering his late start.”
Al cleared his throat, getting their attention before he spoke.
“She won't have to land with us right? She can stay aboard the ship?”
“Oh Al, honestly. There are at least eight Jedi on board, not to mention the Republic troops accompanying us. And then there's you, my big strong protector. Everything is going to be fine.” He had a bad feeling, but he hid his concerns for now.
He enjoyed his time aboard the the cruiser, mostly the great lengths of time he'd spend with his mom. He was with her when his comm buzzed, signaling him that it was time for the strike team to gather.
“Al, I’ve avoided this conversation for as long as I could, but we need to talk.”
He pressed his comm to speak. “This is Padawan Ro, I'll be just a moment.” She motioned him to sit next to her.
“I don't know what you remember of your Uncle. You should know that before he…” A tear fell down her cheek. “He's my little brother. I remember when he was your age, even younger. He always had a kindness.”
“I don't remember. He's always been cruel to me.”
“But now we know better. He's a victim to the spirit in that sword.”
“He imprisoned you for years, he took you from me!”
“But I'm here now, Al. He's been a prisoner much longer than I ever was.” A silence went uninterrupted.
“If he can be saved…” He inhaled a deep breath, slowly releasing as he centered himself. “I'll save him. I promise.”
She embraced her son one last time before parting ways.
Master Diem stood tall in front of the strike team. He'd been appointed their leader by the Council due to his past experiences on Ro.
“Remember Knights, the people of Ro have been isolated since the fall of the Sith. They won't understand our purpose, and so long as they're ruled by Lyric Ro, a full on takeover would be met with casualties on both sides.”
Al gripped his saber tightly. This wasn't his first mission, but at this point it might as well have been. He'd wondered if this day would come ever since his training was sanctioned by the Council. The day he'd go home.
“So the objective is this Lyric Ro. Once when bring him down the Republic troops can move in and begin occupation with little resistance.”
“How powerful is he? You've faced him before, so I'm curious.” One of the Knights asked.
“Very. I believe he wasn't at full strength when we met, we can only assume he's increased his power since.”
A light switched on in the hangar, it was time to enter their dropships. They’d split into two groups and meet up on the surface, the plan was to quietly infiltrate the High Lords Tower and incapacitate him. Depending on how that went, they'd return to their ships and swap out with Republic ground troops.
“Al, I'm putting you in charge of the other team. At least until we meet up again.”
“Me?”
“You're more familiar with what's down there than anyone, and I'm not just talking about the terrain. Can you handle that responsibility?”
“Yes Master.”
“Good. See you on the ground.” He patted his student on the shoulder, leaving his hand there for a moment and taking in the vision of his apprentice. “We’re going to fix your home Al, we’ll save your people together.” He turned and made his way to the ship.
A voice rang out over the comms. They successfully detected the moon and were go for launch. It was surreal to see his old home from from space. Soon he'd be on the ground, just like when he was younger and at his Uncle's mercy. This time however things were different, he had the power to make things right.
“Somethings coming from the ground!” A Knight with dark hair, Dari, pointed out the viewing glass.
“They've got anti-air!”
The drop ship rumbled bucked, the occupants held on to their restraints as red flashes blew by them. Al managed to turn his head at the direction they were heading in, straight for the Republic cruiser.
“No!” He found himself yelling out. The ship took on several hits, the deflector shields holding out for the time being.
“Blast! They knew we were coming somehow!” The pilot yelled.
“No, those batteries must be reacting to my mother's device!”
“What does it matter? Brace yourselves, this is going to be a hell of a landing!”
Trials of The Knight
Al awoke to static, the chaotic crackling of exposed wire, and the smell of something burning. The smoke made it hard to access their situation other than the obvious, they crashed. His harness was stuck in place, he needed to cut himself out with his lightsaber.
“Hey, anyone need help?” He managed to cough out the words.
“I’m stuck!” The words came from the pilot's chair.
“Hold on.” He stepped over the twisted insides of their ship and made his way to the front. He stopped when he found the first body. He was ashamed to say he didn't remember his name, a male Twi’lek who hadn't spoken much. Next to him was the dark haired Dari. He kneeled and checked for a pulse. It was faint, but he was alive.
