A New Player in the Force (SW/Lite Gamer)

[USSExplorer]

I was talking about the enhanced hyperspace capabilities.
As far as I can remember from the book the Ascendant Spear - if interfaced directly with a force sensitive - can exhibit far greater abilities than even the superior specs themselves would imply.

Click to shrink...

Ah, then no, that was never the source.
In the novel Rogue Planet Anakin and Obi-Wan went to Zonama Sekot. While not lasting long, the ship built therewas as responsive and quick for Anakin as Raven has become for Cam. More so even as Anakin is a natural pilot, whereas Cam isn't.

 

[Cend]

What felt weird to me in this chapter was the part in the beginning where he spoke of Raith maybe trying to poach Anakin twice, the second time felt like an repetitve artifact of rewriting parts of the chapter using almost the same words.

 

[USSExplorer]

A/N: Thanks to those helping me write and plan out this story and checking it for continuality and logical errors.

This chapter was released to those on the story's Discord, and who those support my writing anywhere from 1 to 4 months ago.

If doing either interests you, you'll find links at the bottom of the chapter.

NOTICE: The chapter was delayed due to multiple real-life issues ranging from personal matters to holidays. Going forward, this will be the rough date for when a chapter comes out from now on (I hope).

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3.04 Training and Interruptions
… …​

I kept my eyes narrowed as I climbed my way up the pillar of rock to the summit. This was the same thing I'd been doing for nearly two months, and as the dust and sand whipped up by the storm raging around me, I was reminded once again why I fucking hated sand. Yet, for all I hated the environment, and was developing a loathing for the man who insisted I head up here each day, I couldn't deny that the training was helping me recover and strengthen my Force connection.

Ever since taking Natural Selection, I'd been slowly opening my thoughts to the Force; letting more and more of the senses and energy that coursed through it into my mind. While I was far from ready to open myself fully to the Force, still fearing I'd suffer another overload like I'd endured when I'd awoken after the Interface had stopped filtering the Force, I knew I was getting better, getting stronger. I could sense the shifts and eddies in the Force as it flowed around me, with that connection feeling stronger during each day's exercises.

The reason I was climbing this Force-forsaken pillar of rock today, as I'd done so for nearly two months, was because of the Matukai Instructor that we'd eventually located on Karvoss II. It had taken us just shy of a month to locate a Matukai Instructor, and then almost a week of discussion with Instructor Mash Kafe, to convince him to train me, Anakin, and Simvyl.

Our first week of training had focused on – for Anakin and me – narrowing our connection to little more than a trickle. While the Matukai were as Light Side aligned by the Jedi, the focus Instructor Kafe placed on how to interact with the Force had more in common with a warrior's ideology; though, thankfully, they lacked the desire to use their training to do anything more than enhance themselves. That, along with the fact few if any who learnt Matukai techniques had even decent Force Potential was perhaps why the Jedi saw no need to monitor their actions as they did for groups like the Witches of Dathomir.

Since I was already narrowing my connection to the Force – though not for the reasons Kafe realised – and I had almost a decade of prior instruction in using the Force, Instructor Kafe had brought me out into this shabyr desert, pointed out this pillar of rock, and ordered me to head here each morning, climb to the top and remain there until either I could no longer endure the elements, or the sun dropped below the horizon.

Once I reached the top, I'd do as I always did, and adopt a basic meditation stance. Then, with the wind, dust, sand, and sun assaulting me, I'd draw on as small an amount of the Force as I could manage to reinforce and refresh my body. After a month of that, Kafe had then told me to begin carrying out simple activities that I knew instinctively as moving meditation. So far I was keeping to Beskar'pel, letting my knowledge of the Form guide my body while the Force eased its way through every fibre of my being.

The training was far from enjoyable, bordering on tedious and irritating on the best of days, but I couldn't deny that, after less than two months, I was already feeling the change. While my connection was still muted by choice, I could draw upon the Force to enhance myself impressively. I wasn't yet at the levels I'd been before, but I knew it wouldn't take long – perhaps not beyond the end of the year, which was three months away – before I was close to my old limits, if not readying myself to pass them.

Even when not carrying out the training, I could feel the Force flowing through every cell in my body; ready to enhance me if I so needed. Understanding, even fractionally, what the Force could do on a microscopic level was incredible, especially for those like Anakin and myself who had strong and/or deep connections to the Force. The way Instructor Kefe had explained the reactions and changes we'd experienced didn't come close to preparing me for what I was undergoing.

When I drew on the Force to empower myself, to push beyond my limits and strain my body in ways it would never be able to do otherwise, it was incredible. As if I was drawing on a limitless source of power that with the right training, I could bend to my desires with the slightest of thoughts.

While all this had similarities to my former Enhance powers, the difference was night and day. With the old Force Powers, I grew stronger when they were active, pushing myself to the limits of what a seasoned Jedi was capable of. Yet, experiencing what I was now, and knowing that while I wasn't at that level yet but would one day surpass it with ease as the Force did as I desired, was incredible. As if a blindfold had been lifted from my eyes and I could finally see what the Force offered if I so wished to use it.

The wind picked up, howling as it slammed into the pillar, and I was forced to tighten my grip; not wanting to fall and injure myself. The winds blasted into me, sending pinpricks of pain through my body as my robes and hair were tossed every which way by the force of nature and the sand and dust it carried. As with every morning or evening when I climbed or descended this pillar, I cursed out Kafe in my head. Shouting the words into the wind would only result in me getting a mouthful of sand, something I was growing to hate with a fiery passion.

There was no way that Kefe knew of my dislike – evolving into hatred – of sand, and while I disliked the reminder of my first encounter with Trandoshans right after my verd'goten resting at the edges of my thoughts, I couldn't deny how successful the training was. Yet I had to be mindful of my emotions since I was unable to release them into the Force as a Jedi should, not unless I wanted to then experience them as new, intense sensations the next day.

Each evening after my training I spent over an hour in the sonic shower, trying to remove every grain of sand that had somehow snuck into places where there was no logical way it could've reached. My robes were placed over Raven's exhausts, and I let her blast them in the hopes that it'd remove all the sand. It never did, and I knew that once we left this planet those robes, along with the ones worn by Anakin and Simvyl's clothing if they had to do the same training, though they currently weren't, were getting burnt. I'd then be spending the next few months in my armour, enjoying the hermetically sealed environment.

Anakin's training was coming along slower than mine, but that made sense. While he'd had some instruction from me and Dooku in the time leading up to Naboo, it hadn't been formal Initiate training. Still, when Instructor Kefe had displayed that he, someone with a Force Potential similar to Simvyl's, could punch his way through a decent sheet of durasteel, it left its mark. Yes, I knew I could - at least before Natural Selection - do the same, to learn that someone with such limited Force potential could do so was eye-opening.

For Anakin, who'd not seen such displays of power from me or Dooku before he'd become my Padawan, it had been an eye-opener and made him excited to begin his training. However, he was a long way from being able to do that; though that didn't stop him from asking me if he could try.

The first month of his training had been spent alongside Simvyl, focusing on the basics of how to draw minute quantities of the Force into themselves and then holding it there, and doing something else. Kefe had sensed Anakin's potential and had created a separate training regime for him than what Simvyl – and any normal new Trainee – was facing.

Since the boy lacked the combat experience I did, Instructor Kefe had shown him some simple combat techniques and styles to help him find a battle-orientated form of moving meditation. Anakin, even though he didn't realise it, could already use Alchaka when he was repairing and tinkering with machinery. So much so that I'd had to tap or even shake his shoulder to get his attention.

After that first month, Anakin had begun similar training to me, though he wasn't being sent deep into the desert before the crack of fucking dawn. Instead, he was standing on the roof of a building not far from the settlement where we'd found Kefe. Anakin also didn't need to spend days enduring the wind and sand, having to do so only for a few hours at a time. However, given the length of those sessions was increasing, I knew it wouldn't be long until he had to go the full day without leaving his location, and I smirked, wondering if enduring that would develop the hatred of sand he'd had in the other timeline.

To further Anakin's training, at least in ways I felt would help, I had him spend evenings sparring with Fenrir and Simvyl. That helped all three as for Anakin it was showing him how to fight a beast bred to defeat Force users or battle someone larger, stronger, and better skilled. For Fenrir, it began his training toward engaging opponents I expected him to face, both those who could draw heavily on the Force and those who couldn't. Instructor Kefe had also agreed to spar with Fenrir, and while there'd been a few early instances where the tuk'ata had almost lost control, disliking the Togruta being able to beat him so easily, things were going better now though there was still the odd evening where the tuk'ata didn't interact with any of us, suggesting he'd disliked his training that day and wanted to sulk.

As for Simvyl, the sparring with Anakin and Fenrir would help prepare him for the future and worked well with his training with Kefe. The Matukai Instructor had dedicated the most amount of time to the Cathar, which made sense as he was more akin to the sentients that sought out the Matukai for training. That was good as of the various Force sects I hoped to visit and train with this was the only one I felt he could learn from, and I wanted him to have the training there to help him have ways to pass the time while Anakin and I were busy with other training.

Since a trained Matukai practitioner was capable of battling, and in the right conditions, defeating a Jedi in melee combat, getting Simvyl to that level would be a major boost to his combat potential. I had plans to find a Teräs Käsi master in the future, and combining the Matukai techniques with a martial art designed to battle Force users would make Simvyl lethal to any who dismissed him because of his low Force presence.

The issue regarding all our training, as was often the case as I reached the summit of the rock pillar, was how much longer we could spend here. I knew that, if nothing else changed, war wouldn't break out for about ten years. However, I didn't want to spend all that time training, at least not in isolation as we'd be doing for the next few. That would leave me woefully unconnected and unprepared for changes in the timeline that I'd have to adapt to and counter.

Three months on Karvoss II was beginning to push at the rough limit I'd set for this adventure. I wanted to get to the next Force sect – which I was leaning toward being the Shapers – soon and be undergoing training with them before the year ended. While Raven was insanely fast, it still took time travelling to and from places like Karvoss II and Kro Var – the world of the Shapers – as they weren't on any major hyperspace routes.

The issue was that only being able to spend a few months, perhaps half a year, with each group, meant that we'd likely miss out on the more advanced techniques the groups used. Something that, I felt, would be of great use in the battles that sat just over the horizon.

While I'd not directly addressed the matter with anyone, Adas had accurately deduced this concern when I'd last spoken with him. The ancient Sith King had, after hearing about the current training I was undergoing – and what Kefe had hinted at would come next – hinted that he would be able to adapt them to better serve me. Since the Matukai training was focused on those with weak Force connections, I did wonder if we were missing out on ideas that would be more suitable for myself and my Padawan. Adas' offer certainly sounded appealing, but I feared that following his advice and listening to him for training would leave both of us open to the whispers of the Dark Side. Or, in my case at least, more open as they were always there; their promises of desire and power grew stronger whenever my temper spiked.

Adas had been ready for my concerns, and without my mentioning them, attempted to ease them. He'd spoken of how, for those of weak wills, taking the fast and simple route to the power the Dark Side hinted at was appealing. Those beings were, in his eyes, fools unworthy of what the Dark Side truly offered; of the power that lay beyond the obvious that only those strong of mind, body, and potential could grasp. Learning that Adas had once had children and that several made that mistake was unexpected, and suggested that he was slowly opening up to me. Or buttering me up for the fall he wished me to endure.

Regardless of his motives, which I knew weren't in any way altruistic, I was reluctant to accept Adas' help, at least for this training. I was already leaning on him heavily to learn to manage my darker impulses, reject them, and hide them from anyone who viewed me through the Force. So far I'd reached the point where Anakin no longer sensed the danger in me, at least not beyond the level he'd felt it before, but I didn't think I was able to hide it from Fenrir or Adas. Both of them were more attuned to the Dark Side and understood how to sense its presence.

The issue was that while Adas appeared to be sticking to his word about keeping the tutoring clean of any leaning, I knew the more I turned to him for help, the more his words would slowly twist me toward the Dark Side. It wouldn't take much for his intentions to become clearer, and his ideas for what I should become, and how I should shape the galaxy, to filter into me.

I didn't think the holocron could sense my opinions and feelings on most matters, at least when I kept my cool and did my best not to react to his words or suggestions, but so much of what he said made sense. War was coming for the galaxy, and whether I liked it or not, a new order was going to rise. I'd known of the threat of the Empire before emerging here, and that if I wanted to survive it, I either had to defeat it or join it. The latter was, and never would be an option, which left me having to defeat the Banite Sith: both of them thanks to my fuckup having seen Plagueis become co-Chancellor alongside Sidious. The challenge was how to do so when I'd lost almost all the little faith I held in the Jedi and Republic, and how to ensure that the darkness that the Banite Sith had spread, didn't linger after I defeated them.

Such thoughts always returned me to memories of the visions I'd shared with Anakin. If one of us stood alone against the darkness, or if we turned on each other, we failed. The only path forward, the only way the Force hinted to break what was coming that the vision had offered, was to shatter the galaxy while working together.

While I hoped that wasn't the path I had to take, I was slowly understanding that it might be my only choice. I disliked the idea that my path was set, that I had no choice in my actions, but I understood that to do as the vision – as the Force – wished, I could take my own path there. I just had to make sure that Anakin remained at my side; that I trained him well and the bonds between us became unbreakable.

The other thought that came to mind regarding that vision, was the idea that the Banite Sith weren't the source of the darkness. The Vong were out there, preparing to invade, and Force-knew what lay in the Unknown Regions that would look to take advantage of the chaos of the coming wars. Any of those threats – known and unknown – could be the true darkness that I had to battle.

The problem was, as with any vision the force offered, nothing was ever exactly what it appeared.

As I reached the summit of the pillar, I pushed all those thoughts away; letting my concerns be carried by the howling, pounding winds back to my cabin. I could return to them later once the day was over. Until then, my mind would remain calm and clear; the only thing that mattered was using as little of the Force as I could to endure what awaited me.

… …

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… …
"I hate sand."

I bit the inside of my lip, holding back laughter at Anakin's comment as Raven ascended through Karvoss II's atmosphere. After three months of training under Instructor Kafe, I felt we'd spent as long here as we could, and it seemed Anakin agreed as he'd spent most of that last month standing in the desert on a rock outcropping.

"Aye, but the cold's worse," I replied with a smirk, letting some of my amusement show. "Creeps into your bones and freezes you up if you're not careful."

About the same time Anakin was instructed to meditate in the desert, Kefe had decided it was time to change up my training. To do that, each morning I'd flown Raven to the planet's southern pole and then been forced to perform my moving meditation in the biting cold winds of the pole. At first, it had been a relief to get away from the sand, dust, and heat of the desert, but by the end of the month, I'd almost found myself missing the tender mercies of a sandstorm.

On the first flight to the southern pole, Instructor Kefe had said that he wouldn't normally change up a new Matukai Trainee's training so quickly. However, he understood that I knew more about the Force than most Trainees and that none of my party would be able to commit to the years of training it took for one to be considered a master of their ways. He'd not been wrong about us not spending years training with him, but when we'd left, he'd been surprised at how soon after we'd met that we were departing.

While there were likely advanced techniques that I would be missing out on, nothing was stopping me from returning for a refresher course – I had the communication frequency to contact Kefe if we were in-system again – I felt that I understood enough about the basic tenets, and how they were applied, to end our training after only a few months. I'd also listened to Adas' pitch about how to adapt the training for one with a far stronger Force connection and while I'd yet to go over his words and suggestions with a fine-toothed comb, the initial pitch had sounded reasonable. Nothing he said hinted at exposing me or Anakin to the Dark Side; at least not in the ways that would see one choose the quick and easy path to power and thus lose themselves forever in the blackest corners of the Dark Side.

