[FIC] The Adventures of Jolee Bindo

[Jae Onasi]

What I don't get is how Jae managed to get an eight-paged Fanfic (On LF of course. On Microsoft Word it would be about 37 pages) for her first Fanfic on LF. It took me forever to get a sort of alright Fanfic (The Sith Lord). Anyway Jae, looking foward to the next Chapter. Also any plans for a Sequel?

 

Well, um, currently on Word I'm at 153 pages....granted I never go smaller than 12 pt font because I have (euphemistically speaking) 'prematurely aging eyes' and I double space, but I think I'm at around 80k words right now. It's that long because I like to put the little tiny details in, like Mik'oth's wild clothing and MacFinlay giving the SW equivalent of 'the Bird' to the guy he was talking to on the com. I also have a few years of school and life on you, though I stopped counting permanently at 29.

 

Honestly, I hadn't even thought about a sequel, because I was caught up in just cat-herding this story to the end. I can't imagine Jolee running out of stories any time soon, however.

 

@bbfl and snafu--thanks!

 

@JM12--just hand me the Thorazine.

 

Jimbo and I have seen Mandy Patinkin in concert a couple times. He's a fabulous performer. We made a bunch of cookies and brownies for his crew and him (this was about 10 years back--couldn't do that now with all the terrorist paranoia and concerns about food allergies). He took the time to handwrite us a thank you note. Very cool.

[JediMaster12]

Mik’oth smiled widely. “Oh, aren’t you two cute. If you don’t have the wedding reception at my cantina I’ll be very, very upset.”

 

“The only thing we’ve said about weddings is that it’s way too soon to talk about them,” I laughed.

This sounds like something that a friend would have said to you and Jimbo. I wanted to ask if I am right on the button or am I taking a wild stab at it. Mi'koth just sounds like you may have put the personality of one of your friends in him with all the 'witty' comments. You can be surprised at how much characters sound like real people.

[Jae Onasi]

This sounds like something that a friend would have said to you and Jimbo.

 

That one was all Mik'oth, believe it or not. That's one I didn't experience.

 

His job when he first showed up in the story was to just get some info to Jolee. I originally thought of him as sort of a flashy, smarmy, worldly, well-connected cantina owner who's in love with any lady who walks through the doors and has known Jolee for awhile. Think Quark from DS9, but a lot happier and more brightly dressed (if that's possible). The dialog flew so fast it was like he took on a life of his own. There are bits of a few of my crazy (in a good way) friends in there, and a few of the things he says/does come from some of the things they've said or done, but he's otherwise very much his own Twi'lek. It's pretty easy to write the verbal sparring he and Jolee do, and certainly a lot of fun. He gets to say some things that a lot of us would love to say but can't.

[Jae Onasi]

Thirty chapters? Whew, hard to believe. It's going to be awhile before the next chapter gets done. My mom is coming to town this week, and I have that report still hanging over my head that has to be done by the end of this week. Just wanted to let you know. Thanks!

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

Chapter 30: The Story of the Wolves

 

 

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Carth announced at the meeting of the senior staff. “Once we get to RZ A22, Admiral Dodonna wants us to do recon on the Exchange fleet. If we get the opportunity, we’ll take out as many ships on the ground as we can. We’ve learned Raxton is the one the Jedi are after. None of us is happy about that, and we want to get the sneaky schutta. However, we know he’s able to kill with the Scourge and I hate losing people. If you see him, call in the Jedi immediately.”

 

“What if we have a clear shot, sir?” Bernecki asked.

 

Jolee answered, “From the data we received from Coruscant, we know he’s had training in deflecting blaster bolts. You’d have to catch him off guard, and that will be very difficult—he’ll be able to sense you long before you could reach him. Even a squad will get eaten alive, and I don’t want to see that. Unless he’s distracted by something else and you have overwhelming numbers, you won’t be able to take him. Even if you do have that, you’re going to take heavy casualties.”

 

“There’s a big difference between courage and stupidity,” Carth added. “No one goes alone against Raxton.”

 

He took a moment to look at each of his officers to make sure everyone understood. Muted ‘yes, sir’s circled the room.

 

Continuing, he said, “We’re going to circle the planet like we don’t know where he is and get a full scan of the area before we send the team down. Bernecki, I’d love to give you more time to plan, but I think we’re going to have to go in fast if we want to get the advantage of surprise.”

 

“I’d like the chance to make a detailed plan, but we’ve had to wing it before. However, more info is always better, sir.”