“Is that you Al?” A female asked from the front. The pilot's name was Tess, she was a newer Knight than the rest so she was the closest to Al in age. Probably why she'd spoken to him before now.
“Yeah. I have Dari here, he's got a pulse but he isn't waking up. Hold on, I'll cut you out.”
He received only superficial wounds from the crash, a cut here and there that bled for the moment. Tess had similar injuries with a bruise from her harness. He’d carried Dari out of the wreckage with Tess’s help, the three settled down away from the crash beneath the cover of an atmosphere stabilizer. They had landed in the field of the Great Machines, he was back.
“We need to regroup with Master Diem and the others. They should have landed somewhere close by.”
“I lost contact as we descended. Last transmission I received was from cruiser Blue Knight they'd taken fire and were retreating out of range.”
“That's a relief. I feared the worse when I saw the artillery.”
Dari groaned and turned on his side.
“Tess, where's Vorusk?”
“I’m sorry Dari. I did my best, but we got hit before we landed. Vorusk didn't survive the crash.” They shared a moment of silence.
“Can you walk?” Al asked after a moment.
“Yeah, just a bump on the head is all.”
“So what's the plan, Al?” Tess asked.
“Hold on Tess. Listen Al, don't take offense, but you're a padawan. I'm assuming command from here on.” Dari said with a certain finality, hoping to end the conversation there.
“Master Hal’ferra placed him in command, Dari. His rank is of no concern, I trust Diem’s judgment on the matter.” He was surprised someone he hardly knew would speak up for him in such a manner, but again, he owed it all to Master Diem. He didn't realize his master was held in such high regard within the Order.
“... Fine, it's just until we find Master Diem anyway.”
Al had walked quietly in front of the two during the conversation. Tess caught up to him, her long blond hair in the process of being tied back.
“Don't take it to heart Al. We’re a tight group, us deep space Knights. But you're one of us now, and you deserve respect.”
“Thanks, but I’m nothing special.”
“Really? Way I hear it told is this Dark Lord is your uncle, and when you were escaping this delightful moon you stood up to him and saved your mom.” He didn't want to blush, especially in front of her.
“I didn't do anything. Master Diem stood up to him, I just ran. I ran away from my problems, my people, from him…”
“And slapped some of his lightning away as you did it, sure. Your modesty is cute Al, but you can't hide anything from us. We tell stories, swap tales. Master Diem always has the best ones, and since I've known him they've all been about you.” He liked Tess. She spoke to him only briefly on the cruiser, but she certainly left an impression. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were unlike any he'd seen anywhere, eyes as blue and clear as the ocean. She was about as tall as Al, slender and very beautiful. He guessed she were only a few years older than him though she was already a Knight.
The hairs on the back of his neck raised in alarm, he was reaching for his lightsaber before he even comprehended the situation. As he ignited the others did the same, stepping past Tess and deflecting a blaster bolt aimed at her back. Twin yellow sabers crossed behind him as he realized several more bolts came for his back as well, Tess saving his life. It also meant they were at least partly surrounded. Dari’s blue blade joined them as they naturally formed a defensive triangle.
“Anyone have eyes?” Dari inquired.
“No, but in these fields they could be anywhere.” Their line of sight was short ranged in the maze of machinery they'd walked into.
“We can't hold here forever, lest they call reinforcements.” Tess said. “What's the play, Al?”
“Dari, try your comm. Are we within range of Master Diem yet?” He thumbed his comm with his off hand but received only static.
“Must be the machines interfering.” Several more blaster bolts howled, aimed at them. They deflected them easily.
“I saw black metal, droids I think.” Said Tess.
“There's only a few I think. We need to move out of these fields, otherwise they'll keep ambushing us. Move as a triangle, watch each other's backs. Their aim on point so we need to be too. Follow me.” Al moved not quite in the direction of the towers, but towards the quickest exit from the fields. Now that they were moving, the droids double timed their offensive. More and more blaster fire came from every which direction, never exposed long enough for an effective counter.
He could see the clearing when a body of black metal jumped out from overhead. His saber met resistance but didn't cut, a hard kick sent him sprawling out of formation.
“Blast!” Dari yelled. He also swung hard at the droid, but a blade protruded from its arm capable of parrying the saber. Tess turned just as another droid attempted to flank her, she had more success than Dari. Dual yellow sabers twirled into an offense against the droid, one of them catching an arm it raised to save it's core. Al saw her saber make contact, but the cut was slow, like the droids metal resisted the blade.
