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Recovery of an Apprentice, Death of a Master


Tobias Vos

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This is a sort of pseudo-canon-rp post, I've been slowly working on over the last year or so. Basically Tobias's apprentice gets captures on her Jedi Knight Trials and Tobias busts her out. 

8,270 words, 16 pages.... but I am posting it all instead of in chunks. 

 

A lot of errors and plot holes, I am sure, but I have been working on this sporadically so that does impact this story. 

 

~~~

 

JNet

And so winter had arrived in this hemisphere of Rhen Var. It was almost as if the winds had claimed the entire airspace above this continent, they fought anything that invaded their territory. Not that it was invaded often, but this was one of those blasted Times that Pim really had to fight the controls to make sure she came at the right trajectory. The Nubian spacecraft she piloted, her master's old ship, was still smooth as ever. In the weeks that they had been here she had several lessons on how to fight the winds... no, that was the wrong mentality- she had to work with the winds. She knew she needed to work with the force, not against it- like a fool. 

 

Pim was not a fool, but that was her assessment. Her masters... well he might disagree. If she had time, she would have chuckled. 

 

Now wasn’t the time though, she needed to keep the spacecraft banking with the wind. With both hands gripped tightly, she punched through the turbulent layer and then made it down the rest of the way to the hidden landing pad where she saw the YT-2000 known as The Prism. 

 

Pim had been away for five weeks on a reconnaissance mission. Leaving her starfighter in a spaceport, getting on a civilian transport- onto another transport- and a third- completed her meeting and then the whole thing in reverse. She hid her lightsaber within her two bags that she carried. While she wasn’t supposed to use it just yet, she had wanted to work on further grip improvements. Something about the size of the hilt was just… off. 

 

Resting the craft on her landing struts, and then powering down all the systems except for the R4 navigation droid welded into the droid socket- her tasks were complete. There was a little PIT droid that rushed out of the door and hurried over to her with a cable in one hand, the trickle charge cable for her droid and to keep the systems warmed up to prevent freezing over- a jacket in the other hand. Having done this a few times, she knew what came next. The cockpit opened- the cold air invaded in a flash. Leaping down to the droid, she slid her arms in the sleeves of the parka. Then she bounded into the safety of the hanger. It was only a matter of time before the weatherfront she passed through on her approach arrived here, and it would be wise to jump inside. 

 

The little conclave she was at was her masters hidey-hole. Something he made when he was with the sith, but maintained when he joined with the Jedi. He had cloning tanks, communication equipment, and all sorts of other devices Pim had a knowledge of but wasn’t all that invested in…  she knew it was important but she couldn’t get her teenage brain to actually care about the details. Her focus was purely on the Force and her skills for her upcoming Jedi Knight trials. Her master had scolded her a few times for operating with blinders on. She was working on it… but if she was honest with herself- she was a teenager.

 

Pim scratched her head as she walked through the main room she thought of as the lobby, but in actuality it was the first room her master had dug out before getting construction droids. Since the ten years he’s been here he had hollowed out a series of rooms throughout the mountain. There was a communications repository, as well as a server room that held servers from Vos’s network of spies, informants, mercenaries and other fringe network types. If one had the desire, they could find out who the staff on the capital of Corellia to the southernmost delinquent taxpayer on Klatooine was. So it was quite detailed… 

 

He had described why he had done this, betrayal and his Sith upbringing. It was something that shaped why he had this reclusive cave. That and his, in her personal opinion, weird training habits. Training habits that she was reluctantly growing fond of. When she was out on assignments she followed a pseudo schedule of the training but Tobias had a fetish for being outnumbered in his training. The reasoning was that more often than not a Jedi operated solo or in pairs. It was important to learn how to operate in such a manner so that one could make it out alive. 

 

The main training hallway was where she found her master- she checked in and reported out and was dismissed so that she could rest and relax. She had two days off before another assignment so she quickly made her way to her quarters and caught a sanisteam and some food.

 

~~~

 

Six days later, two planets, one space station later and Pim found herself about to start the assignment. The pre-work, an elaborate false trail that allowed her to slip into Hutt territory mostly unnoticed. Pim set down on the planet and found a hostel with a small room for a few days. In the morning she’d chase a bounty and then into the local Hutt Crime Ring, hopefully. 

