Form I: Back to the Basics.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei sat at a bar of one of the major spaceports in Glee Anselm, surrounded by Nautolans and a sundry other races taking a break from doing trade on the aquatic planet. A few Anselmi sat in the corners, but if Wei remembered right they were slowly dying out due to in-fighting.

Whatever.

Wei tapped the bar twice with his finger and once with his head as he suddenly tipped forward and knocked his brow against the surface that held several empty tumblers.

"Hey. I need one more."

It was his fifth one more, in fact, but it would continue to be "just one more" until he couldn't feel it anymore. Wei couldn't even smile as the Nautolan brought him the drink--cheap, potent, burned all the way down.

Don't tell me you're drinking because of the Purge.

Wei jerked his head around, which was a bad idea, because the room continued to move even after his head stopped.

It happened a long time ago, right? And you had only been a Knight, what? Three days? Most Knights and Masters that had been around longer than you were decisively overwhelmed. It's done. Let it go.

The former Jedi Knight sighed and burped, tasting the liquor.

"It's not that."

What then?

Wei paid his tab and stumbled outside to the edge of the water. It seemed a man couldn't walk fifteen meters without finding water. He sat with a sudden thud on the marshy ground.

"You never had to hide." Wei's body wobbled as he tried to stay sitting up straight. "I hid. I had a family."

Wei shut his eyes and he could see them. He stepped through the door after work, and there they lay: his father's face replaced with a blaster burn and his very pregnant wife shot through the gut with a look of abject pain and terror on her face.

And now they have joined the Force. Why be so sad?

At last the voice's owner shimmered into view. The ghost of a Nautolan stood looking down at Wei with a wide smile on his face.

"Master Kit Fisto."

You remember. Come on, I need you to swim out that way for about a click.

Wei looked up at the ghost of the Jedi Master. "Swim?"

Master Fisto shrugged. "Run it if you want. You're still handy at Force Boosting, right?"

"I can't even stand up. How you speck I'm gonna run?"

Focus. You'll manage. The Force can guide anyone to anywhere.

Wei stood, but nearly fell over again as his head spun from the sudden movement. "Focus?"

Clear your mind, like you did as a Padawan. Remember?

Wei did remember. There he was all of a sudden in the training room with a blindfold over his eyes holding his first lightsaber. His crooked glasses sat in the corner in the lap of his stuffed Rancor, Ron'ald. Without the ability to see, all he could do was listen to the sound of the lightsaber.

Wei was sure he was still drunk, but nevertheless he took one step towards the water. Then another. He picked up his feet and found himself moving with the current of the Force, moving quickly out over the water. Though he did tend to weave back and forth, he was inevitably headed towards a small island.

He reached the shore and heaved up most of what he had consumed.

Rinse and then you and I have a lot to talk about.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei did rinse. The Nautolan water tasted--well, Wei couldn't figure out what it tasted like. It just didn't taste good. It certainly removed the taste of vomit from his mouth at any rate.

"Ok, what all do we need to discuss?"

One thing that Wei had always noticed about Jedi Master Kit Fisto was that the man never seemed to stop smiling. Wei had heard that even after Order 66 issued from the Emperor, Kit Fisto died with that great big grin on his face.

It annoyed some of the other Jedi to no end. It was kind of annoying Wei now.

We need to talk about you, your family, and the future of the Jedi Order.

Wei groaned. "Why?"

Because you need to join your fellow Jedi. Pure and simple. You also need to start taking better care of yourself.

Wei shrugged. "I don't even know if I qualify as a Jedi anymore."

What Master Fisto did next surprised Wei. He smiled bigger.

So, let's see if you do. Come on, get your lightsaber. I know you still carry it. We'll start at the basics and see what you remember. We'll get the rust off. If it can't happen, I'll eat my boots.

"You don't have boots. You're a ghost."

Then I guess it says something about our chances of getting you back into shape, doesn't it?

