Chapter 9: The Duel of Destiny

Chapter 9 - 72 ABY - Only the dead have seen the end of war - George Santayana
(Jayden-Age 34)

Jayden sat in silence in the cargo hold.  Her legs were crossed and she was meditating about her next battle.   Moira sat up in the cockpit trying to give Jayden her space.  Ever since Jayden had gotten word from Jax that Kyega was in the Opoku system on the planet of Gamorr, Jayden had asked to be left alone to meditate.  Moira had heard of the system but had never travelled there, although she had seen several Gamorreans on Tatooine and knew that they were a warlike species.  She worried about Jayden and had never seen her like this.  She pulled the ship out of hyperspace at the edge of the system and walked down to the cargo bay.

“Master, I don’t know if I can beat him.  This planet used to be a part of Exar Kun’s Sith Empire.  There is so much darkness I feel about this place.  I haven’t had a feeling like this since Geonosis.”

“Are you trying to connect with Luke?”  Jayden opened her eyes and looked up at Moira and nodded.

“I can’t hear him.  I’ve been sitting down here for hours, but I just can’t connect with him,” Jayden frowned as Moira sat down in front of her on the hard metal floor.

“I’m really worried about you.  I’ve never seen you this anxious.”

“I want you to stay on the ship,” Jayden asked, although she already knew the answer Moira was going to give her.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“You don’t understand, Moira.  There is a vast amount of dark energy emanating from this planet.  I can already feel it.  The last time I felt like this… my parents died.”

“The one thing I do understand is that you are my everything.  I won’t let you go off and face this alone.  Even if I’m just there for support.  We are a clan of two, and that means we always have each other’s backs, no matter what.  And if it’s our time to die, then we die together, and I’m fine with that.  This is Way, and this will always be the Way.  From now on, wherever you go, I follow.”  Jayden smiled and they both stood up and hugged each other.  Moira couldn’t help but think that this might be their last hug, so she hugged Jayden even tighter.

Moira and Jayden walked back up to the cockpit in silence, not really knowing what else to say.  Jayden took the pilot seat and pulled up the map of the planet and pointed to a spot on the map.  “He’s there.”

“Can you already feel him?”  Moira said as she sat down in the co-pilot’s seat.

“Not really, but it’s the strongest sense that I’m getting from the dark side,” Jayden could almost feel him calling to her.  She knew that he was so strong with the dark side, that there was no way that they would be able to surprise him.  She zoomed in on the map and saw a compound in a clearing.  It looked like a castle with a clearing in the front big enough for them to land the ship in.  She plugged in the coordinates and grabbed the controls.

“What are you doing?  You’re going to land the ship right in the middle of his compound?”

“There is no way that we are going to surprise him.  He already knows we’re coming.  Go gear up, I’ll meet you in the cargo bay once we land.”

***

As the cargo bay door lowered, Jayden and Moira stepped out onto the ramp and were greeted by two dozen Gamorrean soldiers with their weapons trained on them.  Jayden looked around at the old castle that had stood there for thousands of years.  It was one of the last remnants of Exar Kun’s reign.  The blocks that built it were worn down over the centuries, but the inner parts of the castle still looked intact.  Standing at the base of the castle were Jin and Kyega.

“Stay here,” Jayden looked at Moira and pleaded with her.  Moira started to protest but then nodded.  Jayden walked towards the two dark Jedi and watched them closely as they started walking towards her.  They stopped when they were fifteen meters apart.

“Mighty brave of you to land your ship in the middle of our compound.  You were always a brave little Padawan, always begging the Knights to lightsaber duels.  You would have made a good apprentice to the dark side of the Force.  Quento tried to turn you, but I told him you would never be turned.”

“Well you know what happened to him.  I’d offer you the chance to give up and go back to Coruscant to face your crimes, but I already know what you’re going to say.,” Jayden responded, as she screwed her lightsabers together to form her double blades.

“Yes… but this time you don’t have a squad of Mandalorians to protect you.”

“Are you going to let your Gamorrean guards protect you, or are you going to fight with honor?”  Jayden watched as Kyega motioned to his guards and they stepped back and put away their guns.

“Jin, show Jayden the power of the dark side,” Kyega said as he smiled wickedly at Jayden.

“My pleasure, Master.”

Jayden watched as Jin ignited his red lightsaber.  He was at least two feet taller than her, and without a doubt, stronger.  She watched him closely as he advanced towards her.  She could tell by his gait that he was going to rely on his brute strength.  She knew that she was going to have to be smart about this.  She ignited her double bladed lightsaber and waited for him to close in.  As he swung down from the top left, her lightsaber met his and the crackling sound of the sabers scraping each other could be heard all throughout the compound.  He took several more swings and lunged at her, and she parried his lunges and swung out towards his feet.  He jumped and flipped backwards in the air.  Jayden noticed that he was very light on his feet for such a heavy creature.

He snarled at Jayden and lunged again and she reached up with the right side of her saber and met his and they pushed against each other.  “I can see why Kyega chose you as his Padawan.  But you don’t have to die for him.  I can still sense some good in you.  Your thoughts are conflicted,” she whispered to him.

Jin pushed off from her and jumped backwards, landing in a defensive crouch.  Jayden knew he was using that to try and bait her into striking, but she wasn’t going to fall for it.  Instead she used a bait of her own.

“You don’t have to die for him.  He doesn’t care about you.  He’s just using you, just like he used Yang’xie and Yako to do his bidding when he first tried to kill me, which clearly failed, just as you will.  I have foreseen it.”  She lied about the last part, but the lie did it’s job as he gave her a confused look and turned to to look back at his master.  Just as he did, Jayden lunged and swung the left blade up and cut Jin’s left hand off that was holding his lightsaber.  He screamed out in pain.  She then spun around and brought the same blade next to his neck.

“Don’t make me kill you.  Yield to me.”

He reluctantly nodded and she pulled her lightsaber away from his neck.  Suddenly he was overcome by Force Lightning.

“No!”  Jayden reached her saber up to block the Force Lightning and stood between him and Kyega, walking towards Kyega.  Then she heard another scream as she turned her gaze to look behind her.

Moira stood near the edge of the platform of the ship as she watched Jayden deflect the Force Lightning from Kyega.  Then she noticed Jin had another lightsaber hidden on the back of his belt.  He sat up, grabbed it, and ignited the saber.  He was faking the entire time, and Jayden had no clue.  “JAYDEN!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.  She heard footsteps on the top of the ship and watched as a shadow flew over top of her and landed between Jayden and Jin, igniting their saber and blocked Jin’s saber from striking Jayden.  The new Jedi then parried his attack and swung out and sliced him along the chest, then flipped the saber in their hand and dealt the final blow and stuck their saber right through his head.  Kyega snarled at Jayden and the new Jedi ran up to her side and removed their hood.

“Jax?”  Jax smiled at Jayden and they squared off to face Kyega.  He ignited his double-bladed lightsaber and spun it in his hands before he started his attack.

Moira breathed a sigh of relief.  She had called Jax after Jayden started acting weird.  She begged Jax for her help just to send an extra Jedi or two to help Jayden.  Now she felt better about their chances.  Moira watched as the lightsabers flashed so fast that she couldn’t keep up with them.  They both attacked Kyega with a frenzy and were moving in tandem with each other, like they knew exactly what the other was thinking.  Moira felt a little jealousy at that, but she was just glad that Jayden didn’t have to face Kyega alone.

Jayden swung her double-bladed saber at his feet and he easily jumped over it and swung his lightsaber back at her.  Jax blocked the strike and parried his attack with her own.  It was back and forth like this for several minutes.  He then struck out at Jax and Jayden knew she was defenseless so she pushed Jax out of the way and his lightsaber hit hers.  He pushed the tip of his saber into her helmet.  The beskar protected her, but the visor started to melt.  Jax used the Force to push him off of Jayden and went after him with an onslaught of saber strikes.  Jayden dropped her saber and fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as the visor melted onto her cheek.  She struggled to pull her helmet off and threw it to the ground.  She wiped at the part of the visor that melted onto her skin, right under her right eye.  She looked up at Moira who started to step towards her and she quickly shook her head and put her hand up.  Moira saw the pained look on Jayden’s face and tears started to form in her eyes at the pain her wife was enduring.

Jayden stood up, used the Force to bring her double-bladed lightsaber to her right hand and reignited them.  She turned back to Jax and joined back in the fight.  Even though it was two on one, Kyega still had the advantage due to his skill as a Master of the dark arts.  Jayden took the lead on the fighting and hit his lightsabers with a ferocity, but he parried every strike with one of his own.  He struck out and barely caught Jayden in the back.  She gasped in pain as she fell to her knees.  Kyega saw an opportunity to lunge at Jayden but Jax stepped between them, and Jayden watched in horror as the lightsaber plunged right through Jax’s stomach.  He pulled the saber back and she fell to the ground.

