Jedi Stowaway Ch. 02

"Lord Montagu," cried out the Sith Apprentice cowering in fear. A ploy as she gathered all her strength into a massive lightning strike aimed at the flying Sith. Lightning stormed across the ever closing gap between the two, engulfing the Sith Lord. He continued his descent unaffected. He landed in front her while slashing a downward diagonal strike across her body.

The Traitorous Apprentice's body fell to the ground. Lord Montagu turned to face the boy who despite himself had fear written all over his features. "No boy will ever rise to threaten my Emperor," he yelled out with intense rage.

Achilles stood frozen in fear, the Sith before him towered at six feet five inches. His body massive with muscles the boy couldn't ever see himself having. His plan to keep calm had quickly been forgotten when the Sith Lord effortlessly cut down the Apprentice before him. The Lord was badly injured from the crash; blood was present covering his plated body armor.

Even with the Lord's handicap Achilles doubted he stood any chance. He would have to improvise and figure a way out. And he would have to figure it out soon because the Sith Lord was not going to stand around to chit chat. Lord Montagu charged forward with a slight limp, screaming as he let his anger fuel his command of the dark side.

Achilles rolled to the side; bring his blade back for a backward strike to the Lord's legs. Montagu easily parried the blow and continued his assault. The Lord towered over his opponent; Achilles would take advantage of his arrogance. The young Jedi tried to clear his mind and practice what he was trained to do. He entered a defensive dance, dodging and blocking his opponents' attacks.

He was being backed into a corner, the Star Destroyer rubble created a high wall that Achilles wouldn't be able to escape from. Lord Montagu let out an evil laugh as he pushed forward, giving Achilles no choice but to back up further.

Achilles almost panicked but at the last minute as if the force was guiding him. He turned towards the high wall and sprinted the last few feet. He allowed the force to flow through him. Upon reaching the wall he ran up it and somersaulted off. The Sith back handed him in mid air, sending him crashing into the ground. Being taller than your prey had its advantages.

Lord Montagu followed through with a downward thrust. Achilles barely rolled out of the way, the Sith's crimson saber burned through the young boy's outer robes. Achilles rolled back onto his feet. His outer robes slid off. The Sith was already on top of him, bringing down his lightsaber. Achilles raised his own saber. The two weapons pressed together into a weapon lock. The young boy put all his might into holding back the Sith Lord. Both hands gripped his lightsaber's hilt, his knuckles going white.

The Sith leaded forward, towering over the small boy. He feed off the boy's fear. In his moment of glory the Sith Lord glared down. "You are no match for me, an injured Sith. You'd have no chance with my Emperor. One look into his pure black orbs would consume your soul."

"I already said, I'm not the chosen one," the boy screamed. Reaching out with the force he pulled his new lightsaber to his left hand and ignited it. He jabbed up at the Sith. The blade burned into the Pureblood's jaw. The Sith Lord cried out in pain as he jerked his head back. Achilles followed through with his extended arm and slashed for the Sith's face.

Since the Lord backed up a step the boys slash only skimmed across his face, burning gash from his cheek up and across his eye onto his forehead. The horrifying scream from the Lord sent a shiver up Achilles' spine. Caught off guard he took a kick to the chest and stumbled back.

Lord Montagu was growling in pain, his hand covering his face. The pure power of his rage created an aura of black evil energy. His remaining eye stared at Achilles with boiling hatred. The young Jedi's fear overwhelmed him as he ran off in the opposite direction.

(Name the Death)

A Republic shuttle headed for the crash site ofThe Arcadian Fist.The Commanders within checked each other's gear. Omaj stood up before his troopers, "The Empire is on full retreat. Our mission is to discover the origin of the mysterious starship that the Empire shot down."

"Yes sir," replied Collis one of the vanguards in the group. He placed on his helmet and checked the man's gear in front of him.

Omaj gave the signal to their pilot that everyone was ready. The pilot nodded in recognition as he hit the controls to land. The shuttle took a dive heading quickly down to land. Omaj held on to the rail above his head. The turbulence shook the shuttle violently as it neared its destination.