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shook his head, making his long hair swish back and forth, kind of like the world was doing even as he ended the motion and took a staggering step to keep himself on his feet.

"Ok, ok. I don't know how much good it will do."

The former Jedi reached into the sleeve of his shirt and slipped the silver cylinder from where it was strapped to his forearm. He found the end with the projecting lens and faced it away from him.

Then with a shaking sweaty hand--from nerves or the booze, he wasn't sure which--pressed the small button on the side and heard the usual snap-hiss sound as the sea-green blade ignited.

I always did approve of the color crystal you used when you built it. Plo Koon didn't understand why you didn't go with an orange blade, but I still say there's nothing more calming and placid than a gentle sea.

Wei burped. "You know, I don't think I was really trying to attach any significance to the color of my lightsaber. I think I just picked the first crystal I saw."

So like you. At least, how you used to be. Kit Fisto's face suddenly turned still and serious. All right, Form I! Shii-Cho, the Way of the Sarlaac. The Determination Form! The most basic of all Lightsaber Combat Styles, as it was the first. It's strength lies in its simplicity and is advantageous against multiple foes. It's weakness is in single combat, though in the hands of a master, this is nothing to fear.

Wei nodded. He could almost see himself standing two feet tall with the little practice saber in his eager, clumsy fist.

Basic stance! Master Fisto barked.

The order pierced the recesses of Wu Wei's mind and suddenly he found himself in the opening position for Form I combat: feet apart, dominant side closer to the opponent, body at an angle to present a small profile. Lightsaber held in both hands with the tip of the blade pointed at the imagined opponent's nose.

Not bad, not bad. Bend your knees more and make sure your weight is distributed evenly. This will help you balance.

"Hard to do. I'm still drunk," Wei muttered.

Then maybe you ought to learn to keep sober!

Wei set his jaw and tried to focus. His vision was still swimmy and blurry. He shut his eyes. He could hear Obi-Wan Kenobi giving a talk to the other Padawans gathered about and sitting at his feet.

"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. Release your mind to the Force and you will always be guided right."

Wei took a deep breath and tried to let go. The drinking hadn't helped: it never really did. He could still see their faces. He could still hear the screams. He could feel the bitter, deep sting of dreams and hopes shattered and burned along with his family in the ruined house in which he found them. He couldn't let go.

He grit his teeth and shut his eyes tighter, his grip increased on the handle of the lightsaber, making the weapon tremble as his arms tensed.

hmm mm hmmm

The blade sang a jittery tune as it shook in his grasp. The noise cut through the drunk's thoughts as easily as it could cut through durasteel. Wei latched onto it.

The hum increased in his ears as it scattered every stray thought into the very furthest reaches of his mind. His grip relaxed. Breathing became easier, steadier. Muscles remembered their part in the deadly dance and settled into place, sinking his weight perfectly into stance.

Breath entered through his nose and escape with a sigh out of his mouth.

Jedi Master Kit Fisto smiled again. That's good, Wei Wu Wei. A solid foundation.

[Wei Wu Wei]

A solid foundation.

Now that we have found a solid foundation for our bodies in the grounding of our stance, it is time to find solid foundation in our minds through meditation. First Velocity! Recite the Jedi Code with each movement!

Form I drills, or Velocities, put together the different offensive and defensive techniques to teach a Padawan how the different moves flowed together. The drills offered a chance at muscle memorization and demonstrate how techniques worked in conjunction with one another.

The First Velocity was largely defensive, meant to teach a Youngling how to protect the five target zones of his or her body.

Wei made the first motion. He lowered himself and slowly moved the blade of his lightsaber through the air, imagining thwarting an offending weapon trying to cut off his weapon-wielding hand.

"There is no emotion, there is peace."

The second motion telegraphed a simple block to the outside of his forward leg.

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."

The third move kept his other leg safe from harm.

"There is no passion, there is serenity."

A fourth move protected his off-hand.

"There is no chaos, there is harmony."