 

Jolee said, “We could always use more time to figure out Raxton, too. We have a lot of research to look over, but we’ll be ready whenever you are.”

 

“All right. The Admiral’s going to be here with a fleet in 4 days. We’ll get the scans, go over the intel, make those plans, and in 2 days head down. That should give us enough time to get in position and see how much damage we can do before she arrives with her task force. Is that going to work for you, Jolee?”

 

“It’ll have to. We’ll just speed-read, then.”

 

A chime sounded, and a voice called over the com. “Captain, Comm. Call for the Jedi, sir.”

 

“We’ll take it in my quarters, if you don’t mind,” Jolee said to Carth. “We’ll meet back with you later, then.”

 

The call was from Master Vandar.

“Jolee, Dycen’a has come out of the kolto, and we were able to extract some information on Miraxton for you,” he said.

 

“Good, because we found Miraxton on Telos. We’ve got 2 days to get ready to go get the gizka-brain.”

 

“I’m pleased to see you’re taking this so seriously,” Vandar said.

 

Jolee caught the irony. “You know I can be serious when I need to be.”

 

Vandar said, “Since I haven’t found any record of it, I’ll have to take you at your word.”

 

Jolee laughed, “Vandar, did you just make a joke?”

 

“Give me another 100 years and I might be able to come up with another.”

 

“I’ll have to take you at your word, then. I’ll be a pile of dust by that time. What did Dycen’a say?”

 

“Miraxton recruited him several years ago, specifically for his ability to slip through time. Once he saw Dycen’a had Force potential, he started training him. Miraxton had been working on consolidating the Exchange and moving up in the Navy. Once he learned what the Li’adans could do, however, he decided to add that planet to his list of conquests.”

 

“If he had taken over a planet of time-sensitive people, he would have been able to steal more items from Ossus,” I said.

 

“Or alter major events over the last 40 or 50 years,” Talin added.

 

“Exactly,” Vandar nodded.

 

“Speaking of Ossus, what else did he get?” Jolee asked.

 

“As best we can tell, some documents—historical records on some of the more recent Dark Lords--and a couple of holocrons. He couldn’t take anything large with him. He also had to get them out without someone seeing him.”

 

“Maybe he got a library card and took them on loan. Of course, after 50 years, that would be one nasty fine.”

 

“So Miraxton could be running around with something nastier than Scourge,” I said, after giving Jolee an amused look at his quip.

 

“We don’t believe so. Dycen’a didn’t know what he was taking some of the time. We did research on the items that went mysteriously missing from Ossus. It seems the holocrons he did take were fairly innocuous except for the one that dealt with Force Scourge.”

 

“You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that,” I said.

 

“No more than me, Padawan. I would like to see all three of you again. If the Council’s meditations are correct, we see more positive about the near future than negative, but it’s very unclear.”

 

“Did you learn anything else about Miraxton?” Talin asked.

 

“He was always a brash student, confident and talented. When we started reviewing his case, we learned that he may have murdered more than just the Padawan. There were several unsolved homicides during the last two years he was on Coruscant, but there was no evidence other than the most circumstantial linking him to any of the crimes. He was never a suspect in them, but comparing the information we have now with those homicides, we begin to see very disturbing coincidences between his movements and the timing of the crimes.”

 

“What kinds of murder?” I inquired.

 

“Just about any kind—they all died in different manners, but all died vicious and unpleasant deaths. The only common thread seemed to be that they were all Exchange or Hutt leaders. The prevailing thought at the time was that it was a rival gang war.”

 

“He may possibly believe he’s killing for righteous reasons, or he just hates the Hutts and the Exchange. That makes his current association with the Exchange very unusual,” Talin said.

 

“That’s something we also wondered about.”

 

“How’d he ever make it through the psych profiling?” Jolee asked.

 

Vandar ticked off the answers on his fingers. “He’s smart. He lied. He arranged to have the profiling done by another Jedi who knew him and thought he was a charming man. Then he altered the records. He’s a cunning man, Jolee, and if he was involved in those homicides, he’s calculating and ruthless. Something all of you need to remember.”

 

“I don’t understand how he got to be a Sith Lord. Don’t they typically apprentice to another one to learn those dark side powers?” I asked.

 

“Yes, he would, and we’ve been trying to find out who he worked with so we have some insight on what he’s learned. Darth Chilopos and Darth Traya are both possibilities. Both were active at the time in different parts of the galaxy, and both disappeared rather mysteriously about 10 to 15 years ago. However, he’s covered his tracks very carefully. We know what we’re looking for now, but it’s going to take time for us to sort it all out, and we may not have that information for you in the next two days.”

