A New Jedi in an Old Republic

Jedi Temple, Yavin 4

"I said: 'Let's take a Vacation, Jan'." Kyle Katarn complained to no one in particular as he walked down to the docking bay where the Raven's Claw was docked. "I did not say 'Hey, why don't we do some errands for Luke'." He turned a corner, the Force allowing him to side step a rushing mechanic with no issues.

"You know that you would have agreed anyways," the Jedi Master said from behind Kyle, causing the former mercenary to jump, startled.

"Dammit Luke! Stop sneaking up on me!" Kyle yelled as he faced his instructor and friend. Standing there in the black robes of his preferred style, Luke Skywalker grinned at the surprise he inflicted on the normally wary Katarn.

"I think it's good for you, to relax, here, where it's safe." The Jedi Master indicated the repurposed temple, here on Yavin IV, where he had chosen to slowly rebuild the Jedi Order.

"Relax. Right." Kyle shook his head. "Not with you sneaking around like some Force something or other."

"I think your allegory fell a bit flat there, Kyle." Luke gently teased the older man. "Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to smuggle anything for me."

"No, you just want me and Jan to take some stuff to Mon Mothma," Kyle pointed out. "Coruscant isn't in the same direction as we were planning on going."

"That is true. And that's why I asked Jan first, and not you." Luke was almost smug, in a friendly fashion at his run-around of Katarn. "Besides, think of it as a quick way to get some spending money for when you do run off to whatever pleasure planet you were headed off too."

"Well, thanks for the concern, Luke. But a gift basket would have sufficed." Katarn snarked right back. "Anything else? I still got to meet up with Jan, you know?"

"Actually yes." Luke reached inside his robes and produced a lightsaber and a small pouch. He held them out to Kyle. "Your saber."

"Luke, I'm going on vacation. I don't need my lightsaber." Kyle tried to ignore it, but he just couldn't. Too much training and experience told him to keep an eye on a weapon, especially one as lethal as a lightsaber. "I'll collect it when we come back."

"You're a Jedi, Kyle." Luke pointed out. "Even if you don't use it, it's still appropriate to have it with you."

"Don't want it, Luke."

"Kyle, take it." Luke became more firm, but resisted the impulse to use the Force to help press the issue. Kyle was far to strong for that, and it would just make things worse. "You still carry your blaster, so why not a saber?"

Kyle reflexively tapped his hand against the handle of his modified Bryar Pistol, a gift from his father. "Ain't like that."

"Yes, it is." Luke countered. "I'm not asking you to use it. Just to keep it with you."

"Come on Luke. Va-Ca-Tion!" Kyle spelled out the words slowly. "I'm not going on official business, or anything where I need it!"

"Kyle, take it, or I hand it off to Jan."

"She won't accept it either."

"I'm pretty sure I can convince her." Luke said. "Besides, aren't you curious about this?" He jostled the small bag, causing its contents to clink.

"You'd know I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Kyle complained. "What is it? Credit Chips?"

"Yes. And a little something else."

"Luke, I swear, if you're giving me something to help with Jan that isn't cash, I'm going to hurt you." Kyle was far to sure of himself to need anything like that where his pilot and friend were concerned. "Or maybe I'll tell Mara Jade that you have a supply of that stuff."

"No, nothing like that." Luke openly grinned. "Consider it something to do when Jan inevitably goes off by herself to shop or something and leaves you by yourself."

"Luke, that sentence could go bad in so many ways, I'm pretty sure you'd need a droid to count them all." Kyle looked down at the saber and bag. "I'm really not getting out of this, am I?"

"Nope."

Reaching out, Kyle snatched the two objects from Skywalker. "Fine! Fine. I'll take them. But I promise you nothing!" He slid the lightsaber into the empty holster on the other side of his hip from the Bryar pistol and pocketed the small cloth bag, contents unseen. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to lock myself into the Raven before anyone else gets any bright ideas."

"You do that," Luke agreed. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Yea, Yea. I'll see you later, Skywalker." Kyle rolled his shoulders and left the Jedi Master behind.

