//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Solo Mission 
// Story: Star Wars: The Great War 
// by ShootingStar25 
//------------------------------//

Recap: Jedi Knight Storm under the order given to him by his teacher, Jedi Master Luna has informed the boy about the situation happening on Planet Christophsis. She has instructed her apprentice to join forces with General Skywalker as a way to get past the blockade guarding the planet. But first, she assigned him to journey to the Planet Bassa in an attempt to free the people who are being held for labor. After finding a pilot in the name of Rainbow Dash, the Jedi Knight now hopes to complete his mission.

The ship that Storm and Rainbow Dash were on was now traveling through space as they had just left Coruscant. Once Rainbow had finished counting her credits she boarded her ship which she named the Buccaneer Blaze. It was a unique name, but Storm didn't say anything as he got on.

Right now, Rainbow was at the controls as she was plotting the course into the ship as Storm was in the back.

"Setting course to Bassa might take a few moments. Don't want to come out of hyperspace in an unwanted section." said the chromatic girl.

"Take your time," said Storm as he made his way past some doors as they slid open as he was now in an empty room.

"Got it!" stated Rainbow with some excitement as she pushed a button and the ship entered hyperspace. All around them were blue and white lights. "We should be there..." Rainbow turned around in time to see the tail end of Storm's robe as the door closed.

"Nobody moves around my ship without my permission," said Rainbow as she was angry.

She then put the ship in autopilot as she got up from her seat and then walked to the doors as it slid open. She began to walk down the hallway as she was making her way to one of the spare rooms on her ship.

Storm had entered one of the rooms as he took off his Jedi cloak and placed it on the bed. He then sat down on his knees as he closed his eyes to meditate.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force and the Force is with me." repeated Storm as he soon began his concentration exercises. He then began to recite the mantra that Luna taught him to say before every meditation session.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force."

"What the hell is he saying?" said Rainbow as she managed to track down the boy she was giving a ride to as she leaned against the door with her arms crossed.

She then began to examine the boy as she watched him breath in and out one time as he then steadied his mind and body. Some minutes pass as Rainbow was still looking at the boy. She didn't know what he was doing, so she decided to ask him.

"Hey, kid. Hey! You there?!" said Rainbow as she tapped on his shoulder but he didn't respond nor did he move.

She tried again tapping his shoulder to get his attention but nothing. She then snapped her fingers in front of the boy to open his eyes but nothing. She then did several things she could think of: poking him in the side, eating loudly, even burping in his face to get a reaction out of him, yet he still didn't move from his position or break his concentration.

"Gees, it's like if he moves, something bad will happen," said Rainbow as she couldn't figure out the boy. 

She then got one last idea as she cracked her knuckles; she then bawled her fist up as he prepared to make contact with his face. Storm's eyes then shot open as he caught Rainbow's fist just inches from his face as it got the chromatic girl to be shocked.

"I'd advise to not to do that again," said Storm as he pushed back Rainbow's fist as she lost her balance for a sec.

"So, did I disturb your nap?" asked Rainbow.

"It's called meditation. You should try it sometime," said Storm.

"Nah, I get plenty of naps in," stated Rainbow.

"It's not napping, it's an exercise that I do when I need to clear my mind. Plus it helps me to think."

"Yeah, whatever. So, like, mind telling who you are?" asked the girl as she now sat in front of the boy her age.

"What do you mean?" pondered Storm.

"Like your name, and who you are?" stated Rainbow. "I know what you are." She then directed her head in the direction of Storm's hip.

The boy followed the girl's eyes as he saw that she was looking at his weapon, more importantly, his lightsaber.

"You're a Jedi," said Rainbow as she recognized the weapon.

"If you know what I am, then why did you ask?" said Storm.

"Duh, so that way I can prepare myself for when you kill me."

"What?!"

"Isn't that what it's for? Don't you go around and kill people, bring about chaos and destruction?" asked Rainbow.

She knew I was Jedi, but she doesn't know a damn thing about what we do.

"First off, I am a Jedi. But I'm not gonna kill you. As a Jedi, my responsibility is to keep the peace between the galaxy. What you're referring to is the Sith and the Dark Side of the Force. Those who will do anything it takes to make the galaxy in their image. Those are the ones you need to watch out for and pray that you're on their good side or risk your life." explained Storm.