 

~~~


 

As far as Tobias was concerned, Taris was his least favorite planet. Even with the fact that he had been a slave on a desert planet, a conscript in a jungle planet, and then chose to build his remote home on an ice planet. However, this planet- it just held a complex layer of good then bad memories. He had lost his best friend here. Arriving out of hyperspace brought all those memories flooding back. 

 

He wanted to spit in reaction to seeing the world, but why would he spit in his ship? The droids would clean it up, sure, but why be a pig? Mentally, he did just to acknowledge his feelings on the matter. He wanted to leave here but the planet had other plans in store for him, bad plans. Sucking his lips in as he looked with the Force at the planet below him from the cockpit of the ship he had grown to rely upon. It was as good a spot as any to brood. 

 

Whited out eyes scanned over the planet and satellites cautiously evaluating if any were employed by the person he was here to meet with. Looking down at his hands he felt the bloody bandage in between his fingers. Dried Zabrak blood. Another furious rage started to boil in his veins and he shunted it aside- saving the emotion for later. Anger was a bad emotion- at least that was the Jedi teaching, Anger will set one free- at least that was the Sith teaching. Tobias had been a member of both Orders, but now… with Adenna really gone… he wanted to finish training Pim and promote her to Jedi Knight before he actually left the Jedi. That didn’t work out. She had been on an assignment from him, and it went too far. Internally, he was mad at himself for not anticipating the Hutts reaction. Or at least not anticipating this quagmire of a situation. 

 

Pim had gone down as a member of his crew, Tobias Vos. He knew that name would catch the ears of Drula The Hutt, the Hutt he used to be owned by. The one Vos ran away from. Pim was supposed to help him take down the Hutt, but here they were… she was captured and tortured obviously. Drula’s crime ring was in the employ of Lord Peregrine, and an intimidated employee- but recently the Hutt had been re- expanding his business tactics into areas that Peregrine did not allow. So the Hutt was hiding it, and so his fate was sealed. With this change of behavior there was no way to get Peregrine into see Drula without him summoning all his guards and hired guns. That’s why he decided to send them Pim on behalf of Vos. Invite Vos in or infiltrate if they didn’t check Pim. So naturally they did and Grula went to work on her, ergo why Vos wasn’t angry at Pim getting caught- it was what Grula had done- the evidence was in his hand, the bloody bandana. He would land and go stop Grula, that was his decision.

 

~~~

 

In a cantina, of course, Vos called the Grula compound. He told them who he was and that he was here to bargain for his agent. They had to speak with Grulas’ aid of course, who told the guards exactly what Vos had said five minutes prior. 

 

So the guards came and “escorted” Vos out. They were good hired guns, they were compassionate to Vos, but they were in charge. They were good because they didn’t hustle the gray haired, blind, carrying a cane and portable air generator. The oxygen nostril tubes remained on his face, otherwise he would have  wheezed a lot more.  They were good, but dumb, ergo Voss’ ability to cast this illusion and persuade them to help him with the air tank. Not too long after, Tobias and Grula met face to face.

 

“Master Grula” Tobias greeted him, with a crack in his voice and a warble in his voice 

 

<<Well, well, well, who have we here? Vos! Where have you been? My people have been trying to return you to me for years! Now that you are here, you are a very old human!>>

 

Vos shrugged, there was only one way this was going to play out so it didn’t matter what he said. “Older, yes. Wiser, yes.”

 

<<Wise?!>> The slug chuckled, eliciting a chorus of laughter from the cronies and hangers on in his court. Not the soldiers. <<Sending your agent who dropped your name instantly?! Foolish human, foolish zabrak.>>

 

“Where is the Zabrak?” Vos wheezed over his air tubes. 

 

Grula chuckled again, and waved a hand. A whimper and rattling chains came from down a corridor and a Gamorrean led a young teenage humanoid into the light. An iron collar around her throat, chunks of her skin had been peeled off her face as if they tried to flay her alive. A horn was broken and she was coated in blood. Around her wrists was a pair of binders that were attuned to force users. 

 

With his cane in hand, he pointed to the pair. “Release her, I am here.” then stabilized himself by putting his cane down and acting as if he was winded. 

 

<<Release her? No, I do not think so. You see, Vos, you left my employ without paying off your debt, the zabrak you sent so graciously will pay off your debt.>> Grula waved a hand and the pair retreated as a guard near Vos kicked out his cane and he fell to his knees with a cry of pain and shock. <<I have a lot of work for her already lined up.>>

 

Vos moved to straighten and reached out a hand to his cane while exaggerating his blindness. There was laughter all around the room. 

 

“Grula, please, do what you will with me but- “

 

<<SILENCE!>> Grula shouted, clearly agitated. <<You scanned him for weapons? Seize everything else and throw him in the pit!>>

 

Vos recovered his cane, and as his hand rested on it, his other hand dropped the air generator. With everyone thinking he was a pathetic cripple who had just lost an agent, no one noticed that the generator wasn’t powered anymore, no one noticed as the old man wobbled to his feet that he had deftly ran his hand up the shaft of the cane and put something inside the middle of it. No one heard the click, or saw the smirk under the air hose. 

 

The Guards had searched him, but since his lightsaber wasn’t a detectable weapon without a power source, he had the element of surprise. 