The fifth motion swept his saber over his head, clearing an imaginary blade from his throat.

"There is no death, there is the Force."

The blade returned to the original position, having come full circle.

Again.

Wei repeated the First Velocity over and over again, chanting the Jedi Code with each motion until all that filled his head were those five lines and the continual, cleansing hum of the blade he wielded.

Then they moved to the Second Velocity, which was more concerned with offense. Wei practiced until his muscles were sore, but by the time Master Fisto allowed him to rest, his mind was free and clear of all distracting thoughts.

Rest for now, and we will practice the advanced Velocities later.

Wei fell down, his head throbbing at the sudden motion of falling straight on his back. He switched off the saber and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei dreamed.

Walking home from work, datapad in hand, he hummed a silent tune to himself as he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"I wonder what's for dinner? We still need to have a name for our son."

He thought of his wife waiting at home for him. She would greet him at the door as she always did with a soft smile, shimmering brown eyes and beautiful black hair braided in whatever intricate pattern suited her that day.

She would stand on her tiptoes and wrap her arms around his neck, breathe in the scent of the different woods from the shop where the family company built furniture, and hold him closely to her so he could feel the baby kicking before letting him go.

His home was in sight. It was a simple affair. It was small, but had enough room to suit their needs. It was new, clean, and perfect for their starting family. Wei started down the walkway to the front door and reached for the card key to let himself in, when he noticed the door wasn't shut.

"Odd. Sweetheart, are you here?"

Wei took a tentative step into the house. His heart raced so quickly he could hear the blood pumping in his ears. He wished desperately for his lightsaber, but it was buried out back under his wife's favorite flower bush.

"Honey? If you're here, please answer. The door was left open and--"

There she was, lying on the floor in the kitchen, which had been completely trashed. Her beautiful face looked ghostly pale, especially framed by her raven colored hair. The scent of burned cloth and charred flesh assaulted Wei's sense of smell even before he noticed the gigantic hole in his wife's stomach. There was no evidence a child was preparing to be born inside her womb.

The former Jedi tossed the datapad aside and knelt down next to her, cradling her head and closing her eyes, which still bore the expression of pure pain and terror in them.

"Why? Who did this? Were they after something?"

Wei sat cross-legged on the kitchen floor and pulled his wife's body into his lap and cradled her in his arms. "No no no no..."

He pulled his glasses from his face and pitched them across the room with Force-assisted strength, where they shattered on the wall. He buried his face in her cold flesh and squeezed her in the tightest hug he could give.

Wei shook with sobs. The minutes stretched into time immeasurable as he sat there, rocking back and forth and wishing with all his might he had been home. He wished he could bring her to life again, but one tear-blurred glance at her wound brought the reality painfully to the forefront of his mind.

At last there was a knock in the doorway.

"Is anyone here at the Wu Wei residence?"

Wei looked up suddenly and saw his neighbor. A fat, elderly human that was particularly kind stood in the doorway ashen faced.

"Wei? Son, are you home?"

"Here."

The old man entered, saw the former Jedi sitting in the floor holding his wife, turned white, then green, and put a shaking hand over his mouth.

"I am so sorry, son."

"Why?"

"I-I--May I sit down?"

Wei motioned to the only chair not turned over or smashed, and the neighbor settled himself down upon it.

"Your father was here visiting your wife earlier today. I said hello tot hem while I was tending my garden. Then as I was just finishing up, a whole detachment of stormtroopers came along with an officer and knocked on the door. They were let in, and ere too long I could hear shouts of panic from your wife and anger from your father. Nary two minutes of this went on when I heard blaster rifles going off, a distinct sound of a frantic, violent search, and then before I knew what was happening I saw them all march out of the house in perfect single file, board their transport, and leave. I am sorry, son."

Wei set his wife down. "So where's my father?"

Wei got up and started to look around. Wei found his body in the pantry with a canister of tea leaves in his hand. Even in the face of a belligerent force, his father had insisted on hospitality and manners. Wei smiled weakly. Then he turned the body over.