 

“Send us what you have on both, then. Try Mik’oth, too,” Jolee said. “Tell him I sent you. He might come up with something. He’ll give you the family discount, too.”

 

“He does seem to have unusually extensive connections, doesn’t he. He has quite the network,” Vandar said.

 

“Some things I just don’t ask about,” Jolee smiled.

 

“I’m transmitting the data now. May the Force be with you.”

 

* * *

 

“Here are some stims based on the research I did with De’layn,” Master Supat said, handing one to each of us. He had arrived on Telos not long after we had transferred De’layn to the med center. He had taken care of her and then shuttled up to the Osprey.

 

“That was fast. I didn’t know you could get De’layn evaluated and then these made up that quickly,” Jolee said.

 

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t work that fast, because I could only make one for each of you. I started the research with the holocron, but I couldn’t develop them until I evaluated De’layn and saw its effects first hand. I believe it’s only going to be effective if it’s used right at the time of attack. It’s not going to stop it, either—it’s only going to blunt some of the effects.”

 

“So, it’ll keep us alive, but not much else, eh?”

 

“Precisely. I don’t think it will work if you are attacked multiple times. The best way to deal with Scourge, of course, is not to allow yourself to get hit with it in the first place.”

 

“That’s my line,” Jolee said.

 

“It’s every Master’s line,” Master Supat answered with the Ithorian equivalent of a smile. The smile faded as he added, “Please, come back safe. May the Force be with you.”

 

* * *

 

“We’re going to insert teams here, here, and here,” Carth said at the briefing the night before our attack, pointing to a holovid map of RZ A22.

 

Everyone listened in rapt attention, leaning forward slightly. The tension coiled through everyone, aching to be released. Even the veterans of many battles breathed just a bit faster, adrenaline beginning to flow in anticipation of the mission.

 

Carth continued, “You’ll make your way to your respective buildings. Red team is going to take out their communications, which is in this building, here, and then take out hanger bay 3. Yellow team is going to have the demolitions people and will take out these other hanger bays. Blue team is going to go into this building, which is serving as their command center. They’ll support the Jedi.”

 

Bernecki said, “Blue team, when we get to the building, we’ll secure this entrance here. Ettelson is our best cracker—he’ll be in charge of accessing the computer systems, downloading intelligence, and shutting down whatever he can. MacFinlay’s going to keep the shuttle warm for us and keep us updated on anything unusual going on outside the building. Sal’ton is on demolitions—she’ll handle anything that needs serious blowing up. The Jedi will do their thing, which is get Raxton. The rest of us are going to do what we know best, which is go in and take out those schuttas.”

 

The other team leaders gave their instructions.

 

Carth said, “You leave tomorrow at 0600. Your team leaders will tell you when to muster. Anyone late owes dinner to his teammates. Jae, Jolee, Talin, if you could come to my ready room after the meeting I’d appreciate it. Everyone else, dismissed.”

 

We all filed out of the meeting room, with everyone else heading to their quarters to make final preparations. I watched as they all left, the higher pitches and volumes in their voices giving away their excitement even when they appeared calm. We made our way to the ready room.

 

Carth turned to look at me. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to convince you to stay on the ship here where it’s safer, is there?”

 

I gave him a small smile but shook my head no. “The only way to stop Miraxton is to work as a team. I have to do this.”

 

Carth sighed. “I know, I just had to ask. Miraxton’s smart as a fox. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

 

“We just have to outfox the fox,” Jolee said. He thought a moment, and then continued, “You know, that reminds me of a story.”

 

All three of us as a unit sat down.

 

“You know, one of these days I’m going to get a complex from you all doing that,” Jolee snorted.

 

We grinned back and waited for him to go on.

 

“Let’s see—I was on Irowanol. Planet’s in a system not too far from Yavin. I think they’re making a resort planet out of it now, but at the time it was a little hole in the galaxy, even if it is gorgeous.”

 

“There seems to be a common theme in the planets you’ve visited. All lush or tropical types….” I said.

 

“Pfft. Ever been to Korriban? Nar Shaddaa? The scenery puts me to sleep. Oh, wait. I forgot about the red light district on Nar Shaddaa. Never mind.”

 

I held up a hand. “I’ll pass on the red light stories.”

 

“They have services for women, too, you know. The Hutts don’t discriminate when it comes to making a credit.”

 

“We were talking about Irowanol?” I said.

