The Gul'dan Chronicles (standard:Fan Fiction, 5214 words) [1/2] show all parts
Author: C Basha	Updated: Mar 06 2004	Views/Reads: 3757/2557	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Based in the Star Wars Universe, but dealing with new characters, not the traditional heroes. A young padawan who can only see using the Force has his first mission on Coruscant.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

That was a switch.  Trevor thought back over all the missions that he
was on, and he'd never been on a mission within the planetary borders 
of Coruscant.  He'd been around the Temple since he was barely a 
standard year old, and he'd investigated around the Temple, the Senate 
Chambers, and even the Chancellor's office.  He got out of the Temple 
and traveled amongst the population, but never as a Jedi. 

"Master, I only need a few things.  I'll be back directly." 

"No rush, Trevor.  We don't need to leave for another hour. I will
return in that time." 

Trevor and Shudo bowed to each other in acknoledgement.  Trevor
retreated into his room, and immediately packed a few belongings that 
he thought he'd need.  His utility belt, his Padawan lightsaber, and a 
few other odds and ends.  He looked over his inventory and decided to 
bring along a quarterstaff-sized walking stick that he made when he was 
blinded on Myrkr.  It was a bit of a crutch, he knew, but it gave him 
some strength of will during the dark time, he jokingly called it.  He 
added some food pellets into this belt, and attached a grappling hook 
and liquid cable dispenser to his belt.  One never knew what he needed. 
 He placed his equipment on his belt, attached everything and checked 
it twice.  When he was done, Trevor took the next forty-five minutes to 
meditate.  It was the most refreshing meditation that he had done in a 
long time.  'I must be ready,' thought Trevor, adjusting his belt and 
pressing the door mechanism for the second time that hour. 

Trevor opened the door to his room at the same time Shudo opened his
doors.  The 3.35-meter Anx lumbered down the hall with the stately 
grace of a man in thought.  Shudo and Trevor walked down the hall 
towards the mid-level of the Temple.  On the way, Shudo explained that 
they were going to escort Oron Essada, a new senator from Umgul.  Umgul 
was experiencing some internal conflicts and the new senator was 
concerned that there was going to be an attack on his life. The 
arrangements were still being made for a permanent bodyguard and the 
Jedi Council agreed to a short-term assignment. 

"I also thought that it would be a good mission for you to get your
confidence back again.  I have noticed that you have been tentative 
recently in your studies and during training time.  I normally have to 
slow you down," Master Shudo joked. 

Trevor said nothing.  Repeating the Jedi Code in his mind calmed him. 
The code was so difficult to live up to, but Trevor knew that even 
without the code, his life would have been difficult.  The Code was 
something to live up to, Master Shudo had told him. 

======================================== 

The walk to the docking bay was uneventful.  Shudo and Trevor talked
about mundane things for a few minutes until they received word that 
the Umgul shuttle was on its final approach.  The bulky blue gray 
shuttle touched down a little hard, sending a shutter through the 
platform.  As the ramp extended, Shudo walked forwards towards the 
entrance.  Trevor walked behind Shudo, his walking staff extended.  
Trevor could see the humor in Shudo's walk, but only one who was 
extremely close to him could sense it.  Trevor turned his face towards 
the shuttle, and up, but concentrated on keeping his sight on the 
loading ramp. 

The timed clanking of metal on metal met their ears, and Master Shudo's
back straightened.  Coming down the ramp were eight battle droids, all 
with Umgul delegation markings emblazoned on the front.  In the center 
was a man in his mid-thirties and looking rather confident walking in 
the middle of the column of droids.  The group walked directly towards 
the Jedi, and parted about fifteen feet away, allowing the senator to 
walk up to them. 

"Good afternoon, Master Jedi," the senator greeted. 

"Greeting, Senator Essada. I trust your trip went well?" Laan asked. 

"It was a good trip.  I made it alive in one piece," the senator
guffawed. 

Shudo bowed to the senator, and introduced Trevor to him. The senator
extended his hand, and Trevor purposefully moved his hand away from 
where the senator actually was.  Not much, just enough to portray that 
he didn't really know where the senator was.  It worked perfectly; the 
senator shook his hand, and dismissed him before his arm even returned 
to his side. 

