Chapter 4: The Rookies on Rishi/ The Listening Outpost
I sat in the window overlooking the landing platform of the Rishi Outpost, I had been tasked with guarding a supply shipment but when we arrived my Master contacted me saying it'd be good experience for me to stay at the Base until the inspection conducted by Rex and Cody in a week. Hevy was right this place absolutely SUCKS! The only thing that was somewhat fun here was watching Hevy and Fives argue with each other, Seargent O'Niner permitted me to go anywhere I pleased during my stay so I did pretty much whatever I wanted. Although I'm a Jedi Padawan I'm out ranked by Cody as off Obi Wans orders which is fair enough but here on Rishi I'm the highest authourity which is weird, I just told them to continue as they normally would. I walked above the main console room were Domino Squad and the other Clones were spending their time, D4 had taken a liking to Hevy which worried me a bit as I watched him shock Cutup so he could win an arm wrestle I did have to pull him up to me before he was reduced to scrap metal. "Sorry about him Cutup, once he takes a liking to someone he want's to see them succeed." I shift my gase to Hevy who is looking at my droid who's perched himself on my shoulder, "Looks like you've got a friend for life here Hevy." I joked before some alarms went off indicating a an incoming Meteor Shower, D4 beeped at me before running off, I jumped down landing next to the Seargent handing him a note before walking out with the the Deck Seargent. "Wouldn't you prefer it inside Commander?" He asked but I just shook my head and smiled as he spotted the droid carrier, "Wouldn't you prefer it inside trooper!" I shouted as I used the Force to pull him out the way of a blaster bolt and drew my Lightsaber.
I wanted to shout how unfair it was when my saber was met by a Vibrosword which blocked it! This meant that these Droid Commandos were equipped with Cortosis weaved blades, meaning they could fight against my Saber. I began backing up as two of the Commandos engaged me in a duel while the others either rushed passed me or shot at me, I switched heavily to focus on my defense and evasion utilizing Form III blade work and Form IV foot work. My communicator went off twice so I jumped over the droids and sprinted for the exit, sliding under and slicing a straggler using the Force to pull its Vibroblade to me and jump off the Landing platform. I threw my Saber causing the giant eel to leave Cutup alone, "Damn Commander nice throw!" The Clones praised as I took a bow, I took a look at my communicator which I'd updated to have a little screen which pops out when I press a small button on the side which also opens a secure line with D4. "Hey buddy you doing alright in there?" A series of beeps and boops sound from my communicator as an image appears from the little screen showing me that D4 was on the ceilling above a group of Commandos. "Good job buddy, keep us up to date and try not to get reduced to scrap." I began walking back towards the landing platform as Rex and Codys ship was landing, Domino squad began freaking out so I couldn't focus on a Force Projection although now that I'm writing this up I do have their comms frequency but oh well. I let the Clones go on ahead to greet their new bosses as I tried to think of different ways to get into the base without Rex pretending to be a droid as funny as that was I'd rather they avoid pushing their luck as much as possible.
"Hey kid you alright?" Cody asked as he came over to where I was perched, "Heard from the boys you willingly retreated from the Clankers, thats not like you at all." I punched him in the arm as I began throwing rocks around with the Force which was more difficult as I wasn't focused at all.
