Jedi Expedition: Part 1 - The Hoth Adventure

Truger felt an odd ripple come off Will, but he ignored it as a false feeling. Just nerves. Instead, he focused on what the Jedi was saying.

"We caught glimpses of him, but he used the wampas to herd us like cattle here in this cavern. Every now and then one of the wampas would take someone. They drag them off in that direction. Sometimes you could hear the screams..."

Truger tried not to think about that. "But you escaped?"

The young Jedi nodded. "Something happened. All the wampas went off into the caves. We didn't dare go after them, so we decided to try and find another way out. We found some of our equipment discarded in a...a pile...well, we took what we could use."

"Tell me, have you seen Rep?"

"Yes. It was a couple days ago, though. The wampas dragged him off, just like the others." The Jedi pointed off in an unknown direction. In the dim light of the glowrod, and with his Force enhanced vision, he could just barely make out the glint of the ice wall.

Truger looked at the others. "If that's where they took Rep, then that's where we need to go." He turned toward the Jedi. "Will you come with us or will you make for the surface?"
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Truger looked at the others. "If that's where they took Rep, then that's where we need to go." He turned toward the Jedi. "Will you come with us or will you make for the surface?"

Before the Jedi could respond Nykon held up his hand signaling everyone to listen.

"I hear movement from behind as well as to the right and left."

Will glanced once more from the Jedi to Nykon then he too listened with the Force. "You're right. I heard them too."

Truger turned back to the Jedi, "Alright, no time for a committee, which way is your group right now?"

Truger had a way of making things seem very intense, which they were Nykon reflected.

The Jedi pointed to the right, "Over there, as long as they too haven't been attacked again since I went scouting."

Nykon's expression was grim as he spoke,"We need to gather everyone and stick together, this place is so dark that even at 30 paces I can't always 'feel' the Jedi next to me. And Will and I have been feeling some strange effects from these caves."

Will's head seemed to snap around as Graves spoke his name. What was Graves meaning? And was Graves too being affected by these caves? But Graves said no more about that, instead he pressed forward as though it was never spoken at all, "We group in a defensive grid and move as one till we find Rep. When we do we will re-address the situation. But if we split up it increases our chances of running into this 'Sith' and any more of the dark wampas. Live together die alone and all that."

Will's eyes held something, Nykon wasn't sure if it was anger, contempt, or just a blank stare as he commented, "Sounds good to me."

Truger patted the young Jedi on the shoulder, "Lead the way..."

"Bream, Bream Darklighter sir. And as I've said, they shouldn't be too far."

Nykon stepped behind the two as they wound their way along the corridor of ice. Good, the wampas sound like they are gaining ground as well, we must hurry."
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-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

(OOC: Yeah, Jayda did have her helmet on. But no worries, we'll just work around it. He could, uh...see her expression through the Force. Wink

)

Jayda watched in horror as the ceiling crashed atop Hal. She made no move to mask the emotion in the Force as it exploded away from her, nor did she try to quash the emotions that followed. Turning toward the Sith attacker, she glared into his eyes, into his very soul. And there...there she saw something she did not wish to see. This man, if he could still be called a man, had dedicated the entirety of his life to the Dark Side of the Force. But his time here on Hoth, and she could see that it had been a very long time indeed, had done something else to him. She could sense something resembling what she had sensed in Hal, but on a much grander scale. There was no good in this being. There was no spark of light flickering within the very heart of his soul. He was like a black hole, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. He existed only to suck the light out of the universe, and in doing so to temporarily quench his undying lust for power.

There was no fighting this man. No defeating him. Not like this. Not on her own. Jayda hated to feel helpless, but she was not stupid. She listened distantly as he offered terms of surrender. Her expression changed from that of horror, anger, and revulsion to a look of resigned acceptance. She was being given a chance to surrender, to walk away with her life. That was more than she could ever have hoped for, and she knew that she had to take it.