"Okay, if you're a Jedi. Then you're a master, right?" said Rainbow.

Oh, god. This girl doesn't know a thing.

Storm took a deep breath as he prepared to explain some things to the girl.

"Okay, looks I need to explain some stuff. Alright, let's begin with what you know about Jedi."

"That you wield a lightsaber," answer Rainbow.

"Okay, what else?"

"That's it."

"That's it?!" said Storm to which Rainbow nodded. Well, at least she's not totally stupid. "Alright, let me explain some things to you. Yes, Jedi wield lightsabers, but we don't bring them out whenever we want. To us, they are a symbol of the ideals that we need to uphold about peace and justice throughout the galaxy."

"Then why do bad guys have them?" asked Rainbow.

"Those bad guys, as you call them, are former Jedi who have been tempted by the Dark Side of the Force and have thus thrown away the ideals they used to value. And so they wield a lightsaber of their own to reflect their destructive side and whatnot."

"And how can you tell which is which?" asked Rainbow.

"Simple, the color of the lightsaber. All bad guys have a red light, whereas the Jedi have different colors." stated Storm. "Another thing to know is that the lightsaber is to be greatly respected and feared. To wield a lightsaber is to demonstrate incredible skill and confidence, as well as masterful dexterity and attunement to the Force."

"So, can I use it?" wondered the girl as she didn't get what Storm just said.

"If you insist." said Storm as he rolled his eyes and handed his weapon to the girl.

"This heavier than it looks," said Rainbow as she felt the weight of the weapon as it wasn't as light as she thought. It must have taken a lot of physical strength itself to just hold on, let alone in one hand. "So, how do I turn it on?"

"Push the button," said Storm. Rainbow was about to do it when... "Point it away from you." said the teen boy as he saw that the girl was holding it back and if she pushed it then... well, it wouldn't end well.

Rainbow then did as Storm instructed her to do as soon the laser beam of light was projected in front of her as it glowed a yellow light. She was also thankful that she listened to his instructions or risk stabbing herself. She then began to move it about like she was pretending to swing at things while Storm just looked at the girl. He did admit, for someone who didn't know about a Jedi, she was acting like a kid in a candy store while holding his weapon.

"This is so cool! Where can I get one of these?" wondered Rainbow as she turned it off.

"I'm afraid you can't," said Storm.

"What?! Why not?!"

"You have to be a Jedi."

"Alright, then tell me how I become one?" asked Rainbow.

"You don't get it! You don't just become a Jedi overnight, it's not as simple as snapping your fingers and poof. It takes time, dedication, patience." said Storm, "And based on your personality, you don't have either."

"Hey!" shouted the girl as she was offended by the boy she was giving a ride.

"I've spent my whole life training to be a Jedi, and I'll probably spend even more time trying to become a Master. And then even more if I'm to get the rank of Grand Master. So you can understand it's not a simple walk in the park." stated Storm.

"You're mentioning all these titles? What are they?" asked Rainbow.

"In the Jedi Order, we have ranks to give different people. Ranks determine a person's level of experience when it comes to wielding the Force and a lightsaber. The first rank that any Jedi is given is called a Padawan which is what we call an apprentice. Normally they are younglings who are taught with other kids in a classroom. Then once they reach a certain age and have their training under their belt, they are then assigned to a Jedi Master or Knight. This is where they train under someone to gain the rank of Jedi Knight. Typically, a Padawan's master is meant to be chosen by the apprentice. However, with the war going on, the Jedi High Council has begun to assign Padawans to people." 

"So, who are you assigned to?" asked Rainbow.

"Well, I'm assigned to Jedi Master Luna. But not because the High Council gave me her. But rather she took me in when I was very young. I don't know my actual parents, all I remember was being found as a baby by Luna and I cried a lot. As Jedi, we seek to help those in need. So she searched for my missing parents but couldn't find them. In the end, she took it upon herself to raise me as her own and soon I became her apprentice, studying as her Padawan." said Storm.

"Okay, so you're an apprentice. Then why aren't you with your master?" asked Rainbow.

"Well, let me go back to the different ranks. For a Padawan to achieve the next rank which is Jedi Knight, they need to complete their time as a Padawan and complete the Jedi Trails."