The day before we'd left, Anakin had shown me how he'd improved by throwing a punch that dented durasteel. Now, he could only do that when not distracted, as I'd done so to see his reaction and he'd hurt his hand, but it was a sign the training was sinking in quickly. He was far from what Kefe had demonstrated by punching through a similar sheet of metal – or my own tests which weren't far from breaking through a sheet – but it was an impressive improvement in three months, and the final nail in the coffin of us staying any longer.

The one thing I'd made clear, and he accepted without complaint, was that he wasn't to practise striking through anything while on Raven, nor on other worlds unless I permitted him to do so first. I'd rather not have to compensate others because of him having the idea to test his improvement in random places.

Of course, until we reached our next Force sect, he'd be wearing his armour, it was unlikely he'd attempt such a strike. His armour was composed of durasteel, so would likely bend – or even break – if he didn't also empower the metal of the armour. After having to reshape his gauntlets twice in the last month because of him testing his limits, I'd told him not to attempt it again until he could figure out how to push the Force into the armour granting it greater strength. I hadn't told him how to do so, mainly as I wanted him to discover it for himself, but I felt sure he'd learn it in due course.

My armour, and my replacement limb, didn't need that form or reinforcement due to the beskar in them. Still, I was practising pushing the Force into them. Not just to further enhance the metal, but so that I grew used to channelling the Force through the replacement limb. While I could call upon it with that hand, the connection felt colder, more distant. While that made sense, I disliked having the imbalance in what I could do and how and wished to overcome it without damaging the limb. I knew it would be some time before I understood how to empower my armour and limb, but felt certain I'd get there soon enough.

One unexpected benefit of the Matukai training I'd found was that it seemed easier to use the various martial arts that I knew. Or at least, when I used them in meditative training, Beskar'pel, Beskar'rev, and Teräs Käsi all seemed to gain levels at a faster rate, with the latter showing the greatest rate of improvement. Given that Teräs Käsi was initially designed to counter Force users, it made some sense that there'd be a decent overlap between that and Matukai training.

I'd started training Simvyl in that combat form, seeing as the Matukai training was helping him become a more dangerous fighter, and started sparring with him daily. Now that I had a decent understanding of how to control my Force use when I drew it into myself, I felt comfortable sparring with him at speed without worrying that I'd lose control and severely injure him. While my ability with Teräs Käsi wasn't great, resting in the lower half of the Professional tier, because of my Teaching skill, which was into the Prodigy tier, he was seeing steady improvements. The same was true of Anakin whom I was teaching Beskar'pel as that was the Mando martial art that favoured agility and movement over brute force.

Thinking on it, those martial arts, along with my Teaching skill and those linked to piloting and mechanics, were likely candidates to use my Tier Boosts on. Or at least the spare tier boost as I planned to lift Makashi to Paragon, the eighth tier. However, before that, I'd have to rebuild my lightsaber and I wanted to get the other lightsaber Forms I knew up into the Savant tier. Niman was the lowest of the other forms, sitting at Master:5 while Soresu was the highest – outside of Shii-Cho that was Maxed – at Master:96.

For the most part, I could still train the Forms even without a full-sized lightsaber or drawing on the Force. The only Form that had issues was Ataru, as it wasn't easy to do the many acrobatic velocities of the Form without the Force's help. Even so, many of the more advanced velocities weren't possible to train without a full-sized lightsaber.

Over the last few months, I'd decided that I wanted to attempt to rebuild the blade with the two smaller focusing crystals I'd had before. That meant attempting to fix or heal the crack in the one that was damaged, but I wasn't sure how to go about that. Or at least, I wasn't sure how to do so without doing something the Jedi likely wouldn't approve of. Using the Force to induce that sort of change leaned heavily into the Dark Side, but I had a connection with those focusing crystals which I wanted to maintain.

Whenever I rebuilt my blade, I'd be able to add the Mantle of the Force. The crystal once wielded by Revan was now fully aligned with me and my skill for Mechanics [Lightsabers] was high enough to allow a fourth crystal to be added to the hilt. However, for as much as I missed having the blade at my side, and felt as if something was missing, I understood I wasn't at a point yet where I was ready to rebuild the blade, and not just because I didn't know how to heal the damaged crystal.

My attention returned to the present as Raven alerted me that we were far enough away from Karvoss II to enter hyperspace. Once the jump was made, and the exotic, swirling energies of the faster-than-light travel washed over Raven's skin, I turned my attention to the next Force sect we'd be training with.

The Shapers of Kro Var were a sect that used the Force primarily to manipulate and control what they considered the four base elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. They were, like the Matukai, open to training other Force users. They were as martially inclined as the Matukai, though were more willing to display their Force usage openly. Given the Matukai channelled the Force inward, that made sense, and because the Shapers served as the law on their world, and had engaged in wars, I wondered what I might learn from them about using the Force in combat – particularly battles involving Force users on both sides of a conflict.

Since they allowed their members to use weapons – outside of lightsabers – then I'd also be able to work on my skill with my beskad while there. Simvyl and Anakin would also take such training as while my Padawan would one day build and wield a lightsaber, it was wise to know multiple ways to fight with varying weapons. For Simvyl, I planned, once all this training was finished, to have a blade forged for him made of phrik, along with some cortosis if I could acquire enough. That would grant him some ability to engage Force users, which given what I knew was coming and my growing suspicions about who I'd fight against, would be needed.

The biggest issue with heading to the Shapers was that they despised those who used the Force for mental tricks and telekinesis. So much so that, if anyone was caught using the Force in that way on their world and wasn't able to escape, they faced imprisonment for decades if not life at best.

I wasn't sure if the mental barriers I'd been forging to hide my thoughts and Force presence from others would be considered an issue, but I doubted it. From the records I'd read, their distaste toward mental applications of the Force was aimed at using it to influence others. Still, I'd have to be careful about how I behaved. I'd also have to speak with Anakin so he didn't attempt to practise or use the Force in ways that would get us into trouble.

That conversation would take place whenever we stopped for resupplies and refuelling. Kro Var lay into Wild Space and as such, I wanted to make sure we had more than we needed in every critical supply. While I doubted anything would go wrong, I wasn't going to take the chance we might end up stranded because I'd not packed for a long voyage.

That was the mistake that got you killed.

… …

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… …
(Anakin's POV)
As he wandered through this section of the docking ring of the station they'd stopped at, Anakin wondered how much longer they'd be here. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying looking at the various ships and trying to determine what modifications had been applied, or wondering about the few he'd never seen before. Far from it in fact, and he was glad his armour was recording everything he was seeing as he'd go over the ships when they left. It was more that he wanted to get on with his training and get to the point where he could build a lightsaber.

He understood that he wasn't ready for that yet, as he had far to go in his training, but the fact he still had to find a crystal was starting to annoy him. For most of it, he'd enjoyed his training with the Matukai, and was overjoyed to know now how to guide the Force through his body to be stronger, faster, and hopefully smarter. However, a Jedi without a lightsaber felt wrong to him. Though he did wonder if he'd ever be a proper Jedi.

From what Cam, Simvyl, Bo, and others had told him, the Jedi wouldn't have helped Naboo if not for Cam's actions. Even then, they only sent two Jedi along whereas the Mandalorians and Lokella sent thousands of warriors. Anakin didn't blame Cam for his mother's death – that anger was reserved for Decca the Hutt – but he felt that the Jedi and Republic should've done more to help Naboo. If they had, then the Lokella wouldn't have sent most of their fleet to help, and his mother would still be alive.

Anakin wished she'd been here to see him become a Jedi and see him in his armour. While not the beskar that Cam and Bo wore, Anakin adored the armour and had already made a few alterations to it that Cam hadn't been against, such as increasing the velocity the grappling cable fired at. That change granted the cable greater range and decreased the time it took before it could be used.

Thinking of his mother and his time on Karvoss II in the desert turned his mind to Tatooine. While Anakin was happy with how his life had gone since he'd been rescued from that place by Cam, he missed his friends like Kister and Pala from back then and wished to free them like Cam had freed him and his mother. Cam had listened every time he'd spoken of wanting to free them, to grant them the chances he'd had because of Cam. While Cam agreed they should be free as well, he kept saying they had to be cautious.

Tatooine was controlled by two powerful Hutts, something Anakin knew as before Watto had owned them, they'd belonged to Gardulla the Hutt. He'd just not realised how powerful she and Jabba were until Cam explained that they controlled two of the biggest Hutt clans and going after them would have most, if not all, of the galaxy's bounty hunters after them. Learning that Gardulla was Decca's mother added another layer of connections between them, though it didn't change Anakin's desire to get revenge for his mother's death.

Decca might not have fired the shot that killed his Mother, but it was his credits that paid for the pirates that attacked them. Just as he'd been behind previous attacks on the Lokella and the one who'd controlled the system before Cam and Master Dooku had freed the people there. That meant whenever Anakin thought about the Hutt, the fire within him, one demanding he destroy the Hutt, burned brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine. Almost as if a dragon stirred, ready to wake and destroy whatever stood in its path.

Anakin knew he shouldn't think about such thoughts, nor, privately, enjoy the idea of destroying Decca, the other Hutts, and those who engaged in slavery, but he did. It wasn't the Jedi way, but he knew he wasn't going to be a good Jedi. Which, given their choices to not help those in need, to sit back and do nothing when people were in danger, didn't upset Anakin as much as it might once have done.

Cam – who Anakin considered more like his brother than father – spoke about how a Jedi shouldn't draw on those darker impulses; and how they should be released into the Force. Or at least Cam had before Naboo had been invaded and Anakin's mother had died. Since then, or at least they'd left that swamp world, Anakin had sensed the same fury in Cam, though it wasn't aimed toward Decca and the Hutts.

For Cam, those flames burnt because of Trandoshans, the Lady Vosa who'd saved his sister Lia, and a few others whom Anakin didn't yet know of. Thinking about it over the last few months, Anakin realised that he'd always sensed that fire, that dragon's roar, inside Cam, but after the swamp world it wasn't as muted. As if whatever happened to Cam there – something that terrified Cam so much that he'd needed Anakin's help – had removed something that hid Cam within the Force.

Danger had radiated semi-freely from Cam since then, however, Anakin knew it was not aimed at him. At least not most of the time. There were evenings, which had grown more common since they'd landed on Karvoss II, where that danger had broadened and deepened: as if another was with Cam in his quarters as the danger was focused, precise instead of the all-consuming inferno it could be when Cam was angered. Yet Anakin had searched Cam's quarters when Cam had been at Raven's controls or otherwise engaged and found no hint of what was generating the danger.

Anakin knew he shouldn't search Cam's quarters like that, and that Raven was probably telling Cam he was there, but something about that focused, older, power called to Anakin. As if he needed to know what was causing it and understand it for himself. One day, Anakin hoped Cam would tell him what he was doing, but until then he'd remain patient. Cam was his… brother, friend, father, and Master, yet none of those titles felt right to Anakin. Cam was… he wasn't sure what exactly, beyond the one person Anakin knew he could count on. The one person in the entire galaxy that would stand with him no matter what.

He laughed gently as he walked, clearing thoughts of darkness in Cam and their odd situation. Anakin understood the Force wanted them to be together, but he was still getting used to the strange dynamic that existed between them.

"Something funny?"

Anakin stopped and turned, seeing the one who'd spoken was a Trandoshan. He didn't have issues with the species like Cam, but Cam's hatred of them had soured Anakin on them. Along with Gamorreans, Trandoshans were often seen as enforcers for the Hutts and other slavers on Tatooine, and as the hulking alien stepped forward, one clawed hand resting over a blaster, the HUD of Anakin's armour quickly scanned the alien and his equipment.

The blaster the claw was resting over was illegal in the Republic, though Anakin suspected that even on the Core worlds the Trandoshan would not be stopped by security, or would avoid the more heavily policed docking areas. From that, and the rifle slung over its back, and the vibroblade on the other hip, it didn't take a genius to understand this alien was a pirate, bounty hunter, slaver, or some odd combination of all three.

The HUD then provided details on the bay behind the Trandoshan. There were two ships there, though only one was clear enough for the HUD to match against records. The ship was in dire need of repairs, to say nothing of a new paint job, and blaster marks scorched the hull in over a hundred locations: and that was just what was visible to the HUD.

"Yeah, that hunk of junk you call a ship," Anakin shot back. Cam and Simvyl had warned him to be careful of his tendency to reply quickly, but Anakin didn't feel like being nice to this alien. Not when he was trying to threaten him simply because he was bigger. "Looks like it should be towing garbage."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I meant to say towed away as garbage." Behind him, a coughing bark came from Simvyl suggesting the Cathar had bit back his amusement at Anakin's remark. That made Anakin smile, though the Trandoshan couldn't see it because of the armour.

"Why you little…"

The sound of a blaster rushing from a holster, along with Simvyl stepping forward between Anakin and the Trandoshan and placing a hand to gently push Anakin back, cut off the insult the giant lizard planned to use.

"Now, now," Simvyl said slowly, his voice low and Anakin saw his finger resting on the trigger, as if Simvyl expected trouble. "Let's not do anything stupid."

Anakin was again glad of the armour as it hid the look of confusion that rushed over his face. Trandoshans, in his opinion, were slow in the head with only Gamorreans and Klatooinian being slower.

The Trandoshan looked from him to Simvyl and then back. "Is this one your pet?" It asked, and Anakin tried to take a step forward, angered at anyone suggesting his friend was a slave. "Or perhaps your master?" That had Simvyl give Anakin a gentle push back even as the HUD noted the tensing of the Cathar's muscles and the emergence of a dozen Trandoshans deeper in the bay who were now stirring at the commotion.

Most had been out of sight while others were moving supplies, but many had turned, catching sight of what was occurring at the entrance to the bay they'd taken over. Each was armed similarly to the one they were dealing with, and Anakin was drawing on that information, using Cam's teaching to determine which blasters were the most dangerous, and how best to avoid them if a battle broke out.

He could feel the Force flow through him, accelerating his thoughts and motions as his mind worked to prepare a plan of escape if things turned sour. As much as he'd disliked it at the end, the training with Instructor Kefe was helping him draw upon the Force to be ready for combat.

"He's the son of my friend," Simvyl replied, his voice having dropped deeper. Anakin could sense Simvyl drawing on the Force, readying himself for combat just as he was doing. The pistol in Simvyl's hand, while still kept low, was now aimed at the Trandoshan's knee and at this range, Anakin knew Simvyl wouldn't miss. The Cathar's other hand left Anakin's chest and slid back to his lower back, where a vibroblade rested.

Unlike Cam's, Simvyl's blade wasn't made of beskar, but Anakin knew his friend was skilled with it. He'd enjoyed watching Cam and Simvyl spar with their blades, each moving faster than they had before because of the Matukai training. Neither was going for the kill, and Anakin knew Cam was holding back more than Simvyl, but they were looking to hurt each other as, from how Simvyl had explained it, the only way to train properly was to attempt to hurt your opponent. If one practised holding back, then when the time came to use a weapon for real, then your instincts would be incorrect, and you'd likely die.

Simvyl's style was markedly different from Cam's, but they moved so fluidly, so naturally with a blade-in-hand, that, to Anakin it was more akin to dancing than fighting.

"A Cathar friends with a Mandalorian?" The Trandoshan said, having recognized Anakin's armour, and assumed the father was also a Mando. The alien snorted in amusement. "Guess your people know their rightful place."

Anakin moved forward, a string of insults in a dozen tongues ready to be fired at the alien. However, before he could get them out, Simvyl had stepped into his path, cutting off his sight of the Trandoshan. "I lack the time, patience, or energy to waste educating one as absent-minded as yourself." Anakin smirked at the dismissal buried in the insult before the Cathar turned slightly, placing his free hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Come. Let us leave this being to his fallacies and return to your father."

