Jedi Insurgency 334

Slightly before Corvus had arrived into the system, Yon & Cal had infiltrated Neutra Four, and were waiting to make their move. 

Hiding amongst some crates that contained ‘fuel,’ they were being smuggled into the largest Imperial military base on the planet by a Republic sympathizer. The planetary shield was due to crash soon, however the base had its own private shielding, and their mission was to infiltrate the premises, and knock the generator offline. 

Cramped, and sitting in an awkward position, Yon had an irritable look upon his face. 

“Heh heh, what's wrong? Your wedding is a week away, I thought you'd be the happiest Jedi in the Order.” Cal quipped, taking a small ounce of pleasure at seeing his overly competitive peer being uncomfortable. 

Yon rolled his eyes, and huffed. “It's just another mission.” He then closed his eyes, and tried to meditate, mentally preparing himself so that he didn't lose himself to the slaughter that was to come. 

His Master had taught him much on Tython, and between the holocrons, and other sacred sights, he had finally grasped that ever elusive ‘balance.’ No longer would he allow himself to be a slave to those darker thoughts. 

“Really? This new philosophy, err, old philosophy is still taking me some time to get used to. But I can't say I haven't seen the pay off, what with tapping into my emotions. Who knows, maybe having someone to love could make you see yourself in a new light?” Cal said, almost more to himself than his companion. 

Yon furrowed his brow, considering those words, before shaking his head. 

“All the emotions I have are dedicated to the Order.” Yon said in an almost fierce light. 

And revenge. Went unsaid. 

Cal raised an eyebrow, chuckled, then shook his head. “I don't think that's all there is, you aren't such a two dimensional character.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Yon asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice, and live up to the expectations of his Master. 

“That. That right there. Acting like a ‘proper’ Jedi. That's only because you love your Master so much.” Cal laughed, clapping his hands as if he had seen right through the short teen across from him. 

“You don't know me.” Yon looked away, trying to act aloof like Jax. 

“No, no, I know exactly what you're like! After all, Master Tapal means the world to me. My heart would be broken if anything happened to him.” Cal switched up his upbeat persona, and solemnly stated. 

Yon slowly regarded the ginger, pale faced kid in front of him, and snorted. 

“You're not half bad, kid.” Yon cracked a smile. 

“I'm sixteen this year, only two years younger than you.” Cal folded his arms, and flatly replied. 

“A kid's still a kid.” Yon lifted his chin haughtily. 

“Very mature. And here I thought we could be friends. Talk about philosophy, girls, Force techniques. But I guess I'll just have to wait to join Jax's team next time. Ah, I'm jealous of Linyin, and Zork.” Cal sighed, looking up at the ‘ceiling’ of the metal crate in disappointment. 

Meanwhile, Yon's eyelids were twitching the entire time as Cal had ‘pressed the Jax button.’ The short, black haired teen hated nothing more than to be compared to his rival. 

“Nonsense. While they're fighting along that spineless politician, we're out here receiving guidance from a pair of War Heroes. With Master Tapal's sturdy manner of siegecraft, and my own teacher's unorthodox skills, mark my words, Neutra Four will fall within the day!” Yon confidently stated, raising his chin in pride, and speaking with a heavy dose of blind confidence. 

Missed by the short teen, his ginger counterpart wore a sly smile for all but a few seconds, before he clapped along. 

“You're so right. So, Knight Yon, what do you think our plan should be for this infiltration?” Cal asked in a tone that wouldn't be misplaced in some King's courtroom.

Yon, lost in his thoughts of outdoing Jax, and proving Master Corvus right about his trust didn't have time to notice Cal's childish manipulation. 

“Hmph. This cargo crate is being delivered to the ammunition depot, correct? Then it's simple.” Yon snorted as if everything was self-evident. 

“Oh wise General, what should we do?” Cal sarcastically asked. 

“As soon as we arrive, I'll cut a hole beneath the crate so as not to alarm anyone. Then, whilst invisible, I'll [Mind Trick] the guards to look the other way. Once out, I'll plant a timed explosive within the warehouse, and we'll sneak off to the next objective.” Yon stated with confidence. 

“Let's do it.” Cal shrugged his shoulders. 

After about ten more minutes of banter, the hover crate was finally placed down, and the boys got to business. 

Sneaking through the cut crate, things proceeded extremely smoothly. He planted the explosives, [Mind Tricked] the guards, and even had time to send the Republic sympathizer off with a salute. By the time he was ready to begin the next part of their operation, a service droid carrying a crate recognized them as intruders. 

By the time Yon sensed the potential danger, and had thrown out his lightsaber, the droid had already activated the base alarm. 

Red klaxons began to sound off, and the previously [Mind Tricked] Imperial Army regulars were awakened from their stupor. 

As they came to, and were about to raise their blasters at the pair of Jedi, Yon sprinted toward the exit. He did not want to be caught up in the soon to be exploding fuel depot. 

Cal followed at a more measured pace, then sped up when the first blaster bolts began to hammer the corridor.

Yon met the front rank with the aggressive, rolling rhythm of Form VII. His green blade cut through carbines and swept across armor plates, forcing the troopers backward before they could bring their rifles to bear. He drove through the gaps in their formation with a fighter’s appetite, never giving them time to steady their aim.