He caught the shadow of a droid coming from behind him. He rolled away from it and raised his saber just in time to catch a jab on edge of his blade, the fist stopping inches from his face. A blade protruded from the top of its forearm at high speed and sliced a shallow line on his cheek, it would have pierced his whole face had his reflexes not been on high alert.
“Gahh!” Dari screamed out in pain, but Al couldn't turn away from his foe to see.
Calling upon the force to increase his strength, he slowly began pushing back against the droid. He pulled it's bladed fist upwards while it was still in contact with his saber to try to counter but was met with a punch from its free hand. He caught the fist in his hand, he felt his strength grow with the conflict as the droid tried and failed to wrench itself free from his grip. It's bladed arm came down again. He was ready for it, bringing his saber up at its weaker joints and taking the arm off. Then he pulled the droid to the ground, when it resisted he punched it's head into the hard ground. Still holding its remaining arm, he stepped on its back and stabbed his saber into its back, slowly drilling through its armor to its processor. When it stopped moving he let go of its arm and ran to help his comrades.
Tess was faring better than Dari, the latter receiving a stab wound to his shoulder. His charge led him to Tess’s droid, and with a heavy horizontal swing from behind he literally threw the droid a few feet from where it stood.
“Help Dari.” He told her as the droid righted itself to face it's new opponent. He fought off the anger and frustration he'd felt ever since the mission went off course, instead he'd use the free moments before combat to center himself. He felt the force flow through him as he slowly raised his saber high over his head.
The droid dropped to all fours and charged him at great speed. It leapt with two bladed hands, reaching desperately for his throat in an attempt to hide it's damaged torso. At the perfect moment, Al sidestepped and swung downwards with all his might directly where he'd previously damaged. The droids legs separated from its torso and appeared to power down. Just in case, he buried his saber in the processor like the last one.
“Those were far more dangerous than your standard assassin models, and I don't recognize the make.” Said Tess as she pulled her sabers out of the back of the last droid. “You were amazing back there Al!”
“Your combat skills are impressive. You stayed calm in spite of that mess of a skirmish.” Dari said as he picked himself up off the ground. His shoulder bled, Tess began administering first aid.
“These droids may very well be Sith war models from the old times. This whole moon is stockpiled with their tech.” Al said as he contemplated whether to holster his saber or not, probably best to keep it handy. “We should keep a lookout for-”
“Smoke, over the horizon there.” Dari exclaimed with a hand pointing due north of their position.
“It could be Master Diem’s dropship, let's hurry!” Al led the party towards the smoke.
He saw the carcass of a Sith droid, then another. Then the body of a Jedi.
“Search the ship, there might be survivors who need our help!” Al admired her optimism, but he had a feeling they were stepping into a graveyard.
“Master!” Al yelled. “Master are you here?” He ripped the twisted hangar door off its hinge and walked inside. Another Jedi lay motionless on the ground. Tess checked the front, pilot was gone also.
“How horrible…” Her voice tender, Al thought she were about to shed tears. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Master Diem isn't here, maybe he got away Al.”
“Over here!” Dari yelled from outside.
Master Diem sat back against a wall, two disabled droids in front of him. He was also alive despite the heavy bleeding from his chest.
“Al, you made it. I feared the worst.” Al rushed to his side.
“Master…”
“I’m okay. My team isn't, I'm the only one left. You got them here safely, Al, I'm so proud of you.” He coughed profusely, holding his wounds while he did. “This mission Al, I'm afraid it's up to you now.”
“You're sure that I'm up to it?”
“He's up to it, Master Diem.” Tess said quickly and confidently. “He stood strong with us as we fought our way to you. He fulfilled the duties you entrusted him with.”
“Thank you Tess. And thank you for watching him. But Al is actually correct, this mission is too dangerous for a mere Padawan. Dari, my old friend. If you would be so kind…”
A blue saber cut the braid from Al’s hair.
“Rise Alastar Ro, rise and stand a Jedi Knight” Slowly and without a word, Al rose to his feet.
“Greetings brother.” Said Dari.
“You honor us.” Tess said gently.
“You're ready Al. Now go fulfill your calling, brother.”
