80It is so good to be back after our crash landing. Once the Republic came and grabbed us, we took our prisoners and promptly headed home where we could rest, recuperate and get proper medical treatment. Their really wasn't much that the doctors and medics needed to do for Master Skywalker and I. That stuff that the Lurmens gave us was really something else if I do say myself. Speaking of them, I'm not sure what their going to do from now on since they've been added to the war. I'm not even sure if the Republic is going to stay on the planet but if the Separatists found it once, they'll find it again. So chances are the we'll build an outpost there, or occupy the droids, as a precaution just in case.
Still, feels good to be back in the Republic and back to the war effort, which isn't really improving but at this point, I'm not really surprised. The supplies and equipment I requested and ordered was delivered back to my room at the temple and I already had gotten started in working on my blaster. Definitely an interesting and unique design if ever I've seen one and I can't wait to finish it up.
But that'll have to wait.
Something has come up with our allies on Pantora on one of the nearby planets, Orto Plutonia. One of our outposts has gone dark and while Ahsoka is back at the temple, my Master and I, Skywalker and some Pantora dignitaries are going to investigate. While the planet is pretty snow covered, its light enough for now that we are able to ride in on some gunships directly towards the base.
We land once we make it to the base and as soon as the doors open, we are blasted with freezing winds. "Geez." I grunt and bring my hand in front of my face for a bit of cover to my face. My clothing gear is similar to my Masters but I don't have the fur lining my hood, goggles like the masters and I have a small black mouth cloth covering my nose to my chin, leaving a little loose to blow in the wind below.
"And this is the planet's tropical zone." My master gests as we disembark
"Homey!" I comment sarcastically over the rushing winds.
"It's not Tatooine, that's for sure." Master Skywalker comments too. While we can see the base in the glacier close to us, its hard to see anything else in this thick snow or for very far. "Captain Rex, have your men survey the area. Place as many sensor beacons as you can before dark." 'Well, that'll solve the visibility issue.' I think with relief since we won't be blind in this storm.
"Right away, sir. Unload that gear! Let's move!" Rex goes ahead and begins giving out the order.
"General Kenobi." The dignitaries from Pantora step off the gunship.
"Chairman Cho, Senator Chuchi." My master greets back to the tall male pantoran Chairman Chi Cho and the younger female Senator Riyo Chuchi with their two bodyguards flanking them. "I suggest you wait here until we can secure the area." He warns them.
"I respect your judgment, General Kenobi, but I will go where I choose. This is sovereign Pantora territory." Chairman Cho tells him in a not so subtle tone and manner.
"I thought this planet was uninhabited, and therefore, it's not aligned." Master Skywalker points out.
"Our moon of Pantora is the only civilization in this system. I'm the one who asked the Senate to protect this planet. This wasteland belongs to us." Chairman Cho replies. While his attitude doesn't really come off as kind, obviously, I can see the reason for having an outpost here. This planet is a good staging ground and outpost for an early warning system in case Pantora were to come under attack as most would have to pass by this planet. Unfortunately that's not longer the case until we can figure out why our men have gone dark.
"With all due respect, Chairman, this is for the Senate to decide, not us." My master counters to him.
"Ahh but the Jedi report to the Senate, which is Senator Chuchi of Pantora." And the Chairman finds a loophole in this argument.
"Technically speaking, Master Jedi, the Chairman is correct. Since the planet is uninhabited, the moon of Pantora reserves the right to continue as its protectorate." Senator Chuchi finalizes the whole conversation.
"Point taken, Senator. Anakin, stay here with the Senator and the droids while we secure the base. Let's go Mat!" He raises his voice a little at the end over the rushing winds to make sure I hear him.
"Right behind you Master!" I call out and follow him to the base. Power hasn't been cut off so we're able to get the doors open with little effort. Maybe a little frozen from the cold but nothing we can't handle as they open. "Oh… wow…" What we find… is a lot more earie than I could have anticipated. Dozens of clone trooper helmets litter the area in front of us but the key difference is that their placed on some sort of spears all around. I bring my hand close to my lightsaber just in case its an ambush. Our men fan out in securing the area while my master, Rex and I walk up to the first set of helmets. My master pulls the helmet off one spear, which allows me to let out a breath of relief as I pull down my mouth cloth. "Okay, being honest, I'm very thankful their wasn't anything inside the helmets." I voice my relief.
"Yeah, but… I don't get it." Rex asks, referring to why the helmets are like this in the first place. I'm curious too.
"It must be Separatists." Cho walks up from behind, immediately swinging allegations as to the culprit but that seems like a far cry from their normal routine.
"I am not sure." My master isn't convinced either on who did it.
"We should head to the observation level. Maybe some of the computers can tell us what happened." I propose.
"Good call my padawan. Rex, let's go." My master agrees and calls on the captain, who in turn recalls his troops and we head to the turbolifts up. It isn't long until we make it to the top and while its not a similar scene to the entrance, we still don't find any survivors or any clear indications.
"Do you think the Separatists are building a forward base to attack Pantora?" Cho surmises the reason.
"I don't think we're dealing with Separatists. These computers haven't been touched." True to what my master says, all the computers haven't been tampered with whatsoever. No slicing, no tampering or anything that leads to accessing their databanks.
"I don't even see any droid bodies here or anywhere. There'd at least be something." I comment. Even if our men were taken by surprise, their would be now way the droids, even commando droids, would be able to take down all of our men without a single casualty. 'And then there are the helmets… and it doesn't look like any of these men were hit with blasters.' I lean down close to one of the clones and notice that his armor has been shattered. Spiderweb cracks go all over his chest piece. 'Blasters definitely don't do this. Something hard and powerful did this.'
"Sir, our scouts have spotted a droid base on the other side of the ice ridge." Rex informs us, putting us a bit on edge.
"That's not good, but a lead we can use." My master says and keys in his communicator. "Anakin, go ahead and send everyone else but stay outside. I'll need your help to check something out." He cuts off the device and turns to me. "Mat, if the Separatists are here on this planet as well, I'd like for you to remain here and help protect the base while we go and investigate."
"Yes Master. I can do that. Hopefully that base can shed some light as to what happened."
"Me too." My master finishes saying and heads down the elevator to meet up with everyone else and scout out the Separatist base.
I sigh and turn around to be met with some clones staring at me. "Your orders Commander?" One of them asks.
