Maul then appeared beside him with a wicked grin on his face. "Here for our taking."
Maul looked over at me, rather perplexed. "And who are you, Jedi?"
"Storm, don't say your full name." Obi-Wan whispered.
However, the anger within me was already flowing through me, clouding my mind. At once, I blurted out. "I am Storm Ca'ana, Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order and General of the Republic."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Oh why do I bother?"
Maul's yellow eyes widened. He ignited the lightsaber in his hand at once. "Storm Ca'ana. The youngling from Naboo who fought me with Obi-Wan and his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Are you still as weak as you were when you a youngling?!"
"Careful with your words, Maul. You will soon discover how wrong you are." I warned.
I remembered how Dooku allowed me to go with Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon Jinn on the peace talks mission, but I disobeyed Master Qui-Gon, going in after them to fight Maul. That's when they noticed I wasn't unlike the other children, I was stronger than the others...but I was still no chosen one like Anakin. Asajj handed him one of her lightsabers.
"I want that back." Asajj informed him.
"That's fine, red's not my color." Obi-Wan retorted.
We then ignited our lightsabers, prepared to fight them. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Obi-Wan and I were fighting alongside Asajj and not against her.
"Ready?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Like you even have to ask." Asajj replied.
At that moment both Maul and Savage lunged towards us. Asajj fought off Savage, while Obi-Wan and I fought Maul. Obi-Wan and I deflected Mauls aggressive attacks, but we were being pushed back by Maul. As we continued, the three of us switched. Obi-Wan and I took on Savage, while Asajj fought Maul. Obi-Wan and I deflected Savage's vigorous strikes, dodging his lightsaber when he swung it around. I then raised my leg, kicking Savage's stomach, causing him to stagger back.
Asajj then spun around helping me fight Savage, while Obi-Wan battled against Maul. I then saw Asajj was knocked onto the ground with her lightsaber feet away from her. Before she could grab it, Savage picked her up before throwing her back against some cargo. I quickly used the Force, grabbing her lightsaber. I shouted out. "Asajj, catch!"
I quickly threw her lightsaber before Savage could strike her. Asajj caught her lightsaber, clashing it against Savage's lightsaber. I glanced over to see Maul and Obi-Wan both took their fighting up on the higher level of the room. I quickly jumped up to find them fighting outside the room in a hallway.
"Your Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, I gutted him while you stood helpless and watched. How did that make you feel, Obi-Wan? Your rage has unbalanced you." Maul taunted before kicking Obi-Wan to the ground. "That is not the Jedi way, is it?"
Without thinking twice, I sliced his side, causing him to yell out in anger. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you know about the Jedi Code, you monster!"
Maul whipped around with rage in his yellow eyes. He raised his lightsaber, striking it down with all his strength. I clashed my lightsaber against his. His eyes flickered up at mine, meeting my gaze. "You pretend like you're better than us, but you're not."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I retorted.
"My brother, Savage, told me everything. He said you were one of the Dark Acolytes like him, an apprentice of Dooku, your grandfather." Maul replied. "You became Naexle Dooku, feared throughout the galaxy. You slaughtered thousands of people, Ca'ana."
I mentally shook my head. Don't let his words get to you, Storm. You were brainwashed, remember? I tried to shove back all those doubts in my mind as I pushed forth, trying to throw Maul back, but he was strong.
"I was brainwashed, Maul. I'm not Naexle anymore." I corrected.
"You say that as if you can dismiss all that you did, Ca'ana." He shot back.
His words baffled me, causing me to stagger back. And unfortunately, I was unaware of where I was, but Maul knew. He pushed me back, causing me to fall near the edge, where Asajj and Savage were fighting beneath us. He then grabbed me by my neck. I struggled against him, but it was all in vain. His hand around my neck tightened, causing me to wince.
"Your legacy ends here. You will die at the hands of Maul." Maul informed me.
"Not if I can help it." Obi-Wan mentioned.
Obi-Wan tackled Maul, causing all three of us to fall onto the floor. I collapsed alongside the cargo, trying to catch my breath. Once I was standing by Obi-Wan and Asajj, Maul and Savage circled us. I tightened my grip on my lightsaber, prepared to take them on again.