After giving the Trandoshan a final glare – not that the alien could see it through the armour, Anakin turned. However, when he did, he stopped after only a single step. The HUD was reporting a group of eight Trandoshans approaching from the direction they had to go to get back to Raven.

Around them and the new group of Trandoshans, others were glancing around and moving back. At the same time, the Force was shifting in ways Anakin recognized easily as indicating danger was approaching.

Knowing what was about to happen, Anakin readied himself and using the Battlenet and the Force reached out to Cam. He felt he could handle one of the aliens, and Simvyl several more, but at odds of nearly ten-to-one, and with them trapped between two groups, they'd need help and quickly.

At that moment, the group of Trandoshans approaching them stopped, their hands drifting toward their weapons while the HUD informed him that the one that had first spoken to them, was now smiling, exposing rows of sharp, dirty yellow teeth.

"Shab."

… …

---

… …
(Cam's POV)
"Thanks for your business. If you're ever passing through here again, please don't hesitate to visit Basso's Brilliant Bazaar for all your vessel's needs, nor to recommend Basso to your friends."

I waved dismissively to Basso as I turned, having fuck-all intention of ever coming to this system, or dealing with the Toydarian, ever again. While Basso had been able to secure the higher quality fuel that Raven preferred – and after deepening my bond with her I refused to ever contemplate giving her anything but the best quality as I didn't want to experience her annoyance and anger at having to consume inferior products – his prices were, to put it gently, exorbitant. Even when considering that we were at the edge of Republic Space readying ourselves to venture into Wild Space and spend time training with the Shapers of Kro Var.

Even with being in my armour as I moved around this station, and Fenrir at my side, it'd taken longer than I'd hoped to get the fuel for Raven and secure supplies. HK and R2 had overseen the delivery, checked everything was as it should, and had Raven test some of the fuel before I'd paid the remainder of the costs to Basso. My caution came from not trusting anyone on this station as far as Anakin could throw them, which was only further enhanced when I'd seen two different security teams take open bribes to not examine cargo entering the station.

As was usual with each location we visited, Anakin had wandered off to explore the docking bays, wanting to see what ships were present. Simvyl was with him today simply because, given the clientele in this backwater, the odds of HK inciting violence were high enough that I didn't want him near my Padawan. That said, given what I'd seen on the station, I suspected Anakin could incite a riot here with the wrong phrase or comment, which was why I'd given him the usual speech of minding his manners unless someone started things.

"Easy there," I said as I reached the exit to Basso's office, my hand going down to pet Fenrir on his head. "He was honest." Fenrir's opinion of the Toydarian had been lower than mine, and the threat of the tuk'ata chasing him around, before ripping him to shreds, had ensured Basso was honest in his dealings with me.

As I stepped through the door, re-entering the chaos of the promenade of the station, and once more being glad of the armour given various smells in the air, I paused. The Force was rippling oddly as if it expected trouble. I took a step toward where Raven was docked, planning to leave the bay and then head around the docking ring externally to collect Anakin and Simvyl. At the same time, I opened the Battlenet to HK and Anakin.

"Query: Yes Master?" the droid replied quickly. However, before I could ask him to ready Raven, the Force shifted, and the feed from Anakin's armour connected to mine. Seeing him and Simvyl standing near a Trandoshan had me growling, my hatred for that race rising at seeing them on the station and close to my family.

"Ready Raven for combat!" I barked as I started running toward where Anakin and Simvyl were, knowing what was about to happen as the Battlenet reported they were being surrounded by nearly two dozen Trandoshans. "Anakin's in trouble!"

The Force came to me, empowering my body and pushing me forward faster than I'd normally be capable of. At my heels, I could sense Fenrir drawing on it as well, keeping pace with me.

"Affirmative: Yes, Master. Good hunting," HK responded, a hint of his disappointment at missing out on battle evident in his vocals.

The moment the channel closed, one of the Trandoshans flanking them from behind opened fire. I snarled in fury as Simvyl pushed Anakin to one side, letting the bolt strike the Trandoshan that had been in front of them. As the beast stumbled back from the friendly fire, Simvyl's blaster spoke. Three bolts raced out, striking the stumbling lizard in its knee and groin.

Furious at the attack, I demanded the Force do more even as Simvyl fired two more bolts at the falling lizard, striking the beast in the face. The Force bent to my desire, and the world around me slowed as I surged forward. Hot power raced through me as the Battlenet reported the first of the walking handbags was dead, the corpse still twitching even as chaos engulfed the location.

Simvyl managed to get Anakin and himself behind some crates, offering cover from the ambushing group of trannies, but I knew it wouldn't last. Once those in the hangar emerged, they'd be badly flanked.

"HEY!" The voice called out as I pushed forward, drawing my attention from the Battlenet. A human in uniform – A member of the corrupt security force – was holding out a hand, demanding I stop. "Stop!" He added, making it clearer even as the other hand moved pathetically slowly toward his sidearm.

As I rushed toward him, my hand rose, and the Force reacted to my wishes. The man, along with the three others with him at the checkpoint, was lifted up. Another step from me, and they were flying back, and by the time I'd taken a further two steps, all of them were down. They'd slammed into each other, a wall, and a large container.

Diluted, pained groans emerged from them as me and Fenrir charged through the destroyed checkpoint, their status already forgotten as the Battlenet continued to feed me details, as my anger and rage threatened to consume the station for allowing those beasts anywhere near my friends, my family.

Reports of Anakin's rising panic came through the Battlenet at the same time I crashed through two beings carrying something. The object exploded in a shower of pieces as my armour shattered it, allowing me to leave the promenade.

The corridors now were narrower, but still full of people, though all of them were slowing, the Force pushing me to speeds that left them little better than statues for me to avoid or destroy as I raced to my target. Fenrir's rage mixed with mine, driving my fury to new heights. When we reached those lizards, he was going to enjoy ripping them to shreds, though not as much as I was.

Simvyl moved slowly as well, the Force not able to enable him to move as quickly as I was. Still, he was fighting well, shifting their location before the lizards in the bay could emerge, his blaster firing rapidly, enabling them to move relatively safely.

Even as I vaulted two green-skinned aliens, I reached out through the Force, calming Anakin. A moment later, his vitals dropped, returning to normal levels and I felt relief flooding from into the Force; that I was coming to help, settled his thoughts.

A moment later, he lifted a vambrace, and the grappling cable in it launched. Before it'd even reached his target, Anakin had detached it from his armour, and as I slid around a corner, I smiled, enjoying the sight of the climbing apparatus first striking one lizard in the arm and then the cable wrapping around it and another beast, causing them to stumble.

Delight surged through me as Simvyl took advantage of that, his blaster singing out to strike the pair, driving them back into another beast. His bolts caught their blasters, rendering them useless for the remainder of the battle.

As the Cathar again pushed Anakin, shifting their location, memories of every encounter I'd had with the aliens he was fighting flowed back into my thoughts. From them trying to steal my glory after my verd'goten, to random encounters in various locations; each time, they were looking to kill me to please their god. Every memory served only to fuel the raging inferno that powered me forward, and demanding that when I reached them, none survived their mistake of attacking my son.

Even with time slowing for those around me, it seemed the message of what was happening was getting through. People were slowly moving, doing their best to give way to the armoured Mandalorian and giant hulking war beast at my heels. Their actions didn't matter though, as where I couldn't find a path around them, the Force ensured they were out of my way.

Simvyl and Anakin reached new cover, though as he slipped behind a barrel, Simvyl took a bolt in the calf. The only thing that soothed my anger from growing further was that it had been a glancing blow, not one that would place him out of the fight or cripple him and that it hadn't been Anakin that'd been struck.

He'd found a blaster and was firing back, though his shots lacked the accuracy of Simvyl's. Still, it was good he was defending himself even if that did nothing to lessen my rage, nor stop the flames inside from growing ever higher as the lizards continued their attacks.

Fenrir's wrath was rising alongside mine, the need to brutalise those attacking his pack, his family mixing with my yearning to eviscerate the shabuire that dared attack our family.

Each bolt that came at them added fuel to the fire, each shot they took bringing me ever-increasing pleasure. The people around me slipped away, their presence nothing more than obstacles to overcome to reach my family, to protect them and destroy those dumb enough to threaten it.

Rounding the final corner that would take me to the section of the docking ring where the battle was taking place, I slid to a stop. "Argh!" I screamed, my fist slamming into the closed door before me. When the metal didn't bend, didn't deform as the Force struck it with my first, I pounded it again, and a third and fourth time.

Seeing just clearly enough through the fog of fury enveloping my thoughts, I understood this was a blast door. For a moment I considered Phasing through the door, however, that was dismissed. I'd not attempted to use that power since truly connecting to the Force. Beyond risking myself in the attempt, I'd be forced to leave Fenrir behind, denying an ally we may need.

I thrust a hand forward, ripping the Force to me and used it to grasp the blast doors. The Force took a moment to respond, as if unwilling to help, and my rage surged, demanding its help. My other hand joined the first, and slowly, after what felt like an eternity, pained groans came from the doors.

Time crawled along as the sounds grew greater until, eventually, the HUD reported the doors shifting; the gears that held them in place straining and failing to resist my demands. Light finally shone through as the thick doors, designed to protect one section of the station from another in the event of a hull breach, slowly pulled back, the metal unable to deny my will.

I kept my focus on the doors, pouring my rage alongside the Force into opening them further, needing a gap large enough for myself and Fenrir to leap through. That helped ease the internal flames, however, they rose to new, previously unobtainable heights as new data came in from the Battlenet.

Anakin was down, the cover he and Simvyl had been using having been shredded by a grenade. His vitals were stable, which was all that enabled me to retain control over what I was doing. Simvyl, however, wasn't as lucky.

Minus the armour, Anakin and I wore, he'd taken shrapnel in several places. The wounds, while not instantly fatal, would need tending to soon or he'd soon be at death's door.

Before my thoughts could turn to losing the Antarian Ranger, Fenrir was moving. The gap between the doors was large enough for him to rush through, and a split-second later, I followed.

As I landed in a roll, the doors slammed closed behind us, and as the roll ended, I pushed myself to my feet, surging forward.

The Battlenet was reporting the Trandoshans were closing on my downed family, and as I neared the corner separating me from the battlefield, they reached the pair.

I tried to keep my thoughts clear, tried to stay rational as I took in the damage that had been wrought on the area. However, the second I saw the first target, the concept of thinking rationally deserted me.

The Battlenet reported the lizards had reached my family, Anakin tossed over the shoulder of one while two more started dragging the wounded Simvyl. The idea that, instead of simply killing them, they planned to take them away, to do Force-knew what with them, drove any remaining hint of restraint from my thoughts.

Rounding the final corner, all worries of what might happen vanished as the first four targets came into sight. Their backs were to me even as I raced toward them, beskad drawn and shoto lightsaber ignited.

The one closest to me started to turn, drawn by the sounds of my boots crashing against the floor. The others followed as Fenrir roared and leapt.

Blades sliced out, burning and cutting through flesh; steam rose, and blood boiled as plasma slid through meat like a hot knife through butter.

The sounds of pained grunts and screams, the last cut off as Fenrir clamped his mighty jaws down on his target, sent pleasure surging through me. Yet, those I'd just rushed past weren't my target.

Further ahead, at the entrance to the bay, I saw my targets. Three lizards dragging and carrying my family.

They and the others turned at the sounds, blasters raising to engage, even as Fenrir howled in delight.

Simvyl stirred, claws flashing out and slashing at his captors.

Anakin squirmed, driving an elbow into the face of his abductor, making the beast stumble.

I slid to one side, avoiding the first, frantic bolts toward me; my lightsaber flicking out and slapping back the pathetic attempts to harm me.

Simvyl slid free of his captors after striking one in the groin. The one carrying Anakin reached the ramp to their ship.

My blades swooped out, slashing through meat, carving me a path toward the vessel. Toward my son.

Twenty steps became ten.

The Force tried to do something, but my focus was on my target.

At five steps something crashed into my knee: knocking me to the side.

I turned as I fell, bringing my blade down; though only the hilt crashed into the scaly skull of the dumb lizard who'd tackled me.

I grunted as my side smashed into a crate, shattering it, and sending debris everywhere.

I twisted as I struck the ground, bringing my beskad around, driving the blade through the skull of the beast who'd dared touch me. The blade sent blood splattering from its mouth and jaw as the tip emerged, before striking the creature's chest.

Rolling as I bounced off the deck, I controlled my landing, ensuring I was ready to move as I stopped skidding over the floor.

Flares of fury rose as the HUD reported engines igniting, those flames rising higher as I realised it was the ship Anakin had been taken onto.

I stepped forward, ready to charge the ramp only to see it'd closed. The vessel now rising slowly from the deck.

Voices whispered to me, telling me I was about to lose Anakin. That there was nothing I could do. Not unless I used their advice.

My free hand thrust out my hand curling into a claw, calling the Force to my aid.

It was slow to react, causing my anger to rise further, generating flickers of black energy that danced between my fingertips.

Around me, those beasts not yet on a vessel yet still alive froze as that energy raced from my palm, slamming into the airborne vessel.

The ship shuddered, encouraging me and having the whispered promises of what I'd do to those who hurt my family grow louder.

Sparks cascaded over the hull, smoke rising from the engine that bore the brunt of my attack, yet the vessel continued to move away.

My other came up, lightsaber depowering as it fell from my grasp, and sent more tendrils of black energy slamming into the ship.

That ship wasn't leaving, not while the Force did as I commanded.

Smoke turned to fire before the engine exploded. The ship dropped, the hull scraping against the station's walls. The other two engines burned brighter, taking up the strain even as I directed my fury against them.

Suddenly, the Force shifted. The voices warned me of a nuisance.

I turned, wanting to burn whatever threat was nearing. The walls of the bay screeched, brunt, and ignited as Force energy left a jarring scar along them.

Before I could bring my fury to bear on whatever foul beast dared attack me, the creature crashed into my side, knocking me back.

As the black energy flickered away, sparing the escaping vessel from my fury, I turned my focus to whatever soon-to-be-dead creature had stopped my attack; and stopped me from saving Anakin.

Claws slashed at my armour, pathetically attempting to hurt me, which only served to further enrage me as I was knocked over.

As my back struck the ground, my fists slammed into the beast's skull, dark energy flickering around the gauntlets while the Force pushed my strength to insane levels.

The creature's skull caved in, unable to take the power of my blows. The claws fell limply against my armour.

One fist struck the animal again, driving it from my body and sending it tumbling away; green liquid marking the path the corpse took.

Standing quickly, I lifted my hands toward the scrapping vessel.

The blood on my gauntlets burned away as black energy surged from them, reaching out toward their target; needing to shatter the pathetic frame of the cage that held my son.

Time slowed as I pushed everything into my attack, as the Force made everything else around me unable to move, unable to challenge my power.

Yet, just as my fury threatened to overwhelm its prey, the energy splashed away, striking an invisible barrier.

I screamed into the Force, enraged that the station was denying me my prey. That it was allowing those animals to escape with my son.

I turned, ready to lash out at the station, to shatter it so I could resume my attack to free Anakin, only for a groan to reach my lips.

A downed lizard was nearby, part of its face badly burnt by blaster fire, the voices begged me to destroy it, to remind others why they were all beneath me.

With a new focus, I thrust out a hand, black energy slamming into the beast and cooking it alive even as it screamed in pain.

The Force warned of an attack, the HUD directing me to the object moving patiently slowly through the air.

A flick of my hand, and the object changed direction, hurtling back toward its source.

Turning back to my true prey, the voices whispered for me to destroy everything. I resisted them, my attention only on saving my family.

Another roar escaped me, one that drove back everything nearby.

In the time I'd been distracted, the vessel had slipped from view.

I turned, my boot denting the deck as I stalked towards a nearby living target.

It lay on the ground, one hand clasped pathetically over the other shoulder, trying vainly to remove the blade embedded past the hilt there.