The co-pilot turned and shouted, "T-minus twenty seconds." The group of ten commandos and five vanguards readied their weapons. Omaj stood ahead of his men at the shuttle's door, eager to get his mission under way. Every good soldier knew while you were in a spacecraft anything could happen, your mission could be over before it ever started.

"Five seconds!"

Suddenly there was an explosion and the shuttle tilted thirty degrees.

Both pilots screamed out, "We've been hit." The co-pilot kicked at the console, tripping the door controls. The door slid open as the shuttle continued to tilt. "Go go... go!"

The sixteen troopers struggled tripping over each other in their distress. A hatch opened as a boy dressed in dark Jedi robes tumbled out.

"Devon... What are you doing here," called out Collis. Omaj and the rest of the troopers funneled out of the shuttle, jumping down to the ground below. Collis grabbed a hold of the young boy and jumped out the now horizontal door. They slammed into the ground with a thud as they were pulled to safety by the other troopers.

The group ran for cover as quickly as they could. Moments later the shuttle landed on its side and exploded, sending shrapnel out in every direction. The pilots did all they could before going down with the ship. The troopers jumped behind a pile of Kashyyyk logs. The shrapnel rained down upon the logs as the troopers ducked behind them. Collis cried out in pain as he pushed the young boy in front of him. Shrapnel flew into Collis' back mere seconds before he was clear.

The explosion died down moments later, leaving behind fires that would spread quickly if left untended. Omaj raised his head from cover to see two bodies of commandos that didn't make it. Their field medic addressed Collis' wounds before speaking to his commander, "he's badly injured but he'll make it."

"No time to rest, someone shot us down, weapons ready men," ordered Omaj. Those able rose to their feet, clicks could be heard from all of them signaling that they were lock and loaded.

In no time those responsible for shooting down the Republic troops showed themselves. Imperial agents ran into view blasting off random shots along the way. The troopers returned fire, rising in and out of cover between shots. Before long they were in a standoff, both parties taking brief shots before cowering back into cover.

Omaj rested his blaster rifle on the pile of logs and signaled for those around him to give covering fire. As they fired he leaned up and took aim. Once the Imperials went to return fire he placed a few well aimed shots into four of them before sliding back into cover. Two of the Imperial Agents fell to the ground dead; the others were pulled to safety.

Collis told Devon to use his gifts as he got out a few thermal grenades. Devon nodded in agreement. By using the force he floated the grenades in the air, activated them and tossed them towards the Imperials. They exploded all around the Imperials. Their screams could be heard as the troopers ducked under their arms, shielding themselves from the raining down mud and branches.

The war cry of many Wookies could be heard off in the distance, gaining ground by the second. While the remaining Imperials were distracted Omaj and his team took full advantage. They jumped from cover and charged their foes. The Vanguards took the lead. Plasma bolts fired in every direction, lighting up the area with reds and greens. Wookies swung in from vines cutting down Imperials.

The battle was over before the Imperial agents knew what hit them. The troopers addressed their wounds and gathered any supplies they could find amongst the dead.

The strongest Wookie walked over to Omaj and discussed the crashed spaceship they were all after. The Wookies had been sent out by their chieftain and would assist Omaj and his team. They headed deeper into the Shadowlands. Silently they trended through the mud, the fires created by the mysterious spaceship could be seen up ahead.

The darkness of the Shadowlands lit up as they approached the crater that would lead them to their target. Omaj looked around before climbing down into the crater, the rest followed him. With Omaj in the lead the rest of the troopers fell into formation as the Wookie warriors climbed up into the surrounding trees.

Omaj put up a closed fist. Everyone crouched down on alert while waiting for his next orders. Omaj had come into view of their target. The spaceship came to a stop up ahead and was currently being approached by a deadly looking squad of Imperials.

*****

Tee-Seven had the ship repairs well under way; the astromech droid was an expert in mechanical repairs due to never having its memory wiped. Anubys and Fury were still unconscious in the cockpit; Tee-Seven watched their status on his sensors while working on the repairs. T-7 plugged an extended arm into the ship's console and tapped into the sensors.

A second later the ship's close range sensors went off, alerting T-7 that guests had arrived as the droid had been working on the repairs. T-7 let out a chirp of concern as it hurried to the ship's defense console.

