Kanan Jarrus - Warrior Jedi

Year: 19 BBY

Location: Kaller

Caleb makes his way to a small shuttle station that is set to take him to Plateau City. He has changed out of his armour, now wearing a brown hood. Not his Jedi robes but a worn-out hood, which he picked up from the streets. He won't go back for the armour, even though it might be useful. He has to leave Kaller now. It's too hot, and there are too many troopers. He killed a lot of them, but he wouldn't be fast enough before the ones responsible would notice. And if he kills any more troopers, they would realise that he's still alive. 

"Did you hear? The Jedi Order betrayed the Republic," a Kalleran says. 

"Yeah, well, they all died for it, so..." the Rodian, who he was talking to, answers.

Caleb listens to the people in line for the shuttle he's about to board. So, they told everyone that the Jedi betrayed the Republic. He wonders how they managed to make that stick. But he will find out all he needs to know in good time. What matters now is that he gets off Kaller somehow. The only question is how.

The shuttle lifts off and arrives in Plateau City. As he gets off the shuttle, Caleb sees clone troopers everywhere, holding up his image. Thankfully, they are looking for him wearing armour and haven't thought about the possibility that he could have changed his outfit. He evades their notice and walks through the dark streets of the city, looking for food in dumpsters. He hasn't eaten in two full days. 

He feels a presence approach him from behind and gets ready to ignite his lightsabers. 

"Well, look, who's here? If it isn't a baby Jedi."

Caleb turns around and recognises the Kalleran he met together with his master. Caleb takes his lightsaber in his hand but doesn't say anything. He can tell that the man in front of him isn't a bad person, but a lot of good men just turned against him, so he doesn't take chances. 

"Whoa, kid, relax. I'm not gonna hurt ya," the Kalleran says and holds up his hands. 

"What do you want?" Caleb asks. 

"Don't trust me, huh? Guess it's tough to suddenly be among the galaxy's most wanted. Urgh, you smell like you haven't bathed in weeks. Here, have a meiloorun fruit for your hunger."

Caleb catches the fruit but doesn't eat it yet. 

"Hm? Not eating? Are you keeping up the Jedi niceties? Oh, well. Good luck, you'll need it," the Kalleran says and walks away. 

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"I thank you for this, but I wanted to ask whether you would know a place for me to sleep. Just for a few hours, please," Caleb says. 

"Fine. You can crash on my ship-- A one-time offer."

"Thank you very much, Mister..."

"Name's Kasmir. Janus Kasmir."

Janus Kasmir leads Caleb through the streets to a tucked-away part of the spaceport he owns. The patrol is tight, very tight, but they get through it just fine. 

"There it is, the Kasmiri, my ship," Janus says. 

"For real?"

"Yeah, why? Don't like it?"

"No... It's fine."

"That's what I thought. Now wash before you hit the sheets. I don't want your smell all over my spare bunk."

"Thank you."

After taking a shower, Caleb sits down on the small bed and starts to meditate. He's been tense and battle-ready for two days now, beyond exhausted—but his body still refuses to relax. That's why he forces it to. He dives deep into meditation and fills his body with the calming effect of the Force. However, it feels different compared to before. Eventually, Caleb's muscles relax slowly, and he drifts off to sleep. 

.

A full rotation later, Caleb wakes up when Janus enters the ship. He smiles at him and then looks at his clothes. 

"Sleep well? Wait, those are your clothes? You can't walk around dressed like a monk while clones are on the hunt for Jedi, kid. Let me help you with that. Here, that should work."

Janus tosses him a set of clothes—too big, but wearable. But at least it looks different. 

"Thank you..."

"What? I don't have anything else. You'll have to make do with this."

"No, I was wondering what to do now."

"What do you do? What you have to do to live in the actual galaxy with the rest of us miscreants. You lie. You cheat. You steal. You survive. Didn't they teach you anything useful at that temple of yours?" Janus asks. 

"They did, but-"

*Ping Ping Ping*

Caleb suddenly receives a Jedi emergency signal. He looks at the transponder in surprise. 

"What's that?" Janus asks. 

"It's the Jedi emergency signal... calling me back to Coruscant."

"Oh, no. No way, kid. I know what you want, but I don't do the Core. I'm strictly Outer Rim. Besides, you're a liability. Finish eating, then get out."

"Hold up," Caleb says. 