"We're outmatched." Obi-Wan said.
"You want to run?" Asajj inquired.
"I learned from watching you." Obi-Wan retorted.
"Funny." Asajj mentioned.
"Obi-Wan, we can't run now." I protested.
"Storm if we stay we will die. We will get another chance." Obi-Wan assured me.
I let out a sigh, knowing he was right. "Fine..."
"The cockpit?" Asajj suggested.
At that moment, Maul lunged towards us. Obi-Wan shouted out. "Now!"
We hastily fought our way towards the cockpit, taking an escape pod. Asajj and I quickly used the Force, pushing both brothers back as Obi-Wan made his way towards the controls. As the door closed, we saw them trying to enter as their impaled their lightsabers through the door.
"Hurry, Kenobi!" Asajj exclaimed.
"I'm working on it!" Obi-Wan called out.
"Come on, Obi-Wan! They're getting through!" I yelled out.
"My niece is right, Kenobi! Now would be a good time!" Asajj insisted.
"Blast!" Obi-Wan shouted.
The pod then detached from the rest of the ship, sending us into further away from them. I let out a sigh of relief. We escaped from their ship. Asajj kept her gaze out the window. "That was cutting it a little close."
"You do know, it's not over." Obi-Wan mentioned.
Asajj nodded. "I know."
"They'll be after us now." Obi-Wan stated.
"So now what do we do?" I inquired.
"Now we back to Raydonia, the Jedi Council will want to know what happened today." Obi-Wan commented.
"And what of Ventress?" I questioned.
Asajj raised an eyebrow. "What of me?"
"Ventress is not our problem, Storm. We have bigger issues to worry about, like Maul and Savage." Obi-Wan reminded me. "Besides she helped us out."
"Fine, we don't say a word about Ventress to the Jedi Order." I grumbled.
"I'm flattered." Asajj retorted in a sarcastic tone. "Now can we hurry back to Raydonia?"
"Yes please!" I chimed in. "The quicker we reach the planet, the faster we can get away from Ventress."
Asajj scoffed. "As if you're any better, Ca'ana."
"Will you two please stop bickering?" Obi-Wan asked, giving us both a scolding look.
At once, Asajj and I reluctantly stopped arguing. Obi-Wan let out a relieved sigh as he looked back at the navicomputer.
"Now we're going as fast as we can, so you better relax because we'll be here for some time." Obi-Wan informed us.
I groaned as I leaned back against the wall. Great, could this day possibly get any better? I remained silent as I saw Asajj inspecting me. Getting fed up of her staring, I spoke up. "Is there something you need?"
"I heard you were Dooku's apprentice." Asajj mentioned.
"I was...it was against my will. He used me to do his bidding just like he did with all his other apprentices." I clarified. "Dooku used the Force bond between him and me to his advantage."
"I understand. After I was no longer of use to Dooku, he tried getting rid of me. He wanted me dead. And I left, to return to Dathomir where my people were. I then returned to Serenno to kill Dooku." Asajj explained. "But it failed..."
"Which is why Dathomir was attacked." I pointed out.
"Yes." Asajj said as she wore a devastated look.
I couldn't help but feel terrible. All her people were gone, she along with Savage and Maul were the last ones left of their planet. I can't imagine what it would be like if everyone from Corellia and Eshan was wiped out. A shiver ran up my spine just thinking about it.
"I'm sorry...about your people." I mentioned.
Asajj wore a sad smile at my words. After that, we remained silent, waiting to reach Raydonia. Once we landed in Raydonia, Asajj, Obi-Wan, and I climbed out of the pod. We all looked at one another, unsure of what to say. Fortunately, Obi-Wan spoke up, breaking the silence. "Well, we should get going."
"Yeah, we should." I agreed before glancing over at Asajj. "Ventress, take care."
Asajj gave me a small nod. "You too, Ca'ana."
With that, Asajj, Obi-Wan, and I parted ways. My starfighter was in the outskirts of the town, near Obi-Wan's starfighter. As we walked towards our fighters, Obi-Wan spoke up with an amused smile on his face. "Did you just tell Ventress to take care?"
