Post by Awec on May 10, 2008 2:58:35 GMT -8
STAR WARS
Episode VII Dark Shroud Rising
Fear envelopes the Galaxy as the Jedi, rulers of the Republic, and the Sith Empire that strives for freedom, continue their everlasting battle. Many systems in the Galaxy have allied to the Sith, and the balance in the force is wavering. The outnumbered Jedi desperately seeks help.
In a series of odd events, the Supreme Chancellor was given a vote of no confidence, and replaced by Tyran Xiou. This is a surprising move, as the new Chancellor had only recently joined the Senate, and many eyes are waiting for him to make a crucial mistake.
However, the Jedi have been finding many Force Sensitives everywhere. Deep in the forests of Yavin IV, two new Jedi Padawans train, with midi-chlorian counts of more than ever found before. But the Sith are aware of these powerful Force Sensitives, and move into attack the small moon...
PROLOGUE
The small moon of Yavin IV was a pure green ball, shadowed by the deep Orange gas giant of Yavin. Surrounding the small moon was a fleet, manned by many strong Jedi. Inside the capital ship, the Star Destroyer Skywalker, named after the famous Jedi family, the Admiral receives a transmission from one of the captains.
"What is it, Captain?" the Admiral quickly asked, dispensing of any pleasantries.
"Sir, surely the Sith would have attacked by now? I think this is just a distraction, to stop us guarding a more important planet. I mean, why Yavin?
"Because of the Force Sensitives that haven't been trained yet," the Admiral replied in the voice he always used when he knew he was correct. "And something else..."
Suddenly, ships appeared. Lasers blasted and missiles were fired.
"We're hit! We've lost all deflector shields!"
"Agh, our turbolaser batteries have been destroyed!"
"The hangar is destroyed!"
The channel was filled with sounds of distress and shock. There was a huge explosion that knocked the Admiral off his feet, and the commlink started to buzz.
"Sir, we've lost our transmissions aerial!"
Cursing, the Admiral ordered return fire, but this was replied with a statement that made his blood run cold.
"We've lost all power sir!"
The Admiral turned, just in time to see a sonic bomb breaking through the glass that had already been weakened by a laser burst. The Admiral ended his life without so much an intake of breath as the bomb exploded, sending chunks of the command bridge of Skywalker flying. Through this shrapnel flew a lone landing transport. A Jedi Starfighter tracked it, until the smoke from the recent explosion cleared, and revealed were thousands of these transports. Retreats were called, and the Captain who had been second-in-command sent a submission message to the capital ship of the Sith fleet. Surprisingly, the barrage of lasers ended, revealing the few battered ships that had survived. The fleet of landing transports flew into the atmosphere.
*******
Jubter knew something was wrong. He had been able to identify lasers, even at this distance, flying up in the planet's orbit. He called out again. "Tyler!" But his friend was nowhere to be found. He used the force to sense anything around him. He sensed many of the creatures of Yavin, and something... armored. He spun round, flashing out his Lightsaber, deflecting the lasers that had flown towards him. He heard cries from the nearby Massassi Temple. He ran towards it, aided by the force, deflecting any lasers that came near him. He was confronted by a squad of Sith Troopers, in their Golden Armor, the same intimidating design used by the Sith of old in the Old Republic era. He cut them down with ease, sending back a pulse missile fired by a blue armored Sith. A red armored Troop Leader fired streams of elongated lasers, but he leaped out of the way and the exploded in multicolored sparks on the stone. The Sith swiveled, with Jubter's movements, but he couldn't hit the Padawan due to the slowness of his weapon's lasers. Jubter attempting deflecting some of the lasers back at the leader, but his Lightsaber fizzled out as he realized that they were electromagnetically charged, specially designed to take down Lightsaber users. Jubter shook his head. How ironic it was that they would strip him of his weapon, but prevent the user from actually scoring any hits, and any that did actually hit would do little to no damage. He caught his foot on a branch, too wound up in his own thoughts. A laser hit his hand and he rolled out of the way into the undergrowth. His hand was badly burnt. Scratch that last, someone had actually made them to damage to living material. Jubter chose instead to jump through one of the gaps in the stonework that was the Massassi's way of making windows. Inside, he crept along until he was at the top of some stone steps. At the bottom, was his Master with several other Jedi, facing 7 Sith, all of whom were armed with Lightsabers. Blue and Green met Red. Yellows and Purples were created as the Jedi span and ducked under the ferocious blows of their attackers. 2 Sith fell, and it looked for a moment as if the Jedi might stand a chance. Then, the lead Sith, expertly deflecting two attacks from the Jedi at once, stabbed back into another Jedi. Another Sith took one of the Jedi down with him, having been stabbed just as he disarmed his opponent and slashing him in half. The final Jedi was caught off-balanced as he made a wild swing, catching Jubter's master's Lightsaber, and leaving himself open to the blades of the Sith. The Green blade now faced 4 red. Amazingly, Jubter's master cut down 2 of the Sith quickly, then blocked and weaved until he managed to slay the third. It was now him versus the leader, and they fought ferociously until the Sith lashed out with his foot, causing the Lightsaber to fly out of Jubter's master's hand, and clatter against the wall. Jubter flew from the top of the steps with a cry of rage as his Master, the closest thing he had to a father, was brutally stabbed. It was over quickly, as the Sith was surprised and could barely block the furious attacks. Jubter sank to his knees beside his fallen enemy, gazing at the face of his Master. He got up, retrieved the Lightsaber, and walked out.