There was no point in continuing to fight this man, this Sith. She would just be throwing her life away. No, what she needed to do was wait. Bide her time and hope that she could acquire reinforcements. Perhaps together they could take this being, defeat him before he became an unstoppable force. His time on Hoth had changed him, but it had also weakened him. Once he made his way off of this ice planet...there was no telling what he could be capable of.

Jayda looked down at the floor, tearing her gaze away from that cold, dead stare. She would surrender, but she would be far from helpless. Looking back up at the Darkness, determination flaring through her, Jayda nodded once. "I accept your terms of surrender."

Dropping her myriad of weapons, she began to lead the way back to her ship. As she looked back to the place where Hal had been, she gave a barely discernible nod in his direction. He had been a troubled young Jedi, but he did not deserve what he'd been through. As she turned away, she thought she felt a spark of life beneath the rubble. But she was fairly certain she was only grasping at straws. What you hoped you would find could so often cloud what was actually right in front of you.

Jayda marched on, determined more than ever now to bring this Sith down. She would be his prisoner for now, but eventually, when the time was right, she would fight back. She would fight for those who had given their lives here in the caverns, in this nearly impenetrable Dark.
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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

The sunlight burned at Modero's exposed skin. Scowling, he noted bitterly that he would now have to readjust to the outside world. He quickly put aside all thoughts of anger though. He was finally off the planet. Or, almost. The woman had surrendered, which was surprising. He would have carried her dying body to her ship if he had to; he must fulfill his vision. Having the Jedi take him off of the planet in perfect health - it was troublesome, and he did not doubt that some surprise attack may come aboard the ship. But once he was off of Hoth, he would gladly dispose of her, one way or another.

"You will take me off this planet," he called ahead, walking a few paces behind her. "I will allow you to fly the ship off-world, and then you will hand the controls over to me." If he had her in good condition, he may as well allow the vision to play out exactly as he had seen it; with the Mandalorian woman taking him away.

He bent his head and lowered his shoulders against the icy wind. For a moment, he thought of the wampas in the cave, and the remaining Jedi. They had not caused any problems for him at all. His trap was practically useless. Though, he supposed, if the Jedi were to escape from Hoth somehow, they were likely to come after him, and the woman. It would be best if they were destroyed in the caves, and nobody ever informed the galaxy that Darth Modero was alive.

He could see a ship up ahead. An uncharacteristic grin of pure joy; not just satisfaction, broke onto his face. He was about to be free. Free to do what he wished in the ever expanding galaxy.

Reaver awoke in darkness. But he was still in control of Hal Darrun's body! Somehow despite Modero's best efforts he was alive. His Force shield had worked! He had focused everything on making Hal's skin impenetrable so that when the ice and stone came down they wouldn't kill Hal, only pin him. Once enough debris had fallen, only then had the shield expanded, creating a protective circle.

It was this circle that Reaver found himself. How he had managed to remain in control he wasn't sure. The only important thing was that he now had the power! Quickly he reached out with Hal's senses- senses that Hal was currently void of in the Sith Mind Sphere he was imprisoned. He sensed the darkness all around, the ancient evil that was the old Sith temple on Hoth. Oh how Reaver longed for those days. The days when the Sith were MASTERS of alchemy, and other dark arts. He looked at Modero and the other Force users he'd crossed in his imprisonment as halflings. Never capable of true mastership.

Feeling the darkness all around he called on it. Drew it into Hal's body, then focused it into a forge. He then poured this molten 'Force" around the Mind Sphere where it instantly filled the sphere. He focused on hardening the walls, completing the trap.

Suddenly Hal's presence fought back! His hands stretching furiously at the sphere's walls.

Too late.

Reaver had completed the ritual. Hal was trapped. Locked away, a prisoner in his mind. Reaver now had complete control.

