The Present

Dev Baskalar's head slumped into his chest. Tears which had flown from his now dry eyes formed a clean stream down either side of his face. His knees dug into the somewhat firm dirt as he kneeled there in horror.

Dev kneeled there in the cold dirt. Death and decay surrounding him. He couldn't move. He didn't even have a tear left to shed.

He'd remembered his last words..

A Few Days Ago

"I have a bad feeling about this." Rade Mar said as he paused. The man was older than Dev Belaskar by several decades.

He stopped and Dev stopped as well. The man was a few centimeters taller than Dev and had long flowing hair which rested on his shoulders. It had once been brown but was now making the transition into a light grey. He had a short grey beard which for some reason made him look old and wise.

He was.

He wore a nondescript brown robe which had been common of Jedi in days past but the trend was starting to fade. Master Rade Mar believed strongly in tradition. Underneath he wore a black and brown cloak, at his waist a utility belt which held, among other things, a lightsaber.

Dev Baskalar was clothed in much the same fashion. He had a somewhat puzzled look on his face since he did not sense the same disturbance that his Master felt. It was to be expected however he was not nearly in tune with the Force as Rade Mar.

"What is it Master?" Dev asked quizically.

Jedi Master Rade Mar no doubt heard the question but he did not immediately respond. He had a look of concentration on his face.

The Master and Student had been dispatched to the planet Gelgelar. It was a backwater world by even the loosest definition of the term. They hadn't even been given any real mission to speak of. This wasn't completey out of the ordinary for the Jedi being as they are the Guardians of the Galaxy. This however did not stop Rade Mar from having a peculiar feeling.

"I cannot yet put my finger on it yet Dev but something is not right..."

The two men walked slowly taking in the sights of Gelgelar Free Port, the planet's largest city, that being the case it was not very impressive. A variety of alien species walked the wide paths of the starport, if you wandered very far from Free Port you would undoubtedly find yourself smack dab in the middle of some forsaken swamp. This was one of the many reasons that Gelgelar wasn't necessarily the bright center of the Galaxy.

Rade Mar turned and looked at his pupil for a moment as they continued to walk. Dev paid no attention as he watched the ships takeoff and land, fascinated the whole time. Dev Baskalar was a special student, Rade Mar smiled as he observed his youthful curiousity. Dev was 19 standard years old, he knew no father or mother. For all intents and purposes Rade Mar had raised him, both in life and in the Force.

He'd become quite attached to the young man who looked up to him and revered him so much. Yes Dev Baskalar was a special student indeed. Always attentive to his Master's words, always learning from his mistakes (of which there were many), and never straying from his course. Little did either know that that course was about to be turned on its side.

"Let us return to our quarters Dev."

Dev Baskalar nodded without hesitation. "Yes Master."

They continued on the short walk to their current "home", which itself was not very impressive. It consisted of a few bedrooms, a living space and a kitchenette along with a single refresher station. It was as much as they needed. Jedi after all were not material beings.

Shortly thereafter they arrived at their quarters. Dev came out of the refresher to find Master Mar sitting in the center of the somewhat small living space. His legs crossed and his eyes closed, he took slow deep breaths and exhaled slowly. Meditating. Perhaps he was trying to gain a clearer understanding of the disturbance which had alarmed him earlier.

Rade Mar was focused completely on the Force. His eyes shut tightly, his concentration was unbreakable. Oftentimes Dev Baskalar wondered what his Master experienced during his meditation sessions, which were frequent and could go on for hours. Sure Dev meditated frequently and he was able to reach out through the Force and sense disturbances and basically feel the fabric which was the Force. It was a feeling that couldn't be explained, it was like complete serenity.

And suddenly Rade Mar's eyes opened and it was as if the very source of his uneasiness had come to light. "I sense it Dev. Do you feel it?"

Dev did not, at least not yet. His ability in the Force was advanced for one of his status but it was something he typically had to focus on. It wasn't normally a passive ability.

Dev slowly closed his eyes, he reached out through the Force. It can't be explained how he reached out. He just did. He tapped into the Force, the difficult part was that he didn't know what he was looking for. He assumed that it was some type of disturbance however. And then just as he'd thought it, it had come to him, he too opened his eyes. A smile met his lips as he looked to his Master.