“No… no…”  Jayden looked at Jax lying on the ground, then back up at Kyega.  Storms brewed in her eyes and they turned a dark shade of purple.  She unleashed a fury of attacks that had Kyega backpedaling.  She ferociously attacked, swinging each side of her double-bladed sword, one strike after another from above.  He blocked each one and then she feigned another attack from the top and stopped midway and flipped the bottom side of her lightsaber up and tore his double-bladed lightsaber in half.  He dropped them as they spewed sparks from the broken crystal.  Jayden turned off her lightsabers and sheathed them and reached out with the Force and pulled Jax’s lightsaber to her.

“Well done, Jayden,” he snarled and as he tried to reach out his hand and use the Force to push her away, she ignited Jax’s lightsaber and slashed it to the right and chopped off his left hand and then quickly spun it back to the left and watched as his head bounced on the ground.  She turned the lightsaber off and looked at the Gamorrean guards and hissed at them.  They realized that she had just taken down one of the most powerful Dark Jedi in the galaxy, so they backed off and left the castle.  She turned her gaze towards Moira to make sure that she was safe, and they both ran to Jax and kneeled down beside her.

“What are you doing here?” Jayden asked as she put her hand over the wound to use the Force to figure out if she could do anything.  It was fatal and there was nothing she could do.  “I… I can’t save you,” she said as tears started streaming from her eyes.  “I’m sorry.”

“You were… you were right about the Council,” Jax winced and fought to continue.  “I begged them for help and… they didn’t care.  You were right.  De-“ Jax grasped Jayden’s arm as a wave of pain overwhelmed her.  “Deep down, I always knew… you were right about them.  I’m so-“ Tears started flowing from Jax’s eyes.  “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.  It’s ok.  It’s ok,” was all Jayden could manage to say as she grabbed Jax and held her in her arms.

“I guess I get to… to die for you after all,” Jax said and Jayden fell into her chest as Jax took her last breath.

Moira felt helpless and put her hand on Jayden’s shoulder as she cried.  After several minutes Jayden stood up and lifted Jax’s body and carried her onto their ship.  Moira grabbed Jayden’s helmet and followed her.

“Moira, can you do me a favor?”  Moira nodded.  “Can you get us off of this planet and set a course for Coruscant?”

“Of course.”

***

Moira quickly lifted the ship off the ground and headed for space.  She set the coordinates for Coruscant and once they cleared the atmosphere she engaged the hyperdrive.  She made her way down to the cargo hold where she saw that Jayden had wrapped Jax’s body in her Jedi robe and was kneeling beside the body.

“We’re on our way.”

Jayden nodded as she stared at Jax’s body.

“I can’t begin to understand what you’re feeling right now, but I need to clean and dress these wounds.”

“What wounds?  Did you get hurt?”  Jayden stood up and walked over to Moira, looking her over for injuries.

“Not me, you.  Come on,” Moira said as she grabbed Jayden’s hand and dragged her to their bedroom to get the medical supplies.

Jayden reached her hand up to her face and felt the pain sting her cheek.  She had forgotten all about it.  She also winced as she remembered the lightsaber scraping her back.  Moira had told her to sit at the end of the bed, but as Moira came back into the room she saw Jayden just standing there, staring into space.  She grabbed Jayden and helped her sit down on the edge of their bed.

“This is gonna hurt, ok?  There’s still some of the melted visor that’s hardened now and stuck to your skin,” Jayden was still not really comprehending anything.  She winced as Moira removed the pieces of the visor from her cheek.  Moira then moved to her back and warned her again that it was going to hurt, but Jayden was still in a daze.  Moira was finally done and used a bacta spray to seal up the wounds.  “It’s probably going to leave a nasty scar, but maybe when we’re on Coruscant you can have them heal it properly.  Jayden just nodded.  Moira put the medical supplies away and sat down next to Jayden and pulled her into an embrace.  Moira didn’t know what else she could do for her, so she held Jayden until she fell asleep in her arms.

***

Moira pressed the button to lower the cargo bay door and Jayden stepped onto the platform holding Jax’s body.  As she walked down the platform a Republic soldier walked up to her.

“You can’t just land your ship in the courtyard to the Jedi Temple, we have landing platforms for that!”  She gave him a look and he dropped his gaze to the body she was carrying, nodded, and stepped back.  She continued walking into the Jedi temple and headed straight for the Council chambers.  Moira pressed the button to close the cargo bay door and followed behind her.  As Jayden came into the Council chambers the Jedi Council members stood up to try and protest her presence until she set Jax’s body on top of the table.  Jayden took turns looking at each council member before she started speaking.

“This is your fault!  Your inaction led to Jax’s death.”

“How are we responsible?  Master Kintao decided to go off on her own against the Council’s ruling,” protested one of the Jedi Masters.

“Sit down and shut up!”  The Jedi Master’s begrudgingly sat down.  “For years you have sat here in your Council chambers and have done nothing to prevent the growth of the Dark Jedi in the galaxy.  Instead you sit here as I take care of them and you reap the benefits and take the reward.  You sit here in your pretty robes discussing the problems of this galaxy, and finally one of you steps up and does something about it.  And she died for it.  Her last words to me were that I was right about the Council.  This is not the Order that Luke created!” Jayden looked up and saw Luke’s Force ghost standing behind the Masters nodding and smiling to her, and a tear streamed down her cheek.  She picked up Jax’s body and turned to leave the room.  She hadn’t realized that several Jedi now stood behind her and were watching her with awe.  As Jayden walked out they each placed a hand upon her shoulder.  They followed Jayden as she carried Jax’s body to the Jedi Temple Pyre room.  It was the room where she watched her parents cremated.  It was the room where she watched Master Skywalker cremated.  She stood there as the memories hit her and she let the tears flow.  Dozens of Jedi Knights poured into the room and she watched as each one grabbed a piece of wood to build the pyre.  Jedi could easily build pyres by using the Force, but it was their custom to build it by hand to honor the hard work of the fallen.  After they finished she gently placed Jax’s body on top.

Moira grabbed one of the torches that lined the wall and handed it to Jayden as she reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.  Jayden looked at her and sadly smiled.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Jayden said, then stepped forward and walked around the base of the pyre, lighting several sections, then placed the torch back onto it’s spot on the wall.  She slowly walked back to where Moira was standing and grabbed her hand, and they stood there until the last ember went out.

***

As Jayden and Moira walked back to their ship, several Jedi Knights were watching them.  Before they reached their ship, a few of the Knights approached them.

“Master Kyrie, please wait.”

“I’m not a Jedi Master, just call me Jayden,” she responded.

“You are to us.  You are more of a Jedi Master than any of those that sit on the Council.  We have been talking for awhile now about this, none of the Knights are happy.  We’d like you to come back to the Jedi Order and lead it.  We have long wanted to establish a voting system for the Jedi Council, instead of the Masters just appointing who they think should lead us.  Many of us would vote for you.”

Jayden released Moira’s hand and put her hands on the Knight’s shoulders.  “That is a great idea.  You were a Padawan when I was here, right?”  He nodded.  She couldn’t remember his name though.

“I’m Jun Hayuk.  This is Vreen and Tograt’to,” he said as he pointed to the other two Knights standing on each side of him.

“That is definitely a great idea and I’m sure Master Skywalker would approve of it.  But I am no longer with the Order.  I am a Mandalorian,” Jayden replied as she reached out for her wife’s hand.  “This is my clan.  But, get as many Jedi together that agree with you and stand up to the Council.  If all of the Jedi want this, then the Council won’t have a choice.  I sense a change coming for the Order, and it’s up to you to make it a good one.”

“Yes Mas-, I mean Jayden,” he replied with a smile.  Jayden knew he was young, but she felt a kindred spirit in him.  She knew he had the potential to affect positive change for the Jedi Order.

“If you ever need help though, I’ll be there,” he nodded and Jayden and Moira boarded their ship.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jayden said with a sigh as the cargo bay door sealed.

“Where do you want to go?” Moira asked as they walked up to the cockpit.

“I don’t know…” Jayden said as she tugged on Moira’s arm and pulled her into an embrace.  She looked deep into those beautiful green eyes.  “Is there a planet with green oceans the color of your eyes?”

“I’m sure I can find one,” Moira said as she kissed Jayden’s tear-stained cheek.  “Are you okay?”

Jayden gave Moira a quick kiss.  “As long as I have you, everything is as it should be.”

“I love you,” Moira said as she hugged Jayden as tight as she could.

“I know.”
***

Chapter 8: Justice

Chapter 8 - 65 ABY - There is no virtue so truly great and Godlike, as justice - Joseph Addison
(Jayden-Age 28)

Jayden was thrown into the holding cell and landed in a heap at Moira’s feet.  She looked up and hissed at the guard, baring her teeth.

“What are you going to do, Jedi?” the Noghri guard said.

“You’re lucky that you have these Force dampeners on me!”  She hurled back as she pushed herself up on her knees and shoved her hands in the air to show the shackles that were around her wrists.  He stepped forward and hit her in the face with the butt of his gun and she fell backwards and landed on her side, a new stream of blood forming on her lips.  He walked out of the cell and pressed the button to engage the shield and laughed as he left the room.

“Are you trying to piss them off?”  Moira asked as Jayden pushed herself up off of the ground, wiped the blood from her lips and spit the rest of the blood out.  They had been in this cell for a few months now and she had more bruises on her body than she could count.  Moira helped her to her cot and they sat down and whispered to each other.