"What are these Trials?" asked the girl.

"The Jedi Trials is what helps get from Padawan to Jedi Knight. During the trial, Padawans must go through nine steps of trial: teamwork, isolation, fear, anger, betrayal, focus, instinct, forgiveness, and protection. Jedi typically complete their trials in their young adult years with some Jedi passing their trials as early as their teenage years."

"Well you're a Jedi Knight which means you passed the Trials, and you're only my age. Means you must be good," said Rainbow as she was impressed by the boy.

"Well, it wasn't easy. That's for sure. But I had Luna's training to help guide me and I just remember everything she taught me. And that helped me to pass." said Storm. "Besides, some of these trials aren't some big spectacle. It can be as simple as taking the form of a task assigned to the Padawan by the master or simply being a matter of circumstance where the master believes the Padawan has proved themselves."

"Well, since your my age and already a Jedi Knight. That means you'll be a Master in no time," stated Rainbow.

"Again, it's not that simple. To be a Jedi Master, you have to show that you're a wise leader. Plus, the only person that can grant me the rank of Jedi Master is someone who is ranked as Jedi Grand Master. They decided who is worthy of being promoted from Knight to Master. And once you do receive the rank of Master, you're then able to and expected to pursue your studies, moving forward in your experience with the Force on your terms." said Storm.

"And let me guess, Grand Master is the head honcho?" stated Rainbow.

"Yes, they serve as the leader of the Jedi High Council. So my master also has someone who she follows which is a Jedi known as Master Yoda. And he does everything he can to train the newer generations keeping the cycle going." said Storm.

"Wow, all of that is wow," said Rainbow as she was still holding Storm's weapon. "So, that little mantra you were saying earlier, what does it mean?"

"Well, I just say it cause Luna told me to do it every time I meditated to help remind me. It's the Jedi Code that we have to follow. It's a set of rules that govern the behavior of the Jedi Order." stated Storm. "It teaches its followers to not give in to feelings of anger toward other lifeforms, which helps us resist fear and prevent us from falling to the dark side of the Force. Amongst other dictates, the Jedi Code forbids Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters from taking on more than one Padawan at a given time; and forbids Jedi from forming attachments."

"What kind of attachments?" asked Rainbow.

"You know, like holding onto something that you deeply care about. A person, you love."

"So, you can't love someone?" asked Rainbow.

"Master Yoda stresses that emotional detachment is essential to prevent Jedi from becoming vulnerable to feelings of jealousy, greed, and the fear of loss, all of which are paths to the dark side," said Storm.

"Well, that's stupid. I mean, if you love something or someone, you should be granted the opportunity to express it. To show how you feel." said Rainbow.

"Well, I don't like it as much. But I tend to just go along with it."

"But think about it... say you were to fall in love with someone who you truly cared about? Wouldn't you want them to know how they meant to you?" asked Rainbow.

"The Code is the Code, Rainbow. I can't disobey it or risk not being a Jedi anymore," said Storm.

"But come on! I mean, what if I said right now, that I loved you. How would you feel?"

"I don't think it would matter how I would feel," answered Storm.

"Just play along with me, will you? Say I fell in love with you. And I poured my heart out saying that I would do nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. What would you say?" asked Rainbow.

"If I were to say..." said Storm as he thought about his response and let out a sigh, "I would say you're... a beautiful, athletic, charismatic girl who shows an undying loyalty to the things she cares about the most. I would also say that I too would like to protect and hold you very close to me. That I would make sure that you're safe from all harm and that you're my center that I revolve around. And that if anything should happen to you, then I would never forgive myself. I would make sure to put my arms around you and kiss you so that the whole galaxy knows that you are the one who I keep closest to my heart." stated Storm as he spoke what was on his mind.

"Woah, that's... that's well, I wouldn't know how to respond to that," said Rainbow as she was a bit flustered by what she heard coming from the boy who was her age.

"But as I said, I have a code to obey. So those words wouldn't mean anything unless I gave up my ways as a Jedi," said Storm.

"Right," said Rainbow as she felt a bit sad to know that the boy in front of her wasn't allowed to show any signs of love. Which to her, she thought it was a horrible thing to do to a person.