Sith Troopers filled the area surrounding the Massassi Temple. Jubter force jumped to the thick canopy above, running on top of the leaves as though they were firm ground. He jumped down, dispatched the much smaller group of Troopers that were in the area he had dropped to, and stealthily crept to some bushes, where he brushed some of the leaves aside, gazing at the large black stealth transport that had been hidden there in case the eventually came that the Jedi would need it. Jubter climbed aboard, and activated the homing beacon. Several seconds later, a head popped up from the ramp. "Tyler! I was beginning to worry," cheered Jubter, grinning. Tyler smirked, and energetically jumped up the ramp whilst saying "Worry for me? My god Jubter, you really are going soft." Several seconds later, they both heard footsteps on the ramp, and they turned simultaneously to see a Jedi Master in robes still burning climbing aboard. He turned off his green Lightsaber and sank into a chair. "I haven't seen you before... Who are you?" asked Tyler. In response the Jedi just sank lower in his chair. Jubter saw a blaster wound in his left arm, and quickly went to retrieve a medikit, applying it to the wound. "Thanks..." groaned the Jedi Master, who then hesitated, before adding "My name is Tyor. Tyor Dir. You are Jubter Cole and Tyler Sutherland, are you not?" They confirmed it with over-energetic nods. The Jedi Master then rose slightly unsteadily, and barked an order in a manner contrary to his appearance. "Take off! There's no one else." Tyler had rushed to complete these order, and had just reached forward to press the button to close the ramp when another Jedi Padawan stumbled up it. "Zane!" the old Jedi Master exclaimed, his appearance suddenly looking much more relaxed, and he was even smiling. The Padawan, Zane smiled to and ran over to his Master. Tyler unfroze, pressed the button, and the ramp closed while they both ran over to the thingypit. "You think you can fly this thing?" Tyor had entered behind them. "Sure," replied Tyler optimistically, "I can fly any piece of junk that can be flown!" He then proceeded to press buttons and pull levers that made Jubter's eyes widen in disbelief that anyone could move so fast, and made Tyor's eyebrows raise. Tyler then hit the ignition and heaved a joystick backwards. "See? Nothing to it really." "Is that why we're zooming away from that rock there?" Tyler turned in the direction Tyor was pointing, and then both he and Jubter realized something. They both yelled and shoved all the levers they could find forwards, while the Jedi Master chuckled. The craft proceeded to zoom upwards for a second, then plow into the dirt. By this time, the Sith Troopers nearby had noticed it, and fired, one calling for reinforcements. Tyor rolled his eyes as a hologram of the ship popped up, showing the direction they were taking hits from, took over the controls and skillfully pulled the ship up and away from the dirt, the rocks, the trees, the lakes, the Massassi Temple, and the carnage that the Sith had caused. Tyor then went back to the passenger compartment, leave Tyler and Jubter feeling very foolish. "At least I know how to do this." Tyler keyed in the coordinates, and warped into hyperspace.
*********
Back on the forest moon, one of the Jedi Knights who had fallen got up, having faked the injury. He pressed a hidden button and slowly descended into the hidden hangar bay, taking out a communication link. He has to inform the Jedi Council of the boy who had taken down an extremely skilled Sith Knight. Seconds later, Sith Troopers came into the area to meet with the Sith Lord. The second he stepped into the chamber, it filled with a flash of white light as a boom of thundered echoed around and the roar of heavy rain filled the air. He bowed his head, but still seemed to hold importance in his posture. He moved slowly, his long robes hiding his legs making it seem almost as if he was floating. He had his hood low, but not because it would conceal his face - he had a mask to hide that. It was like no other mask made however - it was completely black, with no trace of human features. Some Sith had theorized that he had no face, and was in fact some sort of force ghost. Well, thought Darth Plagueis they got something right, in a fashion. The Sith Troopers pushed a boy to the ground. "We found him hiding in one of the old alcoves," hissed the voice calibrator that made all Sith Trooper voices identical which despite the fact that it was mechanical and had no physical brain, still held a trace of smugness. "Good... good... He is young... untainted by the Jedi... He could be a powerful Sith... the Force is strong with him..." cackled Plagueis in his low, old, crackly voice. The boy looked up into the hood, fear in his eyes. "Perhaps it would be better if I trained him, Lord Plagueis. I do not think it is the time to reveal your true identity, and it would do no good to the boy's confidence if he has a master with... no face..." boomed a deep voice. Another Sith Lord, less powerful but nonetheless strong in the dark side, had appeared. "You are quite right... of course... you can train him... Lord Ocisor..." croaked Plagueis. The boy gazed at Ocisor's face. It was old, with brown hair but a few strands of gray and white. He was draped in a luxurious cloak, and wore extravagant robes that sparkled beneath a gold-trimmed waistcoat. The boy took to him at once. "I believe you will learn much from me, young one... from now on, your name is Darth Khour..."