"I've seen how this'll play out Cody, the droids will have hot wired the signal stopping us from sending the all clear and then a droid troop transport will land from Grievous' Flagship..." I launched a rock further then I'd meant to, "We blow up the station with a sacrifice..." Cody placed his hand on my shoulder, I got up before pulling my Saber of my belt I turn to the Clones who had equipped themselves with blasters. "Listen up, I'll take point on this one... I'm trusting you guys to take them out as I hold their attention, D4 is gonna open the door for us so we'll storm straight in!" I didn't give Cody the opportunity to object as me and Domino Squad scaled the cliff, once everyone was positioned behind me I launched forward cutting down the two droids stationed there. Using the Force I enhanced my strength as well as my speed to the point my body began to scream as I dashed through the main console room, any droid which didn't get sliced in half by my Saber or the Vibroblade I'd picked up was quickly dispatched by the Clones. Once we'd retaken the control room I collapsed onto a chair, quickly wiping blood from my nose, the Clones ran around trying to fix the station with me and Cody staring out towards the fast approaching droid transport. Events went about as well as in the episode, Rex handed Hevy the detonator which is when I spoke up, "How much time do you need?" D4 jumping on Hevys shoulder beeped at me that he'd need at least five minutes, a smirk grew on my face. "Then five minutes is what you'll get." I pulled one of the Commandos Imagecasters to me and sent a message to the droid Flagship, it was a simple 'Scared you'll lose another Lightsaber?' However that's all it took for General Grievous himself to fly down and meet me at the front door.
"You are a bold one!" He coughed out as he ignited his Sabers and approached me menacingly, I raised my hand which caused him to stop in his tracks. An orb of fire formed in my hand causing the good General to stop in his tracks, I can't beat him but I'm certain of one thing and that is nobody would expect a Padawan to be this confident if they didn't have a plan. That's correct Ladies and Gentleman I'mma fake it till I make it! I launched the fire at him which he did effortlessly dodge much to 'everyones' suprise, Grievous rushed forward bringing his Sabers down on top off me is what I would say if time didn't freeze yet again with both of guardian annoyances standing behind Grievous. "He's only got the two Sabers on him kid, looks like you're in his head." The Empires Wrath laughed out, the Hero of Tython giggled slightly as she walked over to me with Wrath following close behind. "Tell us about your opponent." He said as he looked at the Cyborg infront of him, I told him all I could recall in this high stress situation both of them nodded along with each point I made. The Hero of Tython placed her hand on my shoulder, "I hate to admit it but the Dark Side would work better against this opponent, you'd be able to crush his organs or drain his vitality hell even using Force Lightning would be effective..." I nodded before pulling my Saber from my belt, "It's a real shame I'm a Jedi then!" The last thing I heard before mine and Grievous' Sabers clashed was the two Force Ghosts calling me an idiot, using Form III I was able to hold my ground.
"I gotta admit General, I admire your strength..." I said as I parried and dodged the flurry of strikes and slashes, I launched a stream of fire across floor between the two of us so I could catch my breath however the Grand Clanker had other plans as he just walked through it and brought both Sabers down on top of me like Ventress did so long ago now. I was about to attempt the same move I did to escape that situation but a metal hand grabbed my throat lifting me off the floor, "Any last words Jedi!" He said with a definite hint of hatred in there, I dropped my Saber and brought my hands up to his arm as I began extracting the heat from the area causing a gel like substance to spread across the both of us. "My Death would have no impact on the Republic, my sacrifice however!" I set the both of us on fire which made him jump back, I get up from the ground completely unscathed which infuriates him as he's still trying to put out the fire of his arm. "What is burning you is nitrocellulose, I placed it on you when you were choking me which wasn't cool by the way also I meant what I said about the sacrifice as my boys have been rigging this place to explode!" With that my commlink beeped and I ran for it pulling my Saber to me as I went, Grievous' ship soon took off with the Rishi Outpost exploding seconds later. I slumped down against the cliff as the Republic Gunship arrived to rescue us, Obi Wan exited the gunship looking rather disappointed with me.
