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The Apprentice

This is a draft of a short story I wrote for a contest on SWTOR.com. You can see the entry guidelines, prizes and the other contestants entries here. I had a lot of fun writing this story. My tentative plan is to do a series of short stories using these characters. If you like the story, and want to give me your vote, I'd really appreciate it. Follow this link and vote for number 28. Unfortunately, in order to vote, you must first register on the site:( I apologize for this. It should only take a few minutes, but it is still rather tedious. If you are willing to spare those few minutes to cast a vote, I'll be your best friend! Thanks, and feel free to follow my blog, and/or leave me your comments below. I'd love to hear what you think. And yes, I can take a little constructive criticism:)

The Apprentice

Word Count: 1542

Guuyln had never seen anyone move so fast. The young padawan crouched at the base of a large tree, concealed by the lush forest undergrowth, clutching his lightsaber hilt so hard, his knuckles had turned white. He tried to remember last week’s breathing exercises in a failed attempt to calm himself down. His master, one of the most seasoned, and respected Jedi Consulars stationed on Alderaan, was fighting for his life, and Guuyln had a front row seat.

The Sith Assassin was a something out of a nightmare. He was a dark-skinned human, wore flexible black armor, and a deep purple cloak that not only matched his double-bladed lightsaber, but his eyes as well. It was the rest of the assassin’s face that kept Guuyln’s feet firmly planted in the soft dirt. His skin was riddled with glowing dark purple gashes that spread from the back of his neck, over his bald head and congregated around his nearly black, full lips. The fractures in his skin pulsed with Dark Force energy, looking like rage-filled veins that could burst at any moment. He used The Force to move his body, and his blade, faster than Guuyln thought possible. His master, Whilum Yangli, was hard pressed to keep that deadly purple blade at bay.

The clearing hummed with the sound of impossibly fast lightsabers whirling through the warm morning air. Every other second the force of the blades meeting broke the almost consistent humming with very brief thunderclaps. Guuyln could barely keep up as the fight seemed to relentlessly bounce from one side of the clearing to the other. It was then that the guilt hit him. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t insisted they pursue the assassin in the first place.

*             *             *

“How many, commander?” Captain Briyguard asked.

“That is the third lieutenant killed this week, Captain.”

“How many last night?”

“Lieutenant Crossr, and ten of the troopers in his command group, sir. Eleven total.”

Briyguard looked at his personal guard’s commander and frowned. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Briyguard had commanded the infantry troops on Alderaan for five years, and had too many scars and a chronically stiff back proving his loyalty to the Alderaanian cause. Never had he faced an enemy like this. Presumably, a Sith Assassin had been behind a series of murders at his remote outpost. The killer had never been seen, and left only the bodies of Briyguard’s command core in his wake.

Briyguard had made the request for Jedi assistance yesterday, when the news that yet another lieutenant and six infantry troopers’ had be killed. He thought he had better figure out a plan or he would have no one left to promote. The Jedi should have arrived already. It’s not like a Jedi to be late.

He was just about to dismiss his guard, when the door slid open. A Jedi Consular, who he knew of, but didn’t know personally, stepped into the command room. Just on his heels trailed a young boy, not more than 8 years old. The boy’s dark hair was cut short except for a single braid that trailed down toward the middle of his back. The boy was human, but he had never seen a human with eyes like that. Briyguard tried not to stare, but the boy’s eyes were the color of dried blood. 

“You requested Jedi assistance, Captain?” The Jedi master asked.

Briyguard peeled his eyes away from the boy’s and met the gaze of the Jedi. He was tall, with light brown hair, cut just like his padawan’s. The master’s eyes were a bright, cool green color and his fair-colored skin was still darker than the boy’s almost translucent pigment.

“We weren’t what you were expecting, Captain?” The Jedi said, when Briyguard let the silence go a moment too long. He realized he was staring into the boy’s eyes again. The boy smiled. Briyguard tried to fight off a chill. 

“Honestly, no, Master Jedi,” Briyguard finally responded. “I had hoped for a small hunting party of Jedi Knights. I mean no offense, but it’s just the two of you?”

“Truthfully, Captain, if it had not been for the boy insisting that we take the assignment, you would have no assistance at all. The war has taken its toll on even us Jedi. The Jedi Knights on Alderaan have either been killed, or are supporting the troops on the front lines. We are awaiting reinforcements from other systems, but for now, we are all you have.” The Consular tried to catch Briyguard’s eye, and realized he was staring at the boy. “The boy’s name is Guuyln, and he is eager to help his home planet for the very first time.” 

Briyguard snapped out of it, and scowled at the Jedi. “You mean this is his…”

“First mission, yes,” the Jedi finished. “I assure you, Captain, it is not mine.” The Jedi smiled warmly at the boy. “He shows great promise for his age.”

