Jedi Gadget

Part I

Not so long ago, in a galaxy far far away, there was an order of protectors of peace in the galaxy. They were called Jedi Knights. They fought in the name of good and justice, sort of like galactic sheriffs. Obviously, their greatest enemy was the greatest evil in the galaxy, the Sith. They were constantly battling, each side trying to rid the galaxy of the other. As of yet, they had not succeeded, but there were only two Sith existing at this time: Sidious Scolex and Darth Maul.

On a balcony somewhere on Coruscant, lightsabers sizzled in the struggle between two combatants. One had dark brown eyes and brown hair, with a long, braided tail hanging behind his ear and a short ponytail on the back of his head. The other’s face was hidden behind the dark hood of his cloak, showing nothing besides a very large nose. The former was called John-Wan Kenobi, the latter Sidious Scolex.

I, John-Wan, am a Jedi Padawan who could not, for the life of me, get promoted to the title of Jedi Knight. The Council kept telling me that I wasn’t qualified. How the heck am I “not qualified”? I thought. I have a lightsaber and I can use the Force, what more do they want from me? Nevertheless, I decided I would protect the galaxy in whatever small way I could, and if being a Padawan was it, well, I’d just have to deal with it.

Little is known of Sidious Scolex’s past, only that he killed his parents along with the entire order of the Sith, so that only he and the apprentice he chose remained. His apprentice, Darth Maul, was a young.....well, thing. There’s really no other way to describe this creature, who had horns jutting out of his head and a tattooed red and black face. The only other well-known fact about Darth Maul besides his sheer evilness is the fact that he never brushes his teeth.

My blue lightsaber clashed with Sidious’ scarlet one, and sparks flew everywhere. Though Sidious’ recognized this Padawan’s skill, to him I was just another Jedi who must be destroyed. He never expected that it would be this Kenobi kid who would give him more trouble than the whole Council put together.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Sidious didn’t notice that he was slowly losing advantage of the situation. I slashed at where I expected the red blade to be, but Sidious had moved it unthinkingly. My saber sliced through Sidious’ flesh, cutting off his hand at the wrist. Sidious screamed in pain and anger, lashing out with his other hand, but he couldn’t do much. He was in trouble and he knew it.

Then he came up with a simple plan. “Oh, forget this,” he muttered, pulling a thermal detonator from his cloak and activating it. Sidious threw it at me, and I was sent backwards first on impact, then on explosion. Sidious Scolex’s maniacal laughter filled the night as my remains fell to the hard ground.

* * *

Queen Brenda rushed to the balcony. She had been on Coruscant on business with the Senate, discussing the taxes on her home planet of Naboo. She also happened to be a doctor and a scientist, and she greatly admired the self-sacrificing work of a Jedi. And I happened to be in love with her. But let’s not get off the subject. As she approached my mangled body, she gasped in disbelief. She heard the explosion, but....she still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She looked down and saw the one thing that had survived the blast: a lightsaber. She brought the scorched metal near here face and noticed an inscription that read: JOHN-WAN, JEDI PADAWAN. She put the hilt in her jacket, then crouched down beside my blackened body. Her red, curly hair fell down around her face as she studied my tortured form. She was startled when she realized that...I was breathing! But there is no way to save him, she thought. Is there?

Brenda called for paramedics, and I was pulled away on a stretcher. I was taken to a nearby hospital, but the medical droid there informed her that not even the bacta tank could save me now. Thinking fast, she remembered her recent research, and the top secret Gadget Project. She ordered that I be brought to an operating room, and she would take it from there.

Part II