None of his father's features were recognizable. The well trimmed moustache, the mouth and nose below and above it, the eyes with the little wrinkles around them from too much smiling were all gone.

"What were they here for?"

The old neighbor shrugged. "I didn't hear the conversation. All the same, you better check the house over."

Wei did, but even two hours later he could find nothing missing or out of place. Everything was just torn apart, knocked over, or left in a general state of disarray.

"Why? Why did they do this?"

The old man shrugged. "I am sorry son. I'm going to let you have some time to sort yourself out. I just wanted to check on you and let you know what happened."

When the old man was home at last, Wei walked purposefully straight into the back yard to his wife's favorite flower bush. He plunged his hand through the leaves and branches, grasped it close to the base, and pulled it up with a mighty Force-infused tug. In the hole, surrounded by broken roots, was a small durasteel box with a lock on it. Wei knew there was no key. The only way to open it without specialist tools was to use the Force.

Telekinesis was never his strong suit, but even so it was nothing to wave a hand over the box and watch the lock snap open. The Former Jedi took the lid off and plucked the lightsaber from within it.

He turned it over in his hands and pressed the button. Nothing happened.

"Found you at last! Wretched , cowardly Jedi!"

He whipped around in time to see the officer and stormtroopers pointing weapons at him. He tried the lightsaber again. Nothing.

"You ran during the Purge, and thanks to your selfishness, two more have died. This is the legacy of the last of the Jedi, then. Cowardice and selfishness. You pathetic excuse of a man. Don't worry, we'll make your death quick. I'm sure the pain of guilt and disgrace is a good enough torture for you."

Wei could hear the voices of the Younglings, his wife, his father screaming in pain and fear.

Why didn't you stand and fight?

Why didn't you come home sooner?

How could you leave your own father to die?

You never told me you were once a Jedi! But I guess you really weren't one. I loved you, Wei Wu Wei!

Fingers tightened on blaster triggers. There was a flash of light, and Wei woke up with tears running down his face, a howl on his lips, and a hangover relentlessly sending his head into a throbbing, pounding headache.

"I didn't mean to! I didnt..." He grasped his head with shaking hands and tried to steady himself. "I need a drink."

No, you don't.

Master Fisto's ghost flickered into Wei's sight as the sun started to peek over the horizon. What you need, is more training.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Indeed, Wei got all the training he could handle. The hours progressed into days, and days into weeks. The waves washed up food for Wei to eat, and thanks to a trick Master Fisto taught him, Wei could get distill drinking water from Nautolan's vast ocean.

After the third day, Wei started to shake from withdrawal. He would sweat even when he was not exhausted from training. He needed a drink.

Well, he needed a drink when he wasn't practicing at any rate. Wei hadn't seemed to notice that during training, when the hum of his lightsaber filled his ears and mind, he didn't miss alcohol one bit. His addiction evaporated the second the lightsaber snapped on and he flourished the blade.

Without even realizing it, Wei found himself seamlessly Force Boosting his attacks, finding the simple ease and direct nature of Form I returning to him as though he had still been diligently practicing.

That's good, Wei Wu Wei. I think it's time to return to port.

"Then I can have my drink?"

No. Then you can get off this planet and go to the next one.

Wei raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

The Force knows.

"How do I know which planet the Force wants me to go see next?"

You don't.

"That's not really helpful."

The Force doesn't care. A Jedi places his trust in the Force. Though he may not see all the outcomes, or the purpose in his present situation, he releases his anxiety, he watches, and he waits.

"Easier said than done."

You can still do this, Wu Wei. You can still be a Jedi, and a good one. You just don't know it yet.

Wei took a shaky step towards the ocean, the full effect of his withdrawal threatening to sink him in the ocean. He shut his eyes and brought the lightsaber to mind. The hum echoed faintly in his memory, but it was enough to get him back to port.