Time to get to work... He thought and set to shifting away the debris around his new body.
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-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Are you the only scout? Will asked grabbing Bream by the shoulder. There's one more, she's back with the rest though. The young Jedi replied, frightened Then go get her!.You two are with me, we need to find a safe path away from the wampas so they don't encircle us! Will ordered, giving Bream a slight push to add emphasis when he released Bream's arm. Something about what Master Graves had said left the impression that he knew Will had discovered some new power but didn't want Will to use it and that upset Will. Is he afraid of being shown up? That I'd prove to be a better Jedi than him? I've never met him before and there were certainly plenty of Masters in the Temple who didn't like lower rankers showing themselves to be more clever or powerful But he also knew better than to question Master Graves wisdom in this case, one of the first survival lessons he'd learned as a Jedi Commando was to never question a fellow Jedi's instinct not to do something. Strangely he was relieved not to have to call on this power and despite the pressing survival needs, found that as he let Jedi Commando training take over he was more capable of understanding his whole surrounding than when he had reacted on immediate instinct to the threat of death moments ago. This feels right. I may be weaker now, but something about that power tore at the fabric of my being.

Turning to Master Graves and Truger. We'll need the best warriors on the outside, but most importantly at the rear. The way these wampas strike we risk losing any Jedi we assign to warn us of danger from behind, but we still need to have scouts ahead to try to prevent encirclement. I'm going to work with the other two scouts to find a path that puts some distance on the wampas if we can. At the very least I'll try to set us up so they come at our rear. By now they had reached the other Jedi, and it was a rag tag bunch if there ever was one. Many of them had torn clothing, some, like Bream, had visible wounds. But all of them had their sabers out, ready to fight and Will sensed that with a strong leader they would have the spirit to fight any number of wampas. I'd still prefer a bunch of well trained Guardians or Weapons Masters, but spirit can be just as lethal when properly led.
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Time to get to work... Reaver, had suited action to his thoughts, and in no time was out of the ice that Modero had used to lure the Mandalorian Jedi away.

Once more Reaver called on the darkness in the ancient Sith temples, the "ruins' his current host had come to Hoth so joyfully naive to study. He called Modero's beasts to him. He sensed Modero's presence briefly flickering in the dark side, and his hold on the dark wampas was like a flying battle balloon with a free tether. all he had to do was grasp the balloon's line.

There! Reaver thought and he made solid contact with the hold that Modero had on the creatures. they still desperately needed to be controlled, that was how they were molded.

Reaver called them to him, he would use them to cut off the Jedi from the last craft if he could, to at least reduce their number. After all, in Hal Darrun's body all he had to do now was wait for the survivors - if any there were- and fly off the planet.

Then it struck him. If he continued to be Hal he could find himself in a prime position to enact more revenge on Modero. He could call the wampas back, but he was a Sith, and he wanted to hurt the Jedi any way he could. If none survived he'd simply walk into the last shuttle and fly off and compile a story that would draw attention to Modero. He wasn't sure if Modero had noticed his presence inside Hal or not, but he couldn't take the chance. Modero knew of Reaver's existence, and worse, had turned him down!

Reaver would make him pay, and tie the loose end. Aside from Modero Reaver was completely free of his imprisonment. He intended to have total freedom, with the blood of Modero washing across his hosts body.

The first of the dark wampas came to Reaver now, and he called even harder on the dark side, washing the monsters in it's darkness, making them their most leathal for the coming encounter with the Jedi.

Reaver would use these dark wampas to build a rampart of the dead. He had hopes that at least Truger, Will, or Graves might survive, preferably the last two Reaver thought. He felt how the darkness had entered those two upon encountering his prison's "Gallery"--He shook his head in fury, and all the dark wampas around him howled in rage with him. If only those who had imprisoned him were still alive. He would show them. But to his advantage they were all long long dead now.

He reached out into the webbing that was the dark caves under the temples to find the Jedi.

There Reaver found them! All together too! How splendid!

He unleashed the Wampas as a solid mass to block every access way and herd the Jedi to the larger group, his "Wall" of wampas.