CHAPTER ONE: NEW BEGINNINGS
Once again, Jubter had thought back to the events of three years previously. He smiled when he thought of how the council had heard of his spectacular victory against the Sith Knight. He had noticed the Jedi who had faked death at the new academy already, but they hadn't yet spoken. Jubter was now a Jedi Knight. "Watch it!" the loud voice of Zane came from in front of him. Startled, Jubter shook his head to clear his mind, and realized he had walked straight into the younger Jedi. "Sorry," he muttered, but he was interrupted by Zane. "Oh Jubter, I might need you later. You have a pass for the Jedi Master rooms right?" Surprised by this, Jubter replied truthfully "No... but I have been shown the skill to crack the control panel." Smiling devilishly, Zane queried "How did you come by that information?" Knowingly, Jubter tapped his head, but jerked his hand in the direction of Tyor, who had at this time become aware of their conversation. "Did I hear you two are going to break into a Jedi Master's room?" Zane tapped his head, much like Jubter, and Tyor chuckled. "Probably just some childish prank. Sometimes I wish I was your age so that I could join in too. Although..." he turned to Jubter. "You should know better." He put heavy emphasis on 'you'. Jubter smiled, but replied "I haven't even agreed to anything." Zane looked disappointed until Tyor walked away smiling, but shaking his head, and Jubter gave him a wink. "I guess you're in then?" Tyler had appeared. "Come on, we don't have all day. Just sign here... come on!" Jubter laughed at Tyler's insistence and signed his name. Zane led them to a corridor. He pointed at a door. "That's the room we're gonna break into." Jubter raised a question "Why do we need three people?" but Tyler, ever ready for these unexpected queries replied instantly "Cameras." Sure enough, there were around 5 cameras situated around the door and corridor, cleverly concealed. "Most people can only see 2, but there actually about 11, and I know the location of them all." Tyler set off to work, using a clever device that looped previously recorded logs on the camera, showing no one in the corridor. Jubter then easily cracked the door. They looked at each other. "All too easily," they celebrated simultaneously but Zane darted through the opening door. "Hey wait! What's the hurry?" Zane came out quickly, winked at them, and ran off. Suddenly a Jedi Knight thudded into Jubter. "What do you think you're doing? This room isn't for Knights or Padawans- hey! Wait!" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and went off to pursue Zane. What happened then, neither of them knew. They got as far as seeing Zane and the Knight leap into speeders, but they decided not to give chase any longer. One hour later, they were brought to the council, reprimanded and assigned to sorting through the droid parts in the tech office for a week. Zane however, was exiled for unknown reasons, and they never saw him at the temple again. The word was that he had killed a Jedi, but neither of them believed it, despite this eventuality fitted.
Jubter found out afterwards that had in fact been Tyor's room that they had broken into. He had apologized of course, but Tyor had laughed and said he would have still done it if he was their age. However, Jubter and Tyler were still stuck with sorting through the droid parts. Junk. Piled up to the ceiling. Tyler was muttering all the way through, and mainly due to this Jubter was highly stressed and on edge after the first day. Tyler had received some effect too - he had even stopped being so hyperactive. However on the second day, they found some objects which were of interest... "Goodness gracious me!" Tyler jumped, and head butted the ceiling. A golden head popped up from Tyler's pile of droid parts. It was closely followed by a golden torso, and then a tidal wave of droid parts as Tyler's pile fell on top of him. An arm emerged from the pile, and would have begun to throttle the golden droid, had it not been made of metal. Undeterred, the arm began to pound upon the droid's torso, until with a cry of "Ouch!" Tyler managed to miss the Golden droid, and punched the wall instead. Clearing the junk away, he sat up, massaging his bruised hand. "How rude," huffed the droid shortly, and deactivated itself. Tyler hauled it out of the pile, gathered up all the junk, and was just about to continue sorting through it, when a loud beeping noise came from Jubter's pile, and Tyler slipped backwards, sticking his legs out so that once again, the pile toppled on top of him. Jubter lifted up a heavy round droid, with blue markings on a once shiny metal head, but was now scratched and dusty. The droid had two large legs on either side, and a smaller leg jutting out of it's back, making it lean back. "An astromech droid! Wow, I've always wanted one of these!" exclaimed Jubter. Having just freed himself from the mess once again, Tyler groaned "So have I. Notice how you always get the good things. You don't see me being a Jedi Knight, but all I did was take a wrong turn and manage to wind up at the edge of a cliff." Jubter smiled, and laughed when Tyler added "Didn't help that the Sith managed to break off the bit of cliff I was standing on. Took me ages to get back." By this time the golden Droid had reactivated itself. "I am C3PO, human cyborg relations-" but Tyler rolled his eyes and interrupted, saying "I definitely preferred you when you were deactivated." Undeterred, C3PO asked their names until Jubter turned round, giving it a full view of the Astromech droid. "R2-D2!" whooped the Protocol droid in surprising amounts of joy. Jubter checked it's ID, and confirmed this. At this point, Tyor chose to walk in. "Please, take goldenrod here off my hands," pleaded Tyler, adding "You can have this Astromech too!" However Jubter objected to this by shouting "Hey!" and chucking a small metal object that missed. "Your droid may not be good, but I'm not giving mine up!" To this Tyor quickly intercepted to avoid any fights, "I'm sorry, but you found the droids. They're yours." Jubter cheered, but Tyler looked glum. "Oh..." sighed C3PO. "I guess I'm not wanted." Jubter chuckled, and replied "I'm sure Tyler will warm to you," to which Tyler added under his breath "It'll be him who's warm... more than warm, sitting in the incinerator." Jubter chuckled but Tyor said "Honestly... Protocol droids can be quite useful you know." At which point C3PO stood up and cried "At last, someone who appreciates me! Take me away!" Tyor laughed, but said "Sorry, this kid is your master." Jubter could swear that the Droid had a glum look on it's face, although it was rather hard to tell who was more miserable - Tyler, or C3PO.