Wei entered the bar he left a week or two ago and purchased a large bottle of cheap brandy, which he drank in one go. His withdrawal abated, he tossed the bottle into a garbage bin and tottered out to the ships that waited to take people away.

In his stupor he bought a ticket, boarded, and fell asleep in a drunken haze. He had no idea where he would be when he woke up. He didn't care. But then, neither did the Force, right?

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei opened one eye and looked blearily out the window to see atmosphere and the large grey shape of a spaceport.

"We are sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but we are afraid that we must make a stop for a few hours for maintenance purposes. It is nothing serious, but that is why we must stop. So it won't get serious later. In the meantime while we are working, we ask that you get out, stretch your legs and enjoy the spaceport. We will make an announcement when we are ready to resume our flight."

The passengers stood up, and so did Wei. His head blasted him with a large pang: a sort of hungover punishment for moving way too fast. The alcoholic Jedi moved carefully out of his seat and into the aisle with only one thing on his mind: finding a small bar in the spaceport and getting something to dull the pain in his head.

Down the boarding ramp he went, moving carefully through the port with eyes on the buildings looking for something that looked like it sold alcohol. Then he noticed people were moving resolutely towards one spot, where a lot of other people were gathered up.

Wei walked towards it and heard the distinct sound of a stormtrooper speaking through his microphone in his helmet.

"He got what he deserved. You don't attack the Empire and expect to get away clean."

The former Jedi started to turn away and resume his search for his drink when he heard a small boy say, "He's my daddy! He didn't attack anyone! He just bumped into you too hard! We were going to be late to work!"

"Not my problem. He should have been prepared. Now he's going to have to go to jail a while until he can pay the fine."

Then a third voice: strong, defiant. Full of righteous anger and intent on seeing Justice. Wei couldn't just break away. He started to move through the crowd until he got to the front.

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

You know, you're going to find yourself in trouble one of these days. And I don't mean a little bit of it, either.

Well good...because a little bit would be ever so boring.

Kala, you're not listening-

You're right, Rin, I'm not. So stop offering so-called sage advice every three seconds. Like I said before we left the convoy...I just can't take being there for so long. Day in and day out, no sunlight, no water, so little to do.

But Ilias-

Is off gods-know-where, doing things that I'm sure are vitally important to the cause. But I'm tired of waiting, and the damned dreams about him are getting worse.

Ever since Lethe and Akasha and your gifts waking up all at once. I know.

Wish you and Dad were still here. Then I wouldn't have to be doing...this...stuff. I don't like being alone, and that's precisely what I feel on that ship.

But you have friends, and the kidlings trail after you everywhere...which is oddly endearing.

You know what I mean.

I do...but...

Kala sighed as she finally found an empty bench in the small area outside the spaceport. She didn't want to wander too far, hoping that the layover this time would shorten instead of lengthen. Dantooine awaited, drawing her forward through her dreams...beckoning. Waiting.

What was waiting for her she didn't know. But in the fashion of all Jedi, she knew with an unshakeable certainty that she had to go.

Another sigh, softer and more drawn out escaped past her lips. There was one good thing about The Wheel...she didn't garner nearly as many stares as she was today. Warm sunlight glittered as it hit the thick silver streaks in her long blonde locks. Silvery-blue skin adorned her slender hands and darkened at her fingertips, matching the pale blue and lilac marks that ran from the back of her neck and across her shoulders...and disappeared down her back, beneath her fitted white tank-top.

Kala was hard-pressed not to smile and wave, however, when a little boy trotting hurriedly beside his father exclaimed that she had pretty colors. That kind of attention she didn't mind at all; children had the most wonderful and inspiring perspective on things around them. Even if those things were genetic oddities, at best, by everyone else's standards.

The Padawan stiffened where she sat, fingers curling together in her lap as the familiarly horrible sound of stormtroopers echoed through the square. Just her luck, she mused, to have to smile and nod at the white-clad bastards when she'd much rather shoot first and ask questions later. Granted, she didn't have a blaster on her, but still...

