Of Things Best Left Forgotten
The Tale of Pax
by: Pax

      "Patience, Pax, patience," Luke Skywalker instructed. "Concentrate on your connection with the
Force, through it, you will be able anticipate the remote's movements."
      The firey-haired youth nodded and faced the small, floating droid, the borrowed lightsaber at
ready. Pax hadn't yet come to the point where upon a Jedi Apprentice created his own lightsaber,
according to Master Skywalker anyway. Pax thought he was plenty ready.
      Standing at ready in the center of the Great Temple's main practice room, surrounded by his fellow
students and Master Skywalker, Pax could feel the pressure of their eyes on him, their expectation, their
eagerness, as they waited to see how the session would go, as they waited to see which one of them was
next. The remote hovered in front of him, humming quietly, floating serenely.
      Without warning, it darted right, stopping abruptly to snap off a shot before it rocketed off in the
opposite direction. Barely able to block the first bolt, the second lanced through his defenses, stinging him
in the side. He cringed but kept up his defenses, blocking the next three shots, while the fourth zapped
him in the shoulder.
      Gritting his teeth, Pax stepped back from the droid, trying to give himself distance to gauge the
shots, but the robot zipped over his head and stung him in the back. Snorting, he swung the lightsaber
around trying to smash the remote, but it merely zipped out of the way as it shot him in the head.
Enraged, Pax swiped at the droid several times, and each time, it darted out of the way and rewarded him a
sharp pain.
      Finally, the remote stopped, hovered up out of his reach, and dinged. The lesson was over, time
was up. Pax slapped himself in the forehead. Idiot, he thought, you let yourself be goaded by a non-
intelligent training droid.
      "Its all right," Master Skywalker said to Pax. "Everyone has trouble with the remote at first.
Even I got my fair share of stinging bolts the first time. But you must learn to control your anger, or it
could lead you to the Dark Side. I want you to meditate on your loss tonight, and maybe next time you'll
be able to show that remote who's boss." Skywalker smiled.
      Pax nodded again, his face red enough to make his hair jealous. He handed the lightsaber to Luke
and trudged out of the practice circle back to where the other students stood.
      "Yeah, next time you'll show that remotes who's boss," Tranch Burvis laughed. "Big time."
      "That's enough, Tranch," Master Luke called out. "I think you're next."
      Ignoring Tranch as he strode confidently up for his turn, Pax went back to the far wall and slid
down to the floor, dropping his head into his folded arms. Thinking about the practice session, other
memories of what he considered great lapses in common sense floated to the surface of his mind, each one
burning in his cheeks anew. Oh, what an idiot he was.
      "Hey," came a familiar voice from above him. Pax raise his head to see Rae Kilua, an attractive
young woman with whom Pax had become good friends with, very good friends. He smiled up at her, and
she beamed back. "That's all you ever do, isn't it, smile?"
      "Is that a bad thing?" Pax came back, "I've often thought the galaxy need more smiles."
      Rae laughed. "And here I thought it needed more Jedi." Pax smiled again, then stretched his legs
out.
      "Want to sit?" he asked.
      "Why not?" Rae said as she plopped down beside him. "I've got nothing better to do." She
slipped a comforting arm around him and they both watched Tranch get blasted by the remote.

---

      Pax was in his room meditating as Master Skywalker had instructed when a soft knock came on
the door. Pax stood slowly, flexing his tired muscles, and opened the door to reveal Rae. They exchanged
smiles upon sight of each other.
      "Luke wants to see you," she said, her voice betraying her seriousness. "Right now."
      Pax stepped out of the room and follow her, his heart pumping heavily. What exactly did Master
Skywalker want to talk to him about, he wondered.
      "So, what're you doing later tonight?" Rae asked as she walked along beside him.
      "I don't know," Pax admitted, "I was hoping to catch up on my studies. I've gotten kind of
behind lately. I've, ah... been procrastinating, I guess."
      "Oh," Rae said, looking away. "I guess you'd better do that." They walked another few meters
before they reached Luke's room. "Well, here we are," Rae said, "I guess I'll see you later."
      "Right, see you later," Pax said absently, looking nervously at the door to Master Skywalker's
inner sanctum. He'd only been in there once, and only briefly then. He wondered again what his teacher
wanted to see him for.
      Rae disappeared down the hall, and Pax reached out to knock on the closed door. "Come in,"
Luke's voice came through before his fist even touched the wood. Pax gripped the old style doorknob and
pushed the door open.
      Master Skywalker was standing directly across the room, his back turned, looking out a window.
Pax came in hesitantly, looking around curiously. The room was remarkably sparse, considering how
many souvenirs he figured the older man would have from his adventures. Instead, the room had only
minimal furniture, a throw rug in the middle of the room, and some drapes on the window. His squat
little droid, R2-D2, stood in the corner, his head turned to watch Pax. "You wanted to see me, Master
Skywalker?"
      Without turning from the window, he answered, "Call me, Luke, I've never really been
comfortable with titles. I prefer to have friends, not subordinates."
      Pax took that in a moment, then tried it out, "So, you wanted to see me...," he paused, working
up the nerve, "Luke?"
      "Come over here," the Jedi Master said instead. "I want to show you something."
      His curiosity piqued, Pax obediently went over to the window. Through the glass, he could see a
sweeping view of the surrounding country side by the light of Yavin. Behind him, the lights dimmed,
though Pax didn't notice, he was so busy picking out details of the landscape. There, the landing field, a
huge area cleared for supply ships. Trees of various kinds filled the view, each one swaying gently in the
wind, a river that seemed a mere stream from it's distance. Farther away, Pax could make out another
Massassi temple, standing darkly over the forest. The view seemed to go on forever, turning gradually into
darkness and blending in with the starry sky. Motion caught Pax's eye, a nocturnal flying creature out on a
hunt.
      "Watch that Falconner," Luke said. "See it with the Force."
      So Pax stretched out, the infinity of the Force revealing thousands of tiny creatures throughout the
vast, uninterrupted expanse of forest. He focused on the Falconner, saw it dive at the river and miss it's
prey. Unperturbed, it caught a thermal and rose into the sky again.
      "Is this suppose to be some kind of lesson?" Pax asked softly.
      "I don't know, is it? Have you learned anything."
      "I don't know," Pax echoed sincerely.
      Luke turned to face him, and stood looking at him for a moment. Finally, he took unclipped his
lightsaber from his side and handed it to Pax. Pax took in carefully, thinking about all this weapon had
been through. It had defeated Darth Vader, fought the mad Jedi C'baoth, even spared with the Emperor.
"Don't look so overwhelmed," Luke said soothingly, "It's just a tool, like a wrench or a hydrospanner.
Now, stand on guard." This said, a remote drifted up from some hidden recess, and Pax began to realize
why Luke's room was so sparse. Still...
      "I can't do this," he said, eyeing the remote cautiously. "I don't want to do this."
      "Oh, that reminds me," Luke said, his eyes lighting up mischievously. He went to a table and
picked up a small, thin cloth, and tied it around Pax's head.
      "Now I really don't want to do this."
      "There are always things we do not want to do," Luke said. "But we must face them anyway."
      Pax tried to listen for the tick of the remote's micro-thrusters to gauge it's position, but he only
got a pair of stinging welts for his attempt.
      "The Force, Pax, use the Force."
      Right, the Force, that's what this was all about, wasn't it? Pax extended his senses, and became
aware of everything around him. The remote moved, but it seemed to be in slow motion, he had no
trouble blocking it's shots. Had Luke turned down the difficulty, he found he had plenty of time to put his
lightsaber between him and it's stinging bolts. Another flew at him, and it too was child's play to block.
Another and another bounced off his saber, again and again they came no closer that the humming green blade. It was thoroughly peaceful, like a warm bath, or a hug from your mother, and he could do this all
day. Then suddenly, the remote stopped, and dinged. Wait... it was on a fifteen minute timer!
      Pax yanked off the blindfold, and blinked his eyes. "That's it," he asked in disbelief. "It seemed
like it only took a few minutes!" He paused, as the reality of what he had just done sunk in, and he just
stood there, his knees going weak. He looked back at Luke, unsure of what to say.
      Luke interrupted his stuttering with a smile. "Good work."