Four more days had passed, meaning Jubter and Tyler had nearly finished their punishment. However, on the last day, things went drastically wrong. Jubter had been working through his stack, his hand covered with a glove due to the fact that he had already got a great number of cuts from the sharp metal pieces. His droid, R2D2, helped him. Tyler had finished his pile the other day, and was looking for pieces he could scavenge. Jubter was rummaging around when his hand came upon a round object. Grabbing it, he brought his hand out - to the sound of an activated thermal detonator. Tyler froze. "Don't move your hand..." he said, slowly and clearly. "Just lower your arm, and whatever you do, keep your thumb pressed down on that button. Jubter's hand was getting sweaty. Tyler moved across to him and examined the weapon. "Now if I just press-" C3PO interrupted him by tripping on a discarded piece of metal, and knocking the detonator out of Jubter's hand. It flew until it smashed through a window, and detonated incredibly close to the building, making the room shake. Jubter dashed to the broken window, while Tyler, breaking into his old habit despite C3PO's body, dashed to C3PO to strangle it. Jubter saw no damage caused, but he also knew that a small enough craft could have been entirely obliterated. Feeling sick, he turned round just in time to see several Jedi Masters run into the room, Lightsabers on. "You see!" one of them cried. "I told you they were dangerous, like that maniac Zane!" However Tyor, having just entered the room behind them, replied "Improbable. If they really were dangerous, they would surely have thrown that explosive, whatever it was, at a Jedi?" But the Jedi Master who had first spoken, and seemed to be the leader of their little group, argued "Well, I hardly think throwing it out of the window makes them harmless! That could of killed-" but Tyler, as always, interrupted him rudely. "Jubter didn't throw it! This idiotic droid of mine fell over and knocked it out of his hand!" The Jedi Master opened his mouth to retort, when an explosion shook the room. "What the-?" cried the Jedi Master, cutting his cry of surprise short. Screams had filled the air, and they rushed outside. A huge fleet of Sith ships had assembled. Without order or direction, Tyler and Jubter turned, and dashed for the hangar. "Wait you two!" cried one of the Jedi, but they took no notice. Hopping in Starfighters, they took off, blasting into the battle.
**************
In an office, Darth Plagueis smirked. Once again, the Jedi had fallen for his trap. And this time, there would be no mistakes - Jubter Cole and Tyler Sutherland would die - or a particular Sith Lord controlling the Sith Empire, would take their place... "It is time." The voice, less croaky and hesitant than 3 years ago, came from the mask that hid his face. Darth Khour, no longer a fearful, wiry boy, stood a teenager, his body stance showing confidence, his face, annoyance. Darth Ocisor's voice came from the shadows by the door. "I agree. The boy has learned much, and I severely doubt he will be allowed to train as a Jedi if we wait any longer." Darth Khour rolled his eyes. "I know already. My name is Khour Undersea, Force sensitive and wanting to be enrolled as a Jedi. My job is to infiltrate the Jedi, and give information back to Darth Plagueis here through my handy commlink. Anything I missed?" The two Sith Lords looked at each other. "I'll take that as no."
CHAPTER TWO: SHOW OF SKILL
Explosions had replaced the spaces where the thousands of transports that came to and left Coruscant daily had disappeared. Combat ships of all types and sizes rose from the planet, but it was a feeble resistance. Two lone Jedi Starfighters flew through the atmosphere towards the battle. Heavy turbolasers blasted at them, but one flipped round and fired a stream of heavy laserfire at a weak point, and a huge section of the cruiser that had been firing at them broke away. The other starfighter had flown directly into a cluster of Sith fighters, leaving a small metallic object behind which Tyler - in the fighter that had fired at the cruiser - only just realized in time was a sonic bomb. The fighters apparently had had no such realizations, and disappeared in a ball of cyan plasma. Jubter heard a whoop of joy over the built-in communications system, and grinned as he heard Tyler's congratulations. Then however, Jubter's ship jerked. He looked out of the transparisteel that made up his thingypit's windows, but he saw nothing. Then his ship moved slowly towards a huge capital cruiser and he realized he had been caught in a tractor beam. He glanced back and saw Tyler had been caught too. He wondered what would happen to them as they were dragged into the main hangar bay of the leading ship of the Sith fleet, Marauder.
