Jair sighs loudly, spinning slowly in the co-pilot seat. Around him the starship hums and beeps, little lights blinking and flashing. He grabs his braid and tugs on it, a thing he sometimes does when annoyed or bored. The braid is long, never having been cut in his nineteen years of life. Wearing the hair long is a tradition of his family line on Lothal, though he isn’t entirely sure why. Humans can have silly reasons, or no reason at all for doing things sometimes.

  Nearby in the pilot's seat, Jair’s master, Dovin, sits. The human is an always smiling and very blunt man, sometimes tearing Jair apart while smiling the whole time. His hair is short, and his robes are emblazoned on one shoulder with a word in an old tongue that translates to “protector, or Jedi.” On the other hand, Jair’s simpler robe has an old word that means “student, or padawan.” That word on Dovin’s shoulder is something Jair longs for….

  “When will I be allowed to take the test to become a Jedi?” he asks in a bored voice.

  Dovin chuckles. “Maybe when you stop spinning in chairs and whining like a child,” The statement is delivered in a cheery tone, which somehow almost makes it worse than if he were to get mad.

  Jair stops spinning in the chair. “Okay, fine. You got me there. I’m just so bored of all this. When are we going to get some real action? Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers who protect the Galaxy!”

  “And what do you call what we have been doing?”

  Jair holds up fingers and starts ticking them off. “Helping a family find a lost kid who wasn’t lost. Exploring a mine that was supposed to be full of raiders, which wasn’t. Settling disputes between families about their children being allowed to marry each other. It’s all just a bunch of walking around and talking. No real action.”

  Dovin chuckles.

  “Don’t you get tired of how mundane it always is?”

  Dovin is quiet for a moment, then looks at Jair with a serious expression; a rare occurrence. “You were still too young to remember the last few years of the 100 years of darkness… you may think it was some grand glory filled adventure, but losing the people you care about… taking others lives… the feeling of constant fear or worry… Jair, be careful what you wish for. When you find yourself in the middle of the action you are longing for… you will find that times of peace are a gift.”

  Jair stares at Dovin for a long moment, his words striking hard because of the serious tone, and the fact that he hardly ever speaks of the 100 year war between the jedi. “Dovin?”

  Jair’s master sighs, then his usual smile returns. “Sorry. Don’t think on it too much.”

  “But –” Jair doesn’t get a chance to finish before the comm beeps loudly.

  “Later, Jair,” Dovin says, still grinning, then presses the button to receive the call.

  A hologram appears, standing between them. It’s one of the Jedi masters, one of the most exotic; a Tusken Raider who had learned human languages and was strong in the force, despite coming to the order later in his life. “Jedi Knight Dovin,” he speaks in a voice that sounds like it wasn’t really meant to be speaking Jair’s language.

  “Master Tarsh?”

  “Where are you currently?”

  “Not far from Tatooine. We just finished up a marriage dispute. The families will not be going to war against each other.”

  “Good, you are still close.”

  “Master?” Dovin asks.

  “I’m sending coordinates to you now.” Master Tarsh hesitates for a moment, then looks at Jair. “What I am about to tell you does not leave this circle.”

  Jair gives a nervous laugh. He had gotten into trouble for spreading some information around in the past that he shouldn’t have. “Of course not, Master!”

  Tarsh makes a strange growling sound that sounds distinctly Tusken, before turning to look at Dovin. “Jedi Dovin, we need you and your padawan to investigate the coordinates I sent to you. We are hoping it’s nothing…but there could be very real danger. So don’t take any risks. If it seems dangerous I need you to retreat and report back.”

  “Master… what am I walking into with my padawan?”

  Tarsh is quiet for a long moment, so long it seems he may not reply. “An investigation team. The crew, plus eight Jedi knights and several padawans have not reported back. They were investigating… a matter concerning the 100 year war.”

  Dovin’s grin that had been slowly fading, now leaves entirely. “Master….”

  “I can tell you no more. If it was merely a malfunction and the crew is simply stranded, then help them. If it was not… don’t put yourself in more danger than necessary." With that, the hologram shimmers away, leaving an eerie silence in the cockpit.

  “Master Dovin?” Jair says after a time.

