Star Wars: The Jedi Chronicles:Enter The Shadows (Books 1-4)

Chapter Five: Nathan Ingram

Chapter Five

Nathan Ingram

Shain and Cassandra are orbiting Mustafar waiting for the daily supply of water to arrive.

Shain: Ok, so here's my plan. When the tanker gets here, you’re gonna follow the ship and get it to the rendezvous point. I’m going to distract Nathan until you get there.

Shain flips the seat up and grabs the controls.

Shain: Ships comin’; let’s go.

Cassandra follows the tanker down to a water supply building. She peels off and lands on the other side of the hill. She sneaks around to the landing platform and jumps up to the platform. Then she runs to the back of the tanker and peeks around the corner.

A security guard is checking the pilot in. She goes around to the right side of the ship and climbs on board. She makes her way to the cockpit and shuts the doors to the ship. One of the crew members walks though the doorway. She turns around and gets out of the chair.

Copilot: Hey! What are you doing on this ship?! Who are you?

Cassandra runs at him, then grabs his shoulders and spins around his body. She grabs his neck with her legs and jerks down, flipping him onto his back. She flips to her feet while he is staggering, trying to get up. She kicks him in the rear, knocking him into the pilot’s chair and rendering him unconscious.

She gets back in the chair and takes off. By time she reaches Shain, he has already engaged Nathan. Shain is running from a wall of lava. Cassandra locks the propulsion systems in place and runs for the valve controls on the ship.

She cracks them wide open, spraying down the lava and cooling it. Shain turns around and pulls the vapors out of the air, controlling the liquid in order to cool off the lava.

Nathan I.: You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, take this!

Nathan heats up the rock, turning it into lava and bends it over the water tanker. The ship falls into the river of lava.

Shain: (screaming at the top of his lungs) Cassandrraaa!!!!

The ship explodes; water, shrapnel, metal, and lava fly every where. Shain pulls what is left of the water out of the air before it can start to fall and throws it at Nathan in one continuous wave of water, knocking him over from the hill of hardened rock he is standing on.

Shain jumps into the air from the bottom of the hill to the top. He spins his blade around to a reverse style in mid-air and grabs it with both hands, ready to land on Nathan. Nathan rolls out of the way, then heats the rock up to a small pool of lava.

As Shain starts coming he flicks his elemental lightsaber off, then on changing it to wind. Suddenly, a gust of wind pushes the the Jedi over the pool of lava. He rolls partway down the other side of the hill, sliding to a stop with the beam sticking straight out behind him.

He looks back up the hill toward Nathan, who is already back on his feet. His white sabers have a black glow, as they stick out from his gloves. Shain’s wind lightsaber sounds like a tornado; the whirlwind is starting to collect red-hot debris from the explosion and the lava and has no core.

He charges up the hill to Nathan with his saber behind him, like a samurai. Nathan waits and steps in with a punch thrust at Shain’s head. Shain brings the saber around from his right side and swings it from near his legs up and around to defend.

As the sabers connect, Shain jumps into the air and kicks Nathan in the head. Shain puts his saber away, grabs his opponent’s wrist, and throws Nathan over his shoulder. He drops to his knees and proceeds to pummel Nathan’s face.

He doesn't even take off the crystal. Suddenly, he is thrown from Nathan. Anthony quickly grabs the string and rips it from Nathan’s neck. Shain quickly gets to his feet, ready for a fight and then realises who threw him.

Anthony: Shain, what has gotten into you?!

Shain: (angered) He killed Cassandra!

Anthony: (stands for a moment, a little shocked.) That wasn’t his fault! He was under Censes’ control! You can’t blame him for that. And besides, you can bring her back, remember? You have your healing crystal!

Shain: She’s in a river of lava! She’s gone! I can’t heal her if there’s nothing left to her!

Anthony: Oh, Shain... I’m so sorry... I didn’t know... But you need to let her go... it’s already affecting you.

Shain: Anthony, this whole war has affected me! This is why I left to begin with! We’ve lost two people forever to this war!

Shain turns around and sits down, facing the river of lava. Anthony walks down and sits next to Shain.

Anthony: I know this is killing you, Shain but you need to rest in the fact that both of them were saved and have peace. You thought you were over this when you came back, and obviously you’re not... (closes his eyes) Dear magnificent, wonderful, majestic, loving Savior, I pray for strength right now as You have thrown this crazy trial at us. I pray that Shain will learn to rest, trust, and rely on You in this hard time as two of our friends have gone home to be with You permanently. Please heal these open wounds in our leader so he can continue the role he once had in our lives. I pray that Your will be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Shain: (trying not to cry) Thanks, man...