*****

The Imperials closed in on the spaceship; their slicer was attempting to hack into the ships ramp controls to gain access to the inside of the ship. Everyone was on high alert, unsure what they'd find. When a group of birds flew off in the distance every Imperial jumped, aiming their guns in that direction.

Suddenly out of thin air Wookie warriors swung from tree vines howling their war cry before disappearing back into their natural climate. While the Imperials were distracted and facing away Omaj silently signaled for his team to move up.

Omaj crept forward ahead of his men. He knew his own courage would fuel his men during the fight. Slowly he continued to gain ground. He came up behind the Imperials, when a well hidden branch crunched under his boot.

He cursed at himself for not seeing the branch. "BOO," he called out before bashing the closest Imperial with the end of his weapon. His squad opened fired giving Omaj just enough time to take cover. Caught off guard the Imperials didn't know what hit them.

Another fire fight began between the two factions. The Imperials used the crashed ship's landing gear for cover while the Republic men used Kashyyyk's nature forest. Omaj had secretly hoped to avoid yet another drawn out fire fight with a clean surprise strike. But his luck just wasn't with him today he thought to himself.

With no clear advantage presenting itself to either side the standoff went on for about ten more minutes before something happened that no one expected.

(Name the Death)

Achilles ran deeper into the Shadowlands, his fear drove him forward. Lord Montagu was ten paces behind, hot on the boys trail. He jumped over shrubbery and ducked under low branches. His lungs burned from the lack of air in his panic filled escape. The pure adrenaline being pumped into his body gave him the power he needed to continue on.

Behind him the Sith Lord was in an all out sprint, cutting his way through everything and anything in his way. His eyes burned bright red in both pain and hate. The wound in his face would be with him for the rest of his life and it was all because of that little brat. He vowed to make the boy suffer more than he could ever imagine.

Achilles leaped high into the air above the fallen tree trunk that blocked his path. With the aid of the force the boy flew through the air, slowly descending to the ground on the other side. He ducked his body tightly together by bringing his knees to his chest. His feet hit the ground as his body rolled forward to lessen the impact.

He rose back to his feet in one fluent motion and continued his run. A loud crash startled him as he looked backwards. The Sith Lord had cut his way through the trunk as if it was nothing but a minor inconvenience. Any sign of hope vanished quickly from Achilles' face. In his distraction while looked behind him the boy didn't notice that the ground suddenly fell into a steep decline.

His eyes went wide with his next step. His foot fell forward until it touched, however his body was already too far forward. Achilles plunged forward face first into the mud, sliding a few feet before his body entered an uncontrollable roll. His body gained speed quickly as the world spun before his eyes. Terrified and screaming young Achilles' body smacked into every branch and rock along the way down.

Lord Montagu came to a stop upon the grounds decline. He watched the focus of his entire hate tumble down and spit in disgust. He secretly hoped this fall wouldn't steal his plan with a quick broken neck in his fall. He wanted to slowly and painfully torture the boy to death. Teach him the meaning of insulting a Sith Lord. The fact that the boy even connected a blow was an insult in itself.

Montagu reached up and touched his face. The only reason he hadn't bled to death was because the Lightsaber that burned a hole in his jaw bone had also melted the wound closed. His jaw and scorched skin across his face burned and ached.

Deciding the boy had gotten too far ahead of him, Lord Montagu leaped into the air. He cut off a thick branch from a nearby massive Kashyyyk tree. He did a flip in mid air, landing on the branch. When it collided with the ground the Sith Lord rode the branch down the hill.

Achilles eventually came to a end of the steep hill. His body cut up and bloody slid with great momentum in the mud. His body left a clear trail behind it. Barely conscious he hardly noticed when his surroundings darkened as he slid into a Katarn's nest. Three young Katarns slept around their much larger mother.

The Katarns were a beast native to the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk and were often hunted by young Wookies on their quests to become men in the eyes of their tribes. They had bodies like a lizards only giant versions. They were excellent climbers due to their lower limbs having sharp spurs.

Achilles' body slid to the back of their nest. He called upon the force to lower his presence hoping not to alert the beasts that easy prey just slid into their mouths. At the same time he attempted to quickly heal his wounds, a gift from the force that was becoming a nicety in his travels.