---

      Pax slept soundly that night, not only because he was more content than he had been since he had
come to the Academy, but because he was tired. Jedi training was a very rigorous activity.
      Even still, sometime late in the night, Pax awoke with a start. He sat up groggily, all six of his
senses straining to discover what had awakened him. Through the Force, he felt the impressions of nearly
everyone in the Academy, all asleep but one. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and concentrated
on that one person. To his surprise, it wasn't Master Skywalker, er... Luke, but someone else. Tranch
Burvis, that's who it was. Unfortunately, Pax wasn't experienced enough to be able to read anything else.
Why wasn't he sleeping like everyone else, he wondered. It was against the rules for students to roam the
Academy at night, especially first year students. Without permission that is, Pax added mentally. That
must be it, he was suppose to be doing whatever he was doing. What that was, though, he couldn't
imagine.
      Standing up and stretching silently, Pax found he couldn't hold his curiosity back. He opened the
door silently and slipped out into the hall. He didn't know what his chances were of sneaking around in a
temple full of Force-wielders was, but he didn't think they could detect him in their sleep. He hoped they
couldn't detect him in their sleep.
      Rounding a corner, Pax nearly collapsed when he saw a light on down the hall. He darted back
behind the corner, his heart doing aerobics in his chest. Just then, his brain caught up with this body, that
was Tranch's room and he wasn't in it.
      His senses on full alert in case he was wrong, Pax crept down the hall to Tranch's room, pushed
on the already half open door, and slipped inside.
      The room was a lot like his own, but it wasn't decorated as much, the walls were still mostly bare
concrete. The bed was unslept in, and an empty box sat in the corner. Going over to the box while
scanning for Tranch's return, he saw that is was a standard cargo box; he had brought his things inside in a
similar one. But this one didn't look like it had carried any personal effects, there was a set of foam shock
absorbers still inside. The object they apparently fit around was round and about the size of a throwing
disc, with a rectangular piece fitted around that. If the foam was any indication, Pax counted the box would
hold roughly twelve of the things.
      But what were they? He dug around in the box, but there wasn't anything else interesting.
Looking around the room again, it wasn't long before he found a set of blueprints for the temple, with X's
marking certain points. All this was beginning to add up in Pax's mind, and the sum total was not good.
      Sequencer charges were a good fit for the foam packing in the box, and those spots on the
blueprints could be strategic points that would bring the whole temple crashing down, while they were all
asleep.
      Pax ran out the room, and darted for the alarm button, but paused right before he hit it. Tranch
would hear it too, and what would stop him from blowing them all up now instead of later. But at the
same time, Pax didn't know how long it would take to wake everybody up and explain what was
happening, it might take long enough that they could all be blown up anyway.
      No, he had to go right now, and see if he could stop Tranch here and now.
      He reached out with the Force, and felt for Tranch's presence. He was down in the hangar bay,
planting one of his explosives. He reached farther, trying to determine his state of mind, trying to find out
if he was ready to die for his cause, or if he would try to clear the blast first. Pax reached farther, farther,
and suddenly it was too far; Tranch felt his touch, and for an instant, both their minds were open to each
other. Pax felt his burning hatred, the term Neo-Imperalist floated up to explain why, and the exact plan for
the bombs was revealed to him. Tranch had been planting them for months, hiding them carefully in the
walls, one a week for twelve weeks, and now, he was sealing up the last one. But most important of all,
he found out Tranch did not plan to die. Unfortunately, Tranch found out what Pax knew, and his hatred
intensified. Pax's last glimpse of his new enemy's mind was his stone cold determination to silence him.
      Pax stood in shock for a moment. Tranch was coming, and he was coming to kill him. A
thousand options flooded his mind all at once, none of them particularly helpful. Instead, he ran down the
hall, making as much noise with his feet as he could in hopes of waking someone, ran to the stairs and
down, down to training area. He burst through the doors, and in an act powered by desperation, yanked
one of the training lightsabers across the room to his hand. He might still die, but at least he was armed
now.
      He stood in the training room, opposite the door, waiting. It wasn't long before Tranch showed
up, his anger radiating off him in waves. Pax breathed deeply, pushing away his fear.
      "I didn't expect you to be the one who discovered me," Tranch said, drawing his blaster. "Of
course, it doesn't really matter to me who gets the smoking hole in his chest." With that, he snapped off
three quick shots. Pax ignited the lightsaber and blocked the shots effortlessly, his confidence growing.
      Tranch lowered his blaster, a slight smile creasing the corners of his mouth. "Look who's been
practicing." He holstered the sidearm and called a saber to his own hand. "Let's see how good a
swordsman you are."
      Pax backed away, he didn't know if he could make it in a real saber duel. It wasn't something he
had excelled at. Tranch didn't give him a chance to debate the matter though, he lunged at the young Jedi
with such speed and fury that Pax didn't have time to think, he just reacted.
      Pax stepped out of the way, his blue saber covering his retreat. Turning to Tranch, he continued
to backpedal, Luke's lessons spinning through his mind like water flushed down a toilet. Tranch launched
another assault on the fiery haired student, each of his thrusts blocked in succession by a desperate Pax. A
wide sweep of the saber, Pax hopped back, a swipe of his own countering Tranch's advance.
      This time, it was Tranch who backed away, the anger in his eyes subdued. "I've had enough of
these pitiful Jedi games. I came up here to kill you, and now it's time to do it and complete my mission."
      Without warning, icy fingers grabbed hold of Pax's throat, choking off his air and lifting him clear
of the ground. He threw his head back in a vain attempt to breath, but it was no use. His eyes bulged and
his limbs flailed about like leaves in the wind. With a deep laugh, Tranch stepped up, his saber ready to
strike. With his last ounce of strength, Pax swung his lightsaber directly at Tranch's head. The blade
connected with his face starting at the cheekbone, and opened a deep gash all the way across his eye and
brow to his opposite temple. Screaming, Tranch backed away, the saber dropping to the ground, his hands
going to his face. There was no blood, the wound was already sealed by the raw energy of the saber, but he
would never again see with that left eye, and his face would always be marred, a reminder of his
overconfidence.
      As the shimmering blue of his lightsaber cleared Tranch's face, the invisible hand choking Pax
disappeared. Collapsing to the ground, gasping for breath, Pax knew he was done for. There was no way
he could avoid whatever retribution Tranch decided to bestow upon him. Backing away as his lungs
strained for air, he retreated from his foe until his back hit the wall. Rubbing his neck with his hand, Pax
looked up to locate Tranch. He was just about where he had been a moment ago, still holding his face in
his hands. As he watched, though, Tranch's head rose to glare at Pax, his face contorted into a raging
grimace, his remaining eye smoldering with the cold fire of utter hatred. "I am through with you, you
fool!" he screamed. "You are a dead man!"
      His entire soul surging with malice, he launched a blazing ball of fire from his bare hands, a
projectile composed and powered by pure hate; it flew straight as an arrow toward Pax. With a startled
yelp, he lunged to his right in a vain attempt to escape, but he was too late. The fireball exploded on
contact with the wall, blasting fire and destruction outward and into Pax. He was thrown across the room,
landing with a sickening thud. Clenching his teeth in pain, Pax forced open his eyes and was greeted by a
view of his own arm, although by the angle, he judged that it was one limb that he wouldn't have to worry
about any longer. Suddenly the arm was brushed away by a shiny black boot, and Pax was kicked over
onto his back.
      Searing pain ripped through his body, the only sensation he could feel from most of it. He opened
his eyes again, and saw Tranch lording over him, a remote detonator in his hands. "So, you still live."
He motioned with the detonator, making sure Pax could see it. He tried to focus on it, but it got more and
more blurry. "Not for much longer," the smeary-looking Tranch said. Pax closed his eyes and a single
thought took over his mind as the darkness claimed him: I've failed you, Rae...

---

      Time marches on, Rae reflected. It had been five long years since those four words had invaded
her consciousness that night, wrenching her from sleep. She had sat up in a cold sweat, she remembered, a
picture of Pax laying shattered on the training room floor burned into her mind. She had jumped out of
bed and activated the general alert, which gave Luke and Streen and Kam and the others all the time they
needed to hunt down Tranch Burvis and stop him from blowing up the Academy. It was only later that
she learned Tranch had also escaped. For her part, after hitting the alert, she had ran down to the training
floor, her heart turning to mush. Sure, Pax had been one of the most thick-headed, self-absorbed numb-
skulls she knew, but she loved him, and she wasn't sure she been able to get that fact through to him.
      As she came to the door to the training room where he was, she nearly broke. Pieces of him were
all over the place, smoking remnants of a battle he had lost badly. She had collapsed sobbing to the floor,
grief flowing through her in wave after wave.
      When some of the others ran in moments later, Dah Smir, a promising young healer, among
them, they got her to her feet and helped her from the room. Hours later, she learned that he was still alive,
his life hanging by a thread, but they wouldn't let her see him. Days past, and Pax's condition only
marginally improved, but they still wouldn't let her see him. They didn't want to put too much strain on
him, they said. Rae was of the mind that her presence could only help.
      Then came the coup de grace: Pax's own family aboard Murdock Station, a space station across
the galaxy, sent their own medical transport to bring him home. She had never seen him again, she never
even knew if he had lived or died.
      Now, five years later, Tranch Burvis had resurfaced. Apparently, using the powers of the Dark
Side, he had claimed leadership in his Neo-Imperalist group. Somehow, Rae doubted Tranch had any
great love for the Empire of old, she thought he was more interested establishing his own.
      And now, she was standing on the landing platform of the Jedi Academy, much as she had five
years before as she watched Pax's transport take him away. Now, however, she was watching a much
different type of craft, a modified Assault Transport, and this time, it was bringing Pax home...