His joy at his new found freedom, and his fury that Modero was out there thus tainting his victory fueled the mass of dark wampas. They were in a total battle frenzy, in complete blood-lust, and Reaver had given them his mental image of the cave system. They now had their target, and he had unleashed them.
_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Modero froze, and drew in a sharp breath. A deep jab in the Force...as though a knife had cut his finger. The wampas were no longer under his control. He could feel them, but could not make them obey. Someone else was possessing their minds.

He glanced ahead at the Jedi, who had not noticed his pause, and was nearly at the ship. He turned back to look at the large caves and mountains that he was leaving, where someone had taken over in a way that he could not imagine. But who?

He plunged deep into the cave with the Force, searching for the source of the wampa's anger. He felt the group of Jedi. He felt bait he had left, still passed out in the cave. And then he felt the spirit. The dark spirit that he had imprisoned years ago. His body gave a compulsive shudder. He turned back to the woman and the ship. Leaving was no longer a prize. It was a necessity. He broke into a run, catching up with the Jedi.

"Move faster!", he shouted, as he moved beside her. "Get to the ship - NOW!"

Once he was in the air, he had a plan. It would exhaust him. It could potentially allow the Jedi to defeat him. But if he didn't act, he knew that he could be defeated soon anyway. He must collapse the entire gave, wiping any host for that spirit out.

Truger was beginning to catch a strange vibe from Will but his dark thoughts were blotted out by the sudden outcry of what seemed like a hundred wampas.

He wanted to complain. He wanted to give up. To just sit down on the ice and take a break. Sweet, blissful ignorance.

But that fraction of a second quickly passed and Truger had his blaster in hand. He looked over at Nykon. "Our best bet is to fight our way to the caves. Out here in the open we'll be more vulnerable."
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Truger had his blaster in hand as he looked over at Nykon. "Our best bet is to fight our way to the caves. Out here in the open we'll be more vulnerable."

Agreed Nykon said, but before he could suit action to the words he stopped. He turned to the cave up above. A cave he'd not noticed before- it looked like a pock mark in the ice, but was really a new cave. What's more Nykon Graves felt a presence that made his spirit soar! Cleansing him of the darkness of the caves.

He felt like he'd resurfaced from a long dive gulping in live giving air. The light side of every Jedi around him was still there, and burning strong, but most importantly, he could feel Rep Gordon now!

"Up there! He pointed as he started to crouch and draw the Force around himself. He sprang away from Truger to land on the caves ledge above. 'I've found Gordon! Or at least his scent, form a defensive perimeter here while I go ahead to find him!" Nykon ordered.

Truger shook his head, "your not going alone old man!" And Force jumped to Nykon's side. He turned and called down below, Will, you've got this, we'll be right back with Rep!"

Will looked up as the two Jedi disappeared into the cave's darkness, I've got this now HURRY UP!"
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-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Will looked up as the two Jedi disappeared into the cave's darkness, I've got this now HURRY UP!" Will unhooked his two sabers from his belt and turned away from the cave entrance that Truger and Master Graves had disappeared into. Sabers! Will bellowed the command, his voice echoing down the tunnels and was rewarded by roars from numerous wampas. Snap hiss! The tunnel sounded like a monstrous snake from ancient myth as the small band of Jedi activated their sabers. Rag tag bunch indeed Will noticed a small number of the Jedi had activated their sabers in unison and were moving into a line, but most the Jedi had activated their sabers with no coordination with the Jedi next to them. Nor had many of them made any formation, instead clustering together like the untested Padawans many of them were At least there are some fighters in the group, that should help some of the Padawans live to see deep space again Will moved through the group, inserting Padawans into the formations the combat experienced Jedi had already formed. Bream! You take command of the right wing of the formation. Be prepared to wheel half of the wing to form a right angle with the left wing on my order. When you do the remainder will spread to form a defensive line protecting our backs Bream nodded and joined the right section.

Statisfied with his preparations Will stepped into place in the line and activated his own sabers. The silver-blue and amber blades adding to the rainbow of colors that now danced on the ice walls. Out of the gloom feral yellow eyes peered for a moment and then with a mighty roar the wampas burst into the tunnel.

