STAR WARS: Gray Jedi

Chapter 18

That very night was like most nights lately for Destin. He began slowly drifting off into sleep, until anxiousness grabbed his mind once again. He could not lay still as his emotions spun all around in his chest. Then, finally, the Force reached out and the dreams began again....

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10 years earlier....

PLANET NAG UBDUR. BINJAI-TIN CITY.

He fought as hard as he could to muster any ounce of courage and summon his body to obey him, but he just kneeled there, his knees planted to the muddy ground, shaking. C'mon, c'mon! Move! he cried inside himself. He spotted a huge rock beside him. He could pick it up, run out there, and beat a Stormtrooper's head in with it. That was all he had to do – just pick it up and charge. He closed his eyes, desperately willing his body to move, to stand, to scream, something! Then he heard it...

"Fire." the Officer said.

The Stormtrooper Captain signaled with a quick jerk of his hand downwards...and the Stormtroopers open fired on the hostages.

Destin opened his eyes and watched as his parents slaughtered right in front of him. He knelt there, his eyes wide, unflinching and frozen in shock as red flares of light flashed before his face as the Stormtroopers fired their blasters on their screaming victims. Destin's belly tightened and a sinking hole seared through his chest like an unyielding void digging into him. His chin slowly pulled down by sullen gravity, his head sinking into his chest, and as his eyes closed again, it became so intense he felt as if he'd squish them in their sockets.

The Officer smirked. "Resistance scum," he said.

Tears ran down Destin's cheeks and his fists clenched with unquenchable fury. His blood boiled with hot anger until...

"AAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Destin screamed the loudest battle cry of grief. He picked up the rugged rock beside him, leapt out of the brush and charged at the Officer. The Officer turned his head and spotted the screaming boy, but didn't flinch. A Stormtrooper stepped between him and Destin and grabbed Destin by the shirt before he could reach his target. He fought with all his rage, swinging the rock in his hand wildly, trying to break free and reach the Officer who had just butchered his family. Just then, another Stormtrooper came from behind and hit Destin on the back of his head with the butt of his blaster. Destin's limbs dropped like a rag doll and the Stormtroopers threw him to the ground. Destin barely held onto consciousness...

The Officer walked to the fallen boy and looked down on him with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm. Foolish boy," he said.

A Stormtrooper approached, "Commander Maas," the Trooper said, "We found the girl." Two Stormtroopers approached restraining Solara as she fought. She struggled, until she spotted her parents among the dead. She froze, staring right at them, not moving an inch, falling into shock. Commander Maas turned his head to looked at her, observing her closely.

"Put her on board," Maas ordered. He gestured to Destin, "Dispose of this one. I don't want the sight of a dead child on the street. Shame."

Fading into darkness, Destin watched as Solara was ushered away in her shaken, lifeless state. He felt two men pick him up and carry him off to the forest.

Destin didn't know how long he'd been out, but still fading, he opened his eyes slightly. Rain batted away at his eyelids, but he could still make out legs covered in armor walking through the muck, only this armor wasn't white...it was black. It was the Shadow Troopers who were carrying him. Destin counted two pairs of legs. The black armored men trudged on for a bit, their leg armor stained with the brown splatter of wet muck. Then, all of a sudden, Destin heard a slight WHISP! through the air and a WHACK! against one of the men's helmets. A small pebble fell and rolled to the ground. The black-armored trooper turned.

"What was that?" the first Trooper asked.

"What?" the second replied.

"Something just hit me."

They paused, scanning their surroundings.

"Put him down," one of them said. "This is far enough."

The man carrying Destin dropped him to the ground. Muddy liquid splattered as tiny body hit. The two men stood, looking around. Then, again...WHISK! WHACK!.

"Ow. Again! It hit me again!"

"What!?"

"I don't know!"

They drew the vibroblades from their backs, igniting them. Their weapons hummed with electrical lethality. They stood, ready for a fight.

"Who's out there!?" one of them shouted.

Nothing...then in a rush of speed, a mysterious figure appeared and attacked the Shadow Troopers from behind. The figure's face was covered with a mask across his mouth and nose, and he wore a long cloak that wrapped tightly around his body. A hood darkened the details of his face. Destin watched as they fought, two against one, all with incredible skill and accuracy. The mystery man had no weapon but he was parrying and dodging the Shadow Trooper's attacks with graceful fluidity and striking with unflinching precision. He wasn't so much fighting the two troopers as he was dancing with them, causing them to bump and trip over the other's movements. Destin barely made out the details of the fight, but it was obvious who was winning. He faded, but a couple blinks of his eyes later and the mystery man was the only one left standing. The hooded figure looked over his triumph, his shoulders rising up and down from heavy breath. He turned to face Destin who was laying on the ground. The man walked over to him and Destin heard the echo of the man's words as he began to slip in and out of consciousness and finally fade into the dark...

"It'll be alright....It'll be al-right...."

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Destin woke violently, shooting up from the thin comforter between him and the living area floor. Beads of sweat trickled down his face and he breathed hard. His head pained and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room. He was drained, his mind reeling from the visions of his past. He wanted them to stop, to cease haunting him in his sleep and let him rest, but no matter how hard he tried, fighting them only made it worse. The dreams were more frequent than they used to be and he couldn't understand why. It was like the Force was pulling on him, reaching out as if trying to make him see something. He could feel it, but just didn't know what it could be. Destin closed his eyes, trying to think of when they had become so persistent, but he was too tired to focus any of his thoughts. 

The sound of snoring snapped Destin back into reality as he turned his head and saw Bozin snoozing away on the sofa beside him. His body was sprawled all over the couch, the blanket on top of him barely covering his body. It was almost laughable. Destin rubbed his eyes and laid back down, taking a deep breath as he did so. He stared at the ceiling, not wanting to think of anything, so he closed his eyes and breathed, slowly fading back into the darkness for what he hoped would be a good night's sleep.