I take a quick look around noting the state the place is in, the Pantoran representatives near the controls and what we might need. "Do what you can to get the systems back online. I don't want us here blind to whatever did this out there. I also want some men to gather up the bodys and transport them down to the main entrance. The least we can do now for your brothers that fell here is to take them back to Republic space."
"Yes sir." They salute and go to do their duties.
"Making getting the weapon systems and shields operational in this place a top priority before dealing with the dead." The Chairman tells the troopers as they pass him. "Theirs no point in dealing with the dead if we're killed by whatever the Separatists have planned." He finishes changing my orders and goes back to the console. The soldiers go back to doing their jobs but I'm not really happy with how he just dismissed the dead like that. I know there is some truth to his words, but we still have an early warning against possible attacks thanks to the sensors Rex and his men placed outside. These are the clones brothers after all.
"Chairman, what makes you so certain the Separatists are behind this attack?" Thankfully, the senator speaks to the chairman before anything else can happen. Her calm tone compared to the chairmans is a relief.
"Look around, Senator. Isn't this carnage proof enough?" He waves around us in emphasis as I walk closer to the senator.
"I know, but there are no dead droids here, no blast marks. The clones' injuries were not consistent with what—" She begins to list some very important points that do point to the separatists not having a hand in our soldiers deaths.
"Sooo, you're an expert on war now, are you, Senator?" He interrupts her.
"No, Chairman. No, I only—"
"She's may not be an expert, sir." I quickly interject, only because I don't like the look he's giving the senator. "But I am. I've read countless reports when dealing with the droids and fought in many combat scenarios and she's right. There is nothing here that points to an armed conflict that took place between two sides wielding blasters. Someone else—"
"Enough!" The Chairman cuts me off and gives a hard angry stare. "You are but a child. Barely fit to be a Jedi if what I know of your position." He speaks venomously to me, almost making me step back in more so surprise at the emotions I feel radiating off him rather than his insults at me. "I have seen more conflict than either of you two have been alive." He takes a moments pause to stare at both the Senator and I before narrowing his eyes. "Let me tell you something, the both of you." He begins to say and walk off to the side. "I have led the Pantoran people, our people, since before you two were born. I've seen 100 planets rise and fall through force of arms. If it's not the Separatists, it's a malevolent and aggressive enemy nonetheless. And I will not let whoever it is jeopardize the security of the people of Pantora." He speaks with such hard conviction laced with anger.
"But if the Jedi discover that the Separatists aren't behind this, then perhaps there is a peaceful resolution." The senator manages to speak of an alternative solution than just attacking, one that I can get behind in the end.
"Senator, I am willing to fight and die for my people. It's time to ask yourself if you are brave enough to do the same. As are you Jedi, for the lives of your men." Leaving us with that little bit of information, he and his bodyguards leave down the turbolift elevator to check on something else.
"… I'm not fond of that man." I say out loud. Senator Chuchi and I turn to each other now that we're not anywhere near him. "He speaks sooo… guh, his attitude just doesn't sit right with me." I tell her. I've met people before
"Please understand. He's a very passionate man when it comes to the sovereignty and well-being of Pantora. He comes off as… angry, but he means well."
"Hmm," I hum a little at her words. Even though he wasn't really nice to her, she still tries to defend him. No doubt because he's the ranking officer between the two but still. "You know ma'am, passion is all well and good but too much of it can lead one down the wrong and dangerous paths. As a Jedi, we have a code we follow by:
"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.
"Take what you will from his actions, but from what I can tell, a person who remains passionate to something for too long or too much, then they might be blind to certain paths ahead." I say. While Chairman Cho seems to want the best for Pantora, his version of what's best may not be true. "After all, he brushed aside your idea of a peaceful solution without a second thought." I finish saying and walk past her. Different ideals aside, I hope my masters are able to find some answers and hopefully solutions to this whole mess.
I really don't want to have to use the weapon systems here when they come online.
Hours pass and we're able to get the base back up and running as well as cleaned up as best we can. The bodies of our troops have been collected and placed near the door for ready transport off world when the time is right.
Now is not that time because the snow storms are starting to kick up something fierce. Communications are spotty and any harder and the gunships will be unable to go to certain places, much less take off.
Thankfully, my master and everyone else return to the base in one piece.
"Masters! So good to see you both." I greet the both of them with a small bow down in the garage when they return on their speeder bikes.
Rex walks up from behind me to greet them as well. "Glad you made it back, sir. It's getting nasty out there."
"You don't know the half of it." The comment from Master Skywalker leaves us a little confused as the others come in to talk to my masters as well.
"What did you find?" Chairman Cho asks.
"It seems we've stumbled onto an inhabited planet." My master explains the situation. Honestly, the idea of another faction being the attackers was always there but actually hearing that theirs new inhabitants on this planet is still a little surprising.
"Impossible. Our explorers have spent much time here over the long history of Pantora. No one lives here. They're trespassers." Cho immediately dissuades the idea harshly.
"With respect, Chairman Cho, these creatures, the Talz, aren't advanced enough to master space travel. I think they may have been here longer than Pantora." My master explains. 'Talz?' I think. Something about that species sounds a little familiar.
"Whoever they are, they belong to us. This whole system belongs to us." I really don't like the Chairmans attitude, or his view on the whole thing and the Talz.
"Your majesty, if there are life forms here, then the Senate must decide jurisdiction." Senator Chuchi still tries to make sense and better judgment of the situation.
"They are savages. Look at what they've done. They've slaughtered your troops." While Cho may be right on attacking our troops, it could be the Separatists fired first.
"They only want to be left alone. The droids attacked them, and I'm afraid our outpost got caught in the middle." 'Okay, I was right.' I think from my masters clarification of what happened.
"They must be subdued. They're dangerous. Captain Rex, prepare your troops for battle." Despite that, the chairman already wants to start a bloodbath with the new additions to the field.
"We promised their chief there would be no retaliation." Master Skywalker says.
"We've arranged a meeting between their high council and you and the Senator. They want peace." My master adds.
"We can't send troopers. They'll think we lied." Master Skywalker has a point. Showing up to the meeting armed to the teeth would not paint a peaceful picture.
"These creatures are little more than animals. You can't lie to an animal. They can't be trusted."
"But, your majesty—"
"No!" Cho cuts off Chuchi harshly, which makes me stand a little closer to her unconsciously less he gets really angry. "It is obvious these creatures are not covered by the convention of civilized systems. The Jedi Council has no say in the matter."
"If the Jedi are able to communicate with them, their status is in doubt." Chuchi continues to try to reason with the man.
