Jedi Mission - Righteous Defenders

Tem sat in the ship's hold, eyes closed, deep in meditation. He often meditated to pass the time, especially on trips. It beat sleeping and unlike most other options, it served a purpose and could be done in most vessels. As he sat he extended his senses out, his mind being on the mission he could feel something looming in the future, but what he couldn't tell. He could feel that they had fallen out of hyperspace and from the feeling of the gravity, they had entered Ando's atmosphere. While he couldn't divine what the future held, he was sure it had to do with the mission. -I'll have to be careful on this one- Tem thought, for more reasons then the one. Other then the looming feeling, he had his...Padawan to think about. He thought it was still funny to believe he had a padawan.

Vance was capable, at least enough for Tem to take him on this mission. That much Tem knew, but he was still green in many ways. Tem thought back to his own experiences as a padawan, his first mission, which was also his first major failure as a Jedi. Tem frowned without opening his eyes, that first mission where he almost gave into anger, where he almost killed someone because of it. Tem hoped upon hope that his padawan would exercise more patience then he did when he was young. It was a needless hope however, Tem had faith in his Padawan, if nothing, in his ability to be patient. It seemed to be his padawan's greatest strength, he was a wise boy, beyond his years in fact. Tem knew that he would one day be a great Jedi knight, perhaps even a master one day. That was if Tem could train him correctly.

"Enough of that, my padawan!" Tem could hear his master say, "You will be a fine master one day, just remember, as long as you are willing to learn, you will be able to teach." Tem smiled, the words rang in his ear as if his master was standing before him. He missed Heldo everyday, in both guidance and presence. Tem let the thoughts flow out of his mind, no one should dwell on the past, but instead focus on the moment.

It was sudden, the feeling of danger that he felt though the force. He opened his eyes and stood quickly, hand on his saber. A voice came over the ships speakers. “Jedi, gear up and head for the landing ramp. We’re going in hot.” Tem walked quickly to the ramp, arriving there as the ship landed. As landing ramp came down he felt his padawan and Master Oki moving to the ramp behind him. Tem sprinted down the ramp, knowing the other two would be right on his tail, and headed for the town. The bandits knew about there landing and it seemed they sent a small 'welcoming party' as he saw about ten bandits taking up positions in the street leading into town.

Tem's blade came to life as he swung it around him, knocking away several blaster bolts that were coming at him, he then jumped with the force over the first obstacle, an over turned cart that two of the bandits were using for cover and sprinted toward the bandits in the rear of the formation.

Vance sighed and put down his holopad. He had been sitting in this shuttle for days, and though it was initially a nice change of pace, he was more than ready to stretch his legs on solid ground. He had managed to entertain himself by meditating, and practicing his stances, but these activities eventually became tedious, and though he would never say it aloud, he was bored.

One thing that still had captivated him was learning about the ship. Vance had his love of machinery and technology since he was little, and learning about the ship's hyperdrive had actually helped him in his mediation. Master Rune Oki had actually dug out the ship's operational manual, which Vance scanned with severe intrigue. After all, the idea was outstanding; ionizing gamma radiation and releasing so as to actually rift space-time? Vance could only imagine how people must have reacted to it when it was first conceived.

But as he felt the ever-so-little lurch of the ship's sub-light engines work as they fell out of hyperspace, he couldn't help but think about his master, Tem Farelle, sitting opposite him in deep meditation. His master had offered Vance the opportunity to aid him on Ando with almost a bit of eagerness, it seemed, and the padawan had accepted the idea instantly. He liked Tem. Despite the awkwardness of saying a name other than Shon-tul after "master", Vance could tell that Tem understood him, and only hoped to gain such a likewise understanding of Tem in return.

Suddenly Master Oki rushed out of the cockpit. The ship landed a little rougher than it should have, and the Master Jedi commanded them to open the back hatch. Jumping up and following Tem's lead, Vance thought Well this can't be good. As the giant flap of metal lowered to reveal the planet beyond, the padawan detected blaster-fire, screams, yells, and all the tell-tale sounds of all-out warfare.

