Wander On

I felt my body jolt to life as the sound of blaster fire echoed outside. I clenched my fists and shook the sleep from my senses before looking around the room. There was no doubt in my mind that the Empire's clones had made their way to this small town on Nar Shadaa. In retrospect, I should've known better than to trust staying hidden from them but considering that they were on the hunt for every single Jedi in the galaxy, it shouldn't surprise me that they would've found their way here.

I reached out to my lightsaber with The Force and it soon found its way to my hand. Making sure that I left no trace of my presence in this small room, I hid it in my jacket before walking out of the door. The clones had already engaged a few Jedi on the street across from me but they seemed to be losing the battle. I wasn't interested in getting involved so I shoved my hands in my pockets before taking my leave, heading towards the starport to hopefully catch a ride with someone.

"You there! Halt!"

I turned to see that a clone commander had his rifle aimed at me.

"Identify yourself!" he ordered.
"I don't answer to carbon copies," I replied.

Three of his companions then surrounded me. I sighed deeply.

"I'm not looking for any trouble; just heading to the starport so I can move on from here," I said.
"Identify yourself! Or we will open fire!" shouted one of the clones.

I shook my head in disappointment.

"Am I supposed to be terrified of four idiots with blaster rifles? Two of you haven't seen battle before, one of you have a blaster that's in such poor condition that it can barely even keep the thermal clip cool and your commander is such an idiot that it puzzles me as to how they selected him," I said.

One of them pulled the trigger but I easily sidestepped it. I shook my head.

"You've got till the count of three to leave; once I reach three, all four of you are dead," I warned.

Two of them fired but I swiftly avoided all the shots.

"One,"

I danced around the blaster bolts and got behind a dumpster.

"Two,"

I heard the familiar click of a thermal detonator and once it clanged on the ground, my hand went for my lightsaber. I then closed my eyes and focused on the explosive beside me and lifted it into the air.

"Three,"

I shoved it back towards my assailants, causing an explosion which scattered them all out. I ignited my lightsaber before leaping into the air. I deflected every shot they fired at me in mid air before sending the commander flying into a wall with a tremendous push of Force energy. I then reflected a bolt back at a member of the squad, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him to the ground. I made my way forward, dodging or deflecting every shot they fired until I was in range. I destroyed one of the rifles with a swift slice before spinning and kicking the other one in the chest, knocking him to the ground. I then pushed the remaining one into a wall. After sheathing my weapon, I left the clones to their own device.

"They're lucky that I allowed them to live another day,"

It was not the Sith way to show mercy for the weak...but considering how different my views were in comparison to theirs, I decided to spare their lives. I made my way towards the starport, where I found quite the crowd trying to get through. I took a deep breath and calmly examined the ships that were in view. After a few seconds, I decided on taking the large GR-75 transport that appeared to be heading towards Alderaan.

"Not exactly the safest place out there...but it's a start,"

I approached the gate, only to see a pair of Twi'leks marking off inventory. I walked up to both of them, with the male pausing to look at me.

"You're not authorized to be here," he said.

"Good...he speaks English,"

"I'm looking for a ride to Alderaan and I was hoping I could tag along on your ship," I explained.

He shook his head.

"What makes you think I'd allow a stranger aboard my ship?" he asked.
"Because I'm in just as much danger as you are considering the Empire is on their way here to eradicate every trace of the rebel presence; the only reason your ship hasn't been destroyed is because it's a registered transport for the Empire," I replied.

He chuckled.

"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name isn't important...I just need a ride and then we'll never see each other again," I replied.

The female Twi'lek looked at me for a moment before putting a hand to her chin.

"I feel The Force within you...it's powerful," she said.
"Are you a Jedi?" asked the male.

I shook my head.

"I left that life a long time ago...now I just want to get away from all the violence and find a normal life," I replied.

The female seemed very sympathetic towards me and she turned to her partner.

"I think we should let him on board; he's not hostile towards us and it doesn't look like he's going to cause any trouble," she said.

The male sighed deeply.

"Fine, get on board; we leave in an hour," he said.

I bowed gratefully to both of them.

"I'm very grateful for your help," I said.

I then removed a credit chip from my jacket and handed it to the female.

"On that chip is 60,000 credits; I was paid handsomely for a transportation job and it was far more than I could've imagined so consider this a very gracious payment," I explained.

I left the two of them before either could say a word. I shook my head.

"Great...the female is a Force sensitive...I hope she doesn't figure out that I used to be a Sith,"

I got on board the transport and hid myself in the cargo bay in a comfortable spot.

"This Order 66 stuff...it's a load of bullshit and definitely not something I saw coming; I thought for sure that the clones were truly loyal to the Jedi but I guess the Empire is just not to be underestimated,"

I leaned back against the crate before looking at my lightsaber. I ignited it and stared at the red beam.

"...I hold no ties to the Sith and this lightsaber is all I have left of my memories there...I'll have to be sure to construct a new one at some point in my life because carrying around a red blade is just asking for trouble,"

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Hopefully, things will be better on Alderaan,"