"I see, men. Aboard some sort of ship, I can't make it out perhaps a capital sized ship. They're headed to.. Gelgelar?" Dev asked thinking that his vision had not deceived him.

"You are correct my student. More specifically these men you see are Pirates."

An uneasy look came over Dev Baskalar's face. "Do you know how many of them there are Master?"

"Hard to tell, dozens, hundreds? It is uncertain. It is certain however that they are on a course for Gelgelar with intentions that one would not describe as "noble". We must alert the Gelgelar authorities at once."

Dev did not know exactly what this meant, he'd hoped the security force on Gelgelar were sufficient enough to keep these Pirates at bay. In reality however Dev knew that this was not going to be the case. For once, he had a bad feeling.

The call had been made, and after he'd talked to a few people that had given him the run around Rade Mar finally got in touch with someone who would hopefully find the information he had to offer valuable.

"This is Captain Greggs of GelgeSec, what can I do for you?" The man answered as the Jedi Master was finally answered appropriately. "GelgeSec" as they called themselves was the shortened name of the Gelgelar Security Force. Mighty by no means which was perhaps the reason that Rade Mar and Dev Baskalar had been dispatched to Gelgelar in the first place.

"Captain Greggs this is Rade Mar."

Before he could say anthing else Greggs interrupted.

"Ah, greetings Master Jedi."

Rade continued. "Captain have you detected anything unusual in the sector?"

"Nothing.. out of the ordinary Master Jedi. Why do you ask?"

"I believe that Gelgelar is in danger Captain. I've detected a disturbance in the Force. Pirates Captain. No doubt headed for Gelgelar. At this point I cannot detect their numbers, but they are on their way. They hope to capitalize on the fact that Gelgelar has meager defenses." Rade Mar said, and for a moment Captain Greggs remained silent.

"I'll put all officers on emergency standby, they'll be ready for duty at a moment's notice. All ships in our defense fleet are ready for duty... don't get many hostiles out here." The Captain said sounding mildly worried.

"Captain, I do not think that you will be able to avoid a ground conflict. Any reinforcements which we would be able to call in would no doubt be too little too late. These Pirates will penetrate your defenses and occupy Gelgelar soon, I can sense the tremors in the Force as they get closer and closer." Rade Mar said giving the Captain a few more moments to let it all soak in.

"Master Jedi... I'm not picking anything up on our sensors... are you sure that.." And before Captain Greggs could formulate his thought into speech the Jedi Master interrupted him.

"Captain, your planet is about to be invaded by hostile Pirates. They will come to kill, they will come to rape, and they will come to pillage. Captain, with every minute that passes it becomes more apparent to me that Gelgelar is headed to war."

Dev's eyes widened. Until this point even he was unsure of the magnitude of the events that would transpire.

"Dev." Rade Mar said snapping his Apprentice out of his current state of confusion.

"Yes Master?"

"We've got to gather the people of Gelgelar and prepare them for war. If Gelgelar is to avoid certain disaster, we'll need as much help as we can get."

"Yes Master. Master... why are these pirates attacking with such force? This seems more the act of warmongers than of Pirates." Dev asked puzzled by the whole situation.

"That is a wise deduction Dev. It appears that there is much more than meets the eye. But now we must hurry, clear your mind of these burdens and focus on gathering a militia. We need everyone Dev."

"Yes Master."

"I'll prepare some surprises for our unwelcome visitors. Go now Dev, complete your task."

"Yes Master." With that Dev paused for a brief moment. He took in a deep breath and focused on the task at hand.

Rade Mar immediately parted company to begin his own mission.

Dev immediately went to meet with Captain Greggs. "Captain." Dev addressed him.

"Yes Master Jedi?" The Captain replied, Dev did not have the time to set the Captain straight and inform him that he was actually a Jedi Apprentice and not yet a full fledged Knight, let alone a Master. There were more important issues at hand.

"Do you have an armory? We need to arm your people and form a militia. GelgeSec forces alone will not be enough subdue their forces."

"Yes.. we've got a few of the new E-Web Heavy Blasters. We've got enough BlasTech E-15s and DL-44s to supply an army."

"Good Captain because that's exactly what we need to do. Have one of your men setup in the Armory and outfit the citizens with weapons. Do we have enough E-Webs to setup a perimeter around Freeport Captain say about 5 meters apart?"

