The Rebel Faction

The shuttle Jensen and Amalia had been occupying had already left Naboo’s atmosphere. And preparing for the jump to Jomark the nav computer had calculated the coordinates.

But even when all that was happening in front of him it seemed to be the last thing on Jensen’s mind. He knew this was it, his career as a Jedi was over before it even began, and there was serious doubts if he would ever see his family again.

For a moment or two it almost seemed like he was in a trance…just staring off into the blackness of space. He quickly brought himself back however to make the jump.

“…here we go.”

And the shuttle shot away from Naboo, and the stars quickly blurred and turned into streaks.

Jensen just watched for a moment in silence, unsure of pretty much everything. He found it hard to look at Amalia directly, and he was pretty much content to just sit for a while.

Biting his lip after a long moment Jensen broke the silence.

“It won’t be a long trip, about thirteen hours or so…I’m going to get some rest while I can.”

Jensen sat up and headed to the back of the shuttle, content to contemplate and think on things and perhaps sleep if he could until they made it to Jomark.

For Jensen sleep had come easy. What he wasn’t prepared for was the real life nightmare that seemingly came back to haunt him.

***

The forests of Theed seemed blacker than ever, illuminated only by the burnings of Theed, and the vicious attack by the sith, laying waste to the Jedi and the local people.

“Why can’t you just leave her alone??” So much desperation in a voice of a Jedi padawan who was already hurt badly…Jensen had began to lose patience…and he was losing it quickly. Zeta seemed to be having fun with the situation, but didn’t bother to reply to any plea Jensen had uttered.

Jensen looked around, and it seemed as if all confidence and hope had left him. Zeta’s padawan had showed up, and the odds against the Jedi Padawan were growing.

“Theres a lot more Jedi out there than you realize.” An idle boast perhaps, but the one thing Jensen failed to realize is, just how un-jedi like he had sounded.

And again…he started to walk toward Zeta…and Zeta again as previously, force pushed Jensen backwards to where he stood, hitting the ground with a sickening crash…

There was no hope left, Amalia and Jensen was going to dye out here if he didn’t do something now.

Again he found himself looking straight at Amalia. A person who seemingly, past away but for some reason he felt she was still alive in some way. Zeta’s actions didn’t make sense to him. The Zabrak still seemed focused on her…almost like his plans wasn’t realized as of yet. But any hope of Jensen of that happening was gone, Zeta just seemed to be playing with him, and when Zeta became bored with the situation, Jensen would probably meet the same fate as Amalia.

Lightly touching his lip with his index finger. Jensen just now realized the taste in his mouth as he began to fully give in to his emotions

It was his own blood. …He had tasted his own blood and he became so overwhelmed by the flood of hatred welling within him he just couldn’t take it anymore.

Slowly looking back at the Zabrak his eyes narrowed, betraying the fire of anger within him he picked up Amalia’s saber off the ground. He fully intended to accommodate Zeta’s and his apprentice’s fate by not allowing them to leave this planet…alive.

Rising back up from the ground at a quick pace. The lightsaber’s violet hue sprang to life. And taking a few steps backwards he turned…and made his way toward Zeta and Han…

Though the situation was not meant to be. And Zeta and Han both disappeared and a haze of dark grey smoke….almost as if they had never even existed.
And through the smoke of where Zeta had once stood. A new individual took his place, wearing a dark green robe and his face shrouded by the hood.

“Jensen…put the lightsaber away my son.” It was Jensen’s father, the very man for weeks he tried to hide the darkness within him from…he knew, he knew now.

Startled and at the same time confused Jensen disengaged the saber.

“I know why you haven’t been answering our messages Jensen, I’ve known for some time.” The Jedi Master said. Following Jensen, back over to Amalia.

“Then you know you couldn’t blame me for my lack of telling you could you? “ Jensen said looking back, his smile sarcastic. Right at his father, the very person who had molded him…

His smile had quickly faded “I’ve failed you…I’ve failed you both.” Jensen said, “I’m lost…and there isn’t anything anybody could do about that now…”

Jensen couldn’t look at him…hopelessness apparent in his very soul. He went to finally pick up Amalia and take her out of there.

“Jensen.” His father said touching his shoulder guiding him back up to face him.

“Leave her be for just a minute, temper your emotions Jensen, calmness…look at me son. I want you to know I’m very proud of you, what you’ve done here is very noble and is the very essence of a Jedi to help those in need, the fact that you have been able to leave the order in order to do this its taken a lot of courage. Being a Jedi, to really be a Jedi, is not proven by titles or associations to Jedi temples…it’s dictated by spirit and actions alone. ”

“And my mother, what are you going to tell her?” Jensen asked…

“I’m going to tell her the truth,” his father said calmly.

“Will I fall to the darkside?” Jensen asked, hopelessness in his voice.

“Only you can answer that Jensen, the force guides us. But doesn’t dictate our fates, it partially controls our actions but also obeys our commands. The darkside…although powerful relies on deceit for gain, and it clouds ones judgment.

Jensen interrupted “I have…to get her out of here.”

His father paused realizing his Jensen wasn’t comfortable but there was nothing else he could do, it was up to him now.

“Okay my son…I will leave you, mind all I have taught you…as it can very well save you.”

With that the Jedi master exited the scene.

Jensen turned to look at Amalia…concern obvious on his face; she had been through so much in the course of one night…

“Time to go…” Jensen went to pick up Amalia,

And before he could do so he woke back up.

***

Jensen rubbed his eyes as he slowly rose up; turning to face Amalia he quickly noted the blanket that was now in his lap.