Al was quiet, he didn't know the words for how he felt.
“Dari, stay with Master Diem. He's too valuable to the order to be left alone. If Tess and I don't return to you by sundown than we've failed. If that's the case, find a location to lay low until the Republic sends reinforcements.” No one argued.
Very Human
They came upon the Towers of the Lords, ducking for cover in one of the older abandoned structures close by. Something had bothered Al since they landed, and that was the lack of people. They could all be hiding he supposed, or maybe they were being held somewhere?
“Couldn't wait to get me all to yourself, huh handsome?”
“What? I- Dari was wounded and I couldn't just-”
“Easy Al, you just looked so tense. I couldn't help teasing you a little bit.” She moved closer, an act that wouldn't have been uncomfortable a few minutes ago. “I don't suppose we’ll just be able to walk on in and take this guy out, huh?”
“Nope. My bet is there is a figurative, maybe literal ton of droids waiting for us once we enter.”
“You really know how to sweet talk a lady. But instead of fighting them, how about we try something else?” He gave her a quizzical look.
Al stood about 100 paces from the entrance of the main tower. He reached out with the force, concentrating and feeling. This was perfect for him, raw strength and very little precision. Slowly the effects of his work began to show. The tower rumbled slightly, the top beginning to crumble. Truth be told he would never have been able to bring the whole thing down, it was too big and solid. He just needed to make it look like he could.
“Come out or be buried!” He demanded.
On cue, more than ten black droids jumped out of various windows, several more pouring out from the entrance. He didn't count those as he was busy running for his life.
He was going as fast as he could, but the droids were faster. They began to fire upon him with what he realized were wrist mounted blasters, bolts flying over and around him. He ignited his saber deflected any that came too close. His comm blipped.
“Al, I can hear the fire. Tell me when you're clear.”
“Almost, just be ready on that trigger!” A bolt flew just over his shoulder, he felt the heat on his face. “Their aim is getting better!”
He could see his exit, but the droids were closer to him that he would have liked. They wouldn't get all of them if he waited till he was completely clear… Time to make a judgement call.
“Hit it!” He yelled, holstering his saber and putting everything he had into a finish line sprint. The thermal detonators they planted around the structure on remote detonation… well, detonated.
The walls exploded in unison, the ceiling started coming down in heavy chunks that crashed into the stone floor with a heavy, cracking thud. It was deafening being inside of a collapsing building, much louder than he'd assumed which was already pretty loud. The floor shook beneath him, in may places giving in to the destruction and crumbling away to the sub levels altogether. He ducked right suddenly as the ground next to him exploded, stone splashing stone and dust hindering line of sight.
He had to jump to reach the exit, which he did successfully, but once on the other side a sudden weight on his leg threatened to drag him into the black abyss beneath. He grabbed hold of the stone floor, turning his head to find that one of the Sith droids had jumped with him, just catching his ankle before it fell. It weighed a ton.
“Oh for the love of- Get off! Blast it!” He couldn't reach for his saber, if he took an arm off the ledge he would surely fall. He kicked at its head to no avail, he knew that he had little time before the entrance completely collapsed and crushed him.
A flash of yellow blew by his face down towards his leg, Tess buried her saber deep through the droids head. It sputtered out of control, the hand released its tight grip from his ankle and fell to darkness. She pulled him up just in time for him to grab her and jump out of the way of the now fully collapsed entrance. Rubble just a few feet from their toes, Al knew they'd gotten away by the skin of their teeth.
“Would've been less dangerous seventeen against two.” He muttered as a small laughter took hold of him.
“Laughing at your own jokes, that's just awful.”
“Someone has to.” Now she laughed, it was a nice sound, soft and tender. They hadn't moved since the structure came down, Al lay on top of her still from when he shielded her from debris. Their eyes had been locked for a while now and he didn't really know what it was he was feeling.
“You're so very human Al, in all the best ways.”
“You're very human yourself.” She laughed a bit more. “What's so funny?”
“It's you. You don't see it, you're the only one who doesn't see it.”
“I’m a simple guy, but you'd confuse a droid right now.”
“You're the cause, the catalyst, you make us this way. Being around you makes me feel…” She closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. Then her big blue eyes locked on his once more, an arm wrapping around his neck and pulling him down to her. He'd never been kissed on the lips before. She let him go after a long moment, a slow smile forming.
