Chapter 24: Only option III
So Caleb has left the Jedi order. I wonder why he did it? He never indicated that he was unhappy or dissatisfied with anything, and he seems pretty happy about everything. Maybe it's the war. The Jedi do take a passive sort of role. We only act if the imperials attack anything. We don't actually wage any wars. The reason the sith has gained such an upper hand is because of this passiveness. Launching attacks isn't without its repercussions either.
I'm sure the Senate would throw a fit if the Jedi just did whatever they wanted willy nilly. "Nate, I don't want you using any of the advanced force powers you have unless the situation calls for it. It could attract a lot of attention and cause more harm for our missions than good. I'll be increasing the intensity of your saber training, so you won't have to use your advanced force powers." I nod my head yes in excitement. I prefer saber combat over force combat.
I can't say why. It just seems more me. Even with my talents in the force, I desire to get stronger with my saber. "Okay, Master, I won't use my advanced force powers if necessary. Now let's get that vaccine. Should we extract any of the information on the servers here? It could prove useful to the Twi'leks." She nods her head, and I start stepping over bodies making my way to the data console. Satele walks over and grabs the vaccine vile, and joins me. "The data on these servers is partially corrupt. The research and formula are intact, though." I extract the information, and a little data card pops out.
I take it and put it on my belt. I look back to master now that all we have to do is bring what we found back to Dariba. "Let's go, Nate. I sense danger up ahead, though. I'm guessing some angry Twi'leks are going to intercept our mission. Let's try an reason with them before we resort to violence." I nod my head and follow her down the single hall and out of the building. It's so nice to get out of that horrible stench and back to the relatively fresh air of Taris.
We take a few steps out of the compound, and a bunch of Twi'leks pop out of nowhere. The same guy that was by Dariba is leading the entourage. "Hand us the vaccine Jedi. I'll make your deaths quick if you do." Satele is about to speak, but we both feel a very dark presence. It's full of anger and hate. I listen to heavy boots approach from around the corner and two men walk out. They are both wearing armor and have lightsabers on their belts.
These are sith, a Master, and an apprentice. They are both really powerful in the force. They also hold ancient looks in their eyes. "Twi'lek. Do not fire upon them yet. I wish to speak to one of them." The voice is deep and old. They come into full view, and both are members of the sith species. "I am honored to meet the Grandmaster of the Jedi order. Sorry about my associates. They are desperate to get out from under the republic and Dariba." Satele puts her hands behind her back and gives an authoritative look.
The sith stop walking and halt in front of the Twi'leks. "What does the sith want with a useless vaccine. It's too old to have anything useful in it." Satele begins to bluff about the vaccine. Probably trying to dissuade any combat. I see the angry looks on some of the Twi'leks faces.
They must be doing this because the empire promised them something. The Twi'lek leader even looks worried now. He didn't consider all the possibilities. "Who said we are here for the vaccine..." As the Master speaks, his eyes drift towards me. Satele immediately un-clips her lightsaber and ignites it. "So quick to defend your padawan Grandmaster... I can feel his power. It's incredible. How did you ever manage to find him..." I take my lightsaber off my belt and ignite it too.
The sith still makes no move. In a flash, he raises his hands and shoots lightning. Not at us, however. He proceeds to kill all the Twi'leks, and now we are left alone with the sith. "I should introduce myself. I'm servant one of the emperor's hand. This is my brother, servant nine. We have orders from the emperor to see how young Nate is developing." I get rigid as I hear those words. Not much is know about the emperor's hand, only that they take orders from the emperor himself.
I'm not ready to fight such a powerful sith. They outmatch me in both experience and knowledge. "I'm not going to let you have him, sith. The emperor will have to come out of hiding himself if he wants to get to Nathan." Satele is trying her best to get us out of this situation. She knows I'm not ready for a sith and is trying to buy us time so she can come up with another plan. The sith known as servant one looks at me.
I don't know why, but it's like he is seeing everything about me. "Sooner or later, Nate. You will be the emperor's apprentice. It's your destiny. Come with us, and you will know power unlike anything before." My Master has had enough. She stands in front of me, blocking their view of me. Neither of them draw their lightsabers, though. "We are not here to fight you, Grandmaster Satele. We are only here to tell you the emperor has reach beyond your imagination. Nathan cannot hide from his gaze, and he has always been watching." After those words leave his mouth, he turns around and leaves.
They disappear into the swamps of Taris, and I can no longer sense them. "Master..." She deactivates her lightsaber and puts it back on her belt. She turns to me and puts both her hands on my shoulders.
She gives me a very serious look. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, Nate. Even if the emperor himself has his eyes on you, I'll not let you be taken. I promise." She lets me go and turns her head south. "Let's get back to Dariba. Now that we have taken care of our end of the bargain, it's time for her to keep hers." We both proceed to use force speed and get back to the building they are staying in as fast as possible. We notice that many more Twi'leks are now dead or injured.
We ascend the stairs and make it to the command room. We see a distraught-looking Dariba. This entire place suffered another attack by the imperials. "I know you are here, Jedi... Leave what you found, and I'll send word to the republic you have permission to land on Taris. I never want to see your faces around here again." I take the data chip out of my pocket and place it on the table. Some Twi'lek scientists come and take the vaccine from Satele.
We both give a slight bow with her back turned to us, and we leave. We make it outside and proceed east back to the republic outpost. We make it and hop back on some speeders and head back to HQ here on Taris. "Why does the emperor have his sights set on me, Master!" I yell to her as she is ahead of me on her speeder.
She slows down and rides beside me. "You are more special than you realize, Nate. Even with your extraordinary gifts, you still have so much room to grow. Your potential for strength is the highest ever seen in the history of the Jedi and sith. That's why the emperor wants you." I think about the most important people to me, and I can't help worrying about my mom and dad. If he knows about me, then he knows about them too.
We ride in silence all the way to HQ. We get off our speeders and walk up the ramp into the base. We tell the captain what happened, and now the republic has official permission to occupy Taris. She says her thanks, and we get back in Sateles ship. We leave the planet and get into hyperspace. "We are going back to the Republic fleet. We'll have a new mission in about two weeks. Until then, we will focus on nothing but your training." I nod my head and watch the blue lights of hyperspace pass by. More training is good, in my opinion, but now I'm worried about how the emperor is watching me.
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