Chronicles Of The Force - Prologue (Doug)

[Josh Dragovalor]

There would be no mercy now - only survival. If they were to keep these guys from finding and killing the slaves that they had freed, Josh and Doug would need to survive. They would have to fight. No matter what they had to do... They had to fight, and survive. Unlike Doug, Josh was well versed with a blade, and would block and counter the attacks of the three remaining going after him. He wasn't holding back whatsoever now, striking quickly, and at times even violently and savagely, without thought of the lives of the people he was attacking, just about surviving.

Josh would quickly use the Force to push away two of the three when he realized that Doug was in trouble. He would sweep the legs of the third to stun him for the time being before quickly turning and throwing one of his lightsabers, using the Force to navigate it through the air as it spun and slashed through the third and forth guards on Doug's end that were heading toward him, downing them and giving Doug a chance to attack the remaining ones. It would boomerang back to Josh and he would quickly get it back in time to parry a blow from one of the men on his side, before stabbing both blades through his chest and shoving him aside in time to spread out his blades to block blows from the left and right side of him.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

As the guards closed in on Doug, suddenly Josh's lightsaber flew by that cut through two of the guards, causing them to collapse down. Doug took a deep breath and glanced over at Josh, smiling awkwardly, but then he turned back to the remaining two guards, raising his vibroblade once more as they arose. He then charged at one of the guards, hopping over the downed bodies of the other two, and slashed at him. The guard quickly rose his blade to parry the attack, but Doug quickly shoved him back and then roundhouse kicked him to the ground.

The other guard then charged at Doug, but Doug was more ready for him now as he turned and rose his blade to counter the guard's sudden strike. He gritted his teeth as he pushed the vibroblade against the guard's, but Doug managed to force him back as well. He then wasted no time charging forward once more and plunged the vibroblade through the guard's chest. The guard gasped and then he fell limp. Doug slid the blade back and the guard fell to the ground.

The other guard that Doug had just simply kicked to the ground got up once more and charged at him. Doug again would counter his blow and they would engage in a brief struggle as they tried to gain the upper hand over the other, slashing at each other repeatedly with the vibroblades, but their weapons kept meeting...

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi shot a grin toward the redhead after he had whittled down the numbers a little bit for Doug to be able to survive against. Hopefully he would be alright from here. Josh would get his blades up to defend himself against the two goons that were ganging up on him, backing up as his blades would block their blows. One would go for a wild swing and Josh would quickly move to the side, jabbing an elbow into his head before tossing a blade up and hitting him with a hard punch in the face that sent the man flying from the Jedi's strength. As he caught the blade, he would duck under a stab from the other man, getting behind him and landing a roundhouse kick to the back, stunning him. As the both of them would start to get up around the same time and prepare to attack, the Jedi Master knew he needed to be risky.

Josh would quickly use the Force to launch himself into the air, tossing his lightsabers up above before unleashing a two-handed burst of Electric Judgement. The attack would hit dead on and they would be fried, letting out screams in pain that would keep them from attacking, and once they had enough, Josh would catch the blades in the air and drop down, pressing both blades forward and using the Force to cause himself to spin, the momentum increasing his speed as he came down on the two. One would manage to barely get out of the way, but the other would be impaled by both blades as Josh would land on his feet, but Josh would act quickly and use the Force to propel himself forward, slashing through the other man's side and taking him down as well.

From the corner of his eye, Josh noticed the man at the end of the room, presumably the boss of this operation, grabbing two vibroblades. Josh would look over at Doug. "Doug! Finish them off quickly! We've got company!" Josh would call out to the redhead.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug's eyes squinted when he heard Josh speak again. It appears that they have another adversary to deal with. He and the guard had continued to parry their blows, but Doug eventually managed to slash at the guard, which caused him to stumble back. Doug then quickly ran up to him and plunged the vibroblade into the guard's chest. The guard coughed and then went limp. Doug pulled the sword back as the guard had then fallen to the ground dead with his allies.

