A Jedi's Weapon

[Xanus Paragon]

Title: A Jedi’s Weapon
Author: Vesper2112
Rating: PG?
Characters: Reora Feyla
Timeframe: AOTC
Category: vignette (is it? What would this be?)
Summary: A Jedi tries to explain why they use a lightsaber, and is dared to do otherwise.
Disclaimer: Um… I’m not getting any money from this. GL owns the playground, I just play in it.
Author Notes: This story stems from a dream I have of beating the crap out of a bad guy with a plastic lightsaber. Someday…<br>

A Jedi's Weapon


“Take that! …and…THAT!” The lightsaber’s pale blue blade shot to and fro with unbridled passion. Battle droid parts lay in heaps around the young Jedi as he took another swing.

“You are no match for a Jedi!” He jumped high into the air. The battle droids took aim and fired upon the seemingly unprotected human. The bolts deftly ricocheted back toward the droids without a single shot getting through his defense. The Jedi landed several meters away to where the remaining battle droids were not surrounding him anymore.

“Fire”, the one in the yellow droned. Shots from eleven blasters headed toward the Jedi. He leaped again as the blaster fire exploded into the rocky formation behind him. Twisting and twirling, the Jedi came down hard and impaled the droid before it could get a trace on the human’s trajectory. With a sweeping motion, his lightsaber cleared away the four closest to him. He ran toward the commanding battle droid as he deflected shots away. Three more went down as their own weapons suddenly became the cause for their destruction.

“I’ve…had... about … enough of this!” The Jedi increased his speed. With a blinding flash, he ran past several droids as he held his saber out, cutting them in half. Before the pieces hit the ground, he was upon the commander.

“Retreat, retreat”, was all the droid was able to say before it’s head broke away from it’s body. The mechanics kept running for several seconds as it walked in a circle not knowing what to do. Then it simply stopped and fell backwards with a satisfying crash.

“You should know to never mess with a Jedi.”

“Oh yes. They never had a chance”. Reora Feyla clapped her hands as she approached the now silent battleground.

“I’m going to do that for real someday,” said the exhausted boy as he sat down. The stick he was using as his weapon lay next to him. The dust was doing it’s best to settle from the mock battle that took place. There was a slight breeze that helped cool off the young boy as he sat back trying to catch his breath.

Reora walked over to the boy and sat next to him. “You’ve been practicing, I see.” She smiled as she looked at the boy. “You know, Eric… If you keep this up, I’ll be out of a job.” The boy smiled. She met him after she touched down on the Outer Rim planet Agamar. Almost immediately, she was attacked. As soon as she walked off the landing platform, she was met by some local thugs. Nothing serious as she dispatched the threat with relative ease, but it did make an impression on Eric who happened to also be arriving from off world. Despite the scene that just took place, Eric ran up to her in awe. His mother soon caught up to him and apologized for his “lack of sense”. Reora escorted them off the platform and accepted their request to go to their home. After reporting in, she would head back into town to look into the reports of the Separatist movement on this planet. Having just been attacked, she figured the reports may have something to them.

During the short trip beyond the main city, Eric’s mother explained how they were returning from a funeral. Eric’s father was an agriculturist on Dantooine. During a routine transfer, his ship was hijacked and he was taken hostage. It was later found out that the Trade Federation was involved as the remains of several battle droids were found in the wreckage. It seems that the transfer ship no sooner left orbit when it was seized. The logs that made it through the crash confirm that they lost control to an unidentified ship. The transfer ship was commandeered and was attempting to land back on Dantooine when the ship exploded. No one knows for sure what happened. Several weeks passed before news of the event leaked back to Agamar and Eric’s mother. After it was determined relatively safe to travel, they were able to go and pay their final respects.