"I leave you alone for a week and not only did you blow up a crucial station but you fought the Grand General of the droid army, I mean look at you Dankel!" I took in all my injuries for a second, my over-use of Force Enhancement without a limit caused a lot of cuts to appear across my body as well as the burns from setting myself on fire. "Come on, lets get you back to the cruiser the Medics are gonna love you." I managed to mumble for the Clones to get treated first before I crumbled under my own body weight, I woke up with the four remaining Clones of Domino Squad sat around my bed with D4 sat in the corner getting repremanded by a medical droid. "It's good to see you awake Commander, sorry if they woke you D4 tried to shock you awake." I glanced over at my 'best buddy' who chirped with laughter, "Anyway we hope you'll be happy to hear that we've joined the 212th and hope to help you out next time you take on more then you can chew." Hevy said as he put Cutup in a headlock with Echo and Fives trying to seperate them as Obi Wan and Cody entered the room, Domino Squad quickly stood to attention before leaving the room my Master sat at the end of my bed before handing me my Saber as well as a box of scrap. "I figure if I'm going to keep you in the Medbay you'll need something to occupy yourself with, Domino Squad has offered to keep an eye on you for me so if you need anything just ask them." D4 hopped up on my bed and planted my broken prototype of the Sonic Screwdriver on my lap, "Ah that's were that was, looks like me and the droid had similar ideas."
*
*
*
I woke up in yet another cold sweat, my fight with Grievous had taken a bigger toll on me psychologically then I had thought as for the past week I'd been dealing with nightmares were all my friends were being cut down and it always ended with the cyborgs hand wrapped around my throat. With the help of Domino Squad and D4 I managed to create a prototype mark 2 of the Sonic Screwdriver which has a new feature which can examine atomic structures as I can't do it when it comes to solids, much to everyones disapointment the second I completed said prototype I was out and about being a nuisance. Now I am not a tactical genius in the slightest best I got was type advantages in Pokemon, however having knowledge of future events really does give me the power of prep time! I blocked and parried the Sith Assassin Asajj Ventress' attacks, her face twisted into a snarl of rage as her attacks became more wild so I switched to dodging them before disarming her with a Force Push. A clap from Obi Wan made me open my eyes and sheathed my Saber, "Was that Ventress you decided to spar against?" I nodded before sitting down with him as I wiped the sweat off my forehead, "I think I've finally cracked what makes you tick Padawan, you don't lose often so when you take it harder then most but you learn even more from it then everyone else I find it astonishing."
"Master, I keep having nightmares about Grievous... with how real they feel I mistook the first one for a vision but when they continued I realised it was my fear... so I need to get stronger but that power comes as a response to a need not a desire." I wave my hand dismissively before looking at the ever wise Obi Wan, "Sorry master I'm just rambling now, I'll go look over the reports from the scouts and complete some of my other duties." As I went to leave Obi Wan ignited his Saber and rushed at me bringing his blade down towards my shoulder so using the Force I pushed him back slightly as I ignited my own blade, what followed was a flurry of blade strikes which I struggled desperately to deflect and parry however once a single cut was made on my leg I lost any chance of a counter attack. "Master what are you doing?" He didn't answer me as he continued the assault, I took in a deep breath as I focused on the cut on my leg as well as the area around it before putting all my weight on it as dived forward with my Saber switched to its dagger configuration, I used my speed to my advantage as I sliced at Obi Wans perfect defence which as the name suggests he just stood there deflecting everything. I jump back and look at my Master, I know for a fact that I can't beat him I also know he's aware of that, I throw my Saber at him it shifts to the spear configuration so as he deflects the blade he's hit in the arm by the hilt. Going as quick as my body will allow I grab his Saber arm and quickly kick my master in the shin, I'll be honest I have no clue what happened next as I was quickly dropped to the floor. Domino Squad (As well as Dart) began clapping and laughing as Obi Wan let me back up, "Perfect timing guys, my hand to hand combat starts soon.." I said with an evil smirk growing across my face, Obi Wan chuckled as Dart began to apologies.
*
*
*
"Master is there no way we can support them?" I asked as Anakins fleet was directly in the path of Grievous' fleet, Obi Wan shook his head as he pulled up another chart, "Master I know it isn't my place to question our orders but if we came in behind Grievous' fleet we could box him in!" Obi Wan looked up at me and shook his head disapprovingly.