Vance ignited the saber at his belt, and sprinted down the ramp to the nearest combatant he could find. The man immediately turned to him and let fly several bolts from his rifle. Deflecting each one, the padawan uttered "Well, this should be interesting."

Rune and the other Jedi were greeted by some bandits who had the no so smart idea to ambush the Jedi as soon as they landed. The Jedi Master counted about ten total. Knight Tem immediately rushed off and engaged the bandits that were to the right and rear, about three or four of them. Vance came down and the ramp and was immediately on the defensive, swinging his saber to block lasers that came his way. The kid couldn’t keep it up forever, and Rune reckoned Tem could handle himself.

“I’ll give you one chance to leave!”

Rune shouted at the bandits at the top of his lungs. He hadn’t expected any of them to take the offer, none did. But it did achieve what he was hoping for; he drew more attention to himself and away from Vance. The Mon Calamari immediately dropped into a Shien stance, and started deflecting incoming laser bolts. Out of the six lasers that were shot at Rune, he redirected two and they went back to where they came from. Those lasers dropped the bandits that shot them, one getting a laser to the chest and the other to the stomach.

After the laser barrage, Rune rushed the rest of the bandits. He used the force to push over their cover so that he could have a clear path. Rune struck at the first and he was cut from shoulder to hip. He stabbed the second through the abdomen. All in all, the battle was over in a few minutes. The Jedi were able to hold their own for now, but Rune and no idea how many more bandits awaited in the village.

“Is everyone all right?” The Jedi Master asked, deactivating saber after the last standing bandit ran away, wanting to keep his life.

Tem heard the Mon Calamari Jedi give them a chance to surrender as he turned, slashing upward on one bandit, finishing the turn and slashing down the other. As they fell he moved toward the last two. They both fired on him with their blasters, but Tem swung his saber and knocked the two bolts back toward their origin. The first bolt hit the ground but the second hit a bandit's leg, causing him to scream in pain. He closed the distance on the last bandit and in one quick strike he cut his blaster in two and then called on the force to push the bandit into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

As Tem looked back, he saw that Master Oki had taken out the other five bandits while the sixth ran. He deactivated his saber as he walked toward Master Oki and Vance. "We will need a plan if we are to turn back the bandits." He looked at Vance, hoping that he would be able to defend himself if the time came. Tem knew that his padawan was strong, and would be a great Jedi someday, but that didn't mean that the Jedi knight didn't worry. Anything could happen on a mission, and that meant that even a Jedi could fall during the fight. "Are you alright Vance?" Tem asked as he looked at his padawan.

"What do you suggest Master Oki? He allowed the Master to take the lead, his wisdom and experience would lead the way in this fight.

Vance heard Master Oki bellow something before swiftly dispatching the bandits before the shuttle. As Vance slowly closed in on his own opponent, he found his battle ended as the man turned his attention to the Jedi Master. Seizing this opportunity, Vance brought his saber up in a large arc, trying to cut the man's blaster in two. His attack was interrupted, however, when the bandit dropped dead of a deflected blaster bolt from Oki.

Vance brushed off his sleeve after he turned off his saber. Both Master Oki and Tem asked if he was OK, to which he replied "I'm fine masters". This had been the first time he had seen both Tem or Rune in action, and he suddenly found a new respect for them. He knew that, being fully trained Jedi, they would be competent in battle. However, he never would have thought that they would be so impressive and majestic in battle.

Vance looked around. The village wasn't very large, but a good portion of it looked laid to waste from the attack thus far. Judging by the fires in the distance, and the lack of any sensible opposition, the padawan guessed that any defenses had long since been defeated, meaning any troops that might have been fighting the bandits were either dead or trapped deeper in the village.

"I have a suggestion, Master Oki. If we can find the leader of this attack, perhaps..." Vance stopped his thinking short. He was overstepping his boundaries, and furthermore, defeating the bandit leader wouldn't make the bandits rout; it would make them angry. Vance blushed slightly, saying nothing as Master Oki devised an actual strategy.

Rune knew what Vance was thinking. He had been running over different strategies on the trip to Ando. But the Jedi had to think of what their actions would cause, and not just what would end the conflict quickly. If they took out the bandit leader, a new once would rise up to take his place, and the Jedi would be sent back here anyways.