"Not important." I retorted, waving it off with my hand. "What's important is informing the Jedi Order that Maul has escaped and that Savage is with him."
"And that you disobeyed Master Yoda's orders." Obi-Wan added.
I wore a sheepish smile at his words. "Yeah, I'm not going to hear the end of it. But I couldn't just sit down and do nothing, especially when I had a vision that Savage was with Maul, and you tried to fight them. But you were knocked unconscious."
Obi-Wan placed a hand on my shoulder. "And I thank you for being here, Storm. I wasn't aware that Savage would be here. And had it not been for Asajj and you, then I wouldn't have gotten out of that ship."
"That's what friends are for, Obi-Wan." I stated. "Now let's go back home."
With that, Obi-Wan and I reached our starfighters. We then flew back to Coruscant, landing in the hangars of the Jedi Temple. As soon as we were inside the hangars, I saw Master Yoda standing at the entrance of the hangars. I reluctantly hopped out of my starfighter, not wanting to face Master Yoda. Obi-Wan was already waiting for me, standing in front of the fighter.
"Master Yoda's at the entrance." I groaned.
"Yes, don't worry. I'll help you out." Obi-Wan assured me.
We then approached Master Yoda, bowing before him. Obi-Wan greeted him at once. "Master Yoda."
"Master Kenobi." Master Yoda greeted. His eyes then landed on me. "Storm, how was Raydonia?"
I wore a sheepish smile. "Master Yoda, allow me to explain. I would never go against your orders unless I felt it was dire."
Master Yoda raised an eyebrow. "Know something I did not?"
"Well...I'm not sure if you were aware, but I had a vision, showing me that Maul was not alone. He had Savage, one of Dooku's former apprentices." I explained.
"Think to inform me first, you did not." Master Yoda pointed out. "Be careful you must, Storm. Rely on your visions, you should not. Been wrong you could have."
"Master Yoda, I'm truly grateful to have received Storm's help. Had she not found me, I would have still been stuck on a ship with both Maul and Savage." Obi-Wan intervened, trying to help me out. "Unfortunately, Savage and Maul are still out in the galaxy."
Master Yoda's face fell at his words. However, he fixed his composure, giving Obi-Wan a smile. "Relieved that you are all right I am. Troubling that Savage and Maul are still out in the galaxy it is. Deal with them when the time is right, we will. Time to speak of your punishment now it is, Storm."
At his words, I was taken back. Punishment? But I helped to save Obi-Wan? Surely I can be dismissed from a punishment this time?
"Wait, but why? I saved Obi-Wan from possible death? He could've been killed if I remained here." I protested.
"Helped Obi-Wan you may have, but to Raydonia, you went. Against my orders that was. Alone, I knew Obi-Wan would not be. Help he had from another, did he not?" Master Yoda questioned.
I lowered my head. "Yes...he had help from another."
"Settled then it is. In the Archives, you can reflect on your actions." Master Yoda advised, yet his tone sounded authoritative.
I raised an eyebrow. "Doing what?"
"A talent with languages you have. From Master Allie, I heard this." Master Yoda mentioned.
I mentally groaned. This was going to be one terrible and long punishment. I glanced over at Obi-Wan, who gave me a sympathetic smile.
•••
As time passed, I remained most of my time in the Jedi Archives, translating scrolls in different languages such as Ryl from Bothese. R3 became part of a droid military squad called D-Squad along with R2. The leader of the D-Squad was Meebur Gascon, a male Zilkin, who served as a colonel in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. R3 was rather happy to be part of the squad. After a week of punishment, I was finally allowed to stop translating scrolls. Koltav was rather busy, so we kept in touch through holograms. Maul and Savage Opress spread chaos throughout the Outer Rim. We began to get more and more reports of their brutal attacks spread across the galaxy, including the slaughter of some of our Jedi. However the Jedi Council did nothing, frustrating me. I finally had time to train with Caleb Dume like wanted. Currently, I was in the Combat Training Chamber, training with Caleb.
"Remember you always want to be alert while you are face to face with your enemy." I reminded him before igniting my lightsaber. "I'll go easy on you."
A grin appeared on Caleb's face. "Don't worry about me, Master Storm. I can take it."