Docking Bay

"Jan?" Kyle called out as he circled the small 'freighter' that was the Raven's Claw. "JAN!"

"I'm here!" Jan Ors replied as she pulled herself out of the top of the engine housing. "What took you?"

"Luke ambushed me." That was all that needed to be said. "How's the ship?"

"As good as ever!" Jan was proud of her work, and Kyle was proud of her for it. "Just a quick trip to the Core for Master Skywalker, then we can hit up some remote planet for some private time!"

"Just what I wanted to hear!" Kyle agreed enthusiastically. "I'll start securing the ship."

"You do that," Jan agreed. "I'll just finish up here, then meet you in the cockpit."

Low Orbit, Yavin 4

Kyle and Jan sat side by side in the small flight deck of the Claw as she played around with the navigational computer. "So, any idea what we're dropping off?"

"No clue," Jan said. "You didn't open it up, did you?" She cast a concerned look at Kyle, who only shook his head in the negative.

"Nope. I figured you took the job, so you'd know what's up."

"Come on Kyle, you know better than that!"

Kyle raised his hands in surrender. "I was just curious!"

"So, what did Master Skywalker want to talk to you about?" Jan pulled the ship out of orbit, angling away from the moon and the Gas Giant it orbited.

"You know you can call him Luke, right? He did tell you that."

"It's unprofessional." Jan reiterated her next part in their long standing difference of opinion. "Well?"

"He wanted to make sure I had my lightsaber," Kyle was uncomfortable saying that, and it showed as he shrunk down into his seat. "I told him I didn't want it, but he was insistent."

"If you kept saying no, he would have just given it to me. I would have put it in the armory." Jan pointed out as she double checked the Hyperspace Jump calculations.

"I know that. And he knew that too. I just saved him a trip, that's all." Kyle grumbled, though he relaxed a little. "He also gave me this bag," he said as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Said it was credits and little something else." He tipped it open into the palm of his hand, and as expected, a small pile of credits fell out. What wasn't expected was a small slip of paper and a single orange crystal. "What the..?"

Kyle handed the credits to Jan, who pocketed them without a word. He examined the crystal with a keen eye, feeling it out with the force. It was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"What does the note say?" Jan asked.

"What? This? Let's see..." Kyle unfolded the paper and read it. "Oh, sithspit! Luke!" He wanted to vent his anger at the Jedi Master, but it was far too late. "It's a Lightsaber crystal. Luke wants me to practice switching crystals when I'm bored."

"Really?" Jan was equally incredulous. "He thinks you're going to be bored?"

"Well, it tells me what his relationship with Mara Jade is if he thinks I'm going to be bored." Kyle held the crystal up to the light of the distant sun. "Wait a minute...!" He recognized the crystal, and his anger at Luke increased. "Dammit Luke!"

"You want me to turn around?" Jan offered, knowing it could be important.

"No. No. Don't worry about that. It's just he gave me Yun's crsytal."

"Yun? The Dark Jedi?" Jan wasn't there when he duelled Sariss, but he had told her as much as he could in the years since the Valley of the Jedi incident. "Wait, didn't you give that back to the Academy when you decided to make your own?"

"I did! Luke's note says that maybe I can change them out if I don't feel a connection with my blade. He figures that reusing a crystal that I had for a few years might help."

"I have no idea what to say to that. Two minutes until we're far enough away from Yavin to jump to Hyperspace." Jan wasn't a Jedi. She wasn't even Force sensitive, so she had no reference for what Luke was offering. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Kyle fought to figure out a way to describe it in words she could understand. "It means that he's offering me to switch out the Raven engine for the one from the Moldy Crow if you don't like the way it handles."

"Seriously?" Jan couldn't believe that. "They are two completely different ships! You can't just mix-and match components like that! What does he think my ship is? The Falcon?"

"Don't let Solo hear you say that!" Kyle laughed as he agreed with her sentiment. "I'll just stick them in a drawer somewhere, and forget about them until we get back. Then you can throw them at Luke."

"You'd let me?"

"Well, why not?" Kyle offered honestly. "I'd just shoot him."

"You shoot way too many of your problems, Kyle."