---

      Pax finished up the Hell Ranger's landing cycle and locked down the ship's systems. Through the
front viewport he could see the aging form of the Great Temple, the sight of it dredging up dozens of old
memories, not all of them pleasant. Absently, he glanced down at his metallic left arm, the light of Yavin
spreading an orange gleam across it's silvery surface. He looked up again, the darkened viewport giving
him a near perfect reflection of his face. The huge burn scar covering the left side of his face enveloped his
eye and continued upward into his hair as a white streak surrounded by his usual red. The eye still saw,
but it the sub-standard clone replacement was an off color milky white. Duplicating the iris pigmentation
gene cost extra. Yes, this place brings up a lot of old memories, he thought, but I'm not going to strip and
remember the rest of them right now, I've got people to meet.
      Sliding out of the cockpit, Pax made for the exit ramp. He hesitated momentarily before he hit the
release, wondering if he was doing the right thing in coming back. Wondering if any of the Jedi here
would agree with what he had to say, with what he planned to do.
      Shaking aside such thoughts, he pressed the open button, and with a jet of released air, the ramp
folded down. He was already half down it before it even had touched the ground, but he stopped once he
caught a glimpse of the three people waiting for him. One was Master Luke, his boyish face now lined, but
his eyes as young as ever. The second person Pax didn't know, but beside him was...
      "Rae!" Her eyes lit up at the sight of him, and she ran forward and threw her arms around him.
Pax returned the embrace, more old memories and the feelings to go with them welling up. He had
thought about the moment when he would see her again for years, but he hadn't expected that moment to
be here, now. "You don't know how much I've missed you," he said through her hair.
      She let go and backed up a step, beaming. After a good look at him though, her face turned to a
grimace. "By the Force," she said softly, her hand reaching up to touch his face. "Did that come from
Tranch?"
      "Yes," Pax answered, raising his bionic hand out to stop her reach. "And so did this, and so did
a lot of other things." He reached down and knocked on his left thigh, which made a clanging noise from
beneath his trousers.
      "Oh, Pax, I'm so sorry..."
      "Shh... don't be, I've been living with this for a long time, I'm at peace with it."
      Rae backed away again, a haunted look in her eyes. Pax turned his attention to the other two
instead. "Hello, Pax," Luke said, extending his hand. "You don't know how good it is to see one of my
students return."
      Pax firmly grasped the offered hand, smiling as he did so. "You might not say that once you hear
why I came back."
      "Oh? You mean it's not about Burvis?"
      "Partly. But if that was all, I don't know if I would've bothered to come. But if you don't mind,
I'd like to keep my reasons to myself until I've had a chance to address everybody at the Academy."
      Luke nodded in slight understanding, a puzzled look heavy on his face. But after studying Pax's
face for a moment, he seemed to let go of his curiosity, at least for the moment. He motioned to the man
Pax didn't know, and said, "Pax, ah..." He stopped and looked at Rae. "Maybe you should introduce
him."
      Rae looked at Luke as if startled, then looked at Pax with a measure of fear in here eyes. "Pax,"
she said hesitantly, almost regretfully, "This is Konrad Nedrol, my husband..."