“Perhaps we can end the attack quickly? I thought the same. But we must weight our consequences before acting as well. If we take out the leader a new one would rise to place, and nothing would be solved. Unfortunately I see no way out except through combat.”

Rune looked around at the area of the village they were in. He needed a vantage point, somewhere where they could see the village, and see what they were up against. Across the street was an Inn, and it had three stories to it, unlike the rest of the buildings which had about two. That would be suitable.

“Follow me, I have an idea.”

Rune lead the way across the street and into the pub. The bandit that got away would’ve most likely reported the Jedi showing up and completely dismantling his group. The Jedi needed to work fast if they wanted to have the element of surprise over numbers.

Upon entering the Inn, Rune immediately saw the staircase they needed to head up. Luckiy it was unblocked and undamaged for the most part. They head up the steps, Rune in the lead and didn’t stop until they got to the third floor. There, a very large gap in the wall was present, allowing the Jedi to look out across the village.

There, ahead and to the left, was the village square Rune had saw the bandits attacking the town hall, with the few militia that were left. Rune hoped they could hold out just a little longer. The Jedi gathered around the gap, and they have a good view of the battlefield.

“My idea is simple,” Rune began. “You two will sneak across the rooftops, getting a good drop on the bandits. If you want to split up or not, that’s up to you. I will simply walk up the street towards the bandits and distract them. Once you see an opening, drop in and take it. Hopefully with you two surprising them, we can have the element of surprise and confuse them, winning this battle. Make sure you aren’t seen or heard until you enter combat though. Or does anyone else have any ideas?”

Rune looked to Vance now. The boy could hold his own against a few enemies, but by Rune’s estimation, there were twenty, maybe twenty-five bandits near the square. He knew the boy had some basic skills with Soresu, but it may not be enough. In fact, Rune sensed uneasiness in both Jedi. He felt it as well. He always felt this way before a large battle, or an important battle. But he had learned a long time ago that the nervousness of battle kept you on your toes.

“Don’t be worried Vance. Keep on the defensive unless you see an opening, remember what you have learned of Soresu, and you’ll be fine. And don’t be afraid to speak up, it’s the only way you learn.”

(Sorry it's so short, but I'm feeling really unfocused right now.....)

Tem looked at Rune as he spoke his mind. “Follow me, I have an idea.” Tem quickly fell in line behind the Jedi master as he headed for a structure across the street. Tem followed the Mon Calamari up to the third floor and stopped in front of a large opening in the buildings wall. They could see out over the entire town. They could see the smoke coming from the town hall and see the last defense of the local Aqualish were putting up. Tem estimated there were as many as twenty-five bandits in the square. They would have to hurry if they wanted to save the survivors in the Town Hall.

Rune relied his plan to the other two Jedi, a sneak attack from above. Tem thought this was a good plan, but that wasn't all they needed. "Perhaps we can both approach from separate angles, like a pincer. We need to disorient them, for they could overwhelm us if we aren't careful. Tem looked at his padawan and felt the pull of worry as he thought of what was to happen out there. He had trained the last few weeks with Vance and could see that the boy was skilled with his saber, knowing he could hold his own. But against so many enemies, Tem couldn't help but worry for his apprentice. "Are you ready Padawan? Tem asked as Rune finished his words to Vance.

Vance peered beyond Master Oki as he described the plan. The native soldiers were fighting gallantly, for sure, but were simply no match for the vicious bandits. The poor militia were dropping one by one, however slowly, and the thought that the three warriors could be there right now defending them made the padawan anxious. Patience, Vance reminded himself. Listen to Master Oki.

Vance listened eagerly to the Master Jedi's plan. It'll work, the padawan thought confidently, but it demands some excellent timing on our part. Vance looked over at his master, expecting to see the calm, collected look he usually wore. Instead, a look of concern plagued the Jedi's face, and Vance heard him ask "Are you ready Padawan?"