"I haven't found a problem that couldn't be solved through the application of more firepower yet."

Jan laughed. "Fine, fine. I might take you up on that. Going to hyperspace right about... now!"

Somewhere else

An ancient star ended it's natural life in a spectacular explosion, the supernova burning bright.

Hyperspace

"JAN! Get up here!" Kyle yelled back to the sleeping compartments as the ship shook. Ships weren't supposed to shake in Hyperspace. Shaking was bad. Real bad. 'I've got a Bad Feeling about this' bad.

"What did you DO, Kyle?" Jan rushed up, still in her sleep wear, though any bleariness was gone from her eyes in an instant as she hopped into her chair. "You didn't touch anything, did you?"

"Of course not!" Kyle defended himself. He knew better than to mess with a ship while it was in Hyperspace. He was only up here to enjoy the view while Jan caught some shut-eye. "The ship started shaking a little, and a couple warning lights came on, and that's when I called you!"

"Well, it's not bad..." Jan said as she looked over the controls in front of her.

Kyle knew that a major shake was about to hit, the Force warning him even as he reached over and slapped both his and Jan's emergency restraint buttons. "Hold on!"

Jan was about to complain about his action when the Raven jolted hard, going sideways and down. If she hadn't been strapped in, she was certain to have been thrown from her seat and injured. "Thanks. Alright, I'm going to have to make an emergency return to real space." She looked around the cabin, checking for any warnings that would prevent her from stopping the engine. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" Kyle braced himself, closing his eyes.

"Emergency shut down in three!" Jan reached out and opened a secure switch housing. "Two!" She put her fingers on the switch. "One!" She flicked it just as another shockwave hit the ship. "Hold on!"

Realspace

The Raven's Claw drifted slightly through the void as Jan looked out the window. "Well, we're in one piece."

"That's good." Kyle undid the safety restrains on his seat. "I'll check the hold for any damage."

"I'll check the engine and navcomp." Jan said as she undid her own restraints. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

Walking down the length of the ship, Kyle felt out with the Force and his other senses, looking for any damage to the ship. Thankfully whatever had happened in Hyperspace hadn't done any harm to the hull. Returning to the flight deck, he sat down without disturbing Jan as she flicked through switches and consoles.

"What did you find?" she asked without looking at him.

"Hull's tight, nothing that was tied down got damaged" Kyle reported. "You?"

"Primary hyperdrive is offline. Whatever was causing the shaking, combined with my shutdown caused a couple pieces to fuse shut." Jan settled back in her chair. "The backup Hypersdrive is working, and I've got the NavComp getting a fix on our location. It should be done in a few minutes."

"Any idea what happened?" At least they weren't stranded out here in the middle of nowhere.

"No clue." Jan said. "Hyperspace eddy?"

"I wouldn't know." Kyle really didn't know much about faster-than-light travel, instead trusting a droid or Jan to do the dirty work. "Maybe we got brushed by a wandering black hole?"

Jan glared at him. "Try something that isn't a spacer's tale, Kyle."

"Want me to see if there's anyone on the Hyperspace Comms?" They looked like they were far away from any stars, so using the lightspeed radio was right out.

"Not yet," Jan said. "Let's see where we are first. We might be able to plot a jump to a nearby facility if we're lucky."

"Since when are we ever that lucky?" Kyle snorted, but let Jan do her thing. "I'm going to get something to eat. You want something?"

"Probably a good idea," Jan said. "No way I'm going back to sleep for now."

"Right. On it." Kyle got up again and headed aft to the small galley that served well enough for small meals on long trips. "You did stock something to eat, right?"

"Of course I did!" Jan objected as she fiddled with more equipment. "At least the primary hyperdrive will be easy to fix. The spare parts are easy to find. I just need to get outside the ship to get at them."

"Lovely." Kyle retorted as he started to heat up a pre-packaged meal that probably dated back to the clone wars. "Restocked, my ass" he muttered to himself as he looked around for real food, rather than old military rations. "How's the navcomp coming along?"

"It looks like it almost has our position down," Jan called back. "Wow. We're off where we should be by almost 50 parsecs."

"That doesn't sound too good."