  Dovin starts and looks at him. He takes a breath, then his smile returns. “Let’s pray you aren’t about to get some of that action you were hoping for.” Dovin then types in the coordinates and gets ready to start the hyperdrive. Jair sits back, quietly watching his master. The man is still smiling, but there is clearly something wrong. Jair has never seen this before. The man almost seems… afraid. Jair had heard stories from many of the other Jedi and the masters of the order, but what happened to Dovin in the war? A mere possibility that the war is involved somehow is enough to make him more worried than Jair has ever seen.

  “Jair.”

  “Yes, Master?”

  Dovin smiles still, but his smile seems almost forced. “Whatever happens, stick close to me, okay?”

  “Sure….”

  Dovin nods, then punches the ship into hyperspace.

  Several hours have passed when they come out of hyperspace with a loud winding down of the engines. Jair stands in front of his seat, eyes wide. A battlecruiser, one far larger than their ship, one meant to carry a small army, floats lifeless through space. The cruiser is in bad condition. Pieces of it have been blown off and float through the open space around it. It looks like the cruiser was attacked, but who would attack a Jedi cruiser carrying eight Jedi and likely several dozen soldiers?

  Jair glances over and sees Dovin’s knuckles have turned white with his grip on the steering controls. Jair is about to speak up when a comm request sounds. Dovin reaches over slowly and accepts the incoming call. Unlike with the call with Master Tarsh, there is no visual, only a crackly voice.

  “You came to… (static) many dead. Need… (static) get out of… (static).” the call suddenly cuts off.

  “Master?” Jair asks, but Dovin seems frozen in place. “Master!”

  The man shakes himself and looks at Jair, though he tries to keep the shaky smile in place, there is fear in his eyes.

  “Master Dovin. There are people still aboard and it sounds like they need our help.”

  “Master Tarsh… Master Tarsh said….”

  Jair interrupts his master, the worry for those who may still be aboard outweighing his worry at his master’s fearful state. “Dovin. There are people aboard that ship that need our help. Jair Looks around. There are no other ships or signs of enemies. It’s possible that they were just hit by debris dumped here, or a passing comet, or something.” Even as he says that, he only half believes it. The computers should have detected something like that… “We are Jedi, we need to help them.”

  “Debris… yes just debris.” Dovin nods. “Alright, we will go investigate, maybe save some lives. Whatever is wrong inside, I still want you sticking close, you hear?”

  “Understood.”

  Dovin turns back to the controls and eases the engines on to approach the damaged ship. In a handful of minutes, they are pulling up beside the battle cruiser. There is an entry port they are able to connect to, still intact, despite some of the damage around it.

  Dovin shuts the engines off and gets up, moving decisively towards the door connected to the entry port. The earlier fear seems almost totally absent now, the only indicator that he is still worried is that one hand hovers near his lightsaber at his waist. Will they really need to use their sabers in there? The idea both worries and excites Jair, though the excitement far outweighs the worry.

  The door opens into a short tunnel port between their ship and the cruiser. As they approach that door, it slides open with a puff of hot air. The heated air rushes past them to fill the space.

  “What in the world? It feels as hot as Tatooine at noon,” Jair comments.

  Dovin draws his lightsaber and clicks it on with a loud hum. The green saber casts a green glow on his face. “Keep your guard up, Jair. If there are any signs of enemies, we pull back.”

  Jair wants to argue, but decides to leave it be. Instead, he flicks his own, the blue lightsaber humming along with his Master’s.

  Dovin signals with two fingers for Jair to follow, then creeps forward without a sound. Jair follows.

  As they enter the ship and start down the corridor, there are signs of what looks like blaster fire on the floor and the walls. Not only that, but there are gouges that look very much like lightsaber scoring. It looks like a battle took place here, but who were the combatants? Were the crew fighting each other? There were no other signs of ships or invaders outside. What other explanation could there be?

  Dovin stops and crouches down near some of the lightsaber scoring. He touches it with two fingers. Jair takes several steps past him, turning his head from one side to the other.

  “Jair, back to the ship.”

  Jair turns to argue, then blaster fire and shouts echo from somewhere further in.

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  “Their in trouble!” Jair exclaims.”

  “Jair! Back to the ship! Now!” Dovin orders.

  “I’m not going to leave someone who may be in danger!” he retorts, then turns and starts charging down the corridors towards the sounds of combat. Dovin calls after him, but Jair doesn’t stop. Jedi help people, they don’t run away from them. Who cares what Master Tarsh said.

