Every Hero Deserves A Last Hurrah

[Zeke]

Before the Republic became an Empire, Jedi were protectors of peace, justice, all that's good in the world, puppies, and awesome. Jedi were found out early, trained in the use of the Light Side of the Force from infancy, and progressed in an orderly fashion from Padawans to Knights to Masters. Jedi were high-profile people who did high-profile things, like guard the Supreme Chancellor from harm.

Before the famous rescue of Chancellor Palpatine performed by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, a mission was conducted to safeguard Chanellor Valorum. The mission wasn't as high profile as the daring rescue mentioned above, but it was significant all the same.

--Years Ago--

Zeke, Jedi Padawan to Milla Theran, was dressed in not-Jedi Robes for the first time in his entire life. Wearing civillian clothes felt strange to him; the blue shirt, black pants, and baseball cap were making him itch. Still, he was bearing up under it with a happy smile. How many other Jedi get to wear civillian clothes for missions? As far as he knew, this is the first time a Jedi was wanted for a mission, and was needed to be disguised.

He watched from the side as a fellow Padawan (Rory Something, Zeke couldn't remember because he couldn't stop giggling at the name "Rory") and a Senate Guard stepped forward to meet the Chancellor as he stepped off his shuttle. There was a brief exchange, and then the trio set off down the walkway towards the looming Senate building. Zeke quit pretending to inspect some piece of gadgetry on the landing platform and followed along at a safe distance.

He walked merrily down the street, with the brim of his hat pulled down low to keep anybody from taking too much notice of him. He could feel the Force as Rory (hee hee, Roary!) stretched out his Force Senses. Zeke did the same, feeling the crowd around him. To his everlasting (un)surprise, there was no hostile intent in the passersby at all. Most of them were so busy going about their own businesses, plugged into their personal music players and comm devices, that they barely noticed Chancellor Valorum walking by. Zeke stretched his arms lazily over his head. It was a beautiful, sunny day with mild weather, and there was no danger in sight. Zeke, of course, decided that danger would crop up any minute, and it did shortly after they cleared the .6 Km mark. A cab speeder that had been drifting lazily along suddenly burst with hostile intent. Zeke grinned even wider (several passersby found it unnerving, given the eruption of blasterfire from the cab) and ignited his gold lightsaber, springing forward to do his duty.

The Senate Guard blocked Valorum with his body and hustled him further down the sidewalk, while Rory (AHAHAHA, ROARY!) drew his own deep blue saber to block and deflect blaster bolts. Rory (*bizarre snicker/snort/giggle/loogie-hocking noise of held in laughter* Roary!) had speed, but not accuracy; he could stop the bolts, but he couldn't send them back at the assassins. Zeke leapt atop the car and plunged the saber into the roof, working it around like he was opening a can of tuna. Half of the blasters turned upward, and Zeke leapt from the roof as it was Swiss-cheesed. His fellow had fallen to a lucky blaster bolt, and now Zeke ran after the infernal cab, pausing only long enough to snatch up Rory's (the name's suddenly not funny) weapon.

Zeke quickly drew level with the cab, floating both sabers with telekinesis and using them to continue blocking the incoming fire. The guard roared curses in his native language (Zeke thought it might be Rodian) before calling Zeke over. The plan is half-shouted as the guard's voice leaks his frustration: Zeke is to carry Valorum using the Force into the Senate, where the rest of the Senate Guards can escort him safely inside. Once Valorum is safe, Zeke is free to come out and show these thugs what he's made of. Zeke agrees, and lifts the Chancellor as easily as if he were a toddler.

Force boosting was never Zeke's best skill. In her most tolerant moments, his Master called it "slightly below average", but here, it should do fine. Zeke increased his speed, trying to maintain focus as he splits it between Boosting, Telekinesis, and Senses. The result was that he went only a little faster than a normal person at peak athletic condition, and the cab kept pace easily. A few blaster bolts began to make it through the weaving shield of lightsabers, narrowly missing Zeke and his charge. Valorum shouted as one singed his fancy Chancellor robes, and Zeke finally just quit the defense and put all of his ability into his boost. He narrowly made it inside the Senate, dropped Valorum unceremoniously in the midst of four Senate Guards, and ran back outside.

The cab emptied itself of its six masked assailants, who charged up the Senate steps with mad shouts, shooting aimlessly at whatever's in front of them. The Senate Guard Zeke left behind caught up to them from behindand skewered one poor, out-of-shape individual. The concussive tip blew the corpse off the end and propelled it up the steps, where it landed on another assassin. With only four remaining, Zeke started to think he wouldn't get to try his combat ability in a live situation. Naturally, the Guard was overwhelmed with blasterfire mere seconds later, and Zeke found himself facing down these last menaces alone.

The young Padawan re-instated his telekinetic lightsaber shield, looked about for a weapon he could use in his hands, and saw the Force Pike rolling away down the Senate steps. He called it to himself with telekinesis, removing two assassins from the combat in the process as it cleared holes in their torsos. He took it from the air and tried to adopt a good fighting stance with it, copying what he'd seen Senate Guards do in videos. His last two opponents traded their ranged weaponry for vibroblades. Zeke couldn't understand this part; it was rare for anyone to try and fight a Jedi at close quarters, but he went with it anyway.