Green blood flowed from the wound, soaking the deck, which delighted me.

My boot slammed into its chest and pinned it to the ground. "Where are they heading?" I demanded, pulling the shoto to my hand and igniting it.

The beast muttered something so quiet, that the armour couldn't pick it up. Blood flowed from its mouth.

Infuriated at the lack of help, I lifted my foot and then drove it down again, the Force doing as I demanded to strengthen the blow.

The chest of the beast crashed and cracked inward; blood, bone and sinew were sent flying as I destroyed its body.

Twisting my heel, ensuring the pathetic creature was ground beneath me, I turned, searching for another source of information.

A familiar snarl drew my attention, my anger easing slightly as I saw Fenrir standing watch over Simvyl.

The Cathar was wounded; the HUD reported four blaster burns and a dozen cuts, all of which were bleeding.

Regaining my focus, I rushed toward him, his eyes drawn to the squelching of my boot as I neared.

Knowing his condition before I reached him, I pulled bacta patches from my belt as I slid to a halt at his side.

Inside rage burnt at his failure to protect Anakin, and those hushed voices returned, demanding I punish Simvyl for the failure. I pushed those away, knowing he couldn't have done much better against the odds he faced, and that, once healed, he'd join me in hunting those responsible down and rewarding them for their choices.

"S-sorry," he murmured as I placed the first patch against his calf, easing the pain from the initial wound. At the same time, the HUD worked to determine which wounds needed bacta and which didn't. While the cuts from claws shouldn't need much to heal, I'd still want him to clean them. You never knew what those lizards carried.

"You did what you could." My tone was cold and business-like as I worked to restrain my anger. He wasn't the cause nor target of it and didn't need to endure it. "Fenrir, stay," I said as I stood a moment later, patches now covering the more serious wounds while others rested beside the Cathar so he could apply them himself.

Fenrir growled, not liking the order, but obeyed as I turned, moving toward the exit from the bay. I had to get to Anakin, which meant getting to Raven first.

I opened the Battlenet, wanting to determine the quickest route to my vessel, even considering Teleporting there to expedite matters. I was cautious about doing so, but it would be the fastest way to reach Raven. Or it would've if she was still in her bay.

"Query: Has the battle finished Master?" HK asked as I turned, looking to where my target had fled and seeing the wonderful, incredible sight of Raven entering.

"H… She let you fly her?" I asked the droid, trying to work out how Raven had gotten here without me at the controls. While she could stomach others watching her while we travelled through hyperspace, that was the extent of her leash for allowing anyone but me to be in command.

"Answer: No, Master. The vessel is still reluctant to allow me to take the helm." I bit back an unwelcome – purely because of timing – burst of amusement at HK's answer. "Explanation: The ship chose to fly herself here. It seems it understood the severity of the situation. Addendum: If I had been ten-point-three-two seconds slower she would have departed without me."

"Huh."

Any response beyond that didn't come as I watched Raven guide herself into the bay. She turned over the spot where Anakin's captors had fled from and without even landing, began to lower her ramp as I approached.

Pausing as I reached the ramp, I turned, seeing that Simvyl had stood and was using Fenrir as a crutch.

"Wha!" Simvyl panicked for a moment as he was lifted from the deck, several of the bacta patches slipping from his grasp as it frantically flailed to recover.

"Relax," I said as I pulled my hand to my chest, dragging the floating Cathar to me.

"I…, thanks," he said softly as I lowered him onto the ramp. It wasn't touching the deck as Raven wasn't landing, so I'd had to lift him to speed things up.

"You're welcome. Fenrir," I said as the tuk'ata reached my side, "escort him to the medibay and then wait."

The tuk'ata leapt onto the ramp and gently pushed the Cathar deeper into Raven. Once the path was clear, I leapt up, the ramp beginning to close as soon as my boots touched the deck.

"Good girl," I said, running my fingertips over her skin.

The lights around me flickered, Raven happy to have me back onboard mixed with fear for Anakin, and a moment later I was running through her corridors.

"Statement: The ship is ready for departure, Master," HK offered as I entered the cockpit. "Shields and missiles are ready."

"Good." I slid into my chair, the seat sliding to partially encompass me, and strengthening my bond to Raven even as she eased herself out of the bay.

"Query: Who has taken the young builder, Master?"

"Trandoshans." The word came out in a growl, one enhanced by the armour giving it a deeper, more metallic sound.

The communication channel was bleeping, demanding attention. That was either the station's dockmaster or possibly even security as the HUD had detected some arriving just as we left. Regardless, they could fuck off as I had other things to deal with, and if I saw security I'd struggle to contain my rage at them letting those beasts onto the station in the first place.

"Observation: It has been some time since I've hunted them, Master. Loading tactical subsets and tactics for the species."

"Once we've got Anakin back, you've got free reign," I said as my hands closed around Raven's controls. While the armour dulled the connection, it still brought me comfort to be back here.

"Exclamation: How exciting, Master. I look forward to demonstrating my skill."

I didn't reply to his comment, instead focusing on the system we were in. Raven's sensors were scanning every nearby vessel while I was pushing out into the Force. Thousands of vessels were moving around, as while this was a minor system in Republic terms, it had a population of over a billion.

Closing my eyes, I dove into the Force, Raven at my side. Reaching outward, it didn't take long to find Anakin's presence. While he hid it from others, with the bond we shared, finding it was as simple as finding fresh water while standing next to a mountain stream. "There."

Raven turned before I even moved the controls, vectoring toward our prey. We cut across the nose of a transport three- or four-times Raven's size, letting us see the panicked reaction of the pilot as we skimmed the other vessel's hull.

Emerging around the transport, Raven pulled up our target; the smoke trailing from the destroyed engine made it easy to find. "Thank you," I said to Raven, letting her know how grateful I was for her actions and response to my needs. In response, extra power poured into her thrusters, pushing us toward our prey.

Raven ducked, dove, and slid past any vessel that crossed our path, her intent toward the lizard's ship clear to all. It didn't take them long to realise we were hunting them, and it pushed forward faster, though, with one of their sublight engines destroyed, they had no hope of escaping us.

"Target engines only," I ordered as we cleared the last vessel between us and the beasts who'd taken my son.

As the missile racks locked on, Raven alerted me to a half-dozen ships closing on us from behind. They were coming from two vectors, and given their shared markings and size, it was clear they were station or system patrol craft. None would reach us before we engaged the lizards, but I wasn't taking the chance they'd try and stop us boarding.

"This is Jedi Knight Cameron Shan," I said into the comm channel Raven opened with the closest patrol craft. "The vessel we're bearing down upon is crewed by Trandoshans who've kidnapped my s… my Padawan. Stay back or I will consider you hostile."

I closed the channel after sending my threat, not concerned about how they might respond. This close locking onto Anakin's emotions was easy. Given how dull they felt, I suspected the lizards had stunned him to avoid him causing a problem. That meant they'd likely removed his armour as it would block all but the strongest – and those most dangerous – stun devices. Since Anakin didn't have a Padawan braid, or at least I'd not insisted he tie one into his hair while we were leaning into my status as Mando'ade, the lizards shouldn't know they'd captured a Force user, which meant they wouldn't have secured him properly.

Still, the fact they'd laid hands upon my son, never mind hurt him, meant the whispers were back. They made clear the lizards deserved to pay, preferably slowly and painfully, for their actions, and while I was struggling to not give in to those suggestions, I was rejecting them for now. The reason for that wasn't some attempt to remain honourable, but because I was sensing others nearby Anakin. Given their presences were frightened and chaotic, I suspected the beast who'd captured them, were either slavers or enjoyed hunting children. Once those children were, along with Anakin, safe, then HK would have free reign; so much so that I'd be willing to watch how he dealt with the creatures, perhaps even insisting he ensure their deaths were slow and painful.

A desire to send those walking boots to meet their gods embarrassed and defeated rushed through me as we neared range for the missiles. It would be a fitting reward for them and their false idol.

Four missiles streaked away from under Raven's wings, the launchers having reached maximum range. I watched the surge forward, bearing down on their target, ready to stop my prey in its tracks and leave them weak and ripe for extermination.

"NO!" I screamed as, just before the missiles struck, the target jumped to hyperspace. I pushed back, the urge to lash out only tempered by knowledge I couldn't, wouldn't hurt Raven in my fury. "Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!" I roared, clenching my fists so that I swore I heard the beskar groan in protest.

"Statement: Plotting flight vector and determining routes to Trandosha or known pirate havens."

After taking a deep breath, promising to find Anakin and butcher every lizard near him, if not in the entire galaxy, I leaned forward. "I sensed others on the vessel. They might be gathering children for hunts."

"Amendment: Altering search patterns for worlds that are remotely inhabited and similar to Trandoshan homeworld. Addendum: Factoring in closeness to nearby systems with strong security forces or Republic influence. Assessment: Primary list of locations will be available in ten-point-three-two minutes. However, it will take another sixteen-point-seven-three minutes to prepare rankings based on probability of use."

I growled, angered at my failing to protect Anakin. It wasn't that I'd lost him that rankled though, it was that instead of the Jedi or Banite Sith taking my Padawan, son, and the Force-damned Chosen One, it was a group of shabuire walking handbags. I'd never liked Trandoshans, but in that moment, they might be the single thing I hated most in the galaxy. Beyond even my fury toward Vosa about what she'd put me through. Haran, even the Vong had more honour than those overgrown, self-indulgent lizards.

The rage to head to Trandosha and burn it to ash, to turn every monument to the Scorekeeper to glass and soak them in the blood of his failed worshippers surged through me, burning like a beacon of pure, unrestrained hatred within the Force. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, breathing deeply, pushing what anger I could into the Force and bottling the rest deep down inside, but eventually, I recovered enough that images of the multitude of ways I could butcher and skin Trandoshans slipped from the forefront of my thoughts.

The communication console was beeping incessantly, system security and defence no doubt frantically trying to reach me. Looking at it, I considered ignoring the hails and jumping after the lizards, but without knowledge of where they might head, there was little point. Raven would overshoot them with ease, and then I'd have no way to know where to go.

Perhaps, I realised, it was better to speak with the station's commander. They should have records of the Trandoshans' vessel, including, hopefully, details of where it'd come from. If not, then there were some Trandoshans who had survived the battle in the bay. I was sure they'd be more than willing to tell me where they'd come from, and where their companions had fled. If not, then HK would be more than capable of extracting any relevant data from them before they were exterminated like the vermin they were.

… …

---

… …
"Query: Was your discussion productive, Master?"

I bit back a growl as I entered the bay where Raven was docked and saw HK waiting for me at the base of Raven's ramp. "No, HK, it wasn't," I replied slowly, trying to keep my emotions in check. "Kriffing waste of time that was."

Ever since the Trandoshans had jumped away with Anakin, I'd been walking a knife-edge between rushing off in the vain hope we might find them quickly and lashing out at anyone who wasn't helpful. Given I'd spent the last hour with the station's commander and head of security, after being escorted to the meeting by two dozen security personnel, the latter option had felt more likely.

The pair had, even after I confirmed I was a Jedi and provided recordings that confirmed the Trandoshans shot first, spent more time trying to pressure me over my actions than the firefight and kidnapping that had taken place on their station. They'd even had the audacity to demand I pay the medical bills for the security team I'd taken out while rushing to help Anakin and Simvyl.

I'd told them where they could shove that idea and then insisted the matter was now Jedi business. I'd asked nicely for their files and recordings for today and the Trandoshans' vessels and actions, but neither had been cooperative. They'd not wanted to do so, and even reminding them that their system was a member of the Republic, and as a member of the Jedi, with a personal connection to the Chancellor – which they discovered when they searched the Holonet for my information – they'd been reluctant to grant me what I'd asked for.

After that, they'd reluctantly agreed to hand over the files, but they weren't letting me speak with the three surviving Trandoshans; insisting that the trio would be tried under local law and not the whims of the Jedi. The pair had a clear distaste for the Order, and while I didn't care about that, the fact they were throwing it bluntly into my face hadn't done much for my already sour mood. At least once a minute I'd considered simply grasping the pair with the Force and persuading them to be more cooperative. I'd resisted the urge but only just, and even now, with the meeting over, the idea still held appeal. As did ripping this station apart bulkhead by bulkhead until nothing remained.

"Query: Would you like me to speak with them?"

I smiled tightly as the various security personnel nearby tensed at the question, mainly as HK, as always, was armed. That said, the only weapon security could see was the one HK was carrying, the others were built-in or hidden, scanners unable to detect them due to additional features HK had insisted were added to the body when I'd had it commissioned.

"No, that won't be necessary," I answered, holding up a datapad. The station's commander and security chief had, after the hour-long meeting, finally agreed to hand over all files for today's events. They'd insisted that there were no copies, but I had my doubts and had sent instructions to R2 and HK during the meeting to ensure it was the only copy. "How did you spend your time?" I asked, moving through the command centre, and ignoring the peons who worked for the di'kute in the office behind me.

"Statement: While not as fruitful as I might have liked, it wasn't entirely wasted." We stepped into the lift at that, though HK remained quiet until the doors sealed and we began our descent. "Continuation:" HK resumed, using the Battlenet to take the discussion private. "The meatbags were unwilling to allow me to speak with those responsible for the young builder's abduction, Master. Speculation: I believe they feared I might end the functions of the beasts in their care."

"I'd have enjoyed it if you had."

"Assurance: I would have only exterminated the Trandoshans after I was sure they served no further purpose, Master. Disclosure: As I was unable to speak with the targets, while we waited I accessed the security systems as you requested. Observation: Their protection was pathetically weak, even for a system designed by meatbags."

"The files are erased?"

"Answer: Not entirely, Master. The files were being observed and copied when your request came in."

"Haran!"

"Assurance: While I wasn't able to immediately scrub the files in question, Master, I can assure you I was successful in my assignment. Explanation: Once the copy was created for you, I dispatched a program that would attach to every file in the system and erase the network. As I accessed their system from inside their command centre, they are unlikely to locate the issue before the program activates in thirty-four-point-two-six minutes."

"Heh." I laughed softly inside the armour even as the lift reached our floor. Stepping forward, I saw those in the room, which was the same security unit that had escorted me here, tense. They might have their hands on their weapons, as did others in the room, and several turrets turned to track our movement, but none of them were a threat. Already the HUD had determined the order to remove them, and I could feel the Force readying itself if I might decide to cleanse the room.

Taking a step forward, the team tensed further and moved toward me, only to pause when I raised my hand. "Don't," I said, activating the external speakers in my armour and shaking my head in disgust. "Just don't."

"Our orders…"

"Are rescinded," I cut off the squad's leader. "Unless you wish to join your comrades in the medibay, or the Trandoshans in the morgue."

"Musing: Perhaps they should, Master. I sense you could do with 'blowing off some steam' as meatbags like to say."

"Fair, but the sooner I leave this cesspit, the better," I replied, walking past the squad leader, pushing him from my path as I moved. "Plus, getting blood off the boots is a pain I'd rather avoid."

"Observation: That is why I prefer to terminate targets at a distance, Master. Or to use a disruptor." I ignored that he'd just suggested he had access to a weapon that was outlawed in the Republic. Even if we were in the Core, you'd find people with such weapons, the trick was to ensure they were modified to look like a more common blaster rifle. "Confession: I do, however, admit something is pleasing about standing over a meatbag as their life leaves their eyes."

A strained laugh forced its way out at the remark, the HUD showing those in the room growing even more tense. At least those who weren't used to dealing with mercenaries and warriors. The more experienced security personnel seemed to understand there was no threat in HK's words and made sure to ease the nerves of their less decorated colleagues.

Once we exited the security station, I returned our conversation to internal chatter. "Where are the lizards located?"