---

      Pax was more convinced than ever that this was a mistake. What did he have to offer the Jedi
here? Most of them were still in training, and he sure didn't want to deal with that. And Rae... oh Rae.
It would have been better for both of them if he hadn't come back.
      But he had, and he wasn't about to quit now, he wasn't leaving until he was through here, one
way or the other.
      He had been given a sparsely furnished guest room to stay in while he was there; it had a picture
window much like the one he had looked out of with Luke, all that time ago. Like then, he stared out it
now, this time his eyes turned inward, inspecting not the countryside, but his own feelings.
      The fact that Rae was married to another man still hung heavy in Pax's mind. He had expected to
come back, sweep her off her feet like he should've done years ago, and live happily ever after. Apparently,
that would not to be the case. He hadn't taken the opportunity when it was knocking on his skull with a
hammer, and now it had moved on. But that look that had been in Rae's eyes... if he didn't know better,
he'd think it was fear. Or could it have been? He sure looked menacing now, was she actually afraid of
him? This was something he had to talk to her about.
      Stepping out of his room, he walked down the hall at a leisurely pace, saying hello to the faces,
both new and familiar, as he past them. Evening at the Academy for many of the students was a good time
to enjoy the cool breeze outside or the company of others, so people were out in force.
      His stroll brought him down to the training floor, the same training floor where he had left a great
many pieces of himself behind. A good dozen students were inside, some sitting in a circle to one side
meditating, others sparing, and still others simply exercising.
      "Bring back any memories?" Came Luke's voice from behind.
      "Everything here brings back memories," Pax countered, turning. "But yes, this room brings up
some strong memories."
      Luke walked casually to his side and watched his students for a moment before continuing. "Are
those memories part of the reason you came back too?"
      A shiver ran down Pax's spine. That was a good question. "I don't think I can lie," he said
quietly. "To myself or you. I really don't know. But I do know I'm not going to let Tranch hurt anyone
else like he hurt me."
      "That's a good and noble goal," Luke told him, "But don't let the goal become more important
than the steps you have to take reach it. That would be skirting a thin line, my friend."
      "I'll try, Luke..." he stopped midsentence, his eyes warning Luke not to say it.
      For his part, Luke just smiled. "I think you know what comes next."
      Pax nodded enthusiastically. "I think everybody on this moon would know what comes next.
Anyway, Luke, have you seen Rae around recently?"
      "Rae? Why don't you use..." He halted. "Yeah, last I heard she went on a walk with Konrad
through the forest. They might be back by now."
      "Thanks Luke, I'll talk to you later." With that, he took leave of the Jedi Master and made his
way down to ground level. Here too, students where practicing, while others simply enjoyed the cool
night breeze. It wasn't long before he ran into Konrad Nedrol, alone.
      "Hey, Pax," Konrad called out to him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
      "No problem," Pax answered as the other man ran up. "Congratulations, by the way, you lucky
bastard." He forced a grin.
      "Yeah, thanks. That's kind of what I wanted to talk about," Konrad said, an edge of nervousness
in his voice. "I just wanted to make sure there's no hard feelings. I mean, I don't want this old thing you
had with Rae to get between you and me becoming friends, you know?"
      I'll be friends with you when Hell freezes over. "I know exactly what you mean, exactly." Pax
assured him. "Trust me, it won't be a problem. Listen, I've been kinda looking for Rae anyway, do you
know where she is?"
      "Yeah, yeah," Nedrol responded. "She's still down by the river, said she had some things to sort
through in her head. I don't blame her, she's had a hard time dealing with what happened between you
two, and now that you're back..." he trailed off. "Anyway, maybe you can help her put some pieces back
together, huh?"
      "Maybe," Pax said, his mind already leaving Nedrol behind. "Talk to you later," he said over his
shoulder. Nedrol said something from behind him, but Pax didn't catch it, he was already several meters
down the path. As he went deeper into the jungle, more old memories swam to the surface. One time, he
had walked this same path with Rae to the river. There had been a cool wind out of the west, then, just
like tonight. That stood out as one of the happiest moments of his life.
      The path narrowed and widened as he walked it, and as he neared the river, he got the feeling that
he was expected. Sure enough, when he emerged from the forest, Rae was standing straight ahead at the
river side, her back to him. "You've been looking for me," she said simply. "Why didn't you just find me
with the Force?"
      Another good question, Pax thought. Shows how much I know. "I suppose I didn't want to
intrude."
      "Well, you've found me. Now what are you going to do?"
      "I just want to talk. We do have a lot to catch up on, don't we?"
      For a moment, Rae said nothing. Abruptly, she turned, and half screamed, "Why don't you drop
the act and say what's really on your mind? Come on, curse me if you want, I'm sure you have a few
choice words! Or don't you think I deserve it?"
      "Woah, Rae, calm down," Pax said, taking a step back. "What makes you think..."
      "Oh, come off it! I know you hate my marriage, and Konrad, and maybe even me! I could feel the
contempt coming off you in waves."
      "What? Is that what you think?" Pax said incredulously. "Do you think I could hate you? Rae,
I never told you, and I've hated myself for not telling you while we were together, but I love you. I've
always loved you. How could I hate you? How could I hurt you?"
      "How could you hurt me? Oh, you hurt me all right, the only memory I've had of you for the
past five years is of you burned and dying on the training room floor!"
      Stunned, Pax stuttered, "But I... I had nothing to do with it, I was barely conscious until half a
year later. By then... I thought, I hoped you have moved on. Apparently, you have."
      "Yeah, I have, all right," Rae spat, her rancor beginning to fade. "You could ask Luke how hard
your loss hit me. Until today I didn't even know if you were alive or dead."
      "I know, I'm sorry, but I..." He paused, not knowing what to say. "While I was in recovery,
learning how to use these," he held up his arm loosely, "You were all I thought about, the single thing that
drove me on, kept me from quitting. In retrospect I could see all the things you did for me, how much you
cared, and I longed to come back and tell you that you had finally gotten through my thick skull, but I
couldn't come back, I just couldn't. But Rae I..." Their gazes fell together, but she looked away. "I never
stopped loving you."
      Tears welled up in Rae's eyes, and the hard look on her face softened. "I... I'm sorry, I don't know
what I was thinking. I knew... I've always known... back then, I tried to love you, but you wouldn't let
me in, you wouldn't open up."
      "And now?"
      "Now it's different. I..."
      Pax put his hand over her mouth. It trembled gently under his touch. "Do you love him? With
all of your heart?"
      "I..." she paused, looking long and hard into his eyes. "Yes, I do."
      "All right then," Pax said softly. "Then I'm happy for you, with all of my heart."
      "Pax," she sobbed, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you." She then pushed away from
him, and he let her go. She walked a few steps away, her dark hair blowing in the wind. "If you don't
mind, I'd like to be alone for a while," she said at length.
      "No problem," Pax said half to himself. He felt a warm wetness wind it's way down through the
valleys of his scar. Must be going to dew tonight, he thought, wiping away the drop.
      He walked back to the temple all thought, and almost didn't stop when Nedrol called his name.
"Hey, pal, how's Rae?"
      Pax spun at Nedrol, and grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Listen to me, and listen well, because
I'm only going to say this once," Pax informed him. "You had better love Rae with your entire being, her
entire life. You had better make her happy, and if you don't, if you ever hurt her, I'm coming after you, you
got it?"
      Nedrol nodded vigorously. "I got that."
      Pax let him go, feeling a little foolish. He didn't let it show though. "You'd better." He held up
a bionic fist. "Or you're going to see how much fun it is to learn how to use one of these. For the sake of
both of us, you'd better." Turning, Pax went back to his room.