It felt as if the sounds of the one-sided scuffle reached her ears some few seconds after the visual of it. Without even thinking, Kala was up and across the square much faster than was humanly possible, drawing on the ever-present Force to bolster her. A righteous anger settled across her pretty features, drawing them tight as she quite literally shoved her way through troopers, dropping to her knees at the side of their victim.

"Always the way of the Empire. A simple misunderstanding answered with overwhelming, self-righteous violence. Tell me, do they breed out the common decency or beat it out of you?" Kala snapped, trying to stay aware of the troopers even as she gently assesed the man's wounds. She smiled gently at the little boy and reassured him that she was going to help his daddy as her hands began to glow a sparkling white. Soft, seeking tendrils of energy coursed over the fallen man as her eyes fell half-closed, the Force showing her so clearly what her eyes could not.

Deep bruises the shape of the troopers' rifles were peppeed across the man's chest, the heaviest concentration over the spot where two cracked ribs glowed a sullen red to her vision. A broken nose and split lip accounted for the blood liberally staining his work uniform. Easy things to mend, she noted, a fact for which she was thankful. Healing Akasha had overextended her newly-woken abilities and made them raw and painful to use...but there was no way Kala would leave the man to suffer.

"Step away from the prisoner and put your hands up. You're under arrest." The amplified voice broke through her thoughts as she pulled back the last remnants of her energy, and handed the little boy a handkerchief to help his father wipe the blood from his face as he came to.

"Right...because healing someone that idiots have made the effort to beat the living shit out of is a capital offense under Imperial law." Her voice sounded raw and brimmed with anger as she slowly stood but remained between them and their victim. Glancing back over her shoulder, she ensured that the little boy was helping his father sit up and scramble back.

Tilting her head, she could hear murmuring from the crowd and did her best to block it out. They and the troopers both had finally taken stock of her appearance and come to the same conclusion. She wasn't entirely human and the glow that still clung to her fingers and warmed her lilac gaze wasn't just a trick of the light. One of the troopers had turned slightly and tapped the side of his helmet as he spoke, but what he said she couldn't have been certain.

Kala suddenly found eight blaster rifles pointed at her and heard more booted feet approaching at speed from elswhere in the square. Ahh. He'd summoned help. "You boys so afraid of one teenaged girl that you need to call your little friends for help?" she said as she shook her head, affecting a bored tone of voice as her fingers reached to the small of her back.

"Keep your hands where we can see them!"

"You expect me to stand here unarmed and just let you take me? I really don't think so." she retorted, balancing her free hand on her hip as the other brought out what had been cleverly hidden. She tossed it lightly end-over-end in her palm before grasping the slightly curved and scorched hilt securely. Her thumb stroked over the activation button and the familiar snap-hiss echoed as the blade lept to life. A deep, shimmering sea-green reminiscent of the waters on Glee Anselm, it was almost comforting in the moment.

"Eight on one isn't really fair, you know."

"That's the idea, you filthy half-breed Jedi."

"Oh no, I meant for you." Kala smiled as she yanked his feet out from under him with a tug of the Force, while she Pushed a wave of energy at the others to send them stumbling back. It was enough to send the first spikes of pain through her mind, the Force channels in her mind still raw and now inflamed from having Healed first. Her free hand brushed absently at the trickle of indigo blood trailing from her nose, wiping it haphazardly on the leg of her fitted cargo pants. The indigo smear stood in stark contrast on the soft white fabric, as her lilac eyes darkened to the solid, bottomless dark blue of deep water.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei watched with interest. The young woman healed the man. Not many people realized that happened--at first. But Wei knew. This woman was a Jedi. Though there was something the matter with her.

Then she drew her lightsaber. The hangover headache washed out of his skull as he heard the weapon's humming tone.

She was in more trouble than she let on, that was for sure.

