THE BLOODSTONE
OF DRAAGEN RAZ
A bitter
silence fell over the warehouse as the teens belted their inactive
lightsabers. The bodies of Mujhar Din
and his disciple lay where they fell; cold and still like the exiled students’
hopes to find help on this aquatic world.
They had come so far in so short a time, forced to grow so much so
quickly. They had been mere students, gifted beginners, when their academy at
Drogha had been attacked by Sith guards and droids helped by a renegade
classmate. Fighting their way out, they
fled, seeking a Jedi to aid them.
Instead they found a hostile forest, a dead hope, and bounty hunters
collecting Jedi heads for the new Sith Emperor. But that was not the worst enemy they discovered there. That was
the anger and frustration of Gal Fador, festering from the first betrayal at
Drogha and then exploding so that he lost himself in the Dark Side, almost
causing the death of his friends. It
was a near thing, but the bond the students had with each other prevailed.
Clinging to
the spark of light left in Gal, they pulled him back and restored him. Once more they fled, hiding on the resort
planetoid of Redmoon. There a doomed
and bitter Padawan gave them warning and a name of hope, then fell. The name
was Mujhar Din. Redmoon was no longer
safe as the students dodged guards, soldiers, and a plot to frame them for
murder. Escaping once more they traveled to the world of Calimaxes and sought
out this Jedi who had a lifeline to those who survived, who could get them to
those who would shelter them and continue their training. They found Mujhar Din after evading an
ambush of the new Imperial forces. During a dismal night they found his bolt
hole, the first station in a trans-galactic underground railroad leading to safety. They rested, finally, feeling guarded
relief.
They were
promised a trip out within days. They even broke into a prison and rescued a
Jedi and her padawan. Soon they would
be safe.
Disaster.
Betrayal.
Mujhar Din was
not what he seemed, but rather an agent for the new Empire, seeking those like
the students for the Emperor to turn or destroy. In the dead of night the newly rescued Jedi died, and the false
Jedi battled the students in the dusty warehouse. When it was over, beyond all hope, the youths all survived and
the betrayer was destroyed. Still the
victory was bitter. This was the end of
the road; who now could help them or offer them safety? In silence they looked at each other,
uncertainty behind their eyes. The enormity of an unfriendly galaxy closed in
on them.
Suddenly,
Ozymysc started, violet eyes wide.
“The Force!”
he exclaimed, “I just felt something!”
TO BE
CONTINUED (part II)
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