Episode VII Dark Shroud Rising
Fear envelopes the Galaxy as the Jedi, rulers of the Republic, and the Sith Empire that strives for freedom, continue their everlasting battle. Many systems in the Galaxy have allied to the Sith, and the balance in the force is wavering. The outnumbered Jedi desperately seeks help.
In a series of odd events, the Supreme Chancellor was given a vote of no confidence, and replaced by Tyran Xiou. This is a surprising move, as the new Chancellor had only recently joined the Senate, and many eyes are waiting for him to make a crucial mistake.
However, the Jedi have been finding many Force Sensitives everywhere. Deep in the forests of Yavin IV, two new Jedi Padawans train, with midi-chlorian counts of more than ever found before. But the Sith are aware of these powerful Force Sensitives, and move into attack the small moon...
PROLOGUE
The small moon of Yavin IV was a pure green ball, shadowed by the deep Orange gas giant of Yavin. Surrounding the small moon was a fleet, manned by many strong Jedi. Inside the capital ship, the Star Destroyer Skywalker, named after the famous Jedi family, the Admiral receives a transmission from one of the captains.
"What is it, Captain?" the Admiral quickly asked, dispensing of any pleasantries.
"Sir, surely the Sith would have attacked by now? I think this is just a distraction, to stop us guarding a more important planet. I mean, why Yavin?
"Because of the Force Sensitives that haven't been trained yet," the Admiral replied in the voice he always used when he knew he was correct. "And something else..."
Suddenly, ships appeared. Lasers blasted and missiles were fired.
"We're hit! We've lost all deflector shields!"
"Agh, our turbolaser batteries have been destroyed!"
"The hangar is destroyed!"
The channel was filled with sounds of distress and shock. There was a huge explosion that knocked the Admiral off his feet, and the commlink started to buzz.
"Sir, we've lost our transmissions aerial!"
Cursing, the Admiral ordered return fire, but this was replied with a statement that made his blood run cold.
"We've lost all power sir!"
The Admiral turned, just in time to see a sonic bomb breaking through the glass that had already been weakened by a laser burst. The Admiral ended his life without so much an intake of breath as the bomb exploded, sending chunks of the command bridge of Skywalker flying. Through this shrapnel flew a lone landing transport. A Jedi Starfighter tracked it, until the smoke from the recent explosion cleared, and revealed were thousands of these transports. Retreats were called, and the Captain who had been second-in-command sent a submission message to the capital ship of the Sith fleet. Surprisingly, the barrage of lasers ended, revealing the few battered ships that had survived. The fleet of landing transports flew into the atmosphere.
*******
Jubter knew something was wrong. He had been able to identify lasers, even at this distance, flying up in the planet's orbit. He called out again. "Tyler!" But his friend was nowhere to be found. He used the force to sense anything around him. He sensed many of the creatures of Yavin, and something... armored. He spun round, flashing out his Lightsaber, deflecting the lasers that had flown towards him. He heard cries from the nearby Massassi Temple. He ran towards it, aided by the force, deflecting any lasers that came near him. He was confronted by a squad of Sith Troopers, in their Golden Armor, the same intimidating design used by the Sith of old in the Old Republic era. He cut them down with ease, sending back a pulse missile fired by a blue armored Sith. A red armored Troop Leader fired streams of elongated lasers, but he leaped out of the way and the exploded in multicolored sparks on the stone. The Sith swiveled, with Jubter's movements, but he couldn't hit the Padawan due to the slowness of his weapon's lasers. Jubter attempting deflecting some of the lasers back at the leader, but his Lightsaber fizzled out as he realized that they were electromagnetically charged, specially designed to take down Lightsaber users. Jubter shook his head. How ironic it was that they would strip him of his weapon, but prevent the user from actually scoring any hits, and any that did actually hit would do little to no damage. He caught his foot on a branch, too wound up in his own thoughts. A laser hit his hand and he rolled out of the way into the undergrowth. His hand was badly burnt. Scratch that last, someone had actually made them to damage to living material. Jubter chose instead to jump through one of the gaps in the stonework that was the Massassi's way of making windows. Inside, he crept along until he was at the top of some stone steps. At the bottom, was his Master with several other Jedi, facing 7 Sith, all of whom were armed with Lightsabers. Blue and Green met Red. Yellows and Purples were created as the Jedi span and ducked under the ferocious blows of their attackers. 2 Sith fell, and it looked for a moment as if the Jedi might stand a chance. Then, the lead Sith, expertly deflecting two attacks from the Jedi at once, stabbed back into another Jedi. Another Sith took one of the Jedi down with him, having been stabbed just as he disarmed his opponent and slashing him in half. The final Jedi was caught off-balanced as he made a wild swing, catching Jubter's master's Lightsaber, and leaving himself open to the blades of the Sith. The Green blade now faced 4 red. Amazingly, Jubter's master cut down 2 of the Sith quickly, then blocked and weaved until he managed to slay the third. It was now him versus the leader, and they fought ferociously until the Sith lashed out with his foot, causing the Lightsaber to fly out of Jubter's master's hand, and clatter against the wall. Jubter flew from the top of the steps with a cry of rage as his Master, the closest thing he had to a father, was brutally stabbed. It was over quickly, as the Sith was surprised and could barely block the furious attacks. Jubter sank to his knees beside his fallen enemy, gazing at the face of his Master. He got up, retrieved the Lightsaber, and walked out.