Doug swung his sword a little as he then looked over at the supposed "boss." He took a deep breath. "Alright." He simply said. It seems like they've finally reached the apex of their little "mission." He was feeling tired, but they still had unfinished business.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It seemed Doug had managed to succeed in stopping his end of the guards as well. Josh would chuckle as he would step forward toward the boss of the operation, cracking his neck.

"You know, keeping people as slaves isn't exactly moralistic... Nor is it good for your health" Josh would remark amusedly as he would brandish his blades. "And you're so damn savage about it too. You think I like killing your followers? Jedi don't normally work like this, but you haven't exactly left me with a whole lot of choice, y'know? So are you going to come quietly while we turn you over to the Republic, or are you going to attack us like your friends did?" Josh would ask, motioning toward the dead guards.

The man would growl, seeming to be considering his options for a moment. "Gah.... YOU STUPID JEDI!" He screamed as he would suddenly toss his vibroblade at Doug, hoping to impale the farmboy. Josh would quickly toss one of his lightsabers, manipulating the force to cause it to spin and hit the vibroblade just inches from Doug's face, and the blade would hit the ground as the lightsaber would return to his hand.

"That's not happening" Josh spoke flatly. "Last chance. Surrender quietly, and come with us" He remarked. He was getting rather tired of this man's brutality. It was clear this guy was as a cruel a slaver as any. The slaver meanwhile, didn't seem ready to go back to the Republic, knowing the illegal nature of slavery. He would pull out another vibroblade from the nearby drawer and lunge at the two, both blades in hand.

"Get ready, Doug!" Josh would cry out. "This isn't going to be easy!"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had stood a short distance to the side and behind Josh as the crazed slaver boss was being schooled by the Jedi. It almost seemed like things were gonna be over... Until one of the slaver boss's vibroblades almost impaled him in the face of course. Luckily, Josh had quickly deflected the vibroblade flying towards him with some lightsaber and force action. Nonetheless, he appeared rather shaken by the action, his eyes having widened and his sword being raised.

He shook his head as the slaver boss went to grab another vibroblade. It looks like he wasn't going down that easily after all. Just one more maniac to vanquish before this insanity is finally over. Doug raised his sword and got into a stance more fitting for battle... Sort of. It wasn't exactly the most professional looking. He was ready nonetheless, feeling a bit more on his toes now.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The boss would slash at the two several times with the two vibroblades, before hitting a button on them that opened a hole on the ends of both of them, which he would then put together, turning the vibroblades into some kind of sharp staff! It was a double-ended sword the length of a staff, Josh noted. But make no mistake about it, judging by his aim earlier, it was clear that this guy was good. And that would be obvious as he would begin swinging at the both of them with his sword-staff, as Josh would get his blade up to guard it repeatedly.

The Jedi was clearly trying to look for a weak point... He needed to find one, and exploit it, or he would continue to strike until they got tired. Who knew how much energy this man might have? He had kept himself guarded, so guarded that who knew his capabilities?

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug watched as the boss had turned the vibroblades into some kind of double-sided vibroblade... A vibrobladed staff perhaps. It was clear that he had some kind of skill and that they dynamic duo would need to find an opening.

The boss had started slashing at the both of them with the sword-staff and as Josh guarded with his lightsabers, Doug would guard any slashes towards him with his own vibroblade. Whatever was it that they could even do against him? He was quick and probably relentless. There had to be something they could do, though... After all, it was two against one.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Quickly, Josh had begun to formulate a plan, realizing the man had not left himself open at any moment. He doubted his offensive capabilities were as good as his own, but his defense was near perfect. So Josh knew that he would have to use their numbers to their advantage. Josh would cock his head toward the redhead, motioning for him to move to the right just a little more. Meanwhile, he would continue blocking and parrying his blows, but it was as though every single time that he did, it got harder and harder to.