"Disclosure: It is of no importance, Master. To ensure they don't reveal what they saw I have inserted a small alteration into the systems monitoring their cells. Oxygen levels are slowly decreasing to levels they cannot tolerate, and the alarms for the cells won't sound until long after the meatbags have expired."

"Acceptable."

From there we walked in silence, which allowed me to turn my thoughts to my actions. I didn't regret drawing on the Force how I'd done or my actions during the battle. I'd done so to help others. Yet I knew I had to be careful. With my powers and connection to the Force unstable and unbalanced because of Natural Selection, and with me already more inclined to draw on the Force in ways the Jedi wouldn't approve of, I was at risk of losing myself in the Dark Side.

I'd not done so today, but there had been moments when, in the heat of battle, I'd come close, just as I had on other occasions. While I'd hunt and kill every Trandoshan that was involved in Anakin's kidnapping, and would do the same if others such as Bo or Serra were in danger, I had to be cautious that I didn't go too far, that I didn't enjoy my actions too much. That path led to me being consumed by the Dark Side and becoming nothing more than a beast that had to be put down. Against the lizards, even losing control like that shouldn't cost me, but against the real threats that awaited me – both those known and unknown as I felt there were more dangers in the galaxy than just what I was aware of – such behaviour would result in my quick and pathetic death.

I opened a channel through the Battlenet, wanting to alert Simvyl that we were returning only for the words to die in my throat. Stumbling to one side, I placed a hand on the nearest wall to steady myself as I felt a familiar presence reach out through the Force.

"Anakin," I muttered as I reached back, wanting to let him know I was there for him.

We were far too far apart for any form of communication to take place, not least as I'd yet to open myself fully to allow such discussions. However, I could sense enough that my worst fears receded into the depths of my mind. Anakin was awake now, and while panicked and scared, he wasn't in danger. At least not currently. The burst of emotions from him, even at this distance and with my connection to the Force limited by choice, was still enough to unbalance me, hence the stumble. Still, I knew he was as well as he could be.

Closing my eyes, I pushed open my connection to the Force, focusing entirely on the bond I shared with my son. I had enough understanding, thanks to my training with Fay and Dooku, to know how to lock onto the bond I shared with Anakin and send feelings along it.

Around me, the minds of those on the station became clearer, and the myriad of voices threatened to overwhelm me. Their desires, needs, wants, and every other random, meaningless idea and concept that consumed the thoughts of lesser beings crashed around me, threatening to bury me in a tsunami of insanity. I threw up barriers, drawing on my lessons, and kept the symphony of chaos back. All that mattered was Anakin, and reaching his mind, even, if possible getting a sense of where he was and who was with him.

It took a moment, as I was pushing through the Force over hundreds, if not thousands, of lightyears before I locked onto Anakin. Once that was done, I sent a burst of reassurance to him. He'd know I'd be coming for him, but I needed him to understand that it wasn't going to be instant.

His response was one of relief as if he feared I'd fallen to the lizards that had taken him, or that, like Shmi, I might've abandoned him. The fear I'd sensed in his initial outburst had settled, though not gone entirely. Given his current situation, that was understandable, I just had to hope he didn't latch onto that for support. Not because I didn't want him using the Force in the same ways I'd done when trying to save him, but because I feared that, with him being young, and his mind still maturing, he'd not be able to control himself and never recover from what he might do if he answered the offers the whispers of the Dark Side provided.

Pushing myself off the wall, I realised HK was standing nearby, keeping guard while those around us swerved away, unwilling to pass close to a Mandalorian and armed droid. "Hold on An'ika," I whispered to myself as I resumed walking with renewed vigour.

Somewhere out there, Anakin was in trouble, and if I had to rip apart the galaxy to find and save him, I would.

… …

---

… …
I watched as the stars swirled around us as we travelled faster than light, putting the station and the soon-to-be dead lizards behind us. The first of the possible worlds had been inputted into the navigational computer and Raven was pushing herself forward, the engines exceeding their standard limits as we soared through the undulating eddies of hyperspace.

"You've got the conn," I said to Simvyl as I stood and made my way out of the cockpit cape swirling around me. There was no need to have him alert me if something happened, as Raven would do that naturally. The Cathar was still wounded, with a few bacta patches still visible under his clothing, but he'd insisted on working. I didn't need the Force or Observe to know he blamed himself for Anakin's abduction, and while there was still some anger toward his part in events, I'd forgiven him.

Anakin had taunted the Trandoshan after it had spoken to him, and while that wasn't the smartest choice, I'd have done the same or worse in the boy's place. The difference was that if something had happened with me there instead of Anakin and Simvyl, then there'd not have been any lizards walking away from the battle. Force, if HK had been with me then the decks would be repainted with blood by the time we finished.

As I emerged into the central area, Fenrir lifted his head. Unlike most times that I passed through the area, he wasn't lazing around on the main sofa, instead, he was stalking back and forth; agitation and anger radiating from him. Anakin being gone meant a member of our pack, our family was missing, and while his bond to the boy wasn't as strong as mine, he still shared a connection with him.

In one corner of the area, waiting to be disposed of, was a pile of bones that had formerly been the leg of a Trandoshan. The tuk'ata had dragged it onboard after we'd returned to the station, taking over the scene of the crime. Several members of the security force investigative services weren't happy with him removing evidence, but if they'd wanted the leg back, they could've tried to take it.

If he'd done that before Naboo I might've had issues, but not long after I'd purchased a trio of cleaning droids and tasked R2 with keeping the trio in line. So far, there'd not been any issues, though it seemed Fenrir was unwilling to let them collect the bones as, while I was moving through the area, one droid entered, only to scuttle away after Fenrir growled at it.

As I exited the central area, Fenrir fell into step behind me. Normally with what I was about to do, I'd not have him present, but I'd allow it for today. We were both on edge and having him nearby for what I wanted to do might allow me to retain my centre.

I slipped into my quarters quickly, the doors taking longer to close because of the tuk'ata. As he settled down in his usual position – one that allowed him to attack anyone coming in the door – I moved to my desk. Once there, I reached into my Inventory and removed Adas' holocron. As I'd been using it more heavily since Naboo, I kept it separated from the other holocrons in my Inventory, though I wasn't stupid enough to leave it in my quarters. While Anakin knew not to enter without permission, the holocron generated a presence in the Force that I suspected even Simvyl felt. The longer I could go without anyone knowing exactly what I was up to, the safer it would be for us all.

I closed my eyes and reached into the Force, easily finding the cold, reserved, but dangerous presence that signified the holocron of the ancient Sith King.

"And wha…" Adas' words trailed off as the projected image stared at me. "What exactly has happened?" He asked, changing tack which made clear he could see the conflict in me over what I'd done, and how I'd drawn upon the Dark Side in my attempt to save Anakin.

I took a breath, readying myself for reliving the battle, and the sight of the vessel that had taken my son away. "There was an incident on a station we've just left," I said slowly, watching my tone and emotions. The holocron would be sensing them, but I'd prefer not to be too clear about how close I'd come to losing myself. "Anakin, my Padawan, my son, was taken by Trandoshans," I couldn't stop the burst of fury that surged through me at the mention of that race. "I've sensed him through the Force, and know he's alive but… I don't know where he is or where those beings are taking him."

Adas remained silent after my confession, though I could feel the holocron probing me through the Force. "Hmm. While I know little of the species, bar what previous holders of this holocron and you have told me, based on that data, I would assume that they intend to take your apprentice to one of their hunting worlds. However, I know nothing of where such worlds might be located, though I may have a method for how to locate your apprentice. That said, I don't believe that is your primary reason for speaking to me."

I suspected his idea for locating Anakin would involve reaching into the Force, and it was something that I'd considered ever since we'd left the station. However, due to how I was recovering from the battle, and the maelstrom of emotions swirling within me, I was reluctant to do so, which was why I'd sought out the holocron once we'd entered hyperspace. "My Padawan and Simvyl were elsewhere on the station when they were attacked. When it happened, when I sensed Anakin's fear and panic, I almost lost control. I knew I couldn't reach him easily, not with how my Force connection wasn't the same as it once was. At that moment, with no choice, I drew upon the Dark Side and let it guide and shape my choices."

"Do you regret the decision?" the holocron asked slowly, no doubt taking stock of my words, feelings, and presence within the Force.

"No." I blinked, surprised at how quick my response had been. I knew I'd not regretted the choice, but ever since there'd been lingering doubt about if I'd made the right choice. That my answer came so quickly, and without a hint of remorse, was unexpected. "I mean, I don't regret using the Force as I did to try and save Anakin. It's just that, in doing so, in giving in to the offers of power from the Dark Side, I lost myself in them. By the time I regained control of myself, my actions, and the Force, it was too late, and Anakin was gone; lost."

"As much as it might shock you to hear, your mistake wasn't that you took back control, nor that you listened to the veiled false promises that came, not from the Force but from deep within yourself, but that you fought over the choice. That you fought against what you are, and what you were doing." My head tilted to one side, wondering where he was going with this. "The Dark Side isn't, as the Jedi believe, some corrupted section of the Force in which one loses themselves because of their emotions. It is the true source of the abilities the Force grants us, though to fully use and appreciate it, one must learn to take command of it and oneself. However, to wield the power the Force provides, without being consumed by it, one must make a choice."

"Jedi or Sith."

"Yes. And no." Adas chuckled, likely because of the confused look that flashed across my face. "To them, the choice is between Light and Dark, between right and wrong. Between letting the Force guide them, or using its power to shape the universe around you. The universe, as you have well discovered, isn't a simple case of two sides to every choice, it is instead a symphony of, as much as I loathe the term, grey. The Force, as it flows and binds everything in the universe together, is likewise not something that can be simply categorized into two clear and distinct spheres of influence and choice."

"Then what is it?" This wasn't where I'd expected the conversation to go, but it was interesting and was helping ease my mind.

"Tell me, in your own words, how would you, using the teachings of the Jedi, describe the Force?"

I leaned back, thinking about every lesson that I'd had on the nature of the Force. Most of those had come from Fay, though Dooku and others had weighed in from time to time. While none had used simple metaphors to describe the Force, as it wasn't something that could be easily distilled into such a thing, as I looked over the memories, I saw a common, recurring pattern develop. One that, when applied to a way to define the Force, brought forth a simple but detailed once you examined it closer, concept.

"The Force is a river, one that flows with a will of its own – as any river does – and cares little for those on its banks or within it. We, as beings able to draw upon and sense the Force, are the rare few who exist within the river. Those that cannot rest along the banks, able to see the river, but not understand what lies beneath, where the true power and nature of the Force resides. While we travel in the flow, we meet others as our paths cross. For some, the eddies of the water allow only the briefest of contacts, for others, the paths come close to being permanently intertwined. The Jedi teach that, when those paths pull apart, or disappear altogether, we must accept it, and go with the flow. The river, the Force, is the one that defines our path – our destiny – not us. We must release our feelings, and our opinions into the river and accept that no matter what apparent harm and devastation it brings, it has a path that will lead to where we would wish to reside."

"Hmm." Adas lifted a hand to his skull and tapped the base of his helm. "A far more opinioned and detailed answer than I would've expected for one raised by the Jedi. At least if I wasn't already acquainted with you." There was little in his calm, measured tone to suggest he disagreed with my description, but underneath that, I could sense hints of contempt for the ideals I brought forth. "The question is, do you, with all that you've seen, experienced, and done, believe, truly believe, that this is what the Force is?"

I took my time before answering, delving into my thoughts and feelings on the matter. "No," I eventually replied, "not entirely. I mean, the description makes sense, but it feels as if I'm missing something."

Adas chuckled. "That, my young apprentice, is why, when you've drawn upon the Force when you've taken command of it and made it do as you wish, you lose yourself within its power. You are working from a flawed perspective, and fighting instinctively against what you perceive as dangerous because your understanding is lacking. Your training, however ineffectual it was, as a Jedi makes it hard for you to delve into the river, to see and experience what lies at its base, and understand that, while an incredible power, with desires of its own, the Force isn't always right. Blind faith within it, and where it is carrying you, leaves you unable to push the water, to shape the Force as you need and desire."

My mouth opened, readying to challenge him about the dangers of the Dark Side, yet no words emerged. While I didn't entirely buy what he was saying, any argument I might bring forth would have ready counters. I might, as much as I was worried by the idea at times, know that the Jedi path – be that the one followed by Fay, or that followed by the Order in general – wasn't the perfect one for me, but I wasn't here to argue over the merits of the Jedi or Sith philosophy. "Then," I began, having pushed my arguments to one side, "how would you describe the Force?"

I might not have been able to see his face, but I knew Adas was smiling. "Using your analogy of the Force as a river, what would be its final destination?"

"To a sea…"

"Or an ocean," Adas finished, which made me nod. "To keep with this comparison, then what the Jedi perceive and believe is a river that we all must travel down as the Force guides us is, to be polite, incomplete. A river cannot exist by itself, it is part of a cycle, and in the end, the river must end by entering the larger and dangerous entity of an ocean. The breadth and depth of this ocean is beyond the scope of any mortal to define and understand."

"Then the Sith are as wrong about the Force as the Jedi?"

"In some ways, yes," Adas replied with a chuckle. "The difference is that while the Jedi allow the currents to guide them down their river, they never understand that the ocean of the Force awaits to consume them for their false beliefs and what lies in its depths. They don't understand the Force and place their faith in it. That, as with any force of nature, is a deeply flawed approach. Weather has no care for the creatures that inhabit its ecosystem; it only concerns itself, if it is concerned with anything, with the various patterns and systems it has control over.

"Many who claim to be Sith believe that to have the power they desire, they must dominate the ocean; bend it entirely to their will. That too is a fallacy, and often leads to those who attempt domination over the entirety of the Force to be driven mad." He paused, making sure I was listening intently. I was, as was Fenrir who'd moved closer as Adas had spoken. "The other issue, and one I suspect you might fall for, is to believe that it is possible to use both ideals, of allowing the Force to blindly guide you but then assuming control when the destination or situation isn't to your liking. That path leads to madness, and few if any beings can survive such a battle; one fought between themselves, their ideals, and the Force."

"Then no matter what we do, we are doomed to fail?"

"Again, yes and no," Adas said, and I swore he was looking at me as if I was a child. "One cannot trust the Force to guide them, nor believe they can dominate the entirely of it. Both those paths, and that of trying to do both, are false routes, designed to trap and control the weaker-minded fools. Those incapable of understanding the truth, accepting it, and then adapting to it.

"What one must do, if one wishes to survive the Force, is to understand that we have the power to alter, in some ways, the environment around us, without attempting to go too far, to do too much, or making no effort to affect our surroundings. Bend, shape, and direct the ocean's currents around you, as best you can; channel them to what you need. The Force will accept this, as in the grand scheme, your actions, if done so alone, have no meaningful effect on the overall ocean."

As metaphors went, Adas' one wasn't the worst I'd heard. Yes, he was, as expected, pushing for a darker path than I was taking, but he wasn't promising the impossible. Nor was he suggesting I could have everything I wanted simply by dominating the Force around me. Going over the previous discussions we'd had, it was clear this idea worked better with his previous words than what I'd suspected. Those thoughts had, I could see now, been shaped by the Jedi and my preconceptions, about the Dark Side and the Sith.

If I understood his suggestion, his teaching, then to save Anakin, I would have to assume control of the Force around me and him, and use that to alter the flow of the water – the flow of the Force – enough that we'd once more be together. That made sense. However, another concept, one linked intrinsically to Anakin, came to mind.

"What of fate and destiny?"

Anakin was brought forth by the Force – possibly by Plagueis and Sidious attempting to assume control over the entirety of the Force – and thus was critical to whatever the Force considered as balance. My emergence in this universe, and the Force's eventual acceptance and adaptation to me, meant I also was important, but I still believed my role was less critical than the one my son had.