Wei stepped out into the open area and hefted the man and his son to their feet and pushed them towards the crowd.

"Stay out of this!" The lead stormtrooper called.

Wei shrugged and pulled his own lightsaber. It was too late for that. The former Jedi turned and settled into the basic Form I stance. He looked at Kala and then looked back at the stormtroopers.

"Form I! Shii-Cho, the Way of the Sarlaac. The Determination Form! The most basic of all Lightsaber Combat Styles, as it was the first. It's strength lies in its simplicity and is advantageous against multiple foes. It's weakness is in single combat, though in the hands of a master, this is nothing to fear."

Wei spoke in an undertone, out the stormtroopers' capability to hear, though not quite out of range of Kala's. All he needed to do was focus on the Form. He might live. He might die. But it was ok, however it turned out. For the moment, all that mattered was doing what he felt compelled to do.

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

Ohh...thank the Force...now I might live through the day!

Good gods...you have the most infernal streak of good luck. Its not fair.

Oh stuff it. I'm long overdue for some good luck and you know it.

Kala arched a delicate brow and slid reflexively into the opening stance for Form I. Her father had followed a traditional path when teaching work with the lightsaber, beginning with Form I. Come to think of it, the Jedi beside her sounded..just...like...

"You know, you sound just like my father...and my uncle, who was the finest Form I Master the Order ever knew..." she replied under her breath, for his ears only. She frowned as she took a deep breath and a faint hint of familiar ocean reached her nose. Kala would bet money that he'd been on Glee Anselm very recently...to her, it was the scent of home.

A blaster bolt whipped past her ear, and she very wisely decided that now wasn't the time for small talk.

"Now would be a good time for a plan." Kala whispered with a touch more urgency as she concentrated and pulled the feet out from underneath one of the troopers, sending him sprawling to the ground. The effort brought a fresh tendril of pain to her mind, and made her grip on the lightsaber hilt tighten.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Step forward carefully, blocking the blaster bolts as they come. Try to redirect them at the storm troopers, or to the ground as we go. Go for the blasters. Hopefully they will give up while they are still in once piece."

Wei only barely registered her implication that she was related to Kit Fisto. His mind was too focused on the battle as it ensued.

Stormtroopers opened fire, as only stormtroopers can. Blaster bolts flew as though pointing the blaster rifles in the general direction of the target was enough. Clearly training had degraded since the Clone Wars. Clone troopers were much more precise.

Wei's progress was slow, but he moved with such an attitude so deliberate it seemed it was inevitable he would reach the troopers.

"Once we close the distance this should go quickly, unless they are carrying weapons that are resistant to lightsaber blades. Take your time, remember the first Velocity, and block the blaster bolts in range of your target zones."

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

The young woman tilted her head as she listened, keeping both eyes trained on the stormtroopers as they jostled for position. Their numbers swelled as the called-for reinforcements trickled in, drawing an indelicate, derisive snort from her.

She took a deep, steady breath and exhaled, letting everything go as she cleared her mind. Everything save for the warm, comforting presence of her twin resting at the back of her mind, and he was, for once, silent and unobtrusive. Kala lifted the shimmering sea-green blade into the air and shifted her stance as the blaster bolts started flying.

They were showered with an aimless volley of lights, some of which missed them entirely. Others weren't so easily avoided. Her blade moved in a graceful arc of light as it intercepted the bolts, knocking them down to the ground and avoiding the bystanders that were still clustered in a loose circle around them. A bit more concentration saw them beginning to angle back at their points of origin, striking the blasters they came from and in once case, felling a stormtrooper completely.

The Healer in Kala was somewhat dismayed at the damage to another living being, but the girl who'd watched stormtroopers slaughter her father and brother was unrepentant. They were trying to kill her, she rationalized, so hurting them was perfectly fair...if not truly a proper Jedi mindset. She'd have to ponder that later.

When she wasn't being shot at.