The man was obviously learning their blocking style. They would have to act fast.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had glanced over at Josh as he cocked his head and he seemed to get the gist of the motion as he slowly slid to the right a little more. He was not entirely sure what was going on in the Jedi's head, but his plan was probably as good as anything he could think of.

He too was finding it harder to keep the man from actually slicing at him.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh's plan had begun it's motion.

The Jedi Master's instructions to Doug to move even just a little bit would show it's true colors in just a moment, as when Doug moved, the boss would be forced to swipe just a little farther in order to reach Doug, as he pressed his attack. And that was when Josh saw his moment. Having to clear more ground, even with a long weapon such as the double-edged swordstaff, that meant more of a hesitation between when he would strike the other after striking one. That provided Josh more of an opening.

After a few more strikes that were getting harder and harder to counter, Josh would strike. He would take the offensive, slashing his blade at the staff - not with the intent to hit the man, but to move the twin-bladed staff itself. In doing so, the boss was caught off guard, and Josh would let out a scream as he would brandish his blades, spinning them vertically before bringing them both into the man's chest. The man would stop dead, dropping his staff as he struck the vital organs, before dropping dead.

Josh regretted having to kill him, knowing they could have extracted information... But he had left them no choice in order to defend themselves. Josh would deactivate his lightsabers and place them back on his belt, looking over at Doug.

"You did good" He spoke calmly, with a small smile. "Search the office. Let's see if we can find anything, shall we?"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

It would appear that Doug's subtle movement actually meant something notable to the strategy, particularly involving a delay in the boss's movements due to having to stretch further. Soon enough, his Jedi companion had managed to strike at the man to let his guard down and then end him rather quickly. It went by so fast, but it would seem that it was all over... For now at least.

Doug looked at Josh and scratched his head at the compliment. Now that all the guards and the boss were taken down, the suggestion to search the office seemed like an optimal conclusion to this mayhem. Doug nodded a little. "Sure... There might be somethin' in here somewhere." He replied in agreement. Doing something else besides killing a bunch of nutjobs sounded kind of relaxing.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The boss was dead. The slavers had been defeated and Josh and Doug had been victorious. He wished it hadn't had to end with so much bloodshed, but that was the name of the game when it came to dealing with slavers... That was just a fact of life. The blonde would nod toward Doug as he would begin looking through files... And then he found a few interesting tidbits on what seemed to be the slavers war room table.

"There's a connection here..." He would mumble to himself. "This is a chain of slave camps... All under one roof. Ugh... Figures. But it explains why I've seen so many pop up in this sector lately..." The Jedi would mutter. There was a name there... There. There was the location of another camp. He nodded, seeming happy with his findings.

Finally, he looked over at Doug. "You planning to go home with your parents, kid?" He asked. "I found what I needed" He began as he tilted his head. "We should get back to the slaves and arrange transport. After that, we'll talk about what you wanna do next"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had just randomly looked around the room, but he looked over at Josh when he found the goods... Well, maybe they aren't actually good, but they were the details they were searching for in the room. It seems like this was not the only camp. It looks like they could finally leave this damned place behind at least. The place had given him enough creeps tonight as it is.

"... Yeah. Let's go do that first." He said with a small nod towards the idea of arrangements. Apparently there was some decision making that he would have to do once they got the now-former slaves on the way back to their homes, though. What would this be about exactly? He'll find out soon enough...

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Once he had recorded the needed information into his datapad, found the key for the slave collars, and sent some of the information to his sources, the Jedi Master and the farmboy would head out, through the empty slave compound until they met the slaves in the meeting place. Josh would allow for Doug to reunite with his family while he got to work.

"One collar..." He began singing to himself quietly as he would unlock the first slave collar, to the relief of the slave. "Two collars... Three...."

This would continue, until he got to Doug's family. He would wait for them to finish their conversation, of course.

[member="Douglas Starwind"][member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

After Doug had gotten back to his parents, he quickly dropped the Vibroblade and went up to them and they all had a big, family hug. His parents had expressed their massive concern over him in a rather stern way, but were also very relieved to see that he was safe. Doug was happy to see them again as well and that they had properly gotten out safe and everything.