While I'd had hints of the Force adapting to my presence, to shifting its currents, it was only on Naboo that I understood that fully. The death of Master Drallig in place of Qui-Gon was a clear one. While it was only a theory, I suspected the Force had hoped for Qui-Gon to teach Anakin, or at least considered it one of two ways he could go – the other being to eventually kneel before Sidious. In coming here, I'd presented another option, one I had deeply believed, was the Force's favoured choice.

Thus, with Qui-Gon's role in determining Anakin's path to the Force's goal abandoned, he lost importance to the currents. Drallig, due to his closeness to Serra – who flowed beside me in the ocean – had been positioned to ease the overall path of the Force in our vicinity instead. That idea wouldn't ever bring comfort to Serra, but it did ease some of my guilt over Drallig's death.

"Fate is a tricky thing," Adas responded, bringing my attention back to him. "As much as many Dark Siders might wish to deny it, the Force has a path it wishes to take, and no number of actions taken by us can change the destination. We can, with skill, training, and power, alter the exact route taken to this destination, but we cannot divert the Force from its course. Attempting to alter the course and destination will see the Force react and counter the move of the one trying to subvert its intentions: be they Sith, Jedi, or any other who can call upon the Force.

"Now, the path the Force has taken, and the events that brings forth, often don't align with the desires of those of us able to swim in her depths. The Jedi preach that we should simply allow these events to occur, that there is nothing we can do to alter them, nor should we attempt to." My thoughts bounced to Qui-Gon and Drallig there. "A False Sith might attempt to bend the entirety of the Force to their wishes to alter the event. Again, a flawed and foolish choice. A True Sith, can with effort, desire, and power – something both you and your apprentice possess – alter that path enough that events occur in different ways. Often those changes are for our benefit, but not always. That is a sign we must understand, and however much it enrages us, accept. We can use the Force, we can shape its path, but we cannot ever hope to subsume its will, nor alter the course of something we will never truly comprehend."

Adas paused and I sat back in my chair, letting his words sink in. This had shifted from what I'd expected quickly, yet what he said sounded more useful for me now, if I stepped back and looked at things as logically as I could, than a simple lesson on managing my anger.

"You don't deny the Force around you can be bent to your will," Adas said, regaining my attention, "but are struggling with the aftereffects of it not doing enough to help. Which leaves you with a choice.

"Do you accept the teaching of the Jedi and make no outward attempt to have the Force help you find your apprentice? Do you follow the path of the False Sith and attempt to assume direct control of every element of the Force across this galaxy and beyond? Or do you wish to learn how to use the Force to alter the area around you, to wield it to suit your desires without risking the madness that preys upon your fears?"

… …

---

… …
Leaning back in my chair, I snarled. "Shab!" The Mando'a curse slipped easily from me as I pulled back from the Force, unable to sense Anakin in the system.

"No luck?"

"No," I replied, glancing at Simvyl. "He's not in the system." I paused and raised an arm, pointing in the rough direction where it had felt Anakin was coming from. "That way. Give or take."

"Observation: I am impressed with your accurate ability to provide directions, Master."

I ignored HK's sarcasm, as in his place, I'd share it. However, the method that Adas had taught me while we'd travelled to the closest system where HK felt the Trandoshans might've taken Anakin was helping narrow down the location. Or at least I hoped it was, as while it had yet to bear fruit, it was providing a general sense of where my son was.

The issue was that if the Trandoshans were still moving – which given we were barely a day after Anakin's abduction was possible – then it wouldn't be as effective. Still, it was quicker than spending hours, if not days, scanning each possible system for signs that any ships had arrived and approached the habitable, but generally uninhabited, planets that might be used as hunting grounds. Still, with Raven pushing herself so we were travelling at 0.5 past lightspeed – a drop of 0.2 on her official hyperspace rating – we were able to cover a half-dozen systems inside a day.

While using the Force as a very rough compass was, I felt, helping, I knew it wouldn't be enough to find Anakin in time. I could sense his fear even at the distance between us with the only upsides being that it wasn't growing weaker – suggesting he was travelling far from us – nor was it evolving into something worse, which would suggest the Trandoshans were beginning their hunt. I did wonder why he'd not yet tried to escape, as even with the limited training he'd had with using the Force, he should be able to cause trouble. However, perhaps he was simply showing restraint and applying the lesson I'd put in place when we'd left Karvoss II.

Since we'd be travelling as Mando'ade until we reached the Shapers, I'd warned him against using the Force except in the direst of circumstances. He'd used it slightly in the battle before he'd been abducted, but not enough – at least according to what the Battlenet recording suggested – that his captors had realised he was a Force user. If he was being smart, he was waiting and biding his time. I felt the Trandoshans would've removed most of his armour to lower the threat he could pose, so he'd be limited in what he could do to escape his confinement. Fighting unarmed on a ship, in tight quarters where he could be easily tracked was harder than on whatever world the beasts were taking him to. There, slim as it was, he would have a greater chance at surviving until I arrived, or possibly even slipping from their hunting grounds and taking a few down in the process.

Still, needing help in cutting down the exceedingly long list of possible worlds HK had, I'd reached out to a handful of people who might have contacts in the underworld. The two most prominent contacts were Dukes Adonai and Torrhen. While the pair were honourable, many Mando'ade worked as bounty hunters, and there should – in theory – be some form of network between the Mando'ade in the profession who might be willing, for a price I was happy to pay, to provide intel on favoured Trandoshans hunting grounds and worlds in the Inner, Mid and Outer Rims.

I'd also reached out to Miraj Scintel and a handful of others who might have contacts. While officially, the Zygerrians were happy members of the Republic, I knew that, if things didn't change, within a decade they'd return to their slaver roots. Because of that, there was a fair to good chance they still had connections into that world, which I could exploit. While I doubted they'd be of any use, it was worth the effort. Plus, even if I didn't need her or her father's help to find my son, the call ensured I remained in her thoughts, meaning the quest linked to her – Changing Fate [Miraj Scintel] – had a greater chance of success.

The only people that might be of use that I'd not yet reached out to were the Co-Chancellors. However, after over a day of fruitless searching, I was beginning to feel that letting Sidious and Plagueis know that I had a Padawan was less of a threat than allowing Anakin to be harmed, altered, or even killed by Trandoshans. The visions I'd seen of how, only together could we protect the galaxy from the encroaching darkness, meant Anakin's importance hadn't decreased because of my presence. Without him, the Force felt I didn't stand a chance to emerge victorious from what was coming, and after the debacle of Naboo and Drallig's death, I was placing more substance toward Force visions than I had before. If ensuring my best chance of victory meant alerting the Banite Sith to Anakin and thus starting their probes into his abilities and history, then that was what I'd do.

I could also, as Adas had hinted in our last conversation, delve deeper into the knowledge he held; to become a true apprentice to him. I was reluctant to take that path, though. While his words, and the ensuing discussion we'd had, during which he'd shown me how to use the Force as a rough compass to guide me toward Anakin, had made sense, I wasn't ready to think deeply about them. Not until Anakin was back and I was able to properly centre myself would I decide if the path he offered, one that was neither Jedi nor Sith – at least not that of the Banite Sith – would be the one I took.

Still, his words about the Force's concept of balance not matching what the Jedi felt was balance was something I agreed with, and had reached on my own. That the path taken by the Banite Sith was also, in Adas' opinion, a false one was not a surprise either. It was because of him that I referred to Sidious and Plagueis as Banite Sith, as it was the term he'd used for them. How and when he'd learnt of Darth Bane he wouldn't say, but I suspected he'd encountered a fallen Jedi or other Force user who'd known of the altered state of the Sith Lords brought forth by Bane. Still, I agreed with him and had been leaning that way even before first activating his holocron, that wiping the Jedi and Sith in their current forms from the board, and either rebuilding them myself or allowing others to do so, was the best choice for the galaxy. Such thinking was far into the future, and far from my concern currently.

My hands moved toward Raven's hyperdrive controls, though before I even pushed the throttle, powering us into the faster-than-light travel, Raven had already engaged the engines. That brought a small smile to my face, as I enjoyed the ability she had to know my intentions and act upon them. And now, after Anakin's abduction, to pilot herself to my location. I wasn't sure how others would feel about a starship that could think, fly – and maybe even one day, fight – for itself, but Raven was as far beyond other vessels as I was beyond a monkey.

Less than half a minute after the transition to hyperspace was complete, the communication system beeped. As the Force rippled, suggesting a glimmer of hope, I opened the channel. "Miraj," I said upon seeing the Zygerrian princess in what was a slightly revealing dress. Normally I'd be happy to appreciate her figure, even if I weren't sure how far, if anywhere, I was willing to take things with her in that regard, but today wasn't the time for it.

"Cameron," she replied, my name rolling off her lips seductively. "How goes the search for your boy?"

"Nothing so far." I'd not called Anakin my son with her, but she seemed to prefer calling him my child than an apprentice, which was her choice.

"While that is disappointing to hear, it does mean my news won't be unwelcomed." She leaned down, tapping at the controls wherever she was, and a moment later, Raven alerted me to incoming data. As normal, that was checked for any miscellaneous data, shunted into a secured sub-system, and before the data was accessed, that system was disconnected from the rest of Raven's network. "One of my uncles, one far from the throne and who has turned to more… unsavoury ventures than my father and I approve of, has contacts in the underworld. One of those contacts, which he reached out to as a favour to me, has contacts of their own among the Trandoshans. For a price, that contact is willing to meet you and provide the data that might be of use."

Part of me wondered what favour Miraj now owed her uncle, but it was something for her to handle. Just as, if this lead panned out, was the favour I'd owe her. "At this point, even if they can only provide a list of possible worlds, that will reduce my time searching immensely. Thank you," I lowered my head, making clear I understood I owed her for the help.

"There is no need to thank me, Cameron. My family and I are still deeply in debt for the agreement you negotiated. One that is benefiting all of Zygerria." She offered a wide, pleasant smile, making clear that she was still interested in me.

"Things are going well?" I asked, knowing that simply cutting the channel would be rude. Plus, with it taking time for HK and R2 – who was rolling toward the cockpit now – to examine and confirm the details of the contact and their location, it was better to at least appear interested.

"Yes. All the corporations are honouring the agreement, and have signed contracts with local subsidiaries to help revitalise Zygerrian markets and allow us to expand our influence across the sector. It has taken time, but even the lowest strata of our society are seeing improvements in their daily lives. My father has made sure that all know that without your help, none of us would be reaping the benefits we now experience." As she spoke, her smile widened, and the way her tongue flicked against her teeth made clear how she wished to repay the debt she felt she owed me. "Perhaps, after you've recovered your boy and dealt with those who dared challenge your power, you might consider returning to Zygerria? There is much here I would enjoy showing you." As she spoke, her fingers brushed her neck, drawing attention to her body, and removing any doubt of her intent.

"While I'm sure I would enjoy whatever it is you wish to show me, I cannot commit to a set date for visiting. Even after I've recovered my Padawan and those responsible face justice, I have other commitments." I swore she shivered at the idea of my form of justice, which I suspected, was close to how I intended to deal with those walking handbags. "However, when it is time for a break in training, and if we are nearby, I will contact you about a visit."

Honestly, I had no interest in flirting with her currently but being rude wasn't worth it. I had time to kill before the data was confirmed, and cutting her off would only insult her. Well, unless she thought I was playing hard to get, but that was not something I particularly cared about currently.

Her smile slipped slightly when I'd made clear I wouldn't be coming to Zygerria soon, but it recovered once I suggested I'd try to visit at some point. "I long for the day when I might see you again with my eyes, and not as simply a hologram in my private chambers." As she spoke, the hand on her neck slid lower, though I kept my gaze on her face. "I look forward to seeing you once more prove yourself against those unworthy of my attention. The Hero of Naboo is considered a friend of the royal family, and many at court are eager to see you in person." She looked to one side as if someone distracted her for a moment. "The Trade Federation is greatly disliked within the Outer Rim, and your actions alongside the Naboo Queen have earned you much attention from those who hold grudges with the Federation. Many have expressed interest in meeting you and discussing… opportunities that would benefit us all."

"Whenever I visit, if time allows, I'm willing to speak with these people, but I won't make any promises, Miraj." The idea that elements of what would form the basis of the CIS, at least those with true grievances that hadn't then been forced into worse situations by siding with the Separatists and thus being placed even greater under the thumb of the Federation and the other mega-corporations, was interesting. These people and worlds were friends of Zygerria, so there was a fair chance they'd have sided with the CIS to exploit the opportunities the war brought. Still, it was an avenue worth exploring, as at the very least, I'd learn names and places of targets I might not otherwise learn. "However, my focus remains on finding my Padawan, and ensuring he's unharmed."

"As it should be." Miraj's smile exposed her fangs, making clear she enjoyed the idea of how she thought I would handle the situation. "May your prey be easy to find, provide a satisfying hunt, and their deaths everything they deserve."

I nodded, not wishing to comment on how I hoped for the same as it was unbecoming of a Jedi, which for at least a few more years, I'd remain. "Again, thank you for this, Miraj." She offered a final nod and then the channel cut.

"How do you do it?"

I looked at Simvyl even as the computer checking the data Miraj had sent confirmed it was clean, and thus safe for HK and R2 to examine through Raven's systems. "Huh?"

"You know damn well what I mean." He shook his head. "Got a female on every world in the Republic."

"Not every world," I replied with a smirk, "just most of the ones I've visited."

He grunted, and thankfully let the matter drop. As R2 rolled into the cockpit, my mind turned, wondering if I could redirect Miraj's attention to Simvyl. I had enough attention from ladies who I wished to entertain, and I wasn't sure if Miraj would accept a human mate, or if I was comfortable with a Zygerrian. Simvyl, as a Cathar, in theory, should be a more suitable companion for Miraj, and it wouldn't cost me the support of either if they did become something. That, however, like everything bar Anakin, was a matter for another month.

"This better not be a wild goose chase," I muttered as the astromech accessed the data and began adding it to our flight data.

… …

---

… …

"Observation: Given the location, it is likely that this cantina is lacking in many basic amenities, Master."

"Good thing I'm not going here for food or drink," I replied as I walked with HK toward the meeting place of the contact that had come from Miraj. Or more accurately, from a distant uncle who'd gained to from Force-knew where. "Keep your eyes open for trouble, and if I signal, enter with intent."

"Exclamation: With pleasure."

HK stopped, taking position near the entrance, while I walked down the short flight of stairs. The others in our party remained with Raven. For Simvyl, while he was healed from the battle with the Trandoshans, part of me still blamed him for losing Anakin, and I was reluctant to have him guard my six. Fenrir, while far more eager than the Cathar to accompany me, had remained behind as well. The presence of a tuk'ata would only invoke strong reactions from the scum that awaited me inside the cantina.

Given the height of the building, and the slightly sunken location of the door, this cantina was half-buried. As I pushed the door open, the HUD reported on the general quality of the air inside, making me glad I was in my armour. Hints of diverse types of spice, deathsticks, and a hundred other chemicals that weren't great for one's health, swirled in the air. The only thing going for the place was that it wasn't Mos Eisley on Tatooine, but it wasn't much better.

Much of the noise in the cantina died down as I walked forward, making a beeline for the central bar area. Given I was in full beskar, it was likely most here were trying to get a read on what was probably the first Mandalorian they'd ever seen. The HUD was scanning everyone present, using the Battlenet to link to HK, and through him, Raven to check the scans against local security files.

By the time I reached the bar, the HUD had confirmed that over seventy per cent of the cantina's patrons were wanted on various charges. Those ranged from theft and extortion to kidnapping and murder. The worst ones were marked out as potential threats, though I ignored them. Along with the whispered hints from the darker reaches of my mind and the Force that said the only thing I'd find here was trouble and death. That I'd be better off just killing everyone present.

