"When Universes Collide: A Star Wars Fan Fiction--COMPILATION” Read online

  Finally, in one Ebook! In what could only be considered taboo, this Star Wars FanFiction takes us to planet Earth! Where, Jacob, a young human in Chicago, is befriended by a Sith, Darth Harest. Her hopes of adding him to a new struggle of the Sith against the Jedi Order is confronted by Jedi Salvitor; whom is also on his own mission to recruit humans to fight an emerging Sith power on Earth!

  Chapter One

  CHICAGO; PRESENT DAY...

  Jacob decided to take State street to get home after the Independence Day party at Eddy's house. He had to work at his office job as a filing clerk the next day, so he couldn't stay out too long like he normally did on a party night. The city's fireworks display was still going at it; loud and brightly illuminated the large city blocks of downtown Chicago while Jacob, dressed in his brightly-colored suit for the occasion, casually made his way through the urban maze. He had to dodge quite a number of people, of course. But Jacob felt safe in the knot of those celebrating...you knew what they were up to.

  To save some time, he decided to go down an alley he didn't normally go; just off of North Prairie. Here, it was a little darker than Jacob wanted, so he kept at a brisk pace and kept his head low--until he felt something! Felt, as in he had a feeling something wasn't right...

  At first, Jacob chalked it up to the fact that, well, it was an alley he did not usually walk through; in one of America's biggest cities, no less. It was similar to the uncomfortable feelings he used to get whenever he walked the streets of Chicago after moving there from Madison, Wisconsin--by no means a small town. But compared to Chicago? No, this was a different kind of sensation. The sensations he always had every since he was a child: With his mother at a car mechanic's garage and Jacob suddenly grabbed his mother from turning a corner while she was walking--where she would've been killed by another customer backing up in a van. Stopping his brother from crossing a street in Madison when the brakes to a truck had malfunctioned. Or that time when his late-father was playing Mr. fix-it-yourself in the basement while Jacob was playing with a friend in the basement (that same friend, Eddy; whose party he just left). Jacob's father would've been crushed by a falling supporting beam, but Jacob just happened to see the beam and merely thought about moving the heavy column as he gently waved the beam over to the side with his tiny hand at the age of five...

  Yeah; that kind of feeling!

  Jacob clinched one of his hands into a fist, as well as his jaw; ready for whatever it was that was in that alley...and there she stood. No one else around in the fairly clean alley. Nor was there much light, either! She was wearing a long, black jacket with a hoodie, and the rest of her attire was all-black. Kind of strange, Jacob thought, given i just came from a Fourth of July party! She definitely looked threatening, though she was not terribly large. But she was athletically built. Her hair was extremly long and bundled up into three lining buns--almost like a mohawk. Her eyes seemed to smolder in the night; almost like cigarette amber!

  "Hello, Jacob," her voice came out from the alley corner as she slowly approached him, then stopped; about twenty feet from Jacob. He, understandably, said nothing. She breathed out a slight laughter. Jacob did notice an accent on her, though he couldn't place it's origins. "Oh, you don't have anything to worry about with me, Jacob...in fact, I came to warn you of someone."

  Now Jacob's slight-fear was mixed in with confusion. "What are you, some kind of spy? How do you know who I am?"

  "I believe you call it the Internet," she said with absolutely no irony. Jacob found the very statement odd. It's not like the Net was of "foreign" locations. It was everywhere on Earth...

  "If you're so concerned about me and trying to warn me about someone else, why are you the one hiding in an alley," he put to her with more assurance, after seeing it was apparent she was not going to do any harm to him.

  "Let's be honest, Jacob, had I gone to your apartment and simply knocked on your door with the same message, would you have let me in?" She gave a knowing look. And, indeed, there was a slight nod of consent from Jacob. She continued with a nod of her own. "I am D. Harest. And to answer your earlier question, No, I am not a spy. I do not work for any governing body or agency...I simply come as a potential friend."

  The sounds of an emergency vehicle with sirens were now blaring somewhere in downtown Chicago while Jacob laughed at D. Harest's words. "You sure have a hell of a way of picking friends, lady!"

  "You're laughing, aren't you?"

  In some sick way, Jacob thought, she's right. He gave her an appraising look and nodded again. "Ok...you got my attention, Dee."

  "D. Harest, please."

  Another look by him. "Sorry..."

  Now it was her turn to give an appraising eye, but the way she looked him over was as if she were inspecting him for something!

  "You are special, aren't you," she asked in such a way that was more of a statement.

  Usually, Jacob would've claimed ignorance to what D. Harest was talking about. But given the circumstances of their meeting, that would've been counterproductive. "Yes...how did you know? To find where I live on the Net is one thing; but knowing about my abilities is quite another!" Now Jacob took one step closer to her. "So, how did you know--"

  Out of nowhere, D. Harest--in one smooth motion--gestured with one of her hands and a large trash container from one of the alley's corner flew right at Jacob! And with just as much dexterity as D. Harest, Jacob ducked from the thick, large barrel; leaving it to crash into a pile of other containers. When it was all over, Jacob noticed that he was standing upright; as if nothing had happened. Of all the odd little abilities Jacob had lived with all his life, he had never seen anyone else use such powers besides him! His eyes were wide and askance toward the young woman.

