The Rebel Faction

The chimes and buzzing of the tiny ship brought Bel out of his light slumber. He propped himself up using the second set of arms he had on his back. They were a “gift” from his forefathers’ lack of reason. A mutation caused by too much time under the radiation of a White Dwarf star. He let his eyes adjust to the dimness of the ship, and shook his great head twice.

Bel stood up, not all the way of course, as much as the small ship would allow him. About six of his seven feet. He was always careful not to smash his horned head through the ceiling of his ship.

Bel made his way into the cockpit, taking a seat next to the droid pilot at the command. It was off, or resting, Bel didn’t know. Bel had spent nearly two weeks at the Sith Academy on Xa Fel attempting to learn the basics of flying, and so far he only knew how to tell the droid where to go. Not much, but a start.

He looked out into the streaks of white that zipped past the ship. He was in hyperspace, he knew, but he wasn’t sure exactly what that was. The droid did all the piloting, and that was fine with him.

The white lines seemed to slow down slightly, and then widen. The pilot-droid stirred somewhat, the gears of its motors churning as it clicked buttons on the command console.

“We will be entering real space shortly, master.” It said, still working furiously at the glowing buttons. “We will arrive shortly outside the space around the planet Ossus, and then will begin a landing sequence. Is that correct?” it asked, not looking at Bel.

“Correct.” He said in a low voice. “But do not request proper landing protocols, or attempt to find a docking bay. I want you to land at these coordinates.” Bel said, sliding a chip containing the coordinates into a slot in the droids head. It processed the information at lightning speed then nodded and shut off, its duties done for now.

Bel had felt the call to Ossus shortly after arriving on Xa Fel. Using some of the books in the Academies Library, he found information on the planet. Though he skipped over big words like “disaster” and “abandoned”, he gleaned enough information to find out that there was a Jedi temple on Ossus. And inside that Jedi temple were Holocrons, ancient devices used to store information regarding The Force. It was a simple matter, even for him, to find out the location of the discreet Jedi Temple.

“Entering Real Space now, prepare for re-entry.” A voice chimed. Bel smiled, which looked more like a maniacal grin then anything, but that was alright with him.

“Prepare yourselves.” He said, holding his claws hands up into the light. “There is much blood to be spilled.”

Torth paced quickly through the mostly-empty halls of the Jedi Academy on Ossus. His dark brown padawan robes were hugging close to his body, and his eyes were staring intently ahead. He knew the temple well, and knew which routes to use when he felt like being alone.

He turned a corner quickly and bumped into someone. He looked up quickly to see a brown haired girl he had never seen before and a Knight by the name of Vessus. He managed to blurt out an “Excuse me” Before shoving his way through them.

With every step away from the pair, his heart raced. He knew they would call out his name, demand he return, and subsequently ask him what was in his robes. He cast a quick glance at the Jedi Holocron he had stashed in his robes, but then quickly looked ahead, deciding it was safer not to even think about it.

It was easier than he thought it was going to be. The Holocrons were stored in a room that was supposedly accessible to privileged Knights and Masters. The door didn’t even have a lock. It was as easy as picking the tiny thing off a shelf and stuffing it in his robes.

The padawan rounded the final corner and opened the door to his private room. It was the basic setup for a padawan. A small cot, a desk, a table, and whatever else the Jedi-in-training was allowed to have in the tiny room.

Torth shut the door, and slid the locking mechanism in place. After making sure no one was around, he produced the Holocron from his robes.

It reminded Torth of the great temples he had seen in the holo-pics he occasionally watched. It was a pyramid shape on both sides, making it look like a large, dark blue diamond. The glassy sides were opaque, and a misty substance swirled inside.

He sat down on his bed and sighed loudly. Next came the arduous task of unlocking its secrets.

The small spacecraft landed in the area designated by the droids command, a large valley less than a kilometer away from the Jedi Temple. He had seen it as the ship was coming in low.

It was old, and looked it. The temple was composed of four small domed structures that all connected to a larger, central dome. It was the same tarnished brown color as the robes the Jedi wore, but the some of them temple had been rebuilt after its near-destruction, and now large sections were of the domes were covered in blotchy spots of grey and black.

Bel stepped out of the gleaming silver ship, ducking low to avoid his horns smashing into the ship. He was bent at nearly a 90 degree angle just to get out of the ship. There were few ships specifically designed to fit a 7 foot, 400 Lbs. monster.

He stretched his arms for the first time in many hours, all four of them. Taking a look around, he produced a small locator from a pouch around his waist. He flipped a switch and it came to life.

“Less than a kilometer that way.” He said to himself, looking out into an expanse of arid desert. He couldn’t see the temple from where he was standing, but he would be able to soon.

He looked West, or what he assumed was West seeing as the sun was setting in that direction, and decided it would be best to wait for nightfall before hunting. And nightfall would be soon.

But not soon enough.

With a great bound, Bel took off towards the Jedi temple, his hooves smashing the ground with every step.



Torth almost had a heart attack when he heard a knock at his door. Had he been paying attention to anything other than his new Holocron he would have sensed the two Jedi coming long before they reached the door, but that was not the case.

Damn! It must be those two I bumped in the hallway.[I/]

The boy tossed the Holocron on his cot and quickly began to de-robe. When he was in nothing but his undergarment, he began to hide the Holocron.

“One moment!” he said frantically. “I’m not fully dressed!” He wasn’t sure if they were trying, but he knew that they could detect if he was lying, so it was best not to take chances.

He grabbed the Holocron, cupping it in his hands and searching the room frantically for somewhere to hide it. He had one idea but…

There was another knock at the door.