The Pike's long handle turned out to be extremely durable, catching the pair of blades without taking a single scratch. Zeke swept it in an arc, caught the assassins in the ribs, and watched them roll backward down the stairs in a ragdoll kind of way. The last one, who Zeke supposed was the leader due to his increased tenacity, got up and came up one last time. Zeke blocked and parried with the Pike, dropping his sabers as he focused on the adrenaline-powered attack. At last he found a hole in the offense and stepped aside, lightly jabbing his final opponent with the Pike’s blade to set off the concussive tip and knock him out. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, took up the lightsabers he dropped, and waited for the Jedi to come get him.

[Zeke]

Zeke found himself standing in the center of the Jedi Council Chamber not an hour later. He scanned the stone-like faces of the Jedi Masters, but couldn't figure out what they might be thinking about his latest mission. His master stood behind him and slightly to the left, bouncing idly on her feet, exuding the sort of happy energy Zeke was always full of. A sharp glance from Master Windu stopped the idle action, and the debriefing was started.

"Zeke," spoke Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, "You did well today. You successfully defended the Chancellor." It was a simple statement, but Zeke felt like it was loaded somehow. He shrugged merrily, and the venerable Master continued. "It's a shame what happened to Rory. He was a capable Padawan."

Zeke suppressed the automatic giggle that rose at the sound of the name (though he couldn't quite bite down on the image of a big, predatory cat in Jedi robes) and managed to make a reply. "He didn't do badly. He was blocking the blaster bolts better than I could have."

"But Zeke, you did block them better than he did," added Master Adi Gallia. "Your Telekinesis was amazing."

"But his Force Boosting wasn't," said Master Windu with a severe tone. Zeke had always gotten the impression that Windu took it upon himself to always point out the flaws in anything he could see, hear, or lay hands on. "How you managed to increase your speed at all while performing Telekinesis and using your Force Sense I will never know. At least you had the common sense to put your focus where it was needed."

There was a nod of assent from the assembled Masters, and Zeke gave another shrug. "You paused to pick up Rory's weapon on the street, then took the Force Pike of the fallen guard on the steps," noted Master Plo Koon. "Why was that?"

"I figured having two lightsabers to block with would be better than just one," Zeke explained, having only just now given the time to think about his actions. "I can use Telekinesis faster than I can move my hands, so it was a more effective way to block the barrage. On the steps I took the Force Pike so I could defend myself in case the assassins got past the lightsabers."

"Then why did you drop your lightsabers when the last of the assassins approached?" asked Plo Koon. The rest of the council seemed to think this was a good question; several of them sat forward to hear the explanation, and Zeke's Master turned to look at him for the first time since she entered the room.

"I wanted to knock him unconcious. I dropped the lightsabers because they weren't going to help me do that, and I wanted the extra focus for my Force Sense, in order to quickly find and exploit a weakness. I figured that since he was the only living assailant, we should question him about the bizarre, sloppy attempt that was made on the Chancellor's life." Zeke paused, then asked, "Can I ask a question?"

"You just did," replied Master Windu with a slight smirk, "But we'll give you another."

"Why in the world was the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic walking to the Senate?" asked Zeke, who was slightly confused at the wry chuckles he received in reply.

"The Chancellor has recently been ordered by his doctor to spend more time out of his office and getting some air and exercise. Since it was such a small distance, he felt it unlikely that there would be such an assassination attempt so close to the Senate. Unfortunately, he was wrong, and you were there to help save him," replied Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Sounds like kind of reasonable logic to me," said Zeke. "Will he be taking anymore impromptu walks around the Senate?"

"Under heavier guard, and in the Senate courtyards, will he take his walks," replied Yoda. "Tell me, young Padawan, how feel you?"

Zeke blinked in surprise. This was not on the list of expected questions that he had mentally composed for this debriefing. He had expected praise of his telekinetics (it's standard) criticism of his shortcomings (that was even more standard) questions about why he did this or that or the other...but he hadn't been expecting "how ya feelin'?", at least not from the Council.

"I'm fine. Happy as ever. I'm glad the mission went well, and even though my allies died, they didn't die in vain. So...I guess I really don't feel like there's anything to be mourned or regretted. I did the best I could and that's all I can expect of myself."

The Council spent a few minutes exchanging glances, then Yoda at last said "Much consideration, we have had. Much debate as well, for quite a few months now. The last straw on the bantha's back, this is." Zeke braced himself for a reprimand, and Yoda let him have it. "Promote you to Jedi Knight, we do, for your courage, cunning, and positive attitude towards all that you do."

Though it didn't seem possible, Zeke's smile got bigger.

[Zeke]

Windu held up his hand to prevent the outburst that was sure to come. "Don't be so quick to celebrate. Knighthood brings a whole new realm of responsibility to you, Zeke. Weightier responsibilities to yourself and the Council, and new responsibilities regarding the Padawans, Younglings, and the missions you undertake. Do you understand?"