 

“Grula!” Vos shouted as guards moved in. “Last chance to give me the girl or I will take your life and everyone in here! So help me by the seven circles of hell, you all will be drenched in your own blood if you do not let my employee free, right now.”

 

Grula was angry now, a hutt snarl crossed his face. <<She’ll pay for that too! You’re blind, crippled, and a fool! You have no standing here! NO POWER!>>

 

Vos barked out laughter- “I was hoping you’d say that.”

 

The audience hushed as they understood a compounding threat when they heard it- but what could this human do? The crowd would have been laughing had not every single being in the room felt this ominous wave spread across the patrons. 

 

“Vah are nah tisci bah ch'at Peregrine Order non, ch'abeiuh.” Was all Vos said, and the hutt lost all his color. The audience was instantly on edge. They didn’t know what Vos had said but they saw how Grula’s attitude changed instantly. 

 

<<No! WHAT?! KILL HIM!>> 

 

Vos sprang into action, using the momentary confusion to his advantage. A gamorrean closed in from either side as a humanoid bounty hunter came up from behind. In an instant Vos dropped the act- his hair returning to its regular color, his posture was now lithe and graceful rather than old and rickety. Even his clothes seemed to fit better. What was most concerning to his enemies- his eye color returned and his skin, what little could be seen, glowed with a faint hue coming from the scars that traced his body.

 

The cane was in his right hand, so he spun it across his body to the gamorean on his left. The crowd panicked as Vos ensured that ugly smile would never be the same- blood and tooth sprayed out onto the floor. As his shoulders pivoted his body to the left, he reached out with his left hand and pushed with the Force. He flew back- the gamorean was bigger than he was so it was reasonable that this would work. It was just enough force to make the green pig stumble back. Leaving Vos with just the bounty hunter- but with a flourish of the cane, the end smashed into its gut. There was a wet sound from the helmet, causing Vos to wince with disgust. Not able to afford the distraction, he knelt and spun to continue the move and brought the ball at the end of his cane down on the gamorean that stumbled back- also breaking the ugly smile there too. 

 

As Vos spun on his knee, he took in the crowd and Grula. “Grula, you chose this!” He shouted with a mad intensity on his face, and there was no mistaking the metal on leather as weapons were trained on the lone target. With a mental command the ball at the end of his cane dropped to the floor. The smoke that was trapped inside was now filling the room rather quickly, eager to break its confinement then Vos was instantly covered by the smoke. Then the fireworks started- red, green, yellow blaster bolts flooded the room at the place Vos was last seen. 

 

With pre-loading his system with oxygen his muscles were up to the task of moving fast. Vos ran around the inside of a pillar on the first floor and then leaped behind the smoke to a new spot- and launched himself to the second story and started to bludgeon people. Anyone that came close was injured in some fashion. This entire organization had been sliding downhill ever since Vos slacked off his Peregrine activities per orders- so he had no remorse for those in Grula organization. They had all seen a young girl tortured and an old man bullied- there were worse crimes granted, but they would all pay for the former. As soon as all the alleged VIPs were contended with, Vos was just in time to see a group of armored thugs rush the main floor.

 

“Well, if y’all want to be bantha fodder, so be it…” He muttered. Vos picked up a blaster pistol and went to the edge of the overlook. “I’ll give you guys the option to surrender, just walk away.” Tobias stated as he trained the pistol on the group, visible now that the smoke had disappeared. 

 

They all raised their weapons. Tobias was already training his blaster on the air generator he had carried in. One shot from a pistol with red bolts was all it took to detonate the generator and make a small explosion. Small, but powerful enough to send shrapnel into each of the guards. 

 

Their backup wasn’t too far behind, and they all staggered as they saw what had happened to their comrades. Possibly knowing what the Hutt would do if they ever met again, they started to shoot at where Tobias was hiding. Ducking behind the little cover he had, Tobias found a Quarren with gang tattoos on his face tentacles. Figuring the Quarren wasn’t putting on a false front of a bad guy and was a genuine bad guy, the broken leg and arm would have put the alien in a state of shock. Ejecting the power cell and then the dowel rods from the cell, he put the power cell back into the blaster and did it to another blaster. Placing both blasters on the Quarren, and managed to drop the thug to the first floor. Without putting up too much of a fight too, it was nice and easy. He hit with a wet crack, a loud crunch, and a whimper of pain. The security squad got more backup just as the power cells went critical as two improvised grenades. Sensing that everyone and everything was genuinely hurting on the first floor, he poked his head over the railing of his cover and saw that the forth group was smart and hid in the entrance where Pim had been taken. Grula was also heading down that tunnel. 

 

Taking out his cane, he pointed it towards the entrance where the troops were holding position. Then popped around the corner from behind the cover and pressed the internal button in the cane. A small one pound rocket shot out and impacted more or less in the center of the hallway. They were all taken out. Now it was time for the confined space. 

