Homecoming Chapter 3: Now the Party Begins
The run to the Jedi Temple would’ve made any other person who rain it exhausted, but not me. I had been a champion runner during my childhood. Hey, the Academy had to get us to focus on something when we weren’t learning about the Force or our history of Jedi. I ran up to a tree and peered around it. blaster fire could be heard; smoke could be smelt from where I was. Not good. I could see three defense groups of The Trial’s private army standing guard. I had to take them out before entering the Temple. Quickly moving through the jungle trees, I ambushed one of the three groups, killing the three soldiers by snapping their necks. One group down, two to go.
“Sev? Sev, come in. Report back now,” a voice commanded through one of the dead soldiers’ radios.
The commanding voice’s group was very close. They had to be next, or I’d be noticed trying to go around them. I slowly crawled closer to where they were stationed.
“Sev hasn’t answered his radio. Something’s not right, Commander,” I heard the same soldier say, only he was now talking to his leading commander. “Understood. We won’t let anything by us, Commander.”
He’d let something come by him alright, if he was dead. I came up behind the one that was talking and quickly snapped his neck. The other two soldiers turned around and pulled out their blasters; I, in turn, pulled out my lightsaber, igniting the yellow glow. Shots fired, and both soldiers laid dead on the ground in less than one minute.
“Pec?! Pec, who fired shots? What’s going on over there? Report back immediately,” the fallen soldiers’ commanding officer ordered. Well, he wasn’t going to get a reply from his soldiers anytime soon.
The last group was a few yards away, and I had to act fast to save the Temple and the Twins. As quickly as I could, I ran towards the last group, their blasters already out and ready to fire.
“I want this thing dead now!” the commanding officer ordered to his last two troops.
The two soldiers were very young and inexperienced. Their weapons were shaking, just as their bodies were. They were scared out of their minds of what this “thing” might be. I didn’t want the blood of innocents on my hands, but if they attacked me, then I had no choice but to defend myself. I ignited my lightsaber and lunged at their commander, instantly killing him with one swing. I stood, waiting on what the last two soldiers would do now. One fired repeatedly, trying to get a shot on me. He was down, just like his commander. The other soldier just looked at me, dropping his blaster to the ground.
“Run, save yourself. I don’t want to see you associate yourself with these men again,” I told him before heading towards the Temple. Time to save the Twins from The Trial.
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The damage was intense on the inside of the Temple. Dead soldiers laid near the front of the Temple doors. So were the bodies of dead padawans, Jedi Knights, and a few civilians. I was slowly walking through the Temple, my lightsaber drawn, when I recognized one of the dead Jedi Knight bodies. His name was Bailmen Quarter, his dark red hair sticking out. He was one of the Sith students that I had managed to turn back to the light side during the second time I was searching for the Star Forge. May he join the Force peacefully. I kept walking through the halls of the Temple. So many dead padawans and knights, but no signs of any younglings murdered. Hopefully they were safe from harm.
“Die Sith!” a young voice shouted from above me.
I looked up and saw a young boy jump from a ledge towards me, his lightsaber ignited. I dodged his initial attack and ignited my own lightsaber. I heard another shout, this time from behind me. The only thought that came to my mind was ambush.
“You don’t belong here!” the other voice shouted.
I turned and saw a young girl lunge towards me, her lightsaber also drawn and ignited. I dodged her attack, also. Both were about the same age, same color of lightsaber, the color of a Jedi guardian.
“No more killing will come from you, Sith,” the boy shouted.
I looked at his face more closely. He had my ambition in his eyes, his face almost like mine when I was younger. These two were the twins? Well, they were definitely courageous and had spirit.
“Leave now, Sith,” the girl, probably Emily, told me.
“I would watch your tone, young girl,” I replied in a soft tone, deactivating my lightsaber.
“Don’t talk, Sith. Don’t tell us what we shouldn’t d-” the boy, probably Jake, started to say before his lightsaber and the girl’s were Force-pulled out of their hands and into mine. Both stared wide-eyed at me.
“Now we can hopefully talk peacefully without anymore distractions. Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not a Sith. By the looks of both of you, neither are you two,” I said, my calm voice somewhat echoing. Hopefully none of the Sith troops would pick up on our conversation.
“I know all of the Jedi. My Master’s quizzed me on almost every single one,” the girl said. “I don’t recognize you though.”
“My name’s Isaac Stardragon, Prodigal Knight of the Republic,” I said, tossing them their lightsabers back. Jake’s eyes twitched at the sound of my name.
“I know you. You were the Jedi that traveled with Mother to stop Lord Malak six years ago,” he said quietly.
