//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Star Wars EQG: Episode 1, Harmony of the Force // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The Jedi Temple seemed surprisingly quiet on this day, almost completely deserted. Out in the yards, a few Jedi were working with the younglings on their sabre skills. And some were in the Jedi Archives, ready to find any information that was asked for. But other than that, most of the Jedi were away from the Temple. In his room, Flash Sentry was kneeling on the floor trying to mediate. The young Padawan was one of the few left at the temple, on Celestia's orders to remain out of missions until he was ready. The Padawan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he focused on Celestia's words. "Having The Force, doesn't magically mean everything we do will turn out how we want it. It can help us achieve our goals, but in the end the universe does not play favourites. You can try and make things work out how you want it, but you need to be willing to accept failure when it happens." Ever since his meeting with Celestia, Flash had been trying to let those words become something he could accept. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. He couldn't let himself accept that despite being a powerful Jedi, he wouldn't be able to keep people safe. His doors suddenly opened and somebody stepped inside. Shining Armor. Like his student, Shining had also been left behind in the temple. But unlike Flash, he had asked to stay there. "You busy?" Flash didn't respond, wanting to stay focused. Shining waited, as Flash took a deep breath and completed his meditation session. He then opened his eyes and turned to him. "What do you need?" "You and I have a job to do," Shining stated. "Get ready." "But Celestia said I'm not supposed to go out on a mission." "Maybe," Shining shrugged. "But with most of the Jedi out searching for those Bug Troopers, I'm low on options. Besides, this might be good for you. You've been cooped up in this room for way too long." Flash sighed and got up, grabbing his Lightsaber and a few other bits he would need for whatever Shining had planned. "Alright," Flash followed him out of the room, "where are we going?" "A contact of mine is on another part of the planet. I'm hoping he has some intel that might be useful in combating these Bug Troopers and their Sith masters." "And you need me because..." "He likes to hang out at...less than hospitable environments. Going there alone isn't a good idea." "So you're taking a defenceless Padawan?" Shining gave him a look. "Okay, I'm not defenceless. But I am still a Padawan. I shouldn't be going to places like that." "You spent two years on Shikoya. If you can survive there, you can survive anywhere. And stop being such a baby. When I was a youngling, I hung out at places way scarier than where we're going." "Really?" Flash gave him a quizzical look. "You?" He saw Shining smirk, as if he was remembering something from a long time ago. Years ago. The planet of Canterlot was just like it was in the present day, with the Jedi training the next generation and working to defend peace in the galaxy. And one of those part of the next generation, was a ten year old Shining Armor. The youngling was sneaking through the temple, making sure nobody found him as he tried to get out of the building. Making his way through the temple's main entry way, he kept to the shadows and looked around to see if anyone was there. But seeing the place was empty, he rushed out of the entry way and managed to make it outside. But he continued to stay hidden until he was far away from the temple, only to then laugh and race towards his destination. The streets of Canterlot were no place a youngster, but Shining trekked through it like he had done it a hundred times. And he had. He finally arrived at his destination. A small bar of some kind, that looked like it could use a new coat of paint and some repairs done to the outside. Despite looking run down, Shining smiled and headed inside. The interior wasn't much better than the exterior, being well lit but still shoddy. It was full of round tables that used barrels as seats, the only chairs being the ones up at the bar. And those on the inside weren't much better looking than the bar. Many different aliens were sitting at the table, all looking like they had been in a fight or two due to the scars and missing limbs they sported. Behind the bar, a green twi'lek woman could be seen cleaning it down. As Shining ran into the bar, she looked up and frowned. "Shining. How many times have you been told not to be here?" "I know," Shining leapt up onto a bar stool. "But he just got back, so this'll be the first place he'll go to. I just know it." The woman rolled her eyes and grabbed a glass, filling it with a non-alcoholic drink that she gave to Shining. The youngling smiled as he drank it down, waiting for him to arrive. And after a few minutes, he appeared. "Stax!" One of the other aliens called out, making Shining gasp. "How you been, you old rascal!?" Shining turned in his chair and sure enough, there he was. He appeared human, having tanned skin and wearing a white shirt with brown pants. A Jedi cloak was draped over his shoulders and at his belt, a Lightsaber was hanging. But whilst he looked human, his head didn't have hair. Instead, a bunch of red porcupine quills were sticking out the top of his head, which were spiked back to make him look like he styled it up to be cool. The man made his way across the room and smiled at the barmaid. "Hey Thalia. My usual drink order, please." The twi'lek nodded before getting said drink, whilst Stax sat down and didn't seem to even notice the youngling sitting besides him. Shining smiled up at him, but the older Jedi just sat there without acknowledging