Shudo Laan took a moment, and Trevor noticed that Shudo was a bit
perplexed about the droids.  Shudo did not make an issue, but Trevor 
noticed that he was a bit straighter.  Trevor, using his mental 
telepathy, asked Shudo, Trouble?  Trevor did not move at all, until 
Shudo placed his hand on his shoulders.  Shudo never responded to 
Trevor's mental communication, but the senator was moving towards a 
sky-cab that was sitting nearby.  "Are we ready to go?" 

Shudo bowed towards the senator, and grasped his Padawan by the
shoulder.  The yellow tinge was back, and Trevor knew he would get some 
ribbing from his Master, but it was the closest emotion they could 
share, and it was certainly a strange pair they made.  Trevor moved 
towards the sky-cab, one of three in this caravan.  Shudo had requested 
more than one to throw off any attempt at an assassination.  Trevor and 
Essada, along with the droid-guards, moved towards the first, while 
Shudo got into the second.  The remainder of the entourage moved 
towards the end.  After a few minutes of getting settled, the sky-cabs 
took off, heading directly for the offices of the Galactic Senate. 

====================================== 

Arrival at the Galactic Senate building was something akin to controlled
anarchy.  Each senator had to exert some show of power, as most 
politicians do.  Those arriving and departing shook hands and made 
promises that most would not keep.  Almost to a being, they ignored the 
newest amongst their group, which suited Trevor just fine.  It made 
things easier to pass from the loading dock to the offices of the Umgul 
delegation.  The boxes poured from the shuttles as Trevor, Shudo and 
Senator Essada looked on.  When most of the boxes were loaded on 
pallets, the three of them turned towards the nearest turbolift.  They 
rose further and further up the building, and soon disembarked on the 
correct floor.  The Jedi exited the chamber, and they soon noticed that 
the droid-guards were already ahead of them.  The senator seemed to 
have a smug look on his face when he thought no one was looking. 

The living quarters were soon located and the party entered, and it was
immediately evident that someone already had some pull within the 
machine known as the Galactic Senate.  The apartment was very lush and 
elegant, with room even for Master Shudo to move about freely.  The 
Jedi reviewed the security system with the building guard, and after 
that, Shudo left to communicate with the Council that Senator Essada 
had arrived safely.  Trevor was left alone with Essada for a short 
time.  Trevor continued the guise of a blind man, giving him the 
feeling that no one really cared what a blind man was doing in the 
middle of the hustle and bustle.  The senator was busy with this 
people, and getting moving boxes organized.  Trevor just happened to be 
out of the way the entire time.  Shudo lumbered back in just as the 
last boxes were settled.  Shudo asked for some time alone with the 
senator, and he acquiesced. 

Soon, the Jedi and the senator were seated around a small table in the
anteroom to the senator's bedroom. 

"Senator, there are a few things to discuss," began Shudo.  "To begin, I
shall let my Padawan speak." 

Essada turned toward Trevor in expectation.  It seemed that maybe he was
a bit smarter than Trevor gave him credit for. 

"To begin, Senator, I am not blind, as I may have lead to you to
believe.  I am a Miraluka, and I have no eyes, as you would know it.  I 
see through the Force just as well as you and Master Shudo.  My world 
looks a bit different than what you see.  I use this staff to portray a 
blind man to throw off potential enemies.  I apologize for the 
deception and request that, when I have this staff in my hand, you 
treat me as if I were blind.  Helps in my deception, sir." 

"Apologize?  Why?  You did what you thought you must!  My goodness, what
a way to go!" the senator smiled.  "I love this idea, young man.  Keep 
up appearances." 

Shudo turned his yellow coloring again, this time more pronounced, and
directed the conversation back towards the task at hand.  "Senator, 
what is your itinerary for the next few days." 

"I plan on being in my office bright and early in the morning, getting
my office straightened out.  I need to meet with the Trade Federation 
delegation, and there is a reception at an Umgul company tomorrow 
evening." 

"Who owns these droids?" Shudo asked with apprehension. 