"What?"

"One short jump. Do this for me, and I'll compensate you more than enough."

"With what? You have nothing. You're a hunted rat and would only give me trouble."

"I have more than enough means to get around... please."

What Janus Kasmir doesn't realise is that Caleb is using Force Persuasion as he asks him. But more subtle. 

"Urgh, alright. Let's go."

Janus Kasmir would never ever do that if he thought about it clearly. The call is so obviously a trap, and he would realise this. Caleb realises it as well, but he wants to know for sure whether the Jedi Temple was already pillaged or if there are still some who are trying to gather a force. 

Janus fires up the Kasmiri's engine. It's a KST-100 Kestrel light executive transport—used by officials, the rich, or smugglers running sensitive cargo. As they start to rise and fly towards the hyperspace lane, the emergency signal suddenly stops, and a hologram of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi appears. 

[This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi... I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: Trust in the Force. Do NOT return to the temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. Avoid Coruscant. Avoid detection. Be secretive, but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere, and in time, I believe a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always.]

Hearing these words, Caleb looks at Janus and nods his head. The Kalleran stops what he is doing and looks at Caleb. 

"So what now?"

Caleb thinks about what to do and where to go. He needs to leave Kaller; that much is certain. Suddenly, he remembers something he learned from Master Baas. 

"I know a location. What do you think of the Mid Rim?"

.

.

In the Mid Rim, a space station exists that was used by the Jedi Order as an outpost. It was called Brighthome. Right now, it is full of Imperial stormtroopers. 

[Picture]

"Look at me, I'm a Jedi," one of them says as he ignites a lightsaber. 

"No, you're not, Ding. If you were a Jedi, you'd be dead."

"Come on, Kicker. I had to do something to liven up this assignment. We've survived what... a hundred missions? I honestly think this is the one that'll kill me," Ding complains. "The best soldiers in the galaxy, and here we are, stuck making an inventory of a bunch of Jedi junk at the far end of space. What a waste."

"Take this seriously. Every mission is important. If Emperor Palpatine wants this done, then we get it done. We beat the Separatists, great. You think they're the only enemy out there?" Kicker asks. 

"No. I just don't think we'll be the ones fighting them," Ding mentions. 

"What do you mean?"

"I heard the facilities on Kamino might not be going much longer. Right now, they'll train up the last batch of clones, and that's it."

"But that's crazy. Who will protect the Empire?" Kicker asks. 

"Don't know, Kicker. It's a rumour, anyway. However-"

"You two, focus. We've got incoming," their superior says. 

An unidentified vessel arrives and approaches the former Jedi Outpost. Four ARC-170 fighters scramble, warning the ship that it has entered restricted space and that it will fire should it continue to approach. But their warnings go unanswered. Instead, whoever is on the dark starship starts attacking them. Two fighters are destroyed right away, and a short moment later, the other two follow. 

Inside Brighthome, the clones have seen all of that happen. 

"That ship took out all four arcs? Without taking a single hit? Who is this guy?"

"Haven't seen flying like that since--"

"Don't even say it. It can't be a Jedi. They're all dead."

"Whoever he is, he's managed to deactivate the way station's security protocols. That means he's about to dock."

"We have to protect this station! Get to the hangar deck... now!"

The clones get ready in front of the blast door in the hangar and wait for whoever it is to enter the space station. Then, the thick metal blast door is suddenly bent and starts to groan. 

*SMSSSHH*

The blast door is smashed open. In front of the clones stands a large figure in black armour. Mechanical breathing is heard. 

"Take him down!"

.

.

The Kasmiri exits hyperspace and approaches the Jedi Station. 

"What's that?" Janus asks. 

"This is Brighthome. It served as an outpost for the Jedi Order in the Mid Rim. Now, I assume it is more or less empty with goods for both of us. You can steal a ship, and I will get what I need," Caleb explains. 

"A ship? How am I supposed to transport a ship?" Janus asks. 

"There are many things of value. I'm sure you'll find something," Caleb says. 

"Oh yeah?"

They approach one of the hangars and land. In the hangar, they see several Eta-2 Actis Jedi Interceptors and one starship that neither of them has seen yet. 

[Picture]

Seeing the dark one, Caleb suddenly freezes for a moment. He turns toward the space station's entrance—and sees the blast door, torn open.