The worst of the bunch, and the head of the local food chain, was an Ishi Tib who sat at the back of the cantina. On his lap rested a barely-clothed yellow-skinned Twi'lek female while two more of the species – one green, one blue – were massaging his shoulders. Behind the stalk-eyed alien stood four Nikto, which were a surprise to see in this sector.

The Nikto, like several other species, were bound to serve the Hutts, so the only way those four could be here was because either the Ishi Tib worked for a Hutt, or they were disgraced and expelled from Hutt Space. Regardless of which it was, the veiled suggestions of the Force said I should remove them; that like Trandoshans, Hutts deserved nothing but death.

"What'll it be?" the Rodian behind the bar asked, but I ignored him, reading the details the HUD was providing about those I was now forced to share a room with. I had no interest in the swill they served here, nor the scum that frequented this place; though if their grubby eyes continued to stare at my armour, some seemingly thinking they could pry it from my corpse for a quick payday, I would take some pleasure in making their lives far shorter.

I pushed off the bar once the HUD located my contact; a brown-skinned Devaronian who was sitting by itself in a darkened alcove on one side of this osik-hole. A Togurta was with him, the female shifting provocatively against my target. As I moved closer, the HUD detected a burnt mark on the Togruta's neck, partially hidden by the thin clothing she wore. The same mark was on one of the Twi'leks with the Ishi Tib, and I growled and clenched my fists as I confirmed the females were slaves.

For a moment, I considered simply taking out everyone present, sending them all to waste recycling and freeing the slaves. The voices agreed, saying the scum present didn't deserve to even be in my presence. However, after a few short, deep breaths, I pushed those thoughts to one side. I wasn't here to end the lives of some minor, unimportant slavers. I was here to save Anakin. Everything else, no matter how appealing, was tertiary to that.

I moved across the cantina slowly, noting the way many of the patrons reacted as I neared and then passed them. While my hand never grasped the hilt of my beskad, that and the blaster pistol on the other hip drew a lot of attention. The murmurs of the Dark Side, saying I should strike down those who arrogantly eyed my blade for themselves, grew stronger. One patron, a Weequay, stood, making me pause and slowly, fighting the urge to lash out, turn to glare at him.

The alien, who looked vaguely familiar though there was no record of him on the local security reports, lifted his hands and backed off. It seemed he, unlike the rest of the bar, had the sense to leave instead of being in my presence.

I resumed walking toward the Devaronian, the Togruta with him freezing up once she realised my path. I grunted angrily under my helmet as the alien grasped the female, preventing her from leaving. The urge to simply shoot the Devaronian, and others in this place, to free those they enslaved returned with vigour, and it was harder to push it away again; to focus entirely on my goal of finding and saving Anakin, and then butchering every Trandoshan I could find.

"I'm told you have something for me," I said as I reached the table the alien was sitting behind.

He looked up at me, his devilish eyes scanning my armour for some hint of recognition and understanding. "Do I?" He replied, an annoying smirk dancing on his face as his grasp on the Togruta tightened, preventing her from squirming away to hide from me. His eyes settled on my beskad; the ripples of the rare metal used in its construction drew his attention with the same greedy, self-serving intentions as others in this shithole.

"You do," I sat down, mainly to hide my struggles to stop my fingers from twitching; the voices carrying desires to exterminate this creature and others nearby grew stronger with each passing second. "From a mutual friend on Zygerria."

The alien's eyes widened, and he looked me over again, this time trying to correct whatever false mental picture he had of me. "Heh," he said slowly, releasing his grasp on the Togruta," was expecting something different."

The Togruta stood rapidly, fear blasting from her as she scurried away. "Is that a problem?" I asked, ignoring the slave, though not the fact three Rodians behind me shifted at the commotion, the trio all grasping for their blasters.

I did my best to ignore them, to pretend the suggestions in my mind that they planned to attack me, to jump me and steal my armour, didn't exist. Even after attempting to centre myself while we travelled to this system, I'd struggled to quieten the voices that offered obscure assurances of power, of how I could find and save Anakin if I only took control of the Force; bend it entirely to my demands.

"No, but I'd like some proof you are who I'm expecting," the Devaronian responded, his arms shifting, the hand in his lap so I couldn't see what exactly he was up to, though it wasn't hard to figure out. The shabuir was reaching for a blaster, my concern that this was a setup, and fear that I was collecting a bounty on him washing over me in the Force, drowning out much of what else I could sense.

I moved one hand to my belt, the alien tensing as the digits drifted from his sight. "Relax," I said as I opened a pouch on my belt, "if I wanted you dead, you'd already be a corpse." Perhaps I could try being polite, but I wasn't in the mood for niceties, and this place was wreaking havoc on my sense of control. "Does this confirm my status?" I asked, placing the hilt of my lightsaber shoto on the table.

"You could've taken that from the body of any Jedi," the Devaronian replied.

I laughed loudly, making him tense and having others nearby turn sharply; spikes of concern mixing with rising tension. "I could've, but unless you want me to demonstrate another way to prove I'm who you're expecting, which, I don't recommend, I suggest you accept my proof without question."

The Devaronian continued to stare at me, the hands in his lap shifting around, my nerves slowly fraying as they suggested that he planned to betray me, that he was of no use, growing louder. "No, that shouldn't be needed." One hand rose from under the table, a small datacard in its paw. "I believe this is what you're after?"

"It better be," I replied, the HUD scanning the card to ensure it was genuine, and not some form of hidden explosive or otherwise trapped. While the HUD reported that wasn't the case, the murmurs changed, telling me the Devaronian planned to betray me, to not give me what he should; that I must take it from his dead, bleeding body.

"Relax my friend, none of us here wish to tangle with a Mandalorian, nor a Jedi posing as one." I bristled at the accusation that I wasn't Mando'ade, that I'd not paid the price and carried the hunt needed to earn the armour I wore. That I was somehow unworthy to wear it.

My fingers grasped the hilt of my shoto as the desire, the need to strike down this fool and prove my worth by killing him and everyone else in the building, grew stronger; slowly threatening to overwhelm my control. "Keep your insults to yourself," I snarled, "and give me what was promised."

"Now, now," he said, pulling his hand back, and taking the datacard away from me. "There's the matter of cost."

"I wasn't told of any cost," I shot back, Miraj hadn't mentioned such a thing, yet I'd half-expected it and come prepared. Yet now, as I glared at the alien, I felt little desire to pay the fool. Not when, as if sensing my mood, most of those behind me had moved away; their flight or fight senses telling them the coming battle was one they'd not survive.

A few remained, such as the Ishi Tib and his guards, but the majority were either leaving the cantina or shifting for cover on the far side of the room. The ones that hadn't reacted were those who carried warrants for murder or worse: the type that didn't easily back down from a threat. As everyone tensed, sensing the danger I presented, the quiet suggestions from deep inside that told me that this was all a trap, an attempt to gain something none of them deserved, grew even louder.

"There's always a cost, my friend. That is how this works."

"Not this time."

"Ah," The Devaronian tensed, "in that case…" The arm still under the table shifted, and I was moving.

My hand thrust forward, the lightsaber igniting as I reached for him.

"WA…" The words died in his throat as the plasma burnt through his chest, piercing his heart.
I stood, my free hand, the mechanical limb, grasping the table between us and wrenching it from its secure fastening on the floor, clearing a path to the target.

With a flick of my wrist, the datacard flew to my grasp and the body of the gasping, dying alien fell to the floor. Yet, as soon as I secured the card in my hand, I stumbled forward.

Someone, the HUD identified them as a Rodian, had shot at me, the bolt crashing into my armour.

Snarling, the need to carry out pest control no longer restrained, I turned. The lightsaber came up, slapping away my new target's next shot away, before the third was sent back at him.

The green-skinned alien stumbled back; a final expression of shock now permanently marring its face, having appeared there just before the bolt had slammed into its maw. The body crumpled to the floor even as those with him began to understand what'd happened.

Not wanting to lose my prize, I turned, shifting my body to cover the datacard as a few others opened fire. The bolts slammed into my armour, sending spikes of fury surging through me even as I secured the datacard in a pouch at my waist.

Once that was done, my hand moved, the Force reacting to my demands.

Two Rodians – tablemates of the dead one – were lifted from their feet, along with a handful of others nearby and anything not secured to the floor. The group of bodies and objects flew backwards, slamming into the wall; some with sickening crunches making clear their fate.

I blinked as everything started to fall, regaining my focus. "Fuck," I muttered as others in the bar, at least the few not rushing for the exits, drew weapons. I understood, as time slowed around me as I readied myself for battle, that I'd lost control. The HUD confirmed the Devaronian didn't have a blaster under the table, that he'd been reaching for a datapad and not a weapon. Yet, with the suggestions I'd been getting since nearing this place, that this was all a trap, that nothing I was doing would help save Anakin and my only choice was destruction to recover my son, assaulting my thoughts, I'd overreacted.

However, I didn't have time to fully process my mistakes. Battle was upon me, and I could feel myself sinking into the Force, readying myself to expunge some of the anger that had been an ever-present companion since Anakin was attacked.

Before any of those stupid enough to engage a Force-wielding Mando'ade could fire, the door I'd entered through earlier exploded. Several beings were thrown back but the shockwave, they and others shredded but debris that rocketed inward.

A moment later, as my lightsaber came around and slapped aside one pitiful attack and I drew my beskad, HK stepped through the cloud of debris. His yellow optical sensors gave the cloud an eerie glow, while his blaster sang, targets already picked out by the Battlenet.

I moved toward the first fool to anger me, my lightsaber coming down, severing their arm. The scream of pain died quickly as I thrust my blade through their chest.

Pulling the blade back, blood gushed forth, and I spun, ducking low and thrusting out my arm. The next target was knocked back by the Force, their fall made permanent by HK's accurate fire.

I turned; my rage demanded the bug-faced alien I'd seen at the back meet the fate he deserved. The muscle he had opened fire, trying pathetically to protect their master. Bolts were deflected away, or back toward the source, taking out one of the fools even as my main target pushed the slaves he'd had between me and him, denying me a clear shot.

Raging at him using others for cover, at the callous disregard for life, my hand thrust forward. Black energy surged from my fist, slamming into two of the guards. The pair were lifted and slammed into the wall by the attack, creams of pain echoed around the cantina, freezing many in place.

Those who had frozen, caught out by the display of true power, that deserved death died in a hail of blaster fire. HK mowed them and others down with ease. I stepped toward my target, the last guard falling as I threw my beskad at him; the blade pushed by the Force sailed into his chest, pinning him to the wall behind.

A furious snarl of rage erupted from me as the Ishi Tib slipped through a door, the way sealing itself behind him even as his slaves whimpered around my feet, scrambling to be clear of my path. The Force did as I demanded, and the door shuddered, bending unnaturally inward before it was blasted in, a startled shout of pain meaning I'd hit someone.

Stepping into the gap, the shoto in my hand ensured I could still see in the darkness beyond. The Hud quickly located the door I'd blasted in further down a short corridor, blood and a leg smeared over it as it lay embedded in what had to be the rear exit from the cantina the alien had planned to use to escape.

"H-help me," he whimpered, his hand clutching feebly to slow the blood loss from where his leg had once been. I lifted my lightsaber, the yellow light bathing the alien's face. "NO!" he screamed, bringing up his hands in a pathetic attempt to stop me. "The Jedi…"

"Aren't going to save you," I finished after burying my blade in his face; ending his life, and granting those wounded by his actions some measure of justice.

I stood there, the plasma of my blade sizzling as blood from the twitching body landed upon it, breathing deeply. "FUCK!" I screamed inside my helmet, understanding that I'd again lost control. That I'd fought with the dark voices inside me and lashed out. While the Ishi Tib and the others who'd died because of my anger deserved what they'd got, I was furious at myself.

After taking a few more moments to find something close to calm, I powered down the lightsaber, turned and walked back into the cantina. The place was destroyed, bodies, blood, guts, and Force-knew what other internal fluids coating the floor and walls, with few if any tables undamaged. The central bar still stood, but every glass shattered, and mugs strewn everywhere.

I pulled my beskad from the body I'd impaled with it, the Nikto slumping to the floor, a weak groan escaping its lips telling me it hadn't yet expired.

"Get out," I growled to the few beings still alive in the place. Outside of the slaves and staff, few of the patrons who'd not left when I'd entered were able to leave. The rest were dead, the only people who'd complain about the mess being the poor sods sent to identify the bodies and then cleanse the building.

"Observation: While I am grateful for the outlet to further enhance my calibrations, I do hope you secured the data you needed, Master."

I reached into my pouch, pulling out the datacard. "Shab!" I snarled, seeing it was bent. A groan from one body on the ground provided a vent for the new burst of rage as I kicked their face in. "Damnit," I grunted and shook my head. "Think R2 can salvage anything from this?"

"Answer: Possibly, though he isn't designed for such tasks the astromech is remarkably skilful when motivated."

"Ugh." I shook my head and moved toward the exit, enraged at myself for my actions. I'd lost control, lashed out, and possibly cost myself what information the Devaronian had that could lead the way to Anakin. "Son of a bitch," I added, stepping out into the cool, night air of the planet.

In the distance I could hear sirens, suggesting whatever passed for law enforcement in this city had been alerted to the commotion and was on their way.

"Assessment: Might I suggest we vacate the location, Master? Unless you wish to test our skill against the local security forces."

"I think we've had enough fun for one day." My reply was meant to be jovial, but there was no humour in my tone. The only feelings I had were anger at myself, and fear for what my loss of control might cost Anakin.

Looking upward, I reached out into the Force. Anakin was still alive, but far from this world. Given we'd had to travel two sectors away from our search grid for the meeting, that wasn't a surprise. Still, not sensing any distress, or at least nothing new to suggest he was now being hunted, eased some of my turmoil.

I had a problem, and until I gained control of it, I was a liability. One that, if it caused Anakin to be hurt – permanently or temporarily, mentally, or physically – I'd never forgive myself for. I'd spent the last few days considering Adas' offer to train me to master the Force around me, instead of fighting and denying that the dangerous impulses I heard and felt came from anywhere but myself. I could see that, unless I submitted myself for full retraining by the Jedi, or turned to the Banite Sith for help – neither of which was ever going to happen – then I had to accept his teaching. I just hoped that it didn't cost me everything I had, and everything I wanted to do, to learn at the Sith King's feet.

"Come on. We need to give this to R2 and hope it'll lead us to those walking lizards."

"Hu-hmm." I spun at the unexpected sound, cursing myself for getting lost in my thoughts and not seeing the HUD and Force alerting me to the nearby Weequay. That it was the same one that had been the first to leave the cantina when I'd entered did little to settle that annoyance. "If by walking lizards, you mean Trandoshans, I might be of some help. For a fee of course."

I looked at the pathetic alien, wondering what he hoped for, beyond a few quick credits. My hand slipped to my beskad. The Weequay stepped back, hands rising frantically to show he wasn't a threat.

"Wait! WAIT!" It mewed distressingly. "I'm not trying to cheat you!"

My mouth opened, readying to throw an insult toward it, only for the sound to die in my throat. As unexpected as it was, I felt the Force shifting around me; almost as if it were suggesting I should hear out this feeble alien. "You'd better not be," I said, staying my instinct to exterminate the alien.

"I'm not. I'm not." The alien straightened, understanding it wasn't about to die, and patted down the rags that passed for clothing.

"Query: How are you acquainted with Trandoshans, meatbag?"

The Weequay blinked, uncertain of how to respond to HK's question, before replying to me. "I'm aware, through sources, of several groups that have operations in this and several sectors nearby. Some are bounty hunters, some are slavers, and others use the worlds they frequent to train their younglings. It depends on which groups you're interested in."

"Initially, just those who use the children of other races to train their young. If, however, your information proves useful, then I'd be interested in the other groups as well."