"It's not. I'm surprised it was so easy to get out of Hyperspace if we're that far away." Jan wasn't worried. They weren't crippled and adrift or anything like that. Just with one engine broke. For a couple minutes, they waited in silence, only for it to be broken by Kyle's two meals finished heating.

"Soup's done," he announced with all the flair of a high-class chef as he walked forward. "You want the right or the left?" He lifted one hand then the other to show her choices.

"Left, please." Jan reached out and took the meal so offered. "It's almost done," she said, indicating the navcomp. "It has us down to the nearest few systems, and it working on the details there for a precise Jump."

"What do we have?"

"Nothing of interest. Nazzu is mostly farms for the Sector, and there's the usual assortment of stations, mines and nothing of interest."

"Wow, something has to go wrong now. This place sounds boring!" Kyle joked, even as he sipped his soup. "So, is there a place nearby we can fix up?"

"Nazzu," Jan said. "It has a proper starport."

"How long?"

"On the backup? 2 Days."

"Think there will be someone there who can give us a lift?"

"You could try." Jan said, indicating the hyperspace communications panel. "We're in range. Just don't expect an immediate response. There's still going to be a delay."

"Alright. I'll just make a message announcing that we've got engine trouble, and will arrive in a couple days. Anything else?" Kyle grabbed a vox recorder and got ready to record the message.

"I don't think so."

Republic Navy ship "Astute"

Captain Jox Corvell enjoyed his assignment, even with the impending threat of war on the near horizon. His ship was a personal pride of his, having spent a good twenty years on her before being seconded to the nascent Republic Navy. So when his XO came up to him from the communications station, he dreaded that the word had been given and war was upon them. "Well?" he asked.

Commander Grigh wasn't a 'Navy Man' as the phrase went. He was simply using the military career as a stepping stone into politics. And he held no disrespect for the captain for staying in his position as it meant that he could reliably call upon him in the future for favours once he was in the Senate. "It's not war. There's a faint signal from outside of the system." He handed over a transcript of the message to the Captain for him to read.

"This is the independent ship Raven's Claw." Captain Corvell read aloud, as was his habit. "We have suffered a minor Hyperspace Engine malfunction and are temporarily on our emergency backup system. Once our Navigational Computer is restored, we will proceed to the Nazzu system, and will arrive in about two and a half standard days. If there's anyone in system who can help out, or can come to us in about half a day, that would be great. Thanks. Kyle Katarn, out."

Corvell looked up from the message. "Very polite man for being stuck... where exactly?"

"Signal analysis puts him about 1.2 light years out," Grigh replied. "We can be there before this Katarn fellow gets ready to jump to us."

"Plot a course." The Commanded. "Let's go see if he needs any further assistance."

Grigh snapped a salute. "As you wish, Captain."

Raven's Claw

Half a day meant that Jan could finish her sleep, then Kyle could take a nap while the NavComp processed the new location and destination. And then did the numbers again because neither Jan nor Kyle were willing to trust it on one pass right now.

Of course, it was only a couple hours later when help arrived. Kyle was nursing the last of the hot drink that came with his meal when the ship dropped out of Hyperspace below and to the right of them. "SITH!" He swore as he spilled his drink in his lap, causing him to swear agian. "JAN! Company!" He looked around the cockpit and found the communications console beeping at him. He spared a moment to look out the window at the ship in more detail, stunned at what it was.

The communications console beeped at him again, indicating an incoming call. Not willing to wait for Jan any longer, Kyle accepted the transmission. "This is Kyle Katarn, Raven's Claw."

"Captain Katarn? My name is Captain Corvell of the Republic Naval vessel Astute. We received your transmission and came to offer any technical assistance you may need." The voice on the other end was professional, clipped and reminded Kyle way too much of Imperial Naval officers in tone. But the Force wasn't telling him he was in danger, so he talked back.

"Hey Captain Corvell. You can skip the 'Captain' part. Name's Kyle. Nice ship you got there. I haven't seen a Carrack in a long time." Last time was back in his days at the Academy when he was training to be a Stormtrooper Officer. "One moment, I'm just getting my engineer back out of bed to see if she thinks we can use the lift or not."