  "You have it, too," he said with excitement.

  She gave a sardonic laugh. "Jacob, actually, you have it, too...in fact, the One that I came to warn you about wants to exploit you for all he can."

  Jacob looked upon D. Harest with confused eyes. "This Other that I speak of, he belongs to a very ancient Order that seeks out young ones from birth and incorporates them into their way of life! I cannot get into the details at this very moment, but I trust after my little display that you can at the very least believe what I tell you!"

  Jacob silently nodded.

  "Good..." D. Harest looked around the alley and nodded her head in a direction. "We should probably walk as we talk."

  They were now in the midst of all the Independence Day revelry in downtown Chicago. They weren't walking to any particular place. Just to stay in the midst of the crowds was, obviously, what D. Harest wanted. The thing was, Jacob couldn't tell if she was simply trying to stay hidden from this Other she spoke of, or she was afraid of him...

  "You are what my people call Force-sensitive," D. Harest explained as they continued their casual walk; her bright-orange eyes darted all over the place. Jacob presumed she was on the watch for this Other. As for her eyes...Jacob guessed it was some new color-contacts that so many young people were putting in their eyes lately. "Basically, you have a high-concentration level of energy that gives you--and me--the ability to move objects without touching them; to sense events before they happen; even to sense the death or approach of others with high Force-abilities."

  "So there are others with this ability," Jacob asked.

  "Oh, yes...thousands, upon thousands.
If not, millions. The challenge is to find such beings--uh, people, with these abilities."

  Jacob gave a face as he thought. "It sounds like you're not sure where exactly all these people are with this Force."

  "True," she responded as they turned down, yet, another street full of party-goers. "And, again, this is the connection for the One you and I must beware of: his Order is trying to re-build after an eon of near-extinction! As I said, Jacob, we are able to sense when other Forcers are nearby. So that is one advantage of our abilities."

  "Like I was able to sense you back in the alley!"

  "Exactly!"

  The two walked quietly for a few seconds before Jacob began to think more in detail about the situation at hand. "So, what is this One's order? You said his Order was basically extinct for an eon! As I remember from my geology class, isn't that like thousands of years? The only orders I know to last that long are the major religions on Earth...is it some sect of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or Islam or Christianity?"

  Her response was a bit slower to this particular question from Jacob, he noticed.

  "Well, most others definitely consider his Order a religion. He would tell you otherwise. But what's most important, Jacob, is my job to protect you from him."

  Jacob's head whipped around in surprise. "Protect me? I thought you said you came as a potential friend; not a bodyguard!"

  She nodded expectantly. "Indeed, Jacob...I freely offer my knowledge of the Force to you, so you may have the ability to protect yourself from the Other. And Jacob, he is close to finding you. That is one of the reasons why I abruptly introduced myself to you."

  They were now edging closer to one of Chicago's many downtown bridges. The beauty of the city at night was more easily seen there. They stopped for a bit on the bridge they were on.

  D. Harest could see that the young man was deep in thought about something. "You seem concerned again, Jacob."

  "Well, it seems like we're talking a bit more about this Other, but I'm still not sure I understand where you fit in all this...what about you? If this guy's a member of some ancient order, the fact that it's your job to protect me from this guy suggests that you would also belong to a similar order; but his opposite..."

  For the first time since meeting her, Jacob noticed a look of apprehension in D. Harest. And, indeed, her look went from apprehension to that of alarmed! Jacob didn't know what it was, but he felt another's presence as well! But, unlike D. Harest, this feeling was not of warning or danger, but of strength and the awareness of the strength in the Force, as D. Harest called it.

  It was coming from the opposite end of the bridge. The tall male figure, much like D. Harest, was cloaked in a long jacket of some sort, and also with a hood! As per opposite of D. Harest, this male's attire was of light-colors: tans and whites. At first, he was walking toward them slowly in the stream of humanity on the bridge as the celebrations of the Fourth of July continued late into the night. And then his pace increased. A scowl was now detectable on his face, though both D. Harest and Jacob could already sense his indignation.

  "Jacob, you must go--now!"

  Jacob didn't argue! He turned and ran off the bridge and melded into the crowd of revelers, though he didn't go far. He wanted to see who this Other was that D. Harest had warned about so much! More to the point, Jacob didn't know what was going to happen between them. He was a bit far, but close enough to understand what was being said between them, given his Force-abilities.

  "Darth Harest...So, you've found one," the voice of an older, urbane man came through. He looked passed the young woman and saw Jacob among the crowd further down the bridge. "Given the level of technology on this planet, and its Human population's relative youth, I doubt he even understands what you are!"

  "Stay out of this, you meddling Jedi! Your foolish dreams of establishing your precious Republic on this planet are none of your business!"