Vance took a moment to consider (Not that we have much time for thinking, the he thought). Was he ready? The bandits were deadly, cold-blooded men with blasters the size of a forearm. However, Vance knew what he was doing, or at least enough so that he could handle a few. Just before they had left, Tem had sparred with him more, and his technique in Shii-Cho was considerably more refined. But twenty five? That was pushing it. I can handle four, maybe even five if I'm lucky, but not twenty five. Not alone anyway. But he wasn't alone; Vance was here with two very skilled Jedi, and whatever he couldn't handle, they could (or so he hoped).

Is that really the way to think here? Vance frowned a little. This is a matter of life and death. This wasn't a moment when he could suppose or guess. He had to know. And unfortunately, he didn't, and that drove him mad with discomfort. "Er... I'll be fine, Master." The padawan hoped his terrible skills in lying were enough; those soldiers needed help regardless of his own abilities. If that meant that he had to take a dew bolts of plasma, then so be it. "Come on; time is of the essence."

And with that, Vance hopped on to the building directly in front of the inn. After landing with a soft thump, the padawan looked again at the square, and then turned, gazing softly upon the two other Jedi. "We'll be fine, Master Oki."

Rune listened to Tem has he explained his pincer idea. It seemed like it could work, and wasn’t very different at all from his original plan. Perhaps if Rune was able to sneak through the buildings on the other side of the street, and the other two headed across the rooftops, this could work better.

“Excellent idea Tem. How about if we -”

And the Rune was cut off by Vance. The young padawan exclaimed something along the lines of time is wasting away, and then hopped out of the large gap in the wall onto the rooftops. He landed on the brown shingle roof next door, and looked back at the two elder Jedi, as if waiting for them to catch up.

Rune was caught off-guard by Vance’s sudden move, and surprised by his boldness. He was a good kid, but if he just waited a little longer, the Jedi could’ve come up with a better plan. Now they were out in the open, and had to execute what they had. Vance needed some patience. The bandits and the militia were not going anywhere.

“You better catch up with Vance, Tem. I’ll head up the street, and once I make my attack go ahead and jump down from the rooftops as well. He is right though, time is off the essence. The bandit that got away most likely already told his leader we’re here. Go!”

And with that, Rune took off down the stairs to the lower floor, leaving Tem in the room by himself. Rune knew he could pull this off, he just hoped Vance and Tem would be okay and have good timing to boot.

Tem watched as his padawan vaulted through the opening and took off across the roof. To say the Knight was caught off guard was very accurate. His enthusiasm was admirable, but could be misguided. Rune spoke up finally, “You better catch up with Vance, Tem. I’ll head up the street, and once I make my attack go ahead and jump down from the rooftops as well. He is right though, time is off the essence. The bandit that got away most likely already told his leader we’re here. Go!”

Tem leapt through the wall, following his padawan across the buildings. "Vance, we wait for Rune to make the first move!" He yelled to his apprentice as he took the lead, jumping across a gap in the roof tops. Landing in a fall he rolled back up to his feet and held his hand out to stop Vance. "We are nearing the bandits position. We must be careful not to give away our position until the time is right." He then closed his eyes and felt out with the force for Rune to make his move.

Vance was considering little. People are in danger, and they need my help. This was the thought racing through his mind like a broken audio; he had to help these poor civilians by any and all means necessary. The padawan was about to leap to the next roof when a voice called him out of his focus:

"Vance, we wait for Rune to make the first move!"

It was like snapping out of a trance. Vance instantaneously remembered everything he had been considering before hand; his pre-mission training, his nervousness, and his mental chant to be patient. Son of a Bantha, he chastised himself, that has to be the third time I've forgotten to be patient lately. Shifting his legs from his pre-jump crouch to a simple standing stature, Vance waited for Tem to catch up. Rubbing his head a little in shame, Vance humbled himself; "Sorry, Master. I'm getting a little carried away." Hoping for a little advice, the padawan added, "That seems to be happening a lot lately."

"We are nearing the bandits position. We must be careful not to give away our position until the time is right," Tem proclaimed, beginning to search with the Force. This only added to Vance's shame; he had been making more of a racket than he had intended. Unintentionally lowering the volume of his voice, Vance whispered another, small apology before becoming entirely quiet.