“Now get off, and no more kissing on the job. Honestly Al.” He reluctantly pulled back, smiling to himself scratching his head.
“You kissed me.”
Old Scores
“Where would he be? We’ve searched every inch of rotten tower, are you sure he didn't move somewhere else?” Tess asked with notable frustration.
“He's here, I can feel- DROID!” A few stragglers were still left inside the High Lords Tower, but they'd developed a sufficient system for disposing of them. Tess reached out and froze it in midair with the force, then Al approached and placed the emitter of his saber to its core and activated it. The tip met resistance, but the blade wanted to extend. Eventually it bore straight through it to the other side, Tess would then drop it's lifeless body out a window.
“I was saying, I can feel him here.”
“I don't sense anything. Think Al, this use to be your home. Where could he hide?” He thought about it before realizing how obvious the answer was.
“He's below us. The tomb where he uncovered the sword, that must be where the droids came from. He's digging up Sith technology.”
Finding the passage was easy, they just had to trace back all the droids that attacked them. Two more droids swooped at them from the entrance, but by now the Jedi were very adept at fighting them. They aimed for the weak joints that hardly resisted their sabers, taking limb after limb before aiming for their cores.
“Looks pretty dark. You bring a light?”
“You've got two lightsabers, put em to work.”
“Of course we didn't bring a light…”
They both ignited their sabers and began their descent to the unknown. In all his years on Ro, Al had never seen this. Ancient stone walls directed them towards what seemed to be some sort of crypt.
“This is a Sith burial ground. These must be close to a thousand years old.” She sounded in awe.
“My people and the Sith, these are probably my ancestors. Funny how things turned out, the circumstances of my being here.”
“Not what it says here, Al. Look at this.”
“I can't read their language. My mom could but-”
“I can.” He looked at her impressed. “ Story for another time. It says….” She trailed off, completely enveloped in the markings. He looked around, it was an impressive tomb.
“Wow. This is incredible Al. If this is true than…”
“What? What does it say?”
“There was a falling out, ha, longest Sith story ever told. But the reasoning… Several members of the Sith fought to free the people of Ro from their oppressors, the other faction of Sith. They found the light, as the text says, and fought to right the wrongs of their ancestors. Al, this is story about Sith turning into Jedi! Or something like them, I can't believe this!”
“So these statues, this crypt-”
“Built by those they saved to honor them after death. This isn't the crypt of some evil Sith, this is..”
“A hall of heroes. Forgotten until now.” He walked towards a tall slab, this one had pictures. He could get behind pictures. Then he saw it, the sword. The one that his Uncle Lyric Ro had uncovered. “What does this say?”
She walked over and examined it.
“Deep in the hall at its very depths, the honored dead serve vigilant over the weapon of their foe. Sons and daughters of Ro touch not the blade, for light always casts a shadow and none are without evil.”
“My uncle has the sword. He's… he must be under its control, all these years a slave.” Maybe for the first time it occurred to Al that he's never met his real uncle, just a monster masquerading as him. Anger surged through his body, his teeth clenched as did his hands. Tess placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Well, we’re here now. I don't know if he can be saved but… We need to stop him. You need to stop him, Al.”
“Tess, there's something else. I haven't seen a single person since we've arrived.”
“Maybe they're taking shelter somewhere, hard not to notice ground to atmosphere batteries firing off next door.” He wasn't so sure. “We’ll find them, Al. Hey, look at me.” He did.
“You're right, we will find them.”
“Let's get to it then.” And with that she trailed off in front of him.
“You're full of surprises.” He laughed to himself as they trailed off into the darkness.
“What is that?” Al asked slowly.
“It's a… uh, hold on.” She started to read through the vast array of symbols on the wall. “I... “ She looked pale as a ghost, even in the dim lighting of their lightsabers.
“Tess, what does it say?” She struggled with the words. Beginning a sentence and then dropping it to rephrase. “Tess.”
“The wall reads… ‘For darkness would berth light. The children of Lord Ro would rise against him in the darkest hour. Their ancestor lived a life separated from time aided by his dark machination, a machine which allowed him to move his mind to his descendants.” His heart skipped a beat.