Sith Troopers filled the area surrounding the Massassi Temple. Jubter force jumped to the thick canopy above, running on top of the leaves as though they were firm ground. He jumped down, dispatched the much smaller group of Troopers that were in the area he had dropped to, and stealthily crept to some bushes, where he brushed some of the leaves aside, gazing at the large black stealth transport that had been hidden there in case the eventually came that the Jedi would need it. Jubter climbed aboard, and activated the homing beacon. Several seconds later, a head popped up from the ramp. "Tyler! I was beginning to worry," cheered Jubter, grinning. Tyler smirked, and energetically jumped up the ramp whilst saying "Worry for me? My god Jubter, you really are going soft." Several seconds later, they both heard footsteps on the ramp, and they turned simultaneously to see a Jedi Master in robes still burning climbing aboard. He turned off his green Lightsaber and sank into a chair. "I haven't seen you before... Who are you?" asked Tyler. In response the Jedi just sank lower in his chair. Jubter saw a blaster wound in his left arm, and quickly went to retrieve a medikit, applying it to the wound. "Thanks..." groaned the Jedi Master, who then hesitated, before adding "My name is Tyor. Tyor Dir. You are Jubter Cole and Tyler Sutherland, are you not?" They confirmed it with over-energetic nods. The Jedi Master then rose slightly unsteadily, and barked an order in a manner contrary to his appearance. "Take off! There's no one else." Tyler had rushed to complete these order, and had just reached forward to press the button to close the ramp when another Jedi Padawan stumbled up it. "Zane!" the old Jedi Master exclaimed, his appearance suddenly looking much more relaxed, and he was even smiling. The Padawan, Zane smiled to and ran over to his Master. Tyler unfroze, pressed the button, and the ramp closed while they both ran over to the thingypit. "You think you can fly this thing?" Tyor had entered behind them. "Sure," replied Tyler optimistically, "I can fly any piece of junk that can be flown!" He then proceeded to press buttons and pull levers that made Jubter's eyes widen in disbelief that anyone could move so fast, and made Tyor's eyebrows raise. Tyler then hit the ignition and heaved a joystick backwards. "See? Nothing to it really." "Is that why we're zooming away from that rock there?" Tyler turned in the direction Tyor was pointing, and then both he and Jubter realized something. They both yelled and shoved all the levers they could find forwards, while the Jedi Master chuckled. The craft proceeded to zoom upwards for a second, then plow into the dirt. By this time, the Sith Troopers nearby had noticed it, and fired, one calling for reinforcements. Tyor rolled his eyes as a hologram of the ship popped up, showing the direction they were taking hits from, took over the controls and skillfully pulled the ship up and away from the dirt, the rocks, the trees, the lakes, the Massassi Temple, and the carnage that the Sith had caused. Tyor then went back to the passenger compartment, leave Tyler and Jubter feeling very foolish. "At least I know how to do this." Tyler keyed in the coordinates, and warped into hyperspace.
*********
Back on the forest moon, one of the Jedi Knights who had fallen got up, having faked the injury. He pressed a hidden button and slowly descended into the hidden hangar bay, taking out a communication link. He has to inform the Jedi Council of the boy who had taken down an extremely skilled Sith Knight. Seconds later, Sith Troopers came into the area to meet with the Sith Lord. The second he stepped into the chamber, it filled with a flash of white light as a boom of thundered echoed around and the roar of heavy rain filled the air. He bowed his head, but still seemed to hold importance in his posture. He moved slowly, his long robes hiding his legs making it seem almost as if he was floating. He had his hood low, but not because it would conceal his face - he had a mask to hide that. It was like no other mask made however - it was completely black, with no trace of human features. Some Sith had theorized that he had no face, and was in fact some sort of force ghost. Well, thought Darth Plagueis they got something right, in a fashion. The Sith Troopers pushed a boy to the ground. "We found him hiding in one of the old alcoves," hissed the voice calibrator that made all Sith Trooper voices identical which despite the fact that it was mechanical and had no physical brain, still held a trace of smugness. "Good... good... He is young... untainted by the Jedi... He could be a powerful Sith... the Force is strong with him..." cackled Plagueis in his low, old, crackly voice. The boy looked up into the hood, fear in his eyes. "Perhaps it would be better if I trained him, Lord Plagueis. I do not think it is the time to reveal your true identity, and it would do no good to the boy's confidence if he has a master with... no face..." boomed a deep voice. Another Sith Lord, less powerful but nonetheless strong in the dark side, had appeared. "You are quite right... of course... you can train him... Lord Ocisor..." croaked Plagueis. The boy gazed at Ocisor's face. It was old, with brown hair but a few strands of gray and white. He was draped in a luxurious cloak, and wore extravagant robes that sparkled beneath a gold-trimmed waistcoat. The boy took to him at once. "I believe you will learn much from me, young one... from now on, your name is Darth Khour..."