 

MAking another quick joke to himself, Vos leapt off the balcony and floated to the ground. Bodies lay about him in one fashion or another. The Quarren had imploded, so he was out of pain. Looking down, his clothes were bloodied and dusty but all in all not too shabby. No baster bolts for a brief moment allowed Vos to think, but a moment was all he got as more guards and bounty hunters came pouring into the hallway. Down the access corridor he jogged, his eyes ablaze with righteous fury. 

 

Keeping count of how many dregs he cut down was pointless. It was just one after another. The hallway was roughly 16ft wide and 12 ft tall, with an empty bulkhead opening every few feet. Some of the dregs decided it was a good idea to hide behind these and try to surprise the attacker, and it was a good idea had Vos not been a force user. Clearly sensing the ones hiding, he ripped right through them as they started to pop out to get an angle on him. Blaster fire erupted from the next bunk head, and for the first time, Tobias thought about using his lightsaber. 

 

There was an alternative though, the blasters back in the audience chamber. He summoned some pistol, removed the rods from the power pack and threw it down the hallway. Then, he summoned a blaster rifle he was familiar with- and started to answer the blasters aimed at him. Switching the rifle from semi-automatic to fully automatic he pivoted and started laying down suppression fire. The guards didn’t stand a chance, the blasters exploded and they fell limp to the floor. Others let their instincts get the better of them and they started to run. Vos switched the blaster back to semi-automatic and lined up a shot. Time seemed to slow, and that gave him some time to think about his actions- was it Jedi like to shoot a fleeing enemy in the back? Would they try to ambush him later? Should he take them out? 

 

Vos blinked and lowered the rifle. Making a face of disgust he checked the rifle's charge and started to jog after the fleeing individuals. He hoped they wouldn’t try to attack him again after he had shown mercy. 

As he navigated the hallways, his danger sense overwhelmed him- but he didn’t pay any real attention to it, he was in a criminal den and his only ally at the moment- of course his danger sense was heightened. Still doing his best to remain vigilant though, he was caught off guard by a rocket turret. As he rounded a corner and got a few steps down the path, an unmistakable click-swoosh sound and there was the rocket. Vos dove forward, the rocket exploding behind him and showering him with debris. There was another sound, and that was his only warning of another rocket. This one was pushed back by Vos, using the force to slam it back at the turret. 

 

With a small detonation, that problem was solved. But with each ending is a new beginning, and just starting to get up, it was the beginning of a new problem. A massive foot caught Vos in the ribs and he was punted into the wall. The rifle slipped out of his grip and clattered away, along with the breath in his lungs. Stars appeared in his vision and then a mighty hand picked Vos up by the neck and another fist rammed into his chest. There was either a large crack or several small cracks at once, and Vos let out a grunt of pain. After a moment, his vision stopped swimming and he saw a basilisk holding him. With its three other arms it started to pummel Vos. 

 

Doing what he could, Vos put up a Force shield around his body to try to lessen the beating he was receiving. This didn’t slow his opponent though. It just gave Vos enough time to catch a breath and retaliate. He caught one of the fists pummeling him, that threw the beast off its rhythm- and the look of shock was evident in the eyes of his attacker. 

 

In the scuffle his cane had also fallen away, but Vos quickly located it and reached out with the force. He locked eyes with his attacker just as the snap-hiss sounded. The boldness was quickly replaced with fear as the cane saber sliced through the arm holding Vos up. The appendage hit the ground with a meaty slap. As soon as his feet hit the floor, the saber snapped into his hand and a flourish ended the basilisk.

 

He took a moment to catch his breath and look down the hallway. Another group had fortified their position with an e-web repeating turret. 

 

Vos closed his visor, sealing himself into his combat suit and deactivated the blade. He turned the cane over to the base and aimed at the turret. Depressing a switch inside the actual cane- a small rocket shot out, fins extending and propellant igniting. The squirrely rocket detonated a moment later, leaving the hallway scorched and littered with debris. 

 

He wanted to fall to his knees and take a moment. Just to gather himself back up and collect his thoughts. In the back of his mind there was a little clock that was ticking loudly in reminder that Grula and Pim were getting further from him. 

 

Continuing forward he encountered another few small groups of guards and dealt with them as if he were a blowtorch and they were butter. He started to hear the whine of an engine and realized there was a small hutt corvette that had landed in what was obviously a hanger. Through all the hustle and bustle he saw the loading ramp closing. 

 

Pulling the Force to himself and letting it deep into his body through his Force Scars, Vos blew forward in a mad dash across the bay. He knew he wouldn’t make it to the ramp in time, so he pulled harder. The Force Scars always hurt but when Tobias drew the Force through them his pain increased rapidly. As soon as he was a hundred feet or so he started to feel the vibration of the corvette, it was going to take off any second. 