Left Wing! Throw sabers! Will shouted over the howl of the wampas as he threw both his sabers into the on coming group. The other Jedi closest did the same, the multiple sabers cutting down a dozen wampas. But there were many more wampas behind and they advanced fast behind the sabers flew back into their owner's hands. Bream! Left wheel! A second later Bream was right where Will had planned. Right wing! Force Push! With as much unity as he could hope for from such a group the section lifted their hands and let out a powerful Force Push, knocking down the wampas that had been behind the returning saber blades. Left wing! throw sabers! Again the sabers shot forward cutting down more wampas. Again more wampas tried to follow behind the returning sabers and again Will ordered his right wing to unleash a Force Push. The wampas were falling by the dozens and only a few isolated wampas had made it to the line of Jedi but they had been cut down quickly. For now the line held, keeping the wampas at bay with a deadly combination of saber throws and Force Pushes.
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As Nykon and Truger dashed down the tunnel, Nykon Graves heard Will shouting orders to the Jedi assembled in the cavern.

"we must hurry!" he yelled between breaths. The two had sunk into a Force Run to reduce travel time.

"No....kiddin'......I could....have told.....you that...." Truger teased as they made a mad dash to save Rep Gordon. Nkyon was like a Sith Hound on the scent. He was leading the two in what seemed like a straight line. Truger just hopped going back would be just as easy. They passed another fork in the cave, this one lead off in a multitude of directions, Nykon took one of the middle ones. "I sure do hope you know where your going."

"Don't worry, I've trained with Rep as younglings and as Padawans in the Weapon's Master program, Rep might not of completed the training to become a weapons master, but he might as well be considered one. Our bond is strong enough that I can feel him, and he feels up a head."

Sure enough, Nykon had barley finished his sentence when they came into a small chamber that made them both come to a dead stop.

Before them looked like the insides of a Sarlacc. Blood and gore were everywhere, the ceiling was plastered with entrails. Pieces of lightsaber hilts were strawn about as if half eaten. Nykon saw some wampa poodoo, scratch that, definitely eating the sabers. He shook at the thought.

Against the back wall, bound and gagged was Rep Gordon.

"Gordon!" Barked Nykon drawing Rep's attention. Rep looked bad. Who even knew the unspeakable horrors he'd endured.

Crossing the chamber in a few strides Nykon removed the gag from Rep's mouth.

'ttt Tr..Traaaap!" he managed before fainting in Nykon's arms.

Nykon's eyes locked to Trugers "Oh not good!" Truger replied followed by a curse. Suddenly ice began to fall- the room was being sealed somehow!

wasting no time, Nykon threw Gordon across his shoulders and turned and put every space ounce of energy into running. Truger close behind.

They had barley managed to escape the trap laid for them, as they exited the chamber the entire space collapsed. Unfortunately the avalanche of ice and debris didn't stop at the chamber.

Truger looked back while running, he regretted the decision immediately, "Oh Sithspawn! he spat, Then louder he shouted, "Graves we need to step on it! This whole place is coming down!"

Nykon made the foolish mistake of looking behind him as well. There is was a wall of ice moving rapidly with them, about a hundred meters or so and closing.

A moment of panic threatened to claim Nykon- he'd never seen anything like this before. Was it all designed? Or was it just unfortunate circumstance? He'd never know, all he did know was that his best wasn't good enough. Pulling harder on the Force he rocketed away from Truger in a sudden burst of even more speed.

"Woah neat trick!" Truger said and did his best to keep up, let alone catch up to Nykon and Rep. Onward they ran back to Will, and the sure to be heated battle with the dark wampas. "I hope there is a plan B? Not wanting to think about a death buried under ice Truger decided the best thing to do was to get out of the caves as quickly as possible, and continued his mad dash.
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-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Jayda turned as the Sith yelled at her, "Move faster!" She stared at him, confused at his sudden panic. "Get to the ship - NOW!"