The senator laughed.  "I do.  Bought them off the Trade Federation about
six months ago at a bargain, and I placed a control module in each of 
them that I command.  Only I have the control box, and it is safely 
where no one else would be able to get it." 

"Very well, Senator.  My Padawan and I will stand guard tonight.  Please
get some sleep.  It seems that we will need it tomorrow. 

======================================== 

The next day brought nothing but boredom.  A politician's day was
basically meeting, after meeting after conference.  There were at least 
fifteen different meetings that day, and most of them were impromptu 
meetings that lasted for more than a half-hour.  Trevor thought to 
himself that it was a complete waste of time, but then remembered that 
politicians were part of the way of life that was Coruscant, and 
therefore, part of the balance in the Force.  Essada moved around from 
early morning, until retiring in the early afternoon to prepare for the 
evening festivities.  During the downtime, Shudo gave some lessons in 
political intrigue and identification.  It actually became interesting 
after that point, because Trevor could now see both sides of each 
meeting over the entire day.  Trevor tidied his robes as they entered a 
sky-shuttle to take them to the initial reception for the Umgul 
senator. 

The ride to the reception was nerve-wracking, and Trevor twitched his
head a bit.  Shudo regarded him with an are-you-ready look.  Trevor 
nodded once in reply.  'Well, it's time to put Myrkr behind me,' Trevor 
thought.  Shudo and Trevor placed their hoods over their heads to blend 
into the crowd better just before the doors opened, and the group 
disembarked. 

They arrived at the reception hall, and followed Senator Essada and his
entourage.  There were a great many stares, especially at Shudo.  Who 
wouldn't stare at a 3.35m brown robe standing next to a new senator.  
But neither Shudo nor Trevor moved. 'You would stare, too, if you were 
to find three plus meters of brown cloth standing in a doorway' Trevor 
thought to himself. He nearly smiled, but after scanning the crowd, he 
did a quick Jedi calming technique to remain focused on the task at 
hand.  'This is a great place to attack the senator stealthily,' Trevor 
mused.   Soon the sight of the large brown cloak bored the crowd.  He 
found that Shudo had moved off to the side of the room, as he fit in 
better there, away from the crowd.  Trevor turned his vision towards 
Shudo, and noticed that Shudo nodded towards the senator.  Trevor 
finally found his feet, and moved smoothly down the stairs towards the 
senator.  Trevor stood with his back towards the senator, and began to 
mentally catalogue all the faces that he saw. Trevor had an advantage 
because any who looked at the young Jedi thought he was looking a 
different way.  He made good use of this during the next three hours.  
Senator Essada had neatly gathered a small crowd around him, and they 
seemed to be having a grand old time.  Trevor noticed that a couple of 
the guard-droids were patrolling nearby more often.  He also saw the 
face of a twi'lek waiter more often than normal. 

He turned his vision towards Master Shudo, his face also moving the same
way.  When Shudo turned his robe towards him, Trevor moved his head 
towards the twi'lek, communicating that Trevor was watching someone, 
and pointing the way.  Shudo and Trevor had worked enough together that 
they spoke more in motions that with any real words.  Shudo nodded back 
and immediately began to move slowly towards the side of the room with 
the twi'lek waiter. 

Suddenly, the Senator moved away from Trevor and headed towards a turbo
lift.  Trevor, realizing that he was going to be left behind, walked 
directly towards the lift and was the last one to squeeze on board.  
There were five humanoids, not including himself, and two of the battle 
droids the senator was so fond of.  Trevor was introduced, and he 
nodded appropriately at the guests.  One of the guests, a woman of 
middle years, checked Trevor out, thinking that he wasn't looking.  
Trevor half-smiled at the woman's attempt at subtlety. The lift entered 
one of the top floors and opened into a junction of hallways.  Trevor 
walked out, and started investigating the floor.  The rest of the group 
seemed to know where they were going, so Trevor followed along.  The 
corridor opened up to a salon with a table large enough for seven.  The 
droids marched up to either side.  Trevor took in the sights and walked 
around for a little while.  Food was already sitting there on table and 
Trevor relaxed a bit. 