Jolting him even more, he slid under his bed, grabbing the piece of wood that covered his make-shift hiding place. He pulled out what had previously been in there. Some books that were deemed “less than appropriate” for young padawans, and extra food rations.

He threw the Holocron inside, and quickly closed it. He grabbed the books and shoved them inside the pillow case, making sure just the edge was showing. He quickly donned his robe and said “You may enter.”

Torth nearly unleashed a string of curses as the two female Jedi strode into his room. He pivoted on his heels, quickly tying the robes around his waist and brushing down the wrinkles. He smoothed back his black hair slowly, hoping to stall for as long as her could.

"Ironic, as you were in quite a hurry in the hall. I hope we aren't disturbing you.... I just thought I'd pay you a visit... just out of curiosity. Maybe a few questions? I haven't been to Ossus in some time."

He gave a nod out of nothing more than politeness and said, “Of course I am obliged to answer your questions, Mistress.” He said, staring hard at Tatane. He respected the Jedi he knew, but off-worlders were something different. He wanted her to know that even though she outranked him, respect must be earned.

"Of course, you know why we're here. Maybe it's easier just to get straight to the point?” the off worlders asked. Her gaze shifted around the room for a moment, inspecting it carefully. Torth made sure to keep his mind clear of any guilt, or anything that would give his secret away. He began to run through the categorization of the books in the library, struggling to remember where each one was, and if he had placed it correctly.

If either of the Jedi notices his distraction tactic, they said nothing.

Vessus continued to glare at him, her eyes fixed on his, but he was used to that by now. But that off worlder…

She had an air calmness about her. It made him scared. It made him angry. It made him want to scream.

"So where is it? Though I doubt you'll answer, I'm curious why you've taken it." Tatane said rapidly, her eyes now fixated on him. Torth rocked back on his heels, feigning surprise.

“Mistress, what would you accuse me of? I have taken nothing, nor have I done anything wrong?” He kept his voice steady and smooth, not letting the fear that was nagging at him take hold. “Would you care to explain what you think I’ve done to deserve your indictment? “


*

Night had fallen by now, though a few rays of the massive sun still struggled to the earth. The sky was colored a dark red. In only a few moments the sky would be black.

He was at the Jedi Temple now. As indicated, it wasn’t guarded. There wasn’t even a fence around the complex. A small marble walkway led to the front door, but knocking at the door probably wouldn’t be the wisest of courses. Even Bel knew that.

He had heard the tales of the Jedi in battle. Fierce warriors. They were tricky. They would use illusions and mind tricks of all kinds, he was told by his Sith Masters. Getting a straight fight from a veteran Jedi would be like trying to pick out a certain grain of sand in a whirlwind.

Bel surveyed the area, double checking for any wandering civilians. Jedi Temples were frequented by citizens of all kinds, and he didn’t feel like hunting down any that happened to see him tonight.

Bel crouched down, resting his front arms on his powerful legs. He closed his eyes, and shut the world out. Everything faded away from his senses. He inhaled deeply. And he could smell them. All of them.

Throughout the complex, dozens of them. Walking, running, sweating, laughing. He could literally taste their different emotions. But above all else, he smelled something he enjoyed. Taking another breath, he attempted to decipher exactly what the wondrous scent was. He had smelt it time and time again, but it was lost to his memory.

And then it came to him.

He smelt it on men he had killed. He smelt it on the nomad, before he slew him. He smelt it on the ship pilot before he gutted him. And he smelt it on this boy inside the Jedi temple.

Fear.

Eschewing the consequences, Bel leapt forward, bolting towards the unsuspecting boy.

All reason had left him.

All sensibilities, all logic, all common sense had bowed down to the unstoppable surge of rage that Bel now knew.

The room where the Jedi stood was a small dome-shaped annex on the very corner of the Jedi temple, only a few yards away from him. There was one…no…three of them. One was cautious, wary of his presence. The other was prepared to do battle.

Even the threat of two armed Jedi warriors didn’t deter the beast from his course. If anything, it spurred him on. He kept forward, plowing through a row of lush hedges, and moving closer to his target.

*

Something pulled his attention away from the two Jedi, and Torth snapped his head sideways, looking at one of the walls of his room. There was a tugging at him then, a pull on his mind. Something was looking at him.

“There’s something…” He started to see, but before he could finish he realized the two Jedi had already drawn their sabers. He noted that Tatane was wielding two simultaneously, something he often aspired to do.

Torth wished he had his saber at that moment, even if it was just a training model. He felt so naked next two these two, and he hated that inferiority.

He began to back up, slowly, hoping they would think he was moving towards them for protection, and not the stolen artifact hidden under his bed. He was about to contemplate how he would go about retrieving it without being noticed when a resounding CRACK sent him toppling onto his bed.

*


If he had not been in a fit of bloodlust, he might have thought his next move out a bit more. Not too much more, mind you, but enough to decide slamming full speed into the concrete wall wasn’t *that* great of an idea.

But it was all he had.

The first strike had sent a large crack through one side of the structure, and nearly dislocated his shoulder. But Even a solid wall wouldn’t hold long against four-hundred pounds of muscle.

He hit it again, though with much less force, and sent the crack skittering upwards. And again, and again, each time taking a few steps back and running forward, shoulder barred.

The crack began to widen significantly, to the point where between strikes he could see inside.

And there sat the boy.

The thing that at this very moment was emitting a palpable aura of fear. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of this pitiful thing. He was doing it a favor by ending its life.

Which is probably what the two battle-hardened Jedi were thinking by then.