  Jair doesn’t look back to see if Dovin is following as he charges onward, the sounds of blaster fire dwindle, replaced by the unmistakable clash of lightsabers. Rounding another corner, Jair skids to a halt, seeing Jedi engaged with other Jedi… no not Jedi. The others are dressed not in Jedi robes, but in dark tribal looking armor. There are two of them, both with light red skin and tentacles around their eyes and along their chins. The most concerning part though, is their lightsabers. They are blood red…. There are 3 Jedi knights fighting the two enemies, while two padawans hold back, one looking terrified and the other looking shocked. They look barely old enough to be padawans, basically still younglings.

  Jair spins and throws his saber at one of the dark figures. Clearly not prepared for an attack from behind, the blade sizzles into his back. Jair then runs forward, holding his hand out and calling on the force to draw his blade back to him. Before he can get there though, now that it is three on one, they are able to quickly dispatch the final opponent.

  One of the Jedi steps forward to meet Jair, just as he hears Dovin’s footsteps catching up behind.

  “Padawan?” the Twi’lek Jedi asks, clearly surprised to see him. “Master Tarsh sent myself and Jedi Dovin to investigate. Who are these, these….” He trails off, not sure what to call the not Jedi.

  That’s when Dovin reaches them and swats Jair in the back of the head.

  “Ow!”

  “We are going to talk about this later,” he promises, then looks up to the Jedi. “Report.”

  The Twi’lek takes a breath, glancing down at the fallen enemies, then at several dead soldiers not far off. “We were attacked, never saw it coming. The ship had cloaking that evaded our scanners. By the time we knew what was going on, it was too late. Then boarding crews forced their way in.”

  “Was this the last of them? Where are the rest of your crew?”

  The Jedi shakes his head. “We got split up. Haven't heard back from the others since then. It’s a relief to see some friendly faces though. Thanks for coming.”

  Jair almost blurts out that they wouldn’t have if not for him, but he keeps the comment to himself. He is already in enough hot water with Dovin.

  “A cloaked ship? Full of soldiers that wield red lightsabers…” Dovin mutters.

  “They could also use the force… the dark side of the force,” a second human Jedi announces, stepping up beside the Twi’lek. “It felt like fighting the fallen Jedi again… like I was back in the war. But I’ve never seen their race before.”

  Dovin’s eyes widen at the mention of the war and he looks down at the dark force users.

  “The dark side of the force?” Jair says just above a whisper. That is something he’s heard of, but none of the Jedi who were in the war would tell him much more than the fact that somehow the force was corrupted.

  “It can’t be… They can’t be back,” Dovin says, as if trying to convince himself.

  “Oh, but we are,” a voice calls calmly from behind.

  “Jair!” Dovin reaches his hand towards Jair and he is thrown back with the force. An instant later bolts of dark lighting engulf Jair’s Master.

  “There’s more!” the other Jedi shouts.

  Jair hits the ground and rolls. Using his own momentum, he is back on his feet almost as quickly as he goes down. Unfortunately, he lost his lightsaber in the process. But then he freezes, when he sees his master, unholy lighting striking him in dozens of places. To add to the horror, Jair hears Dovin’s screams. His Master was only caught because of him. Dovin chose to push Jair away rather than get to safety himself.

  Jair slowly turns his head to see the origin of the dark bolts. Standing there is a human, a human dressed in Jedi robes. He looks like a normal Jedi, except for his eyes. His eyes are a shade of red to match the red of the fallen men’s lightsabers. On top of that, he feels… wrong. The force seems to scream around him, as if he is tearing it apart with how he calls on it. Standing beside him is a second man, this one a Zabrak with black and red skin, is smiling wickedly. He seems to be truly enjoying the show.

  After what seems an eternity, the lightning stops piercing Dovin. Time seems to slow down as Jair’s master falls to his knees, then face down.

  “D-Dovin?” Jair says, his voice cracking. “Dovin…” Jair falls to his knees. “This is my fault. We wouldn’t be here if not for me. He wouldn’t be dead if I wasn't so slow. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault…” he whispers, tears filling his eyes.

  “Ajunta Pall…” One of the other Jedi speaks, her voice full of awe and fear. That name, the name that every Jedi knows and is warned of, finally makes Jair lift his eyes from Dovin to look at the Jedi… the fallen Jedi.