Suddenly, his comlink squawked.  Trevor suddenly felt his spine tingle
in apprehension. 

"Yes?" 

"Trevor, where are you?" 

"Master, I am on an upper floor with the senator.  Is everything
alright?" 

"Stay with him, no matter what." 

"Certainly, Master.  Is something wrong?" 

"No, I -- Hold on." 

The sound of a lightsaber activating was the last thing Trevor heard,
causing his skin to go cold with fear.  Trevor looked around the room 
again for possible enemies.  Trying to remain calm, Trevor took off his 
cloak, palming his lightsaber at the same time.  He didn't want to 
cause panic amongst the guests, but his mission was clear; protect the 
senator.  Essada happened to see him take the lightsaber off his belt, 
and his eyes went a little wider.  Trevor made a calming motion to 
Essada, and suddenly the face was a mask of happiness.  Trevor walked 
over to the senator, and spoke quietly. 

"Prepare for a hasty exit.  Master Shudo just contacted me.  Nothing to
worry about yet.  But let me find out more." 

The senator placed his hand on Trevor's arm.  "Do what you must, Master
Jedi." 

Trevor nodded and moved towards a computer console to get a security
status of the building.  Initially, there was a bit of a problem, but 
Trevor keyed in another code, and suddenly, a schematic of the floor 
appeared.  He accounted for all six humans, and the two droids.  What 
caught his attention, however, was the turbo lift.  It was moving 
upwards, towards their floor.  It stopped, as Trevor anticipated, on 
their floor.  Odd, thought Trevor.  The console showed one, two, four, 
six shapes walking in formation down the corridor. 

Trevor walked across the floor, and the senator stopped talking,
noticing that Trevor had his lightsaber out in front of him.  He never 
noticed the two droids in the room lifting their weapons.  Standing in 
the doorway, familar metal clanking reached his ears.  He'd heard that 
sound just the other day: battle droids as they exited the shuttle! 

Activating his lightsaber, Trevor stood in the middle of the doorway as
the first droids walked around the corner.  The first two droids, 
seeing the Jedi in the doorway, turned to each other. 

"Uh oh," the first commented. 

"Our mission is clear: kill the senator," the second reminded. 

"Roger, roger." 

The front line immediately fired upon Trevor.  He parried the bolts
rather easily, and took a step back.  One of the bolts hit the top of 
the door, causing the blast doors to shut automatically.  He moved 
between the other two droids before noticing that they were not firing 
upon their comrades.  Rather, they were aiming their weapons at the 
senator.  Trevor turned, quickly attacked the nearest droid, and used 
the Force to pull the blaster out of the second's hands.  The blaster 
flew through the air, and once in the Jedi's hand, was fired.  The 
blaster shot hit true, and the droid was hammered directly in the 
chest.  Trevor then jumped at the droid, and slashed at it with his 
lightsaber.  He cut the droid down, and turned to deal with the first.  
However, the rest of the group had jumped up to take the offensive.  
The droid was certainly not doing very well, but had managed to hit one 
of the other men in the face, causing blood to trickle down his cheek. 

"Out of the way!" Trevor shouted as he began a move to slice the droid
in half.  The crowd suddenly dispersed, leaving an open droid ready for 
a Jedi attack.  Trevor thrust his saber directly into the head of the 
droid, and it fell over immediately.  The group seemed rather intense 
suddenly and they all turned to see the Jedi with the blue lightsaber 
raised in the classic defensive posture.  Trevor scanned the room 
quickly.  "They will get through that door fairly quick.  Grab that 
blaster and let's get out of here, NOW!"  The group ran to the opposite 
end of the room, where a door led out into another room and a small 
corridor.  One of the women in the group led the way, with Trevor as 
rear guard.  They exited the room, and poured out onto a corridor with 
three choices, Trevor saw at once.  He could attempt the turbo lift, 
there was a large dining room available, or he could take them out on 
to a landing platform / patio.  It certainly made sense to try the 
turbo lift, but Trevor immediately foresaw danger that way. 

"Out onto the platform, now!" 