As the duo waited for Master Oki's sign, Vance again fell to thinking (he wasn't able to sense anyone aside from Tem from their current location; a problem he hoped he could fix with time). I'm far too emotional sometimes, the padawan thought, frowning as he did so, and whenever I am, I totally lose my mind and fly off the handle. Vance glanced at his master, and likewise thought of all the Jedi he had met recently. Each one was a calm and composed person; they made him look like a child. I've really got to get these urges under control, he grimaced, before they control me any further.

Rune stepped out of the building and into the sunlight. It would’ve been a beautiful day had there not been a destroyed village all around him. Ando seemed like a very beautiful place. Quite a large ocean, Rune loved the ocean. He could feel the ocean mist coming from not too far away.

He looked to the right and saw where the bandits where grouped together in the square. Though it had seemed like they had stopped their attack for the moment. Now would be the perfect time to strike, as their leader seemed to be shouting orders.

Rune stepped across the street and walked down towards the square. He was now on the opposite side of Tem and Vance, and he caught a fleeting glance of them running across the rooftops as he walked. Hopefully they could keep quiet and not give away their position.

Rune ducked inside the building right before the square once he reached the end of the street. It was a small wooden structure and mostly untouched by the attack. This would be a perfect place to scope out the battlefield. Rune stood next to a window and watched them for a couple of seconds. Most of the bandits just loitered around the square looking bored. One of them talked to the bandit the Jedi had let get away earlier though. Rune tried to remember the bandit’s face, and marked him as the leader.

Next to the building, there was a rather large speeder parked in the square. It would be large enough for Rune to stand behind, and he could easily get to it if he slipped out a window farther down the wall. He moved, crouched as he did, but stayed absolutely still once he reached his target window. There he heard voices outside; they were standing behind the speeder just like Rune had hoped to. He reached out with the Force and felt three bandits, all where he needed to be. They would have to be taken out swiftly.

The Mon Calamari waited for the right moment, when their backs were turned towards the windows. Then he stood up and slipped out of the window. Igniting his saber, there was no way the bandits would ignore the snap-hiss of his blade. They turned around and saw Rune crouched, with saber in hand. One of the bandits gave out a yelp and all three of their raised their blaster rifles at once. The Jedi Master jumped at them from his crouching position. He sliced through the forearms of the first bandit, used the Force to throw the second out into the square, and stabbed the third one through the chest while landing on him.

The bandits had to have noticed the combat that had just taken place. After all, one of their members just flew across the square. The time for stealth was gone. Using, the Force Rune hopped onto the speeder he was behind and presented himself as a large target. As he did so, he noticed Tem and Vance slipped down from the roofs behind the bandits. Hopefully they could act quickly, Rune could deflect all the blaster bolts coming his way, but he didn’t know how long he could keep it up with twenty or more people firing in his direction.

As Tem waited for Rune to make his move, he looked back at his padawan. He was nervous, nervous about what could happen to them both on this mission, but he pushed the thoughts to the rear of his mind. He could feel that the time was upon them to act. Tem saw a bandit come flying into the square, knocking over a few other bandits, it was an obvious symbol that Rune was beginning his attack.

"Now Vance!" Tem yelled as he ran towards the edge of the building, calling on the force t aid his leap over it into the square. Tem landed right behind what seemed like the lead bandit.

He seemed preoccupied with commanding his men to fire on Rune, so Tem took the opening and ignited his saber. The bandit leader turned and pointed his blaster at Tem, who cut the weapon in two. The nearest bandit to the both of them rushed toward Tem, firing his blaster wildly at the Jedi. Tem took at step back, blocking the first few bolts that came near him then redirected one back at the attacker. The bolt hit true and the bandit fell to the ground. The leader had taken to running towards the center of his men while Tem was distracted and yelled to open fire on everything. Two bandits fired at Tem, who ducked and rolled to his left, then rising back to his feet he ran towards the bandits, knocking there blaster fire away as he ran.

The other bandits noticed there leader in peril and began to fire at Tem, while others fired at Rune. Tem continued to block bolt after bolt as he reached the two bandits, cutting one's arm off then stabbing the other in the abdomen. He then looked back to see where Vance was and if he needed any assistance.