---

      In the Grand Audience Chamber, all of Luke's students were gathered, waiting for the words which
Pax came to give them. Looking out over the two dozen or so people, he felt both nervous and assured.
All these people, human or alien, together to learn the ancient ways of the Jedi. It gave a person hope.
Which, oddly enough, was what he came to talk about.
      These gatherings weren't unusual, but they didn't have them everyday, so Luke had a few things
to tell his them before Pax got to talk. By the time he was done, the butterflies in Pax's chest had gone
atomic. Finally, he heard his name called out, and he marched up the steps to the podium feeling like a
man being executed. The podium sat on a raised platform where the throne used to be, and it was right out
in the middle of the floor. Fortunately, there were few enough students that they only took up the space
right in front of him.
      Pax surveyed the crowd, and soon picked out Rae and Konrad. She was looking at him in
earnest, obviously very curious about what he was going to say. Konrad, by contrast, was smiling
nervously, and had his arm around her tightly. Good boy, Pax thought to himself.
      "Hello," he said to the assembly, using the Force to project his voice slightly. In a place with
acoustics like this, you didn't need to talk too loud. "Well, I've come here today to talk to you all about
something that's been on my mind for a while. As I'm sure all of you know, we are the new generation of
Jedi, hopefully the first of many generations. Most of you will someday complete your training here, some
of you already have," he nodded to Rae, "but all of you will, one day, have to go back out into the galaxy
at large to fulfill your role as guardians and protectors of the galaxy.
      "Some of you will return to your homeworlds to protect them, but some of you, because of your
past or your own desires, will not. So, for some of you, I propose the creation of... for lack of a better
word, an Order of Jedi. This Order would be a group, a Force, if you'll excuse the pun, much like a police
department or a military. These Jedi would work together as a team or perhaps in partners, to help
safeguard against major threats to the galaxy, like inter-system or -sector disputes, rebellions, or to perhaps
end the threat of a rogue Dark Jedi."
      He let his words hang for a moment. Then he motioned to Luke. "For the past fifteen years,
Master Skywalker has handled most of the problems himself, and although he had done a magnificent job,
he won't be around forever, someday, like those before him, he will join the Force. It will be at that time
that it will be our turns, to teach, to heal, and to protect and serve." He smiled. "Thank you."
      Loud applause covering his escape from the podium, Pax felt good. The message was sent, and
he had sent it out in style. He went back down the steps and disappeared out the door, then leaned against
the outside wall.
      "Couldn't have said it better myself," Rae said as she came out the door. She was all smiles, but
Pax could still feel her hurt below the surface. There was so much he had done wrong in his life...
      "Thanks. How are you this morning?"
      She took a deep breath. "To tell you the truth, I feel better than I have in a long time."
      "That's great."
      "So what's next? You going to recruit a bunch of your fellow Jedi and go after a certain rogue
Dark Jedi?"
      "Yes and no. I am going after Tranch now, but I'm going alone. I didn't come to recruit, but to
deliver that message, I wanted to get that out of my system before I acted."
      Rae now looked puzzled, "But why would you want to do that first..." Her face turned to concern
as it dawned on her, "unless you didn't think you were coming back..."
      "I don't know that for sure, but I wanted to make sure my message came across."
      "Do you even know where he is?"
      "Actually, I do." Pax said, pulling a datacard from his pocket and handing it to Rae. "You see, I
didn't decide it was time to settle with Tranch, he decided it was time to settle with me..."