"Yes... and then some Master Jedi."

"Good. Make it happen. I want you to setup a few supply convoys loaded with blaster rifles and pistols. Send them to all of the populated areas of Free Port and make sure that every able-bodied man, teenager, and volunteering woman gets a blaster rifle. Do you have any Blast-Dampening Armor Captain?"

"Yes in the armory. We'll arm the militia with Blaster Rifles and Armor then?"

"Yes Captain now we're on the same page."

"Get your men out immediately. Have them report directly to me in one hour. Give them my comlink frequency."

"Yes Master Jedi." The Captain tapped a few buttons into the computer terminal at his desk which showed the GelgeSec inventory. "I can dispatch 14 supply convoys within the half hour."

"Good. Load up those convoys ASAP. Have the militia meet right here. Captain time is a luxury we do not have."

"Yes Master Jedi."

And on that order Captain Greggs rushed to complete the tasks he'd been assigned. Dev was correct, they didn't have much time.

The hour had passed and already a few of Captain Greggs' men had replied that they had assembled their militia and they were on their way to the rendezvous point.

Dev paced back and forth nervously. He could sense that danger was impending. Men would die. He knew this now. Up until this point he had somehow convinced himself that conflict could be avoided. This was not the case however and he recognized it.

Dev Baskalar tapped a button on his comlink. "Yes Master Jedi?" Captain Greggs replied.

"Place your men into formation. Place a perimeter of E-Webs around the Free Port. Anything left over I want on high ground. They're going to come at us from all angles. I want you to concentrate our militia on spots where they can land their ground forces. The swamps will not be a favourable place for them to land. I'm talking about clearings. Patches of grass. They'll land their transports here." Dev said as he outlined a few place on the tactical display he was looking at. "I want them to be greeted with Gelgelar's finest as soon as they kiss the surface is that understood Captain?"

"Yes it is. We will be ready for battle in no time Master Jedi."

"Very well Captain make it so."

As Dev looked out from his spot at the control tower of the Starport he saw the men scurrying to get into position. It appeared that all of the soldiers were in their position or were not far from being in position. It appeared that their defense would be intact. Whether or not it held would be another issue altogether.

Then the comm unit beeped. "Dev." Rade Mar, Dev's Master was heard. "Yes Master?"

"How are your defenses coming together?"

"Master our defenses will be in place within a matter of minutes."

"Excellent job you've done my Apprentice. What will be of our anti-air defenses are in place. I will meet you in two hours." Rade Mar said.

"Very well Master I will see you here at the Starport in two hours."

The transmission ended. Dev Baskalar would see Jedi Master Rade Mar at the Starport in two hours. However, the Jedi Apprentice might not like what he saw.

One Hour Later

It was here. The time was now. The battle was afoot.

A Corona-Class Frigate hung in space, a cadre of evil intentions.

The dropships spiraled out of the Frigate plotting a course for Gelgelar Free Port. As dozens of ships penetrated the stale atmosphere of Gelgelar, they were immediately met with volley after volley of anti-aircraft fire.

Beads of sweat were forming across Dev Baskalar's brow as the realization that war was upon him began to sink in. His palms became sweaty and his senses went dull. As ships crashed in the distance Dev didn't hear so much as an explosion as the battle played across in front of him in slow motion. And then in a split second it all snapped to life.

"AAAAAAAAHHH" Dev heard one of the soldiers scream as he sailed through the air undoubtedly to his death.

Without even thinking Dev unclipped the lightsaber from his belt and ignited it in one clean motion. He scanned the perimeter and immediately noticed that several of the ships were already unloading troops in the clearing just a few hundred meters away.

"Advance!!!" Dev screamed as he led a charge towards the dozens of pirates that were making their way towards Free Port.

He rushed forward as the GelgeSec Security Officers followed suit. With Jedi quickness Dev blazed forward watching the action unfold frame by frame. The pirates began to fire at will sending a barrage of crimson blaster bolts in Dev's direction. Gracefully Dev deflected blaster bolt after blaster bolt, sending more than a few of the pirates to the ground re-directing their own fire back at them.

