FicWad

-Jex sat lazily in his seat, his left hand behind his head and his feet up on the console. He looked at his prize as it hovered above his open palm and slowly spun in the air. He couldn't believe he was going to get paid so much for so small a thing, and so easily obtained. He looked over at the red dot that moved on his galactic map and smiled.

-The tracking device he had planted on Darkana's ship was working perfectly. If the Jedi were willing to pay him so much just to find a stupid old relic, they would pay a small fortune for the whereabouts of the Sith that sought them. Jex only hoped that Darkana wouldn't be foolish enough to get herself killed. Although he wasn't exactly fond of her, she didn't strike him as the stereotypical, evil Sith. She was ruthless, he had no doubts about that, but she seemed more sensible than most servants of the dark side that Jex had encountered.

-The communications screen finally blinked on and Jex saw the face of Master Breck appear. The bald man didn't look any more pleased to see Jex's face then Jex was to see his.

-"I take it you have something to report," Breck said, the same disapproving tone as always.

-"No old man," Jex said with a smirk, "I just wanted to see your ageing face to remind myself how little time you have left."

-"Still brash and disrespectful I see," Breck said, "what do you have to report?"

-Jex held up the artifact and gave a smirk. The expression on Breck's face changed to surprise, but only for a moment.

-"I will inform the council of your success, and we shall await your arrival," Breck said. The screen went blank before Jex could even mention the tracking device.

-The artifact lowered into Jex's hand and he placed it on the console next to his feet. He brought his hand behind his head to meet the other and closed his eyes, putting Breck's disrespect out of his mind. It would take several hours to make his way to Coruscant and the Jedi temple; he might as well get some sleep on the way. He would tell Master Frell of the tracking device and work out a deal when he got there, it was better to do negotiations face to face anyway.

-Jex stood alone in a large circular room; a round table was in front of him surrounded by a crescent shaped couch. Jex walked over and placed his hand on the table. He looked down at his hand and realized it was much too small. He looked around the room and found a mirror, but the person who stared back at him was a small boy. Jex waved his hand and the boy in the mirror did the same. Jex slowly reached up and touched the padawan braid that hung down by his ear. There was no denying it; the boy in the mirror was him.

-His hair was cut short and he had on the light colored robes of a Jedi. he looked down and found his old light saber hanging from his belt. He reached down to touch it and prove to himself that it was real, but just as his finger tip was about to reach it, the door to the room opened.

-Jex reflexively grabbed his light saber and turned around, ready to defend himself against any attacker, but instead of an enemy, Jex saw someone that surprised him so much he nearly dropped his weapon.

-The man standing in the doorway gave Jex a quizzical look. He slowly stepped forward, keeping his hands clasped over each other in front of him despite Jex's drawn weapon. He wore a brown robe that covered tan cloth underneath. His long, well combed hair flowed down his back, and his full beard was just as well kept.

-"Are you planning to strike me down and join the Sith?" the man asked with a gentle smile. Jex snapped out of his daze and realized that his weapon was still active. He quickly released the trigger and the light blue blade retracted and disappeared.

-"No father," Jex said nervously, "sorry."

-Jex's father stepped forward and regarded Jex with concern. Even awe struck as he was, Jex couldn't help but admire the wisdom in the man's eyes. He had forgotten how much he missed the warmth and concern in his father's face. The man walked up to Jex and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Jex was amazed how safe such a simple gesture could make him feel, as if it were a promise that his father would never let anyone hurt him.

-The door opened again and Jex and his father looked to see who was intruding on their father son moment. Jex was almost brought to tears as he saw his mother enter the room with them. Her black hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail, and the black garments she wore hugged her figure. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were fierce, but the moment she saw Jex standing at his father's side, her expression became more relaxed.

-Jex noticed a smaller figure standing behind his mother; it was Andreon, Jex's older brother. He was a good foot taller than Jex and always had a serious look on his face. He had the same clothing that Jex had on, and the same padawan braid. He looked at Jex with the same indifference that he always did but Jex was still overjoyed to see him.

-Jex's mother stepped toward him and Jex went to her, eager to be in her arms again, desperate to be reminded of her strength, but just as they were about to embrace, a terrible hum filled the room, and a yellow light saber blade extended out of Jex's mother's chest. The confidence drained out of her face, replaced by shock, and the distant look in her eyes told Jex that she was dead. She dropped to the ground, and Jex saw her murderer.

-The Jedi held out a palm at Andreon and Jex's brother was sent flying across the room and out of a window. Jex's father stepped in front of Jex to shield him, to protect him, but he too was promptly cut down, leaving Jex to face the threat alone. The Jedi's face was hidden by the hood, but Jex didn't really care who it was. All he needed to know was that his family was dead, and he wanted revenge.

-He didn't know how Vengeance and Justice found there way into his hands, and he didn't care. He activated his white and black light sabers and cried out in a rage as he attacked his enemy. Jex drove the Jedi back with a relentless onslaught of blows. Jex didn't car if the Jedi killed him or not; he just wanted to bare his anger and pain to the universe as much as he could before he died.