Reora looked up towards the sky and she let the breeze wash over her. Eric’s a good kid, she thought. She couldn’t … wouldn’t dash his hopes by telling him he couldn’t possibly become a Jedi. Right now, he needs to have an outlet for his emotion. It’s been a long time, but she remembers what it’s like to lose your temper, your control. Although it felt good, she knew that a Jedi cannot afford to have those types of feelings. For Eric, however, it was probably the best thing for him.

[Xanus Paragon]

“Do they have a school for Jedi?” asked Eric.

“Well, yes… sort of”, said Reora as she tried to think of how she should proceed. “A potential Jedi is chosen when they are very young. So young, in fact, that there’s barely any remembrance of their parents. That’s how I came to be with the Jedi.”

Eric didn’t seem to take in the subtle hint that he was too old to become a Jedi. Instead he stood up and started to dust himself off. “How much do these cost?” as he picked up his stick he was using as his lightsaber.

“Oh, I imagine those particular models are fairly cheap”, she laughed as she took the stick from him. She gave the stick a small twirl. It made a swishing noise as it cut through the air. She remembered getting her lightsaber from her Master. It was a proud moment as it was in every Padawan’s life. She also looked fondly back at when she handed her own construction to her Master for inspection. She watched as her Master slowly ran her fingers over the black and silver ridges as she turned the saber over and checked the balance. With a snap-hiss, the blue-hued blade was dancing in the dim light. When her saber was returned to her, she felt a pride that she was mentally scolded about, but she did catch a slight smile from the elder Jedi. Yes, that was a day she will never forget. A day that, sadly, Eric will not have.

“You know what I mean”, Eric said with a tinge of frustration in his voice. “Are they really expensive?”<br>
“They aren’t meant to be bought or sold, Eric”, she replied. “A lightsaber is a Jedi’s weapon. It must become part of one’s self. All Jedi’s must build their own when they reach the proper age”, she hurried on before Eric could bring up his age, “and once they have the proper training”.

Eric eyed Reora as a mischievous smile crept across his face. “So what you’re saying”, he said slowly… deliberately, “is that a Jedi can’t really fight without one”.

“No, that’s not true at all”, she retorted. “A lightsaber is just the preferred choice of a Jedi. It’s a traditional weapon”.

“So prove it”, Eric replied. “Go put it away and I’ll show you a thing or two”. Eric picked up another stick and started waving it in Reora’s direction. She gave him a smirk. Eric swung his stick around to make the swishing noise. She smiled as she turned to go back toward the house. After a few moments, she returned. Eric saw that her lightsaber was no longer hanging from her belt. She stepped up to within a few meters of Eric and, with feet together, gave a slight bow. Eric did the same.

“All right”, Reora said as she moved her right leg back and moved her hand carrying the stick toward the center of her body. “Are you ready?”<br>
Eric charged. She watched him cross the short distance without moving. She realized that he had no real intention of trying to hit her, so instead of going after his weapon, she turned and let Eric’s momentum carry him past her. When he turned, Reora met his stick with her own weapon. They both smiled. He pulled back and swung at her. Reora parried the attack as the sticks cracked against each other. She then jumped back to give Eric some room to decide what to do next. He lunged at her, totally exposing himself as all his weight went into his right leg. She twisted around him and gave him a slight backhanded swat on his backside as he fell forward. Catching himself, he turned to face her again. Reora felt the sudden change in his expression probably before Eric even knew what he was looking at.

[Xanus Paragon]