“As long as they’re hitting me, they’re not hitting you,” Jayden told her as she looked deep into her green eyes, noticing the fresh bruise under Moira’s left eye.

“I don’t need you to protect me, I can handle them myself.”

The Noghri people had always sided with the Empire, so it was only natural that they helped those on the dark side of the Force.  Jayden had come to their home planet, Honoghr, in search of Quento Shan, but she hadn’t planned on the fact that he had an entire base of operations with dozens of Noghri soldiers to defend him.  She had walked into another trap.  Moira had been captured by the Noghri about a month after Jayden.  She had come to Honoghr looking for a bounty and fell right into their trap as well.

“I know.  We just need to stay strong enough until we’re rescued.  My Master knows I’m here, he’ll send help.”

“You’ve been here longer than I have, how do you still have hope?”  Moira asked as she let out a sigh.  She had just about given up hope on her clan rescuing her.

“I trust in the Force,” Jayden replied and Moira rolled her eyes.   They both looked up as Quento Shan walked into the room.

“Jayden, you are a lot stronger than I ever realized.  If you would only turn to the dark side, we could end this.  Work for me against the Jedi, you know their days are numbered.”

“The only way this will end, my old Master, is your head at my feet,” Jayden said as she stood up and walked to the edge of the shield and glared at him.  He shook his head and reached his hand up.  She started choking and gasping as he used the Force to lift her into the air.  “Do it!” She gasped and told him.  “Do it!”  He shook his head and used the Force to hurl her into the wall and she landed in a thud on the floor.

“Why don’t you just kill us?  What good are we to you?  She clearly isn’t going to join your side, and I don’t even know why you’re keeping me around!”  Moira screamed at him as he smiled wickedly at her.

“The Noghri are keeping you because they wanted to trade you to your clan for some of their beskar armor.  But we just received word from your clan that they have denied the offer.  So, you might not be alive for very much longer,” Quento said as he walked out of the room.

Once Moira was sure he was gone, she went over to where Jayden was still laying and turned her over.  Jayden was gasping for breath.  She started coughing and Moira helped sit her up.

“Why do you have to bait him?”

“It’s a long story,” Jayden replied as Moira helped her back onto her cot as she tried to catch her breath.

“Well… it’s not like we have anything but time.”

Jayden didn’t really want to divulge information, as she knew it could be used against her.  But she knew Moira wasn’t going to stop asking.  She had been asking the same questions since she got here.  Jayden wanted to keep her at arm’s length and not let her in, but slowly Moira persisted and broke through Jayden’s walls that she had put up.  Moira was the first person that Jayden had let herself open up to since Jax.  Jayden couldn’t help but feel like Moira had this gift to make people open up to her.  And she found herself divulging more information.

“He killed my parents.”

“Oh,” Moira replied as her shoulders sunk and she lowered her head.  “I’m sorry.”  There were a few minutes of silence as Moira didn’t really know how to respond.  “I get it now.  The constant mouthing off and aggro against him.  If I could meet the people who killed my parents, I’d probably react the same way.”  Jayden looked at Moira and felt a connection she hadn’t felt in a long time.  She had a kindred spirit in Moira.  She placed her hand on top of Moira’s and they just sat there in silence.

***

The next morning one of the Noghri guards walked into the room, gun in hand, and motioned at Moira to get up.  The Noghri were an ugly species.  They had oblong shaped heads that had bumps in the center that started at the forehead and went all the way to the back.  They were dull gray in color and always seemed angry. 

“Where are you taking her?”  Jayden asked, worry showing on her face.

“It’s none of your business, Jedi scum!”  The guard pressed the button to lower the shield.

Moira stood up and Jayden put a hand up to stop her and stepped in front of her.  The guard pointed his gun at Jayden.

“I’m not supposed to shoot you, but accidents do happen, I’m sure Master Shan will forgive me.”  Jayden stepped forward and just as the guard was about to pull the trigger, an explosion went off outside in the compound.  He looked out of the window to see what was happening and Jayden took her chance.  She rushed him before he could react and she slid and put her legs between one of his and twisted, knocking him to the ground.  He dropped the gun and just as he was reaching for it, Moira picked it up, aimed it at his head, and pulled the trigger.

“Good job!” Jayden told her.  “Now can you shoot these off of me?”

“I can, but I’m sure he’s got the fob for them on his belt,” Moira replied as she walked over to the main door and peered out of the little window.  Jayden flipped over the guard and found the fob and pressed it, and the shackles unlocked and fell off.  Jayden rubbed her wrists.  For the first time in months she felt the Force and she closed her eyes for a second and focused.  “I hate to rush you, but something’s going on outside and we need to get out of here.”  Jayden opened her eyes and smiled.  “What are you smiling about?”

Jayden punched out with her right hand and the door flew off it’s hinges and landed several meters away.  A guard heard the noise and came running and she reached out with the Force, grabbed him, and slung him into the wall of the hallway. 

“Damn girl!”  Moira said as she gingerly stepped around the passed out Noghri.  They continued down the hallway until they got to a junction.  Jayden started walking to the left.

“What are you doing?  The exit’s this way.”

“But my lightsabers are this way.  I can feel them,” Jayden replied.  Moira shrugged and motioned for Jayden to lead the way.  They continued down the hallway until Jayden abruptly stopped.  “In here.”  Jayden reached out with the Force and pushed the door in and saw her lightsabers sitting on a desk.  She pulled them to her and they ran back the way they came towards the exit.

They exited the building to see several Mandalorians fighting the Noghri.  Some had jetpacks and were flying in the air raining down fire upon the Noghri, while the ground forces advanced on them.

“My clan!”  Moira screamed as she rushed into the fray and started firing on the Noghri.  Jayden surveyed the area until her eyes found a lightsaber flashing, trying to repel blaster fire.  Jayden ignited her sabers and helped repel blaster fire until there were no more Noghri left.  The Mandalorians advanced on Quento and he knew it was over.  There was no way he could take on over 25 Mandalorians.  One of the Mandalorians ordered him to drop his weapon and he threw his lightsaber to the ground.

“Are you Jayden?”  The Mandalorian nearest to her asked.  She nodded.  “Master Luke Skywalker sent us to rescue you.”  She smiled as they all started walking towards Quento.

“He’s mine!” Jayden shouted and the Mandalorians made way for her to walk through.  She handed her lightsabers to Moira and picked his up off of the ground.  She twirled it in her hands as she stepped towards him.

“Do you remember how you killed my mother, Kyra?”  He looked at Jayden indignantly as she ignited his sword.  “Do you remember how you killed my mother, Jade?”  She reached out with the Force and brought him to his knees.  “The daughter in me would see you gasping in pain as I watch the life drain out of you, just as I watched the life drain from my mother’s eyes.  But that is something that you would do, and I am better than you.  I am a Jedi, like my mothers before me, and it is in my creed not to partake in the suffering of others.”  She twirled the lightsaber in her hand and then swung out, separating his head from his body.  One of the Mandalorians stepped forward and went to activate his flame thrower, but Jayden put up her hand to stop him.  “He does not deserve a proper burial.  Let the birds eat his body and let his Force ghost be trapped here to haunt the Noghri for all eternity!”

Moira stepped forward and place a hand on Jayden’s arm.  “You’re better than that.”

“Am I?”  Jayden asked, but she already knew the answer.  She turned to the Mandalorian leader.  “Do you have a carbonite chamber on your ship?”  He nodded.  “Then freeze the body and I’ll send it back to Coruscant.”  He nodded and motioned a few of the Mandalorians to pick up the body.  Moira handed Jayden back her lightsabers and Jayden just stared at the other one she held in her hand.  It was finally over.

***

The Mandalorians had taken Jayden back to their home planet of Concordia.  The Noghri had sold her ship for parts, so Luke had arranged for transport from there to Nevarro where she could buy another ship, but she had some business to attend to first.  She stood with Moira in a large chamber filled with every member of the clan.  The leader stepped forward and started speaking and the room grew quiet.

“Moira Sho’van, you have broken the Creed by allowing your helmet to be taken from you and showing your face to outsiders.  How do you plead?”

Moira stepped forward and looked at her adopted parents and frowned.  “Guilty,” she replied as she looked back to the Mandalorian leader.

Jayden didn’t understand what was going on, so she stepped beside Moira.  “Wait… you’re kicking her out of your clan because she was taken prisoner?  That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Silence, Jedi, this is none of your business!”

“The Noghri are all dead!  There’s no one left!  She can still be a part of your clan,” Jayden pleaded.

“You have seen her face.”

Jayden looked at Moira and saw the sadness in her eyes.  She turned her gaze back to the leader.  “N’Gato, throughout our entire time as prisoners, Moira has done nothing but talk about how proud she was to be a Mandalorian and part of your clan.  Don’t take that away from her.  Since I am the last one left to see her face, then allow me to join your clan.”

“You are a Jedi.  Your kind is not welcome here!” N’Gato replied.  “This is the Way!”  N’Gato motioned and two Mandalorians stepped towards Jayden and she put a hand up to stop them.