 

“Oh, I suppose I should get back to that. Elorri’ani and I were sent there by General Motani to scout out any Sith camps or bases. Well, we found one, all right. We followed a soldier into the middle of the forest where we found an entire garrison. We thought we’d even the odds a bit and called for Motani to bomb it before we went in. A patrol got lucky and heard us talking to her. We took off into the forest in our speeder, and they followed close behind in theirs.”

 

“How many were chasing you?” I asked.

 

“Does it matter? Oh, for your history thing I suppose it does. Well, I think it was about 7 or 8. But you can put down a dozen or 15 or something like that.”

 

I tipped my head at him and cocked an eyebrow.

 

“Don’t you give me that ‘Now, Jolee…’ look, missy. I’m not asking you to lie, just maybe embellish a little.”

 

I continued to give him that ‘Now, Jolee…’ look.

 

“OK, tell the truth, though I think it’ll be boring.”

 

“Jolee, nothing about your adventures has been boring,” Talin said.

 

“Heh, at least someone appreciates my little tales. Where was I? Oh, yes. We dodged over, under, around, and sometimes almost through the trees, trying to get away from that patrol. One of them must have been a Force user, because he got in a lucky shot that made our speeder lurch out of control. We bailed out just before the speeder kissed the tree. I landed, rolled, jumped up on my feet, and ran into some brush. Their speeder was still going full speed, of course, so they shot past us and had to circle back around. I found Elorri’ani. He’d fallen hard on his shoulder and face.”

 

“Was he hurt bad?” I asked.

 

“Bad enough to dislocate a shoulder and tear up a knee. He got some nasty cuts, too, and was bleeding like no tomorrow, though not bad enough to kill him. I only had enough time to heal the bleeding when those speeders came back and started searching for us. Elorri’ani got this brilliant idea. He’d play dead, since he couldn’t walk much anyway, and that would lure them over. Then I’d jump down out of the tree on top of them in a nasty little surprise. He’d get them in the legs. It was perfect, except we didn’t count on the wolves.”

 

“Oh, no. Elorri’ani’s wildlife problem strikes again. He gets along with them about as well as a blaster bolt gets along with jet fuel,” I explained to Carth and Talin.

 

“Hey, I’m going to have to use that some time,” Jolee said.

 

“So just how bad was the wolf attack?” I asked.

 

“Pretty bad. For the troopers, that is,” he replied.

 

“What?”

 

“The wolves didn’t attack Elorri’ani. When he went down, they smelled the blood and slipped in around us. I was up in the tree when I saw the mama wolf sniffing him. She was big, almost man-size, and had sharp, pointy teeth. I was about ready to throw the lightsaber at her when she started licking his wounds.”

 

“He must have nearly had a heart attack,” I said.

 

“He said it was all he could do not to laugh after he realized he wasn’t a chew toy, because she was tickling him. One of the soldiers, not seeing the rest of the wolf pack sitting in the bushes, came over to see if Elorri’ani was dead. Mama wolf apparently decided he was her new baby and laid down next to him. When the soldier got close, she growled at him and her hackles raised up. The soldier thought she was trying to protect her kill. He ignored her and poked Elorri’ani with the end of his rifle to make sure he was dead. Well, she didn’t like that at all. She jumped up at him while he still had his rifle down, hit his chest, bowled him over, and went for the jugular. That was the end of him. The rest of the pack went after the other soldiers.”

 

“You’re not making this up?” Carth asked.

 

“Do I look that creative? No, don’t answer that. Anyway, the soldiers were so busy trying to attack this pack of wolves that they didn’t notice at first that I was picking them off by throwing my lightsaber. I had to even up the odds for the wolves, you know. Well, maybe not—the soldiers were outnumbered to begin with, and these wolves were pretty feisty. I took a bunch of those soldiers out just sitting on that branch before they got it through their thick skulls to run away from wolves and a lightsaber-throwing Jedi.”

 

“So you never even had a chance to get out of the tree?” Talin asked, starting to chuckle.

 

“Are you kidding? Jump down in the middle of a snarling wolf pack doing its job? I didn’t have ‘get eaten’ on my ‘to do’ list that day. I waited till they all ran off chasing the soldiers down.”

 

“Did any soldiers make it?” I asked.

 

“No. They all ended up as wolf dinners that night. With that armor they had on, they were extra crunchy on the outside, too.”

 

Talin grimaced. “My life would have been complete without that image, thank you.”