him. Finally, his patience reached its end. "Hey! Aren't you gonna say anything?" Stax looked over and appeared surprised. "Oh, hey shrimp. Didn't see you there." He reached over and ruffled Shining's hair. "You're so small, it's hard to tell when you're around." The other customers all laughed at this, whilst Shining went red. "Cheer up, lad. You'll never be a Jedi if you can't handle a joke." Shining huffed and looked around. "And I was looking forward to hearing how your mission went. I bet you didn't do anything cool." "Are you kidding?" Stax smirked, as Thalia handed him his drink. "Well I guess you don't wanna hear how I went toe to toe with a sea monster, trapped on a row boat with barely any way to defend myself." This seemed to peak Shining's interest. "Such a shame." He started drinking, leaving Shining waiting for him to continue. But he said nothing. "WHAT HAPPENED!?" He cried, the others laughing at his childish whine. Stax smirked as he looked over at him. "You really wanna know?" Shining nodded. "Alright then. So there I was..." It was a rather long journey to the area Shining had wanted to go. Even with the speeder they used, the trip was still three hours long. And in that time, Flash sat beside Shining wondering where the heck they were going. Shining had said it wasn't the most respectable place, which made Flash worry he was being taken to some kind of terrible bar, where a single wrong word could start a fist fight. Eventually, they arrived at an area that looked just as clean and well kept as the rest of the planet. Shining parked the speeder and led Flash to their target location, leading the pair down into a lower area of the planet. And it was here that Flash started seeing how badly cared for this part of the planet was. "Why are the lower areas of Canterlot always so filthy?" "That's the filth of hard work," Shining explained. "Most of the areas under Canterlot's surface city are factories and processing plants. Used to turn raw material into something that can be used." Flash nodded as they passed an area where a bunch of machines were online and making something. Aliens and droids were also working in tandem, the droids doing most of the heavy lifting whilst the organics were pressing buttons and doing scans. Flash expected to see a bunch of rocks and ores being placed into the machine, but quickly spotted an old looking microwave and a tablet with a crack running down it. "Recycling," Shining replied. "This particular area is for turning something old into something new." "How does that work?" "Not sure. All I know is if it can be reused, it is. There are only so many resources in the universe. Don't wanna use them all up if we can prevent it." They turned a corner and Flash found himself looking at a building hidden deep in the shadows of the upper levels, with barely any lights illuminating it. "Here we are." "We're going in there?" Flash asked. "Yup," Shining nodded. "Remember, keep your hands by your side and always maintain eye contact. Trust me, you don't want to fall under their spell." "Spell?" Flash was getting more and more worried by the second, as they headed inside. The place was just as badly lit as the interior, which might have been by design. The air was stale and warm, whilst blaring music could be heard. And as Flash stepped further into the building, he realised what Shining had been talking about. The place wasn't just a dive bar, though it was clearly that, as it also had a long catwalk with a female alien dancing around. Flash had to avert his gaze, due to how the woman was dressed. "Hey sweetheart," the dancer smiled at Flash. "Why don't you come up and we can dance together." She blew him a kiss, Flash gulping as he tried to follow Shining's advice and keep his attention on her eyes. But it wasn't easy with how she was moving around. "Or maybe you'd like to pay for us to have some alone time." "Shining," Flash cried, "what are we doing here?" "I told you. We're here to meet with an informant of mine." Shining smirked as he spotted something, "there he is." Flash looked around Shining and saw what he was looking at. Over in one of the booths was a yellow skinned alien, with green bug eyes and tentacles in place of hair. He had a human dancer on his lap, the two laughing at something whilst another poured his drink. The alien then spotted Shining and smiled. "Shiny! It's been too long." "Hey there Vlick," Shining sat in the booth with flash sitting beside him. "Enjoying life like you always do, I see." "Hey, we only live once." The girls got up and left. "You Jedi could learn a thing or two about having a good time. I don't suppose you're here to finally have a blast and enjoy the girls." "No," Shining stated. "We're here because I'm hoping you have some info I might be able to use." "Oh. Hoping I might have heard something, about a particular group of red sabered individuals and their buggy friends?" Flash and Shining looked towards him, though Shining still seemed a little suspicious. "Hmm. I think I remember hearing something about them. But what was it?" He pretended to be thinking. "Ah...curse this memory of mine. Always so fickle." Flash frowned, whilst Shining reached into his pocket and took out a memory chip his Padawan realised must have credits on it. Vlick smiled as he took the memory card from him. "Oh, now I remember." He looked around, looking a lot more serious, then leaned in close. "This is just a rumour, mind you. Can't be sure how accurate it is. But apparently, this group that's appearing has six people at the very top. One guy above the rest, with the other five acting as his arms and legs around the galaxy." Shining frowned, "six? There should only be two? A Master and an apprentice." "I told you, this is just something I heard from a guy that managed to get out of working