Anthony: No problem. Come on; what do ya say we go heal Carl, Sara, and Nathan?

Shain: What are their injuries?

Anthony: Well, let’s see. You smashed Nathan’s face in, Carl was stabbed by Darth Traya and Sara took a nasty blow to the head.

Shain: Traya? As in, Kreia Traya?

Anthony: Well, she was about forty years younger but I’d say so, by the way she spoke. It was like she had a younger body but the same knowledge from when she died, it’s weird ya know?.


Shain: Wow... yea man, if I ever turned to the dark side, that’s who I’d want to train me. She’s got more knowledge and wisdom than Yoda; only Yoda is stronger...

Anthony: She’s pretty smart.. Hey, I wonder if there’s a Jedi version of her and if she’s just as smart?

Shain: Why not? There’s been a lot of doubles due to the orb. Why not two of her?

The two get up and put Nathan on Sara’s B-wing. Shain heals the three of them.

Shain: I’m gonna go put Cassandra’s Jedi starfighter on auto pilot to bring it back to the Rebellion. See ya back at the ship.

Anthony: Alright, man; see ya.

Shain leaves the ship and goes down to the river where the ship blew up. There isn’t anything left to the ship. He scans the area, hoping to see some remains, but finds nothing. He goes to her ship, sets a course for the cruiser and sets off for home himself. By time he gets to the ship, Anthony is just docking. Aria is there to “greet” them.

Aria: How was your trip, boys?

Anthony: Well, mine went well. I met Darth Traya, and she killed Carl.

Aria: Nice! (she covers her mouth, faking remorse) I’m sorry; I know he’s you’re friend, but he is a little on the obnoxious side...

The two wait for Shain’s smart remark, but Shain just shrugs his shoulders and heads into Sara’s ship to help them get to sick bay.

Aria: Is he ok? (she peeks around Anthony and sees that Cassandra’s ship is empty)

Anthony: No, he isn’t. Cassandra died...

Aria: (pretending to care) Oh, no! That’s terrible!

Anthony: Yeah... He beat Nathan with his bare hands.

Aria: Can’t he heal her? How did she die?

Anthony: Apparently, the ship she was flying got covered in lava, then blew up. She didn’t make it out in time.

Aria: (grimacing) That’s awful!

Sara, Carl, and Shain come off the ship. Shain is using the Force to carry Nathan. The five head down to sick bay for Nathan to rest. Shain revives Joel and notices that one of the bacta tanks is smashed and that Elena and Andrew are both lying on sick bunkers, out cold.

Shain: What happened to these two?

Aria: (innocently) I don’t know. They’ve been thrashing around for a few days now. I had to put them out to calm them down.

Shain walks over to them and senses they are afraid. He heals the two and they begin to calm down. Aria looks slightly annoyed, but it is almost impossible to tell.

Carl: What did this to them?

Aria: I can’t explain it. Elena had it first, then Andrew got it after trying to see what the problem was. I’m no doctor, but I think Elena might have brought some kind of disease with her when Andrew brought her here. It was so weird.

Anthony: Really?... Interesting...

Shain: I... (has a theory but isn’t sure, he so doesn’t say anything) pfft, yeah, I? I mean what happened, guys?

Elena: Shain!!!

Shain: Hey, what happened to ya in there?

Elena: I don’t know; one minute, I’m fighting Andrew, and the next thing I know, I’m surrounded by poisonous snakes... I must have died a thousand times! (shivers)

Carl: Andrew?

Andrew: (shaking) My little brother was killed several times over, several different ways.

Shain: No one has amped fear, do they?

Anthony: No, but there are mind trick crystals.

Aria: (snapping her fingers) There have been Sith in and out of the ship ever since they formed the fleet! Maybe one of them did it!

Shain: Sloow down there, Aria. It could be, but I don’t think they’re gonna pull something that's not gonna kill us. And why would they use mind tricks when their numbers would squish us before we could fire back? It’s not them; we have a traitor.

Carl: Well, we can’t figure out who’s the traitor now, so why don’t we do something. Like, I don’t know, help someone?!

Anthony: What about Josh Sietsma? I know I couldn't handle fighting those three.

Andrew: Yeah, but Josh also kicks more butt then you.

Shain: Somebody should stay behind in case Nathan, Joel and Luna comes too.

Elena: Aria and I will!

Aria: And we’ll keep our eyes open for anything strange.

Carl: Okey dokey, sounds good, lets gooo!

Shain: (Andrew Carl, Anthony leave the room for the hanger.) That was strange...