"Do you stand against your chairman, Senator?" He darkly asks her.
"Of course not, your majesty." I let out a sigh at her backing down. Can't really blame her. Chairman Cho seems a bit unstable about all this, not to mention he just kind of pulled rank on her.
"If we're going to meet with Thi-Sen and his council at the arranged time, we'll have to leave now." My master tells us. Since we are now on a tight time crunch, everyone begins to gear up for the journey.
"The gunships can't take off in this storm. We don't have enough bikes for the entire platoon." Rex informs us of a small problem we now have.
"Have the rest of the men stand by here. No matter what the chairman thinks, we're not going to war." 'We can certainly hope so.' If we do fight, then we'll definitely be at a disadvantage without the full might of our soldiers, no gunships, and worse is we'd be on their home turf. I hope the chairman realizes those factors but somehow, I don't think he will. Nonetheless, we go ahead and begin embarking on our bikes. There are two different speeder bikes everyone will be using as we travel in this weather: The Biker Advanced Recon Commando speeder, or BARC Speeder for short, and the CK-6 Swoop, or Freeco Bike.
The BARC Speeder is a versatile high mobility speeder bike that comes equipped with two forward mounted blaster cannons and the ability to be interchangeable for a variety of situations. Interestingly enough, the bike was first intended to be used exclusively for ARC troopers but its such high effectiveness and somewhat cheap production costs allowed the vehicle to be mass produced and used by all clones in the Republic for when the situation calls for it.
The Freeco bike is a speeder similar to the BARC except it is much more adapt and suited for cold environments such as the one we are in. The Freeco has a bit of a thicker frame, dual laser cannons like the BARC, but its sealed pilot seat allowed for an insulated interior and for the rider to be heated in such cold temperatures, unlike the BARC's completely open and exposed seat which leaves them exposed to both the elements and the enemy.
Those of us with higher ranks take the Freeco's while the rest of our men take the BARC's. So the dignitaries, us Jedi and Rex are of course given the Freeco's. With everyone on their bikes, we head off to our destination.
We ride through the harsh storms for a bit, seeing nothing else besides our own forces.
Soon enough though, we manage to make it to the meeting place, which is taking place inside a building. I'm not sure if it's the separatist base or something much older but either way, its pretty run down from the weather hitting it. Everyone begins to disembark and gather around.
"Captain, put your men on that ice ridge. We will attack as soon as the savages arrive." Cho immediately orders for an ambush.
"There will be no attack, chairman." My master contradicts him.
"You will do as I command. This planet is under my jurisdiction." The Chairman angrily demands and states. 'God damn this guy is just hell bent on killing! So much anger.'
"Nothing is under your control, Chairman. The Talz are already here."
"Their scouts have been following us for some time." My master and Skywalker burst his bubble.
"It seems Thi-sen doesn't trust you any more than you trust him." 'Probably good considering what he just proposed we do.'
Just as my Master says that, we hear some creatures howling in the distance, right until several piles of snow around us erupt to reveal the Talz that have been waiting for us. 'Oh yeah, definitely their home turf.' Our men instantly put up their weapons but no one attack each other. Senator Chuchi isn't dissuaded by the surprise and walks past the Chairman with 3PO next to her. I catch up to her and walk with her to make sure everything is good. To be honest, I'd much rather protect her than the Chairman as bad as that sounds, especially if his actions forces us to fight. Any fighting goes down because of him, then it'll be his fault of any injury or death that comes from his actions.
"Rex, tell your men to stand down. Stay here and don't do anything to provoke them." Master Skywalker warns the captain.
"Yes, sir." While Rex tells his men, the rest of us, I, my masters, the Pantoran dignitaries and their bodyguards along with the protocol droid C-3PO head into place where the meeting is, all the while surrounded on all sides by the Talz but not outwardly aggressive.
I stick close to Chuchi as a precaution. "Should things turn ugly, stay down and stay behind me." I lean in and whisper to her. Even though the Talz don't understand us, I still do it.
"Are you really expecting things to turn out unfavorably for us?" She whisper asks back to me.
I don't answer instantly back to her, instead glancing to the chairman, seeing the look of disgust on his face before keeping my eyes forward again. "Just a little. Pays to be ready than not ready." I finish whispering to her. We can't speak anymore as we come upon a few more Talz at a dead end and see the middle one in a bit more garb than the others I've seen. Doesn't take much to see this must be the chieftain.
"Your Highness. We have returned, as promised." I'm right as my Master greets him. 3PO walks up and starts talking to the Talz leader in their language.
"These savages have no rights here." Chairman Cho voices his displeasure yet again while the chief speaks but we can't understand. That's why we have a translator with us.
"Chieftain Thi-Sen welcomes you to his home and hopes you come in peace. He wishes to be good neighbors, but he does not wish you to remain on his planet." 3PO translates what the chief said.
This doesn't sit well with Cho as he gets right in the droids face. "Listen, droid, translate everything I say and exactly as I say it." He harshly demands.
"Would you like me to in this matter?" She asks, stepping closer an in front of him. 'Yes please.'
"Not on your life, Senator. There will be no diplomacy this time." He completely disregards her attempt to help. In an instant, he steps right up to the chieftan and points straight at him in a threatening manner. This puts the rest of the Talz on guard as they bare their weapons. I step in front of the senator just in case as the chairman angrily speaks. "Listen here, you savage, this world belongs to the moon of Pantora. And as the Supreme Chairman and exalted ruler of Pantora, you will not command me to leave this planet or do anything else!"
"Your Majesty, we can't." Chuchi tries to reason some more but he won't have it.
"Droid, tell him."
"Oh dear." Even 3PO realizes how bad this would turn out but he has to translate unfortunately.
"I recommend a less confrontational discussion. The Talz are easily provoked." My master explains to the chairman, but somehow I think he wants that to be the case for them. Afterall, they attack and their would be no doubt fighting would happen for both sides.
The chief speaks and gestures quite angrily. I may not be able to understand him but just the tone and his movement represents obvious anger.
"That didn't go over very well." Master Skywalker sees it too.
"Chairman, I promised the Talz that we would leave them in peace." My master explains.
"This is now an internal affair of Pantora." Chairman Cho states. Just as expected, once 3PO finishes translating, the chief isn't happy.
"The great Thi-Sen, son of suns, asks again that you leave or it will mean… war." 3PO warns us. Any sensible person would realize just the hopelessness of the situation and would do something to try to make things happen with less bloodshed.
