Shadows Of The Force.

Shadows Of The Force
Prologue.


TWO HOURS AFTER THE EXCUTION OF ORDER SIXTY-SIX

The heavy winds scratched at Nedaj’s neck, forcing the jedi knight to cover his face with his sleeve, Nedaj slowed his pace, the harsh winds making it hard for him to move through the icy peninsula, he thought it fitting that the weather of Hoth become similar to what he had felt through the force. The crippling pain of the many deaths of Jedi had nearly knocked her unconscious. His former comrades, his allies, his friends and the republic had fallen in the great trap the sith lord had set for the republic and she along with the order fell for it. Despite all of their vaunted wisdom and code, they had failed to see what was directly in front of them, the very weapons they had created, had been turned against them. Nedaj cursed the Jedi order and its naivety.  After walking through the icy winds, Nedaj found what he was looking for. A large ice covered complex, baring the Separatist droid army’s infamous insignia. he scanned the complex noticing it to be heavily guarded by the remnants of the separatist forces. This would normally be no problem for a jedi knight of his caliber, not only had he completely mastered Shien, but his knowledge of Juyo had earned him the praise of the Jedi master, Mace Windu. But these were not normal circumstances, he was tired from outrunning gunships and just barely managed to escape from the grasp of an AT-RT. Despite his entire prowess, he – like all Jedi- was susceptible to fatigue. “Well, a Jedi’s life isn’t always easy is it?” He asked himself echoing the words of his old master. His lips formed a small – sad smile. “Isn’t that right, Master Gallia?”

Nedaj shook his head and pushed the thought out of her mind. He brought his lightsaber hilt to his face, holding it In front of his face and closing his eyes. He called on the energies of the force, stretching out towards the complex; He felt the wiring of the droids, the soft beeping of the computer panels and finally what he was searching for. “A ship” he whispered, his features soften and he allowed the smile to come back to his lips. “Battle droids, Droidekas and Magna-Guards, great”

Nedaj walked towards the front of the building, standing at the entrance he settled herself within the force, his body felt lighter, as it weighed absolutely nothing. It was the work of the force – the teachings of An’ya Kuro – his body could now pass through virtually anything, be it stone or metal to him it meant nothing.  It was one of the reasons the order often assigned various infiltration and sabotage missions to him. His training under Gallia made him a versatile duelist and general, while his training under Master Kuro made him as unorthodox as Kuro.  Nedaj hoped she had survived the betrayal of the clones. “Who else will I make bad jokes with?”  Nedaj shook his head and walked through the durasteel doors, stepping in front of B1 series droid.  Who tilted its head and asked who he was.

“I’m Nedaj , apprentice to An’ya Kuro, jedi knight. Kind of a big thing in the republic” He replied nonchalantly and inspected his lightsaber hilt. The droid brought its blaster to its shoulder and aimed at him, ordering him to surrender – or so he thought, in truth he was only half listening, he rarely paid attention when the droids started running there vocabulators. Tired of the droid’s rambling Nedaj ignited his blade and cut off the droid’s head and arms. “You blasted things sure are annoying as hell”

Nedaj  turned to attention the droids that had begun to surround her – droidekas and super battle droids stood behind, in front, left and right of his. Their weapons set to kill him should he make any move to fight. Nedaj closed his eyes and found comfort in the force, Nedaj de-activated his blade and spun around in circular motion, breathing in and out rhythmically, letting the energies of the force gather within his entire body, Nedaj drew the metallic bodies of the droids towards him and stopped and unleashed a telekinetic blast that exploded outward at all sides, instantly, the blast destroyed all of the droids, dismantling them and crushing all simultaneously.

“I hope you’ll provide more of a challenge then your weak brethren” The shadows behind stayed silent. “Come, show me the skill that Master Shaak Ti so easily dealt with” This time the shadows revealed themselves, Magna-Guards, their electro staffs in hand. Cowls covered their heads.

“We, are superior to those your Jedi ilk have faced, we are trained by the great master himself! Our superiority is without equal”

Nedaj was taken slightly aback by the unusual response of the droid, normally these thing stayed quiet but now – no, he could not allow himself to stray from his focus, he needed to get away from Hoth fast and no protocol droid was going to stop him . “Then come and kill me, you trash compactor!”

The leader – at least Nedaj thought it was the leader – moved to strike at him first, bring it’s electro staff in for a downward strike aimed for his head, but Nedaj was quick to react and used immediately switched to the defensive and blocked the the droid’s strike with blinding speed. The droid’s augmented strength was good, but Nedaj was better.  Letting a smile form on his face, Nedaj used his strength – strength that was bred from the intense training of his master’s Kuro and Gallia - and forced the droid down onto the durasteel floor, shattering the ground and the droid, as if they were mere cups of glass.
The other magna-guards immediately joined to avenge their fallen comrade. Their electro-staffs promised great pain as well as many tears if they even made contact with his skin.

“I don’t have time for this!” he stated. Setting himself in a half crouch, Nedaj gathered the telekinetic energies of the force within his hands and unleashed a powerful blast that sent the eight magna-guards flying backwards and crashing into the durasteel leaving a large dent in the metal wall and completely immobilizing the droids-permanently. Deactivating his blade, Nadaj stood still for a moment falling into the force and almost instantly vanishing – becoming shrouded in a cloak of invisibility. He moved towards a door that he knew lead to the hangar, having infiltrated several separatist bases, Nedaj knew them all like the back of his hand; the hangar that contained his ticket out of Hoth was located at the end of large complex often used exclusively as an escape route for a separatist commander, though he and the clones had routed the commander during the first few weeks that he was stationed on hoth all they needed to do was capture the remaining bases and Hoth would’ve returned to the republic. Shrouded in darkness Nedaj began to make his way towards the hangar bay. His hilt held firmly in his hands. “A lightsaber is like your temper apprentice, you must never lose it” His master Gallia had said that and he had taken his master’s words to heart. He missed her dearly. “I hope you rest peacefully"