Quote:Have YOU ever seen one?

Dark Jedi

"No, but honestly guys... I'm not sure the war as a whole is working out for us." Grumbled veteran trooper Kat S'trok.

"Meh, yeah, yeah, maybe it isn't." Grumbled other disgruntled troopers.

"I mean, look at me.  I've been in this campaign for 13 years now.  Haven't been promoted for over five years, haven't gotten any prize money in three years, haven't gotten any new armor in six months; honestly I think the whole campaign is going downhill."

"Well we're winning... ain't we?" piped up one of the younger recruits.

"Sure." shrugged Kat.  "Sure we're winning.  But who's we?  The Moff, thats who "we" is.  The Moff and his other gangs of Moffs who sit around planning how we get our asses blown to pieces.  An' what do we get out of it?  We're told that we're doing it for the good of the Empire... for the Imperials!  Screw the Empire, says I!  Forget the damn Imperial Empire!"

"Now careful what you say, Kat." said another veteran trooper.  "I haven't been in here as long as you, but I've been in here to know that the Imperial Army has its uses... hell if it weren't for us, the galaxy would be in chaos.  Its up to us to keep the order you know..."

"Yeah?" challenged Kat."  Well what are them "Jedi" for then?  I thought they were the keeper's of the peace."

"Yeah so did I." said another trooper.

The other vet shrugged.  "Blast me if I know.  Them is the Dark Jedi Order.  I don't know much about them, other than they're smarter than any of us, and they got saber-swords that pierce any armor.  You take my advice and stay away from them, unless you want burning streams of light passing through your middle."

Kat waved off the warning.  "I ain't afraid of them.  Besides, how do you even know they exist?  Have you ever seen one?"  The other vet shook his head.  Kat asked another soldier.  "Have YOU ever seen one?" The other trooper shook his head as well.  "Have any of you ever seen one?" All the troopers shook their heads. 

"There." smiled Kat.  "You see? There probably isn't any 'Dark Jedi',  hell there probably aren't any Jedi at all.  And you know what the "Force" is?  Thats a probably a bunch of trash as well.  Why if there was a force... then why can't we all use it?  I can't use anything called the Force... I don't have 'powers'."

The other trooper's mumbled as well.  Perhaps there wasn't any "Jedi".  Perhaps there wasn't anything called the "Force".

"And your all listening to this trash."  Came a voice behind them.  Everyone turned, and into the firelight strode a character they all knew... their squad leader, Jarvus Pitt."

"Pitt." whispered one of the new recruits.

"Thats right." growled Pitt.  "Do you all really believe all this junk that Kat is saying?"

"Its not junk, sir... it's just talk.  "What if" sort of things, you know sir?"

"Yes.  I do know." Pitt said.  "I know that if you don't watch your words, you'll anger a friend of mine who's here to clear a path for us tomorrow.  He wouldn't take kindly to your "what if" crap.  And neither do I."

"Is he a "Jedi", sir?" asked one of the troopers.

"He's not worth ticking off, son." said Pitt as he disappeared into his tent.

"Is he a Jedi... sir?" mocked Kat as soon as Pitt left.  "I don't know... son... will you kiss my ass?" Kat said as he imitated Pitt's deep voice.

"Now watch it, Kat, you have no right to mock Pitt..." started the other vet.

"I'll tell you what I shouldn't be doing!" Interrupted Kat.  "I shouldn't be standing here drooling over "Jarvus Pitt and his wimpy Jedi" when I could be home tilling the soil like every good farmer from Naboo should be doing right now... if it weren't for this damn war!"

The other soldier's backed away from the fire pit, as Kat began to get angry.

"Hell, lets face it." If there was any "Jedi" wouldn't one of them be here with us... helping us in the war?  Wouldn't a "Jedi" be in command of this squad instead of numbskulls like Pitt? Yeah?"

The troops nodded, still keeping their distance from Kat.

"And another thing."  Kat spewed.  "The damn "Force".  There ain't a "Force", and I can prove it.  Hell, I'm the most experienced person here... if anyone can use the force, then its me."

"It don't work like that." said of the other troopers.  "Its all in your mediclorians... er something like that." 

"Medi-what?" said Kat.  "Thats more of the lies, trooper.  No, I've heard of this kind of thing before... all you need is some meditation, and... closing your eyes."

And with that Kat sat on the ground, closed his eyes and said, "Tell me when I do something."

The other troopers watched, and before long, Kat began to rise into the air.

"Uh... Kat..." said one of the troopers as he backed away.  "Yer flying, man, flying!"

Kat opened his eyes and said, "See?  I told you it's all bogus!  So maybe there is a Force... but it's nothing special... so that means "Jedi" are nothing special either..."

Suddenly Kat was thrown to the ground.  As soon as he stood up, he lifted up into the air, and was thrown back on the ground.  This repeated several times, until Kat yelled, "Alright, alright I give up... there is a Force, there is Jedi... put me down!  I give in!"

As soon as he finished saying that, Kat was thrown thirty feet away from the fire side. 

Kat returned, sore and black and blue.  One of the braver recruits piped up, "What was that Kat?"

"That."  said a strange and dark voice.  "Was the Force." 

They all looked at the dark figure that appeared in front of them.  They couldn't see a face, and they couldn't see much other than that either.  All they saw was a black figure.

"And... who are... you?" asked a shaking trooper.

"I am a Dark Jedi."

Kat swallowed and stubbornly said, "Well that was a neat trick, sir, but I still don't think..."

A red blade hissed forth from the Jedi's hand.  Kat was quieted immediately.

"The saber-sword." whispered the other vet.

"I know what it is!" Kat harshly whispered.  "And if you ask me," he whispered,  "it's just another tri..."

Kat gurgled out some strange form of the word "trick" before he fell to the ground, his glazed eyes fixed on the red blade that pierced his chest.

"Anyone else need convincing?" the Dark Jedi said as he pulled forth his red blade from Kat's carcass.

"Personally I think you should have killed him when he was talking trash about the Imperials." shouted Pitt from his tent in the background.

"No, it was hard when he was trash talking the Force, but after he still doubted it's existance, I had enough." shouted the Jedi back to Pitt, as he left the fireside.

The trooper's were silent for a while.  Then after the initial shock died down, the other veteran said,

"Now may that be a lesson to you, if you start trash talking the Jedi... you'll get a saber-sword stuck in your lungs."

"I always thought it was called a... lightsaber."  said one of the new recruits.

"Shut-up!" whispered the vet.  "You want to get killed too?  Quit trash talking the Jedi... its a saber-sword.  Dammit, trooper, I thought you learned from Kat's example..."