"But, a Jedi can show compassion. It's the central idea of our ways. We believe all lives are precious. And so that's why we're forbidden from killing anybody unarmed, nor seek revenge." said Storm.

"I get it," said Rainbow as she looked at the weapon in her hand and gave it back to the boy.

"Though, for what it's worth. The things I said about, they're genuine. They came from my heart and I expressed what I thought. So, that if I wasn't a Jedi, I would still the same things I said to you." smiled Storm.

"Thanks," said Rainbow as she smiled as there was but a small red on her face. Soon there was a beep heard. "Seems we're about to come out of hyperspace." said the chromatic girl as she got up from the floor.

Storm put his weapon in his holder as he grabbed his robe from the bed and made his way out of the room. The pair now entered the front of the ship as they came out of hyperspace. They saw the planet of Bassa as from the space view it was colored brown and red. Rainbow then push a button as some info came up.

"According to my info, it's mostly rocky terrain. There's a city, but after that, nothing but rocks, rocks, rocks, and more rocks," said Rainbow.

"Yeah, thanks for that Einstein." stated Storm.

They then began their descent to the planet as they entered its atmosphere. According to the details, given to Storm by Luna, the last possible location where people had gone missing was about a few miles from the city itself. So he had Rainbow land a stable cliff as he could exit the ship and explore around without letting any of the captures know he was here. The ship landed on the cliff as Rainbow put it in park mode. She then looked over at the boy as he put on his Jedi cloak and put the hood over his head.

"So, what are you doing here? If you wanted to see the city, we could've landed there," stated Rainbow.

"That's on a need to know. Stay here and keep the doors shut, I won't be long," said Storm.

"You got 2 hours, alright. I got my money, so if you aren't back by then, I'm taking off." said the girl.

"Fine by me," said Storm as the door opened to the haul of the ship as the teen boy exited out and began to walk in a direction.

Rainbow closed the door and shut it as she kicked back in her chair and looked at the boy until he disappeared from her sight. She then thought about the conversation they had about him explaining to her what a Jedi was and how he was committed to it. Despite being just her age, Storm seemed to show some wisdom for just a teen. Of course, the idea that a Jedi couldn't show any sign of romantic attachment played on her mind. Not so much as the aspect of being in love with someone, but the idea that you couldn't show true affection to something/someone that you deeply cared about. Despite not being one for a showing of romance mushy thing, Rainbow knew the importance of what it meant to have love in your life that it almost pained to see someone who was forbidden as they couldn't express what it meant to be human.

Storm was current a few meters from the ship as he could no longer see it. He then pulled out his communicator as he looked at the data provided to him by his master. He then made his way to the last known location where the smugglers had captured an escapee as he hoped to find some kind of clue. The Jedi Knight arrived at the place as all he could see were rocks as the sun was in the sky but it wasn't beating down on him. He then took off his hood as he saw some tracks, using his skills, he could tell that it belonged to a person but they seem to have been dragged away.

Storm looked around for any more clues, but nothing. He then kneeled as he placed his hand on the tracks. 

"What could have happened here? Nothing but tracks, but they disappear," said Storm as he looked at the ground and then around. "Alright, let's see how much my training paid off." said the teen as he closed his eyes and was concentrating his mind.

Help me out, Luna. What am I missing?

Storm was tuning his mind to listen to the Force as Luna told him to do so many times. He was focusing his spirit to not just listen to the Force, but to let it guide him. All around the boy, the small pebbles were moving as soon they began to respond, while Storm may have had his eyes closed, in his mind he could see what was happening around him. The small pebbles were started to react to the boy and the Force as soon they outlined an object as Storm opened his eyes.

In front of the boy, he saw the pebbles were in the shape of an arrow as they seemed to be pointing towards him. He thought about what the arrow meant as he picked up a pebble and threw it into the interior of the arrow as a metal sound was heard. Upon hearing that, Storm now knew that the arrow wasn't pointing at him, but rather down. So he dusted the pebbles and some of the dirt that was on the ground as soon a metal lid was revealed. Storm then kneeled again and put a hand on the metal lid as he closed his eyes.