---

      Pax reached forward and pulled the hyperspace lever down. Outside the Hell Ranger's front
viewport, the mottled blue of hyperspace resolved into starlines, which then shrunk down to pinpricks of
light. Ahead of him, a huge pinkish-purple gas giant dominated the view. He had arrived in the Anoat
System. Bespin, dead ahead.
      "Unidentified vessel," came a voice over his comm too stuffy to be a local traffic controller. "Hold
you position for IFF check."
      Checking his scanners, Pax quickly found the source of the transmission. It wasn't from Bespin.
Instead, two arrowhead shaped Imperial Star Destroyers appeared from opposite sides of the planet, each
heading straight for him.
      "Vessel Hell Ranger," the comm spat, "Lord Burvis is expecting you. Follow your escorts down
or you will be destroyed."
      I'd like to see you try, Pax thought sourly. Business before pleasure, he reminded himself, no
doubt Tranch would like to see me and laugh in my face before killing me. Ahead, a pair of Assault
Gunboats appeared from each Star Destroyer, which had turned toward each other. As they approached
him, the outer two Gunboats veered off and came around beside him, while the other two swooped around
to aft. Straight ahead, the Star Destroyers crossed paths and came about. He was going to have to fly
between them, broadside. Pax really hoped they were just showing off.
      Passing between the Destroyers without incident, the front Gunboats pulled ahead as guides
through the clouds. Pulling up a chart of Bespin, Pax quickly found where exactly they were headed -
Cloud City, certainly a place with a long history.
      He browsed through the information in his database. It was the place where Darth Vader had
frozen Han Solo in carbonite, and cut Luke's hand off. Vader had left a garrison to occupy the floating city,
which had been driven out shortly after the Battle of Endor. During the Grand Admiral Thrawn years, it
was in Imperial hands again, but after his defeat, it was freed once again by Kyle Katarn. After that, there
wasn't much of interest in the Bespin file, except for a little note about Luke finding Streen on the planet.
My, my, busy place, Pax decided.
      They passed through another cloud bank and there it was, Cloud City. Large and umbrella
shaped, a large carbon ran scar along one side from some past battle. "Hell Ranger, this is Tau one," came
a distinctly Imperial voice. "Follow us in to Platform 47. Any deviation from your flight path will result
in your destruction." Oh really, I thought it meant I won a new speeder.
      Swooping in close to the cityscape atop the construction, they weaved between the towers until
his designated landing platform came into view. As he landed, the Assault Gunboats pulled away.
      Shutting down the systems, Pax thought, Ok, I'm here. I wonder what happens next?
      He finished powering down, then made his way aft to the boarding ramp. Upon exiting the ship,
Pax found himself on a wide landing disc jutting out far above the "ground" and attached to a large tower.
Where it connected to the tower, the big doors opened and a bunch of Stormtroopers piled out. They
walked toward him in lockstep, seemingly more concerned with the way they looked than any danger he
might present. Good thing for them I'm not a Dark Jedi. They wouldn't have a chance.
      The troopers walked up and split, forming a corridor of white down which a silver protocol droid
walked. "Good day, sir," it said, "I am LV-426, and I will be escorting you to Lord Burvis's presence
today."
      Pax motioned to the door. "Lead on."
      "Very good, sir. This way, sir." The droid turned and started walking back toward the building,
and after a moment, Pax followed. Behind him, he could hear the Stormtroopers filing back into line
behind him. For a moment, he almost wanted to grab his lightsaber and scare them, but he decided
against it. Someone might get lucky.
      The droid lead him through the building to a large turbolift. He, Pax and a pair of Stormtroopers
piled in, the rest standing guard at the top of the lift. With a lurch, the turbolift started down, and it kept
going down, and down, and down. For several minutes at least, the lift plunged downward, accelerating as
it moved. We have to be down in the stalk by now, he thought. Where exactly are we going?
      Finally, the lift began to slow down, much more quickly than it had accelerated, and with jarring
finality, they stopped. The lift pinged, the doors opened, and the droid said, "This is your stop, sir."
      Stepping out, the lift snapped neatly shut behind him, and he heard it going back up again.
Reaching out with the Force, Pax found no other stormtroopers on this level, only Tranch.
      Looking around, he saw he must've been on the lowest level of the city, at the very bottom of the
Unipod. The lift shaft was the center of a wide circular platform, a circular wall open in four places
dividing into an "inside" and "outside," even though there were no doors and the wind was whipping
around pretty strongly, even inside. He walked out to the outside, which was merely a meter-wide catwalk
with waist-high railing that surrounded the whole floor. Looking up, Pax could see the round mass of the
Unipod above him and the vast underside of Cloud City itself far beyond. Below him, all he could see was
a long weather vane or lightning rod that extended from the bottom of the floor several meters straight
down. All around were pinkish-purple clouds and an electrical storm brewing in the distance.
      "Quite a view, eh?" came Tranch's voice from behind him.
      "Yup," Pax said laconically, without turning around. He was, however, keeping close tabs on the
Dark Jedi with the Force.
      "I knew you would come. You Light Jedi always rush blindly into danger. It is one of your
greatest weaknesses."
      Now, Pax turned to face Tranch. The Dark Jedi was dressed all black, a vast cape draped over
him. His pale white face stood out against his cloak, brown hair topping it all off. Still streaking across
his brow like lightning was a dark scar. Where it crossed the eye, a lens-like artificial eye turned as it
focused on Pax. "Actually, I've always considered that our most endearing quality. People love a hero."
He smiled ironically at Tranch. "Tell me something, Tranch, why did you pick Bespin of all places for
this little meeting? Do you love history or something?"
      "You will address me as Lord Burvis," Tranch said imperiously. "And as for your question, since
you won't be leaving this place alive anyway, I will tell you. Through the Force, I had a vision of this
place, a powerful glimpse into the future. I saw myself, and you, and a great destiny for this place. Many
Jedi will come here, no doubt to challenge me, and I will destroy them all. I intend to make Cloud City
my fortress, my capitol for my own New Order. Too bad you won't live to see it." From under the fold of
his cloak, his hand appeared, brandishing a lightsaber. With a snap-hiss, the shimmering orange blade
extended.
      Pax had his own blue lightsaber out in seconds, he stepped back on guard. He didn't have to wait
long for Tranch's first strike, he held up his lightsaber and charged, throwing all his weight behind the
swipe. Pax dodged the attack entirely, backing out onto the outer catwalk. "Coward!" Tranch called out
to him, joining him on the ledge. "Stand and fight like a man!" He launched another flurry of attacks, and
Pax blocked each in turn, sparks flying from the rail and wall where the saber contacted them. Still giving