Vance had found himself incapable of leaping to such a degree as his master. Instead of flying across the square like Tem, Vance managed to soar a couple yards (10 feet or so) before arcing downward. Luckily, the padawan had planned for this, and aimed his entire body for an unsuspecting bandit closer to his end of the square. As both Tem and Rune called the bandit's attention to themselves, this particular land pirate looked up just in time to see 185 pounds of padawan come crashing down. Vance tucked and rolled as he heard some part of the poor bandit crunch.

Rolling once before erecting his stature, Vance immediately ignited his saber before looking upon his enemies. He had landed behind a group of 6 bandits near the edge of the square, and while flattening one, he had raised alarm to the 5 others. Loading their rifles, the bandits immediately charged the young Jedi. 3 hung back and shot while 1 drew his knife and the other attempted to tackle the padawan. Vance managed to dodge the tackler, cutting off the bandit's leg in the process, before blocking the second enemy's knife. After a second swing, Vance succeeded in cutting off the bandit's hand before shoving him back with a well-placed heave.

By that point, though, the other 3 marauders were ready to go, and a rain of blaster plasma rained on the padawan. Assuming his Soresu stance, Vance managed to keep pace with his attackers, deflecting bolt after bolt. Minimal movement, thought Vance, trying to remember the advice he had gained recently. The movement of not only body and blade, but mind as well. Trying his best to tie this knowledge into practice, Vance slowly advanced upon his opponents, ignoring the rest of the battle behind him and focusing on deflecting bolt after bolt back to their points of origin. After 3 failed tries, the padawan succeeded in nailing one of his attackers in torso, falling him. The other two, taken aback, ceased firing long enough for Vance to gain considerable ground, rushing into close quarters combat.

As Vance closed in, one of the two remaining bandits raised his blaster to club him. Slicing the gun in half, the bandit looked on shocked as Vance, keeping his momentum, sliced off his arm before slashing down through his shoulder. Grimacing at the gore of this kill, Vance almost didn't notice the final bandit drawing his pistol. Turning with no time to spare, the padawan barely deflected the bolt of plasma before again slicing the bandit's weapon, and ending with a strong stab to the gut. Down fell the final bandit.

But as the young Jedi relaxed his posture, he immediately felt a presence behind him. Twisting his body, Vance was forced forward as the secind bandit (the one with his hand cut off) rammed into the young Jedi’s spine. Trying to not fall over, Vance dropped his saber as he fell to a knee, allowing the bandit’s momentum to carry him in front of the young Jedi. Recovering from the blow, Vance slammed the bandit up against the nearest wall with his right forearm braced against the bandit’s neck. Being the larger of the two combatants, Vance found little difficulty in holding the bandit there, and for a moment it seemed that the 16-year-old had the upper hand.

Then Vance noticed the bandit’s remaining hand. In it was clutched a thermal detonator. On the detonator was a blinking red light. Pushing off his right foot, Vance immediately tried to escape, desperate to elude this suicidal land pirate. The bandit, however, was faster, and managed to keep pace with the young Jedi, allowing him to listen to the ever-increasing tempo of the detonator. Deciding to make space instead of gain it, Vance ceased running and turned, pushing the bandit (who was running right behind him) back as he did so. Recoiling with surprise, the bandit stood dumbfounded long enough for Vance to summon the Force, and direct it out of his palms, creating a wave of force that sent the suicide-bomber flying back a good 30 yards. As the land pirate soared, the trigger on his explosive ended, and above the roar of the square’s battle was a small explosion. Vance, exhausted, doubled over, and began looking desperately for his lightsaber.

Rune stood his ground on top of the parked speeder, swatting away any blaster bolts within reach. Five had already returned and hit their origin. Rune thanked the Force that the bandit's hadn't gotten any smart idea's like trying to shoot the speeder or throw grenades at him. That wouldn't have ended good.

To tell the truth, Rune thought the plan had been executed fairly well. He had gained the majority of the bandits attention while Tem and Vance slipped behind them and took them out. But now the courtyard was chaos. Lasers flew in every direction, and the militia, seeing the Jedi, must've thought it was a good idea to start shooting again. Everyone was a target.