“Yes, that is me. I’m guessing your mother is Bastila Shan, and you’re Jake and Emily Shan,” I said, looking at both of them.
“How do you know who we are? You just met us,” Emily asked, clipping her lightsaber to her belt.
“I’ll explain more after I bring the defenses back online.”
“Well, good luck with that. The defense tower is heavily guarded by the Sith. I hope you brought an army with you,” Jake pipped up, still holding his lightsaber.
“I can get by.”
“Good luck then,” Emily said. She looked me up and down. “You look familiar, like I’ve seen you in my studies.”
I had already started walking towards the defense tower. “If your mother would like to tell you more about me, then she can. Until then, you won’t get a word from me,” I told her, drawing my lightsaber.
“Let me come with you,” Jake said, his thumb resting over the activation button on his lightsaber.
“No, stay here and make sure nobody leaves that are part of the Sith. If Republic soldiers arrive, send them to my location if I haven’t returned.” No sooner had I finished my sentence I was running towards the defense tower. Hopefully I wasn’t too late to save the Temple.
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Jake hadn’t been lying when he said that the defense tower was heavily guarded. Then again, ten foot soldiers, five heavy soldiers, and a super soldier weren’t strong enough to take me down. Lightsaber drawn, I ran towards the soldiers and ignited it, killing all ten foot soldiers with only three swings.
“Get him! Don’t let him reach the controls!” yelled the super soldier.
I pointed my hand towards a broken pillar, and, with the Force, flung it towards the six remaining soldiers. All but two soldiers managed to escape the broken pillar. I threw two more, killing the last remaining heavy soldier. Just me and the super soldier were left.
“You will not pass me, Jedi,” he told me. I just smiled.
He lunged towards me, his battle hammer raised high. Big mistake on his part. He swung again after I had jumped over his initial swing. One swing of my lightsaber, and the end of his hammer was on the ground.
“No!” he yelled before I finally silenced him with one more swing.
He was dead before he even hit the ground. I walked past his body to the defense tower controls, powering them up and allowing Republic reinforcements to land. Checking the security cameras, I saw Jake, Emily, Bastila, and Nicol in the same area I had left the Twins. I sighed deeply. Time for an unknown family reunion.
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“I’m so glad you both are safe,” Bastila was saying as I walked towards them. A bandage covered part of her head above her right eye.
“We’re fine, Mom. Remember, we’re Jedi, too. Just like you,” Jake told her.
“I know you are, Jake, but I’m still going to worry about you because I’m your mother,” Bastila replied.
She hadn’t even noticed that I was present until after I was standing near Nicol, observing the damage from the initial battle. It’d take months to repair most of the Temple. It’d take even longer to bring Jedi back to the Temple.
“Thank you, Isaac.”
I turned to look at Bastila. “Your welcome.”
“So, are you going to explain to us why you’re here? You said you would after defenses were back online,” Emily said, her eyes studying me. She was a splitting image of her mother.
“I did say that, didn’t I? Well, follow me to the communications room, and I’ll tell you why I’m here with your mother,” I said, walking back towards the defense tower.
“Well, first question’s first. Why is it that you seem so familiar to me when I just met you today?”
I looked at Bastila, who only nodded her head. I kept walking and finally spoke. “I was known by a different name during the first part of the Jedi Civil War. My name was Revan Lamstare. I’m guessing you already read about my past in some history class.”
“Yes, but why did you leave six, almost seven, years ago to go to the Unknown Regions?” Jake asked, standing on the other side of me as we continued to walk.
“The Sith troops that attacked the Temple today were under the command of a group of Sith who call themselves The Trial. They believe that the Jedi are mislead fools. i was still corrupted by the Star Forge, so it was easy for The Trial to manipulate both Malak and I for their handiwork. After losing my memory, I had no idea about The Trial or ever thought about what plans they were devising. It took me a year and a half to remember,” I explained.
“It couldn’t have taken six years to find them,” Jake added.
“No, actually it took me about five. It was a hunch I found at a bar, I think. The memories leading up to the base are a bit sketchy. No, wait. I found the hideout’s location in journals I had written when I was Revan. They had a powerful defense system, but I managed to sneak in undetected. It wasn’t until I got to their communications tower did I finally realize it was all a trap. The Trial’s third-in-command, a Jedi-turned-Sith now going by the name Darth Yarves, sealed me away in a block of carbon ice for two years. Nicol was able to break in and rescue me, thankfully, with a pilot named Atton Rand.”
“Yarves. Why does that name sound so familiar?” Bastila asked, searching her brain for the answer.
“It should sound familiar. He still went by the name Yarves when he was a Jedi. That, and he’s my younger brother,” I said softly, sending silence throughout the group as we continued to the communications tower.