with them alive. He said there were five, but each of them answered to a head honcho. Make of that what you will." Shining frowned as he sat back. "Do you know anything else?" Flash asked. "Like, what do they look like? Does one of them wear a mask over their face?" Vlick hummed as he sat back. "Can't seem to remember." Flash glared at him, angry he would try and get more out of them. "Seriously? The entire galaxy could be in danger. If you don't tell us everything you know about them-" He looked ready to get up and grab the alien, but Shining stopped him. "Calm down," he pushed Flash back in his seat. "Threatening him isn't going to help his memory." He turned to Vlick, "sorry about him. Still learning the art of negotiation." "I see," Vlick stood up. "I'm gonna go get myself a drink. Give you boys time to calm down. Maybe that'll help my memory a little." He walked away from the booth and Shining turned to Flash. "What?" The Padawan asked. "We're trying to find these guys and you're letting that lowlife scam you out of your money? We're Jedi. He should be helping us without needing to be paid." "Being Jedi doesn't give us the right to force people to do what we want. Vlick needs to make a living in the galaxy. The info he has can be dangerous. Learning it needs to be worth the risk. Which means it's gotta give him some kind of benefit." Flash frowned. "Aren't there Jedi that can look into people's minds? I bet they could get that info out of his head without him needing to say a word." "Again, we don't have the right to go fiddling about in his head. We have to be more morally upstanding than any other citizen, not less." Shining leaned back. "I know how you feel. I used to think the Jedi could do whatever we wanted. But I learned the hard way there's a time for fighting and a time to be cordial." Years ago. "Then, a dorsal fin came out of the water. Then another, and another and another." Stax was standing in the middle of the bar, recounting his adventure. "But there weren't a bunch of creatures around me. Just one, really big one." Shining and the other bar patrons listened intently. "And then, from out of the sea, a giant serpent appeared. It was so large, my boat and I could have slid down its throat without it needing to swallow." "What did you do?" Shining asked, looking at him in amazement. Stax smiled, as he slowly moved closer to Shining. "I stood up, looked him dead in the eyes, and told him in my sternest voice." They were inches apart now, their eyes locked. "Get...lost." Shining was amazed. "And that worked?" "Oh," Stax pulled back, "heck no. The beast charged at me and tried to swallow me whole." "So what happened?" Shining asked, as Stax sat down. The Jedi took another bottle from Thalia and was trying to open it, clearly enjoying having Shining on the edge of his seat. "Well-" He didn't get to answer, as the doors suddenly flew open. Everyone turned to the noise and saw a bunch of blue four armed aliens step into the bar, looking around and armed with some pretty impressive looking blasters. They marched towards the bar and glared down at Thalia. "All your booze. Now." Thalia glared at her. "I'm afraid I just sold my last bottle." The aliens raised an eyebrow, as they reached for their weapons. "Sorry about that," Stax spoke up. "I just got back from a long trip and I guess my thirst was more than I thought it was." The four armed aliens glared at him, as he reached over and held out the bottle he was about to open. "Here, my gift to you. Unopened and since Thalia serves it, you know it's good." The lead alien stared at him, quizzically, then reached out and took the bottle. Everyone hoped that would be the end of it, but the alien suddenly smashed the bottle on the bar and sent glass splattering everywhere. Shining gasped, expecting to get some glass stabbed into him. But the shards stopped moving inches away from him and fell down, Shining seeing Stax holding a single finger off the bar. He hadn't been so well protected, as glass had cut into his clothes and made a few scratches on his arm. The alcohol had also spilled onto his lap. Stax looked himself over, then up and the alien before slowly standing up. Shining smiled, waiting for him to beat these guys to a pulp. But Stax did something else. "Looks like you had an accident," he pointed out before smiling. "Here. Let me help with that." He turned to Thalia and asked for a broom, the barmaid nodding and quickly fetching it. Stax started sweeping up the bits of glass, whilst the four armed aliens all laughed. "Here," the leader picked up Shining's glass and threw it to the ground. It shattered and Shining expected Stax to attack now, but he didn't and just kept sweeping. "Pathetic." As Stax swept the glass into a pile, he was suddenly pushed and thrown to the ground. That part of the ground happened to be pooling the alcohol, so he was once again drenched. The aliens laughed as they headed out, whilst Stax simply sat there looking pathetic. Shining was shocked, as the four armed group disappeared out the door. Their laughter could still be heard for a few more seconds before they finally disappeared, only to then be replaced with another set of laughter. This time, that laughter came from Stax. The Jedi Knight burst out laughing, Thalia and the other patrons following suit. "Well," Stax smiled, "that was certainly interesting." The others nodded and Shining had had enough. "Why are you all laughing!?" He screamed, everyone turning to him. "You should have fought back. You could have kicked his butt. So why did you just sit there and let him make a fool out of you?" Stax smiled at him, "what would be the point in that? He spilled a drink on me. No reason to let it escalate more than that." She stood up, whilst Shining still looked upset. "But you could have won. You're