Cal flowed along the opposite side of the corridor. He turned bolts aside, swept rifles from hands, and used small, sudden pulses of [Force Slow] to stall the troopers who tried to regroup. When the stream of fire thickened, he nudged time for just a fraction of a second, making the troopers aim where he had been, not where he was going to be. 

The pair of boys left behind faint afterimages as [Force Speed] clad their forms. Furthermore, Corvus's mandatory courses on [Energy Resistance] meant that any Jedi who wished to fight on the front lines had to know this basic shielding technique! They were all but immune to the one or two lucky hits that bypassed their precognition, reflexes, or lightsaber. 

At one point, Yon inhaled, planted his feet, and exhaled through the Force.

The breath attack struck the advancing line like a wall of wind. Troopers lifted off their heels, weapons spun away, and the formation collapsed as they broke their limbs, necks, and bodies against the wall. Yon was already past them before the last helmet hit the deck.

Cal caught up with both a joke & an admonishment at the tip of his lips. “You know they were going to surrender eventually.”

“These aren't clones. They volunteered for this. Let them realize the folly of signing up to fight my Master's will.” Yon scoffed. 

“So edgy.” Cal muttered, then quickly followed behind as the timer on the explosives was rapidly beeping down. 

Advancing deeper into the base, Yon cut the local comm relay and slipped into the air whenever patrols converged on their position. Cal kept the troopers from sealing the halls, slowing one squad long, then turning them around, many an Imperial ‘accidentally’ blasted his comrade due to this slick use of the Force. Together they made the well trained Imperial Regulars look like cannon fodder in a videogame. 

Approaching a lift, they descended toward the service levels. Just as they went down a tier, the whole base rocked, and the lights within the elevator shuddered. 

“I think it's safe to say they know we're here. Think they'll send any of those Inquisitors after us?” Cal asked as he waited for the lift to descend a few more floors and reach the shield generator. 

“I hope so. I still haven't paid them back.” Yon said in a dark tone, recalling Triss's betrayal. 

“Ehh, forget I said anything. Anyway, what do you say we rescue some of the workers along the way?” Cal asked, pointing through the elevator's clear glass window at some guys in bright orange safety vests running around in a panic. 

“The shield generator is our primary objective.” Yon replied with an arched eyebrow. 

“They’re trapped below us.” Cal entreated. “That explosive caused a cave in.” 

“.. We can open the service doors once we have secured the generators.” Yon said in compromise. 

As the door to the lift opened up, they were met with workers in stained coveralls huddled behind a row of cargo lifters, caught between a line of Imperial troopers and the only exit. At the same time, a heavy automatic gun covered the room from an overhead gantry.

Cal moved toward the workers. Yon went straight for the gun.

“Yon, wait, the workers are behind the lifters!” Cal warned. 

The gun opened fire, but Yon was already moving. He turned invisible, crossed the open floor under the stream of bolts, and reappeared beside the gantry with a short ranged [Shadow Hop]. His saber severed the gun’s mount, and then pointed it at the Imperial troops, blasting big burnt chunks of flesh from their backs. 

Cal, meanwhile, did everything in his power to block, deflect, and stop any stray shots from hitting the innocents. 

Cal sealed the service door behind the workers and turned to find Yon waiting at the far end of the hall. A minty green light spread to those workers who had inadvertently been struck, saving them from a serious injury or certain death. 

“Heh, so you do care.” Cal said with a bright smile. 

“Let's just destroy that shield generator already.” Yon snorted, refusing to look the ginger in the eye. 

They reached the final defensive line just before their objective. A battalion had assembled, waiting for them. Rows of troopers leveled their weapons across the broad chamber. The base commander stood behind them at a raised console, one hand beside the control that would lock down the hangars and flood the lower levels with suppressant gas.

Cal stepped into the open, and [Force Slow] swept across the room. Blaster muzzles stopped mid-aim, and the commander’s fingers hung above the lockdown switch. For one suspended moment, the whole battalion stood caught between orders and action.

“Yon. Now. Please.” Cal said between gritted teeth, unable to hold this area attack for long. 

Grinning like a lunatic, Yon [Shadow Hopped] behind the base commander, and then began to slash into the Imperial flank like the antagonist in a horror movie. 

The slow field broke half a minute later, leaving hundreds of people groaning or silent on the ground. 

One Captain looked at the green blade, then at Cal’s steady, open hand. He then tossed his rifle to the ground, raised his hands, and ordered a general surrender. A few troopers hesitated, but upon seeing that almost perverted look on Yon's face, they all chose life. 

“Tch.” Yon spat to the side. 

“Come on, you wanted to destroy the shield generator. Besides, these prisoners will make securing Neutra Four much easier. Think of the big picture, I'm sure Master Revan will be proud.” Cal once again said his honeyed words to wrangle this troublesome peer of his. 

“You're a talent of the Order, Cal, you're right.” Yon said, glancing at the ginger as if to say I know what you're up to. 

The short teen then gathered up some of the surrounding officers, and had them lower the base's shields. 

Raising a hand to his communicator, he hailed his teacher, his voice filled with the pride of a son showing off to his father:

“Master, welcome to Neutra Four. She's all yours.” 

~~~~

AN: Still OCT, we'll resume Spartan One in Nov according to the poll~