"Fully, Master Windu," answered Zeke. "I'll be sure to give it my usual best." Windu sat back and nodded.

"Very well, Knight Zeke. See that you do. This meeting is adjourned." He and the other Council members watched Zeke and Milla walk out, then winced as Zeke's cry of happiness echoed through the closed doors of the Council Chamber as if they had been flung wide open.

"Can you believe it?" Zeke asked his master, chatting animatedly with her as they walked quickly down the hall. "I'm a knight, and after such a simple mission!? I feel like I don't deserve it, almost. The mission, now that I look back on it, was a little silly in the way some of the events turned out."

"Zeke, don't sell yourself short. You heard Yoda, it's been a long road to this moment. It's your conduct and actions on hundreds of missions, not this one, that make you worthy," chided Milla. She mussed his hair, taking his Padawan braid and looking at it almost fondly. "We need to cut your hair. C'mon, we'll talk about making the transition to your Knight responsibilities while we do it."

[Zeke]

Over the months following Zeke's promotion, the Knight's fame and reputation spread like wildfire as he easily undertook the tasks and responsibilities set before him. He trained several exceptional Padawans, became widely known for his preferred method of performing his missions (dressed as a civilian and carrying his Force Pike) and for his close connection to the Senate Guard.

After Palpatine's rise to power, there came a number of changes in Zeke. It was noted that Zeke was among the last to make the adjustment from interacting with one Chancellor to the other. Some officials suspected this came from some unconscious grudge held against Palpatine, for he engineered the severing of several connections Zeke had to the Senate Guard. In what was often construed as retaliation against these actions, Zeke was forever calling Palpatine "Valorum", even doing so days before his kidnapping by General Grievous. Zeke also named the Clone Commanders that served under him after comic book characters, and was well-known for creating silly battle cries that lent his personality and likeness to Holonet cartoons. His happy, border-line manic personality also landed his likeness and personality in several other forms of media. Zeke was made a playable character in a fighting genre Holo Game, in which he was one of the best characters available. Books were written on how others could achieve his level of almost effortless happiness, and it was the subject of daytime talk shows nearly every other day.

So when Order 66 came, Zeke's clones attacked him with great relish, having resented his completely non-serious attitude towards the war and fighting in general. They pursued him relentlessly through the Star Destroyer they were stationed on at the time, firing without a care for their own lives as his dual lightsabers shielded him from all attacks. At last they pushed him back into the cargo hold, where they sealed off all the exits and spaced the contents of the bay. They reported him among the dead, and nobody ever heard of him afterward.

[Zeke]

Years later, after the famous battle of Endor, a 38 year old man sat in the corner of his quarters, staring at a small smuggling compartment. Usually this section of the floor was totally blocked by the bed, so finding the compartment wasn't easy if you didn't know where to look. Then again, even if you did, it was shielded to nearly all forms of scanning, so it wasn't likely for anyone to find it under any circumstances (such a compartment had hidden Han Solo from Imperial detection, or so the rumor went).

He opened the compartment and withdrew from it two small, silver cylinders, a set of brown robes, and a small cube. Each of the cylinders had a red button on them; he pressed these, watching as gold and deep blue laserblades hissed forth from them. He spun them idly, listening to the gentle hum of them as they cut the air, then deactivated them and set them back. He checked the robes for any sign of disrepair, and finding none, put it back, too. At last, he picked up the cube and plugged a cord into it from his datapad. The cube came to life, projecting files and videos that were ages old, depicting a dashing young man who very much fitted the definition of the word "hero". With a sigh, the man stowed the cube away and set his quarters back in order.

He ran his hands through his hair as he picked up an Identification card from his bedside table and scanned it with his datapad. Immediately it displayed his information:

Name and Title: Ezekiel Johannes Saska, Captain of the Curvy Lady
Occupation: Merchant and Transporter
Ships owned: The Curvy Lady (Corellian Action IV), The Sassy Wench (shuttle)
Marital Status: Married
Nuclear Family: Carol Elizabeth Saska (wife), Cassandra Nicole Saska (daughter)
Extended Family: None

Vital Statistics:
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 1.85 Meters
Weight: 86.1 Kilograms
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Ezekiel Saska flips the card over and looks at the nutty coding on the back that contains all this information and shakes his head at himself. Years ago, he didn't have a full name. He hadn't even been aware that "Zeke" was short for "Ezekiel" until he was 25, which is a little pathetic. He also didn't have a family, or a paying job. He was a Jedi Knight, a hero, whose only reward at the end of the day was to know he was doing he right thing.

Zeke flings the card back onto the desk and stands, walking out of the Captain's Quarters and heading for the bridge, his face set with determination. The crew and passengers wandering the hall try to get out of the way as he walks by, wary of interrupting the captain when he's so clearly on a mission. Zeke makes the bridge in record time, and asks of his helmsman: "What's our ETA?" The answer is that they will arrive in a few days, and Zeke sighs irritably as he throws himself into the Captain's Chair. Every hero deserves a last hurrah. He just hates how long it's gonna take him to get his.