"Dankel you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement, go clear your head." I nodded my head as I walked to my room, meditating I had an actual vision! I saw Ahsokas duel with Grievous on the listening outpost, she was being pressured until a jolt of electricity through her off balance and she was ran through by one of Grievous' Sabers. A knock on my door snapped me out of my meditation as Obi Wan entered the room, "I thought you would like to know that Grievous' fleet was routed, if you'd like you can go help Anakin and Ahsoka find what we assume is a Seperatist listening outpost? My fleet has been ordered to hold position but you have no such order." I jumped up and thanked my Master as I ran towards the hangar, where my Delta-7 Jedi Starfighter was waiting for me. I'd personally requested the original Delta-7 which was smaller and required an astromech to have its headpiece removed from its main body to be implanted however it was the perfect size for D4 who I had upgraded for space travel. Hopping into my fighter, Obi Wan asked if I was sure about using D4 and not an actual Astromech I nodded as I took off towards my Hyperdrive Ring. It wasn't long before I was docking with Anakins Cruiser sadly they weren't there to greet me as they were off looking for R2 so I hung out with Rex and the 501st which was awesome, I chatted with Admiral Yularen until Anakin and Ahsoka arrived on the bridge. "So we believe that the Seps have a listening outpost and you're to find it basically." I said as Obi Wan starred at me and made a mental note to never let me do a breifing ever, Anakin took Goldie on a scout mission leaving me and Ahsoka to catch up as it'd been awhile since we'd had a chance to chat.
"So Skyguy wasn't lying you actually had a fight with him?" I nodded although I'm somewhat offended that Ahsoka didn't think I was dumb enough to fight Anakin, "Do you have a Death wish?" She asked genuinely concerned however before I had to answer that I was saved by the bell which in this case was the activation of Anakins tracker beacon. It didn't take us long to arrive to aid Anakin who was absolutely furious with Goldie, honestly it's a shame the droids a spy its paint job is so cool I'll have to somehow convince D4 to get a new paint job. I missed R2s transmission as I was trying to review my vision of Ahsokas Death, no luck but I wasn't going to leave her alone with either Grievous or Goldie. When the hangar doors opened I stepped towards the edge, hands in my pockets I just stepped off, the rush I got was just what I needed to remove all the doubt and fear I had from my mind. I broke my fall with a Force Push just as my fellow Jedi did, the Clones breaking theirs with their jetpacks enough of that though I GOT TO CUT THROUGH THE WALL! "Go save R2 Master Skywalker, me and Ahsoka can handle the mission." With that he ran off leaving us to blow up the reactor, I walked a little behind the Clones as Ahsoka took point while Goldie 'snuck away' to inform Grievous of our presence on the station. You're probably wondering why I let this happen, well it's so I could draw Grievous away from Anakin cause I can't risk either one of them being defeated so early in the Clone Wars so I can follow Palpatines plan as the only way I have an advantage is that I know the future and if that future changes I'm screwed.
I zoned out for a minute as my mind tracked Anakins journey through the complex, I mentally made an extremely accurate map of the Outpost which shocked me as I have no clue how I did that. I was awoken by a blaster bolt flying past me as one of the Clones shot the approaching droids, "Lets scrap em boys!" I hear Ahsoka yell as she launched off towards the enemy, I thank the Force she didn't pick the hallway Grievous comes from to charge down. The bulkhead closes over the ray-shield, I do debate on whether or not to just fry Goldie then and there while I'm cutting down clankers when I'm really abruptly launched back towards the Clones. Looking up I see Ahsoka standing over me, looking past her I see Grievous who ignited his two Sabers, "No need to worry boys he's just another droid to add to the scrap heap, lets give him a hand getting there!" I try to stop her but Ahsoka rushed forward, I scramble to my feet as Ahsoka gets kicked into the wall summoning as much strength as I could I pushed Grievous back. Putting on the most confident act I could I tried opening a dialogue, "Nice base you got here General, it's a real shame we've gotta destroy it!" I conjure a small flame in my hand when he suddenly rushes forward as I go to dodge I hear a shout from Rex as Goldie shocks me! Now I'm quite resistent to shocking suprise attacks but they still hurt! I stare Grievous in the eye as his Saber is met by Ahsokas, "I owe you one..." I cough out as a flame shoots out from inside Goldie, fun fact I didn't need to use the Force to figure out if there was a flammable gas in the atmosphere Hydrogen Sulfide stinks! Using the Force I moved a small amount into Grievous' little spy and set it alight , boom, the mini explosion causes Grievous to jump back, "Sorry General I think I broke your toy." I pushed it away with the Force as when Hydrogen Sulphide is ignited it can release other harmful gases, best to just get it out the way.