“It wasn't Sith factions. It was a family, one family. He can only move between those with his blood.” He felt a coldness take hold of him.
“There's more Al. A plan was devised to instead use the people of Ro, to gather the first sons and take from them their years, gifting them to his lordship. But some of his children rose against him, defeating him and trapping him within his sword so that he may never take another child of Ro.”
“All the people of Ro are gone… he must have- could he have used this machine?”
“I- don't know. Al I'm so sorry, I didn't-”
He slammed his hand against the stone slab, blasting the top away and sending a throbbing pain through his arm. He stood there silent, rage coursing through his blood. He tried to close his eyes and center himself, but peace wouldn't come.
“I shouldn't have left.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I shouldn't have… I should have taken responsibility for my people-”
“Shh!” She hushed him. “Al, did you hear that?”
He listened, and he could hear it. A noise, a voice. Many voices. He took off towards the source, down a seemingly endless stone staircase and eventually, to the large construct referred to in the slab. It was some sort of chamber. Voices, so many voices. Too many to count. The chamber was transparent, countless families all huddled together. By the look of them they'd been imprisoned for a day or two at most.
“They’re alive! They're here, Tess!”
“How do we free them?” She asked.
“You can't. I hold the only key in my hand.” A voice Al hadn't heard in years, Lyric Ro, High Lord of Ro and ancient Sith. “The sword is the key. When Lyric Ro uncovered this, he uncovered me.”
Al gripped his saber tightly, he'd trained his whole life perhaps just for this moment. Tess shook her head, signaling him to wait before lunging.
“Why have you imprisoned these people?” Al asked.
“My boy, you know why. I told you, that day when I allowed you to escape.”
“You want to take over my body, is that it? I'm one of your descendants, you need a strong new body.”
“Very good. You've delivered yourself to me, trained and ready to become mine. Then I shall carry out the plans set to place all those years ago, and your body will stay young for centuries.”
“You disgust us.” Tess snarled. “You'll never have him. Al is a Jedi Knight, one of my sworn brothers. His battles are mine as well, you can't defeat us both.”
Lord Ro shot her a sharp glance, his amber eyes cutting through the darkness and chilling the air.
“Child, do not speak again.” Then he raised his hand, a powerful arc of lightning flashed through the air. Both their blades caught the energy, forcing it to wildly disperse about the chamber. After a moment, it stopped.
“She’s right you know. I'll ask you one final time, let these people go.” A laugh rang out through the darkness.
“You know, you're almost the very image of one of my grandchildren.” He sat on a nearby slab of stone, pointing up to the statue above him.
“Durance Ro. He was... my favorite, child. So gifted, such passion for the force.” He closed his eyes as if to better recall. It was a good opportunity to attack, he found himself staying his blade however. “Durance had strayed from the teachings I bestowed to my children. His passion for knowledge, as it turned out, would come second only to his compassion.”
“It was he who first spoke out against you?” Al asked.
“Ay, and I should have killed him for it. But I loved him.”
“I don't believe you. Nobody who conceives a plan such as this could be capable of feeling love.”
“We are not so different, my son.” The words stirred the anger in Al he earlier felt. “I did what what was in my family's best interest. They needed me to protect them, this plan came about as a means watch over them forever.”
“And sacrifice others children for your own?”
“Lesser men without the gifts of my children. These… ‘people’,” he pointed the large machine. “they are cattle, Alastar. We can be so much more! Raise the house of Ro to its former glory!”
“Durance didn't go along with this plan. If you really loved your children as you claim, you'd set them free. Let my Uncle go.”
“I've watched over you since you were born Alastar. I've cared for you, nurtured your growth. I was a parent to you when nobody else was around.” Some semblance of guilt and pain hit Al, but also anger.
“My mother loves me, you do not.” He raised his saber high in an over the shoulder stance. “High Lord Ro, stand and face me. I will not submit my people to a fate with you.”
Silence, even inside the chamber the people of Ro fell silent. Ro slowly stood himself, and though it was dark, his face looked to shed a tear.
“Durance Ro faced as you did. All those years ago, he stood where you are now and challenged me. He knew he couldn't win, but his sacrifice brought his brothers and sisters to rise as well. But you Alastar, you are alone.”
Tess stepped forward and raised a saber.
“Al will never be alone. No Jedi stands alone, and his friends are many. I'll suffice today for family.”