The mother Katarn stirred from her slumber, it was obvious to Achilles that she had heard the coming of her next guest long before he did. Off in the distance a scream filled with rage and pure hatred slowly became louder with each of his heart beats.

Lord Montagu was coming for him. And by the sounds of it, he was coming quickly down the steep hill. The three young Katarns moaned their annoyance as their mother slowly rose to her feet. In the time it took the beast to rise the Sith was upon them.

Montagu crashed into their nest, cutting his way through screaming the entire time. His make shift surf board flew out from under his feet, imbedding itself into the far wall of the nest. Lord Montagu stood there with his chest rising and falling with his quick breathing. His eyes still held their hateful stare.

The Katarn young jumped to their feet startled by the Sith's entrance while their mother hissed angrily at his intrusion.

The Sith showed little patience for the distraction. He wasted no time before he charged forth. He swung his Lightsaber cutting down two of the young. The mother Katarn lunged into the Sith's chest, sharp teeth sinking into the Pureblood's armor. At the same moment the last of her young leaped onto his back. Its claws dug into the weak points of his armor, reaching and tearing the flesh beneath.

Lord Montagu was pushed outside of the nest. He lost grip of his Lightsaber as he was thrown to the ground. The three of them rolled around in the mud. Montagu managed to crush the last of the mothers young underneath him with her combined weight on top of him.

Achilles struggled to his feet. He wiped away the mixed blood and mud from his face. All of the little cuts had healed already and his bruises were quickly following. He was amazed at how quickly he was mastering his ability to heal. Before thought went to his head a small glow caught his attention. It was coming from the Sith's tree branch. No scratch that, it was coming from the whole it had created in the nest.

He walked over to the glow and fell to his knees. He removed pieces of the branch and nest wall and the glow increased. The boy's eyes went wide, he had heard of these before from the Jedi Temple. The object was an ancient Datacron. A device that was used by Jedi or Sith that granted wisdom or power to those that accessed them. With his hands shaking young Achilles reached out and grasped the cube in his hands.

Immediately Light flooded the small space, blinding the boy. The seer power from it overwhelmed him as it filled his body with pure white heat. Small bits of history filled his mind as he learned powerful teachings that had been lost to time. The effect overwhelmed him so much that he passed out as his body fell to the ground.

Seated in the branches above the nest a hooded figure peered into a small gap in the nests roof. The hooded figure jolted back in shock at the bright light that blinded everything in sight. The figure reached into his robes and pulled out a Lightsaber.

The ignited Lightsaber glowed bright blue as the hooded figure cut a hole in the nest and dropped down beside young Achilles. Once on the ground the hooded figure looked no bigger than the young boy lying on the ground.

The ignition of another Lightsaber caught the Sith Lord's attention. Another Jedi had shown up. This fueled his rage and power over the dark side. Furious he closed his fist into the air. By using his control of the force the Sith gripped the beast in a force choke. Then he threw the mother Katarn into the air far away into the trees.

Lord Montagu jumped to his feet and called his fallen Lightsaber back to his hand. He took a few steps into the nest before screaming, "That boy will die by my hand, flee now or join his fate." He continued to advance, not really caring what choice the new Jedi would choose. He raised his arm ready to strike as he advanced forward. His hate washed off him like a tidal wave.

The Sith Lord attacked before the hooded figure had any time to react from the 'warning' not even two seconds before the attack came. The hooded figure moved quicker than Lord Montagu expected. Soon the room filled with flashing lights of red and blue between charged sounds of their weapons briefly connecting.

The two entered a dance; the new Jedi used his smaller size and speed to his advantage. While the Sith Lord's anger drove him on. The Pureblood was twice the size of both of the Jedi combined. Because of that the Pureblood seemed to be out lasting the new Jedi's endurance. The hooded figure somersaulted over the Sith in a desperate attempt to land a blow at his exposed head.

Lord Montagu anticipated the small Jedi's plan and easily blocked the attack. When the Jedi landed behind him the Sith Lord extended his foot backwards. With aid from the force the small movement had the power of ten men behind it. The Jedi was sent flying backwards into the nest wall. His body flew back with such speed that it embedded itself into the mesh of tree branches and dried mud.