"Then war it is." And just like that, the chairman just needlessly signed many peoples death warrants. Once 3PO translates, Thi-Sen and his men leave, as do the chairman and his guards. I can pretty much feel the sadness and disappointment my masters feel about the turn of events, even the senator isn't happy about it either. Can't say I'm happy about it either. "Troopers, mount up and follow me." Cho orders Rex and his men when we make it outside before going over to their speeders.
"What's up, general?" Rex asks.
"Not good Rex. Not good at all." I can't help but say when the rest of us walk up to the captain.
"You're gonna stay with the chairman until we can work things out. Protect him at all costs." Anakin tells the captain.
"Mount up! We're moving out!" Rex orders his men. While that happens, the rest of us turn to each other and talk.
"We have to do something." I say out loud.
Master Skywalker nods along with me before looking at Chuchi. "Senator, you know a preemptive strike is illegal. Isn't there anything you can do to stop him?"
"I'm afraid not. He has proclaimed this conflict an internal affair." She sadly tells us.
"You could petition the Jedi council for an intervention." My master proclaims a possible alternative.
"You mean, without his authorization?"
'Screw his authorization.' "He just enacted war on another faction without consulting any other government officials, pretty much just ignoring you. Their has to be something someone else can do." I ask. Should someone of a higher power and standing enact or do things that would not be beneficial to their planet, people, or city and may outright cost lives, usually theirs some clause, rule or law that allows someone else of a possible lower power and standing to intervene for the betterment of everyone.
"There must be someone else on your moon who could approve it considering his actions." Master Skywalker nods his head towards where the chairman left
"The speaker of the assembly. He has the power." I smile at that there is in fact alternative to go around him.
"Let's get back to the base. The storm is letting up. Maybe we can get a transmission through." They begin to walk towards our bikes but instead of me going, I begin to think of something else I can do instead of just tagging along with them to simply talk to people.
"Master," I get his attention, "With your permission, I'd like to go with the Chairman and the clones to help try and keep as many people alive as I can."
"What?" Master Skywalker isn't too fond of the idea and I can see the worried look on the senator.
"Mat, are you sure? You know they are more than likely going to go into heavy combat and nothing like we've dealt with before." My master informs and warns me.
I nod firmly in understanding. "I do Master. Frankly I don't condone what the Chairman just did, however I don't like the idea of our own men paying the price for his arrogance. If I can go, at the very least I'd like to try and help save as many lives as possible. Both our side, and the Talz, if things can be smoothened out if you three are successful in trying to make peace." I explain as best I can. The Talz seem like an alright group of people and from what my master has said, they were not bloodthirsty to attack and are happy with the idea of peace, which means there is a possibility for keeping that peace that my masters promised.
Both of them look at each other for a second unsure before my master lets out a deep sigh. I'm afraid he's going to go ahead and decline my request but nods instead "Very well Mat. Go with Rex and the others. Do everything you can to protect them and the Chairman and to get out alive. Be cautious."
"Thank you Master. Let's hope this goes well for everyone." I tell him and I turn to leave.
"Mat." Master Skywalker stops me. "Watch your back out there. This planet is the Talz's home and they can be hiding in the snow to lay ambushes. You're going to be in the thick of it out there. You and the clones watch each other's backs."
"Don't worry Master Skywalker. I don't intend to be careless. I'll watch out." I nod to him and try to reassure him I'm all good to go on this.
Before I can get too far though, someone suddenly grabs my hand from the side, stopping me from continuing forward and making me turn to whoever did it. Senator Chuchi stares at me with a worried expression on her face. "Please… do be careful. I… I don't want see you… die, before we can find a peaceful solution."
I smile at the worried state she has for me. I pat her hand holding mine to reassure her. "Thank you, Senator. I'll be careful." She seems a little reluctant but she lets me go in the end. I take a few steps before turning my head back to her with the smile still present. "And I can assure you ma'am, I have no intention of dying anytime soon." Hopefully that will at least offer her some form of comfort while I'm gone. Guess we'll just have to see how things go as I embark on my Freeco speeder.
We pilot our speeders deep into some canyons following the Chairman. He hasn't really given us much to go on where exactly we are going but he has made it explicitly clear that if we were to see anything that resembles the Talz that we are to engage and kill them on sight. Of course, Rex and I voiced that that's not our job to do as we are meant to protect the Chairman only.
He did not like that. Eventually though, we spot some Talz far ahead of us sitting on some animals I'm not sure of exactly.
"Here they are. Fire when you're in range." Chairman Cho orders us to do. Before we could even do that if we wanted to, the Talz riders turn tail and run away from us, fast. Almost as fast as our speeders but we gain on them,
"Sir, with all due respect, we're only here to protect you." Rex reminds him.
"He's right Chairman! We are not here to fight the war you started." As do I.
"Quiet!" He yells at me through the comms, making me wince. "I will not be ordered around by a child! Jedi or no." He finishes saying, venom in his voice.
"Great." I mutter to myself in disdain. 'This is going to end very badly.' Besides my thoughts on the situation we are forced to continue following the chairman as we continue to follow the riders for a bit until something very bad happens.
"Ambush!" I hear Rex yell as several Talz appear out of snow mounds, like back at the meeting. They brandish big beefy melee weapons while more of their riders head straight for us this time.
"Watch out!" I shout as I get ready to dodge the rapidly approaching riders.
"It's a trap. Kill them!" Even without the chairmans orders, the clones have no choice to fire back as we all nearly collide with each other. I don't fire back as I almost completely focus on trying not to hit them while they try to hit me. Glancing out the window I watch as a few clones on their BARC speeders are killed almost immediately as they are bashed right off their rides. Combining the force of the bikes movement and the Talz immense strength, my men go flying through the air dead.
"Rex!" I yell as I watch his speeder get attacked by one of the animals and its rider. Thankfully, he ejects himself and takes out the hostile with his blasters while its vulnerable. With his ride out of commission, I pull up next to him as does everyone else.
"We're surrounded. Defensive formation!" He orders everyone to do. Having been stopped, everyone, including myself, proceed to quickly arrange all our bikes in a circle, giving us just a little bit of cover in the open frozen, snow covered plain.