 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of motion coming at him. It was another force user- carrying a yellow bladed lightsaber. The figure skidded in front of Vos, blocking his path. It was a female Cathar, and she looked vaguely familiar. 

 

Regardless, Tobias knew he had to get on that corvette. Releasing some of the power he held, he leapt over the Cathar, she also jumped up and swung at Vos. 

 

Who is she? Vos wondered for a brief second

 

He parried, as he reached the pinnacle of his flip. Tobias landed and deactivated his blade and sprinted towards the ship. The Cathar was hot on his heels, but lagging just a little behind. She tried to push him, he just let himself be carried. When she tried to pull on him, he spun around and let loose his second and last mini rocket. 

 

The ship lurched, he was so close he could feel the heat from the ships engines. Extending his hand he let the Force leave him and impact the side of the engine housing. The fuel supply hose compressed, the engines sputtered. There was just a small amount of time gained. Reversing his powers' intention he pseudo flew to the ship and he lashed his boots to the side of the hull. The Cathar followed and started to attack him again. Unlashing then relashing to the side of the ship, his feet were mounted to the side of the ship, he was perpendicular to the ground below. This seemed to stump the Cathar as she cocked her head to Vos’s alignment. Underneath the helmet he smiled and pulled hard on his opponent. Surprised, she fell forward and made a wild swing as she fell to the floor. 

 

She landed alright but Vos was already scrambling to the top of the ship and away from her range. As soon as he was stable he spun the lightsaber around and into the hull with a downward thrust just as the ship lurched forward. 

 

The Cathar growled and leapt forward again, using her claws to grab tiny edges on the hull. She clung on for dear life as the ship shot forward. 

 

Vos rotated the blade as it melted the hull plate. The wind whipped at him, trying to peel him away from the ship. Pulling the Force into his body again, he held the lightsaber as a hand hold revitalizing his endurance as the g-forces started to have an effect.

 

Enclosed in his combat suit the wind was the least of his worries. He felt Pim through the force. He could tell she was in terrible pain, but she was amused, and happy. She knew Vos would not stop to get his apprentice back. Pim had almost been killed, almost. As he was feeling her thoughts, so too could she. She felt his determination and resolve. Not all was well though, Vos could feel her start to worry and be nervous. Then, a loud “ker-klash!” Sounded and there was an ejection pod that sounded off. Vos projected determination and curiosity- seeing if Pim would indicate Grula was still there. 

 

Pim flooded her presence with affirmation. Grula was on that escape pod, or whatever craft had departed. Vos was in a classic predicament, chasing someone who jumped onto a passing gravtrain in the opposite direction. 

 

He closed his eyes and took a moment to compose himself, listening to the force. Vos could feel the Cathar clinging on and starting to worry. He felt the crew of the ship perplexed but following orders. He felt Pim. He felt the crew of that other ship. He felt the Force. 

 

While they were miles above the ground now, Tobias deactivated the lightsaber, and stood up. The wind caught his body and he was gone in an eye blink. A spike of alarm and shock from the Cathar, but he couldn’t be worried about that’d right now. He focused on what he was feeling through the force. 

 

After a moment, the Cathar lept from the ship in an effort to follow Tobias but she didn’t have any type of environmental suit, she had to be low on oxygen and very cold- so basically desperate. 

 

Vos dove through the sky, dipping through clouds, trying to find the craft that was used to escape. He could feel Pim close to him, and looking… looking…

 

He found the shuttle! With his powers he pulled toward the ship with all his might. Rocketing through the air in a free fall he started to plot his landing. There was a pretty big lake below…

 

Trusting the Force, Vos spread his arms like a bird of prey. He had fallen like this only once before on a Jedi covert mission that he didn’t quite agree with but the sensation of free fall was intoxicating. Way in the back of his mind he realized why people actually did this recreationally. 

 

Catching a sliver of fear from Pim, Vos projected confidence and trust to her. Pim was getting worried about something. 

 

Vos could infer what she was worried about- him free falling. The emotions permeated through her aura- and with good reason. He wasn’t exactly in the safest place and that was worrying her. The ship carrying her was landing next to the pond. Another small internal sliver of amusement shot through the back of his mind- What if the hutt had actually gone somewhere else? Either up to space in that little ship or onto the other side of the planet? The Force was with him, no doubt about that. 

 

He was quickly approaching the ground, no shocker there, but the lake was his target and he could tell it was deep enough for him to dive and swim back up. Getting the angle right would also be key, he wanted to hit the lake at an angle and use the momentum to shoot out of the lake towards the ship. 

 

Concentrating, he did just that. The surface wasn’t too hard, and it was a bit broken so that was good. It wasn’t as graceful as he was hoping but he shot below the surface, his arms and legs tucked in, his back arched and so his chest caught most of the current and directed him upward, he exploded from the lake, rising up he landed on his feet but momentum being what it was- he had to somersault forward and catch himself. 