“I’ve read your history when I was a Padawan.  There have been a few Jedi Mandalorians in your past, have there not?”  Jayden waited for his reply and he nodded.  “Then allow me to take the Creed and join you.  That way the only person left alive to have seen her face is a Mandalorian in her clan, which is allowed per your Creed.”

A few of the Mandalorians protested, but N’Gato put a hand up and quieted them down.  “Do you know what you are asking?”  Jayden nodded and he stood very still in thought for a moment.  “Once a Mandalorian, you will not be allowed to rejoin your Jedi Order.”

“I separated from the Order three years ago and have no intention of ever going back to Coruscant to rejoin them.”

He walked over to where Jayden was standing and looked at Moira.  “Are you willing to teach her the ways of the Mandalore?”  Moira nodded.  N’Gato looked at Jayden.  “And you are choosing to walk the way of the Mandalore?”  Jayden nodded and N’Gato reached out his arm and Jayden grasped it.  “It is not an easy walk, I hope you are prepared.”  He stepped back and looked at all of the clan members.  “Welcome, Jayden Kyrie, to the Shriek-Hawk Clan.  This is the Way.”

“This is the Way,” Jayden replied, and the entire room said it after her.

Everyone started to leave the room and Moira turned to Jayden.  “Why would you do this?”

“Because I care for you, and I haven’t cared about someone for a very long time.”  Jayden reached up to touch the bruise on Moira’s left eye.  Moira reached up to Jayden’s hand and held it tight against her cheek.

“I care for you as well.  You helped me get through these last couple of months when I had lost all hope.”

Two Mandalorians walked up to Jayden and Moira and took off their helmets.  “We would like to thank you for what you did for our daughter.”

“I thought your parents were dead,” Jayden said as she looked back at Moira.

“They are.  These are my adopted parents.  They were my parents best friends, and they took care of me after my parents were killed when I was three.  This is my mom Veeros, and my dad M’nok.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”  They nodded.

“We have a very large house with an extra room.  You’re welcome to stay there with us,” M’nok said.

“I’d appreciate that, thank you.”

“We’re heading home now to eat dinner, would you join us?” Veeros asked.

“I’d love to, but I do need to take care of something first,” they nodded and left Jayden and Moira alone.  “Walk with me?”  Moira nodded, and they stepped outside.  Jayden took a deep breath of the fresh air and gathered her thoughts.

“Before I start my training as a Mandalorian, I need to tell you something,” Jayden told Moira hesitantly as they watched the sun set over the mountains.  “For the past couple of months… in that prison… I couldn’t let my emotions show  I couldn’t let my guard down.  If I did, Quento could have used them against me, by hurting you, and I couldn’t let that happen.  But I…”

“I know,” Moira smiled up at Jayden, then reached up and put her hand behind Jayden’s head and ticked the little hairs at the base of her neck.  Jayden shivered and Moira smiled.  “I know,” she said again as she leaned in and kissed her.
***

Chapter 7: The Battle Begins

Chapter 7 - 72 ABY - The true soldier fights, not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him - G. K. Chesterton
(Jayden-Age 34)

Jayden waited for Moira to say something.  It was excruciating watching Moira pace the room, taking in everything that Jayden had just told her.  She didn’t care if Moira got angry with her and slapped her in the face, she just wanted some reaction.  Moira had so many questions but she didn’t know where to start.  Finally Jayden had reached the limits of her patience.

“Would you stop pacing and talk to me?”

Moira nodded and walked over to the bed and sat down next to Jayden.  “It’s just a lot to take in, you know?”  Jayden nodded and waited for her to continue.  “There’s so much about your life that I don’t even know.  But I understand why you didn’t want to tell me.  There’s a lot of painful memories for you, even for a Jedi who is supposed to try and keep those emotions from affecting them.  That must be extremely hard to balance those emotions.”

“It is.  But none of those compare to the emotions I felt when you got hurt.”

Moira looked at her wife and smiled.  “Alright, so I have a question.  Each one of your tattoos is from a Jedi you defeated?”  Jayden started laughing.  “What?”

“I just told you one of the most dramatic stories from my past, and you just want to know about my tattoos?”

Moira stood up from the bed and then kneeled down in front of Jayden.  “Yeah… you never really explained them to me.  I knew they were from Jedi you defeated, but I want to know what each one means.”

Jayden grabbed Moira’s hand, extended her index finger, and brought it up to the two triangle tattoos under her lip.  “These are from the first two Dark Jedi I took Force powers from.  Their names were Keegan Martell and Dar Kreygil.”  She then lowered her finger to the single inverted triangle below them.  “This is the first Dark Jedi I killed.  His name was Dago Zhie.”

“The Master of the Dark Jedi on Tatooine?”

Jayden nodded and dropped Moira’s finger to the two triangles below.  “This is the two Dark Jedi Yang’xie and Yako I just told you about.”  She then lowered Moira’s finger to the very bottom, and most important one, the inverted triangle that ended on the tip of her chin.  “And this one you know.”  Moira knew that one.  It was Jayden’s former Master Quento Shan.  She then reached for Jayden’s left vambrace and flicked the locking mechanism and pulled it off.  Moira traced the triangles that started on Jayden’s wrist at the back of her hand.  “These two are Colbin Quinn and Paz Kitala.  I removed their powers, froze them in carbonite and sent them to the Republic on Coruscant to stand trial for their crimes.”  Moira then pulled off Jayden’s right wrist vambrace and looked at the two matching triangles.  “Those are for Quiara K’won and Palo Ven.  Quiara I captured, but Palo I had to kill.  Both were frozen in carbonite and sent back to Coruscant.”

“What was it like to kill them?”  Moira had killed people in battle before, but facing a Jedi was different.

“I didn’t want to kill them.  I begged them to give up.  The only one I didn’t mind killing was Quento.”

“I can imagine that.  To avenge your parent’s deaths.”

“I’d like to say that being a Jedi should make me above wanting revenge, but a part of me was glad that I was the one that got to kill him when your clan helped us escape, but it wasn’t about revenge… it was about justice.”

Moira reached up and touched Quento Shan’s triangle again.  She then raised her thumb to Jayden’s lips and stroked it across her bottom lip.  Jayden shivered at Moira’s delicate touch.  “Thank you for telling me all of this.”  Jayden nodded and Moira moved her hand to Jayden’s cheek.  Jayden closed her eyes.  Her touch felt so good, and she felt good getting everything off of her chest.  All of the stories she had long wanted to tell Moira, but just couldn’t find the strength to do so.  She reached her hand up to Moira’s hand and then opened her eyes and stared into Moira’s.

“Now you know everything.  But it also puts you in danger.”

“How?”  Moira asked as she dropped her hands to Jayden’s lap.

“Because if you are ever captured, the Dark Jedi can pull all of that information from you,” Jayden couldn’t help but be worried that she had just put her wife in more danger.

“You know I wouldn’t say anything.”

“I know you wouldn’t.  But some Jedi are incredibly strong and have the ability to reach into your thoughts to extract information.”  Jayden reached up to Moira’s face and moved a stray hair behind her left ear.  “I trust you completely.”

“Do… do you have that power?”

“It’s more of a dark side of the Force power.  It’s very invasive and painful and that’s something that the Jedi don’t want to do.  Take Force Lightning, for example.  It doesn’t mean that the Light side can’t do it, it’s just that the Light side chooses not to do certain things that they believe shouldn’t be used.”

Moira started grinning and stood up in front of Jayden, reached out her hands and pulled her up from the bed.

“What are you grinning about?”  Jayden asked as Moira started pulling her Mandalorian armor off.

“So… you can’t use Force Lightning on me?”

“No,” Jayden replied as Moira drew her close and pulled her undershirt off.

“Really?”  Jayden shook her head and watched as Moira pulled her own shirt off.

“Even if I tickle you?”

“You better not!”  Jayden watched as Moira bit her lip and grinned.  “Don’t you do it!”

Moira started laughing as she backed up and pulled her pants off.

“I have other Force abilities I can use on you,” Jayden said as she tugged at her own pants frantically.

“Is that a fact?”  Moira asked as she took a step towards Jayden.  Jayden nodded and reached out her hand.

“Like this one,” with a quick motion of her wrist she used the Force to slide Moira closer to her.  Moira reached out and tickled Jayden as they came together and fell backwards onto the bed in an embrace and started laughing.

“You’ve been a bad Jedi!”

***

“I’ve got that information you requested.  I’ll send it to you on a secure line,” Jax said as her hologram flickered on the console.

“Thanks Jax, I appreciate it.”  Jax nodded and Jayden cut off the communication.  Moira walked into the cockpit and leaned down to give Jayden a kiss on the cheek.

“How long was I out?”

“About ten hours.”  Moira noticed that they were in orbit of Coruscant.  “I didn’t want to wake you, you were sleeping so peacefully, so I just lifted us off and put us into orbit while waiting on Jax.  She’s sending the info now.”

“I heard.  Did you sleep at all?”  Moira asked as she sat down in the co-pilot’s seat.

“A little.  I don’t need as much sleep as you humans do, weaklings that you all are,” Jayden answered as she smiled.  Truth was she was still exhausted, but she had spent the last few hours getting something made for their armor.  “But I got something for you.  Well, it’s for both of us.”  She pulled out a cloth and unwrapped it and handed the object to Moira.

