Zykel Takana grinned at the muscled man in front of him, and slowly laid his hand on his vibroblade grip. With his other hand, he gestured the man to bring it on.
Kaleb, the man who was also his sparring partner, whipped out his own blade, thumbed it on, and rushed at Zykel. He feinted a stab at Zykel�s left side, then dropped into a roll and cut at the younger man�s ankles. Zykel leapt above the attack, only to have his feet kicked out from underneath his as he landed. Zykel rolled left as Kaleb stabbed down at him.
He grabbed Kaleb�s wrist as it came even with his body and twisted it painfully. Kaleb dropped the vibroblade and threw himself on Zykel�s still prone body. Zykel�s breath was knocked out of him when the heavier man landed on him. Zykel struggled to get free, but Kaleb anchored a hand around his throat and squeezed. Zykel struggled unsuccessfully to draw a breath, and finally reverted to dirtier tactics.
He brought his knee up into the older man�s groin. Kaleb�s eyes went wide, but he didn�t let go of his grip on Zykel�s throat. Taking advantage of Kaleb�s momentary discomfort, Zykel jabbed his elbow into the man�s ribs. Kaleb reflexively rolled away from the attack, and consequently off of Zykel. Zykel scrambled up and snatched his vibroblade off of his belt, only to have it immediately kicked out of his hand.
Zykel growled out a curse and threw himself at Kaleb. Kaleb grabbed Zykel�s wrists and brought one of his booted feet into Zykel�s stomach. He went down onto his back, and straightened his leg. Zykel went flying.
There was a loud whumf, then a groan. Kaleb scrambled, a little pained from the knee to his groin, to his feet and trotted over to the motionless Zykel. He was laying on his back, eyes squeezed shut in pain. He groaned again, this time long and loud.
Kaleb laughed and extended a hand to Zykel. Zykel opened his eyes, saw Kaleb�s hand, and glared at it suspiciously. �First you fall on me, then you throw me halfway across the room. Is this a hand offered to help me up, or to inflict some new form of agony?�
Kaleb laughed again, then grabbed Zykel�s hands and pulled him off the floor. Zykel groaned theatrically.
�Oh shut up.� Kaleb said grinning. �If you had just given up when I had you on the deck, this wouldn�t have happened.�
Zykel barked out a laugh. �Not to mention you yourself wouldn�t be hurting!�
�Well, there�s that too.� Kaleb shook his head. �But all in all, it was a pretty good exercise.�
Zykel raised an eyebrow. �Maybe for you. Your not the one who is going to need to see a chiropractic for the rest of your life. Now if you�ll excuse me, I�m going to the mess to get something to eat.�
Kaleb sighed. �That�s just like you. Always stuffing your face.�
�Yeah, you got a problem with it?�
�Not at all,� Kaleb said brightly. �In fact, I was going to ask if you wanted some company.�
Zykel glared at the taller man, then turned on his heel and stomped out of the training room, waving for Kaleb to join him.
Sinna, one of Zykel�s fellow students in the New Republic training academy, angrily slid into the seat beside Zykel. She slammed her lunch tray onto the table, causing Kaleb to jump. Elbows on the table, she settled her chin into her hands.
�I can�t believe it.� The Corellian�s voice sounded very strange. For probably the first time in two years, Zykel heard dejection in Sinna�s voice. Her normally cocky manner was replaced by an upset side of the woman that almost never was allowed to surface.
�You can�t believe what?� Kaleb�s voice was soft, inviting an explanation without seeming to be intruding.
Sinna glared at the table. �I got a demerit.�
Zykel leaned back in his chair. �A demerit? What for?�
This time Sinna�s glare was directed at him. �Gee, I wonder. I got it for good behavior.� Sarcasm dripped from her voice. �I got it for fighting genius.�
�Well you don�t have to be rude. I was just asking.� Zykel gave her an imperialistic stare, but softened it with a grin. �Since when do you fight? Well, besides practice matches, anyways.�
Sinna scowled. �One of the fourth year trainees told me I fought like a girl.�
Zykel couldn�t resist a laugh. �You do fight like a girl! And that says a lot for girls!�
This time Sinna grinned. �Yeah, that occurred to me after I whipped his worthless hide.�
Kaleb leaned forward, eyes wide. �You did what?!�
�I kicked his butt.� She grinned ferally. �Big time.�
�And you�re mad because you got a demerit!�
�Of course I��
Sinna�s reply was cut short as the power flickered, then went out. There was pure silence for a half second, then the mess hall erupted into panicked conversation.
Sinna grabbed Zykel�s arm, and he in turn latched on to Kaleb�s. The three sat silently in the pitch dark until it became obvious that the power was not going to come back up.
�I think we should get out of here,� Zykel said softly. A chill shot up his spine, and his blood seemed to freeze in his veins. �Something�s not right.�
The trio stood and, still holding on to each other, made their way to the rarely used stairwell at the far side of the room. Zykel bumped several people along the way, and somewhere between the table and the doorway, lost hold of Kaleb�s arm. He kept going anyways, a sense of dread coiling itself inside his stomach.
