[ WP ] A Jedi Knight finds himself in the Crusades .

“ And with this task complete, I name you Kaza Renlo, Knight of the Jedi Order. ” 
 
 Kaza bowed low before Master Tan-Kidas, still acutely aware of the unfamiliar weight at his hip – a newly completed lightsaber. The graduation robes still chafed slightly, and his head felt bare without his Padawan topknot. 
 
 “ Thank you Master. I am honoured to serve the Jedi Council. ” 
 
 As he said the words, there was a faint…something. A sound, a ring of steel on steel, the shouts of desperate men and the screams of wounded. Kaza tried to grasp the sound, but it slipped away, intangible as smoke. 
 
 “ Your thoughts are not with us, Knight? ” 
 
 Ears burning in shame, Raza turned to Master Sorcalli. 
 
 “ I apologise, Master. I…thought I heard something. Something unusual. A battle, or perhaps an accident. ” 
 
 “ Mm. Meditate on this, you must. Through the Force, visions are often granted. Warnings. Cautions. Fools are those that ignore such portents ” 
 
 Kaza bowed at the diminutive Master that had just entered the chamber, and recognized the way out that the Jedi had offered. Masters Sorcalli and Tan-Kidas turned their attention from him, and Kaza fled the Chamber, back to his personal quarters. 
 His fellow padawans would surely be curious to know if he had passed his Trial….but the sound he had heard tugged at him. The Master was right. He must mediate on it first. The realization was like a gentle compulsion, tugging against him – the will of the Force manifest. 
 
 He arrived at his quarters, and darkened the room, a tinted shade sliding down and dimming away the bustle of Coruscant. Then Kaza assumed the lotus position as taught, and began concentrating on his breathing. 
 
 *in….out. In….out. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance. There is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force* 
 
 The sound returned. Thundering beats of some great beast against the ground, the clash and clang of metal on metal. Screams, shouts and high, defiant cries. A foreign heat breezed across his skin, and his nose twitched at a faint metallic tang. The sound grew louder and louder and louder….. 
 
 Kaza Renlo snapped his eyes open and swung automatically into a *Makashi* stance as his Force senses warned him of an incoming strike, his blade out and humming – a brilliant green lance of energy. 
 Kaza twisted, feeling the whistle as a heavy blade passed through where his head would have been, and swing his saber up and across – and then rolling as his lightsaber sheared the metal weapon in two. 
 
 His assailant stood dumbfounded, a burly man in a white surcoat over metal armor, holding the hilt of a sword. He was unshaven, with a scraggly beard, and an expression of pure confusion. 
 
 And he was not alone. Kaza reached for the Force as he realized that this was not his chamber in the Temple. The wide open plains made it clear that this was not even Coruscant. His concentration waved for half a second….*Crack! * 
 
 Kaza toppled to the ground as the spearbutt from the passing cavalryman whacked him on the head. 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 He awoke in a tent. It was dark, smelly and hot. Not opening his eyes just yet, Kaza reached out with his senses. Five men with him in the tent. All of them chained to the central pole. One man outside, his mind open and drowsy. He experimentally twisted the chain, and froze at the loud clinking. The sound seemed to rouse the darkened shape of the man chained next to him. 
 
 “ Stranger. You are awake? ” 
 
 The language was unfamiliar. Kaza took a breath and reached out to the Force again. The sentence twisted and melded in his mind – less translating directly and more an impression of meaning. He let the Force guide his words in reply. 
 
 “ I am awake. Where are we? ” 
 
 “ Prisoners of the Crusaders. The wall of Jerusalem are close, but many Crusaders stand between us and safety ” 
 
 That told Kaza a lot about the situation. Some sort of siege going on, the aggressors were called the Crusaders. He was willing to assume that the man who had attacked him was one of these aggressors. 
 And in that case, it was his duty as a Jedi Knight to bring an end to the siege. Why else would the Force have transported him here? 
 
 “ And you are? ” 
 
 “ Ali al-Yusif, of the Fatmid Caliphate, stranger. You? ” 
 
 “ Kaza Renlo. Jedi Knight ” 
 
 The man abruptly jerked away from him. 
 
 “ By Allah ’ s Will. A Knight? What crime did you commit against your fellows to be thrown in with us prisoners? No. Say no more. I have nothing to say to a Crusader. ” 
 
 So. These ‘ Crusaders ’ had individuals who called themselves “ Knights ”. Judging by the conditions and his imprisonment, he doubted they were Jedi. 
 
 Concentrating, he began working on escape. His micro-kinetics with the Force were not his strongest skill – but the crude iron lock was no match for the Force. It clicked open softly. 
 
 Kaza stood, rubbing his wrists. The tent was empty, save for the five other men. The one he had spoken to – Ali, was looking at him, eyes gleaming with faint reflected torchlight. 
 
 “ Perhaps I was too hasty. Free me and help me to Jerusalem, Knight. The Caliph would wish to speak to one such as you. ” 
 
 Kaza considered the request – and was interrupted by a familiar *vwooorrrnnn* followed by a shout and a crash, and then a sizzle. The man outside the tent perked up, and then began moving away. 
 Sensing the will of the Force at play, Kaza concentrated and clicked the locks off the irons that held Ali captive. The other four captives didn ’ t stir, and he felt no immediate need to free them as well – if he could bring an end to this conflict, these Crusaders would undoubtedly set them free later on. 
 
 For now however, he needed to get himself and the native out of the camp. That said, he had an important duty to attend to first. 
 
 “ Come, Knight. Come. We must leave before the guard returns! ” 
 
 Instead, Kaza snuck closer to the ring of soldiers who were all staring at a collapsed tent, an increasingly twitchy Ali in tow. A green glow emanated from within it, along with the crackle of a plasma blade on fabric. 
 Kaza concentrated one more time, aware of how heavily he ’ d taxed himself already. Just three more actions. 
 
 “ We must wait, Ali. I still need something. ” 
 
 First, he reached out, and shut off his lightsaber. The glow died, and the ring of men took a step back. Beside him, the prisoner Ali twitched, nervously pulling Kaza towards the outer ring of the camp, clearly eager to be away. 
 
 Next, he tried a simple Padawan trick – one that had been a popular prank until Master Tan-Kidas banned it. He lifted a small rock invisibly above the men, and suffused it with power, making it glow an unearthly blue. As fresh gasps followed this trick, he carefully left one mental hand juggling the rock, while the other snaked out once more. 
 
 Finding his target. Kaza pulled as he let the rock shatter with a sharp *POP*…and his lightsaber sailed up out of the wreckage of the tent and into his upraised hand. 
 
 “ Now, Ali. Now we can go. ” 
 
 The Fatmid prisoner simply stared at him. “ You are no Knight. You are a djinn. ” 
 
 “ Djinn, Knight. Those Guards will be coming this way soon. I think it best we leave, quickly. ” 
 
 The headache developing told Kaza he wouldn ’ t be able to simply persuade any guard they encountered. He ’ d done too much in too short a time. This exit would rely on stealth and guile. 
 
 “ Lead on Ali. Take me to Jerusalem, and this Caliph. ” 