Disembarking my own ride, I pull out one DC-17 blaster pistol and proceed to help the clones as best I can repelling the invaders. When the riders start to charge us I focus down on taking down the animals rather than the riders. I do want to limit the casualty's, but its getting hard to do that as I watch a clone next to me take a spear directly to his chest. I stare in horror as the piece of armor he's wearing on his chest does nothing to stop the hardened sharpened spear point from embedding into his chest and killing him outright. "By the force." I mutter silently to myself. I force myself down as a spear comes close to almost taking my head off. When I place my back to the speeder I'm using as cover, I see the chairman and his guards in the open in the middle of our circle shooting at any Talz they see.
"Chairman, get down!" One of the Pantoran bodyguards advises his leader to do. Unfortunately this leaves him open as a Talz warrior comes out of nowhere from the side and kills the guard almost instantly, throwing the body on the chairman from the force of the hit before it gets killed by the second guard.
"Damnit!" I grunt and roll forward before I grab the guards fallen carbine and returning fire as much as I can. Now, trying to limit lives lost is out of the question anymore so the best thing I need to do is limit my own soldiers lives lost, and in turn myself. Right now I'm shooting at Talz that are closest but I'm not even sure if my shots are fatal or not. I'm too busy trying to keep an eye out for any spears from hitting me. We are in killing field as the Talz throw spear after spear at us and the clones armor does nothing to stop the sharp projectiles from killing them almost outright. Spears are stabbed into the ground all around us and it feels like theirs just no end to them.
"We've got to hold out!" Rex calls out and we all try but they push us in mass. Not long after several of the Talz's bodies crash into a section of our circular bike wall we created, destroying some of our cover and rides.
"Captain! Call it!" I shout to him. He nods at me before signaling his men.
"Fall back! First squad, cover the retreat!" I can get behind Rex's order as I try to suppress the enemy to give what men we have left time to scrounge up any usable bikes.
"Retreat? We can't retreat from these animals." Chairman Cho makes the ludicrous statement despite the amount of men we lost, how close he came to dying and just the amount of pressure the Talz are putting on us.
"Chairman are you crazy?!" I loudly ask the man at the rapidly deteriorating situation as I move closer to him while trying to shoot. How bad things are is accentuated even more as a spear embeds itself right into his final bodyguard neck. "Son of a—!" I grunt at the brutal mangled kill just in front of me. I shake my head and focus on the chairman. "We are getting overrun and we'll die if we stay here! Orders are for you to live and we can't do that if you stay here like a—" I can't finish speaking my statement as my senses kick in, the same ones that let me know from a blaster bolt heading right for me. Upon instinct, I reach down with my right hand and grab my lightsaber before igniting it and bringing it in front of me. "Aaaaahhh!" I yell loudly in pain as my lightsaber cuts through the spear that was heading right for me, but unfortunately I only cut the shaft off, allowing the spear point to continue with less force but still embeds itself into my shoulder. I drop to the ground and grab my left shoulder from the sudden spike in pain.
"Fool." Even writhing in the ground, I hear the Chairman say and resume shooting at the Talz but he stops as he sees every one of our men begin to embark their speeders. "Get back here men! I am ordering you to stay and fight! Not run like cowards!" He doesn't notice the Talz running up from behind him about to cave his head off until Rex speeds on in, taking it out and stopping next to us.
"We can't stay sir! We are pulling out now!" Rex yells at him. I smile at his forcefulness at the chairman but that turns to a frown as I watch the Chairman take his GL-77 blaster pistol and point it right at Rex's head.
"Disobey my orders captain and run like a coward, and I'll execute you for treason and desertion! Now get back to—"
"Hrah!"
*SMACK*
Having enough of everything, I get up and take my carbine before I deliver a hit straight to the back of his head. He crumples into a heap in an instant, unconscious. Rex looks down at the body before back up at me, rifle in hand but my free hand gripping the wound on my shoulder. "That… felt… good."
"Thank you Commander." He thanks me and gets off to grab the chairman. I strap the carbine onto Rex's speeder and grab the blaster the chairman dropped. The GL-77, Pantoran made and a fast firing weapon with good stopping power. Can't really get into much details once Rex places the chairman on the front of the speeder while I get on behind Rex.
"I'm good. Let's go." I pat Rex's shoulder, signaling him to go. He nods and boosts us forward hard along with the rest of our men. The BARC speeder we are on isn't really meant for two people riding so I have to hold on tight so I don't fall off. A little difficult with my weak left arm and the spear point still in me but I can't take it out now for fear of bleeding out if it hit something vital, which while it hurts, doesn't feel like it did but I'm not going to take any chances. While we are able to get away from the group attacking us at the circle defense we had temporarily made, we're not in the clear yet as I spot several Talz riders above us up ahead on a small cliff. "Eyes up!" I shout to Rex, making sure he notices them. He sees them just in time as them come down from the nearby cliff ahead of us.
"Here they come!" He shouts when they attack. I have to hold tighter as he forces us to the side in different angles in order to avoid the oncoming swipes at us. I do what I can to try to shoot any of the Talz but its hard when we're dodging. It doesn't bode well for our men either as a few are killed instantly with a single hit, throwing them off their bikes, even sending one of the bikes spinning through the air and crashing into one of the cliff walls. I fire as best I can at as many as I can, taking down a couple of them by the animals their riding before their able to kill anymore of our men as we pass out canyon in open snowy land.
No more ambushes seem to be ahead us as the land is smooth and theirs no more riders in front of us heading towards us. Our highly advanced speeders are able to outpace the Talz and their animal mounts so its seems the only thing we need to do is put as much space between us and them.
Unforunately, the ice bridge ahead of us, the only path we can possibly take in our perilous situation, collapses along with a couple of our men, trapping us between a fall to our deaths and the oncoming hoard of Talz. Rex sees it and stops us with a slide just before we go over the edge. Looking down the edge shows we are not in an favorable position whatsoever. Nearly a hundred of them come charging at us while we are barely at over half a dozen men. Rex steps off our ride as the rest of our soldiers stop next to us. In true commanding fashion, Rex silently orders his mean to cover which directions while he helps me and the unconscious chairman. "Easy sir." He helps me off the bike and places me behind the bike. "Stay here, commander." He orders me and hands me a DC-15s blaster carbine. "Use the bike as leverage." He informs me and places the unconscious chairman down as well before he gets ready to fight as spears begin to land near us. With my left arm weak, the only way I can use the carbine is by going behind the bike and laying it on the end of the speeder to hold it up while using my right hand to fire it. I holster the pistol on me before getting ready to shoot.
