Live to fight another day

"You're walking a dangerous path." You stand your ground as the gung-ho padawan scowls. "You're going back."

"But- But-" She stammers, then screeches. "We were so close to finishing our training!"

The Zabrak padawan stands up and steps over to lay a hand on her shoulder. She looks to him and he shakes his head. "No, we weren't."

Without anything left to say, they wait silently while you activate the beacon to call an evac shuttle. Minutes later, one arrives and picks them up. They ask if you need a ride, but you refuse.

You still have a mission, a duty. The Flesh Raiders have been pushed back this far, perhaps you should contact Knight Weller?

As if on cue, your holocom rings and you answer the call. The Jedi knight himself appears, both his hands gripping a wounded leg while he looks you over.

"You're unharmed." He sighs in relief. "Good. Flesh Raider shot me in the leg while I was rescuing some padawan."

He explains that most of the padawan are accounted for, and that he himself has evacuated to a med-center. However, the fight is far from over. More Flesh Raiders are pouring into the valley, but luckily, a padawan's discovered the cave they've been using to do so.

He wants you to go there, to stem the tide. You wonder why, but the answer is clear. You've held your own against the tide, and now you are the only one left to keep going.

You head off at once, fighting your way across the training grounds until you reach a cave at the foot of a cliff bordering the valley.

Flesh Raiders patrol the entrance, but you lay them low quickly. You meet some resistance further in, but they are dealt with easily. All that's left is the tunnel itself, a carved passage in the back of the cave.

You expected some guards. Maybe a big Flesh Raider to hold the position.

What you hadn't expected was the Human man beating a Bith padawan. He strikes the weapon from his hand and kicks him over. A pair of Flesh Raiders, marked with tribal tattoos, cheer him on as he stomps on the Bith's chest, then uses the **** to push him into a pile of crates.

You rush over as he monologues, speaking about weakness and evolution.

"Leave him alone!" You raise your weapon as the Flesh Raiders snarl and the man eyes you.

His gaze lingers on your womanly figure before lifting to your face. You glare at him, he hums in return. "You are... dangerous." He smiles and holds a finger to you. "You killed my men."

You arch an eyebrow, then glance at the Bith. He coughs and holds his chest as he struggles to stand. "Be... careful...." He hacks and stumbles over to you. "This man looks like a Jedi, but something is wrong with him." He gestures at the guards. "He commands the Flesh Raiders."

You nod, then return your focus to the unknown assailant. "Lay down your weapon. I don't want to hurt you."

His eyes narrow, and in an instant he ignites a lightsaber. "The old order is dead! Long live the new order!"

He jumps at you first, but you hold your ground. His lightsaber clashes with your practice saber and you enter a power struggle.

His guards raise blasters and you barely have time to jump back as they open fire. Red bolts fly past you as you somersault over him and land gracefully into a spin. Your blade catches a Flesh Raider's side and it bellows in agony as it keels over.

The other beast roars and charges at you, but you wait until the last second to jump back and strike its back. It falls over dead, collapsing into a heap alongside the other one.

With both of them down, you are left with the fallen Jedi. He sneers as you harden your expression, taking a stance as he grips his lightsaber.

"Die!"

He leaps at you, fully prepared to bring down his weapon on your head. You move backwards, though, and intercept his attack with your weapon. Both blades clash in a shower of sparks before they swing about and clash again, and again, and again.

You engage in a flurry of blows, matching his ferocity with your calm demeanor. In the end, however, his rage and fury are not enough.

Maybe its pride, or maybe he's lost himself to the heat of battle, but whatever the case, he makes the fatal error of locking weapons with you again. As your practice sabers crackles against his lightsaber, he presses his weight against you, trying to back you up.

In response, you step back farther than he anticipated, leaving him to stumble and meet the swing of your blade. In the blink of an eye, it's over.

"That was amazing!" The Bith padawan stumbles over. "I thought we were dead!"

You shrug and blush, then move to retrieve the fallen Jedi's lightsaber. It's then that a newcomer arrives, an older man dressed in Jedi robes and carrying himself with the discipline of a warrior.

"You two alright?" His hand is by his lightsaber, ready to wield it. "What happened?"

You exchange looks with the Bith and he turns to the man, addressing him as Master Orgus. He explains everything, from the fallen Jedi to the Flesh Raiders he commanded.

When you give him the lightsaber, though, he freezes up. He eyes it with familiarity, but also with confusion. "There's something familiar about it. Strange." He clips it to his belt, then turns to the tunnel entrance. "Alright, you two. Step back."

You obey and help your fellow padawan get to a safe distance as Master Orgus lifts a single hand. His eyes close as he breathes in, then out.

You feel the **** ripple, then surge. You can feel his will in the tides that crash against the tunnel, that morph around the passage's structure and squeeze.

Within moments, it collapses, becoming sealed.

You gape in awe as he smacks his hands, cleaning them of dust. "That should do for now."

"I want to learn how to do that...."

He gives you an amused look. "Spend a few decades practicing, and you'll pick it up in no time."

The Bith padawan pipes up then, asking if its safe to travel through the training grounds again. Master Orgus claims there are still raiding parties roaming about, but he'll be able to escort him to the nearest med-center.

You, though. He wants you to report to the Jedi Council.