Dev's eyes narrowed as he felt the rage of battle swell deep within him. He reached the spot where the pirates were lodging their attack, the GelgeSec Officers were at least 50 meters behind him, but it didn't matter. Dev needed no backup. He needed no aid. All he needed was to feel his blade lay waste to his enemies.

They drew fire upon Dev Balaskar as quickly as they could muster their fingers to pull the respective triggers but it was of no use. It was as if Dev saw their actions before they themselves had contemplated the next move. Dev's lightsaber danced across the field of battle in an emerald green frenzy as pirates' heads were separated from their shoulders, and limbs separated from their bodies. Dev struck with a relentless rage that struck fear into the hearts of the remaining pirates as they stood their helpless to defend themselves against Dev Baskalar's need for destruction.

The battle had begun, but it was far from over.

Meanwhile

Rade Mar stood there calmly in defensive posture, his emerald green blade ignited to full length. His blade moved from side to side parrying blaster bolts almost as if it were acting of its own accord. Rade Mar looked back and forth slowly, analyzing the threat that the people of Gelgelar faced. The pirates were larger in number than the Jedi Master had expected, and the GelgeSec forces were running thin.

The battle now raged from clearing to swamp as all around Rade Mar carnage ensued. Fallen pirates floating face down in the murky swamps, GelgeSec officers lying limbless on the grassy terrain. Those around Rade Mar fighting desperately to leave this field of battle with their lives intact, Rade Mar doing his absolute best to ensure that they succeeded.

A sharp tremor struck Rade Mar suddenly, a disturbance in the finely woven fabric that was the Force. And just then, as he felt it he saw it. From hundreds of meters away he saw it. It couldn't be. Could it?

Sith?

<b>Aboard a small shuttle headed slowly towards Free Port</b>

"I don't have to tell you what would happen if you were to fail, <i>do I</i>?" The deep voice penetrated the silence, the faint sound of blaster fire looming in the background.

This wasn't a yes-or-no question. The cloaked figure nodded slightly, his cowled face consumed in shadow.

He peered through the viewport, <b>chaos</b> all around. His eyes widened as he mounted the speeder bike which would deploy shortly.

"Do not fail me my apprentice." The final words were spoken, now it was time for action.

The rear doors of the shuttle opened slowly. <b>Darth Yang</b> seated in the speeder bike kick-started the vehicle with a single motion, the engine began to rumble. The vehicle began to hover and slowly back into the rear of the vehicle where it would exit into the planet Gelgelar.

Soon the Sith would face the Jedi, violence was coming, it was inevitable.

Rade Mar stopped, he saw the speeder flying straight towards him. At this point there was no doubt that its pilot was a Sith. A dozen thoughts began to fill Mar's mind, <i>was this all an elaborate trap</i>? <i>What about Dev</i>!! With the thought of his Padawan's safety, the old Jedi almost allowed himself to feel the burden of fear. With a deep breath, Rade Mar briefly closed his eyes to cleanse his spirit and focus on the task at hand.

<center>* * *</center>

The old man stood there amongst a sea of blaster fire, dead bodies, and frightened soldiers. He might as well have a target on his head, his Padawan was nowhere to be found.

<i>The plan had come together just as Master had intended</i>.

A smile crept across his lips exposing his yellow-stained, slightly crooked teeth. Being raised by a Sith Lord yielded different lessons than those that could be afforded by a loving father and mother. Yang had learned to snap a man's neck at the age when most would learn the Basic alphabet. Hygiene was not paramount amongst his list of priorities.

Darth Yang prepared to disembark from his speeder, battle was just moments away. Hopefully his opponent would not disappoint, Yang had been training for months specifically for this task. Now that the hour was at hand, Yang could hardly keep his excitement at bay. He rose slightly from the seat of the speeder bike preparing to leap into battle.

<center>***</center>

Rade Mar's eyes opened, his posture sunk into a defensive stance, his lightsaber ready for action. The Sith was just seconds away, the Jedi's brow narrowed as he focused on the incoming enemy who was preparing to leap from his speeder.

With one deft motion, the Sith leapt into the sky leaving his speeder to veer off course. The Sith stripped himself of his robes mid-air as he rose nearly 30 meters into the air. Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, the Sith ignited the cerulean blade and raised it to his side as he reached the pinnacle of his flight and slowly began to fall back down to terra firma.