We don't have to wait long as everyone opens fire on the long line of enemies that come straight towards us without relent. Carefully, everyone places their shots as best they can on the closest riders, as do I but there are so many of them. What indeed feels like a hundred of them are completely heading straight for our position. Being outnumbered is verily and understatement as our own side is reduced to barely half a dozen clones, with the chairman just barely waking up from the hit I gave him and my injured self. My heart begins to beat faster as I don't see any way from my position to escape this mess, and certain death.
That's what I'm feeling at first but relief floods me as our backup finally arrives in the form of several gunships flying overhead. This stops the Talz advance on us thankfully so we aren't being run down anymore. The weight on my shoulders of our situation is lifted somewhat as I spot Senator Chuchi and my masters disembark the nearest gunship along with a few squads of clones from all the gunships.
"Good to see you, sir." I manage t hear Rex greet them.
"You okay, Rex?" Master Skywalker asks.
"Ehh, it's just a scratch."
"What's going on?"
"We're in quite a mess, sir. 9 dead, the rest wounded, including the Chairman and the Commander." Rex quickly gives them the run down of what happened and our current condition, which is not good.
"Mat." My master jogs up to me quickly once he spots me and notes my injured state.
"Master." I say in a tired but relieved tone at seeing him here along with Master Skywalker. The worried looks they have is something I never really wanted them to have for me but frankly I'm just happy I'm seeing them right now. My hand holding the carbine falls to the ground as I stare at the two with a smile. "Sooo good to see you."
"Medic over here!" Master Skywalks calls out, waving over a clone medic to me. A medic quickly steps up to me and goes about checking my wound site, even laying me against the bike.
"Hold still sir. I need to remove this." The clone medic warns me, to which I nod in understanding. I have to grit my teeth as he pulls out the spear point from the pain flare up, as well as the cold winding nipping at the exposed wound but other than that nothing feels out of place.
"How bad is it?" My master asks, leaning in close.
"Not too bad. The spear didn't penetrate too deep and it didn't hit bone or anything vital. He'll make a full recovery so long as nothing makes it worse." He quickly informs us and then goes about disinfecting and treating the wound.
"That's a relief." I breathe out and my master nods in agreement. While the medic gets to work, I notice the senator walking over to a barely conscious chairman Cho.
"Chairman, can you hear me?" She asks him.
"Senator, good. Thank you for bringing reinforcements." He breathes out in utter relief, although for the wrong reasons from what I can tell. "These savages and their brutality… I hereby order you to destroy the Talz by any means necessary!" Even with a splitting headache, he's still angry about all of this as he grabs Chuchi's shoulder. Unless something can be done, this will not end well.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Chairman." I can't help but smile at her words as she pushes his hand away and stands up. "The Pantoran assembly has called you out of order. I am to negotiate peace." I felt relief before when backup, now I am completely relieved hearing that Chuchi is now giving the orders and not Cho.
"What?! No… Impossible! Peace? Never! I… have bled and sacrificed for our people!" He grabs his head in pain, no doubt from the hit I gave him earlier, cutting his rant short.
'I have had enough of his crap!' I yell in my mind and stand up once the medic places a large bandage over my wound before I push past my master and the medic before limping towards him. "No, you haven't." I say looking down at him. He begins to say something but I stop him. "It was not you that bled for your people, it was us! Our clones died to protect your sorry hide because it was our order to. Your own men died and what do you have? Just a splitting headache and the only reason why your alive here breathing because 'I' was the one that had to force you before you could execute Rex for retreating a hopeless situation!" Out of the corner of my eyes, I see the looks of surprise on my masters and the senator at this news but I am still focused and angry at the man in front of me. "You claimed all this was an internal matter for Pantora but it was OUR men you led to their deaths! Gra!" I grunt as the anger and yelling agitates the wound. I step away and lean against another bike to keep from falling before sitting down next to it. The medic comes back and quickly checks me again just to make sure I didn't mess it up anymore.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my master look all around us for a second before looking at Chuchi. "Senator, now is the time."
She looks away from Cho towards my master, a small look of hesitance on her face but it slowly morphs into one of determination and readiness. Much to my surprise though, she walks closer to me an crouches next to me. "Can you walk?" She asks me. I look at her in confusion before glancing to my master, who is also confused.
"I can." Even with my injury, I can move well enough.
"Then… I'm sorry to ask this, but I must ask that you come with me." She asks of me. To be quite honest I'm a little confused as to why she would need for this, but if she's to establish peace with the Talz…
"Alright." With a small grunt, I manage to stand on my feet before reaching down and grabbing my carbine. "Let's go Senator."
She gives me a relieved smile and grabs a nearby spear. "Protocol droid, come with me." She orders 3PO.
"Mat, will you be okay?" My master asks me. Since I'm injured, I understand why.
"I will Master. She wants peace, not war, so chances are things will be okay." I smile back at him, trying to give him some relief for my going as I step up next to Chuchi.
"3PO, get going."
"Yes, Master Ani." 3PO says to Master Skywalker and walks with us as we make our way to the chieftain, who has disembarked off his beast and is meeting us halfway between both armies.
"Can I ask why you need me?" Once we go far enough away from the others but not too close to the other, I ask Chuchi quietly, one hand grabbing my injured shoulder while the other just holds my carbine by the handle pointed down.
"You've fought them. Your wound is evident of that. Throwing your weapon down, knowing that you've faced them in combat, would show your willingness to not fight."
"Ohhh, okay." I nod at her explanation. It's a sound strategy and way to show we mean peace if I throw my weapon down.
Chuchi, 3PO and I stop some feet from the chieftain Thi-sen. Seeing as I have my weapon out, he holds his spear with two hands, ready to attack should I do something, which I won't. "Droid, translate for me."
"Yes, Mistress."
Chuchi goes ahead and takes the spear she grabbed before she stabs it into the ground. Following her example in a way, I drop my blaster carbine. The chief stares down at my thrown weapon and the spear before looking back at the both of us, taking one hand off the spear and letting it hang low to the ground with the other hand. "To die for one's people is a great sacrifice. To live for one's people, an even greater sacrifice. Many soldiers and warriors died today for each other's peoples. I choose to live for my people." She states firmly with conviction in her speech. "What do you choose?" Once she finishes speaking, 3PO translates what she said and asks the question.
At first, he only stares at us, glancing at the senator, then to me. I give him a slow nod, showing my own want to make peace despite me being injured. Once I do, he stars speaking. His gestures and actions seem angry, no doubt from everything that's happened. As he lifts his spear into the air, my hand moves to my lightsaber, ready to grab it and ignite it in an instant should he try to harm Senator Chuchi.