When Storm touched the metal lid and concentrated a scene began to play in his subconscious. In Storm's subconscious, he was standing in a mirage-like appearance as all-around some events were playing as they were rewinding to the start.  It was one of the many things that the boy had to practice on a daily basis growing up being Luna's padawan as she believed it would be a useful skill to have when doing some scout and tracking missions. Once it had been fully rewound, it then began to play.

"Thought, you could escape, huh?" said a voice as it belonged to a guard.

"Don't you know, you don't get to see the light of day unless we say so!" shouted another voice as it belonged to someone with more power.

"Please, just let me go!" pleaded a man as he begged and was on his knees.

So, this is what happened. One of the workers got free and tried to escape it. However, he didn't properly sneak out as he was caught. The guard and what I can assume one of the overseers chased after him until they got to the surface.

The scene kept playing as it showed the guard and overseer knocking the man in the back of his head as they knocked the man unconscious and began to drag him by the arms. The guard then lifted the man onto his shoulders as he carried him.

They subdued him and began to take him away. Which explains the tracks I saw. They realized what they were doing and then lifted him on their shoulders to avoid anybody seeing them and potentially following their tracks.

The scene then showed the guard and overseer approaching the metal lid as the guard entered something on a keypad as soon the door unlocked and popped open. They then started to descend into the thing and closed the lid behind them. Storm then approached the door as he saw it was a number pad as it seemed to respond to a code. The Force in his subconscious allowed him to see the hand movements of the guard as he saw the numbers he punched in to open it.

Got it.

Soon everything stopped as Storm exited his subconscious and opened his eyes as he saw the metal in front of him as he looked over to the side a bit to see the number pad as he entered the code he saw. Soon after a few seconds, the lid came unlocked as it popped open and saw the opening as there was a spiral staircase that went down. Storm then put the hood of his robe back on as he descended the stairs as the lid soon closed behind him.

Once the lid closed, it created a darkness that you couldn't see. Thankfully, Storm had a way as he pulled out his lightsaber and pushed the button as the laser beam projected as it shined a yellow light that allowed the Jedi some vision. He kept walking down the stairs slowly to avoid any danger. Eventually, he found himself at the end of the stairs as he saw a tunnel ahead of him as there were some lights. Storm then put his lightsaber away as he made his way to the tunnel. He followed the lights as he took in the underground cavern. Eventually, he came to the end of it as he came to a huge working area as there were tons of guards as they oversaw their workers.

All around were people having pickaxes as they were going at some of the rocks. Another section of the workplace had some of the women and children lifting some heavy rocks and minerals on a conveyor belt as they were being sent to a machine that was crushing the substances and were being overlooked by some of the smugglers as they put the ones they liked into a bag as they were being put into a vault that held all of their priceless gems. 

Storm looked around and saw several guards as they stood to watch from all angles and entrances to the room as they were on the lookout. He then heard some noise as down below him was a man who dropped his pickaxe as he fell and passed out from exhaustion. One of the guards came to him as he tapped the face of the man, as he was still breathing. He and another guard then began to take the man away to the barracks. Storm then began to follow them along the cliff as he saw the door they exited out of. Thankfully, there was a small opening as he was able to squeeze by. He then continued down the path as he soon found himself above the barracks as Storm could see several prisoners as they were all exhausted and coughed from sickness.

Storm then heard the door open as he hid behind a rock as the guards walked in.

"Don't work, you don't eat." chuckled one of the guards as they tossed the man onto the ground.

The other guard then grabbed a bucket of water and splashed it on his face to not only wake up but as his only drink for the day. Both laughed as they closed the door.

"Why?" said the man as he wiped some of the water on his face.

"You okay?" said Storm as he jumped down onto the ground as it got the other prisoners to let out a gasp.

"Who are you?" asked the man as Storm leaned the prisoner in his arms.

"Someone sent to help you all," said Storm as he pulled something from his pocket and let the man drink it as his fever was now going away.

"You're a Jedi?" said one of the other prisoners as they saw the robe of Storm as the lightsaber on his hip was shown.

"What does that mean, mommy?" asked one of the kids as she hugged her mother from the side.

"It means we're saved." said the women. "You're here to save us, right?"

"My mission is to find out what's been happening and stop them," said Storm.

"But you have to save us, they gonna work us till we can't go." said the women.

"I didn't say I was leaving you guys, but I can't risk putting all of you in danger, especially the kids." said the Jedi.

