Pre-TFS: A New Target

[Handyman]

Though the stars shone brightly in the sky above the planet Dinzo, the night was dark. This work well to the young Exile’s advantage as he made his way through the lightly forested area that he had found himself in. He was wearing his attire to full effect, his armour equipped and his mask in place under his black hood to cover his face. Jabhar Darnor had been following this trail for some time now, and he was sure to be getting close to the crash site. He had seen the small transport vessel go down only a few hours earlier, and he would have paid it no mind under most circumstances. He could not tell from the distance that he had been at during the crash, but he assumed it was some sort of simple mechanical failure. Most of the crew was probably dead from the unplanned landing, which was something that Jabhar was counting on due to the presence he had sensed at the last moment of the ship’s descent.

There had been an undeniable presence of a Force user on the vessel, and moments before the crash had occurred, Jabhar had felt the pull in the Force some an individual aboard the ship attempting to lessen the blow of the crash. Whether or not they had been successful remained to be seen, but Jabhar needed to know what, or who exactly was being transported by an individual with such capabilities. And so he had set out into the forest, ready for a fight but expected a pile of burning corpses. His own lack of a speeder or ship of any kind meant that some kind of local authorities had certainly arrived on scene before him, but they would make no difference. He would get the information he needed, and they would not stop him.

The smell of smoldering debris was finally growing stronger, and Jabhar figured that he was probably getting close to his final destination. As he made his final approach up to the vessel, the young Exile too a moment to peek over a small ridge toward the crash site and gauge the danger present. He could no longer sense the presence of a Force user, and so he assumed that they had died in the aftermath of the crash. What he could see however, was a group of men and women pulling other people and equipment from the wreckage. There were many bodies that were covered nearby, but there were at least a dozen individuals that seemed to have escaped from the wreckage with their lives. Taking a moment to listen, Jabhar gathered what information he could about the crash. Two gentlemen passed close enough to him that he could hear what they had to say.

“I still can’t believe she sacrificed herself so that we could survive. I didn’t even know that she was a Jedi.” Jabhar’s ears burned with mention of the Order. It seemed that the Force user, a woman who had stowed away on the ship under false pretenses, had given her life for these people. Typical Jedi weakness…Jabhar thought to himself as he continued to listen to the pair. “I had no idea either man. What do you suppose is on that datapad they found on her body?” Once again, these men had given the young Exile all he needed to know. That datapad needed to be in his hands, and he was tired of being stealthy. He waited patiently for the pair to pass right by him before he stood up, in all of his fearsome attire, and dispatched the men quickly and quietly with his vibroblade. Their throats were slashed before they could utter a word, and Jabhar was still undiscovered. Though that would not be the case for long.

As he stepped forward from the edge of the area and into the crash site proper, Jabhar could see the ten remaining survivors turn their heads toward him, their gazes a mixture of confusion from some, and fear from other. Oh, how he loved to see their fear. One of the women, clearly a leader of some kind called out to him as he moved forward, toward the group. “Sir, I must ask that you stay back from the crash site. We have sensitive information here that I cannot allow you to see.” The tremble in her voice was unmistakable, and Jabhar continued walking forward. In response, the woman pulled out a small blaster from he hip, her had shaking with fear as she pointed it toward the Exile. “I-I’m warning you. S-stay back for I’ll shoot.” But Jabhar was unfazed. He had a mission to accomplish, and this woman would not stand in his way. “Fine then!” she shouted, finally finding some resolve in her fear as she discharged two blasts from the weapon.

It was as if the world slowed down for a moment. As the bolts of plasma flew toward him, Jabhar already had his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber, which he ignited without hesitation. The crimson blade lit up the space around him as he swung the blade in defiance, deflecting the blaster bolts in two directions, each toward a different bystander whose lives were cut short in that moment. Their muffled screams had barely left their lips as they fell to the ground, burning wounds in their chests from the redirected blaster fire. The rest of the crowd seemed paralyzed with fear as Jabhar deactivated his lightsaber and lifted his right hand toward the woman who had fired at him. She instinctually dropped her blaster as he hands darted toward her throat. She clawed at the invisible grip that began to close her windpipe and lift her into the air, but it was to no avail.

The remaining survivors around the scene looked on in horror as their former leader begged and pleaded for her life for a few more seconds, before a sickening crunch could be heard around them. Her throat was crushed, and with it, he life was ended. Tossing her aside like a used piece of trash, Jabhar turned toward the remaining men and women whose mouths remained agape at what they had witnessed. The all appeared to be simple travelers, probably ones who had expected to refuel on Dinzo and then move on to their destinations. Instead, their lives were forever changed. “Go,” Jabhar commanded, not bothering to utter another word before turning toward an area where scavenged supplies had been piled up. He could ear the shouts as the rest of the survivors fled into the woods and he was left alone. He wasted no time and began picking over the contents of the pile, searching for the datapad that had been mentioned before.

It did not table him very long before he found what he was looking for, and after connecting it to his own datapad, he was able to break the encryption on it and access the data. It appeared to be a series of old Jedi records that were being transferred, probably to a new location where the Jedi were holding up. Unfortunately, he could not find that information, but one file did catch his eye. The file was entitled “Ander Arriston” and contained information on a man who had left the Jedi of his own accord. Due to the time in which he left, it appeared that the Jedi had kept tabs on him in order to ensure that he had not left to join his own brothers and sisters in arms, the Exiles. This man appeared to be living on Corellia at the moment, rather than helping in the fight against the Jedi Order. Jabhar could not help the grin from spreading onto his face from under his mask. If this man was not with the Exiles, then he was against them; Jabhar had finally found a new target…

[Thread Complete]