When she'd gotten close enough, Kala added a burst of speed to her movement to catch two of the troopers off guard. A precise slash saw their blasters cut neatly in half and rendered completely useless. Graceful and almost picturesque, she'd have been quite proud of it had a bolt not torn across her shoulder blade a second later. Gritting her teeth, she blocked out the searing pain as best she could while continuing the offensive.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei held back to keep Kala in his periphery while he patiently batted blasterbolts back at the stormtroopers. One went wide--he knocked it to the ground to keep it from hitting any onlookers, but he overextended his reach, leaving himself very open.

Wei jumped high before the stormtroopers could hit him. He twisted in the air and came down right in front of the Imperials, slashing wide. He cut apart a few blasters, but one unlucky trooper jerked back, accidentally putting one of his arms in the way of the blade. He now was missing all his arm past the elbow.

"I think it's time you reconsidered your options," Wei said to them in a clear voice. He glanced over to Kala, taking note of her injury. "You ok?"

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

Several measured steps carried her back from the few troopers that remained, one slumping to the ground missing his arm past the elbow. Kala reached out through the Force, taking stock of the injury and the way the bone was seared as were the major arteries.

Above the din of the crowd came the welcome call of the now-ready transport, waiting for its passengers to reembark so that it could continue on. Kala glanced at her shoulder and and grimaced, the pain held at bay through sheer, stubborn will.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine...its nothing." she forced a smile to her lips as she kept moved.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei heard the captain of his vessel over the intercom. Poo-doo. He had to get back on that ship.

"Ok, here's the new plan. We're going to Force Push these guys right over. I admit, it's not my strong suit, but I figure the two of us together have a decent chance. When they fall over, we run." Then, more to himself than to Kala, he said, "Just remember to focus and envision the end result moving past your limbs."

Wei could hear Quinlan Vos--his old master--in his head. "You know how when we covered Force Boosting we said that the power comes from a centered mind, and a centered mind could be achieved by simply breathing in a steady, unhurried rhythm? Well, it's the same with the Force Push. A solid Force Push starts with the breath. Feel the air rushing into your lungs and how quickly it leaves when you exhale."

"Now, think on the Force. it surrounds us always, just like air. It moves in us, through us, as it is with all living things. Imagine the Force entering your body as you breathe in, then breathe out when you push with your body and imagine the Force exiting you as quickly as your breath."

Wei took a deep breath, his mind still cleared by the single humming tone of his lightsaber. "On Three. One, Two, Three!"

The former Jedi Knight pushed with all his might, breathing out, trusting the Force would also move with the same rushing speed as the air that just left his lungs.

[Kala'ndryl Ryj]

The young woman nodded, arching a delicate brow as the Jedi murmured to himself for several moments, in a tone too soft for her to make out many of the words. Reaching out to touch his mind through the Force would have been rude in that moment, Kala decided, and instead focused on taking a deep breath.

Which was easier said than done when there was a flock of Ewoks trying to slowly dig their way out of your skull with a single spoon between them. Never mind the steady burning sensation lodged in her shoulder.

Frak, you're a wreck, Kala...

Shut up, Rin...need to concentrate...

Bending her mind back to the task at hand, she finally succeeded in breathing and centering. When Wei at last said three, she dug deep into the Force and Pushed with every ounce of energy and discipline she could muster.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The result was spectacular. Stormtroopers exploded out of formation and flew through the air like shrapnel from a grenade. People shrieked and ducked to avoid the troopers. Some even cheered. But there was no time to take a bow.

"Run!" Wei shouted. He took off towards the landing platform, running pell-mell through the crowded spaceport. He dodged baby strollers, jumped over luggage racks, vaulted over hand rails, benches, and he didn't know what all. He chanced a look over his shoulder. No other security in sight. The spaceport must have dispatched all its personnel to deal with Wei and Kala.

Speaking of the strange young woman, Wei wondered where she could be and if she would be all right. It wasn't particularly dashing or heroic to leave her, but he just could not miss that flight.