"So, what's the plan?" asked the man.

"First, let's get those chains off of you," said Storm as he pulled out his lightsaber and cut the chain off of the man's hand as it allow him to release some of the pressure on his wrist as they were some marks on it that would fade away with time.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to get the chains off of everybody else and get you all out of here," said Storm. "And like I said, if I am to get you all out of here, I don't want to risk anybody getting in the line of fire."

"I must ask, you're young for Jedi Knight." said the man as he saw Storm.

"Yeah, well I'm also quite mature for my age." stated the teen. "Now then, do the guards have keys?"

"Yes." answered the man.

"Perfect." smiled the Jedi.

"Guards, guards! Help!" shouted one of the prisoners.

"Oh, shut up!" said one of the guards as he pulled back the eye door and saw the prisoner standing in front of the door. "What do you want?!" yelled the angry man.

"One of the prisoners needs medical attention." said the man.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me, stupid idiot." said the guard as he closed the eye door and soon opened the door as he walked in with another guard as the two were now looking around. They soon approached the man as he was lying on the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" shouted the guard.

"Up there." said the man as he pointed up.

"Huh?" said the guards as they both looked up as there was Storm hanging from the ceiling as soon he quickly dropped on them as his robe was shown.

Soon he now had both guards all tied back to back as they struggled to try to get out. The prisoners were happy that the plan worked as they felt a ray of hope.

"So, what are you going to do to them? Are you gonna..." said the woman as she prepared to turn her kids away from the possible death scene.

"No, even though they are bad guys. I'm not gonna take their lives, they deserve justice and to answer for their crimes." stated Storm as the kids now looked back at the boy.

"So, what are you going to do?" asked another prisoner.

Storm then approached the guards that were tied up as he looked at them.

"You gonna kill us, a Jedi isn't supposed to harm an unarmed person, right?" said one of the guards.

"You will tell me what you know," said Storm as he waved his hand in front of him.

"I... will tell you what I know." said the guard as his mind was influenced.

"How... did you do that?" asked the women.

"Jedi mind trick." answered Storm honestly as he got back to work. "Now tell me what you know."

"If you want to get out of here, you'll need to open the main gate." said the guard.

"How do I open it?" asked the Jedi.

"To open the door, you'll need the keys that are on some of the guards closest to the door. But you need to watch out for our leader. He's the one who overlooks everything."

"How do I free the prisoners?" asked the boy.

"The keys I have will free the chains off of the prisoners, but that won't do you any good unless you can open the main door and distract the guards. And they will not hesitate to open fire on anybody, even the kids." said the guard.

Storm then took the keys from the guard as he began to give them to the prisoners as they all unlocked their chains and freed their wrists from pain. While that was happening, Storm was thinking of a plan, he had an idea, but it was a long shot. And he was gonna need some help from the prisoners.

"Well, Luna. Time to put everything you taught into full motion." said the boy. 




In the main workroom, the prisoners were still hard at work as they were being subdued to the hard conditions. Storm had made his way back to where through the small opening as he looked to where the barracks were as he knew what he had to do. He then slowly slid down and hide behind some barrels as he got into position as one of the workers as he picked up an ax and started to chip away at the rock in front of him as at that moment, a patrol of guards looked in his direction and then just glanced away. Once they looked away, Storm let out a breath as he prepared to initiate the next part of his plan. He then tossed the pickaxe over his head as he made it seem like it slipped out of his hand. He was able to use the Force as he made sure that when it hit the guard in the chest it didn't hurt him but merely knock him on his back.

The guard fell as several others noticed this as they looked to see who did it. Their eyes soon fell on Storm as he began to walk.

"Him!" said the guard as he and the others all now began to go after the boy as he picked up the pace and began to run a bit as he leaped over some more barrels.

Storm soon wasn't trying to outrun the guards, but more so attract as many as he could away from the door to the barracks. He then stopped in front of a wall as right behind him were some of the guards as they had their weapons locked and loaded. Then a person came through as it turned out to be the one in charge as he carried a special blaster in hand.

"Trying to run away? You know how this ends, any final words, prisoner?" asked the leader pirate.

Nothing was said as Storm stood there with his back facing them.

"Silence, huh. Hands where we can see them." said the leader as Storm put his hands up. "Turn around, slowly."