  “At your service,” the fallen Jedi replies. “Knowing who I am will make this easier. I’ll give you a choice, my friends. Leave the misguided Jedi Order. You can still be free. You don’t have to serve a corrupted council who preaches against fear and are themselves terrified of anything they don’t understand. Please, my comrades. I do not want to hurt you. You’re my brothers and sisters. It’s not you, but the council that has fallen into error. So please, please join me.” He holds his arms out to either side, as if in welcome. His words and even how he says them show real concern for the Jedi he faces. Perhaps even Jair would believe in this man’s sincerity… if he hadn’t killed Dovin before Jair's very eyes.

  The female Jedi, a Chiss woman with blue skin, steps closer to Ajunta Pall. only a few steps separate the two, and for a moment it seems like she may actually take his invitation. Then she points her lightsaber at him. “I saw what you did in the war, Ajunta Pall. you may believe what you say, but you are the one who is blind. You caused a war that took countless lives. You are the one who has become corrupt.”

  Ajunta Pall lets his arms fall to the side and looks truly sad. He shakes his head. “You’ve been blinded by the Jedi council… I'm sorry, sister.”

  The woman lunges towards Ajunta Pall, meaning to skewer him through the heart with her blue lightsaber. She never reaches him. Mid-air she freezes as if an invisible hand has caught her by the throat. She raises her hand likely to use the force to throw Ajunta back and break his grip, but it doesn’t work. The fallen Jedi waves one hand in front of him and for just an instant a dark light seems to shroud the space between him and the Jedi, as if it is shielding him from her force abilities.

  Ajunta pall clicks his tongue, then as the woman struggles vainly for breath, he turns to the other man with him. “Makel. Get the padawans.”

  “Ajunta! That’s no fun at all! I would rather fight the Jedi.”

  “You already killed four of them. I will handle these.”

  The Zabrak man curses then turns towards the cowering padawans. At the same time the other two Jedi charge Ajunta Pall. Before they reach him, he flings his arm to one side and the dangling Chiss is hurled into the wall with a sickening crack. Then he lifts one hand and draws not his lightsaber but a black blade, that somehow feels just as wrong as him. But why? A metal blade will do little to protect him from the Jedi Lightsabers.

  The two Jedi attack him at the same time, coming from both sides. Two surprises happen simultaneously then. First, he stops one saber with his free hand. The blade stops short, just inches from his flesh, as if he is using the force to hold the lightsaber back. Second, he catches the other lightsaber on his black blade. It doesn’t cut through the black metal, but clashes with it, as if it had been a lightsaber itself.

  “Last chance, my brothers. Join me,” he pleads.

  “We will never join a monster like you!” one cries.

  “You’ve corrupted the force!” the other shouts as they continue their assault. Ajuntal Pall uses blade and bare hand alike to block their attacks, then flicks his hand, sending one skidding backward and disarms the second, by knocking the lightsaber back and then slashing through the hilt.

  The rest of the battle is hidden from Jair’s view as the black and red skinned Zabrak steps in front of him. Jair looks up from where he kneels on the floor.

  The big man grins broadly. “No begging or pleas? How disappointing. You could at least make it fun for me, like the other two did. What a shame,” he speaks as if they are having a casual conversation, rather than about murdering multiple Padawans.

  Jair just stares, the fight having totally gone out of him, smothered by the knowledge that he is the reason Dovin is dead.

  “What a strange kid. Oh well.” he raises his red lightsaber and then swings down. Just before the saber strikes Jair, a green blade stops it with a loud buzz.

  “Get away from my Padawan!”

  Jair’s eyes widen. Dovin is alive! The man stands there, holding back the red saber, protecting Jair, like Jair never thought he would again. Despite the dozens of holes in his robes, revealing scorched skin beneath, Dovin doesn’t waver, or show any sign of pain. With a heave, he pushes Makel back.

  “Oh! Now things are getting fun again!” The Zabrak exclaims, twirling his lightsaber in anticipation.

  Dovin helps Jair up and gives one of his trademarked smiles. One of the smiles that had always let Jair know how much his Master cares for him. “You alright, young Jair?” he says in a kind voice.

  “Oh come on! Stob blabbing!” Makel growls and sends an overhead slash at Dovin’s head. Dovin catches the blow on his saber without looking away from Jair.

  “Jair, smile. Aren’t you glad to see your Master?”