Instead of my fears coming true, he stabs the spear into the ground next to her spear, making them cross in an X. "He chooses to live as well." I let out the breath I was holding and relax when 3PO tells us what he said.
"We will leave Orto-Plutonia under the watchful eyes of the Talz from this day forth and recognize your sovereignty as a free and equal people." With one final gesture, both sides proceed to bow to each other, including the Talz on their beasts in the back. It's a nice feeling knowing that we just ended a war, no matter how long it was.
"NOO!"
"Chairman!" We turn around to see the chairman stalking up to us angrily, trying to be held back by some clones but he pushes them off. He is not happy whatsoever.
"This cannot stand! I will not let it stand! These are savages and don't deserve to be treated as equals!" Everyone is put on edge in an instant when he pushes right up between Chuchi and pulls out a DC-17 pistol and points it directly at Thi-sen.
"Oh my!" 3PO yelps surprised at the blaster being brandished.
"Chairman, please! The assembly has spoken. We are to have peace with them." Chuchi tries to dissuade him from making the biggest mistake of his possible soon to be short life by stepping in front between the two, trying to shield the Talz leader.
"Those misguided fools at the assembly don't know what it means to sacrifice for our people! I will not standby and let this happen!" He is getting incredibly unstable now and his aim hasn't waned in the least when the senator stepped in front of him.
"Chairman stop!" I move closer to him on his left and attempt to push the blaster down. "Its over! Its done now. Stop this before you—"
"Get off me!"
*Smack*
"Arhh!" I grunt loudly in pain as he pistol whips me in the side of my head, knocking me down. I hear some people call my name and footsteps running but they're distant and one close to me. I'm dazed for a second from the hit my vision clears up right quick, despite the headache. As I look up at him, my eyes widen as I see him aiming straight at Chuchi's head. Even she's looking at him very much scared.
"If it must be, then I'll fight these savages myself if I have ti AND I'LL KILL ANYONE THAT GETS IN MY WAY!"
I see his finger flex.
"NOOO!"
*SHHHUNK*
… A silence falls over everyone around, the only sounds being the whistling of the wind… and the hum of a lightsaber.
Chairman Cho stares in surprise, so does everyone else, including Master Kenobi, Skywalker and Rex as they make it to us but too late. Slowly, he looks down… right at me with the emitter of my lightsaber pressed right into his chest… on.
He stares at me in surprise, while I stare in horror at what just happened, before his face morphs into rage. "You… traitor." He breathes one final time with anger on his face right to mine, horror and surprise unchanging on my own. With one final bit of strength, he angles his blaster slowly right to my head, but… I can't move. 'Why can't I move?' My hands are shaking as they continue to grip the handle of my lightsaber in his chest.
I expect the end, the instant moment of my life ending as closer proximity blaster bolt enter my head… but it doesn't come.
His body jerks once as something runs into him from my left, jerking his movement and depleting what little strength he has left but remains standing. My eyes move to the side, allowing me to stare at Senator Chuchi right next to me, clutching a spear that's stabbed right into his chest, above and to the left of where my stab is. She's shaking… shaking a lot at the action she just committed.
Finally, another spear comes flying in from behind us, stabbing into the stop of his chest above my head. The force of the hit sends him falling back away from the both of us. Both Chuchi and I stare at the chairman with now two spears in him before turning around and seeing it was Thi-sen that threw the spear. He pulls his outstretched arm back from throwing before he gives the both of us a nod. We stare at him stunned before looking back to the front. For a second, we see the chairman just barely alive, breathing completely labored and on his last breaths of air.
Then… it stops. His chest ceases to rise and his head slumps to the side, eyes still wide open. Chairman Cho of Pantora is dead, by our hands… but I was the first to strike.
"Mat?" I hear my master call my name… but I'm still staring at the body of the person I just killed. My lightsaber finally turns off and my body slumps.
"Master… can we please go?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the first person I killed.
With the mission over, I find myself in my bunk room, just laying on my back and staring at the ceiling. While the ending of the mission was peaceful and done, I'm still not happy with how everything turned out during the whole mess. Especially our… men… and what I did.
As I remember the chairman, I reach to my side and pull out the blaster I took from him. It's a good blaster. He won't be needing it.
I continue to stare at both the weapon and ceiling, just… staring.
*Knock*Knock*Knock*
"Come in." I say to the person on the other side of the door as I holster my new blaster. Glancing to the side, I see my master stepping in. "Greetings Master." I sit up and swing my legs off the side along with my greeting.
"Hello Mat. I wanted to come and check on you to see how you were doing." He says in a calm tone as he stands in front of me.
"I'm okay. Just resting from the mission. I'm alright." I shrug in a nonchalant way.
"… Are you?" He's silent for a moment before asking me again.
From the tone in his voice, he wants the truth of how I feel, not dodging the truth of it all. "…" I stare at my master for a few silent seconds before I break and sigh loudly and deeply. My head slumps downwards as I speak. "… You know Master, the Chairman, when you left me with him and Senator Chuchi while you guys went to check out the Separatist base, he told the Senator if she was willing to make the sacrifice for her people… and if I was to do the same for my men…" I sit here continuously staring at the floor as I think on my next words. I look back up towards my master. "Master… I… killed him… but he… he almost shot…" I shake my head in disbelief. Just as we made peace, he almost completely ruined everything. I don't know how blinded he was to the alternatives, but its hard to say if I saw one too. Seeing him aim his blaster at Chuchi, a member of his group… I just… couldn't…
My master lets out a sigh and sits down next to me. "Sometimes… when the situations call for it, we may have to do things that don't seem right, or they contradict our original orders, in order to find a better solution. While losing the Chairman was unfortunate, it was his own actions that resulted in his death. We established peace with the Talz, but if he fired, then it would have been a massacre." I look down at the news, but my master places his hand on my shoulder, making me look back at him to see he doesn't have a look of disappointment or anything like that, simple… content. "Killing people at will is not the Jedi way… but we must keep the peace whenever we can. And that man seemed bent on breaking what you and the Senator had made with the Talz. I'm sorry you had to do that Mat, its something I was hoping you wouldn't have to do, especially not so soon, but it had to be done. It seems like it was inevitable given his… state of mind on the Talz. If it wasn't now, it was most likely going to be eventually that his actions would lead to his demise."
"…" I sit there quiet for a little bit, thinking on what I did and what my master said to me. Soon, I sigh and nod. "Thank you Master. That… your words… helped."