“What is it?”

“It’s a new signet for our armor.  While you were sleeping I contacted someone on Coruscant and had these made, since we’re kind of far from a Mandalorian Armorer.  It’s a-“

“Krayt Dragon skull,” Moira finished as she traced the outline on the shoulder pauldron.

“Yeah.  I figured since, well, our clan isn’t the same clan anymore, that we should become a new clan.  The Dragon Clan,” Jayden watched as Moira hung her head.  “But if you don’t like it… I mean… I can throw them out,” Jayden said as she reached for the armor.  How could she be so stupid.  Of course Moira wouldn’t like it, it would just be a horrible reminder of what they’d gone through.

“No, it’s not that,” Moira replied as she held onto the pauldron.  “It’s actually perfect.  You remembered the Mandalorian ritual about how our signets reveal themselves to us due to the battles that we face,” Moira looked up and smiled at Jayden.  “This is perfect.  I’ll wear it with honor.  You fought the Krayts and you saved my life.  We are Dragons!  This is the Way.”

“This is the Way,” Jayden replied and smiled at her most beautiful wife.

A beep on the console startled them and Jayden looked down at the console and read the information that Jax had just sent to her.  Moira could tell that the news wasn’t good.  Jayden reached her hand up to rub her forehead and then slid her fingers through her hair.

“That bad, huh?”

Jayden nodded and sighed.  “Remember the Jedi Master that I told you about, Kyega?”  Moira nodded.  “He’s been recruiting Dark Jedi all over the Galaxy.  He’s left a wake of destruction on several worlds.  The one on Tatooine that spoke is Ezra Navigne.  He was Dago’s protege.  Dago was very skilled with the lightsaber.  He was very hard to beat, which means Ezra will most likely be the same.  One of the other ones is T’var Kurg, a Devaronian.  The Jedi don’t know much about him, so he must have been found by Kyega.  The other one is Jin P’tar, a Lasat.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Lasat before.  What are they?”

“They’re kind of like Wookiees.  They’re strong, big, fast, and very good at being stealthy.  Jin was Kyega’s Padawan.  When Kyega fled the temple, Jin went with him.  Jax said that Kyega has been on a mission to find me since I left the Jedi.  But now that they know I’m a Mandalorian, no planet is going to be safe for us.”

“What about Nevarro?  Surely the Bounty Hunter’s Guild will still work with us, we’ve always been loyal to them.”

“They’ve likely already contacted them and put a bounty out for us.”  Jayden grabbed Moira’s hand.  “You should stay here.  I can contact Jax again and have her put you under the Jedi’s protection while I deal with these four.”

“I’m not leaving you.  We’re the Dragon Clan now, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” Moira said as she wickedly smiled at Jayden.

“This isn’t a joke, Moira.  These will likely be the strongest Jedi I have ever faced.  I can’t guarantee your safety, or even my own.”

Moira set the pauldron on the console and grabbed Moira’s hands.  “Then all the more reason that I need to be there.  I’m not some delicate flower, I am a Mandalorian.  I know how to fight!”

“But this is a fight that I’m not sure we can win.”

“Do we have a choice?”  Jayden shook her head.  “Then we fight, and if we die trying, then our names will go down as the greatest Mandalorian warriors ever and Mandalorians will sing of our glories for eons to come,” Moira said as she pulled Jayden out of her chair.

“You’re nuts.  You know that, right?”  Moira nodded.

Jayden couldn’t help but be worried.  As soon as she saw Kyega’s name attached to the other Jedi she got a very bad feeling.  She knew Moira wasn’t going to stay, but she had to try.

“Come with me,” Jayden told Moira as she pulled her out of the cockpit.  “Since I can’t talk you out of this, then I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

“Oooh, a gift?” Moira said as she happily followed her wife into the cargo bay.  She watched as Jayden pulled something from a bag and tossed it to her.  “A rock?”

Jayden snorted.  “Not just any rock, a Dragon’s Pearl.”  Moira looked at her like she was speaking Wookiee.  “Do you ever read anything about the planets we visit?”  Moira shook her head and Jayden sighed.  “We’re going to have to rectify that.  These pearls came from the gizzards of the Krayt Dragons I killed.”

“Ew!”  Moira immediately dropped the stone, but Jayden used the Force to stop it from hitting the ground and pulled it to her.

“Please don’t drop it.  These things are incredibly rare and insanely expensive.”

“Seriously?”  Moira was now intrigued.

“One of these could buy ten starfighters,” Jayden said and Moira raised her eyebrows.

“So… we’re getting a new ship?  Is that my gift?  Because this one is seriously about to break down, I don’t know how many more times I can fix the hyperdrive.  And the way you fly, I’ve already had to replace the landing gear three times.”  Jayden walked over to Moira and put a finger against her lips.

“No, I am not buying us a new ship.  And seriously, how do you talk that fast?”  Jayden sighed.  “One of the many things that Dragon Pearls are good for, is focusing crystals for a lightsaber.”

“So you’re making me a lightsaber?”  Moira looked at her, raising her right eyebrow.

“Would you stop interrupting me?”  Moira smacked her lips together and waited for Jayden to continue.  “Thank you.  I am going to work on one of your vambraces.  You’ll activate it like a flamethrower, but instead of a flame, you’ll have a small lightsaber that you can use as a weapon or as a shield to defend against lightsabers.  Since we’re going to be going up against Dark Jedi, I figured it could come in handy.”

Moira thought about it for a minute.  “That’s actually a really cool idea.”

“Thank you.  Now… what’s wrong with how I fly?”

***

“Moira, get up here!” Jayden called out over the comms.

A few minutes later Moira came running into the room, out of breath.  “What’s up?”

“Why are you so out of breath?”

“I was practicing with the vambrace that you built for me.  It’s pretty sweet.”  The last few days Jayden had helped Moira learn how to use her new vambrace.  Jayden would practice swinging her lightsaber at Moira and teaching her how to properly deflect a strike from every angle imaginable.  Moira was grateful for the practice, because she was very nervous about a weapon that could cut your body in half with a flick of a wrist.  They had often practiced sword fighting techniques throughout the years, but that was just with dull swords, but Moira was grateful for all of those practice sessions now, even though she really wasn’t at the time they were practicing.  She always lost, and she hated losing.  But using the vambrace was a bit different.  It wasn’t for swinging around like a sword, it was more for defense, although she could use it to plunge forward, which she tried with Jayden, but Jayden scolded her on it, because it left the rest of her body open and defenseless.  Still, she was grateful for something to help protect her.

“Just don’t poke a hole in the ship,” Jayden said as she motioned for Moira to take a seat.

“Ha ha!”  Moira sarcastically responded as she sat down.  “Are we almost there?”

“Pulling out of hyperspace now,” Jayden said as she pulled the lever back.  As they came out of hyperspace they could see the planet on the far side of the system.  It was a beautiful planet that was mostly water with a few large land masses and scattered with clouds.  It looked very similar to Tatooine, only with half the planet being oceans.

“So that’s Savareen?”

“Yeah.  I’m gonna pull us into the edge of that asteroid belt so we can do some recon on the ships entering and leaving the system.  The Jedi intel said that this was the last known coordinates of Ezra Navigne.  If we can catch all of the Dark Jedi separately, then we might have a chance.  But if they’re traveling in a group like they were on Tatooine, then we’ll have to wait and see.  There’s no way we can take all of them on.  I’m good, but I’m not that good.  And there’s no one backing us up.  The Jedi won’t help.  They feel that I’ve gone rogue and disagree with my tactics, even though I’m the only one taking out these Dark Jedi.  They don’t mind reaping the benefits that I sow.  So we are truly on our own.  This is your last chance.  Are you really sure you want to do this with me?”

Moira looked at Jayden and sighed.  “All of your life you have been betrayed by the people that were supposed to care for you.  Your former Master, the Jedi Council, and your first love.  I will never leave you.  I will never betray you.  You told Jax that you would have died for her, but she didn’t feel the same for you.  Well I do.  I know you would die for me, and I would gladly give up my life for you.”

Jayden’s breath caught in her throat.  Seven years ago she met Moira and knew she had found the one thing that she had always searched for since her parents had passed away.  She found the person that loved her unconditionally.  She knew it since the moment Moira stood up against Quento Shan to defend her, but the full realization of just how amazing her wife truly is, finally hit her and she smiled at her wife of five years.  It felt like so much longer, as if they had known each other their entire lives.  But several months of imprisonment and torture at the hands of a homicidal maniac will do that to you.  Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like months, and months felt like years.  They each helped one another to stay strong throughout that horrific time.  Jayden couldn’t show her affection to Moira then, because she knew Quento would use it against her.  But they each knew they had feelings for one another while they endured the daily torture from Quento and his guards.

“Alright then.  Now we wait and see.  We’ll take shifts.  I’ll let you take the first watch, because I need to go rest and recharge.  You’re going to be looking for a Delta Class Shuttle.  If you see one, wake me up immediately.”  Moira nodded and Jayden pulled their starfighter into the edge of the asteroid belt.  “The asteroid belt should give us some cover, and they won’t be able to detect us on long range scanners.”  Jayden got up and let Moira sit down in the pilot’s seat.  She then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear.  “I love you.”