When his hand encountered wall, he ran it along the wall at chest height until it encountered the control pad that opened the door. He punched the open button, but nothing happened.
Zykel slapped his palm to his forehead when he realized the door wouldn�t open because the power was out. He released Sinna and pawed the wall until the found the panel that would open to reveal a handle. He gripped it and laboriously dogged it open.
�Sinna?� Zykel said softly, some instinct warning him to keep his voice down. �Kaleb?�
�We�re here.� Zykel jumped as her voice sounded in his ear. Sinna grabbed his hand. �Let�s get down the stairs and out of here.�
�Okay,� Sinna sounded strangely subdued.
Zykel lead his two companions, one hand on the narrow railing along one of the walls, the other hand latched onto Sinna�s. Several times, Zykel stumbled. And once, he missed a step entirely and went down, sliding down a flight of stairs before a landing arrested his fall. Most of his trouble was due to the fast pace he was setting, and the growing sense of panic in the back of his mind.
After what seemed like hours, but was really not more than several minutes, the three reached the ground floor of the four story complex. Here there was regular daylight because of multiple transparisteel windows, but Zykel did not stop. He dragged Sinna and Kaleb out of the training building and into a nearby hangar.
Finally, it dawned on him that his comrades were speaking to him. Actually they were yelling at him. Trying to tell him to stop, trying to tell him that everything was okay and that this hangar bay was off limits. Zykel released his hold on Sinna and leaned heavily on the nearest wall, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to hold off the panic that threatened to take hold of him.
What is wrong with me? What am I so scared of? Why can�t I get a hold of myself? Zykel struggled to take hold of himself for several long minutes. When he had forced his terror down, he opened his eyes and saw his friends staring incredulously at him.
Sinna looked worried. �Are you okay?�
Zykel nodded weakly. �I think so.�
Kaleb sat down beside Zykel, When did I sit down?, and laid a hand on his shaking shoulder. Why am I shaking? �What�s wrong?� Kaleb�s voice was again gentle, comforting.
Zykel frowned, and rested his head on his knees. What is wrong with me? �I�I�m not sure. When the power went out, I, well, I felt that something bad was going to happen. Still is going to happen.�
Out of the corner of his eye, Zykel saw Kaleb shoot Sinna a concerned glance.
�You felt something bad was going to happen?� Kaleb was confused. His voice didn�t betray his confusion, nor did his eyes. Zykel just knew Kaleb was confused.
He nodded, then groaned and pushed himself to his feet. �I�m not crazy,� he said matter-of-factly. That brought looks of surprise to his friends faces.
�We never said you were,� Sinna said soothingly.
�But you thought it.�
�No we didn�t,� she said, suddenly defensive.
�You�re telling me that for a split second, that thought didn�t cross your minds?� Zykel pinned her with his gaze. I�m doing it again. I have to stop!
Sinna considered. �Well, maybe for a split second, but we know you�re not crazy.�
Zykel gave her a pleading look. �Good, because now you can convince me that I�m not crazy.� Maybe they can help me figure this out. No one else understands, maybe they will. He rejected that idea quickly. He had had friends before that he had confided his secret in. They never understood. Neither did the captain of the star ship luxury liner that he had worked on when he was younger.
Zykel had quit that job when the captain ignored his warning that something bad would happen. The next week the star liner had had half of her passengers and crew killed in an attack by space pirates.
Zykel looked down at the ground. Sinna put her arm around his shoulders. �Zykel, what�s wrong?�
He sighed. It was too late now. �Sometimes, I get these feelings. Usually it�s when something bad is going to happen. It�s almost like a warning.� Zykel looked up at Sinna, expecting her to be confused. Instead, she looked delighted.
�Zykel, have you ever heard of the Jedi and the Force?� she said excitedly.
He nodded glumly. He should have expected this. �Yes, and I have no talent whatsoever in the Force. I was tested when I was younger.�
�Oh.�
Kaleb gripped his other shoulder. �It doesn�t matter Zykel. We don�t think you�re crazy, and nothing as simple as a sort of danger sense is going to make us think so.�
Zykel looked up, suddenly frantic again.
�What is it?�
Zykel shook his head. �I don�t know, but something is wrong.�
A sense of something crashing down towards him made Zykel dart forward towards a parked speeder. �Come on!� he yelled. Just as the three skidded to a halt behind it, the section of the wall where they had just been standing was superheated and, in a sense, evaporated. The ceiling above the section held for a split second, then cracked and collapsed.
Zykel heard Sinna gasp as rubble tumbled down and filled the air with dust. He caught a glimpse of green turbolaser streaks filling the sky beyond the hole in the wall.
The three students crouched in grim silence behind the speeder and watched as the academy was ravaged by the green bolts. The ground shook in rhythm with the hits, shaking more debris down from the ceiling.
Suddenly there was a loud crash and a large section of wall across the hangar floor went down. Zykel, Sinna, and Kaleb scrambled around to the other side of the speeder to avoid the suddenly falling ceiling and walls. Chunks of durasteel and duracrete were thrown across the floor, hitting support beams and other walls.
Then the whole structure came down.
To Be Continued...