“Eric, get down!” she yelled as she leaped to the side. The blaster bolt meant for her shot through the space she just occupied and went harmlessly over Eric’s head. Reora rolled and stopped as she kneeled ready to leap again. A trio of Rodians and a pair of Weequay’s stood facing her. All had blasters and all, as she gave herself a self reprimanding, must have followed them. One of the Weequay’s uttered something to which the others nodded and took aim. She waited until they fired before she made her move. Before the attackers could tell if they hit their mark, she was off to their side trying to divert their attention so that Eric could get away. She ran towards them as they turned to fire again. Unable to block the bolts, she moved in and out of their shots until she reached the closest assailant. Using the stick that she was sparring with, she smacked the Rodian’s temple hard. Hard enough to make him bring his hands up to protect further blows. With a fluid motion, she rolled around him and struck him again in the back making him fall to his knees in pain. Without a second glance, she spun and brought her leg up to kick another Rodian’s face as he tried to close in. Trying not to stay in one place too long, she ran towards a Weequay that was taking aim. She slid underneath his shot and came up hard into his chest as he was lifted briefly off the ground. She quickly grabbed the blaster and tossed it off to the side before he could regain his breath. He tried to take a swing at her but she used his momentum to push his arm off to the side as the base of her palm connected with the Weequay’s nose. He dropped to the ground and she knew that he was no longer a concern. She shot her head back as another bolt shot by her. She focused and stretched her hand out. The Rodian went flying backwards until he hit the house with a thud before he fell to the ground.

She looked over to the Weequay who apparently was the leader of this group. The many strands of braids hanging off his head collided with each other in the soft breeze. He held a short vibro axe in one hand and what looked like a small metal club in the other. As their eyes locked, she could hear the moans of the others around her and knew that this battle was about over. Although the others were easily taken care of, Reora wasn’t about to underestimate this last one. She took a few steps toward him. He didn’t move other than to pull his arm holding the axe back a little. She held her own weapon off to the side letting the stick scrape across the ground as she approached. Undistracted, he bent his knees preparing for the imminent clash.

“Why have you come here?” she asked as she stopped short of striking range. “I have done nothing to you”.

The Weequay’s eyes narrowed but did not speak. She reached out with the Force but was snapped back to the task at hand when he suddenly lunged forward and swung the axe. She jumped back out of the way and was able to slap his head with the stick with a loud snap. Brushing it off, he jabbed at her with the club but she once again moved away and struck her enemy again. The Weequay crouched low and spun trying to take her legs out with the axe. As Reora jumped high over the attack, she smacked her weapon down on the top of his head as the stick finally gave way with a loud crack. He buckled a little but was able to take another jab at the Jedi. She grabbed the club hoping to use it against him, but she was instead met with intense pain. As if attached to the club, she fell to her knees still holding on as blue sparks darted around her hand. Finally her hand slid free as she collapsed onto the hard ground. As she lay helpless, she let out a soft cry as the Weequay kicked her in the stomach. He shoved the stun baton at her once again and made her convulse in agony. She tried to focus on the Force to help her, but her mind was clouded as all she could do was try to stay conscious.

She gathered her strength and was able to speak. “Why are you here? I have done nothing to you”. She hoped that he would take the bait while she tried to regain some feeling in her arms.

He continued walking around her with his eyes focused on the Jedi below. “You do not belong here”. He shot another kick at her. “You should not have come”.

Coughing the words out, Reora said, “I was sent here to look into matters that do not concern you”.

The Weequay made a sound that could be interpreted as a laugh. “It does not matter to me what you are doing here. If my master wishes you eliminated, then that is all that matters to me”. He stopped as he continued looking down at her. He threw the axe off to the side as he drew out a long dagger. Reora watched as he kneeled down until she could smell something foul upon his breath. His twisted leathery face contorted. His eyes opened and shut as if deciding what they should do. He then fell, revealing Eric standing behind him having struck the Weequay in the head with Reora’s lightsaber hilt. He stood there as sweat rolled down his face. She could tell that his heart was beating fast and hard. As his breathing started to slow, he regained his composure and helped Reora to her feet.

“Are you ok?”<br>
With some of her weight on Eric, she managed a slight smile. “Well… It seems you can use a lightsaber after all”.

Trying hard not to let it show how much he was struggling, he reached out and opened the door to his house. “Yeah, I guess...” They started to walk inside. “But that lightning stick is also pretty neat”. Reora couldn’t help but laugh. Eric would be all right.