"I'm happy to help in anyway I can." He rubs my shoulder before standing up. "Should anything happen or you begin to feel distraught in anyway, do not hesitate to come to me for aid. No matter what, as your teacher, I will help however I can." We smile at each other at his words of help, of which I am grateful. "Are you going to be alright?" He asks one last time.
I breathe in through my nose deeply before letting it out through my mouth. "I think I will. Just… need to process everything."
He walks over to the door but just before he goes through it, he places his hand on the side wall and looks back at me. "Taking a life was always a possibility, given how this war is going. I just…" He looks down, a little sad before back up at me. "Like I said, I was hoping it wouldn't be so soon for you to be forced to do it, and not so young."
Despite his sad nature right now, and my feelings on it all, I manage a small smile to him. "Thank you Master. I appreciate what you said. Despite what I did, I am glad we were able to establish the peace. I won't dwell only on what happened with the Chairman."
He nods. "Very well. Get some rest. You deserve it after everything."
"Later Master." I give him a small wave as I continue to stare back up at the ceiling. I hear the sound of him leaving and the door closing, leaving me alone in silence, and eventually to my own thoughts. 'I killed someone. It was one thing with destroying droids left and right but to kill another living being… So much needless death happened because of him. He didn't need to die… but he forced it. If I hadn't and he went home, I feel like he would cause no end of problems and frustrations with the Talz. If I hadn't, more would have died, including…'
*Knock*Knock*
'More?' My master left a few minutes ago. Wonder who's there now. "Come in." I allow the person entry. To my surprise, Senator Chuchi is my visitor this time. "Senator Chuchi." I quickly sit up when she enters.
"Please! Don't stress yourself for me. This isn't a business visit." She quickly tells me, stopping me from standing up.
"Oh, okay then." I relax a bit at her slightly shy nature now. "So, what did you need then?" I ask calmly. While I was pretty shook up at the end about what happened, I almost completely forgot that the senator also must have been shook up by it as well, considering both her and Thi-sen saved my life. "Is everything alright?" I add.
She doesn't look at me directly, focusing more on the ground and being just a little shy. "To be honest, I'd be lying if I said I was alright."
"Hm hm hm." I lightly chuckle at her answer, considering it's the same feeling I have. I scoot over on my bed towards my pillow, offering a spot for her to sit. "Join the club." She's just a little surprised at my answer but smiles and takes a seat next to me nonetheless.
For a bit, we simply just sit here in silence without talking to each other until I decide to break the ice. "You know, I guess I should probably thank you, for saving me and all when… you know." I trail off a little.
Out of the corner of my eye I see just the smallest hint of a smirk on her lips. "It's me who should be thanking you. If you hadn't stepped in then…" Her mood immediately turns dour at the memory of what happened.
"Yeah…" Again, we delve back into silence again with each other. "I'm sorry for what I did. If their was another way I would have done it but… he was just so… angry." I let my body sulk a little at my outcome. "Being a Jedi, you kind of have a better idea of how people feel in that regard." I continue to sulk as I say. Even though I'm still new and don't have as much experience in the force as my master and the others have, just the amount that was radiating off the man was so… obvious. It was bad… really bad about it all.
"How is it?"
"… I'm sorry?" For a moment I'm confused as to her question.
"A jedi, is what I mean. I've mostly only heard of what Jedi are capable of and seeing one in action is something I'm not really accustomed to. Is it… okay for you to talk about it?"
"We don't actively go out of our way to show everyone how things go when it comes to training as a Jedi, but I see no harm in answering your questions senator." I tell her with a smile. I think I can get behind answering some questions for her, especially if it means getting our minds off other things.
"Then please, how is it Master Jedi?"
"Whoa whoa whoa." I lightly and jokingly ease my hands down at the high ranks she pretty much placed on me with a smile. "Master Jedi is way above my position. I'm just a Padawan, which is a pretty low rank all things considered. In fact," I get up off my bed and step forward before turning to her. "Padawan learner Matthew Morrow at your service ma'am." I formerly introduce myself with a bow to her. "Mat for short."
She smiles sincerely at the display and gets up to before returning the gesture. "Senator Riyo Chuchi. Pleased to make your acquaintance." We finish greeting each other before letting out small chuckles at each other and sitting back down.
She asks her questions, and I do what I can to answer. Simple as that.
Happy New Years everyone! Hope things have gone well for you all and I hope you like this chapter as well. Originally, things weren't going to dive off course as they did at the end there… but then after much thought and thinking as to how to progress my story and Mat's character development I found this to be a nice opportunity along with just a little bit of change to the original plot.
Hope you all liked it. To be honest, with how arrogant and angry the Chairman was, felt kind of nice writing this. Yes yes some may argue that he was loyal and wanted what's best for Pantora, but in all honesty he took it way too far with the fighting and all the lives that were lost.
Grimlock987: It's a whole mess of things if I'm being honest. After the Arc troopers episode, I've decided to from now on to focus and follow a chronological list of episodes that's been made such as on Wikipedia, wookieepedia, and . Less of a headache to be honest. Not to mention the different episodes that are supposed to happen later or earlier and all that, for example the Holocron hesit by Cad Bane is supposed to be the first time the Jedi meet him, rather than Hostage Crisis where they got Ziro released. A simple search on a search engine is all you'd need in order to find a listing that I'll follow from here on out.
Ironknight3307: Yes, I've seen the trailer. Was so happy when I saw it and very excited to see how things are going to go. It'll definitely help when I eventually get to that part of the story but man is it going to be good.
When it comes to Death Watch, the Duchess and Mandalore, oh yeah, Mat is going to have his moments and own inputs when it comes to those locations and people, especially with his Master.
Don't worry, he knows about the different lightsaber fighting styles and whatnot, just haven't really made them prevalent, sorry. Rest assured, he'll add more lightsaber forms, styles, armors, and equipment to his repertoire as time progresses, some that even have been forgotten.
Cf96: Thanks. Appreciate the words.
This chapter was supposed to come out earlier like around Christmas time but I got sick a few days before Christmas and since then I have just been off and on with sickness every few days, so my writing ability was delayed by some. Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better now so things can pick up soon.
Thank you all for your patience. Let's all hope this new year will be a heck of a lot better than the previous year that's for sure. Go ahead and fave, follow, review, whatever you want, but most of all everyone, have fun reading, have a great day and have a Happy New Year to all of you.
P.S. I hope we get a air date soon on Season 7.