ground, Pax rounded the wall back into inside of the floor.
      "I see your bionic replacements are something less than pretty," Tranch taunted. "And your face!
Oh, you should've seen a better reconstructive surgeon, Pax." He swept around again with his saber, but
Pax batted it away.
      "You ain't a supermodel yourself, Tranch," Pax returned.
      "Stop calling me that!" Tranch yelled, charging. Pax deflected the blow and circled around, barely
managing to slash Tranch across the back. As it was, his cape was cleanly cut off at the shoulder blades.
"You will pay for this indignity!" Again he charged, this time with a hard downward blow. Pax blocked
it, but barely, and the force drove him back to the wall.
      Tranch swung at him with a hard horizontal one-hander, but Pax ducked and the orange blade
sparked against wall. Scuttling out of the way, Pax again found himself backing out onto the catwalk. Sweat breaking out, Pax tried keep his tenuous link with the Force open. To lapse for a moment might
mean he might not anticipate one of Tranch's moves, and then he'd be dead. As he enhanced his hold, he
felt a familiar presence coming down the turbolift. Briefly touching Tranch's mind, he discovered he hadn't
noticed it yet. Got to keep him angry, Pax thought, got to keep his mind occupied. "You know what,
Tranch? Your army out there sure has good timing, but what kind of game do they play?"
      His teeth gritted, his eye glowing with the fires of hatred, the Dark Jedi snapped. "Stop calling me
Tranch!" he said tersely.
      "Make me, Tranch."
      Screaming in rage and fury, his hatred peaked, Tranch hurled a fiery manifestation of pure anger, a
ball of destruction, at Pax. This time, though, the Jedi was ready. He didn't try to move, or duck out of
the way, he stood his ground, and the ball hit him dead center. It splashed fire all around him, spewing
energy in every direction; scorching the floor and singing the walls. And when its flame dissipated, Pax
still stood, unmoved. "Its that the best you can do, Tranch?"
      With a maddened yell, Tranch lunged again, forcing Pax to jump up on the railing to escape his
attack. A swift upward strike, and Pax jumped over Tranch and grabbed the pipework above. He arced his
blue sword downward, forcing Tranch to back off. Glancing down, he saw the utter hatred in his
opponent's eyes and thought, Oops, too mad. A disturbance in the Force alerted Pax, but too late. The
pipe he was holding onto was suddenly ripped from the wall and tossed over the railing, Pax with it.
      Desperately, he abandoned his hold on the pipe and his lightsaber, and managed to grab the base
of the catwalk at floor level. His bionic hand dug deeply into the metal; he wasn't going anywhere.
      "Well, well, well," Tranch said, looking over the railing at him. "Not so cocky, now, are we?
I'll make you an offer: acknowledge me as your Lord and Master Burvis, and I'll kill you painlessly." He
smiled the wide, confident smile of a victor. "What do you say?"
      Pax looked up at Tranch and the arrogant grin plastered on his face. "I say," he started, "You can
kiss my shiny metal butt."
      Tranch shook his head. "Fool." Holding his lightsaber high over his head, he said, "I've been
waiting for this moment for a long time." He swung it down toward Pax, an overconfident victor, when
suddenly, his blow was brought to an abrupt halt by a golden lightsaber blade.
      Two sets of eyes followed the unexpected lightsaber to it's source: Rae. "I guess you'll have to
keep waiting," she said valiantly.
      "Well now," Tranch said, reassuming a battle stance. "It looks like I get to hurt Pax twice today.
Once when I actually kill him, and once when I kill the woman he loves!" he said, engaging her in battle.
Above him, the sparks flew, but something else had caught Pax's attention at the moment. All around, the
wind was picking up. He hadn't even noticed it, but while they were dueling, the lightning storm he had
seen earlier had moved in.
      Turning his attention back to the fight above, Pax could see that while Rae was putting up a
valiant fight, she was losing, badly. It was only a matter of time before Tranch got past her defenses.
Through the Force, Pax reached down, down through the clouds, searching, searching... yes, there it was!
      Now... he looked down at the antenna array below him. Just as he thought, it was a lightning
rod, a special kind of lightning rod. It produced a large positive charge at the tip, which attracted lightning
to it instead of the Unipod. Reaching down and getting a firm grip on it with the Force, he bent the whole
antenna up under the catwalk and held a Force shield around it.
      Once more looking at the duel up top, Pax started to feel the strain of all the Force manipulation
he was doing. Rae was still holding up, but her movements were sluggish, she wasn't going to win,
Tranch was attacking too violently. And then, it was over, Rae missed a feint, and Tranch rewarded her
with a deep slice to the stomach. Doubling over and dropping to her knees, her face contorted in pain, Rae
was defenseless.
      Tranch glanced over at Pax. "Still hanging in there?" He laughed at his own joke. "Watch
closely, I wouldn't want you to miss a second of this."
      "Tranch!" Pax called out, ever fiber of his being straining under the pressure. "This... is your last
chance! Give up now... or be destroyed!"
      Tranch laughed viciously. "Give up? You seemed to have us confused, Pax. You see, I'm the
one who is about to wipe out all his mortal enemies with one fell swoop!"
      "All right, then... you leave me... no... choice!"
      In the distance, a faint whistling could be heard. Tranch raised his saber to finish Rae, but as it
grew louder, he paused. "What in the-?"
      Suddenly, shooting up from below like a missile, Pax's blue saber dug through the catwalk and
up through Tranch's thigh, grazing his chest and spearing through his arm at the shoulder. Tranch
screamed.
      At the same time, his teeth gritted against exertion and knowing, one way or the other, it was all
about to be over, Pax boosted himself up and over and onto the catwalk, catching the lightsaber as it fell
back down.
      Tranch continued screaming, now throwing debris around in a whirlwind, trying to distract Pax
long enough to strike Rae down. Seeking any measure of victory in defeat, he lunged at the helpless
injured woman, but Pax gave him one last, final shove with the Force, knocking him over Rae and
spralling onto the far side of the catwalk. Pax ran to Rae, and together they backed away from the still
screaming lunatic.
      Abandoning his lightsaber, Tranch instead pulled a familiar remote control from his robes. "You
stopped my previous bombing plan, Pax," he said weakly, his finger hovering over the destruct button.
"This time I'm not making the same mistake, this time I'm taking you with me!"
      Pax slid a hand over Rae's eyes and let go of his last hold on the Force, on the bent lightning rod.
"Don't bet on it."
      Suddenly the platform turned into a scalding sun as seven different lightning bolts lanced out to
strike Tranch's position at once. The thunder came at once, and it was so loud they couldn't hear it, but it
shook the whole platform with its power.
      When the sound died down and the purple spots disappeared from his eyes, all that Pax could see
left of Tranch was a smoking, burnt corpse. Rae pushed his hand away, and they both limped back to the
turbolift.