There was something that bothered Briyguard about that statement. Promise, sure, but what was with those eyes? Why did they seem to look right into his very being? The Captain tried to shake it off. “Well, I better start at the beginning…”

*             *             *

Later that same day, Guuyln found himself cowering in the brush, watching his master fight for his life. It hadn’t been difficult to find the assassin. In fact, he wasn’t camped terribly far from Briyguard’s outpost. Master Yangli somehow used the force to “feel” where the assassin was. It didn’t seem very difficult for him either. Guuyln had a lot to learn. In the back of his mind, the boy thought that an assassin would be harder to find, even for a Jedi Master. He shrugged it off. It didn’t matter now.

The fight, however violent, and fast paced, was over just as fast. The last few moments, from what Guuyln could make out, seemed to slow down just enough for him to witness the death of his master. Whilum Yangli furiously kept his green lightsaber parrying the viciously precise blows from the assassin as he backpedaled, back flipped, and sidestepped with the rest of his body. The Consular was constantly retreating, and managed to stay just out of reach.

The blow came too fast for Guuyln to see, but the assassin held the killing strike long enough for him to see that the energy to continue the fight had been eradicated from his master. Yangli was pinned between a great oak tree, and one end of the purple hum of the assassin’s lightsaber. There was no remorse on the Sith’s face. It was hard to read any expression at all, in fact. Then, still holding the blade which clearly entered the Jedi’s chest and penetrated the oak behind his master, the Sith turned only his head to meet Guuyln’s unique blood colored eyes with his own blazing purple orbs. A twisted and scarred smiled tugged at the Sith’s mouth.

The next few moments came to Guulyn unconsciously. He felt rage, like he never thought possible, pushing through his veins by his racing heartbeat. His Jedi teachings fell far away from the young padawan, and he instead, used the incredible anger as courage to propel him toward the assassin.

All Guuyln heard was screaming as he cleared the thirty meter gap between his former hiding place and the assassin, in one Force fueled leap. As he attempted to cut the purple nightmare down with the lightsaber he didn’t remember deploying, Guuyln realized that not only were his attacks futile, but that the screaming was coming from him! The assassin blocked every one of his attacks as if he were swatting a pesky mosquito looking for a bloody snack. 

Just as Guuyln realized there was no way to avenge his master, he noticed that not only did the screaming stop, but that the assassin was trying to speak to him. Guuyln felt dizzy. He hopped back just out of that dangerous lightsaber’s range, and looked up into the glowing purple eyes of the assassin.

“I’ve been waiting for you to seek me out, young Jedi,” the assassin said, all but spitting the word Jedi as it passed his lips. “I thought I’d have to kill scores more before I got your attention.”

“What do you mean?” Guuyln managed to squeak, nearly dropping his lightsaber in the process.

“You must know you will never become a Jedi. Why else would you be here?” 

“I am here to destroy you! You killed my master!” Guuyln screamed, trying to keep his tears at bay. “I HATE you!”

“Good. That is a start…apprentice,” the assassin hissed as he tucked his blade beneath his cloak and extended his hand toward Guuyln. “Come,” he beckoned. He turned, raised the dark hood over his head and left the clearing. 

Guuyln, despite the loss of his master, could feel the truth in the assassin’s words. There was something about the situation that just felt…right. He turned and looked at his former master, slumped at the base of the great oak, eyes open, but seeing nothing. Guuyln turned back to where the assassin took his leave, and chose to follow that same dark path.

Dragon on the Ledge

Home-Birth 2.0

Many of you who were 'fortunate' enough to hear me retell the story of Rowan's home-birth a little over two years ago, know I was beaming with admiration for my truly heroic wife. For 12 hours, Katie was able to move her consciousness inward and breathe through countless contractions with little more than a few low moans. (Minor disclaimer, I originally wrote this on my phone to hide my writing ways from Kate, and then transferred it. There are a lot of minor glitches, but time is money or something like that. Not my normal level of quality, but I appreciate your understanding.)

Her second home-birth attempt, this past Thursday evening and into Friday morning, was no exception to how amazing my wife truly is.

I got the call around 10 that all signs were pointing toward labor within 24 hours. Needless to say, it was tough to get through my last truly important work day. My seniors were presenting their senior projects at 1pm and I was one of the head judges. It would have been okay had I left early, but I felt I needed to be there when it was over to congratulate all my amazingly talented seniors who worked silly hard all year. On top of that, it was Thursday so that meant I had to post a feature length article on TORWars.com. In true Katie fashion, she conveniently waited until I posted my article and finally got home at around 5pm to start the hard part. Well, hard for me. Katie seems to be able to not only handle the pain that comes with contractions and of course, the hard pushing at the end, but she handles it in a way that I know I never could. She never complains, never slips into the television/movie cliche of barking out orders, hitting, or breaking limbs. She simply requests minor things and pukes a few times. Basically, I worriedly followed her around the house, catching puke, heating up water, and holding her up as she bore down and pushed.

When it came time to push, things were a little different than they were with Rowan. I noticed right away that this time pushing was harder for Kate. It took a little longer and the first few attempts didn't result in much. Once she got into the rhythm and the feel of pushing again, the process started to speed up. I was just stoked when our little baby Zoey's head made it's way into the world for the first time! Then things got a little scary. Carla, our midwife, noticed it first. Zoey's cord was wrapped around her so that it made it nearly impossible for Kate to push her the rest of the way in the position she was in. I could hear a slight nervousness in Carla's voice (as if it wasn't hard enough for me to keep it together!). Did I mention that Carla is my hero? She never faltered, just ordered me into action. She needed a better angle to help 'guide' the baby free from her corded prison. Before I knew it, I was hoisting Kate up onto the bed. Scissors appeared in Carla's hands as she attempted to cut the cord that I swear was wrapped around my half-born daughter's purple neck. Carla quickly abandoned that idea and we both urged Kate to push. Carla tugged at Zoey, Kate pushed, and I tried to keep my heart from bursting from my chest. In what seemed like 15 minutes, (likely it was 15-20 seconds), Zoey was free! Another 20 minutes later, (again, probably more like 4 seconds), she cried for the first time. Kate had no idea at the time, but I swear I was gonna lose it waiting for that moment.

The point of this post is to praise my wife for what I can only categorize as a goddess-like achievement. I don't know how any woman does it in a hospital with lots of lovely drugs to ease the pain we men will never know, let alone at home with no awesome drugs and only a birth partner whispering "you can do it" over and over again in her ear. My wife is a rare birthing talent if I do say so so myself. Crazy bias aside, I truly appreciate want she's been through and now it's my turn to take care of all three of my girls. Enjoy some of the random before and after photos that follow. There is also a sweet video of Rowan first meeting her little sister Zoey.

Rowan meeting Zoey for the first time

3rd Time in the Chi

The first time I went to Chicago I had a blast. Sure, I was young, childless, committed but not married, and had little in the way of soul-crushing responsibilities. A couple weeks ago, I went back. The main reason was to support my sister as she defended her thesis and earned her PhD. At your leisure you can pop over to my previous post here, detailing all my proud sisterly love.

Ridiculous travel times aside, I had an amazing trip. I got to finally catch up with my buddy Jeff, and met his girl Quince. It bums me out sometimes having my friends so far away. The upside is that it gives me future excuses to journey to distant cities. Jeff's next destination is Dallas, so at some point in coming years I'll be having a brew in a badass Dallas pub. Jeff even rode the train with me back to the airport. That's a true friend!

I took way to many pictures on the trip to Chicago, but I really do like that city. If I considered myself a big city guy, I'd consider Chi Town. My sister lives downtown, so everything is a short train or taxi ride away. Speaking of which, on the way to a cool little club in a taxi, I swear we were going to die. It's hard to imagine driving in a city like Chicago, let alone driving a taxi in a city like Chicago. The driver, at one point, was driving 60mph! No, it wasn't on a highway. There were streetlights and everything.

Check out all the pictures I took below.

The tavern downstairs and across the street from Jane's place. Great spot to hang, and I tried a new beer!

The view from Jane's balcony.

There were like three of these trucks. We never figured out where or what was being filmed.

Navy Pier

My yacht...no, it's not:(

I blew this pic up because, if you look closely, under mixed drinks in a drink called 'Horny Goat'. Wish I had tried it.

Seems a little extreme...right?

Harry Caray's

Jeff and Quince posing with my and my dad. It was great catching up!

This was around 2am at the club. Apparently, I had something on my face. Thanks Sean!

It's late. Jane's friends may be a little "tired"

These next few pics were sent by my wife Kate while I was gone...

Roe wearing the cute little outfit Uncle Don bought her

Kaya, Row and Kate making dinner

Happy face

Sad face

Eleven City Diner. What an awesome place to grub. Gotta eat there if you're in Chicago

This was my omelet. It was just phenomenal!!

The gift shop at Eleven City was just sweet! (get it?) There was a ton of old school candy and gum like Bazooka. I had to buy a t-shirt and pint class.

These building were under construction last time I was there. Wow...

Soldier Field from a distance

A crazy huge demonstration downtown. Everything is always bigger in the city.

Crazy cool statues

Either the lion is HUGE or Jr. is shrinking.

Don't give that look sis...I mean Dr. Sis

Uncle Don's not sure which way to go...again.

I love all the artwork in Chicago. This is one of two huge stone blocks with digital faces looking at each other. Creepy, cool and a little weird. Just my style.

That silver bean thing in the background was also under construction last I saw it. Once the quinceanera moved on, we got a much closer look.

closer...

This is actually our reflection

Views from inside

Pretty cool idea.

My mom is notorious for giving cask to the less fortunate.

My last meal at Midway airport before my flight home. Sadly, I took too long and my plane was about to leave without me! Oops.

Dragon on the Ledge