"And your reason for seeking such a group of Trandoshans?"

"A personal matter." There was no chance I'd be telling some random street Weequay about what had happened with Anakin.

"Ah, yes, yes. Your business is your business. Just as mine is mine." It chuckled as if finding something funny in its words. "All that matters is the price of information, which depends on supply and demand."

"And on who has the more pressing need for the information," I added, my hand tapping against the blade of the beskad, drawing the alien's attention to the blood still dripping down the blade, slowly pooling at my feet.

"Ah, yes. An accurate assessment." The Weequay looked around before gesturing for us to resume walking, this time with him at our side. "Now, before we discuss terms, which since the security forces are getting closer, I would recommend we do so far from here, perhaps we might introduce ourselves." He turned as we walked, offering me a wide smile. "Hondo Ohnaka at your service."

… …

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… …
A/N: Yes, I'm aware that Cam once more lost control of his rage/anger. This time though was the first when he experienced it without the Interface to filter the issues that creates. And why he turned to the only source of tempering and focusing that rage/anger that he had in Adas. We'll see where that leads next chapter.

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This story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net, Archive of our Own, and Royal Road.
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For those wishing to join the Discord for the story, the server link is:
For this series: Heart of the Force
For general chaos/Gamer stories: Shiro's Gaming Omniverse

For those who wish to support my writing, and get access to drafts and completed chapters anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months earlier head to one of the links below:
Patreon: USSExplorer
SubscribeStar: USSExplorer
and now Kofi: USSExplorer

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Regardless if you join the discord or support my writing, I hope you enjoy the story and suggestions, valid criticisms, and ideas are always welcome.
And of course;

May the Force be with you. Always.​

 

[USSExplorer]

Yeah, I'm not dead, lol

 

[Veles Basil]

"Hondo Ohnaka at your service."

Click to shrink...

My favourite bullshitter

 

[Tinkerer of Torment]

Welp shit, looks like the Lizards are gonna experience exactly why you don't fuck with a Sith(Cam's close enough at this point)

 

[Erebos_03_]

His fall to the darkside will be a swift one it seems. It's ironic how much gamer powers do in a setting where emotions and control over then is so important. TFTC

 

[Bulledar]

Am I right to assume he is going to try to make a lightsaber rifle at some point?

 

[LuciferBael]

Am I right to assume he is going to try to make a lightsaber rifle at some point?

Click to shrink...

Gods no

 

[cosmicfox]

This whole game with Adas feels very stupid to me,
Cameron has seen the movies and the expanded universe.

Just logically, looking back at previous attempts, he should know that everyone who tried this little game in universe ended up failing.

Jacen Solo with the Potentium... or even Revan with his memories restored in Swotor who was paranoid and genocidal.

In the end, Kyle Katarn, Quinlan Vos & Cade Skywalker only found their way out of the hole they dug themselves in through the Light.

The Light-Side is the way to go.
It doesn't has to be the Jedi way, they are but one perspective.

All those deemed "grey" force users by the Jedi, like Jolee Bindo, the Witches of Dathomir, the Aing-Tii or the Imperial Knights stayed far away from the Darkside.

I am sorry Cameron my boy, you need to retrain yourself, but it seems to me you are just not willing to put the work.

 

[LuciferBael]

This whole game with Adas feels very stupid to me,
Cameron has seen the movies and the expanded universe.

Just logically, looking back at previous attempts, he should know that everyone who tried this little game in universe ended up failing.

Jacen Solo with the Potentium... or even Revan with his memories restored in Swotor who was paranoid and genocidal.

In the end, Kyle Katarn, Quinlan Vos & Cade Skywalker only found their way out of the hole they dug themselves in through the Light.

The Light-Side is the way to go.
It doesn't has to be the Jedi way, they are but one perspective.

All those deemed "grey" force users by the Jedi, like Jolee Bindo, the Witches of Dathomir, the Aing-Tii or the Imperial Knights stayed far away from the Darkside.

I am sorry Cameron my boy, you need to retrain yourself, but it seems to me you are just not willing to put the work.

Click to shrink...

1 Cam knows KOTOR; TCW(2008) and the movies

2 I have read and consumed the EU; pretty much all of it though I likely missed some of the holofeed shit and I'd go for the dark side so to think knowing the EU would stop you is ridiculous

3 there have been successful sith and Darksiders; Cam himself having a perfect example in Adas who riegned with prosperity for 100s of years

The darkside is also not some easy path just cause yoda said it

Glad you at least acknowledged all this grey force user shit is BS

 

[Bulledar]

Gods no

Click to shrink...

Well considering the materials he has acses to he could probably make it possible to avoid the destruction of the lightsaber in the rifle

 

[LuciferBael]

Well considering the materials he has acses to he could probably make it possible to avoid the destruction of the lightsaber in the rifle

Click to shrink...

Ok let me expand; lightsaber rifle is Disney and ridiculous

 

[skulker558]

Huh. Normally when I work through character creation, my LAST choice is the name...
First choice is usually race, followed by race-specific aesthetics, traits and abilities... Etc.

I find it much easier to decide upon a name once my actual 'identity' has been established, as to me it becomes something of a title/alias.

 

[skulker558]

Ok let me expand; lightsaber rifle is Disney and ridiculous

Click to shrink...

I think the idea of a mini-saber on a rifle, acting as a sort of bayonet, would be kinda fun and moderately useful.

After all, lightsabers aren't just for hacking foes apart, but for sealing wounds, providing a lightsource and so on.

 

[Bulledar]

Ok let me expand; lightsaber rifle is Disney and ridiculous

Click to shrink...

So what your saying is "didny bad!" As your argument? I don't like most of what Disney is pumping out either particularly live action, but some of the comics and the content that Dave filoni has made is the exception and the lightsaber rifles feel like they fit especially when you consider that the death star is just a really big version with the fact that it uses lightsaber crystals too.

 

[SotF]

Huh. Normally when I work through character creation, my LAST choice is the name...
First choice is usually race, followed by race-specific aesthetics, traits and abilities... Etc.

I find it much easier to decide upon a name once my actual 'identity' has been established, as to me it becomes something of a title/alias.

Click to shrink...

Character building almost always seems to be more of a crapshoot about where I've started...some start with a name that's interesting, and other times it's finding a name that works for the type of character being built

 

[LuciferBael]

So what your saying is "didny bad!" As your argument? I don't like most of what Disney is pumping out either particularly live action, but some of the comics and the content that Dave filoni has made is the exception and the lightsaber rifles feel like they fit especially when you consider that the death star is just a really big version with the fact that it uses lightsaber crystals too.

Click to shrink...

No that's not my argument; though Filoni isn't really better imo, the lightsaber rifle makes no sense technically or from a Jedi standpoint, it makes no sense from any standpoint in the lore, especially the legends lore, as part of the team making this I can guarantee they won't be part of it especially because this is a legends story

 

[USSExplorer]

Huh. Normally when I work through character creation, my LAST choice is the name...
First choice is usually race, followed by race-specific aesthetics, traits and abilities... Etc.

I find it much easier to decide upon a name once my actual 'identity' has been established, as to me it becomes something of a title/alias.

Click to shrink...

When I started his story, over 6 years ago, I wasn't thinking too hard about logic/plot in the early chapters, and it shows in the character creation section and others.
I could go back and rewrite it, but then I'd end up redoing all of book 1 (everything up until the end of an overly-long Mandalorian arc), and thus derail myself from continuing the story proper.

but some of the comics and the content that Dave filoni has made is the exception

Click to shrink...

I will give you the comics are good at times (Vader Down has an excellent scene with Vader surrounded by 'Dead men') but Filoni...

Before he came along, there was a multi-level project for The Clone Wars covering books, comics, games, etc that all interlinked.
Major battles were laid out, and led into each other (including the 2003 CW cartoon shorts which are far superior to anything Filoni created) that worked brilliantly.

Then Filoni came along and decided to change much of it, and ignore the rest.
Now, there are a few good characters/arc (Hondo being one, even if his luck at surviving so long against Force users was a bit 'plot armour' at times) but the overall show was bad when considered against the lore of the EU that is was supposedly drawing from. (Fucking "peace-loving Mandalorians... dumb af, and yet I chose to try and balance them into the story which was a bloody pain in the arse).
This is the short video of why it (TCW) doesn't work in the EU:
Why "The Clone Wars" Doesn't Fit In Legends
There's a longer Part 2 if you're interested.

 

[Sinestro corpsman]

This is the short video of why it (TCW) doesn't work in the EU:
Why "The Clone Wars" Doesn't Fit In Legends
There's a longer Part 2 if you're interested.

Click to shrink...

Captain Fordo has another channel called Manda-Lore which is a good archive of a pre-Filoni EU outside of just using Internet archive.

 

[USSExplorer]

Captain Fordo has another channel called Manda-Lore which is a good archive of a pre-Filoni EU outside of just using Internet archive.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm aware. It's a channel I turn to at times for SW lore among others. At least when Mand and the other who help me craft this adventure suggest further reading/viewing on a topic.

 

[ClassHole]

Was looking forward to a training arc.... guess not. I really hope one day our powerful and strong characters can actually be and act powerful and strong. Seems like they just did a training arc, got super powers, then got their asses kicked immediately by some chumps. Cool.

Even you can see, given your authors note, that by this point we're all pretty tired of Cam going nuts and being completely lost in his rage... I get that he's re-do everything, but man does he go from 0-100 pretty quickly. Pretty exhausted by this chapter honestly..... I just feel like its been about 40 chapters since Cam was in control, powerful, and kicking ass.

Honestly, I kind of just skimmed most of this chapter once it became clear he was going to act like a moron and then lose Anakin.... its odd that they are weak enough to get easily captured, yet he feels so confident just letting Anakin roam around a dangerous space port picking fights.... contradictions like that make it hard to square the logic of this character.

 

[Noodletime12]

I've got to say I'm kinda tired of Cam losing himself to the Dark Side. I understand that characters struggling make a good story but man does it feel drawn out at this point.

I personally think that going for the grey jedi route is the most interesting Choice. I mean the Force is all about balance. The whole only using one side of the Force is so stupid to me. People are not black and white. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the movie's and Alot of legends but I just can't get my head around the Restriction. I feel like the best way to go is to accept your emotions but not to let them control you. I know that's not easy and it is a journey that people would have to keep working on there whole life but pick one side or the other has always felt like you would be denying a part of yourself. That just what I think I'm not a super Star Wars nerd or anything so there might be some lore that contradicts this and I suppose you could do this with the light side. I just think too deny part of the Force goes against the way of things and is like stopping a journey and leaving it unfinished.

 

[SkinnyP]

Hi!

I recently started reading this fic and have been absolutely loving it. The MC's personality growth has been a joy to experience, and I love an OP protagonist.

Speaking of overpowered, I feel as if you have been deliberately weakening him gradually. I just finished the chapter where the MC fights the 3 Death Watch Mandos cornering "Hugo Danmask" in the mandalmotors building, I and I am extremely confused. He has consistently displayed an extreme amount of power while using tk but barely defeats one Mandalorian, regardless of his tricks? Why are his opponents even allowed to move? He can lock a cruiser from moving and destroy it in space, a baseline human wouldn't be able to even twitch underneath that level of force. Maybe this is just another example of the MC "forgetting" to use the vast majority of his toolkit (teleportation, fazing, tk, everything-kinesis, etc), but it's growing frustrating that he is seemingly taking no steps to incorporate his vast range of skills into combat.

I guess the reason I am posting this is to enquire whether or not this trend will wane. His explosive growth was consistent until the beginning of his time on Mandalore, but the MC has only gotten weaker or less competent since. I really want to enjoy this fic, but the CW level inconsistency is starting to get to me.

 

[LuciferBael]

Hi!

I recently started reading this fic and have been absolutely loving it. The MC's personality growth has been a joy to experience, and I love an OP protagonist.

Speaking of overpowered, I feel as if you have been deliberately weakening him gradually. I just finished the chapter where the MC fights the 3 Death Watch Mandos cornering "Hugo Danmask" in the mandalmotors building, I and I am extremely confused. He has consistently displayed an extreme amount of power while using tk but barely defeats one Mandalorian, regardless of his tricks? Why are his opponents even allowed to move? He can lock a cruiser from moving and destroy it in space, a baseline human wouldn't be able to even twitch underneath that level of force. Maybe this is just another example of the MC "forgetting" to use the vast majority of his toolkit (teleportation, fazing, tk, everything-kinesis, etc), but it's growing frustrating that he is seemingly taking no steps to incorporate his vast range of skills into combat.

I guess the reason I am posting this is to enquire whether or not this trend will wane. His explosive growth was consistent until the beginning of his time on Mandalore, but the MC has only gotten weaker or less competent since. I really want to enjoy this fic, but the CW level inconsistency is starting to get to me.

Click to shrink...

Speaking of TK; look back at all his uses of it; has it ever shown that extreme level in a fight or has he always had time to concentrate and gather himself

 

[SkinnyP]

Speaking of TK; look back at all his uses of it; has it ever shown that extreme level in a fight or has he always had time to concentrate and gather himself

Click to shrink...

In the beginning, he would literally use tk for everything. He wouldn't even get into fights, he would just tk the entire crews of starships a kilometer away. I rationalized that he stopped using his overwhelming might while training on Mandalore to prove himself, but he also seemingly lobotomies himself in the academy as well the way he has been fighting since. He could have taken out every death watch Mando in the Mandamators building at once, but he didn't because "reasons"

 

[LuciferBael]

In the beginning, he would literally use tk for everything. He wouldn't even get into fights, he would just tk the entire crews of starships a kilometer away. I rationalized that he stopped using his overwhelming might while training on Mandalore to prove himself, but he also seemingly lobotomies himself in the academy as well the way he has been fighting since

Click to shrink...

Not really; how far away is he to these 3 master mandalorians? In an enclosed room with no time to concentrate; he also before this has fought total mooks

 

[SkinnyP]

Not really; how far away is he to these 3 master mandalorians? In an enclosed room with no time to concentrate; he also before this has fought total mooks

Click to shrink...

He doesn't NEED to walk into an in closed space to fight them, he could have taken out the entire force standing outsidethe way he always used to. What it reads like to me is that the writing team decided they didn't like any of the "game" mechanics that made him so overwhelming strong, so y'all just stopped using extremely powerful abilities like the mini-map, gamers mind, the inventory, observe, etc, and then imagined up convoluted reasons why the MC "decided" not to use them

 

[LuciferBael]

He doesn't NEED to walk into an in closed space to fight them, he could have taken out the entire force standing outsidethe way he always used to. What it reads like to me is that the writing team decided they didn't like any of the "game" mechanics that made him so overwhelming strong, so y'all just stopped using extremely powerful abilities like the mini-map, gamers mind, the inventory, observe, etc, and then imagined up convoluted reasons why the MC "decided" not to use them

Click to shrink...

Ok yes he did; his entire goal here is protection of a primary asset; you don't do that from a mile away; he also enjoys fighting up close; he's not a droid picking the most effective route through pure logic

 

[SkinnyP]

Ok yes he did; his entire goal here is protection of a primary asset; you don't do that from a mile away; he also enjoys fighting up close; he's not a droid picking the most effective route through pure logic

Click to shrink...

Why? That sounds like a backtrack. You first told he can't, and now you are telling me he doesn't want to. The argument that he has become a battle junky that holds back to enjoy the fight makes sense, but the mc has literally never described himself as enjoying a life and death struggle. He's enjoyed the triumph after a great feat, but never enjoyed the process.

I can see how there could be a potential disconnect between the writing team's intention and what the reader is seeing though. Anyway, my confusion isn't worth a long debate. No story is perfect, and I have no right to complain about a free work that you and the rest of the team have spent a great deal of time and effort into. A New Player in the Force is a top tier fan-fiction.