a Jedi. You could have used your Lightsaber. Made him leave with the Force. Or shoved him against the wall and kept him there!" Stax's smile instantly disappeared, as he sat at the bar looking upset. "So you think a Jedi should use the force to make people feel bad?" Shining wasn't sure what he meant. "Shining. What is a Jedi's role in the universe?" "To use The Force to protect others and yourself." "Exactly. To protect. Not to harm. A Jedi can use The Force to help keep others safe. It can be used in defence. It can be used to heal and help others. It should not be used to actively or passively hurt others." Shining frowned, remembering the teachers at the Temple telling him something similar. "That guy was strong and had a lot of weapons. Because of that, he felt like he could push others around and threaten them to do what he wants. If I had used The Force to hurt him, how would I have been any different?" "You'd be using it to protect everyone here?" "Didn't I just do that?" Stax asked. "I didn't need to use The Force to stop him. He left and nobody got hurt." "But he made you look like a fool?" "So what?" Stax asked. "So it's okay to hurt someone if they make you look silly? Does that sound like something a Jedi would do?" "A Jedi wouldn't just stand there and take it!" Shining cried. "A real Jedi would have made him leave without being made into a fool." He leapt off his stool, "you're no Jedi." He walked off, "you're no man." With that, he left the bar and Stax could only watch with an upset look on his face. Flash and Shining waited for Vlick to get back, Shining glancing at Flash. "This time, stay calm. Trust me, I'll know when Vlick's starting to rip us off. So far, everything he's said has been the truth. Or at least, he believes it's the truth. And if it is true, that could be a lot of trouble for us." "You really think there are six Sith out there?" "I hope not. But if there are, we might be in more trouble than we thought." He glanced over at Vlick, who was trying to chat up the girl at the bar. But as he watched him fail to impress the girl, he suddenly felt something sinister. He looked around, but all the patrons seemed to be focused on the girls around them. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. But then, he noticed a flash of metal and glanced at a hooded individual sitting in one corner of the club. An individual who had a small but dangerous blaster in their hands, pointed right at the bar. "Vlick, get down!" Vlick looked over at him, only to suddenly find himself getting shot by some kind of dart. "Vlick!" He and Flash leapt up and ran for him, as the hooded figure rushed towards the door. The informant fell against the bar, Flash and Shining pulling him away from it and laying him on the ground. "Is he okay?" Flash asked, as Shining pulled the dart out of his side. As soon as he did, the dart's metal and glass began to break apart and turned to dust. "No way of tracing. Perfect assassin weapon." They both looked down at Vlick, who started wheezing as he tried to breathe. "His throat's closing up." "What do we do?" Flash asked, only to see his hands and tentacles starting to swell up. "It's acting too fast," Shining cried before shifting Vlick's attention to him. "Vlick. Vlick! You need to tell us. What do you know that would be worth killing you over?" But Vlick couldn't say a word, his breathing getting more and more worse. As he struggled, he reached into his jacket but couldn't seem to grasp what he was after. Flash reached in for him and took out an orange keycard. "What's this?" Shining glanced at it and seemed to recognise it. "I understand." He looked down at Vlick, "thank you." Vlick gasped one last time before his body went limp and he was completely still. Shining sighed and used The Force to close his eyes, as everyone else stared in shock. "Someone call Sector Security." They nodded and someone grabbed a communicator, whilst Shining took the keycard from Flash. "Vlick knew something. Something somebody didn't want public." "How is that thing going to help us find it?" Flash asked. Shining's expression turned to one of deep anger, as he stood up and headed out of the bar. Flash followed, glancing over at his shoulder at Vlick's body before following. "Whoever did this made a big mistake. Vlick might have been a lowlife to some, but I still considered him a friend and when you mess with my friends, you mess with me." Several days had passed since Shining's argument with Stax. The youngling was once again in Thalia's bar, sitting there waiting for something. But it wasn't Stax this time, Shining having stayed as far away as he could from the spiky headed Jedi. Instead, he was waiting for trouble to arrive. "Shining," Thalia frowned. "You should get back to the temple. If they find out you keep sneaking out to come here, you're going to be in real trouble." "I don't care," Shining told her. "I'm doing what a Jedi is supposed to do. Stopping evil." Thalia sighed. "Stax is worried about you. He's worried you'll do something you can't take back. Something that'll lead you to the Dark Side of The Force." "How is stopping bullies from hurting people going to lead me to The Dark Side?" "It's not stopping them that's the problem," Thalia stated. "It's how you want to stop them that's got him worried. You should listen to Stax. He's been a Jedi Knight for a long time. He knows what he's talking about." "Yeah, right." At that moment, the doors flew open with a loud bag. Shining spun around and saw the four armed aliens from before, the lot of them stepped inside and smiled when they saw Stax was nowhere to be found. "What, gave your janitor the day off?" Thalia said nothing, as the aliens stepped forward. "Well, since he's not here to use up all the drink, you can sell it to us. Free of charge, of