Just when Rune thought it couldn't get any crazier, more chaos erupted. From his perch on top of the speeder, he was able to see most of what was going on with the other Jedi. Tem was handling himself fine, but Vance got into some trouble with some bandits and then the next thing Rune knew there was an explosion in the padawan's general vicinity.

Rune hopped down from the speeder. Vance needed help, Tem was on the other side of the courtyard. Rune was closer than he was and could get there faster. The Mon Calamari started off, but was then stopped by a couple of bandits. Rune watched as more came up to Vance as the boy laid on the ground.

Rune wasn't going to wait. He cut of the arm of one bandit and used the momentum to slice through the other's abdomen. But there always seemed to be more bandits between him and Vance. Hopefully Tem would notice and get there in time. Otherwise, Vance might not leave the courtyard. The Mon Calamari could hear the sound of small repulsors, perhaps a speeder coming to get the rest of the bandits, coming closer.

Tem looked behind him in time to see Vance push the bandit against the wall. Tem almost smirked as he saw his padawan handling the situation, but even if the smirk had appeared, it would have disappeared just as quickly. Tem could feel that something was wrong, something that told him his padawan was in danger.

Tem saw the thermal detonator just as his padawan did. Tem felt a presence behind him and turned in time to slash a bandit across the chest. There were three bandits behind him and they all began to fire on the Jedi. Tem fell back towards the town hall, swiping his saber back and forth, knocking the blaster bolts away from his body. His chosen form of Ataru wasn't built for deflecting blaster bolts, but he could adapt well enough to insure that they didn't meet there target.

Tem swung his saber up over his hand and brought it down to meet a bolt and send it back at it's point of origin. The bandit fell to the ground but the other two continued to fire as more bandits came out of cover and began firing at Tem. He knew he couldn't keep this up forever. He rushed back toward the town hall, knocking a few aimed shots away from him as he ran.

That was when he heard the explosion. He turned to look where his padawan was and saw that Vance was unharmed. -Thank the force.- Tem thought just as a blaster bolt grazed his arm. The pain was instant and shot up his arm. He rolled behind a cart on the street and grabbed his arm where the bolt had made contact. The smell of burnt flesh rose to his nose as he silently cursed himself for losing concentration.

He looked up over the cart just in time to see the speeder pulling up one of the side streets and landing next to the bandits. More bandits came out of the speeder and began laying down fire on the town hall. Tem couldn't see Rune or Vance as the many bandits opened fire on the cart that Tem was behind. He readied himself for a fight, unsure if they would advance on the town hall or retreat from the square. He reached out his senses to try and find Vance and Rune.

After a moment of searching, Vance eyed his lightsaber resting below a table a couple of feet to his left. As he started toward it, though, he heard the telltale sounds of a rapid-repeat repulsor. Cautious, the padawan looked to see, fast approaching, a large speeder charging at him from the opposite end of the square. Navigating with a ruthless intensity, the speeder weaved between skirmishes and was subject to the occasional bolt of plasma, but otherwise floored it across the battle undisturbed. As it drew near, Vance realized he was standing right in it’s path.

Vance, trying both to reach his weapon and dodge the speeder, leapt with all his might to his left, desperately trying to angle himself toward the table. He was too slow, however, and his foot was rammed by the oncoming vehicle to the degree that he was spun violently, and landed on the ground with a grimacing thud. As the padawan landed, the speeder halted rather quickly, and a few bandits from across the square began to detach, slowing retreating towards the speeder.

As Vance regained his senses, he noticed the incredible pain shooting through his foot. His initial instinct was to check it, but he then remembered his weapon, and thought it better to address that problem first. Searching by touch, Vance’s hand closed upon the familiar-yet-awkward cylinder. Just in time! the padawan thought, as he heard the sound of clacking blasters. Heaving himself up and onto his back, the padawan ignited his saber in time to deflect two bolts of blaster fire. As he looked upon his new enemies, his opinion quickly changed.