He wanted to smile but it quickly faded as he looked away from her, she was safe…for now. But the darkness was still there.

He did look back at her however, and smiled slightly, though still a bit sleepy from his rest.

“Thank you.” he said calmly.

He looked at the clock…

“We will be leaving hyperspace soon.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Jensen asked.

Jensen watched Amalia quietly, nodding his head slowly as he listened he then attempted to answer a very difficult question.

“Truthfully? I think I would have because I wanted to, but it also scares me.”

He stopped in quiet poignant reflection. And gave Amalia a hopeless gaze.

“…I don’t want to fall…”

He then looked off.

“But at the same time I can’t in good conscious just leave you to fight this alone. I had no choice but to come with you.”

He returned his gaze to her, his eyebrows raising matter of factly.

“That said, my career as a Jedi is over. Before it even began, I gave up the jedi order for the very ideals it stands for.”

Heavy silence came, and then he continued.

“But I would have come, you need time to heal but you won’t be able to do it alone.”

He looked down, the returned his gaze to her.

“I’m here to help you…” he said quietly.

Looking toward the cockpit.

“We are at Jomark.”

Jensen lightly rubbed his eyes, and picked himself up, as he made his way to the cockpit, not knowing if Amalia followed or not.

Quickly glancing over the sensors he spotted something unusual. It was a ship of some sort. Jensen lightly tapped over the readout wondering what to do…

He decided the best course was to ignore it they may not be friendly.

Jensen quickly set coordinates for Jomark’s atmosphere

“Entry here may be a bit shaky”

The ship slightly buckled and the atmosphere of Jomark brightened the cockpit in a shade of gray. As the cockpit window started to become pelted with heavy rain.

After a few moments the rains gave way to a glorious sunshine rare to any place else as they made there way toward the planets surface.

“What’s that? Is that a castle?” Jensen pointed in the direction of what seemed to be a building, on the side of a dormant volcano.

He decided to land near there and brought the shuttle down on a flat area.

Jensen flew the ship to their landing point near what seemed to be some sort of castle ruins.

Inwardly Jensen smiled when Amalia peeked over his shoulder to have a look herself at the ruins. Whether Amalia wished to admit it or not, Amalia’s presence was still calming peaceful and warming. Even with the darkness that seems to be enveloping her. There was still light within her, and that light was very much worth fighting for.

"It’s okay…" He said in a whispered quiet tone, piloting their craft to the final landing point

The engines of the shuttle kicked up dust not disturbed for perhaps years as the ship finally touched ground slowly on the uneven terrain below though still flat enough to land the ship on.

Jensen sat in the cockpit of the shuttle in an almost trance like gaze.

He looked out among the barren rocky wastelands that were Jomark straight at the ruins. The island was small -- the brisk scent of the ocean nearby betrayed the shore wasn't that far. And breathing in the air even in the cockpit hinted the same in the atmosphere.

Jensen finally sat up in the cockpit and turned toward the Jedi master.

He met her gaze with a light smile.

"Are you up for some exploring? I think maybe we should see about the ruins."

Jensen didn’t expect the sudden outpouring of emotion from her. It was actually quite troubling to him; the whole display in fact silenced him for a bit. She seemed fragile almost at this point.

All he could do was watch her briefly in a silence that was punctuated what would normally be peaceful sounds from the shoreline nearby. A soft sound that one could find serenity and solace in. Yet, both seemed so unrealistic at this point.

He searched for the words to say to her…and the unsettling silence was finally broken.

“You don’t have to be old to be wise Amalia, and likewise it is true that old age doesn’t make one wise by right either. We will always encounter those people that will be blinded by their own assumptions. No argument you put forth will sway them regardless, these people that don’t understand. The only reasonable course to take with them if they are unwilling to respect your situation is to simply avoid them and not invite them back into your life anymore.

He had his own agenda, and admittedly it went through my head a few times to simply knock him off his soapbox. It was not only insulting to you, it also was to me.”

His head tilted downward

“…Especially after I had to deal with a particularly dangerous Sith…he was a Zabrak don’t know who he is, but something gives me the feeling him and I will meet again in the future. He was waiting for something or someone…and he was using you as bait…”

His brow raised a little as he watched her.

“When I stumbled upon you, I was heading to Master Kahn’s home. Well…it seems I lost my way in the mist and pockets of fog, and that’s when I found you. You seemed… well I won’t remind you of that. But I barely had time to react before he showed.”

He swallowed and continued.

“Our dangerous host had plans for the both of us. But he never attempted to kill me, at first I couldn’t figure it out why he wouldn’t. But it didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on. Finally he left….after realizing his plan was no good it seems.”

“I waited on you to wake back up, must have been for hours but I stayed right there.”

He meekly shook his head

“I never left you….”

He thought back to the time he had to look in Amalia’s lifeless eyes. Those sad eyes that had haunted him since that night. Those brown eyes that he was gazing into was now embedded with the special spark of life. Yet the sadness remained, but there was hope.

Jensen decided to skip that part, deciding she wasn’t ready to hear.

“Then you woke up, and that soldier came. Do you honestly think it was easy for me to just stand back and listen to him? I just don’t know maybe I should have dusted him off, it might have completed my fate and I wouldn’t have to wait so long for it.”

His voice became slightly tense. And his eyes hinted at the frustration

He seemed to pass a hopeless smile, and his voice quieted.

“Funny how that works…a Jedi, and yet it seems I regret not taking a life.”

He pointed toward the direction of the speeders.

“The speeder bikes…we need them to make it to the ruins. Shall we?”