course." He held a hand over his blaster, making Thalia gasp and nod. Shining had had enough and jumped up, getting between Thalia and the aliens. "You're not getting anything to drink." "Oh?" The lead alien raised an eyebrow, "and why's that?" "Because you're not welcome here. Now leave or I'll make you." The aliens stared at him, letting what he had just said sink in. Then, they burst out laughing. "You?" One of them asked, "what are you gonna do to make us?" They kept laughing and looked ready to shove the young equestrian away. But before they could, Shining held his hand up and one of the guns flew out of the alien's holster. They were shocked by this, as Shining kept the gun pointed at them. "He's a Jedi!" One cried, the aliens all looking worried. But the lead one noticed how much focus Shining was using to hold that one blaster and smiled. "Hardly. He's just a kid." He pulled out his other three blasters and pointed them as Shining, firing at his feet and making him gasp. He fell back, dropping the gun as he hit the ground. The lead alien rushed forward and grabbed Shining by the shirt, lifting him up. "Let me go!" "You think you're a hero?" The alien asked. "You're nothing but a child. A child who won't live to see adulthood." Thalia rushed to try and save him, but another one grabbed her by her tendrils and pulled her away. Shining tried to kick the alien, but it did nothing and the alien kept holding onto his shirt. "Let us go!" He cried, with the four armed crook looking ready to beat the living daylights out of him. But before he could... "You heard him." They all turned towards the door, where they spotted Stax glaring at them. "Let them go." The aliens all laughed, the one holding Shining lowering him to the ground. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr Clean Up. Hope you brought your mop. Because when I'm done with this little punk, the place is going to be a mess." Stax's expression was cold. "I said, let...them...go." They glared at him, as he unfastened his cloak and let it drop to the ground. "You spill a drink on me and I'll let it go. But if you try to hurt any of my friends, then we'll have a problem." "Is that so?" The lead alien asked, only to nod towards his men. Stax slowly reached for his Lightsaber, as the aliens pulled out their weapons. But then, Stax reached out and pulled his hand backwards, causing their blasters to be pulled from everyone's grip. And before the aliens could react, the energy cartridges were ejected and the blasters were made useless. One of the aliens ran forward, throwing a punch in his direction. But Stax was able to dodge it and threw one of the useless blasters at his head, hitting him with enough force to knock him out. Another assailant charged and Stax managed to avoid his attack and grab his arm, spinning on the spot and throwing him towards the ground. Stax then used the alien as a spring board, leaping off his chest and flying towards the villain holding Thalia. The criminal pulled her around so she was acting as a human shield, but Stax waved his arm and Thalia's body moved on its own. She ducked down and Stax slammed his foot into the crook's head, knocking him back and causing him to release the twi'lek. Stax landed and looked around, trying to spot the last guy. But he and Shining were gone. "No." Flash and Shining followed the keycard to a nearby storage facility. Shining held up the card and saw the same logo on it that was on the entry way. "This is the one." Above the bar-code was a number thirteen, Shining heading into the maze of lots. Whoever numbered this place did so in a rather random order, since thirteen was somehow in the middle of the maze. They eventually found it, a large orange door with a white thirteen painted on it. Stepping up to the keypad, Shining slotted the card inside and the door started moving upwards. "This is it." Flash and Shining both reached for their sabres, waiting to see what the heck was inside. And as the door reached halfway up, a light came on and they were able to see inside the room. To their amazement, the storage room wasn't just a storage room. It was an actual room. The place was about twice the size of Flash's temple room, with an unmade bed sitting in one corner and a bunch of boxes sitting in the other. A small gas cooker was sitting on the ground away from anything else, whilst a pile of cardboard boxes was lined up against the wall opposite the bed. "What the?" "I think we just found where Vlick was living, whenever he was on planet." Shining started looking through the boxes, finding a bunch of food inside that could be cooked on the stove. "He lived in a storage unit?" Flash asked, moving over to the bed and looking at it disgustedly. "Honestly, is it any better than where you lived before you came here?" Flash couldn't deny that. "We just gotta hope Vlick left something that'll tell us what we're after." "How'd you know he has something?" "Vlick didn't exactly have the best memory. It took him six months before he could remember my name. If he had info to sell, he would keep a record of it to make sure he didn't forget any details. If even one part of his info was wrong, he could have been hunted down." "Maybe the guy that killed him was a disgruntled employee." "Maybe. But if they killed him because of what he was telling us, that info had to be legit. And that means Vlick must have..." He stopped when he lifted some cans to reveal a small plastic box. Taking it out of the bigger box, he opened it up and revealed a memory stick. "Vlick. This better not have anything I need to delete my browser history for." He plugged it into his gauntlet and started downloading the contents. There were many different files on it. Some looking rather important if the names were anything to go by." "Did we find it?" Flash