  There were a few by-standers becoming alarmed by the two Forcers on the bridge. Jacob decided to inch his way closer to the bridge once again. He noticed how the two Forcers were standing stiff and facing each other--almost like the Wild West days of a gun-dual! Indeed, now both Forcers had a hand down at their respective side, close to their hip; as if ready to draw a gun! Now a lot of party-goers had noticed them and were running away from the two Forcers! Some, already on their smartphones, calling the police or recording the whole incident!

  "And it's the Sith's business to corrupt latent-Forcers on this planet," the man retorted sarcastically as he slowly shook his head. "The authorities will soon be here, Harest...how did you want to do this?"

  "You think I'm concerned about the authorities in this town," she shot back.

  Jacob, hearing this, flinched in confusion. D. Harest had said it as if Chicago were a small town! And just then, instead of D. Harest whipping out a gun, her hand swiftly ignited what Jacob could only understand as a 'laser-sword'! It was a tight, lancing red laser that had the most eerie, droning sound to it!

  As if that weren't enough, the tall man had done the exact same thing with a similar laser-sword. Only his sword was bright blue. And between the two Forcers' swords, the humming was loud, even from several yards away.

  Screams and exclamatory musings shot into the air from the crowds of onlookers as the two Forcers leapt into the air by several yards toward each other, and as they both landed on the bridge they were in a whirl-wind of battle! Flashes of light and arcs of energy spat from the two Force-swords as they crashed into each other, via the skilled hands of Darth Harest and the strange man! At one point, Harest simply pumped one of her hands--palm-out--toward her male opponent, even though he was a couple of yards away. Magically, and with an invisible ripple of energy, the man was shoved several meters down the bridge away from D. Harest. But just as quickly as it happened, the male Forcer was back on his feet and started running toward Harest.

  "Jacob," she yelled toward him as she closed down her sword and replaced the hilt to it somewhere on her person. She ran up to him and snatched Jacob by an elbow and began to tug at him. "We have to go now--"

  "I'm not going with anyone until I know what you two are fighting about," he said as he jerked his arm away from her.

  "Jacob," she started, but then saw the male Forcer getting closer, and she sprinted into a large knot of onlookers and was gone.

  Jacob wasn't sure if he should run as well...many of the by-standers saw him talking with D. Harest before the fight broke out! When he saw that many within the crowds were still recording with their smartphones, that's when he decided to run! For he was now implicated with D. Harest in a public fight that was potentially fatal to others!

  "Jacob," the male Forcer called out to him after closing his laser-sword and started running after him. They both had to pass

  by the same cluster of people that Harest had gone through earlier. "Jacob...Jacob, please wait!"

  "Get away from me before I call the cops," he said over his shoulder as he made his way toward a different street. But the Forcer continued to run after him.

  "Jacob...Jacob, the woman you were talking with is what we call the Sith!"

  The Forcer was close enough for Jacob to understand. He had no idea what a Sith was, but the fact that he was able and willing to tell Jacob something about Harest made him stop and wait for the male Forcer to catch up to him. For several seconds they both were panting for breath, but then they thought better of it and started to look for a place to hide...and talk.

  It was well-passed midnight by the time Jacob and the male Forcer had found a secluded night club and sat down to some drinks at a tucked-away booth. This particular neighborhood was far away from the bridge where the battle occurred, so they felt they should've been safe from the prying eyes of the police and the threat of --

&
nbsp; "Darth Harest? So, that's what the "D" stood for...this Sith order of, what, bad Jedi?"

  Jedi Salvitor chuckled at the young man's interpretation of the history of the Jedi and the Sith he had, briefly, told Jacob. Even then, it took Salvitor about an hour.

  "No, Jacob, the Sith are not even a strain of Jedi. Nor vise versa. They simply have a different philosophy in life then we do, and they draw their strength from the Dark side of the Force. Remember how I explained that--"

  "Yeah, I do get it..." He took a sip of his drink as he deeply thought about how he was nearly taken by anyone that practiced the Dark Arts! Worse yet, the whole story of other Humans coming to Earth from another galaxy so that the two factions of Sith and Jedi could compete against one another to establish their respective Order into Earthen humanity seemed extremely far-fetched! But, then again, so did the powers he always possessed since he was a small child. If it weren't for his experiences with his Force-abilities, there would have been no way Jacob would have believed any of the things Jedi Salvitor told him that night!

  There was a long silence from Jacob, as he obsorbed the whole day, and what he learned from Jedi Salvitor. Salvitor saw an opening.

  "Jacob, I am truly sorry that your planet has just been invaded by two warring, Force-civilizations. But I cannot pretend it's not real! If we, Jedi, do not try to reach out to the inhabitants of Earth--especially those who are latent-Forcers, the Sith will simply fill the void and the Sith will once again form an empire! But this time, it will be here, on your planet, Jacob...on Earth!"

  That last part really sank in with Jacob. The older man's kind, but strong, eyes held onto Jacob's.

  "So...how does one become a Jedi?"