Something had definitely spooked this guy, but Jayda had no idea what it was. She hadn't felt anything. Unless they were cloaking themselves in the Force, her allies weren't about to mount a rescue/attack. And if they were hidden, the Sith shouldn't haven't been able to sense them either. She frowned beneath her helmet, momentarily considering whether to use this moment to attack the Sith again. But no...despite his visibly disturbed appearance, she could feel that his senses were on even higher alert than normal. She wouldn't get anything past him at this point. Sighing inwardly, she decided to wait it out.

Turning back to the ship, Jayda broke into a jog. The terrain made it rather difficult to make decent progress, but they made good time, considering. Suddenly, as if from her nowhere, her ship appeared out of the swirling snow. Stopping beside it, Jayda took the time to glance up at it. The Shadow Breaker. An ironic name, that.

Glancing back at her still panicked escort, she accessed the ship's systems through her HUD and lowered the shield as well as the boarding ramp. The Sith followed her inside, seeming to visibly relax once the ship sealed itself behind them. Jayda made her way to the cockpit and took a seat at the controls. This would be an interesting trip.
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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

The floor in front the Jedi was littered with the sliced bodies of wampas. He and Bream had picked up a rhythm in issuing orders to the two wings. The rest of the Jedi had slowly picked up the rythme and the improved coordination was devastating the wampas. But the wampas had also picked up on the rhythm and were learning how to either move along the cave walls where it was harder to kill them with a thrown saber or using the thick piles of bodies as cover from the sabers to slowly creep closer. In some areas parts of wampas were less than a meter from the feet of the line of Jedi and the endless numbers of wampas got closer to reaching the Jedi with each wave. We can't keep this up much longer, and if the wampas reach our lines we're finished. If we're going to live we must remain together and not allow the wampas to break fight us individually. Will glanced over his shoulder at the cave entrance Truger and Master Graves had disappeared down Where ARE they?

Will regretted that he had no explosives when he spotted some thick rock outcroppings that could clog up the entrance the wampas were coming through I'd give anything to have Jayda and her explosives here right now. Her saber would be a welcome addition to the line for that matter. Will reflected on the brutal fight the four had fought earlier It'd also be nice if she were here so I knew at least one person here has my back if things go badly. To help focus back on the fight at hand and avoid wishing for things he didn't have Will began listing in his mind the tools he had at his disposal. Knowing that he might have to hold the position much longer than a few more minutes Will also began searching the cave for some terrain element or anything that he could use to hold the wampas at bay.
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Truger could see it now, the exit of the cave was highlighted with the flashes of lightsabers. Using his own Force enhanced speed, he struggled to keep up with Nykon and Rep, meanwhile a flowing avalanche of ice and snow licked at his heels.

Nykon made it to the exit and just jumped out. Without hesitation, Truger lunged behind him, narrowly escaping the tide of frozen doom.

Unfortunately he forgot to cushion his landing with the Force and the floor of the cavern hit him with air gushing thump. In front oh him was a line of Jedi throwing lightsabers in a lethal wave.

Truger looked over at Nykon and Rep to make sure they were alright. Nykon already had his lightsaber out and lit.

Patting a pocket in his coat, Truger made sure he still had his lightsaber. He pulled his blaster out of its holster and joined the others.

"We almost got 'em! Hold steady! Don't break now!" He shot three wampas dead in their tracks in rapid succession, hoping to boost morale with both words and action.

The Jedi around him rallied with renewed strength, the Force filling them with the energy they needed to carry on just a little longer. Will's voice echoed above the howls of the wampas, "Force push right wing!"

At this point some of the wampas were right on top of them, but most of the Jedi managed to follow the order and slam the wampas back with a might cohesive Force push. Truger used the break to nail a half dozen more wampas with his blaster, neatly putting block holes between their eyes.

"Good work Jedi! Keep 'em down!"

The apprentices and padawans began to smile now. Victory was in their grasp. Even the massive wampa hordes couldn't last forever.
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