"W... Why is the fire blue Dankel?" Ahsoka asked as I mentally kick myself, when Hydrogen Sulphide burns with Oxygen (My usual fire starter with Hydrogen) produces a blue flame. I look at Grievous who looks a little unsure of the situation so I throw on a slightly more confident look as I pull all the blue fire into a ball behind me, "Because I'm not messing around anymore!" I take a step forward and almost immediately lose control of the fireball behind me, Grievous must of noticed this as he began moving forward as well. That's when the Clones opened fire and I yet again thanked the Force as the excess gas that the blaster bolts left behind allowed me to move the fire more easily, so I began launching columns of fire at Grievous and once all the fire was in Grievous' area of the hallway I let go of my control of the fire which caused the flames I'd condenced down to explode outwards like a blooming flower. I fell to my knees, being caught by the nearest Clone, the fire suppression system kicked in and there stood Grievous his armour slightly charred however he began to walk forward with Ahsoka stepping between the two of us. "If you hand him over I might let you all live!" I push myself off the Clone supporting me as Ahsoka begins to duel Grievous, I toss Rex my mark 2 Sonic "I'll support Ahsoka just plant those Charges and meet up with General Skywalker!" I draw my Saber before stopping, "Oh and Rex I want that back." I ran past the duel yelling for Ahsoka to follow me, which she did, just as I predicted Grievous followed us his pride getting in the way of what was important.
"Please tell me you have a plan!" I heard her yell as we continued to run, I looked at her and shrugged, "Oh great! You've gotten us killed, where even are we?" I pulled up my mental map which hadn't been wrong yet and zeroed in on the Hangar were the Twilight had just docked, I began taking more erratic turns and much to both their credits Ahsoka and Grievous kept up. We reached the Hangar on the opposite side Rex entered from however the door wouldn't open which made Grievous maniacly laugh as he swung at me and Ahsoka easily matching the both us. Grievous manged to separate the two of us as he kicked me away he went for a lethal slash on Ahsoka, using Force Enhancement I shot forward catching Ahsoka but getting cut along my Saber arm rendering it useless. I screamed in pain but not just from the pain of the wound, the nightmares of Grievous killing everyone I'd grown to love here, the regret I also felt from my past life, it all came to head as Grievous had approached Ahsoka and I let out a Force Scream loud enough to launch him back. I grabbed my throat with my good hand as I began coughing as I looked up to see the hallway infront of where I had screamed to be completely destroyed with Grievous at the other end of it starring at me with pure rage, I got my feet and lifted Ahsoka to hers I could feel that she was shakey. I can only imagine what we must have looked like when Anakin opened the door with R2, him and Rex practically dragged us to the Twilight as the rest of the Clones opened fire on the good General who ran away. After a quick assessment from the medical droid onboard I was given the bed as Ahsoka was virtually unscathed, she'd just been shaken by my scream, I heard the destruction of the Listening Outpost and promptly passed out.