 

Jolee grinned. “I was healing Elorri’ani when mama wolf came trotting back and saw me. I held still, hoping I wasn’t going to end up as dinner, too. She walked slowly towards me, growling softly. Just when I thought I was going to get pounced on, she sniffed me, decided I was OK, wagged her tail, and laid down next to Elorri’ani again. When I finished healing him, she gave him another lick on the face and bounded off into the forest to join her pack. We grabbed the soldiers’ speeder and went to our rendezvous point.”

 

“I can just imagine what General Motani said after that,” Carth said.

 

“She gave us an award that she made up special for the occasion. It was for something like ‘coordinating attacks with indigenous life forms and displaying admirable sneakiness.’”

 

We couldn’t help but laugh at that.

 

“She must have really liked Elorri’ani playing dead,” I said.

 

“Hey, that’s it!” Jolee said.

 

“What’s it?” Talin asked.

 

“I have a plan for dealing with Miraxton.” He gave an evil little smile that even the devil would have appreciated.

[Diego Varen]

Good Chapter Jae. I think at least ten more Chapters, before this Fic ends. Have a nice time with your Mum.

[Snafu7]

Nice Chapter, Jolee's story was great anyways, great chapter, hope you do a good job on the report, and have a good time w/your mom.

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks!

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about getting a grade on the report. I just have to worry about it meeting my own standards, and sometimes that's worse than worrying about a grade.

Pottsie, I'm thinking another 5-10 chap myself. Depends how crazy the battle scenes get.

[JediAthos]

I love it Jae, it's taken me several days to read the whole thing, but it's a really great story. You're very good at descriptive writing which is something I've always found to be one of my weaker points. I could learn a few things reading your work

[Jae Onasi]

I love it Jae, it's taken me several days to read the whole thing, but it's a really great story. You're very good at descriptive writing which is something I've always found to be one of my weaker points. I could learn a few things reading your work

 

That's very nice of you to say, thanks.

I try to see the scene in my head, and then describe everything I can that's relevent. However, I'm a newbie writer just like a lot of us here, and there are some great sources out there on writing that'll probably be far better teaching tools. I've picked up a couple of them from the library and Barnes and Noble recently, because I have a lot to learn, too. I haven't figured out which I like best yet, though Writer's Digest put out a 'Best of' book with their best articles over the years--I've picked up some useful information from that. I think I recall seeing a book or two on just writing scenes, though I'll have to go look that one up. The chapters I put up here don't get a beta like the latest ones that are/will go up on kfm, so these are a bit rougher. However, as long as we're all having fun, that's what counts.

 

@Pottsie below--the other half of the fun is knowing that the emotions or surprises you wanted to evoke with your writing had their intended effect on the reader. Kind of like when Spielberg sat in the back of the theater when Jaws screened, waiting to see if people would 'jump' in the right spots, except not quite so wicked.

[Diego Varen]

I know I have fun while writing Fanfics. Half of the fun is seeing what people think about it.

[Renegade Puma]

Great chapter Jae Jae. I liked Jolee's story alot. Keep up the great work.

[Jae Onasi]

...Jae Jae.

 

Ooh, '70's flashback-- Dynomite!!

 

Thanks!

[Arátoeldar]

Excellent Story Jae. I spent sometime today reading the entire thing. It was well worth it. I am eagerly anticipating the next chapter.

[JediMaster12]

The Master is back! Well at lest until early Wed. morning. Then it's back up to the dig site for more artifacts.

Anyway. I read the chapter Jae and I especially enjoyed that bit about the wolves. Do we have a similar mindset? Because I had several different plots involving a similar scene but decided it didn't fit. If we do, it must be the will of the Force though I don't know if you have come back from the light yet

Still I liked the chapter and will read when I have a chance.

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks folks. Those are really nice things for you all to say.

 

@JM12--could have been a subconscious thing because of the wolf in your story. I'd originally envisioned them as coyotes but for some reason just ended up writing it with wolves instead.

Light side mastery for me all the way!

Have fun at the digs! Hope you find some cool stuff.

 

Got some projects done, so ch 31 is in the works and hopefully up in a day or 2. Thanks for the patience.

[Jae Onasi]

Chapter 31: The Mission Begins

 

Two hands dropped down gently on either shoulder, breaking my meditation.

 

“I came to wake you, but you were already up,” Talin murmured, trying not to startle me. He stood behind me, and we both looked out at the pinpoints of twinkling starlight.

 

“I didn’t mean to wake up early. Probably nerves. I thought I’d meditate.”