Their conversation seemed to come to a stop once Josh had started walking over to them with the key to unlock the collars. "... Thank you for your help." Doug's father would simply say to the blonde. Both of the parents were relieved to be free and that their son was safe. It was a rather joyous occasion after the chaos that was occurring earlier.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Once he let them have their conversation, he would unlock the collars on Doug's parents, and only smiled faintly when they thanked him. "Part of my job" He remarked with a light chuckle. But then his expression grew serious. With his senses able to work in a more focused fashion, he could see it clear as day. He looked from Doug, nodded, and then looked to his parents.

"But I need to take your son with me" He would add calmly. "He has exhibited the traits of a Force Sensitive, and I've never been wrong about this kind of thing before" Josh would reveal, looking at Doug again, then to his parents. "I plan to take him with me to the Jedi Temple on Tython, to test him, and then to train him myself, as a Jedi."

"In the end, of course...... It is Doug's choice to make."

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

The collars were off at last on the couple, but then there was a sudden revelation about their son. The parents looked at each other with a surprised expression and then back at the Jedi. "... You mean... My baby... But... How?" The mother would question. "... How? How do you know this? I do not mean to question your judgment..." The father would also wonder.

Doug looked to the sides in a confused manner. "... Yes." He said. Both of his parents looked down at him.

"... Yes?" His mother would utter questionably with a saddened tone.

"I wish to go with him." Doug would exclaim.

"Now, son, don't act hasty... Think about what you were going through in that place... You could have died." His dad expressed with a worried tone.

"I know... But what if something like this happens to you two again or maybe another family? I'd need to be ready to defend people... And myself. I'm almost a grown man now... I feel like I should try to make my own decisions." Doug replied to their worries. "Just... I should try to find more out of my life... Maybe I could do something amazing for this galaxy... Make you two proud." He added on, clenching his fist with in a triumphant manner.

"... Maybe you're right, son." His dad said, looking down slightly and frowning in a sad way. Both of the parents would hug him tightly again, his mom beginning to tear up. "... S-Sometimes I've forgotten how long it's been since we had you... I-If you really feel like this is what you want to do... I-I'll support it." She said, stuttering from some sadness.

"... Don't cry mom." Doug said as both of the parents released him and he looked back at Josh with a deep breath. This felt really hard for him to say given the love for his parents, but he felt that he couldn't stay at home forever. Some opportunity was bound to present itself sooner or later. His parents could tend to the farm without him and they wouldn't have to worry about supporting him alongside themselves anymore. "... Okay." He then said towards Josh, keeping a straight face.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi would wait for Doug to finish his tearful farewell with his family. He never really had a tearful farewell with his. They were just... Kind of taken away from him. Perhaps not saying goodbye was easier? He wasn't entirely sure. But once Doug would finish up with his family, he smiled in return.

"He'll be fine, I'm sure" Josh would promise. "Now that you're all free, I'm going to lead you guys to the spaceport. A contact of mine is there and he's got a ship that's going to take you all home. Meanwhile, I'm going to be taking Doug and heading to Tython" Josh would explain. "Anything else you need to do before we get going, Doug?" He asked the lad, turning toward him.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug took another deep breath, scratching the back of his head. Yep... They'd be going back home... That same old desert of a planet that his old home is on with the moisture farm... The friendly locals... The not-so-friendly locals... And lots of sand. The coarse and rough and irritating sand that gets everywhere.

Doug slowly shook his head at Josh's question once his sentimental thoughts would stop flowing through his mind. "No... No. I don't think so." He simply said. He was pretty sure that there wasn't anything to finish up with before leaving as he picked the vibroblade back up... Just in case.

His parents had nodded at what Josh said prior to the question... They still seemed upset that their son was just going to be leaving all of a sudden to be one of those brave people that use those fancy laser swords and such... It was definitely out of the blue, but they were going to be supportive of his decision... It's not like it was a bad decision after all.