asked. "The info on the Sith we were looking for?" "I don't know," Shining replied. "I'll have to take a closer look once we're back at the-" He stopped and turned towards the exit, sensing something. "Get down!" They both ducked, seconds before a pair of darts came flying at them and hit the back wall. The two turned to the source of the darts and saw the cloaked figure from before, most of their body hidden behind a wall with their arm out pointing the small dart gun at them. Before they could do anything, Shining grabbed the gun in The Force and pulled. The weapon flew from the assailant's hand and into Shining's, as he and Flash ignited their sabers. Both charged at the assassin, who leapt out from behind the wall and pulled out a pair of laser pistols. He fired, but Flash and Shining easily deflected the blaster fire as they approached. The assailant finally stopped blasting and started running, Shining telling Flash to stay on his tail. Flash did so and Shining leapt up onto the roofs of a storage block, running along it hoping to cut the assailant off. This guy made a big mistake, letting a Jedi get the drop on them. "If you mess with a Jedi's friends, nothing good can happen." He thought about Vlick's pained face and his expression turned serious. "No matter what, we'll do whatever it takes to protect those we care about. No matter what." Shining cried out, as he was dragged through the city by the criminal alien. "Let me go!" He yelled, still trying to escape. But the alien was too strong and there were no other people around to hear his yells, leaving him defenceless as he was dragged to who knows where. "Stax will make you pay for this!" "Oh please," the alien stated. "He has no idea where we've gone." He headed down a flight of stars to a lower level of the city. "By the time he's figured out where we've gone, it'll be too late of you." Shining continued to struggle, as they arrived at an area of the city that had a bunch of machines. After a few minutes of running, they came to a spot overlooking a machine that had a long conveyor belt that led to a large square box. And at the opening of that box were a bunch of laser shooters. And they were projecting an entire wall of light Shining looked down and saw a bunch of rocks on the conveyor belt, his studies telling him they were chunks of meteor or asteroid. "What is that thing?" "Mining refiner," the alien laughed. "This one is for ores collected in space. The first step is to make sure nothing organic is in the ore before it undergoes processing. So it's put through this machine first." The rocks went through the laser wall and looked unharmed. "The lasers are only set to affect living tissue. If a piece of skin or hair even touches it, it'll be destroyed down to the subatomic level." Shining began to panic, as he realised what this guy was planning to do. "Let me go!" "Gladly!" He laughed, "but first!" He went over to a pile of scrap metal and grabbed a pair of pipes, using the incredible strength of two of his arms to wrap them around him. Soon, Shining's arms were pinned to his side whilst his legs were tied up. "See you." He threw Shining down onto the conveyor belt. And as soon as he did, something in the belt caused the pipes to stick to it. Some kind of magnet. Shining struggled, trying to free himself. But he just couldn't pull himself free. "HELP!" He screamed, as he was pulled closer and closer to the energy wall. "Scream all you want. Nobody's gonna hear you." But as he said that, the familiar sound of an activating Lightsaber caught his attention and made him look around. Stax was running towards him, blue blade in hand. He did not look happy and as he charged towards the alien, he let out a roar. "AUGH!" The saber sliced down his front and the four armed alien clutched his chest, which now had a large burning gash running down it. He staggered back, as Stax turned to see Shining in trouble. "Hang on!" But as he was about to jump down, the alien fell forward and right on top of him. "Augh!" He staggered and accidentally dropped his Lightsaber, which fell and hit part of the machine. This caused the machine to go out of control, as the laser projectors came out of alignment. This made them start firing the beams at random, in different directions. The Lightsaber then fell into the deepest part of the planet, as Stax kicked the alien off him to follow the weapon. He leapt down onto the conveyor belt, seeing Shining was dangerously close to the lasers. As he ran, Stax tried to spot an emergency shut off. But there wasn't one. The only way to save Shining was to pull him free. "Hold on!" Stax reached him and started pulling on the metal pipes, trying to pull them apart to free Shining. But as he did, one of the lasers fired and Stax had to move to avoid it. "COME ON!" He pulled as hard as he could and the pipes around Shining's body came apart, allowing Shining to pull himself free. "Take your boots off!" Shining quickly grabbed the laces on his boots and undid them, freeing him up to pull his legs out of the pipe. The pair were up and Stax was about to leap them up off of the conveyor belt. But as he did, a laser fired and was flying straight towards Shining. "LOOK OUT!" He pushed Shining down and the laser missed him and hit something else, Stax quickly reaching down to grab him before another fired. Stax pulled him close and leapt up into the air, clearing a good several feet before landing where they had originally been. Shining panted, terror racing through his entire body. At the same time, he heard Stax panting and turned to thank him. But as he looked around, he was shocked to see something wasn't right. Stax's left sleeve was empty. The arm that had once filled it was gone, Stax's other arm moving up to clutch it tightly. He flinched, clearly still in pain. And as