 

His face plate was broken by the impact, so he removed it and tossed it to the side. He could feel warm liquid running down his face- a broken nose and a fat lip. 

 

As he was assessing his injuries, he felt a sharp spike of fear and panic as the Cathar watched what he had done and knew she couldn’t do the same. 

 

She flailed as she got closer, losing her composure. He wondered if it was more cats versus water or falling object landing. The former, he couldn’t help with, the latter though, he could. Showing compassion he tried to slow her down. Vos reached out his hand and closed his eyes, she slowed- she slowed- he gritted his teeth- she slowed.

 

There was a loud smack on the water and he opened his eyes. He took a panicked step forward and waited, he couldn’t go back into the lake, he couldn’t risk her attacking him. He just wanted to make sure she was alive- or dead. Part of him knew he should have just ran off and to leave the Cathar to her fate, but the light side… internally he rolled his eyes. 

 

The feline lady breached the surface, gasping for air, a primal cry. Vos picked her up through the Force and let her catch her breath. 

 

“I have saved your life twice now- I will not be so generous a third time. Are you going to pursue me further?” He shouted across the lake. The Cathar felt for her weapon, realized it was at the bottom of the lake, and hung there- soggy and sad. She shook her head. “Good answer, Grula probably thinks you’re dead, go home.”

 

Gently, he brought her to the edge of the lake and let her land and then collapse. The poor thing was waterlogged, and disheveled. Vos turned his back and just as he took a step the Cathar spoke. “Grula, he has another one of us. More skilled than I, good luck, Jedi.”

 

Vos narrowed his eyes at the label she gave him. For his purposes, he raised his hand into the sky and called to the Force to bring the weight and feel of his own weapon back to him. Remembering the balance of it, the feel, and the connection.

 

He also was reaching out in another way, timing it just right… 

 

A loud snap and his weapon was back in his own hand. The air displacement contributed to the illusion he was projecting in addition to the Aing-Tii technique. A pillar of violent energy cracked across the lake and through Vos, radiating to the skies. It was all done in a split moment, and he did get some guilty satisfaction from watching her face. To her it was real, but he was a great illusionist. Not the best, certainly not the worst. 

 

Tobias bellowed and laughed “I am afraid, I am no Jedi. Be gone, Cathar! Be gone and live better.”

 

She gasped in shock, she could feel his power. It was almost tangible in the air. Her mind was rolling with decisions that were needed- her fight or flight autonomic response was triggering. Tobias was tired of letting her try to make the right decision. 

 

“Very well, hold your breath.” Tobias collected the Force around his hand and shoved the Cathar back into the lake. With a snort from the humanoid and a splash from the feline, Tobias turned to chase down the Hutt and his apprentice. 

 

As he traveled away from the lake he heard the alien hit the lake and then a moment later he lost sight of the lake as he used the Force to enhance his speed and he resumed tracking his quarry. 

 

A few minutes and he could tell he was nearing some sort of compound through the little forest. This was no time for stealth, he kept having to repeat himself. This was an all out assault. A tag and bag operation. There were multiple turret placements, a shuttle was parked in the middle of the landing field- it looked like an old Empire installation. So many different species that were running around, but there was a group that caught his eye. Mandalorians. Or at least five that were wearing the legendary armor. Plotting his best approach from the perimeter, he watched the mandos and what they were doing. They seemed relaxed, but alert. Like guards who have been on watch for weeks and they haven’t seen anything- but they knew it was a possibility that something might happen. 

 

Tobias could oblige. With no ranged weapons he had to rely on his skills with the Force. There was no problem with that, he was quickly burning through his energy and what his body could take. This whole day seemed as if it had happened over months- not hours. Pulling energy around him, Vos started to run forward towards the camp- pulling forest debris with him in a tornado. Leaping over the last hedgerow, he was a cannonball flying through the air. The debris followed and continued their trajectory. It was like a smoke bomb, but also not- this was made to bring their attention to an area and to disorient. Blaster fire erupted from an E-Web but was quickly silenced when a tree limb collided with the Quarren firing the weapon. As Vos hit the ground, he rolled, turning his landing into a slide behind cover. Gripping the E-Webs trigger with the force, he held it down and the turret just spun and fired constantly. This was chaos. It looked as though a tornado had gone through - several of the staff were injured by small flying debris- but the Mando’s were reacting.

 

One of course had to prove how manly he was. “Ho! Jedi! You don’t need to kill and destroy everything, face me in one-on-one combat!”

 

Pinching the bridge of his broken nose, Tobias shook his head. This man was about to die if he wanted that. “How do I know your friends won’t try to intervene?”

 

“On my honor!” the mando called. 

 

Tobias cursed that he only had two eyeballs to roll at that remark. 

