Chapter 1 - Jax

Chapter 1 - Jax

Jax had never fit in with the other Jedi.

While the rest of the younglings had practiced elegant lightsaber forms and recited diplomatic principles, Jax had spent his time slipping into little corners, messing with training droids, and experimenting with the length dial on his lightsaber until he accidentally created something the instructors called “a disgraceful use of a saber” and he called “useful.”

He wasn’t graceful.

He wasn’t diplomatic.

He wasn’t even particularly patient.

But he was good at disappearing.

And even better at getting into places he wasn’t supposed to be.

Master Yoda noticed that long before anyone else did.

“Different, you are,” Yoda had said, tapping Jax’s foot with the end of his stick. “Good, that difference may be.”

Jax wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, but it was the closest thing he’d ever gotten to one.

So while other Padawans trained for the front lines or the Council chambers, Jax was quietly redirected into a different path �" covert operations, infiltration, sabotage. The kind of missions the Jedi Order didn’t advertise. The kind that required someone who could think sideways.

Someone like him.

His weapon reflected that difference.

Where others carried elegant, full�'length blades, Jax carried a compact lightdagger �" a shortened, precise beam that flickered to life with a sharp, focused hum. It wasn’t impressive. It wasn’t intimidating. But it was perfect for slipping through tight spaces and ending fights before they began.

He liked that.

He liked being unseen.

He liked being useful.

Even if he didn’t always feel like he belonged.

---

The briefing room aboard the Republic cruiser was dim, lit only by a single holoprojector, quietly humming as it displayed a rotating schematic of a strange machine �" a ring of pylons surrounding a core of unstable energy.

Jax stood with his hood down, arms crossed, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. He didn’t like meetings, or standing still. 

Master Plo Koon gestured to the hologram. “This is what our intelligence division recovered from a Separatist outpost. A prototype temporal displacement device.”

Jax blinked. “Temporal… as in time?”

“Correct.” Plo confirmed.

Jax let out a low whistle. “That… cannot be good.”

“That,” Plo said, “is an understatement.”

The hologram shifted, showing Sith runes etched onto the pylons. Jax felt sick just looking at them.

“We believe the Sith intend to use this device to alter the outcome of the Clone Wars,” Plo continued. “If they succeed, the Republic may never recover.”

Jax frowned. “So why me?”

Plo’s mask hid his expression, but his voice carried a note of warmth. “Because you are the only Jedi who can infiltrate a facility like this without being detected. You think differently. You move differently. You adapt.”

Jax shifted, uncomfortable with the praise. He didn’t like being the only option. “I just… do what I do.” He muttered.

“And what you do,” Plo said, “may be the only thing that prevents catastrophe.”

The weight of that settled heavily on Jax’s shoulders. He wasn’t used to being the only option. He wasn’t used to being trusted with something this big.

But he nodded anyway.

“When do I leave?”

“Immediately,” Plo said. “The Sith are close to activating the device. You must stop them before they can alter the timeline.”

Jax exhaled slowly, steadying himself.

A secret mission.

A dangerous machine.

Something that actually mattered.

He could do this.

He would do this.

He pulled his hood up, made sure his lightdagger was clipped to his belt, and turned toward the hangar.

The shuttle ride to the Separatist facility was silent. Jax preferred it that way. He reviewed the schematics, memorized guard rotations, and rehearsed the infiltration route in his head.

He didn’t know what he would find inside.

He didn’t know how close the Sith were to activating the machine.

He didn’t know if he would make it out.

But he knew one thing:

He was the only one who could stop them.

That scared him.

But it also felt right.

It felt like purpose.

As the shuttle descended toward the dark, storm�'lashed structure below, Jax tightened his grip on the controls.

“Alright,” he murmured to himself. “In and out. No one can know.”