“I know.”

***

It was Jayden’s turn to keep watch and she spent the time studying up on the planet.  She also focused on the Force and was able to contact Luke.  It was good to hear her old Master’s voice again.  She had been a little too emotional lately and needed his guidance.  Any time she felt like things were slipping, she would reach out with the Force and contact him.  He always knew exactly what to say to center her.  She was still worried though.  These next Jedi that she faced would most likely be her hardest.  Luke told her just to focus on the Force and let it guide her in battle, but how was she supposed to do that if Moira was there?  He reminded her that Moira was a Mandalorian long before she was Jayden’s wife, and knew how to take care of herself, but Jayden knew that Moira had never faced a Jedi, let alone a very strong Dark Jedi.  Jayden refused to take Moira with her on missions before because she knew it would be too dangerous, and the thought of losing her was too much to bear.  Luke just told her to trust in the Force.  She sighed and tried to focus again on the battle that was about to ensue.

“Here you go,”  Moira handed Jayden a cup of coffee.  She had heard Jayden sigh and knew already what was bothering her, but asked anyway.  “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.  Just getting tired of looking at computer screens,” Jayden responded as she gratefully accepted the cup of coffee and took a sip.

“No action yet?”

“Nothing yet.  But I wanted to talk to you and formulate a plan.  If it’s just one of them, I want you to stay on the ship.”

“No way!  I am here to help,” Moira replied indignantly.

“I know, baby.  I just… I need to focus during the fight, and I can’t really do that if I’m worried about you.”

“So you’re saying… I’m a distraction?” Moira started giving Jayden her best sexiest look, and Jayden just rolled her eyes.

“Exactly!” Jayden smiled as she leaned in for a kiss.  “But seriously, these are probably going to be the strongest Dark Jedi that I’ve yet to face.  I don’t want to put you in danger if I don’t have to.”

Moira nodded and sat down in the co-pilot seat and focused on the console.  “Looks like a ship just came out of hyperspace.”

Jayden set her coffee aside and touched the screen on the console to check the specs on the ship.  “That’s our ship.  Looks like there’s two life signs aboard.”  She watched to see where it was landing on the planet and set the coordinates to land nearby.

“If there’s two, then I’m going with you.  Don’t argue with me on this.”  Jayden knew not to argue with Moira when she set her mind to something, so she nodded and flew her fingers across the controls.  She then grabbed the control stick and maneuvered them out of the debris of the asteroid field and flew them down towards the planet.

“Kom’rk Class Transport, this is Savareen Flight Control, what is your destination?”

Moira flicked open the comms and Jayden showed her the coordinates they needed to land at.  “Savareen Flight Control, this is Kom’rk LV426. We need permission to land at landing platform nine please?”

“Permission granted.  Enjoy your stay on Savareen.”

Moira clicked off the comms and smiled nervously at Jayden.  Jayden half smiled back and focused on landing the ship.  As the ship landed, Jayden flicked off the buttons to turn off the engines and turned in her seat to Moira.  “Let’s gear up.”

***

“Why do you want me to use this weapon?” Moira asked.  “It’s archaic!  It still uses bullets that you have to reload.”

“Exactly!”  Jayden finished putting on her shoulder pauldrons and vambraces.  She looked at Moira who was flipping the gun in her hand.  “Look… you press this lever, pull the cartridge out, then pop the new cartridge back in, and pull this piece back, and it’s ready to fire.”

“I’m still not sure why you won’t just let me use my blaster.”

“Because lightsabers repel blaster fire.”  Moira still was looking at her with her eyebrows raised.  “Meaning that they can repel those blaster bolts into you or me.”

“Oh,” Moira said as she slowly nodded.  She still didn’t know why she had to use a several hundred year old gun.

“It was your ancestors that actually created this weapon.  When they were fighting Jedi they knew that blaster bolts would quickly be repelled, but bullets couldn’t be repelled back.  When a lightsaber hits these bullets, they just disintegrate.  But when you’re firing several hundred bullets a minute, chances are, the Jedi aren’t going to be able to block every single one.”

“What about whistling birds?”

“Explosives are fine to use, but chances are the Dark Jedi will see it coming and jump out of the way, so I wouldn’t waste them unless you know that you have a clear shot.  If they’re focused on me, they might be too busy to sense it coming, so that would be a good opportunity.  That’s why I’m thinking it might be best if you find a vantage point.  You can fire your gun from safety while I have them occupied.”

Moira nodded and clipped the weapon to her shoulder strap and put on her helmet.  She was starting to feel a little nervous.  Jayden could sense it, but she was too busy worrying about her own nervousness.

“Also, hold the weapon with both hands,” she pointed to each spot on the gun.  “It’s got a bit of a kick to it and you’ll need both hands to keep the aim steady from the recoil.”

“Got it,” Moira nodded. 

“You ready?” Jayden asked as she put on her helmet and pressed the button to lower the cargo bay door.

“No.”

Jayden laughed as they walked off of the ship and closed the door.  Jayden pointed to the area that they needed to get to, and they started walking.  At first it was just a lot of sand and scattered buildings, but once they got into the spaceport and marketplace they saw more and more people.  They were in the Outer Rim, so seeing the occasional Mandalorian wasn’t a big deal.  That didn’t worry Jayden.  But once she got close enough to sense the two Dark Jedi, then she knew that it would be too late.

“We’re getting close, they should be on the other side of the market, so what I want you to do is separate from me.  Get on top of the buildings and follow me on the rooftops until I tell you that I’ve sensed them.  I’ll let them come to me.  Their ship was on the opposite side of the spaceport, so I should be sensing them soon.”

Moira nodded and Jayden watched as she walked into an alley and climbed up the side of the building.  Once she reached the top, Jayden continued to walk through the spaceport.  There were dozens of tightly packed buildings, and street vendors trying to sell their wares.  There were dozens of people out in the market, stopping to eat at the vendors tables.  Jayden loved the smells, there were so many different food vendors, which was far different from their little area on Tatooine.

Jayden realized she had forgot to tell Moira one of the most important things, so she whispered in her mic.  “Another thing… when they approach me, do not focus your thoughts on them.  Keep your mind clear.  They can sense when someone is focusing on them.  So don’t think about them, don’t think about shooting them, just focus on me if you have to.”

“Got it.”

“And another thing… I love you.”

“I love you, too.  Be careful!”  Jayden looked at the rooftop where Moira was positioned and nodded to her.  She continued walking several hundred more meters until she felt their presence.  She slowed down her walk and unsheathed her lightsabers.  She screwed them together to form her double-bladed lightsaber.  She still remembered when she built her lightsabers.  These weren’t her original ones from when she was a Padawan and Knight.  The crystals were the same, but she rebuilt them after she had joined the Mandalorians.  The hilts were made out of Mandalorian beskar.  It is the strongest alloy in the galaxy.  Mandalorians used beskar because it was the only steel or alloy that could repel lightsabers.  So she created her lightsaber hilts so that they would protect her hands.  They formed a V shape that a lightsaber would bounce off and not be able to directly hit.  She had remembered the story that Luke had told her about his hand being cut off by Vader, so she knew there was nothing better than beskar to protect her hands, especially when she had it connected as the double-bladed saber.

She spun the saber in her hand as she kept on walking until she saw the two hooded forms standing at the entrance to their side of the market.  She stopped and whispered in her comms, “Here we go.”

Moira positioned herself on the rooftop, unclipped the gun, and held it like Jayden said.  She rested her elbow on the edge of the roof and watched through the scope.  Just like Jayden told her, she only focused on Jayden, she didn’t even look at the two Dark Jedi.  She watched as Jayden stopped walking and held the lightsaber out in front of her.  She ignited one blade, and then the other.  Each blade had it’s own color.  One was blue and one was purple.  But when they were together, they had both colors and Moira thought it was incredibly beautiful.

“You really think that you can take us both on?” said the voice Jayden recognized from Tatooine.

“We weren’t formally introduced last time.  You had me at a disadvantage, Ezra.  My only question now is… is that T’var with you?  I’m pretty sure it’s not Jin, as he’s too short to be a Lasat.  And surely Kyega wouldn’t be caught dead on this dump of a planet.”

They both reached up and pulled their hoods down and smiled at Jayden  They then took their robes off and dropped them on the ground.  They ignited their sabers, both red, and the few people that had been standing around started running for cover, with some peering out of windows.

“Dear Phanius, you’re an ugly son of a bitch!”  Jayden looked at T’var and shook her head.  “Do you have those horns when you’re born, or do they grow in later?  Because if you’re born with them, that’s gotta be painful!”  T’var snarled at her.  He had two horns, one on each side of his head, and had reddish-brown skin.  He looked like something out of a child’s nightmare.

“Are you trying to piss them off?”  Moira whispered in Jayden’s earpiece.