 

He circled his arms around and gently pulled me back to him. I sighed and closed my eyes again, smiling as I leaned on his strength.

 

“Promise me you’ll stay in the Order if something happens to me,” I said in a quiet voice after the long, calm silence.

 

“Is that how you see the vision? Because it’s not the way I see it. Anything could happen there. ‘The future is always in motion’.”

 

“Jolee left after Nayama was killed, and he wandered around for 20 years until he could sort it all out. I don’t blame him for leaving, but if he had stayed in the Order, they could have helped him get through it much faster. The Jedi may have their faults—we all do—but they do far more good than harm.” I turned in his arms and looked up at him, taking in the details of his face--his deep blue eyes, straight nose, and the set of his lips. I burned the image into my memory.

 

“You’re serious,” he said, looking down at me, searching my face.

 

“Very.”

 

“All right, I will, on two conditions.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“First, if something happens to me, you stay in the Order, too.”

 

“Done. And two?”

 

“You give me a kiss that I’ll remember forever.”

 

I obliged. Our lips met in a desperate fury, nearly bruising in force. We held each other so tight I couldn’t breathe. It was a raw passion and paradise all at the same time, and when we finally broke apart, we both had to take a moment to catch our breath.

 

“You can’t die. You’re not allowed,” Talin said in a ragged voice.

 

“Why?” I asked, after finally quieting my breathing.

 

“Because if I don’t get more of that, I’ll die.”

 

I smiled up at him.

 

Jolee gave a discreet knock on my door. “Time to move out.”

 

* * *

 

The strike was on. Our three assault shuttles launched out of Osprey’s bay and headed to the restoration zone on the surface of Telos. MacFinlay flew our shuttle through the shield surrounding the RZ.

 

“MacFinlay, Yutan’s going to stay here with you. Stay sharp while we’re gone.”

 

“You guys get all the fun,” MacFinlay said with a mock pout, but he couldn’t restrain his grin for long.

 

Bernecki retorted, “We get all the fun? What’d you call that little maneuver through the closing bay doors?”

 

“Fun, of course.” He announced loudly to everyone else, “Two minutes to landing. Pack up your toys, children.”

 

“Remind me not to go to a party with you if that's your definition of fun,” Bernecki replied, double-checking his gear and straps.

 

Everyone grabbed their gear and inspected their armor, making sure everything was secure. I double-checked to make sure my lightsaber was on my belt, and Jolee looked amused by that. Talin gave my hand a squeeze just before the door opened. I gave him a quick kiss, and then we dashed off the shuttle one by one. We made our way over to the rendezvous point, and Bernecki gathered us all around.

 

“Strike teams Red and Yellow are going to come in on the flanks and wait for our signal. We’re going to all stealth in towards the command center. Once we’re all in our places, Ettelson’s going to slice the door, but if he can’t, the Jedi are going to open it for us. Geordel and Fa-Meng are going to take out the guards in front of the doors, the rest of us are going to get positioned to move in quickly. Our stealth is shot as soon as the door opens or a lightsaber appears, so be ready to attack. When we’re in, the other two teams are going to start their attacks. The Jedi’s objective is the Sith Lord. They’ll keep him busy and take him out while we lay mines to blow the place. Sal’ton will coordinate the demolitions. Jolee, once we’re done with the mines, we’re going to contact you so you can get out.”

 

“If we don’t answer, it’s because we’re too busy to acknowledge. Give us 15 minutes from then to get out. If we’re still in there after the 15-minute mark without saying anything, it means we’re probably dead. Do not come after us unless we call. I don’t want anyone running head-long into a Sith Lord while trying to play hero. If we don’t take him out, the building coming down around his ears should do the trick.”

 

“We know he’s an intelligence expert and a calculating murderer. Expect anything, including traps,” I added.

 

Talin continued, “Raxton’s profile tells us he’ll likely confront us. He has tremendous confidence that he can beat us. We’re his target rather than anyone else, so if you see him, stay out of the way. He’ll likely send a team of soldiers after you instead of attacking you himself, because he won’t think you’re important enough. If you get in his way, though, expect him to try to take you out. He could also try something unusual like sneak out in another soldier’s armor, so be ready for anything.”

 

“Everyone got their gear?” Bernecki scanned the team members, all of whom shook their heads and acknowledged him with “Yes, sir.”

 

“Any other questions or suggestions?”

 

No one had any.

 

“Ok, let’s move out. Watch your back and your buddy. May the Force be with us all.”