---

      "I suppose I owe you," Pax said. Beside him stood Rae, they both stood on a balcony
overlooking Cloud City's cityscape.
      "I guess you do," she said. "But I'm not going to hold it against you. You kinda saved my tail
too."
      They stood in silence a moment. Then Pax said, "So let me get this straight. You looked at the
datacard and told Luke."
      Rae nodded. "And he called Admiral Ackbar on Coruscant. The Admiral was more than happy
to divert a small fleet to take out a possible danger. Funny thing is, they surrendered as soon as we
dropped out of hyperspace."
      "I wondered," Pax said. "The stormtroopers here looked like they had been doing close quarters
drills for years, but they didn't take any precautions, they didn't seem to care if I was armed or dangerous or
what. I guess that's what happens when a Dark Jedi who doesn't know anything about command or tactics
yet takes over."
      "Really."
      "So hows the stomach?"
      She rubbed her belly softly, it must still be tender. "The MD droid got everything back in it's
place. I won't be doing situps or anything for a while, but I'm going to be all right."
      "That's good. When are you heading back to the Academy?"
      "As soon as they finish processing Tranch's men. It'll probably only be another day or so." She
looked at him. "You aren't coming back with us, are you?"
      Pax sighed. "No, I'm staying here. I think Tranch was right, partly. I feel Cloud City does have
a great destiny ahead of it, I think he was right about Jedi coming here, but not for the reasons he thought."
      "Your Order?"
      "I don't know, maybe. That's why I'm going to stick around, to find out. Rae, if you want, you
could stay too. If the Order does come together, you could help set it up..."
      Rae began shaking her head before he even finished. "I'm sorry, Pax, I can't. Konrad's back at
Yavin IV, waiting for me, and I don't think this Order of yours is where my future lies. I... I'm sorry."
     "I understand," Pax said at last. "I shouldn't even have asked." He bent down and kissed her on
the forehead. "Always remember I love you, Rae, let it strengthen you if you need it, use it as a blanket
when you're cold, and remember too, that I'll always be there for you, whenever you need me."
With that last, he tore himself away from her, and left the balcony alone.