 

“Fine!” Tobias poked his head up, ready to duck back in case they did try to shoot him- or throw something- or sent flames his way. Nothing but the lead mando stepping forward, brandishing a double sided vibroblade.

 

Disconnecting the top section of his cane, the lightsaber came free and he held it in his left hand. Vos and the mando squared up, then started to run towards one another. Raising his left hand with an active saber, the mando helmet tilted up and Vos started to see his own reflection in the visor. Then, there was another beam of light, coming from Vos’s right hand. He had activated the other side of the double lightsaber mounted to his cane, and had angled just right to spear the mando while the mando was in the midst of his own attack. The tip of the saber dug into the base of the neck of the mandalorian, causing him to crumple almost decapitated. 

 

“If you had any honor, you would have not been a part of kidnapping and flaying my apprentice.” Tobias boldly stated, and then dropped both of the weapons from his hands as the other mandalorians rushed him. 

 

Energy poured through him and into his Force Scars. If he wanted, he could have started a starship's main reactor with the energy. Pulling the Force around him, the wind picked up to really set the scene. Retracting the helmet, he watched as they bore down on him. They only decided to slow down when they got close enough to see the energy streaming off him in tiny wisps, as if he was glowing. It was more than just a visual effect- his scars were burning away the combat layer he had on. His hands were now bare and the scars were painful to even look at; they were such a white light. The cuff fell away and the sleeves were just taters, like tassels. 

 

Reaching his right hand out flat, one of his assailants floated up, struggling against the unseen hand. Screaming with impudence, Vos silenced the man as he crushed his entire body by grabbing the armor plates and pushing them together as his hand clenched into a fist. The bloody pulp landed back on the ground. 

 

As far as the other three, Vos used the Force to push them back- but didn’t hold back any energy- one of the three flew backwards and hit a wall with an audible wet slap, and then slid down the wall. Another spun while in the air and was impaled against a gun turret. As soon as those two died, all his energy focused on the last one - and he PUSHED so hard that the mandalorian was lost to the clouds. 

 

With his sleeve tassels blowing in the air, Tobias stalked forward with intent. A gentle motion from his hand was all that was needed to bend the door out towards him. And there they were, Grula and Pim. 

 

Uncharacteristically, Grula had a blaster pistol. Hutts rarely dirtied their own hands. But the blaster was pointed squarely at Pim. Fear struck Grula’s heart and he reacted to this by pointing and shooting at Vos. Holding up his left hand, the bolt froze in midair. It was probably not healthy for the Hutt’s eyes to bulge even further in their sockets. 

 

In his coldest voice “All you had to do was accept my agent and abide by my rules, Grula, that's it. But you wanted this, you took it to this level. So now I had to reign you in, and you tortured her.” Fury built in his voice as he went on. “You tortured this poor girl, and now you must answer for that.” 

 

Grula trembled more and more, until Vos ripped the blaster from his hand and then he decided to beg for his life. He didn’t give into the emotions, Tobias kept them in check but still had to use them for fuel for his body. Part of him wanted to lash out and use his fists, but ultimately that would be pointless, Grula would just continue on his criminal behavior, trying to make the most money out of drugs, slavery, and violence. Vos could end it, but he couldn’t, not anymore. With wisps of energy still streaming off him, Tobias reached out to his apprentice- his hand outstretched to her. This seemed to bolster her, and he continued to give her strength. She stood a little straighter and managed to walk her way over to her master. The two embraced and that's when all the injured caught up with Vos, all the energy he was building - he just let go of it all. The Force scars dimmed, and it looked like Vos deflated a little bit. 