Rade Mar waited for the incoming attack as he opened himself up to the light side of the Force allowing it to aid his actions. Although several GelGeSec soldiers and pirates fought toe-to-toe in the surrounding area, Rade Mar's focus remained on that of the Sith who had just landed. In the near distance, the speeder which now flew un-piloted managed to crash into a tree a few hundred meters away with a faint explosion.

The Sith lowered his head slightly and looked directly into the eyes of the Jedi Master. A disturbing smile escaped from the Sith as he stood there about 10 meters away, staring deep into the eyes of Rade Mar. Clothed in a black suit which resembled a gi, black boots and gloves, and a light blue lightsaber blade extending from his side.

His visage was a harbinger of evil, tattooed with a black and blue design that might be enough to dishearten even the boldest of foes. His blue eyes piercing through Rade Mar's very soul, Rade Mar knew that this was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

The brief moment they stood there could have been an eternity by either man's watch. In that moment Rade Mar knew that one of them was not leaving this swamp with his life intact.

Their blades met with crackling thunder, Yang pressed forward gritting his teeth.

With a brief burst of summoned strength, Yang surged forward knocking Rade Mar back just enough to expose him for a brief moment. A brief moment was more than enough time for the Sith to backflip, sending a booted foot into Rade Mar's chin as the Sith retreated backwards.

The Jedi's head was knocked backwards as his mouth met Darth Yang's foot, his mouth closed tightly as the bottom of his jaw met the top. As quickly as he'd suffered the blow, he'd recovered, blood flowing out the left side of his mouth down his chin.

He raised his lightsaber to his side as he closed the distance on the Sith. He stepped forward slowly as the Sith stood there waiting. With a rapid series of motions he lurged forward with a high, arcing swing of his lightsaber, followed by a jabbing blow to his left before one final swing attempting to take the Sith's legs out from under him. Each attack was parried with ease by the Sith saberist, the final attack dodged by a quick jump by Darth Yang which ended with Yang's right foot once again meeting Rade Mar's left cheek.

Upon landing, Yang followed with a quick diagonal swing towards Rade Mar's left shoulder which was instead met with the emerald blade of the Jedi Master. Rade Mar batted the blade down to his right and immediately answered with a sweeping counterattack which would attempt to remove Darth Yang's head from his shoulders. The Sith leaned back at his waist, the blade screaming just above him as he narrowly missed the attack. Using his own momentum he propelled his body backwards, flipping back to his feet.

<center>***</center>

Dev Baskalar waded through the carnage in search of his Master, he knew that he wasn't far from Rade Mar, he could <i>feel</i> it.

Then in the distance he saw it, the flurry of lightsaber blades in combat. Dev ran with all the speed he could muster, he had to do all he could to help Rade Mar.

<i>Sith? Here?</i>

As Dev Baskalar got closer he saw the two engaged furiously, Rade Mar's face somewhat beaten and bloody. As Dev got closer he saw that Rade Mar was in trouble. He had to hurry or it would be too late. As Dev got closer he shouted eagerly, "MASTER!!!"

Distracted by his Padawan's call, Rade Mar averted his attention to see Dev Baskalar running towards him in the distance, his lightsaber at the ready.

In the millisecond it took him to acknowledge his apprentice's safety, Dev's call had spelled disaster for his master. Rade Mar turned his head back to face his attacker, his head slumped forward, lifeless. Darth Yang's lightsaber had pierced his heart and exited through his back.

With a flick of the switch, Yang extinguished the blade of his lightsaber, returning the cerulean torch to its hilt. With a crooked smile Darth Yang watched as Rade Mar's eyes closed for the last time. The Jedi Master, now a corpse, fell to his knees and not a moment later fell forward, face-first into the swamp.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Dev Baskalar shouted as he saw his Master's life come to an end.

Darth Yang clipped his lightsaber to his belt nonchalantly as his gaze met that of Dev Baskalar. A small shuttle emerged, hovering above the scene of the battle. Darth Yang flashed a brief smile at Dev before leaping several meters into the air, boarding the shuttle in the process which soon after disappeared into the atmosphere.

Dev could not believe what he had just seen, in a moment his life had changed. His dear Master, Rade Mar, was dead. Dev fell to his knees, <i>if only he'd gotten here sooner</i>.

<b>To be continued...</b>