-Jex pushed his enemy back until he saw his opening, and he took it. Jex cut the Jedi's right hand off with Justice, the left one off with Vengeance, spun around and plunged both blades up into the Jedi's chest. Jex deactivated his weapons as the Jedi dropped down to Jex's height and Jex removed the hood to look into the eyes of his families' butcher, but he didn't see the face he was expecting. Staring back at him, with an expression on shock and terror, was Alera.

-Jex opened his eyes and was fully alert. He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes; he hated having dreams about his family, especially when they had such unnerving messages in them. He knew that Alera had had nothing to do what had happened to his parents. All the business with the Jedi and Sith had simply brought old feelings and memories to the surface. At least, that's what he told himself.

-Jex looked at his navigational chart and saw that he was half way to Coruscant. He was about to go into the back and stretch for a bit but he stopped. He sensed danger approaching and checked his instruments; sure enough, several craft were on an intercept course.

-Jex raised the Nomad's shields, powered up its weapons and increased speed. Alera came to the cockpit, no doubt sensing what was going on. She simply looked at the controls and stayed quiet, for which Jex was very great full. They both saw that there were five ships approaching in an attack formation.

-Jex diverted the ship's power to the engines and aft shields as he tried to make a run for it. Jex had no interest in a fight that he could avoid, but his pursuers would not give up. They managed to close the gap until Jex was forced to drop out of hyperspace and turn to fight them. Jex diverted the shield power back to the front and got ready to take on the five ships. They were streamlined fighters flying in a tight formation, no doubt intending to overwhelm Jex with concentrated fire power. Not a bad plan, but it did have one major drawback.

-Jex put the Nomad into a spin and fired the weapon pods on the sides, creating a spiraling arch if blaster fire. Two of the ships were destroyed instantly and a third took a hit. The remaining ships broke off and spread out; they weren't making the same mistake twice. The two undamaged ships split up while the third one tried to make a run for it. Jex saw right through the trap; the two other ships were using their wounded comrade as bait.

-Jex grinned and did what they expected him to do. He pursued the damaged ship and powered his aft shields. Sure enough, the two other attackers came in behind Jex and lined him up. Jex reached out with the force and felt the future. Just before the ships opened fire, Jex steered out the way and the two ships fired on their wounded comrade, destroying him in the process.

-Jex took advantage of the surprise and managed to get behind one of the remaining fighters. Jex managed to score a few grazing shots on the ship, but the enemy pilot's evasive flying prevented Jex from landing a direct hit. Before Jex could finish the job, the second fighter found its way behind him and opened fire. Jex sensed the danger and moved out of the way again. The enemy hit his comrade and smoke billowed out of the damaged fighter while Jex positioned the Nomad to make a run on the last able fighter.

-Jex and the last enemy craft squared off and charged each other. Both ships opened fire but neither one could score a hit on the other without taking a hit themselves. The two of them continued to dog fight on relatively even ground; the fighter's superior speed was offset by Jex's attunement to the force and the Nomad's weapons. Little by little, the Nomad's shields took damage, but Jex knew that the enemy fighter was in worse shape.

-"Alera, cloud the pilot's mind!" Jex ordered. With all of his concentration on the dogfight, Jex couldn't focus enough to affect the pilot. Alera hesitated, but only for a moment. She held out her hand and reached out with the force; she touched the mind of the enemy pilot and wrapped her will around his, making it hard for him to concentrate. Jex saw the difference in the pilot's flying; it became less responsive, and Jex lined him up.

-Jex delivered the finishing blow and watched as the enemy ship was consumed in a fire ball. Jex allowed himself a small grin, but his celebration was premature. He sensed danger and checked his instruments only to find out too late that the final enemy ship, the one that he thought had retreated, was on a collision course, and it was already too close for him to avoid.

-With the nomad's shield drained from the battle, there was no way the ship could survive the impact of the fighter. In a moment of desperation, Jex held out his hand and lashed out with the force. Inside the enemy ship, circuits shorted out, fuel pipes ruptured and power couplings overloaded. The ship suffered massive systems failure, and it exploded just before ramming the Nomad.

-Despite destroying the enemy, the debris from the destroyed ship was hurled into Jex's ship. The shields repelled the brunt of the force, but inside the ship, circuits overloaded, pressure conduits ruptured and sprayed steam and exhaust and Jex and Alera were tossed around. The shields failed and several fragments embedded themselves into the Nomad's hull.

-Jex picked himself up off of the console and looked around to make sure he was still alive. He looked over his shoulder and saw Alera unconscious on the ground. From the gash on her forehead, Jex guessed that she had taken a hard knock on a bulkhead. Jex checked his instruments for the damage report and let out a defeated sigh before moving to help Alera.

-Alera opened her eyes to the sight of Jex looking down at her. She reached up and gingerly touched the cut on her head. Her mind was still a jumble but she reached out to the force and used it as an anchor point as she put her thoughts in order. Once she was thinking clearly again, she got to her feet and looked around the badly damaged ship.

-"How bad is it?" Alera asked.

-"Well," Jex said unenthusiastically, "the starboard weapon pod is inoperable, life support is minimal, communications are dead and uh, oh yeah, the hyper drive engine is shot...which means we won't be getting to Coruscant anytime soon."