Carrack-class Light Cruiser "Astute"

"Very casual fellow, isn't he." Grigh observed. "I don't recognize the ship though. Very small."

"Nor I," Corvell admitted. "What do the scans show?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Captain." Grigh looked back at the men working on the bridge. Already a section of the shuttle deck was being cleared should it be required. "Though it would take a proper inspection."

"I doubt that would be required," Corvell replied. "Smugglers don't openly advertise that they need help."

"But traps for Pirates would."

Corvell smirked. "Let them try. We're are a bit more than the usual pirate can handle. Even if we aren't one of those new Venerator class destroyers."

Grigh agreed.

"Captain Corvell was it?" The voice of Katarn came back over the communicator. "My girl Jan says that she would love it if we could borrow a section of your shuttle bay for a couple hours so she can fix up our engine. Permission to come aboard?"

Corvell and Grigh shared a look. "Permission granted, Captain Katarn." He set down the transmitter. "Alert the flight deck we have visitors. Secure everything, and post guards at the doors, in case there is more going on that it seems."

Grigh saluted again. "Yes sir."

Orders were issued, and actions taken. The Raven's Claw was still capable of moving under it's own power, so it was piloted to the point where the internal tractors of the Astute could safely bring it in.

Flight Deck, Astute

Chief Saew watched the ship come in through the protective wear that would keep him safe should the forcefield keeping the bay pressurized fail. It was a long and thin, with two massive engines flanking the narrow body. Landing pads deployed from the bottoms of the nose and the engines, and in a moment the ship had come to rest, engines dead. As the blast-doors began to close, he waved his crew forward. "Secure the landing struts," he ordered as he advanced on where he presumed the loading ramp would be. Near the back, he thought, given the design.

And he was right too, as it slowly came down, two humans dismounting. One was a middle-aged man. Well built. Looked like he knew his way around a fight. The other was a female, and an engineer by the tools she was carrying. She waved, and Saew waved back. With the outside doors closed, it was safe to remove his helmet. "Deck Chief Saew," he introduced himself.

"Jan Ors. This lug is Kyle." "Hey." Jan and Kyle returned the greetings. "Thanks for the spot. I was afraid it would be days before I can fix this."

"What happened?" Saew watched as his crew finished locking the ship down with magnetic clamps, then looked to him for more instructions.

"Hyperspace started acting up. Had to abort." Jan shrugged. "Kyle, can you take this up top?" She handed a heavy tool box to the man who grunted.

"What do I look like?" Kyle grumbled with good cheer as he grabbed the box with one hand and walked to an access ladder set into the side of the starboard engine. "I'm more than just the brawn of this outfit, you know!"

"I know! I aborted, and the engine didn't like it. So here we are."

Saew understood. Hyperspace could get dangerous on occasion. "Would you mind if my crew helped you out?" He gestured at the three of them, still waiting.

"It is a one woman job," Jan said, thinking about it. "But if they really need something to do, it'll take me a few hours, so they can always check the port engine for practise. As long as they don't break anything." She pointed at Kyle, walking carefully over the wing of the ship. "Because if they do, he gets to talk to them."

"Jan, are you using me to threaten people again? You know what happened the last time!" Kyle called out, but Chief Saew wasn't worried. His crew were good people.

"Allright boys!" Further words were drowned out as the ship's announcement system whistled for everyone's attention.

"May I have your attention please," Captain Corvell's voice came out of every intercom in the large room. "This is the Captain. As you may all be aware, the conflict between the Secessionists and the Republic has been escalating as of late. I have now just received word that what we have all feared as come to pass. The Republic is now in a state of War as per the Decree of Chancellor Palpatine and the united approval of the Senate. Our enemy is the Confederacy of Independent Systems. As of this moment, we will head for the Sector rally point, where we will await further instructions.

"Once again, we are now in a state of war. More detailed instructions will be sent to various department heads on an as-needed basis. Thank you, and may the Force be with you all."

"What. The. FRELL?" Kyle's voice was raised to the roof. "That's a joke in very bad taste!"