CHAPTER ONE: NEW BEGINNINGS
Once again, Jubter had thought back to the events of three years previously. He smiled when he thought of how the council had heard of his spectacular victory against the Sith Knight. He had noticed the Jedi who had faked death at the new academy already, but they hadn't yet spoken. Jubter was now a Jedi Knight. "Watch it!" the loud voice of Zane came from in front of him. Startled, Jubter shook his head to clear his mind, and realized he had walked straight into the younger Jedi. "Sorry," he muttered, but he was interrupted by Zane. "Oh Jubter, I might need you later. You have a pass for the Jedi Master rooms right?" Surprised by this, Jubter replied truthfully "No... but I have been shown the skill to crack the control panel." Smiling devilishly, Zane queried "How did you come by that information?" Knowingly, Jubter tapped his head, but jerked his hand in the direction of Tyor, who had at this time become aware of their conversation. "Did I hear you two are going to break into a Jedi Master's room?" Zane tapped his head, much like Jubter, and Tyor chuckled. "Probably just some childish prank. Sometimes I wish I was your age so that I could join in too. Although..." he turned to Jubter. "You should know better." He put heavy emphasis on 'you'. Jubter smiled, but replied "I haven't even agreed to anything." Zane looked disappointed until Tyor walked away smiling, but shaking his head, and Jubter gave him a wink. "I guess you're in then?" Tyler had appeared. "Come on, we don't have all day. Just sign here... come on!" Jubter laughed at Tyler's insistence and signed his name. Zane led them to a corridor. He pointed at a door. "That's the room we're gonna break into." Jubter raised a question "Why do we need three people?" but Tyler, ever ready for these unexpected queries replied instantly "Cameras." Sure enough, there were around 5 cameras situated around the door and corridor, cleverly concealed. "Most people can only see 2, but there actually about 11, and I know the location of them all." Tyler set off to work, using a clever device that looped previously recorded logs on the camera, showing no one in the corridor. Jubter then easily cracked the door. They looked at each other. "All too easily," they celebrated simultaneously but Zane darted through the opening door. "Hey wait! What's the hurry?" Zane came out quickly, winked at them, and ran off. Suddenly a Jedi Knight thudded into Jubter. "What do you think you're doing? This room isn't for Knights or Padawans- hey! Wait!" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and went off to pursue Zane. What happened then, neither of them knew. They got as far as seeing Zane and the Knight leap into speeders, but they decided not to give chase any longer. One hour later, they were brought to the council, reprimanded and assigned to sorting through the droid parts in the tech office for a week. Zane however, was exiled for unknown reasons, and they never saw him at the temple again. The word was that he had killed a Jedi, but neither of them believed it, despite this eventuality fitted.
Jubter found out afterwards that had in fact been Tyor's room that they had broken into. He had apologized of course, but Tyor had laughed and said he would have still done it if he was their age. However, Jubter and Tyler were still stuck with sorting through the droid parts. Junk. Piled up to the ceiling. Tyler was muttering all the way through, and mainly due to this Jubter was highly stressed and on edge after the first day. Tyler had received some effect too - he had even stopped being so hyperactive. However on the second day, they found some objects which were of interest... "Goodness gracious me!" Tyler jumped, and head butted the ceiling. A golden head popped up from Tyler's pile of droid parts. It was closely followed by a golden torso, and then a tidal wave of droid parts as Tyler's pile fell on top of him. An arm emerged from the pile, and would have begun to throttle the golden droid, had it not been made of metal. Undeterred, the arm began to pound upon the droid's torso, until with a cry of "Ouch!" Tyler managed to miss the Golden droid, and punched the wall instead. Clearing the junk away, he sat up, massaging his bruised hand. "How rude," huffed the droid shortly, and deactivated itself. Tyler hauled it out of the pile, gathered up all the junk, and was just about to continue sorting through it, when a loud beeping noise came from Jubter's pile, and Tyler slipped backwards, sticking his legs out so that once again, the pile toppled on top of him. Jubter lifted up a heavy round droid, with blue markings on a once shiny metal head, but was now scratched and dusty. The droid had two large legs on either side, and a smaller leg jutting out of it's back, making it lean back. "An astromech droid! Wow, I've always wanted one of these!" exclaimed Jubter. Having just freed himself from the mess once again, Tyler groaned "So have I. Notice how you always get the good things. You don't see me being a Jedi Knight, but all I did was take a wrong turn and manage to wind up at the edge of a cliff." Jubter smiled, and laughed when Tyler added "Didn't help that the Sith managed to break off the bit of cliff I was standing on. Took me ages to get back." By this time the golden Droid had reactivated itself. "I am C3PO, human cyborg relations-" but Tyler rolled his eyes and interrupted, saying "I definitely preferred you when you were deactivated." Undeterred, C3PO asked their names until Jubter turned round, giving it a full view of the Astromech droid. "R2-D2!" whooped the Protocol droid in surprising amounts of joy. Jubter checked it's ID, and confirmed this. At this point, Tyor chose to walk in. "Please, take goldenrod here off my hands," pleaded Tyler, adding "You can have this Astromech too!" However Jubter objected to this by shouting "Hey!" and chucking a small metal object that missed. "Your droid may not be good, but I'm not giving mine up!" To this Tyor quickly intercepted to avoid any fights, "I'm sorry, but you found the droids. They're yours." Jubter cheered, but Tyler looked glum. "Oh..." sighed C3PO. "I guess I'm not wanted." Jubter chuckled, and replied "I'm sure Tyler will warm to you," to which Tyler added under his breath "It'll be him who's warm... more than warm, sitting in the incinerator." Jubter chuckled but Tyor said "Honestly... Protocol droids can be quite useful you know." At which point C3PO stood up and cried "At last, someone who appreciates me! Take me away!" Tyor laughed, but said "Sorry, this kid is your master." Jubter could swear that the Droid had a glum look on it's face, although it was rather hard to tell who was more miserable - Tyler, or C3PO.