“So are we gonna do this or what?  I’m getting kind of hungry and one of those vendors back there had some deep fried Nuna legs that looked really yummy,” Jayden was cut off as T’var snarled again and ran towards her.  She spun her lightsaber in her hands and used the momentum of the motion to throw him off balance when his lightsaber clashed with hers.  She spun him around to where his back was to Moira and nodded for her to start firing.  She had his lightsaber locked with hers so he couldn’t deflect the bullets, and Moira struck him several times in his back.  Jayden then Force pushed him to the ground.  Ezra started running towards her with his lightsaber held above his head to swing down on her.  She twisted her saber around to greet his, and deflected several of his following strikes.  They went toe for toe for several minutes, neither gaining an advantage.  She could hear T’var groaning in pain and looked back to see him trying to get up.  She separated her sabers and threw one of her swords at him.  He looked up just in time to see a bright white light coming towards him, and as she pulled the saber back, he fell to the ground, a gaping hole between his eyes.

“Well that wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” Jayden said as she got into her Jar’Kai fighting position and stared at Ezra.  Her purple blade was in her left hand, facing backwards, and she held it out in front of her.  It’s purple light was reflecting off of her blue beskar armor and helmet.  Her blue blade was in her right hand, also holding it backwards, as she held it near her hip.

“You’ll find that I’m a lot more skilled than he was.  But are you going to fight with honor or are you going to let your partner help you?”

Jayden smirked.  “A Dark Jedi talking about honor?  That’s a new one.  But you’re right.  It was two on two, now it’s one on one.  Moira… sit this one out.”

Ezra looked up at Moira and watched as she pulled her gun off of the ledge.  “His impatience was always a problem,” Ezra said shaking his head.  “I told Master Kyega he wasn’t ready.  He didn’t have the training that you or I did.”

“Ezra, we don’t have to do this.  Turn yourself in.  You know that I am more powerful than you,” Jayden pleaded with him.  “I’ve already killed one person today, please don’t make me kill two.”

“A life of a Jedi is not worth living if they can’t use the Force!”

Moira watched from above as Ezra started his attack against Jayden.  Their lightsabers danced about faster than her eyesight could perceive them.  Light flashed everywhere as the reflections of the sabers danced along the walls of the buildings.  If Jayden wasn’t in any danger, Moira would have thought the lights were beautiful, like they were a part of a celebration.

Jayden defended against his attacks with ease, but she knew he was holding back.  He was waiting for his chance to unleash on her.  He swung from his hip and she parried it and spun around, but he was able to hit her hilt.  They stood struggling as she held up her two swords with his, the hilt protecting her hands.  When she pushed off, the tip of his saber grazed her left arm right below the pauldron and she gasped in pain.  That was his moment to unleash a barrage that had her backpedaling.  Strike after strike grew stronger and he was gaining the upper hand, but she had one trick up her sleeve.  He struck again and she let the saber fly out of her right hand, and only had the saber in her left hand on her wounded arm.  He saw the advantage and swung down with all of his might.  She blocked it with the lightsaber.  He was powerful and she fell to her knees against his weight.  She then reached up with her right arm.  She flicked her wrist forward and activated her vambrace.

Moira stood on the rooftop watching as Ezra was about to kill her wife.  She screamed and he looked up at her and smiled.  Then his smile faded as he stepped backwards and fell to the ground.  Moira looked back at Jayden as she stood up and deactivated her left vambrace and turned off her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt.

“You turned your vambrace into a lightsaber as well?”

“Well… when I  was practicing with you, I thought it was pretty cool and could come in handy,” Jayden replied as she tried to catch her breath.

“So you were letting him think he had gotten the advantage of you so that you could surprise him?”

Jayden nodded as she walked over to Ezra.  He was still barely alive.  He tried to reach for his lightsaber but she used the Force and pulled it to her and clipped it to her belt.

“I can still save you, or I can kill you.  Your choice.”

“You kno… know what… I want,” Ezra managed to say through gritted teeth as the pain enveloped him.  Jayden nodded.  She reached out with the Force and pulled her blue saber that had fallen several meters behind her, ignited it, spun it in her hand and with one slashing motion ended his life.

Moira had jumped down from the rooftop in time to see Moira deal the final blow and she had to turn away.  The memory of her dad’s head being torn off by the Krayt Dragon flashed in her head.  Jayden looked up to see Moira crouch to the ground.  She deactivated her saber, walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about your dad.  It’s just that… he was suffering and it’s the fastest way to kill someone and put them out of their misery.”

“It’s ok, I understand.”  Moira got to her feet and saw several people starting to walk back out into the market.  “We might want to get out of here soon.”

Jayden looked around at the people that had come out and were staring at them.  She walked over to T’var’s body and picked up his lightsaber and attached it to her belt.  She then whistled as she saw a droid-operated transport shuttle nearby.  It drove over to her.  “I need these bodies taken to my ship on platform 9.”  The droid beeped angrily at her.  “I’ll pay you double,” she said as she tilted her head.  The droid beeped again happily and she loaded up the bodies onto the shuttle and paid the droid.  It beeped again as it took off in the direction of their ship.  Later she was going to have to freeze their bodies in carbonite and send them off to Coruscant for verification of death.

“Since that nasty bit of business is taken care of, I really am hungry.  Mind if we stop and get some fried Nuna legs on the way back to the ship?”

Moira rolled her eyes, smiled, then grabbed her wife’s hand and kissed it.  “Of course.”  She was glad that they were safe, but she couldn’t help but think about the first time she saw Jayden kill a Jedi.  This time was different.  It was just a battle between opposing sides.  The first time was personal.

***

Chapter 6: First Love

Chapter 6 - 62 ABY - Hearts live by being wounded - Oscar Wilde
(Jayden-Age 25)

“Well that was…”

“Amazing!”  Jayden finished as she and Jax held each other tightly.  Water droplets rained down on them as they shook from the exertion of their lovemaking.

“Was that your first?”  Jax asked and Jayden nodded.  Jayden knew that she wasn’t as experienced as Jax, after all, this was her first relationship.  They had been together for two years but Jayden wanted to wait for a special time to take it a step further.  They had been on Tython for about three weeks.  Tython was a Force sensitive planet where the first Jedi Order was established.  Back then they were called the Je’daii.  Kyra wanted to bring Jayden here so that she could relax and meditate in the Force.  Their first week was spent in meditation.  The second week they started to explore and found the remnants of what they believed was the first Je’daii Temple.  Then they found this amazing waterfall and beautiful river and set up camp at the base of the river.

“I know it’s not your first, but…”

“No, but I have to say… Making love behind a waterfall is definitely amazing!”  Jayden smiled and they kissed again.

“I’m just glad you said yes,” Jayden laughed as she grabbed Jax’s left hand and interlaced their fingers.  “I’ll get you a ring once we get back to Coruscant.”  It was a spur of the moment decision that she wasn’t prepared for, but she couldn’t have imagined a better place, than this exact spot, to propose.  “Do you think they heard us?”

“We were kind of loud,” Jax responded as they both laughed.  They weren’t alone on the planet.  Luke agreed to let them come if they allowed two of the Republic’s guards to accompany them.  They stayed far enough away to give Jayden and Jax their space, but checked in every couple of hours to make sure everything was ok.  The guards stayed in a shuttle about four hundred meters away and kept them apprised of any animals or creatures that might be nearby.  They also kept in contact with Coruscant regularly in case there were any emergencies.

“Well I guess we better get dressed and head back to camp and check in, lest they think our screams were because of some animal attacking,” Jayden said as she started putting her bathing suit back on.

“Well, we are Jedi after all, I’m sure they think we could handle a few dangerous manka cats,” Jax replied as she winked at Jayden.

They took one last look at the rocky ledge behind the waterfall and smiled at each other.  Jayden couldn’t help but stare into Jax’s beautiful blue eyes.  They were the color of the oceans on Naboo, and she felt like she could get lost in them.  She then grasped Jax’s hand and they both jumped through the waterfall and landed in the river below.  Once they reached the shore they heard a voice calling through their comms in their tent, so Jayden quickly ran to the tent and picked up her earpiece.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?”

“A ship came into the atmosphere a few minutes ago.  It looks like it’s heading our way.  They’re not answering our hails.  You need to get back here so we can take off, just in case.” the guard replied.

“Thanks, P’scal, we’ll pack up and be there shortly.”  P’scal and Diante were Jayden’s two regular guards that accompanied her everywhere during the day shift on Coruscant.  She had gotten to know them very well.  She had even met their wives and kids.  Diante’s wife was pregnant and should be delivering their third child next month, and she couldn’t help but enjoy his excitement and laugh at his nervousness.  She knew it was hard for him to be away from his family these last three weeks.

“What’s going on?” Jax asked.

“We have to go.  A ship just came into orbit and P’scal is worried they might be coming for us.”  They quickly packed up their camp and started running towards the shuttle.

***

Ten minutes later Jayden and Jax had reached the edge of the clearing that the shuttle was parked in.  The ship that came into the atmosphere had already landed next to it.  Jax and Jayden slowly crept up to the edge of the forest and heard voices.  Then they saw two Jedi standing in front of the guards who were on their knees on the ground.

“Wait a minute… I recognize those Jedi,” Jayden whispered to Jax.