 

~~~

 

There he was, her master: Tobias. Pim had worried that he would let her be with her failure and there was no rescue. How wrong she had been. Half her body was flayed and sore so she barely had any energy left to stand at blaster point. The hutt had tried to pull out all the stops to kill or trick Tobias. Unfortunately for the hutt, he was a kath hound- searching for his apprentice. As soon as the blaster was ripped from Grula’s hands, she knew she was finally saved. Immediately she felt better as her master reached out to her through their connection in the Force. He poured his energy into her, jumpstarting the healing process. The pains dulled, and she just felt better overall. There seemed to be a trade off though. Tobias seemed to deflate. Ultimately he let her decide Grula’s fate and then she did what she knew she had to. Pim listened to this lesson like all her others and retained it well. As the pair left the bunker Grula had been hiding in, she left a datapad for the Taris officials to discover citing all the evidence they would need to put Grula away for good. At that moment though, she had to take care of her master who had increasingly got weaker and less coherent. 

 

“Pim, take me to this place.” he transmitted a waypoint for her to go to, just a fifteen minute flight away. An empty field on the outskirts of town. 

 

As she “borrowed” an airspeeder, she had to help Vos into the passenger compartment. He was silent on the flight, and on the way she did see first responders going to the bunker complex, which brought a slight sense of satisfaction. Quickly replaced by worry for her master though. 

 

Upon approach he started to mumble, and motion with his hands… she barely could make out the words. Since it was mostly automated, she connected a datapad to his combat suit for a medical readout. 

 

One lung was collapsed, liver was bleeding internally, along with dozens of microfractures in his hands and arms. Two vertebrae were shattered, Vos was in shock and barely holding on. Pim realized he was only being held together by the Force and his willpower. She cursed him for being so stubborn and foolheaded. Now that the Force was leaving his wounds were catching up to him. All the chemicals the combat suit pumped into him had also wrecked his cardiovascular system. Tears gathered in her eyes. She was so happy to see him, to be rescued, but then had to immediately come to the realization these were his last moments, even bacta wouldn’t have been able to save him. 

 

There was one other airspeeder that was there to greet him. Jedi Master Tut Maris and Tomin’tiquious. A flash of irritation, these two didn’t help in her rescue?! It was less about her, but more about why didn’t they help their friend?! Their ring leader?!

 

As she realized that she was now in the anger phase of the grief path, she would love to transition to bargaining and maybe that's why Tut and Tom were here, to heal his wounds. She landed in a hurry and jumped out, popping both hatched on the airspeeder. Running around the front of the vehicle she shouted at the green and blue jedi masters. “Help me save him!”

 

She started to pull the wounded man out of the seat only to feel Tut and Tom reach out with the Force to help him out. Carrying him with the Force, they brought him out and walked down the path in the grassy field they were next to. 

 

“Pim…” Tobias croaked. 

 

Tears streaming down her face next to the two stoic Jedi Masters. “Yes?! How can I save you?!”

 

Vos drew in a ragged breath, his eyes were closed but twitched his hand towards her. She held his hand. “Pim, you must accept…” Vos wheezed. “Accept this…” 

 

In a flash, Tobias had transmitted a picturesque view of this forest around a pond, surrounded by mountains. It was so beautiful. But there he was, a little girl in his arms. His clan’s tattoo on the child's face. The girl waved to him, Pim waved back from the forest's edge. The girl climbed down from Tobias’s arms and ran over to her, a good distance away and as she reached Pim, she clenched to her thigh in an almost familial hug. The little girl looked up into Pim’s eyes and Pim saw the girl’s big toothy grin. 

 

“Don’t be afraid, Pim, Daddy says it’s okay. He must return to Beyond the Veil. He said you won’t get it at first, but there's more training for you on Rhen Var, you just have to access his files. You should know the password.”

 

Then, just like that, she knew the girl's name- and the password. 

 

The little girl winked. “We have to go fishing now, I am hungry! And daddy stinks at catching fish! See you, Aunt Pim!” The girl gave Pim’s thigh another squeeze and she ran off, but stopping at a look from Tobias. The girl turned and simply said “May the Force be with you, Jedi Knight Pim Assairi.” and bowed. 

 

“May the Force be with you too, ‘Esie Denna. Look after your father for me.” Pim winked and turned back into the Forest- then came out of the vision. 

 

She could feel the tears on her cheeks, she wanted him to stay, but she knew that he needed to go. He would still be there, should she need it. So would Tut and Tom. 

 

They reached an old hut that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. 

 

“You have never felt The Veil, have you Jedi Pim?” Tom, in his eloquent Chiss way, rhetorically inquired. Pim shook her head and reached out- and gasped. This weird feeling in the Force, that was The Veil?

 

“Years ago, Vos helped Dahar enter the veil here, along with why Vos came back from the Veil to begin with. Vos stayed for Adenna, then he stayed to train you. Your Knighthood was one of his last tasks. He must leave now, the Veil can heal him whereas we cannot.” 

 

Pim nodded, and let go of Tobias’s hand. His wet ragged breathing slowed, and as the two Jedi Masters set him down at the threshold of the cabin- Tobias raised his hand and pressed it against the door. While he didn’t open his eyes, he did have a pleasant smile on his face and sighed. Slowly, his hand fell back to his side on the ground, and Pim knew her master was gone. Tut and Tom both put their hands on Pim’s shoulder in solidarity. Their friend, commander, and teacher had also left. Pim silently cried for a few more moments over Tobias’s chest and then sat upright, sniffled, and stood up. The two Jedi Masters had retreated a little bit to give her room, but when she turned her back, Tobias’s body and clothes were gone.

 

She gasped, but Tut poured reassurance to her through the Force. Pim nodded her head and that was that. 

 

Pim Asarri held her master's staff in her hand, somehow feeling his confidence and pride resonate from the staff, her bag held the datachip he had given her, and as she took a breath, she exhaled and started her first day as a Jedi Knight. And the first task she wanted to do… was get to a bacta tank. 

Edited by Tobias Vos
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