Four more days had passed, meaning Jubter and Tyler had nearly finished their punishment. However, on the last day, things went drastically wrong. Jubter had been working through his stack, his hand covered with a glove due to the fact that he had already got a great number of cuts from the sharp metal pieces. His droid, R2D2, helped him. Tyler had finished his pile the other day, and was looking for pieces he could scavenge. Jubter was rummaging around when his hand came upon a round object. Grabbing it, he brought his hand out - to the sound of an activated thermal detonator. Tyler froze. "Don't move your hand..." he said, slowly and clearly. "Just lower your arm, and whatever you do, keep your thumb pressed down on that button. Jubter's hand was getting sweaty. Tyler moved across to him and examined the weapon. "Now if I just press-" C3PO interrupted him by tripping on a discarded piece of metal, and knocking the detonator out of Jubter's hand. It flew until it smashed through a window, and detonated incredibly close to the building, making the room shake. Jubter dashed to the broken window, while Tyler, breaking into his old habit despite C3PO's body, dashed to C3PO to strangle it. Jubter saw no damage caused, but he also knew that a small enough craft could have been entirely obliterated. Feeling sick, he turned round just in time to see several Jedi Masters run into the room, Lightsabers on. "You see!" one of them cried. "I told you they were dangerous, like that maniac Zane!" However Tyor, having just entered the room behind them, replied "Improbable. If they really were dangerous, they would surely have thrown that explosive, whatever it was, at a Jedi?" But the Jedi Master who had first spoken, and seemed to be the leader of their little group, argued "Well, I hardly think throwing it out of the window makes them harmless! That could of killed-" but Tyler, as always, interrupted him rudely. "Jubter didn't throw it! This idiotic droid of mine fell over and knocked it out of his hand!" The Jedi Master opened his mouth to retort, when an explosion shook the room. "What the-?" cried the Jedi Master, cutting his cry of surprise short. Screams had filled the air, and they rushed outside. A huge fleet of Sith ships had assembled. Without order or direction, Tyler and Jubter turned, and dashed for the hangar. "Wait you two!" cried one of the Jedi, but they took no notice. Hopping in Starfighters, they took off, blasting into the battle.
**************
In an office, Darth Plagueis smirked. Once again, the Jedi had fallen for his trap. And this time, there would be no mistakes - Jubter Cole and Tyler Sutherland would die - or a particular Sith Lord controlling the Sith Empire, would take their place... "It is time." The voice, less croaky and hesitant than 3 years ago, came from the mask that hid his face. Darth Khour, no longer a fearful, wiry boy, stood a teenager, his body stance showing confidence, his face, annoyance. Darth Ocisor's voice came from the shadows by the door. "I agree. The boy has learned much, and I severely doubt he will be allowed to train as a Jedi if we wait any longer." Darth Khour rolled his eyes. "I know already. My name is Khour Undersea, Force sensitive and wanting to be enrolled as a Jedi. My job is to infiltrate the Jedi, and give information back to Darth Plagueis here through my handy commlink. Anything I missed?" The two Sith Lords looked at each other. "I'll take that as no."
CHAPTER TWO: SHOW OF SKILL
Explosions had replaced the spaces where the thousands of transports that came to and left Coruscant daily had disappeared. Combat ships of all types and sizes rose from the planet, but it was a feeble resistance. Two lone Jedi Starfighters flew through the atmosphere towards the battle. Heavy turbolasers blasted at them, but one flipped round and fired a stream of heavy laserfire at a weak point, and a huge section of the cruiser that had been firing at them broke away. The other starfighter had flown directly into a cluster of Sith fighters, leaving a small metallic object behind which Tyler - in the fighter that had fired at the cruiser - only just realized in time was a sonic bomb. The fighters apparently had had no such realizations, and disappeared in a ball of cyan plasma. Jubter heard a whoop of joy over the built-in communications system, and grinned as he heard Tyler's congratulations. Then however, Jubter's ship jerked. He looked out of the transparisteel that made up his thingypit's windows, but he saw nothing. Then his ship moved slowly towards a huge capital cruiser and he realized he had been caught in a tractor beam. He glanced back and saw Tyler had been caught too. He wondered what would happen to them as they were dragged into the main hangar bay of the leading ship of the Sith fleet, Marauder.