  “You are starting to annoy me, Jedi!” Makel roars. He draws back and is about to go for a jab, when Dovin turns and throws both of his hands towards the red skinned Zabrak, his green sabre held sideways in one hand. Makel is thrown skidding backwards by the force.

  Jair searches quickly with his eyes, until he sees where his own lightsaber fell. Using the force, he draws it to him, igniting it the moment his hand closes on the hilt.

  “Jair, I need you to get to the ship’s comm and warn the council of all this.”

  “What! I’m not going to lose you a second time!”

  Dovin turns a grin on Jair. “Don’t worry, Padawan. I can hold them until you get back. Then we will take them together. Now go! Warn the council. I’ll be waiting for you!” Dovin’s voice is so certain, that Jair can’t help but believe him. His Master has never lied to him before, so why would he start now?

  “Alright. I’ll be back soon” Jair turns and starts sprinting, hearing the clash of lightsabers, behind him. Jair only makes it a dozen steps before movement out of the corner of his eye makes him turn his head. It is Ajunta Pall. The fallen Jedi has already taken out the other Jedi and is now watching Jair.

  “I’m sorry,” the man says sadly.

  Jair almost keeps running, while keeping an eye on the fallen Jedi, but then the man points back to where Jair had just come from. He glances back to see something that makes him skid to a halt, his blood freezing.

  Dovin is on his knees. His lightsaber is nowhere to be seen and Makel’s red blade hovers near his chest.

  “Dovin!” Jair cries. Dovin hadn’t been fine. It had only been an act. An act to try to get Jair to run.

  The shout draws Makel’s gaze up from the Jedi he seems about to kill. “Oh, the little boy has stopped running? I wonder why?” Makel taunts, laughing.

  “Jair… Remember to smile,” Dovin says just loud enough to be heard, giving Jair one last smile of his own. Then Makel’s red saber hisses as it is plunged into Dovin's chest and he falls lifeless to the floor.

  Unlike the last time Jair saw Dovin fall, something snaps inside of him and he screams. “I’ll kill you!” without another thought, Jair charges at the red skinned monster. As he reaches Makel, Jair swings his blue lightsaber, which buzzes loudly when it strikes his opponents.

  “That’s the spirit, boy!” Makel laughs, parrying one, two, then three of Jair's swings.

  Jair feels like something is taking over, some kind of presence he has never felt before. A dark powerful feeling. Almost like what he felt from the force when it seemed to be screaming in pain around Ajunta Pall. Except now it doesn’t feel wrong… it feels right. Jair holds nothing back, giving no thought for defense and goes completely on the offensive. He swings at Makel’s head, his side, then jabs at his belly. Every swing is deflected, but Makel’s wicked grin and laughter fade as Jair bears down on him.

  Jair swings down as if to hammer Makel into the floor, but the second the strike lands Jair kicks the Zabrak in the belly, making him stumble. That stumble gives Jair an opening. He lashes out at the man’s dominant arm. Makel is only just barely quick enough to avoid the attack. mostly. Instead of losing his arm, the blue lightsaber scores across the top of his arm as he pulls it back.

  Makel roars in pain and anger and just as Jair is going for another attack the same type of lightning shoots towards Jair. Jair screams back and lets loose the anger that seemed to be trying to escape his body and it materializes into the same dark cracking bolts. His lightning and Makel’s strike each other, like two volleys of blaster bolts. Most collide into each other, but some get through on both sides, the two of them being struck in several places.

  “You welp! You think you can overpower me with the dark side? You’re nothing but a new born babe when it comes to the dark side!” Makel cackles, then Jair’s lighting is completely overpowered by his opponent’s and he is struck in dozens of places, throwing him back and to the ground.

  It’s hard to move, but Jair starts to push himself up. Though he doesn’t get far before a boot slams into his chest and knocks him back down flat.

  “Thanks for making things interesting, you little welp,” Makel says, then raises his red saber to finish Jair off. The lightsaber falls, but stops at the last instant, shaking slightly, as if contending against something.

  “Hold, Makel,” Ajunta Pall’s voice sounds.

  “What!?”

  “You saw him touch it, and without any training. No, I think we keep this one alive. He is still young. He can be made to see the truth.”

  Makel growls in frustration. “Fine!” Then a boot smashes into Jair’s face and everything goes black.