“Yeah that’s Yang’xie and Yako.  What are they doing here?”  Yang’xie and Yako were always together.  They demanded to go on missions together, and were rarely ever apart.  Jayden always had an odd feeling about them, but didn’t really know them all that well.  Yang’xie was a human female from Corellia, and Yako was a human male from one of the Outer Rim planets.  They were romantic partners as well.

“What are they doing?” Jayden asked and then gasped as she watched them ignite their lightsabers and slice her guard’s heads off.  Jayden started to get up and run towards them but Jax pulled her back.

“We can’t do anything for them now, and if we get caught, they will kill us, and no one will ever know what happened here.  Let’s wait and see what they do.”  Jayden nodded and crouched back down as she focused on the Force to try and listen in on what they were saying.

“Now they’re won’t be any witnesses, but we have to get Jayden and her partner,” Yako said.

“Let’s get back in the ship and do a low sweep for life signs.  Then we can blast them and report back that she’s dead,” Yang’xie replied.

After the ship took off, Jayden and Jax ran to the shuttle.  They grabbed the bodies of the guards and took them into the ship.  “We need to get back to Coruscant now!”  Jayden ran for the cockpit and pulled up the coordinates for Coruscant and plugged them into the hyperdrive.  She went to switch the levers to start the engines but Jax put a hand on hers to stop her.

“Wait until they’re out of range before you start the engines, or they’ll be right on top of us as we pull out of the atmosphere.”

“Good idea,” Jayden nodded.  She wasn’t thinking clearly.  She had just watched her two guards get murdered, and a swelling of anger was clouding her judgement.  She closed her eyes for a few moments until Jax told her it was clear.  She started the engines and lifted off, going as fast as the small Republic shuttle could possibly go.  Once they hit the blackness of space, Jayden engaged the hyperdrive.

***

Jayden had paced the Council chambers for what seemed like an eternity.  She had told them that Yang’xie and Yako had murdered her two guards, and told them that Jax had also witnessed it, but they didn’t want to hear Jax’s side of the story.  They were waiting on Yang’xie and Yako to get back to Coruscant.  Finally she grew tired of waiting and stepped out into the corridor to see one of the Jedi Masters on the council, Master Kyega, talking to Yang’xie and Yako.  She noticed he seemed very friendly towards the two Jedi Knights.  As they noticed Jayden enter the hallway they stopped talking and turned towards her.

Master Kyega frowned at Jayden.  “Yang’xie and Yako just told me that they were nowhere near your system.  They have even brought me the data from their flight recorders that shows them several parsecs away.”

“They are lying!  I have told you the truth.  Just ask Jax.”

“We don’t need to speak to Jax.  The proof is right here.  You must have seen two other Dark Jedi.”

“Then ask Master Luke.  He will vouch for me!  He knows I never lie!”

“Master Skywalker is in the middle of an operation and can’t be bothered right now,” the Jedi Master responded.

Jayden turned on her heel and headed towards the Operations room where Luke supposedly was.  She entered the room and noticed that Luke was nowhere to be found, only a few of the Republic soldiers were in the room.  Master Kyega, Yang’xie, and Yako followed her into the room.

“I thought Luke was in the middle of an operation?”  Then it dawned her.  “You’re the one that they were supposed to report to after they killed me.”

Master Kyega looked at her incredulously.  “How dare you accuse me of treason!  I have nothing to do with this!”

“Then why did you say ‘two other Dark Jedi’?”  She saw the look on his face as he realized his mistake.

“Guards, take this Jedi to her quarters and watch her until the Council reconvenes,” Master Kyega demanded.

She saw two of the guards encroach upon her and used the Force to halt them in place.  She then focused on Kyega and Force pushed him through the glass door, shattering it into pieces.  Everyone in the room scattered and left Yang’xie, Yako, and Jayden alone.  They tried to leave the room but she reached out with the Force and held them in their place.

“The Council won’t do anything about you, but I will!  You murdered those guards!  They were my friends!”  Jayden lifted her hands and using the Force, lifted them off the ground and held them where they couldn’t move.

“Yeah, so what if we did?  Kyega is on our side.  The Jedi’s days are numbered!”  Jako smiled ferociously at her and Yang’xie laughed.

“Well, it’s too bad that Kyega won’t be using your services anymore,” Jayden smiled, her sharp white teeth glistening in the brightly lit room, and her long canines made her look like a feral shistavenen, a wolf like creature that gave many children nightmares throughout the galaxy.

“No, you can’t!  You don’t have the approval of the Council!”

Jayden glared at them and reached out with the Force.  They struggled against her Force grip but were powerless to stop her.  She took their powers and then fell to her knees as her energy drained.  Her Force hold on them released and they fell to the ground.  Several guards rushed into the room and Jayden looked up at them.  “These two are traitors and murderers.  Take them to a holding cell until Master Skywalker returns.”  One of the guards helped her up as the other two guards put cuffs on Yako and Yang’xie and escorted them out of the room.  “Where is Master Kyega?”  Jayden stepped outside of the room and looked around as her boots crunched on the broken glass.

“He took off after you threw him through the glass.”

“Find him!”

***

Master Skywalker stood next to Jayden as they faced the Council together.  She had spent the last hour telling him what happened and he and Jax tried to calm her down.  She knew she was in the wrong, but felt that if she didn’t do something, that they were going to get away.  Luke believed her, but he also knew the Council was right to question her methods.

“Jayden knows that she shouldn’t have taken their Force abilities without the Council’s consent.  However, why would you convene a Council meeting without me here?  Last I knew, I was the head of the Jedi Council!”

“Master Kyega said that you were too close to the girl, seeing as she was once your Padawan,” responded one of the Jedi Masters.

“Master Kyega is a traitor, and yet another one of our Council members to turn to the dark side.  Ask yourself this question… how are so many of our Jedi Masters turning to the dark side under our very noses?”  No one responded and Luke shook his head.

“Regardless of the circumstances surrounding Master Kyega, Jayden has broken the rules that we set in place about using her special abilities.  She needs to be reprimanded.”

Jayden stepped forward and unclipped her Jedi signet from her chest.  “You don’t have to worry about reprimanding me.  I will not be part of an Order who hides behind hoods and talks in secrecy.  I will not be part of an Order who punishes those who are trying to help rid the galaxy of the ones who wield the dark side.  All of my life I have wanted to be a Jedi Guardian, yet once I became one, you kept me hidden and not able to live up to my full potential.  Not anymore!”  She threw the signet on the table and walked out of the room.

Luke looked at each Council member and shook his head.  “I am ashamed of you all.  Jayden wasn’t in the right, and she knows this, but neither are you.  I am ashamed of what the Order, that I have created, has become.”  He reached up and untied his Jedi robe, folded it and laid it on the table.  He heard several gasps as he unclipped his Jedi signet from his chest and placed it on top of the robe and walked out.

***

Jayden rushed into her quarters at the Jedi Temple and saw Jax sitting on the couch.  She immediately ran to Jax and embraced her as Jax got up to greet her.

“What did they say?”

It took Jayden a few minutes to get her composure back, but she finally pulled away from Jax and walked to her bedroom.

“What’s going on, Jayden?”

“I’m out,” Jayden replied as she pulled out a bag and started packing her clothes in it.

“They kicked you out?”  Jayden shook her head and that made Jax even more confused.  She walked  over and grabbed Jayden’s arms to stop her from packing, and spun Jayden around to face her.  “What happened?”

“Master Luke tried to talk to them, but they wanted to reprimand me.  Like I wasn’t in seclusion enough, they wanted to punish me even more.  So I quit.  I’m tired of being their pawn!  I’m tired of not being what I have trained so hard to be.  While other Younglings and Padawans had time off, I spent every spare minute I had studying, and what do I have to show for it?  Nothing!  So I quit.”  Jayden turned and started packing her bags again.  “If you want, we could take the next flight out and head anywhere you want.  I just want to be away from Coruscant right now.”

“I’m not leaving the Jedi.”

Jayden turned to Jax and couldn’t believe what she just said.  “Didn’t you hear what I just said?  The Jedi Masters don’t care about us, we’re just pawns in their game!”

“That may be what you think, Jayden, but I am a Jedi.  I have always been a Jedi, and I always will be a Jedi.  I’m not going to quit just because things get tough.”

“That’s why you think I quit?  Do you see these three triangles on my chin?” Jayden furiously pointed at her chin tattoos.  “Those are the three Dark Jedi that I have fought and captured!  I am not afraid of things getting tough!”

“Well it looks like you get to add two more to your tattoo.  But I’m not going with you,” Jax replied as she walked out of the bedroom that they had shared for the past several months.  Jayden threw the last of her clothes in a bag and followed her out.

“I thought you wanted to marry me?”

“Of course I did, but I am a Jedi first.  I will never leave the Order.  I know it’s not looking good right now, which is why it’s important that we stay and help fight against the Dark Jedi.”  Jax walked over to Jayden and tried to reach out for her hand, but Jayden jerked away.

“I see.  So apparently love is always conditional?”  Jayden was in danger of letting her emotions get to her, so she turned away from Jax and started walking towards the door.

“Don’t do this!  Don’t put me in this position, because I was a Jedi long before I met you, Jayden.”

Jayden halted in the doorway for a second.  “And you’ll be one long after I’m gone.”

***