The group moved with alacrity, and Trevor stood there in the doorway,
trying to catch his breath, and calming himself.  What was the mission, 
Trevor thought.  The words of Shudo Laan came to him, and he dialed an 
emergency code into his comlink. 

"This is Trevor Gul'dan, padawan to Jedi Master Shudo Laan.  I am at the
Senatorial Reception Center, floor 394.  Senator Essada is under 
attack.  Requesting immediate transport and support." 

He clicked off the comlink, and heard the stomping of feet.  Trevor took
a deep breath, and waited for the end to come.  'I shall not let them 
take the senator while I have breath left,' thought Trevor.  One of the 
women gasped as she saw Trevor take a step closer into the hallway.  
Just at that moment, a reply was heard on the comlink. 

"Jedi Gul'dan, transport is thirty seconds away.  Hold the fort." 

=========================================== 

The droids were completely surprised by the sudden closing of the doors.


"So, what are we supposed to do now?" 

"Follow orders.  Go to backup plan Bravo." 

"Roger, roger." 

The droids moved out and headed down a small corridor.  Their
intelligence told them that there were only two additional ways out, 
and the backup plan would work perfectly. 

====================================== 

The droids rounded the corner to find themselves faced with a Jedi
guarding a doorway ten feet long and fifteen feet high.  "Uh-oh," one 
was heard to say. 

"Open fire," ordered the commander. 

Trevor heard the command, and immediately went into full defensive mode.
 It was really the only way to ensure that he would be able to keep the 
droids at bay until reinforcements arrived. 

The first rain of laser fire bounced off his blade, and Trevor's
movements were a blur to the folks watching him.  Trevor saw them, and 
noticed that one still had the blaster. 

"Know how to use that thing?" Trevor asked calmly as he started to
redirect the bolts back at the droids. 

"I can try," he croaked out. 

"Take your time.  I've got them a little busy right now.  Fire when you
are ready." 

The older man, though scared, nodded, and placed the blaster around the
corner.  He closed his eyes, and started firing down the hallway.  His 
first shot went wide, but the second shot was true.  One of the droids 
went down in a heap, and Trevor knocked out a second shortly 
thereafter.  The droids kept firing down the hall, but none could get 
by Trevor's whirling defense. Trevor's lightsaber training had dealt 
with defense foremost and it was truly amazing to see a man with no 
eyes take on six battle-droids.  The older man fired again, knocking 
down a third.  By this time, there were only three left, and Trevor 
advanced towards the final three. 

The droids moved forwards a meter or so, and continued to fire.  Trevor
sent their fire back to them, knocking another off its feet.  At that 
point, Trevor jumped down the hall and proceeded to cut them to pieces. 
 The crackling of burnt metal and charred wall plaster assailed 
Trevor's smell.  He disengaged his blade, and walked down the corridor 
to find an open cockpit transport already pulling up to the platform. 

"Get onboard, Senator.  Move!" Trevor shouted. 

It did not take the group long to enter the shuttle.  Trevor's comlink
twittered again, and he immediately answered, "Master?" 

"Trevor, are you alright?" 

"Yes, Master. Fine." 

"Did you happen to see six droids come your way?" 

"Yes, as a matt--" 

"Get out of there!  You only have a few seconds!"  The voice on the
other end sounded frightened. 

Trevor turned to the shuttle and shouted for them to get out. "TAKE OFF!
 MOVE!"  The driver, upon hearing the shouts, gunned the engines right 
away.  Trevor ran for the shuttle at the same time, and at the end of 
the platform, Force-pushed himself off the platform, towards the 
shuttle-car. 

However, his exhaustion of the battle caused him to lose concentration. 
Trevor realized almost immediately that he was not going to make it 
using a Force-jump.  Instead he reached back, and fired his grappling 
launcher towards the shuttle.  As Trevor was falling past the shuttle, 
and on towards the depths of Coruscant, the hook sunk directly into the 
right wing of the shuttle car, and Trevor was bounced upwards a bit, 
relatively safe on the end of the ascension cable.  The ride would have 
been exhilarating, Trevor assumed provided he opened his Force-sight to 
see what was going on.  He turned back towards the platform, and a 
series of explosions ripped out the entire floor.  Five different 
explosion blew out the windows on the floor, and Trevor could feel the 
heat even as the shuttle continued to pull away to the safety of the 
traffic lanes. 