Shining looked down, he spotted something on the belt. The arm, which soon disappeared inside the machine. "Stax," he turned to the Jedi, "you're arm." Stax said nothing, making Shining begin to tear up. "It's my fault." "No," Stax let go of his armless stump and pulled Shining in for a hug. "It's not your fault." "But...but you lost.." "It's just an arm," Stax assured him. "I can live without an arm. You're alive and that's what matters." He held him tighter, "that's what matters." Shining continued to cry into Stax's chest, whilst the Jedi held him tightly. Flash chased after the assailant, as the cloaked figure ran through the maze of storage units and fired back at him whenever he turned. Flash dodged and deflected the blasts, refusing to let him get away. This man had killed Shining's friend and Flash wouldn't let him get away with that. "You're only making it worse for yourself!" But as they turned another corner, the assailant threw something back at him. It was a smoke bomb, which exploded and Flash found himself staggering into the cloud and blinded. He covered his face, as he tried to navigate through it. But as he did, something suddenly flew out of the smoke and hit him in the face. "Augh!" He fell to the ground, his Lightsaber falling from his hand. As it skidded away into the smoke, Flash found himself looking down the barrel of a laser cannon. The smoke faded and the cloaked alien appeared, stomping his foot onto Flash's chest to keep him from getting up. "You should have let me go." "And you should remember how many people are chasing you." The assassin looked up and saw Shining falling towards him, his Lightsaber swinging downwards and slicing the end of his gun. The assassin grunted and tried to jump back, but Flash wrapped an arm around his leg and kept it there. And when the assassin tried to pull out his other gun, another saber swing destroyed it. Flash used this shock to pull on his leg, causing him to fall towards the ground and allow Shining to pin him with his sword to the assailant's chest. "Talk," the Jedi announced, "who are you? Who hired you to kill Vlick?" Flash used The Force to pull his hood down, revealing a humanoid alien with four eyes and a horn in place of his nose. The assassin smiled at them before biting into one of his teeth, breaking it open and releasing something that slid down his throat. "NO!" Shining tried to stop him, but he swallowed and the effects were immediate. His body convulsed and started foaming, as the light disappeared from his eyes. Shining sighed, as he and Flash stepped back. "He killed himself instead of giving answers?" "There's only one group that would do that," Shining explained. "A league of assassins that swear to never let the identity of their clients loose. If they're captured or they fail a mission, they kill themselves." "I can't believe it," Flash frowned. "What was he doing here?" "Probably wanted the same info we came for," Shining sighed. "Must have followed us from the bar and when they saw we'd found it, realised they had to kill us to keep the information from getting out." He held up his gauntlet. "Whatever this is, it's clearly important to whoever wants it. Which is why we need to get it back to the temple, as soon as we can." Flash nodded before they turned to the body, "what do we do with this?" "Sector Security can deal with it. They've been trying to get a lead on this group for a while. This might be the hint they need to figure it out." Flash nodded as Shining began to make the call. After a while, an officer from the security bureau arrived and ceased the body. They asked the pair a few questions, but confirmed that the assassin had died due to a suicide capsule located in a false tooth. Once everything was confirmed, they allowed the Jedi to leave and the two made their way back to the temple. As Flash drove the speeder, loving the experience, Shining continued to look through all the data Vlick had left them. Luckily, there was nothing on it that would get Shining in trouble for submitting. So when they finally got back to the temple, Shining handed it over to one of the education core's members to decipher and catalogue. Once that was done, Flash and Shining headed to the mess hall in order to get something to eat. As they sat down, Shining sighed. "You okay?" Flash asked, with Shining nodding as he thought about everything that had happened to them. "Just been a long day. Vlick's death hasn't really hit me yet." Flash nodded. "Celestia told me that a Jedi can't let emotions affect us out in the field. I guess you blocked out how upset you were until now." "Not really," Shining sighed. "I might be a knight, but even I can't make myself completely cold at the drop of a hat." Flash nodded. "I wish we could have done something. Celestia told me I need to accept that we have limits. That even with The Force, I can't be expected to save everyone all the time." "That's true," Shining nodded. "I wish we could have saved Vlick too. But it's like Celestia said. We're not gods. We have the Force, but we're as mortal and flawed as anyone else. We tried to save Vlick and failed. We tried to capture his killer for questions and failed. And we're probably gonna fail in other tasks as well." He gave Flash a stare down, "is that something you think you can live with? If not, you may want to think about a different career choice." Flash frowned as he let the info sink in. "No. I'm not gonna quit. You're right. I have to accept that there are some things I can't stop. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give it everything I have to stop them. Even if I fail, I'll keep trying." "That's what I like to hear," Shining smiled. "I think you're ready to get back out in the field. Take a little time to think about this day and what happened. Once you're ready, I'll let Celestia know you can go back out into the field." "Thanks," Flash nodded. "But I doubt I'll be needed. The real Jedi have probably already found these six Sith. And with the info we got them, they'll know what to look for." "Maybe," Shining nodded. "Or maybe not." He sat back in his chair. "I can feel something. Something that's centred around you." Flash raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it wasn't just a coincidence that we met when we did. That you were born on a planet that was later invaded by the Sith's forces. That you became my student at the right time to be with me when we met the Sith. I get the feeling, The Force has plans for you. And they involve the Sith." "Really?" Flash looked worried. "You really think I'm gonna be more involved with them?" "Like I said, it's just a feeling." Shining smiled, "but my master once said that a Jedi's instincts are the path to a great future. I know I'm right. And that means, we need to make sure you're as strong as possible for when you face them." Flash nodded before a thought occurred. "Actually, I don't think you've ever told me about your master. Who is he?" Shining smiled. "His name is Stax. And he's one of the best Jedi the order has. A little unconventional, but he always gets the job done. You'd like him. Now eat up." He started eating, "you'll need all the strength for the training we're gonna be doing after this." Flash nodded and started eating, but still wondered about what Shining had said. A small egotistic part of him wanted to believe that he did have a large part to play in what was to come, but a larger part of him doubted that. The Jedi would find and defeat these Sith before he needed to get involved. By the time Flash was ready to make any serious contribution to the order, things would probably be winding down with this situation. The Sith were strong, but their numbers were still small. They wouldn't be enough to cause the Jedi any issues. A planet in the Galtus Sector. An explosion filled the air, as another ship crashed into the planet's surface. That was the fourth ship destroyed and forced to smash into the planet, as the Jedi inside barely managed to escape before it exploded. On the rocky crash site, two Jedi were running across the terrain. One was a human male whilst the other was a young togruta female, the pair running like their lives depended on it. Because it did. As they ran, the older of the two spotted a large rock and told his apprentice to hide behind it. The pair rushed to hide, both panting as they tried to regain their breath. "What's going on?" The Padawan asked. "How can a droid do all that?" "I don't know," the Jedi sighed. "It shouldn't be possible. If it were a cyborg, I'd say it was possible. But I don't sense any signs of life coming from it at all. Just a powerful connection to the Dark Side." As he said that, a whistling sound suddenly filled the air. Fear filled their hearts, as the Jedi carefully looked around the boulder into the dust cloud behind it. Slowly walking through the dust, their cape blowing in the wind, a mechanical figure marched forward with a red Lightsaber in hand. As they stepped out of the dust, the image of Armalum could be seen. The robotic Sith marched forward, somehow letting out a whistling sound as he drew closer. The Jedi hid behind the rock before Armalum could see him, trying to keep himself from panicking. But Armalum's words made his panic spike like never before. "Don't bother hiding behind the rock. I can see you fine. X-ray vision, such a handy tool." The Jedi looked worried, the human turning to his apprentice. "Run," he told her. "I'll buy you time." She shook her head, "DO IT!" With that, he ran out from behind the rock and charged at the droid, who didn't look remotely worried. As he did, he ignited his blue saber and swung it forward. But Armalum easily blocked it with his own sword, the two pushing against one another as the Padawan ran. The two broke apart and despite his limbs being robotic, Armalum was able to move and fight as if he was made of flesh and blood. The two fought for several moments, whilst the Padawan kept running. But when she looked back, she saw Armalum dodge her master's attack before cutting the Jedi's arm off. "MASTER!" She screamed, as the Jedi staggered back and turned towards her. He mouthed something, unable to say anything. A single word. 'Run.' That was all he could do before the red saber exploded out of her chest and ended his life. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" As the Jedi fell, Armalum extinguished his blade only to hear another one ignite. And as he looked up, he saw the Padawan running towards him with her green blade in hand. She screamed as she leapt into the air, Lightsaber raised high ready to cut him in half. But before she could reach him, he held out his hand. The next thing she knew, the Padawan remained in the air and he sword was out of reach. "How?" She asked, "how can a droid use the Force?" "I am no ordinary droid," Armalum replied before thrusting his hand backwards. The Padawan cried out, as she was sent flying backwards until she slammed into the rock she had been hiding behind. A sickening crunch filled the air and her body went limp, as Armalum released her and she fell to the ground. Armalum stared down at the Jedi, then heard a beeping and pressed a button on the side of his helmet. "Have you found it?" "Yes my lord. But I'm afraid the quantity isn't much. Shouldn't take more than an hour to mine it all." Armalum let out a growl. "Very well. Get to work. We need to leave before the rest of the Jedi find us." He turned to leave, the Jedi he slayed left forgotten to the elements. Armalum's power was something truly great and so long as he lived, the Jedi should fear to leave their temple.