Caleb then ignited his lightsaber, revealing a blue blade. I get a defensive stance as Caleb raised his lightsaber. I glanced down to see his feet shifted, which I noticed he did before striking. At once, Caleb rushed towards me. I raised my lightsaber, clashing it against Caleb's lightsaber.
"When fighting a B1 battle droid or a B2 super battle droid, they won't last long against your lightsaber. However if you come across Grievous or one of Dooku's apprentices, you must be careful. One mistake could cost your life." I warned.
I pushed forth, shoving Caleb back. Caleb stumbled back, but he quickly regained his composure. Without warning, I lunged towards him, but he deflected my attacks. He wore a smile. "You see? Told you I could handle it."
I cracked a smile. "That you did. Excellent work, Caleb. I have a feeling that in no time you'll get a Master to train you."
Caleb's eyes lit up. "Really? You think so?"
I chuckled. "I believe you have a bright future ahead of you, Caleb. Any Jedi would be lucky to have you as their padawan."
"Storm! Storm!"
I glanced over to see Maya running into the room. I turned off my lightsaber at once before walking over to my sister. I grew worried, fearing something happened to one of our friends or to our sister, Jinx.
"Maya, what's wrong?" I inquired.
"There's a distress signal coming from the Meridian sector. Master Yoda wants us to check it out." Maya explained.
"Do you think it's Maul?" I questioned.
"It could be. Master Yoda wants us to leave now." Maya informed me.
I looked over at Caleb, who gave me a bow. "We will continue later, Master Storm."
In return, I bowed back. "Very well, Caleb. I look forward to our next duel. Make sure to keep training."
With that, I followed Maya to the hangars to our ship, an Eta-class shuttle. And so Maya, Master Gallia, Obi-Wan, Myda Puma, a female Cathar, and I all went on a ship to search for the distress signal in the Meridian sector. Myda use to be the padawan of Master Gallia before she became a Jedi Shadow. But like Nova, she became a General when the war broke out. Myda was one of my friends, who was part of the Jedi Shadow team with me. Master Gallia flew the ship, while Obi-Wan sat in the co-pilot seat, leaving Maya, Myda, and me to sit behind them. Once we saw a space station, the Cybloc transfer station, not too far from us, Obi-Wan pointed out to it. "The distress signal is coming from here, the Meridian sector, Cybloc System."
"It is close enough to the earlier attack." Master Gallia mentioned.
"I have a feeling it's them." Obi-Wan commented.
I nodded. "So do I."
A Snivvian male approached us as soon as we landed in the hangars on the space station. As we moved throughout the station, we saw destroyed droids all around us on the ground.
"They ought to be flush. Chips were all unlocked this side of the Hydian." The Snivvian informed us.
"They were alone?" I inquired.
The Snivvian nodded. "Yup, yup. What were they, a couple of Jedi gone rogue or something?"
"They're not Jedi." Myda mentioned.
"Do me a favor. Spark up that lightsaber, would you?" The Snivvian questioned.
Obi-Wan then ignited his blue lightsaber. The Snivvian placed a hand under his chin. "Mm-hmm. Well, the droids that got attacked said that theirs were red."
"They are Sith, and we need to find them before they strike again." Maya advised.
"Well, they took my cargo ship. The droid survivor said they heard something about the Sertar sector." The Snivvian explained.
At his words, I grew baffled. The Sertar sector? That's where Florrum is. Obi-Wan grew troubled as he walked off, placing a hand under his beard. I turned to the Snivvian, giving him a bow. "Thank you for all your help."
"No problem. Just let me know if you need something else." The Snivvian replied.
And with that, he walked off to continue his work. Master Gallia, Myda, Maya, and I then followed after Obi-Wan. As soon as we caught up to Obi-Wan, he turned to face us.
"What is in the Sertar sector?" Myda asked.
"That's where Florrum is." Obi-Wan stated.
"You've been there?" Master Gallia questioned.
"I'm afraid Obi-Wan and I have." I commented.
Master Gallia raised an eyebrow. "What can we expect?"
Obi-Wan and I exchanged a look, already knowing what lied in Florrum. "Pirates."