=========================================== 

Moments later, across the main traffic line, the shuttle car came
towards a landing platform, dropping off Trevor first, and then moving 
off to unload its passengers.  Master Shudo Laan walked up, sensing 
that his Padawan was nearby.  Master and student looked at one another, 
and bowed respectfully towards each other. 

"Had a busy day, my young Padawan?" the aged teacher asked. 

"A little, Master.  Could have been worse, couldn't it?" the young
student said. 

"True, very true, Trevor," as they both turned to watch Senator Essada
and company corralled to a diplomatic shuttle.  The old man who 
assisted him walked over, and handed Trevor his robes. 

"I thought you might be needing this, so I grabbed it as we ran out." 

Trevor bowed towards the man, "Thank you, sir. I am in your debt." 

"No," the man said, "we are in yours," and with that walked towards the
shuttle. 

"You were able to defeat all the droids, Padawan?" Shudo Laan asked in a
peculiar way. 

"No, Master.  I had help from them.  I didn't notice something that I
should have.  This was a very valuable lesson, Master." 

"It was not my intention to place you in danger, Trevor.  But your
experiences have given you a reserve of confidence that didn't exist 
before, I think.  Come, we have an appointment to keep." 

"Master, what about the senator?" 

"Not to worry, his bodyguard contingent has just arrived.  We have been
relieved.  Come, now, my young apprentice." 

============================================ 

Early morning had come to the Jedi Council chambers.  Shudo Laan had
been speaking for a few minutes to Masters Yoda, Plo Koon, Depa Bilaba, 
Adi Gallia, and Ki-Adi-Mundi.  The chambers were very empty at this 
time, but Trevor always felt a warmth in his heart in this room. So 
many memories to draw on, so many experiences yet to be had. 

"It would seem that my young Padawan, Master, dispatched eight droids on
his own.  I had some issues with the controller of the droids, but he 
was able to disable them while keeping the senator completely 
protected." 

Master Yoda turned to Trevor, and spoke. 

"Well you did, young padawan.  Ready you might be for tougher tests,
yes?  Keep an eye on you, we will.  More Jedi work I see in the near 
future for you, Trevor Gul'dan.  Be mindful of the lessons learned 
today.  Helpful they are to the ways of the Force." 

Trevor rarely spoke to the Council in their chambers.  He'd had Master
Yoda years before Shuda Laan, and his respect of Yoda was exponetial to 
the size difference between his Master and Yoda.  Trevor could not help 
but smirk at Master Yoda. 

"Thank you, Master Yoda.  It would seem that the knowledge passed from
you to Master Shudo has finally found it's way into my stubborn head."  
Trevor broke out in wide grin, and even Yoda couldn't help smiling a 
little at Trevor. 

"Proved to yourself have you in the training you have received.  Glad I
am that you have come full circle," Yoda responded.  Yoda got up from 
his chair and walked towards Trevor.  Trevor immediately crouched on 
one knee to be face to face with the powerful Jedi. 

"More tasks there will be, young Padawan.  Remember the Code, and it
will serve you well."  Yoda patted Trevor's arm, causing a glowing 
warmth to flowed around Trevor.  A single tear reached Trevor's eye, 
and Yoda immediately winked at the young Padawan.  "More we will hear 
from this one, will we not, Master Shudo?" 

"It is possible, Master, provided he can continue to keep his wits about
him," responded the tall Jedi, turning a few shades of yellow.  Trevor 
and Shudo bowed deeply to Master Yoda and the Council.  With that, 
Shudo Laan escorted Trevor out of the chambers. 

====================================== 

Back at the door to his room, Trevor felt a slight flutter with the
Force.  He turned to his mentor and teacher, and noticed him staring at 
him.  Yellow was all over his skin, and Trevor blushed, and for the 
first time in many weeks, felt ready to attempt to get ahead of his 
current learning curve.  'I will start working on my lightsaber as soon 
as I have some extra time,' he thought. 


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