Storm then began to turn.

"Slower!" shouted the leader as he felt that the prisoner was turning a bit too quick even for going slow.

Soon Storm stood facing them but the hood of his robe still covered his face.

"Take the robe off." said the leader.

Storm just smiled as he moved his hands and flung the hood off as his face was revealed. At that moment, all the guards were shocked by what they saw. One thing was that the person in front of them was but a teen, yet he looked to be quite mature for his age. And the other thing was the weapon they saw on his side.

"You're..." said one of the guards.

"Open fire!!!" shouted the leader as his men began to fire their blasters.

Storm then did a giant backflip into the air as he managed to dodge the bullets as he landed on a cliff above them. The guards just stood to see that the robe came off as the boy was on one knee as he had his right arm out. In his hand was the weapon on his side as he pressed the button as a yellow lightsaber turned on.

"It's a Jedi!!" shouted the leader. "Blast him!!" commanded the head honcho as his men did just that.

Storm was now swinging his blade in front of him as he was deflecting the bullets as a flurry of yellow light was going at fast speed. With Jedi training, Jedi were taught to deflect the bullets back to their shooters, but normally that was reserved for droids. Seeing as how Storm wanted to bring these smugglers to justice, he was manually deflecting the direction in which the bullets were shot. Which required a bit more effort on his part, but given that most of the shots fired by the guards were either easy or not hitting him, it wasn't too hard. Once he had an opening he then held his lightsaber in his left arm as he used his right hand to force push some of the ground troopers into some barrels as they made a sound.

"That sounds like the cue." said one of the prisoners as they opened the door to the main room and saw Storm as he attracted most of the guards. With the Jedi distracting them, they were able to sneak to where the remained guards were. They tapped them on the shoulder as they turned around and were met with the final image of a fist coming at their face.

Storm was still holding his own against the guards as he kept on deflecting. One of the guards on a nearby cliff, had a sniper blaster all ready as he got into position. He looked through the scope as he now had the teen in his sights.

"Goodbye, Jedi scum." said the trooper as he pulled the trigger and a blast came from it. 

Storm sense something as the Force told him to look up as he saw the blast coming at him as he managed to get out of the way as for a moment everything moved in slow motion. The blast just zipped by Storm's face as he ducked out of the way as everything resumed back to normal speed. He then saw the mark made by the sniper as he saw where it came from. Another blast was shot as the Jedi leaped out of the way.

"Hold still!" shouted the sniper as he reposition while his comrades kept on shooting the boy as he hide behind a rock as the blasts hit the object. It was reduced to rubble from the blast as they expected to see the Jedi, but he wasn't there.

"Where did you go?" said the sniper as he was now looking around through the scope.

"What are we looking at?" said Storm as he appeared next to the sniper with his elbow on his shoulder. The guard turned his head as Storm was smiling before he was knocked out from a punch by the Jedi.

"There he is!" shouted one of the guards as they continued to blast at Storm as their blasts were hitting around him. He then used the Force to knock out the rest of the guards. 

He then jumped down doing a flip as he landed with a superhero thud. Storm then opened his eyes as he activated his lightsaber and started to show off his Jedi training. All around the men were blasting at the boy as he was deflecting their shots like it was nothing. He got close to some of them as he cut their weapon in half before kicking them in the chest knocking them out. Storm managed to deflect some shots back at the blasters as it overloaded and made them drop it as their hands felt the heat. This allowed Storm to take them down by doing some kicks or using the Force.

Meanwhile, the prisoners had all managed to take out the guards that weren't attracted to Storm's performance as they tied them up. They then approached the main door as they used a set of keys and turned them all at once as the door opened. The ray of the sun and fresh air was a sigh of relief as they all started to make their way out.

Storm had just finished off the last of the guards as all around him laid the unconscious bodies he took out.

"Easy." said the teen.

"Not quite." said the leader of the gang as he had in his arms a woman and her child. He was holding a blaster to them. "If you want them to live, put your weapon down."

Storm just looked at the women and daughter as he said to them everything was going to be okay. He then looked at the thug in charge as he turned on his lightsaber.