 

* * *

 

We made our way quietly towards the small base. Bernecki’s team was skilled and moved nearly as soundlessly as we Jedi did through the trees and brush. We approached a clearing and saw the hangers that marked the southern edge of the base. I sensed a couple Sith troopers patrolling the perimeter of the clearing. Silently, I pointed them out to Bernecki and we edged up towards them. When we got close enough, Jolee put one in stasis and I stunned the other. The team grabbed both of them and pulled them quickly back under cover. Jolee put a strong enough stasis field around them that they’d be out for hours, and we secured them under some brush.

 

Bernecki pulled out their weapons and equipment. “Always good to know what the enemy is saying,” he whispered with a malicious glint in his eyes as he handed a comlink over to Jolee.

 

“I think I’ll send out an order over the com and put some of them on a wild goose chase into the woods when this all gets started,” Jolee grinned.

 

“Thank the Force you’re on our side,” Bernecki replied in low tones. He assigned us designated points for all of us to go to and then gave the signal for us to go in stealth mode.

 

We made our way slowly over to the command center, silent ghosts. Ettelson was about to slice the door when it suddenly opened and a trooper walked out. Ettelson slipped in while the door was still open. I tripped the man in the doorway so it couldn’t shut, and Jolee stunned him. It looked all the world like he’d injured himself in a bad fall.

 

“Medic!” one of the guards yelled into a comlink, bending down to help his fallen comrade.

 

The communications center exploded in a large bloom of fire that made the other guard run to see what happened. The guard helping the trooper tried to pull him through the door to safety but was flattened by Talin’s Force stun. We dropped out of stealth as a unit, and the two guards in the lobby found themselves surrounded by a large team of grinning Republic soldiers before they could even reach their guns. They surrendered. Ettelson found a computer terminal and started working.

 

Bernecki watched as the building schematics came up. “Download that. Change the access codes so only we can get in with our code.”

 

“Done. Looks like the armory’s here, sir.” Ettelson pointed to a room on the lower level. He tapped some more keys. “Oh ho, lookee what we have here, sir. Gas lines going everywhere.”

 

“Gas everything you can, then disable the entire system. I don’t want someone gassing us accidentally while we fight a Sith Lord,” Jolee instructed.

 

We watched as numerous troopers collapsed before they could get to their gas masks. There was only one section of the center that was unaffected.

 

“That’s where Raxton’s has to be,” I pointed on the screen. “There’s no gas there.”

 

Ettelson pulled up some exterior camera shots. “Our teams have hit the buildings,” he noted, watching our soldiers picking off the troopers and dashing inside the hanger bays and communications building.

 

We heard urgent chatter on the comlink asking for backup in the communications center. Jolee got on our comlink and told Red team, “We’re going to send some of them into the forest. Be ready.”

 

Then he took the comlink we took from the perimeter guards. He said in an excited voice, “Got some Republics escaping in the forest east of the comm center. We need backup!”

 

Another couple of blasts rocked other buildings.

 

“Roger. Sending backup now,” came the reply.

 

We watched as a platoon of troopers left the communications center and dashed off into the forest.

 

“Nice. Where’d you pick that idea up?” Bernecki asked.

 

“Saw it on a holovid one time. There’s some good stories out there,” Jolee answered, grinning.

 

I shook my head and smiled as Bernecki just stared at him in disbelief.

 

Then Jolee explained, “The holovid happened to be based on the Battle of Keer-wallen. We had one sneaky schutta for a commander. I couldn’t believe how many platoons he got to run all over high heaven. Some of them started shooting each other, thinking the other was the enemy. Best misdirection I ever saw.”

 

“You were in the Battle of Keer-wallen?” Bernecki asked, eyes wide in surprise.

 

“I don’t have enough breath left to waste it telling lies, son.” He keyed the enemy’s comlink again, and in a slightly different voice, but just as excited, said, “More Republics! We’re getting invaded from the southeast!”

 

“Roger,” came the reply. Another platoon dashed out to look for a non-existent enemy.

 

“You’d think they’d at least remember to ask for the security code,” Jolee snorted. “How many more do you think I can send out?”

 

“Force have mercy on us all. The enemy doesn’t stand a chance with you around. Not too many more—we have to trek back through the woods to get to the rendezvous point, and I don’t want to come up on 5 platoons.”

 

Jolee sent another platoon off to the northeast. “OK, enough talk. Time for us to get moving.”

 

We heard another explosion outside, and the images on the exterior cameras all disappeared.