Above him stood a complete squad of bandits. The speeder was far larger than Vance had thought, and looked able to contain a good 20 people. Standing above him, sneering with their weapons aimed, were 8 grizzly bandits, while the rest took cover behind the speeder, firing at both the militia and the other two Jedi. Vance couldn’t see much from his current position, but from the outstanding glows of his companions’ sabers, he could deduce only that they were too far from him to be of much help.

“Lightnin’ sword off, Jedai,” snuffed one of the bandits, kicking Vance’s leg. It was the same leg that had been hit by the speeder, and as Vance shut his weapon off, he bit his lip trying not to scream. The bone was either dislocated or broken; all he could tell was that it hurt. As the two bandits to his rear grabbed his shoulders and heaved him up, another land pirate stole his saber despite Vance’s attempt to clench his hand harder. Standing, Vance’s leg again shot with pain, and he immediately fell. The bandits chuckled at this, and again hoisted him up. ”I thought Jedai were s’posed to be tuff ‘uns!” one of the brutes chuckled snidely, nudging Vance with the tip of his blaster. His friends again chuckled, but were interrupted by one of their comrades near the speeder: “Let’s GO! Grab the stinkin’ Jedai before his mates slice us like we’re tha’ catch o’ the day!”

Listening to their friends, the bandits manhandled the poor, broken padawan towards the speeder. Vance’s vision began to blur in a combination of dizziness, sweat, and a few tears; nevertheless, he could make out a few bandits from deeper in the battle coming ever closer to the speeder. As soon as he approached, the bandits tied a blindfold about his eyes, blinding him. As he stumbled into the speeder, he heard the bandits talk over the gunfire:

”Is boss in yet?”

”We’re still- wait, ‘ere he is! Sir, we need-“ Vance heard skin smack skin.

”I’m ‘ere! Fire it up and get me tha’ ‘ell outta’ here!” There was silence for a minute as the sound of people entering the speeder dominated all noise. Outside, the battle sounded to be raging still.

Suddenly, one of the bandits screamed ”Alright, boys! Fall back!” As soon as this was shouted, Vance heard a door close; he could still hear outside, but to a much more muffled degree.

”What’s the captive?” One of the bandits asked.

”Jedai! We pinned ‘im, and even got his lightnin’ sword!” The bandits whispered excitedly for a moment.

”He still tickin’?”

”I ain’t killed him, no.”

”Then he shouldn’ be awake.”

And with that, the last thing Vance remembered was being struck in the head with the butt of a rifle.

Rune was trying to cut a path towards Vance. The boy was going to be in real trouble soon. Apparently he had lost his saber and was trying to find. Bandits were surrounding him. He needed help now. But for every bandit Rune cut down, it seemed as if another took his place.

The bandits seemed to have focused on the Mon Calamari and Vance for the most part, their forces getting to thin to worry about the militia inside the town hall. Rune had lost track of Tem, but knew he was still alive. The Jedi Master told himself he would've felt it if the Knight had died. The Knight had taken cover behind a cart and then Rune stop worrying about him. Tem could handle himself.

The speeder came into the square and unloaded more bandits to cover their escape. The Jedi Master watched Vance jump into the air as the speeder neared, but then the padawan his his foot on the top of the vehicle and spun out of the air. Ruen lost sight of him after that.

There were too many bandits for Rune, and he was caught off guard. He made his own retreat, back behind a monument dead center in the square. He walked backwards, deflecting what blaster bolts came him way, only worrying about those which were going to hit him. And then it was over as soon as it had started. The repuslors fired up, and then started to grown more quiet. The speeder had left with what surviving bandits there were.

Rune deactivated his saber, but didn't put it back in his sash yet. He strode out into the square, looking for Vance among the dead or dying. Rune actually wished not to find the boy. If Vance wasn't laying in the square with a blaster shot through his head, that meant that the bandits took him, and he was alive. For now at least.

“Tem?! Tem, where are you?”

Rune shouted out for his companion, waiting for a reply. They had a lot of work to do now. Militia started to stream out of the town hall. They had not yet reached Rune, but they were just looking around for the most part, helping their own dead and wounded whether it was militia or villager.