“I'll say it one last time. Lord Ro, surrender yourself or prepare for combat.”
Ro readied himself to a stance, both hands on his blade similar to how Al stood. It was decided.
Legacy
Al brought his blade down upon his foe, his speed and power enhanced through the force. Ro parried easily, the weight of his blade surpassing that of a lightsaber giving him leverage press back against Al’s advance. Moments after breaking Al’s attack, Ro advanced with a powerful stab at his core. Al parried, slapping the tip of the sword with his own saber, causing the sword to stray wide. Ro continued forward despite that, forming a fist with his right hand punching Al across the jaw. Knocked off balance, Al barely blocked the follow up swing of the sword as it closed in on his throat. He lost his footing altogether as the force of the blow knocked him on the ground. He rolled backwards, coming to a crouched stance with the tip of his saber towards Ro.
Tess swung both her sabers in the same horizontal motion from behind Ro. He turned and blocked both, pressing her back a step. Al lunged from his position for another attack but was met with lightning. He caught it on his blade but it locked him in place. Tess began an onslaught, working both sabers independent of each other in some of the finest saber work Al had ever seen. Ro parried as best as he could with a single hand, slowly stepping backwards away from them both while still giving off lightning. Her blows drew closer and closer, faster and faster until he needed both hands to stop her. He gripped his blade with both hands and swung horizontally, the force knocked a saber from her hand and flying wildly through the air behind her.
Al caught the blade and ran up shoulder to shoulder with Tess, passing it back to her as he did.
“Thanks.” She said with fatigue in her voice.
“We take him together. I'm going first, coordinate in between his counters. He leaves himself open.”
Al rushed forward again, leading with a feint head swing. When Ro raised to parry however, Al locked his elbows and evaded the swing. He'd need to use all the advantages a saber offered, for his opponent was cleverly doing the same with his sword. Now fighting inside Ro’s guard, he tried a strike at his waist. Ro reversed the grip on his sword and blocked, but the awkwardness of the defense left him open for Al to free a hand strike Ro as he'd done to him. All his force enhanced might and five fingers crunched into his opponent's face, knocking several teeth through the air. Tess’s timing was also perfect, she flew from out and around Al’s left side and attacked. Ro snapped to attention however, establishing more of his ancient might. A wave of force energy crashed into them both before her sabers could reach him, sending them both crashing into stone.
Tess came to first with surprising speed, just in time to bring both sabers to her define as Ro’s blade threatened to take her head off. The force of the blow sent off backwards back into the stone and cut off her leverage to mount a successful defense. Al quickly intercepted Ro from finishing her off and began to work his blade. He was matching Ro’s pace more easily now, actually beginning to mount his own offensive. Tess took the hint, in a true feat of acrobatic prowess she kicked off the wall into a backflip, landing in a flank to Ro. He tried to reposition himself to have Al and Tess both on front of him, but Al wouldn't give him any opportunities to side step before Tess started swinging. They had him.
Tess pressed into him with her blades, he'd barely turned in time from Al to block. He pushed her back, converting his motion into a 180° power swing at Al, but the latter saw it coming. He ducked under, coming in between his arms and striking in an uppercut motion with the meaty pommel of his saber. This was his fight now. Tess gracefully flicked her saber from behind him, lopping off his sword hand. Al hit him in the face three more times with his saber, kicking out his leg and bringing him to his knees. Tess brought a saber to rest on his shoulder. The fight was over.
“It's over Ro. Leave my uncle's body and go back whence you came.” He panted out the words. The fight was a taxing one, but he could feel that his uncle's body wasn't a suitable host for all the Sith Lords might. They would not have won so handily were the opposite true.
“You've bested me today, young Ro.” He smiled slightly. “For now.”
“Tell us how to free these people.” Tess demanded. He knelt in silence.
“Tell us, ancestor. Do one good deed before you disappear.” Al had a softer tone, but was nonetheless stern in speaking.
“The sword is the key, as it's always been. It can not be destroyed, nor can I. Your ancestors have tried many a time.”
“Tess, stay on him.” She nodded in confirmation.