"The cold... the fear, anger... hatred... No!"

"You weren't kidding, kid. There are some Jedi fighters I could sell for some credits. Too bad I--"

"You have to leave," Caleb interrupts. 

"What? We just got here, kid. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"You can't feel it, but there is something here that is more dangerous than you can imagine."

"Huh?"

"Get out of here!" Caleb shouts and runs into the station. 

Janus looks after Caleb and shakes his head. He doesn't believe what he's hearing, so he doesn't listen. He walks into the station and takes a look around. The first thing he sees is the dead clones littering the floor. He doesn't see Caleb at all but still doesn't turn around and leave. Curiosity is what drives him, and he didn't become a successful smuggler and 'miscreant' without taking risks. He believes that whatever these clones were protecting had to be of great value. 

He moves forward but suddenly stops when he feels the tremor of an explosion. Janus looks forward and sees a dark figure emerge from the green smoke and tower above him. Instinctively, Janus feels fear, but his legs won't move. 

"Uhhh, hi. I was just-- kaackk... akk..."

The dark figure lifts Janus in the air, but he doesn't use his hands. He uses the Force. He claws at his throat, trying to get the invisible hand off, but it's no use. At the very moment that he is about to die, an explosive flies through the air and explodes next to the dark figure. 

{GAAHH!}

Janus falls to the ground, holding his neck. Caleb helps him to his feet. 

"I told you to go. Now leave and don't look back. I'll cover you," Caleb tells him. 

"But you--"

"Go! Now!"

Mechanical breathing is heard. Caleb focuses on the challenge at hand and immediately understands that there is only one possible outcome. He gets a vision, a Force vision and a name...

"Darth Vader."

Vader reaches out and attempts to use the Force Choke on Caleb. Seeing the Jedi Padawan in front of him and remembering what role he played in helping Ahsoka Tano, Skywalker's former Padawan, feeds his rage and hatred. However, what he hadn't and couldn't have accounted for was that Caleb reacted instinctively and used Force Push to block the attack. 

Holding one hand up, Caleb charges forward, knowing he will be overpowered any second. He slashes his lightsaber through the air, trying to score a fast hit. But he is overpowered and choked. His swing cuts only air as he rises in the air. 

Caleb feels the burning hatred emanating from Vader, but it doesn't stop him. He repeats what he used against the clones on Kaller. He pulls the Force towards him and then explodes out with a powerful, repulsive force.

"AAHHHH!"

The powerful blast can only be resisted by Force users. Nevertheless, Vader feels his concentration momentarily falter slightly, allowing Caleb to attack close quarters. Seeing nothing else, Vader pulls one of the lightsabers lying around towards him and blocks the attack. 

Caleb uses the agile and fast form IV to keep pressure and seemingly random angles to attack. Vader's life-support suit restricted his mobility, leading him to rely more on strength and brute force rather than agility. Caleb knows his weakness, but the sheer power and Dark Side Vader uses in his fight allow him to keep up. There is something that Caleb is bothered by about the way the Dark Lord uses Form V, Djem-So. He knows this form... he has seen it before whenever he trains with...

"Ahsoka!"

Caleb backs away and looks at the dark figure. 

"You're Anakin Skywalker. I saw you fight, and I sparred with Ahsoka enough to notice. So it was you. How could you turn on the Jedi?!" Caleb shouts. 

Vader doesn't answer. He uses the Force to hurl bodies of dead clones at Caleb. He dodges and resumes his attacks. But Vader, again, uses the bodies of the clones as shields and smashes them around. He combines his lightsaber with random attacks by the clones to make up for his lack of agility. 

Caleb's use of Vaapad in combination with Ataru is proving to be very effective. He can tell that if he were older and stronger, this fight would already be over. But he knows that the result is inevitable. He is not yet strong enough in the Force to entirely overwhelm Vader. 

And then it happens. 

Caleb finally outskills Vader using his talent for fighting, which is unparalleled, and the fact that he can use and combine multiple lightsaber forms at once. He stabs forward and pierces Vader's left chest. 

{GAAHH!}

He knows that was Vader's plan, though. He feels the Force Choke but doesn't let go of his lightsaber. Instead, he opens his left palm and reveals a beeping explosive inside. 

*CRACK*

*BOOOOOOM*

____________________________________________

For those who disagree with the fight, I am willing to defend my position.