"I mean it, you want their deaths to be on your hands!" shouted the leader. "The people of Bassa will know of this and they'll be drawn into the war. And more innocent lives will be lost because of you and your kind. So for your sake and theirs, put the damn weapon down!"

Even then Storm held his ground as he shook his head.

"One!"

Storm gripped his lightsaber even tighter.

"Two!"

"Mommy!" said the daughter hugging her mother.

"Three!!"

Just then a blast was heard as it got the leader in his arm as it caused him to let go of the couple he took hostage. He look to his arm to see it got scrapped by a blast shot as Storm saw his opening and used the Force as he pushed the man onto the ground and knocked him out.

"Sweetie, you okay?" asked the mother as she fell to her knees and hugged her daughter.

"Yes, mommy." said the daughter as she felt safe.

"Thank you." smiled the woman.

"Don't thank me." stated Storm with a smile as he looked behind him as above on a platform was a familiar sight.

"Not bad for someone who isn't a Jedi," said Rainbow as in her hand was her trusty blaster as there was smoke coming from the barrel. She then blew on it as she put it in her holster. "Figured you might need saving."

"What took you so long?" joked Storm.

Once all the smugglers had been rounded up and tied up. Storm and Rainbow all gathered the prisoners on her ship as they all flew toward the city of Bassa. The citizens were surprised by what they saw as many of them rushed over to hug someone they knew who was captured. The Jedi and pilot handed over the thugs to the ruler of the city as he made sure they would answer for their crimes. 

"We thank you, honorable Jedi." said the ruler. "The people of Bassa are forever grateful for all you've done in liberating our people and bringing these villains to justice."

"Just doing my duty, your highness," said Storm. "But I'll admit, I couldn't have done it without a solid captain." said the Jedi as he looked at Rainbow as she blushed a bit from embarrassment. 

"If there is any way that Bassa can help the Republic and the Jedi in this war, we will." stated the ruler.

"I appreciate that, but your planet hasn't been touched by the War. And I don't want to risk any Separatists on knowing that you're aiding us in fear of them attacking," said Storm. "So, I humbly ask that you remain as you are. Do not worry about the War, for I promise that the Jedi and the Republic will be victorious." 

"Very well, Jedi Knight Storm. We hope the best in your crusade to take down the evil lords of the Separatists and to bring peace back to the galaxy." 

"Till then," said Storm as he now boarded the ship as Rainbow followed behind him.

Soon she turned the engine on as the Buccaneer Blaze now took off as they entered the atmosphere and left the planet's orbit.




The pair now made it back to Coruscant as it docked outside of the bar that the two met. Soon the doorway touched as out came Storm as he wore his Jedi robes. Rainbow leaned against the entrance of her ship as she looked at the boy.

"Here," said Storm as he tossed a bag to the pilot.

Rainbow caught the bag as she shook it a bit. She then opened it up and saw inside were some more credits. She counted them as it looked to be another 1000 or so. She looked at the boy as he was already starting to walk.

"Hey!" called out Rainbow as it got Storm to stop in his tracks and look at the girl who was his age.

"Look, I... appreciate what you did for those people. And me." said the chromatic girl.

"Just doing my job." said the Jedi.

"And look... I know... you got responsibilities to uphold," said Rainbow as she rubbed the back of her neck. "So, what I'm trying to say is... if... you're ever in need of a pilot, or need a ride somewhere... don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Is that so?" smiled Storm smugly.

"Don't get any ideas, I'm not gonna do it for free. Maybe sometimes." said the girls sheepishly.

"I appreciate that."

"How did you know that I would be there?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I just knew. I told you, you're loyal to the things that you care about the most. And I don't just mean money." said Storm as he looked at the girl's eyes.

"I guess you're right." smiled the girl. "Well, I best be off. Don't forget about my offer."

"I won't. See you around, Captain." said Storm to the girl as he now had someone who he could trust.

"Yeah, see you, Jedi." said Rainbow.

Storm was now making his way back to the Jedi Temple to report back to Master Luna and tell her of his mission. Rainbow now held the bag of credits as she entered the tavern to treat herself to some cider. While the pair may have finished their mission, something told them this wasn't the last time they would see each other. It seemed that Storm not only had a good pilot in his back pocket but an even better friend. And this was only the beginning as it seemed the two were sure to go on more adventures, and not just them, but with other people too.