 

“Good job, Red team,” Bernecki smiled to himself. “Communications is down, people. Let’s get to work. Geordel, you’re with me and the Jedi. Sal’ton, get to the armory and set the charges with everyone else.”

 

We ran down the hallways, passing troopers lying unconscious on the ground, and made it to the section that was unaffected by the gas.

 

Bernecki found a terminal and tapped in our code. We saw several camera shots of soldiers. In one room, there was a lone figure, standing with his hands behind his back, seeming to peer serenely out the window as he watched the chaos erupt around him.

 

“There’s the son of a schutta,” Bernecki spat out. Several rooms filled with Sith separated us from Miraxton.

 

“We all know what to do,” Jolee said.

 

Talin and I nodded in response. Bernecki shut down the terminal and we all arranged ourselves. The soldiers prepared their grenades. I keyed the door, and they threw their charges towards the troopers. The plasma grenades exploded in large fireballs that charred everything in their paths. Only a few soldiers survived the initial blasts, but they were well armed and started shooting at us. Talin and I ducked around the door and started deflecting the blaster bolts as we steadily approached the shooting soldiers. Jolee took off for the two troopers on the other side of the room. Bernecki and Geordal backed all of us up, trying to pick off the Sith troopers. When we got closer, their team of three pulled out vibroswords.

 

Talin saw the opening as the center trooper lunged towards us, and he sliced out and down, catching the trooper’s arms and sword. He screamed as he fell to the ground, his arms and sword falling away from him.

 

I concentrated on my opponent, watching his eyes closely for any signals. He feinted a lunge and then threw a flurry of blows that initially pushed me back and forced me to counter with defensive moves that had my saber moving in a blur of light. I remembered to relax and let the Force flow, and I could start to feel what moves he was going to make just before he slashed or parried. He tried to swipe at my head. I blocked it, blades crackling, and sensed that he was going to swing his blade down towards my hip. I stepped to the side and his blade flew by millimeters from my leg. He never saw my blade hit him as it came down the side of his head into his shoulder. He collapsed in a heap at my feet.

 

Talin had finished off his other trooper a few moments before me, and we both looked around for other troopers. All of them were down, and most were beyond hope.

 

“Nice dodge after that last block. I could tell you were feeling what he was going to do next. Keep that up,” Talin said.

 

“My Padawan did well, eh?” Jolee said, joining us to look over our fallen troopers and catch his breath.

 

“No singed hair, either,” I added proudly.

 

“Great job. Don’t let your head swell up,” Jolee said.

 

Bernecki sliced the door to the next room. Inside were several troopers and a team of dark Jedi.

 

One of the dark Jedi stepped forward, lightsaber lit at his side, dangerously casual. “You’ve done enough damage for one day, I think. Your little mission is over. You’ve failed.”

[Arátoeldar]

Excellent chapter Jae, especially the description of the fighting and the Jolee trick.

[Diego Varen]

Good Chapter Jae. I'm suprised Talin didn't try to stop Jae from kissing Jolee near the beginning. I hope Jae and Jolee don't die. To be honest, I never really liked Talin. Looking foward to more.

[Jae Onasi]

I'm having a bit of confusion on your post--Jae didn't kiss Jolee, she kissed Talin. Since Jolee and Jae have a master/padawan relationship, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to have a serious kiss. She'd likely give Jolee a hug if anything, and at most maybe a peck on the cheek.

 

I don't mind if you don't like Talin. He was quite the arrogant jerk early on, but he's trying to reform.

[Renegade Puma]

Great stuff Jae. And yes Talin was a jerk early on. But I like him now. I can't wait for the showdown!

[Diego Varen]

I'm having a bit of confusion on your post--Jae didn't kiss Jolee, she kissed Talin. Since Jolee and Jae have a master/padawan relationship, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to have a serious kiss. She'd likely give Jolee a hug if anything, and at most maybe a peck on the cheek.

 

Opps, yeah, sorry I was just waking up and wasn't reading it properly.

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks everyone!

Pottsie, I've done that too, though usually it's misreading RedJohnnyMike's posts.

[JediAthos]

Another good one Jae....as I've said before I love the story. Your battle sequences are very good...it's something I'm struggling with in my own story actually.

[Snafu7]

Great chapter Jae, I loved the fight scene, keep up the good work!

[Jae Onasi]

Thanks folks. Being in a Renaissance history re-enactment group, I see rapier and mock sword-fighting fairly often, which helps a lot. Having a husband who's in the Army helps, too. I can pick his brain about common military conventions, and with mach's stuff on the navy in the expert forum thread, there's a lot of help.