He looked to where the sword had fallen, the hand of his uncle still gripping it tightly. Holstering his lightsaber, he walked several paces in the dark and knelt next to it. He picked up the blade. The hand loosened it's grip as soon as he did, falling to the ground. He saw a mechanism by the machine with a slot. He plunged the blade into it and turned counter clockwise, a whirring echoed through the cave. The great machine slowly opened, the residents of the moon weakly made their way out.
“Return your spirit to the blade.” Al commanded.
“And to what? You'll leave me in this contraption for all of time?” Al was silent. “I will not be imprisoned, I'd sooner die.”
“You'll face imprisonment no matter what from her out, what difference does it make where you are?”
“I… am conscious in the blade, young Alastar. I've felt the ages. I don't wish to stay here any longer.” The same guilt as before crept through him. It was unexplainable how he could feel for such a creature of darkness.
“If you return to this blade, then… I will take you with me. You won't have to stay here alone forever. Deny me now, and the offer is off the table for good.”
“Al, you can't possible mean to-”
“Deal.”
“No, I can't allow this. Al, he is a powerful Sith Lord! The Council would never allow such-”
“Tess, I need you to trust me. This is the right thing to do.”
Reunion
Thereza Ro boarded the lift to take her off the medical wing of the Republic cruiser. Lyric Ro was in terrible shape, though cosmetically he'd been patched up relatively well. A robotic hand serves as a suitable replacement for the one he'd lost, though they'd have to wait for a proper hospital before he received a skin graft. His teeth had been replaced, his cuts and bruises mended, but the look in his eyes when he'd finally come to… the screams, the terrified howling he let out along with his violent outbursts even while restrained, he'd be sedated the entirety of the voyage home.
The lift door opened in front of her, several Republic soldiers stood off to the side to let her through before they entered. A voice from down the hall snapped her to attention.
“How was he?” Al asked. She could see the guilt plainly on his face.
“It's going to take some time, Al. He hasn't… it's been years since he's last had control.” He nodded, crossing his arms and avoiding her glance.
“I was on my way to see Master Diem.”
“He's resting. When I passed his bed he was fast asleep.”
“I see.” He was quiet for a while. The lift door opened once more, several crew mates exited off, busy in their duties. “I’ll just come back later then.” He turned and started to walk off.
“Al.” He stopped, turning his head some to look at her. “I put you in a very unfair position.” She walked closer to him. “I feel I asked the impossible of you. It must have been absolutely awful back on Ro… and I put you in danger with my selfishness. You're all I have, and I put you in danger…” Her voice broke, but she fought the tears.
“It's okay mom. Everything will be okay.” She hugged her boy with everything she had, letting her tears out on his shoulder.
A New Voyage
“I'll try to catch up with you on your return trip, Al.” Tess said handing him his ration pack. His ship was loaded with everything but a droid, he hadn't happened across one he found reliable yet.
“You can always comm me, Tess.”
“Couldn't convince you to stay?”
“There's a lot of things I need to do. Maybe you should look for a Padawan, you're a great teacher.” She laughed.
“I'm not going back out for a while, so maybe I will.” She got quiet. “I lost a few friends out there on Ro. I know you didn't really know them, but…”
He stopped packing his ship, hopping down to the platform to meet her eyes.
“I'm sorry, Tess.”
“It's not my point. I just don't want to see you going off like this never to come back. Don't meet your fate out there, like they did. We owe more to ourselves.” She squeezed his hand.
“Tess… I owe my life, my mother's life… yours, to the order. And there's at least one more life out there, waiting for me to find her.” He looked up out at the stars.
“You told me this story.”
“It's more than a story, I've got to find her.”
“She might not even exist, Al. The force is funny sometimes.”
“Real or not, I made her a promise.”
“You're so… Human, Al.” She sighed in frustration. Then laughed to herself a little and smiled. “Go find her, I'd love to meet the girl of your dreams.”
“I don't think it's really appropriate to call her that. Especially since I'm probably at least twice her age.”
The engines fired up on his ship. He had almost no leads and it was a big galaxy, but he knew he'd find her eventually. A voice crept into his mind.
“You didn't tell her all your reasons for leaving, alone.”
“I told her the important things.”
“I'm not important?”
Al turned in his chair to face the sword. It was wrapped neatly in cloth, for he didn't dare touch it, and locked neatly away in a case of blaster and impact proof synthetic alloy.
“No. You're not.”
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