STAR WARS JEDI: THE DARK TIMES

Chapter 14. The Tuskens

3 Hours Later...

   Clodd wakes up to being pulled from his tent by what appears to be a Tusken Raider; one of the Sand People. Caught completely off-guard, the young jedi looks to the side and sees another Tusken Raider who is currently in a standoff with R3. Forced to act quickly, Clodd reaches for his blaster which isn't far off, but it's still three feet away from his grip.

   Struggling to push the first Raider off of him, Clodd uses the force to pull the blaster into his hand, and then he stuns the Raider at point-blank range. After dealing with the first Raider, Clodd looks over at the second and notices that Obi-wan has snuck up behind him and is taking him down with a chokehold. He succeeds. With both of the Raiders out cold, Clodd pushes the first Raider away and stands up again. "Are you alright?" Kenobi asks.

   "Yea, I-I'm fine," says Clodd rubbing the back of his neck.

   Storming out of his tent, Master Cann runs toward his nephew exclaiming "What the hell happened out here?! Clodd are you alright?"

   "He's fine," says Kenobi. "The Tuskens just invaded our camp, but only two of them. We handled it."

   "Are you certain there aren't more around here?" Cann asks.

   "Within reason. Yes."

   Master Cann nods. "Good. We should look around; scout the perimeter. Hopely we can find their camp; prevent them from attacking us again."

   Clodd crosses his arms. "Sounds like a plan to me," he says.

   After a short pause, Kenobi says "Fair enough. Though I don't recommend killing them. Revenge is not the Jedi Way, and it would only anger the Raiders further."

   "Right. I get it." says Clodd. "We sneak through their camp and take them alive."

   "Yes. Use your bare hands if necessary. Set your blasters to stun as well." Kenobi then looks over at R3. "R3, you're with us. We'll need your help later on and I don't want you getting scrapped while we're out there." R3 beeps in agreement.

----------------------------------------------------------

Not long after...

   Clodd and the others are at a safe vantage point near the raider camp. The boy is using binoculars to scope out the area from this spot. "It might be a good idea to split up here," says Kenobi. "We'll cover more ground; move faster...and so long as you and R3 watch each other's backs-."

   Clodd interjects while putting the binoculars away. "Yea. Yea, I know the drill."

   "Good. You ready to head over there?"

   The boy nods. "Yea, I'm ready." He then looks over at R3. "Stay close, buddy." The droid beeps in acknowledgement. As the three jedi and the droid head into the raider camp, they split up into two groups. Clodd and R3 move in from the right; Kenobi and Cann move in from the left. R3 watches Clodd's back at every turn and vice versa. Kenobi and Cann do the same thing from their side.

   In the end, the group manages to swiftly take down and stun all Tusken Raiders within the camp without a problem. All that is except for one. Out in the open, the last raider has his gun trained on the three jedi and the droid. Outnumbered and flanked, however, the raider hesitates before laying down his weapon in surrender.

----------------------------------------------------------

On the way back to the Jedi campsite...

   As he and the others walk, Clodd is genuinely surprised with how things went. "I can't believe it was that easy, Master Kenobi." he says.

   "Almost too easy in fact," says an unsettled Cann.

   "This was hardly the first battle I've been in," Master Kenobi points out. "It certainly won't be the last...not by a longshot." Obi looks over at Clodd. "Although I must admit, Clodd here has proven to be much more effective in close quarters than I dared hope."

   "You are truly surprised by this, Obi-wan?" Cann questions. "This was not the first time you've seen his skills in combat."

   "Well...Yes, but...fighting in close quarters with a blaster is quite different from an open battle with a saber," says Kenobi.

   Master Cann shakes his head. "How many times have we been over this? I informed you of my nephew's skills time and again, yet the council still denied him a field assignment. Do you remember?"

   Kenobi takes a breath. "Yes, I do. And I also remember him refusing the field command we offered to give him. That was his decision. Not my own. Not the council's."

   Suddenly, Clodd intercedes while shaking his head. "I don't regret a thing, Masters." They all stop walking. "When you really think about it, that decision was what led me to this very moment. If I had accepted the offer, I'd probably be dead just like the others. My uncle as well. For all we know, some other Jedi could've taken over the investigation...and then Anakin would've still had to replace them. Honestly...what difference would it make?"

   "Are you suggesting that the force guided your decision?" Kenobi questions.

   Clodd shrugs. "Well, more or less," he replies.

   Cann and Kenobi look at eachother, and Obi replies "Interesting theory." They all continue walking.

----------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile in the Bracca System...

   Bakkou's vessel can be seen in space as it approaches the Scrapyard Planet of Bracca. In another moment, Defector Bakkou presses some buttons on the dashboard in front of him and Lord Vader appears as a holo. "Greetings, my apprentice," says Lord Vader.

   Bakkou replies "I have reached the Bracca System, my lord."

   "Excellent. Now, for your next objective...I need you to find and eliminate two jedi for me...or otherwise confirm that they've already been eliminated."

   "I'm yours to command. Can you give me their names?"

   "Of course. The first is Jedi Master Jaro Tapal...."

   "Alright."

   "The second...is Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis. They were last seen heading towards the Surface of Bracca. Remember your objective is to either eliminate them or to confirm their deaths."

   Bakkou nods. "Yes, Master."