*
*
*
I woke up in a Bacta Tank with Ahsoka sat outside with Anakin and Obi Wan, "You almost lost your arm saving that Togruta girl, you tapped into the Dark Side to save you both, was it worth it?" The Empires Wrath asked in the back of my mind and when I saw the relief on everyones faces when they realised I was awake I mentally laughed as I said yes, "She's barely left your side while you were out, a female Mirialan came by a couple of times also though I think she was a healer." It wasn't long before I was out and already causing issues for everyone as the second I stepped the Bacta Tank I slipped and smacked my head on the chair Ahsoka had been sat on, when I got up I tried focusing on the bruise to heal it but I couldn't. I walked the halls of the Jedi Temple until I reached the Grand Archives, I just had to research more on Force Healing and figure out why mine had suddenly stopped working, well that and my research on Pyrokinesis paper was due but I didn't care about that really. I gathered all of the material I needed and went to a desk hidden off in the corner where Jocasta Nu was waiting for me, "People don't normally sit at this desk young one, why do you like it here so much?" I placed down the material, I guess my constant use of this desk inparticular had been noticed, "Because it's difficult to find Madame Jocasta, due to my natural affinity towards Pyrokinesis I'm always being sort after for training or sparring but I adore reading as well as learning besides," I run my hand along the under side of the desk and dislogde a spare notebook and pencil, "I can be pretty forgetful so it helps to be prepared!" At this she chuckles slightly and walks away to continue her work, "I like her, she's very wise all that knowledge makes her a target for the Sith though." Empires Wrath mumbled as I began taking notes on Force Healing, I came to a saddening conclusion: Due to me reincarnating into this body it had an absolutely perfect alignment to the Light Side of the Force which also allowed for perfect use of Light Side abilities however since I'd accidently used Force Scream (Yes even though it was involuntary) I'd ruined my alignment due to the corrupting nature of the Dark Side.
I mentally cursed as I bit my thumb, a habit I can't shake from when I got stressed in my past life, "You look silly when you do that Dankel." Barriss said causing me to bite down on my thumb hard, "Sorry, I'm shocked to find you already back to studying though you were out for awhile." She had a look at my notepad which I began screaming about as she pointed to the chemical formula for Ethanol, "What's this?" I shake my head and close over the notebook, I was about to come up with an amazing excuse when my commlink began to go off with Master Plo on the other end requesting my presence in an obscure part of the Temple I hadn't been before, I apologised to Barriss and began to make my way to the area Master Plo said he'd meet me. I entered the room to a Hologram Droid being programmed by one Anakin Skywalker with Master Plos supervision "Greetings Masters, did you need some help fixing that droid?" Anakin scoughed as he flipped activated the program, the visage of a Zabrak with a double bladed Lightsaber appeared infront of me, "This is the Sith our Master killed when he was a Padawan, your test is simple: don't get hit." I went to draw my Saber but Master Plo pulled it out of my hands and gave me a look that reminded me of Master Fistos signature smirk, the droid rushed forward swinging and slashing so I began dodging and strafing.
I figured out the goal of this test, they wanted me to get frustrated and use Force Scream as I kept getting hit over and over. I found it funny to be honest, I mean you accidentily tap into the Dark Side once and everyones steps on eggshells around you. I noticed Masters Yoda and Windu watching from the upper floor as I got hit yet again, I admit I was starting to get frustrated until The Hero of Tython began talking to me, "I can sense their doubt in you young one, not many Padawans dance so close to the Dark Side and fewer still resist the temptation." I take a deep breath and close my eyes, I let my body flow as the Force guides my movements when I opened my eyes I began looking for a way to counter attack as I was done with this test. "Dankel you can finish the test now!" Master Plo shouted as he threw my Saber into the air, I flipped back landing on my left hand and pushed myself up using the Force catching my Saber as my arc completed. As I land I side step and ignite my blade bringing it straight through the Holo-Droid, with a flourish I deactivate my Saber and place it on my belt to which I recieve a round of applause from a gathering of Younglings and Padawans.
*
*
Dankel Fec: Current Ability Level
Duelling - On par with Padawan Anakin Skywalker
Hand to Hand Combat - Slightly above Clones
Connection to the Force - Slightly Stronger
Force Abilities - Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Force Sight (Advanced), Force Healing (Passive), Force Projections, Force Scream.
Current mastery over the Abilities on a scale of 10;
- Telekinesis = 3.15
- Pyrokinesis = 4.7
- Force Sight (Advanced) = 2.8
- Force Healing = -1
-Force Projections = 0.1
-Force Scream = 0
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone