A long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
War tore the planets within the republic apart. Battles raged between the factions sending the galaxy in turmoil.
The Jedi, Guardians of peace, are scattered throughout the galaxy, each one with a mission to guide the war to a swift end.
General Kenobi and young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker are caught in a grand space battle near the planet of Javin4.
The overwhelming numbers forced both Jedi to retreat. Their escape did not go as planned…
The continuous noise of repeating warning signals wailed through the cockpit of the young Jedi's ship. Anakin groaned and reached for his forehead. “Uuugh, what happened?” An overhead red light painted the small space an alarming scene. His semi conscious state of mind was working overtime to process the amount of information that was being thrown at his face.
In between all the dashboard’s alerts the pilot started to make out a set of familiar binary tones. His R3-droid was reaching out in what only be described as electronic panic. “I'm here, I'm here! Talk to me R3, what's happening?” A sequence of beeps followed, giving Anakin more information than his recovering mind could handle. “We're doing what now?” Outside the pilot's glass he only just notice the large glowing planet which was closing in faster then he'd like, “ Right, crashing. Sure.” Both hands grasped the stick, “I got it R3, back to manual flying.” a second of silence followed by a careful selection of beeps questioned the pilot's request. “Yes I'm sure. Give me the controls R3!”
The droid followed the Jedi's order and turned off the auto pilot. The flight stick forcefully throws itself to the right, catching the Jedi by surprise. As a result the ship was send into a turmoil as it tumbled towards the unknown planet. Both hands grasped the stick, with all his strength Anakin was pulling it to the opposite direction. Even though the ship was still spinning it was at a slower pace. A quick glance across the panels revealed just how screwed he was. Two engines down, power failing, hydraulics non responsive and the radar was blank. “Alright, prepare for a new type of landing.” Anakin joked as they breached the atmosphere. The droid's panicking warning beeps became louder as their involuntary descend continued.
The surface became clear as they were but a mile above. “This will be a rough one!” Up ahead Anakin noticed something that resembled a settlement. He braced himself, planting both feet against the panels trying to pull the flight stick back. His futile attempt to pull the ship back up kept the projectile on a collision-trajectory. The inevitable crash was but mere moments away when the Jedi got thrown to the side of his chair, something rammed the side of his ship. On his right a second, slightly larger craft steadied the unguided projectile that once was Anakin's ship. In the cockpit a silver haired woman, with black ink on her face winked straight at him before providing a second, much harder shove throwing the Jedi and his droid companion off course. From behind Anakin heard the disapproving noises from his droid, “Don’t be crazy, she helped us... I think.”
It didn’t take long for the ship to reach ground level, “Brace for impact!” The Jedi shouted. R3-S6 let out a final screech before the ship buried it’s metal into the planet’s surface. A trail of destruction and dust followed the wreckage. It bounced around like a wrecking ball before it buried itself deep into the dirt. Anakin groaned, removing the double belts around his shoulders, “You alright back there R3?” A sad, low toned beep was the droids response. The pilot pressed the button to release the hatch several times, there was no response. Crashing the ship must’ve damaged it beyond functioning. The young Jedi reached for his lightsaber. A flick of the switch on the weapon activated the blue luminescent blade of magnetically contained plasma, piercing through the cockpit glass as if it was butter. Anakin carved a circle large enough for him to get out.
From the outside he saw how substantial the damage to his craft actually was, it was nothing short of a miracle the now piece of scrap metal carried him this far. From within a series of complaints were beeped as the droid had trouble exiting the wreckage. “Hold on R3, I'll get you out.” With the same tact the Jedi guided his iconic weapon through the metal, being very careful not to carve into the droid. The saber melted the exterior, dragging his weapon through a magma like substance. A chunk of metal dropped to the ground, revealing the short piece of robotics still in its station, “Hey there, need a hand?” The droid’s response was as cheeky as the young man’s. Anakin grinned and stepped on top of the fresh cut piece of metal. With clear view of he extended his free hand, slowly lifting the droid up. Using the Force has always come natural for the Jedi, it required a bit of concentration but a simple task like this wasn’t even a challenge.
With his companion safe on the ground and the lightsaber back onto his belt Anakin took a look around, “Where are we, R3?” The top of the unit spins around to its master, but with a few low volume beeps he did not give the answer young Skywalker was hoping for. “The ships logs aren’t going to be much use either, perhaps that settlement we saw from up high could give us some answers.” The droid replied in its binary language of beeps. “You're right, i better contact Obi wan as well.”
From his belt the Jedi knight unclipped his communication device. After a few clicks Anakin put it back on his belt, “It's no use, can't get a signal. I think that settlement is still our best shot, let's get going R3.” The droid responded in a series of complaints while opening a hatch at the bottom of his body, revealing a wheel which was planted firm on the ground before R3-S6 started following the Jedi.
There was no clear path, the planet’s surface presented itself like a wasteland, abandoned after its prime years. At one point in time this may have been a hospitable place for life but now it reeked of death and decay. Without resistance, nature was free to roam wild, reclaiming the planet as its own. Anakin and his companion made their way through the untamed wilderness, which was anything but droid-friendly. With a bit of help from the Force, Anakin was able to guide R3 through. Getting to their destination wasn't as easy as he originally hoped, but after a few hours they arrived at some ruins, which from up high Anakin may have mistaken for a settlement.
Hiding his presence behind a collection of scattered boulders the Jedi scouted from afar. “It seems abandoned R3, anything on your scanners?” A red light flickered on the metallic body of the droid as the scanner did it's work. The series of reassuring tones gave the all clear but Anakin's gut was still warning him, something was off. With care he advanced towards the ruins, planting his feet into the planet’s soil without a sound. The rustling of leaves created an eerie, almost haunting atmosphere.
A zip line like sound warned the Jedi a moment too late, a well camouflaged cable tightened around his ankle and forced Anakin to the ground. His body got dragged through the mud and leaves as the line pulled him underneath one of the ruins archways into the collection of ancient masonry. Hysterical tones from the droid fade in the background, his mind was already preparing for what was to come. Ahead a hatch opened, revealing a camouflaged entrance in the mud. Like a predator devouring his pray, the Jedi vanished from sight as the hatch closed behind him.
Anakin came to an abrupt halt. A foot the size of the pilot's torso crushed down on his ribs, forcefully extracting the air from the pressured lungs.
“Come look! Seems like i caught a rat!” A deep and rough voice bouldered. “Come on then Velka, take a look.”
Skywalker attempted to speak but the lack of air made it impossible. With both hands wrapped around the boot, Anakin mustered all available strength and started pushing. The struggle was met with a slight shift in the assailant’s weight, pushing the Jedi deeper into the ground.
“Come on, Velka, what's taking you so long!” the same voice said in a somewhat annoyed tone. Below the unidentified giant Anakin reached out with the force. Drops of sweat made their way down the Jedi's face. The combination of concentration and lack of oxygen made even a task as simple as hurling a rock near impossible.
Consciousness was slipping away. Using the force he grasped a small boulder hurling it through the air.
The collision was anticlimactic as the projectile bounced off the big blur before his eyes.
“Not sure what kind of magician weirdo you are, but that was a mistake.” Strong words followed by an even stronger punch between the Jedi's eyes. Anakin's world faded to black, but before he lost consciousness a soft and tender voice guided him to Limbo, “Dozer...what did you do?”